001evening folks it's 6 30 p.m and I'd like to call the June 5th special meeting of the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education to order Mr Burnside please take the Roll Call board member Nubia Duvall Wilson here board member Regina Eckert here board member bill Gifford here board member Alyssa Valley here board member Kali telesford board member Arun vadamani here board member Courtney winkfield for president Caitlin whitlater here board member Johanna Wright present student representative Noah moros here thank you thank you Mr Burnside if we could all please rise for the pledge of allegiance that would be great the United States of America Liberty please take note that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided in the following manner a written notice was sent from the office of the secretary of the board at
00211 A.M on May 31st 2023. that said notice was sent via email to Maplewood in South Orange Township clerks and the editors of the news record Star Ledger and the Village Green tonight's meeting is truly special we are here this evening to honor our incredible education Educators thank you to those of you who have joined us this evening the board is thrilled to celebrate you and the positive impact you've made on the lives of our students and their families we will kick off the meeting with our last student rep update from student rep morose on behalf of the board we would like to thank Mr morose and Miss previan for their dedication and service to representing the needs of their student body over the past few years it's been a pleasure to know them and
003work with them congratulations Noah and Vanessa you will be greatly missed and we can't wait to see what your next chapter will bring so with that I will hand it off to student rep morose for his last student rep update thank you and good evening everybody so as I just said I'm sitting here tonight honored to give my last ever student rep report sorry so this all started back in June of my sophomore year where I decided to run for a spot vacated at the time by my AP US History uh teaching assistant Lilly Forman who's now at Stanford doing amazing things but she was really the first one to talk to me about what the role was and kind of what it entailed so a little shout out to her there but yeah but
004this position felt different than what else was being offered and in our school student council not a president or a Treasurer but a representative of those that I went to class with every single day it was a chance to make change at the district level or fight for those who didn't have a voice to offer and from start to end that's been my goal over the last two years and I can only hope that I did that successfully but I will be forever grateful from how much I learned from my time sitting right here at this table how are educational policy is made and edited the impact of community input but most importantly the value of public education the fact that our community chooses who sits on this board is important every voter in our
005town has a say somewhat in how our district operates whether it's at The Ballot Box or sitting right there in that chair as I've seen for many hours over the last two years during public speaks I chose to attend a public university over smaller private universities because of how much this role has taught me about the value of public institutions I wanted to thank Dr Taylor who even through me being very critical of the district at times has always stuck by me and Vanessa's side offering his time and email inbox at any time of the day to meet or answer our questions or concerns it's valuable to have a superintendent who is this open to student input yes publicly here when the cameras are on and when the newspaper people are ready to write articles
006but also privately too he's been there every step of the way for the last two years for Vanessa 9 he truly cares about her input so I want to say that publicly here it's it's not just for show he really truly means it and I also wanted to pass that message along to the board here too because I know that we all have our disagreements um maybe with each other on the board here but I think it's important to recognize for everybody here and watching at home in the audience that everybody's here because they care a lot what they're doing um is what they think is best for the board and I feel honored to have been a part of that over the last two years here and I want to say thank you for
007I never felt neglected you know one time over the last two years uh when I first came onto the board everyone was very welcoming and I've now seen two boards almost two boards um and every board member that has come on has always been very welcoming um uh to student input that Vanessa and I give I just couldn't want to give one more shout out to my parents that are that are sitting right over there every single meeting uh regardless of how late they go they always stay up and watch them um so yeah so um I don't know if they probably know just as much about the school district as as me or anybody else sitting on the board so just want to say thank you them too and thank you to all of
008you guys in the community and the student body for giving me the opportunity to sit up here for the last two years learn a ton and hopefully represent them to the best of my ability thank you give a huge round of applause Noah Essa will join us on June 22nd thank you again for your contributions to South to the South Orange and Maplewood school district and please keep us updated on your future endeavors um so with that we'll turn it over to Dr Taylor I will now ask Dr Taylor to lead us through the staff recognition ceremony no it's been great working with you tell us where you're going you didn't share that information come on uh Rutgers New Brunswick awesome so your predecessor gave me a beautiful mug from her University and it's in
009my office no pressure Mom and Dad um and I would love to put an authentic Rutgers students mug there if you have a moment when you're having great times next year going down there tomorrow morning for uh Naval ROTC so I'll get you one when I'm down there thank you and for those of us who were able to attend the seniors night we saw how many other recognitions that Noah received just validating what we already knew that you're an outstanding student and rep of all of your fellow students not just at the high school but you all go to your middle schools and elementary schools so thank you for continuing the Legacy left by Miss Foreman thank you to our HR team and all who gave your time and energy to to prepare us excuse
010me oh sorry I'm almost over it Miss Eckert I promise I'm almost over it Miss right I'm sorry I'm sorry who helped us this evening and we have 17 retirees who have contributed a total of anyone want to guess how many years 400 and okay anyone else 360.8 years of service to our school district so I'm a stickler for process so just to lay it all out for you um each presenter will be called forward to introduce their honoree once those heartfelt introductions are complete if our retirees fill up to it are comfortable you can also address the community we will then pose for a picture with you and your presenter your family if they're present with your certificate I will then introduce the next presenter for all those who are present when we are
011complete our board president will then give greetings to our retirees and send you off with the board's blessings and thanks sounds good all right um Mr bonds I saw that Miss swiberius was trying to get online is she on all right miss liberius the floor is yours good evening everyone I have the pleasure of introducing our beloved nurse Jean Johnson uh principal horn sends her regards principal horn and I have had the pleasure of working with you Jean affectionately known as nurse Johnson for the past five years however you have been devoted to Marshall for nearly 34 years you are a staple in our school community many people speak of how our staff members have positively impacted their children and they always speak of you I don't think there is anyone who doesn't trust you
012or feel Cared by you you have been the school nurse for literally thousands of children and also many of our current martial parents as well your Devotion to your job and the kindness shown to everyone you touch are incomparable you always went Above and Beyond in caring for as well as advocating for our children communicating with our families and educating us as a staff upon learning of your retirement we received many emails expressing gratitude for you one family described you as always warm caring and thorough another describe your office as a safe haven yet another said their kindergartner talked about you with such respect and care and that whenever he went to you they knew that he was safe and well treated during one of the most challenging times we face as Educators the covid-19
013pandemic you were right there in the trenches with us as Brave and hard-working as ever your support made a challenging period easier to manage you made us all feel valued and cared for whenever you spoke of retirement we would hold our breath and pray each year that you need your mind and that your name would not be on the list I would Breathe a sigh of relief when the list was published and we did not see your name this year though we were not so lucky and the list was published and there it was Gene Johnson saying farewell to you and no longer seeing you in the nurse's office is very hard but this next phase is well earned you deserve a long and happy retirement and we hope that you make the most of
014it we wish you all the best in this new phase of your journey congratulations you will be so tremendously missed thank you Gene [Applause] nurse Johnson all right and if anyone knows me I don't like speaking in public but uh Gene Johnson wasn't just there for the children she was there for every staff member she was the first person who knew when we were pregnant she's the first person we went to when we were getting engaged she was like the heart of Marshall school and she was the heart for all the teachers as well and just know that we love you and we miss you every day that we walk into that building Gene so thank you if I can just say if I can just say something also I just want to thank everyone
015I walked in the door 30 or 33 years ago my husband and I live in South lived in South Orange and my first principal I went through a lot of principles my first principal um hired me and he said I know you're a parent in this in the school can you be professional and do the job and he was Mr Krause Ed Krauss and I said to him I certainly can and um and I did I stayed out of everything that needed to stay out of and I handled my job my kids when I arrived my daughter is 40. she was in second grade my son is 38 he was in kindergarten but we didn't have a full-time kindergarten there and then and I had just had a baby and this District just means so
016much to me it educated my kids they are grown and they have wonderful careers and um and and all the kids that I have worked with throughout the years have meant so much to me um I I do have some parents now who were my children and um we just recently moved we sold our house and I don't know what to do in another town because South Orange and Maplewood has been our life so I just want to thank everyone my wonderful staff my wonderful Prince of like principal vice principal the board for giving me this that opportunity to be a school nurse I worked in the ER I was a neonatal intensive care nurse and my husband was traveling quite a bit so I decided to go for my certification and out of all
017of those things that I've done this has been the best job ever so thank you all from the bottom of my heart thank you web search any please come up for a picture if you anybody would like to you already have a couple of folks here thank you foreign our next presenter is principal Sanchez from Columbia High School all right I think it's on now we always need substitute nurses so let's talk it's always a a great evening it's one of the best uh evenings of the year so I want to thank the board of education for doing this and our human resources department because we can really just share the the amount of time um that these retirees have put for our our students I I've been blessed as being principal of Columbia High
018School of having such a incredible staff and I always say the reason why we have one of the best staffs that I have ever seen and I've worked in some incredible districts is because they're such a veteran staff and unfortunately because they're in a veteran staff that means we do see so many uh retire I know we have ours other supervisors to speak so much about Eureka and so many of our other members but I'm here to speak about an administrative who is retiring and that's Miss Cheryl Hewitt Miss Hewitt has spent over 20 years in this district and I can just say every time since I've been here and I've had a question Miss shoot has been there to challenge me to answer the question to speak to me about her incredible experiences whether
019she was an educator here in many of our our schools in South Orange but also in New Orleans and other districts across New Jersey um Miss Hewitt is one to always always ask about how it impacts students and I think that's really important when we talk about what is logistically you know important or how we can get things done efficiently she stops us and says wait a minute what about the student and it's not just about the average student it's always about well how does that impact our students of color how does that impact our our students with special needs how does that impact our students who may have lost a family member I mean she always asks these important questions and so I know we're we're losing a lot at Columbia with losing Miss
020Hewitt we're losing our heart but we're also losing an intellectual who cares a lot about pedagogy so miss Hewitt is one who guided our plcs with our teachers for the past four years or five years and uh that's one of her favorite things to do she loves to go into classrooms she loves to talk about our teachers and the Art of teaching um and that sometimes gets lost when we're looking at you know student incidents or we're looking at attendance or we're looking at um grades she she wants to get in there and talk about how great our teachers are doing and how she can support them so I know that we're gonna we're gonna lose a great partner next year but I do look forward for her she deserves this retirement she deserves being
021home with her two children as they start that ASP they're young they're young that aspect of college as they're now going into that but I want to give a big shout out to Miss Cheryl Hewitt and our great assistant principal come up here miss Hewitt good evening everyone and thank you um Mr Sanchez I appreciate the kind words and you hit the nail on the head it's all about teaching and learning and I would be remiss not to say that I started in the district in 95 at Tuscan elementary school and that is where I learned the most about teaching and learning and I was reflecting with Martha earlier we worked together as third grade teachers about all of the wonderful teachers and as I leave the district that is what I want you all
022to just remember the talent in this district is unparalleled and if we get those systems going we'll be ahead of the game thank you well said now I get to introduce myself I am the next presenter if you called the office of the superintendent of schools for South Orange and Maplewood School District over the last decade there's a good chance that you have spoken to Carl and Moore wave up their Carolyn yes if it wasn't Carland it was likely her long time partner Liz if it wasn't either of them then it was lyanna who worked with Carl and for the last year or so of her journey if it wasn't lyanna then it was likely Cassandra who joined us and has been on a fast learning curve although she was just across the hall in
023HR for a number of years our office is the central nervous system of our school district many people call us because they honestly don't know who to call for the help that they need they sometimes are not sure of what help they actually need but I can guarantee that once they spoke to Carolyn or the other folks who I named who call him who Carlin has had a lasting relationship with an impact on they were better off they could have been a new family just trying to figure out registration for the family of an elementary student who just changed how changed homes in town or looking for special services or or HR Etc Carlin Moore for years was one of the faces of our office which for many means that she was one of the
024faces of our district her nickname in our office was Mama Bear by some due to her wisdom and her guidance and sometimes even serving as a parenting voice for some really upset parents she did far more than answer phones of course she helped our our parents our staff our community members she was always busy helping us pay our bills via our purchase orders she worked very closely with our attorneys and our lead in our Communications office and she was a go-to person for our anti-bullying Specialists when they had quick HIV questions Colin was always selfless in serving our needs as an office and a district yet she still managed to have time to be a loving mom and wife when she wasn't busy helping all of us she couldn't stop herself from sharing stories about
025her loving family while you had been able to stop by here or there to check in on us please know that you are not only missed but on behalf of our SLT our school leaders our ABS the thousands of parents employees and community members you've helped over the years you're a mama bear influence is still in our office in our hearts so thank you for all that you did for us and congratulations Carl I know that principal Sanchez spoke about some of the stops that Ms Hewitt made along her career um Carlton for years before she joined us for a number of years was also a part of New York City public schools and brought a lot of that expertise with her to our offices Ms Moore anything that you'd like to share with us
026the floor is yours good afternoon everyone uh thank you so much Dr Taylor for those uh fun words that you have shared about me and um those very nice accolades I really appreciate it um I've been with this district for about 14 or 15 years and um I have to say that when I first joined the district um I was recruited by Dr Osborne and it was definitely um a learning curb is Courtney from New York City but know that the board in New York City is quite different from the board here in um Maplewood and it was a different learning curve um and I wasn't sure what to expect um when he recruited me um but it was a good decision that I made back then um it allowed me to spend time with
027my family um during the time when my kids were young um I was able to be a mom to them I'm doing a crucial time in their life um just a funny story that I always share with everyone in New York City you know you have the I was still commuting I was living in New Jersey so I was commuting back and forth and you know coming home 7 30 8 o'clock every single night and so my routine for my my then five or six year old was come home Rush do homework try to feed them um look at their homework real quick and then put them in the bed and so that was just my routine and having that family time with them was just very difficult so we you know we just had
028to crash everything you know on the weekends so when I first started working in Maplewood um you know I was getting home at like 5 30 and so my son at the time who was young he knew what the routine was which is you know we said we sat around the kitchen table and I was cooking dinner real quick and I would just check the homework and of course that meant as soon as I take your homework that means you go to bed so when I I got home and it was like 5 30 and he looked he looks outside and he's like it's light outside and I'm checking his homework and he says wait does this mean I have to go to bed because he couldn't understand why I was home so early and
029you know and he was used to the routine and I said no this is the time that normal parents come home and this means I get to spend a little bit more time with you so being a South Orange Jamaica would allow me that time to spend that extra time with them and I also got to learn a lot um I never imagined that I would have um such one-on-one parent times with the community because I didn't have that in New York City we weren't allowed to have you know I didn't have that one-on-one and so the parents taught me quick faster in a hurry out here um and so it talked me to to have patience um and it taught me to listen and to understand what the issues were and um it also
030helped me to understand that um you know they have real issues and they have real things concerns about their children and so um that's something I learned and I wanted to make sure that I listened to what their concerns were and I didn't want to rush them all and so I tried to be as helpful as I could to parents and listen to their concerns and I never wanted to just pass a parent off and just transfer them um and so my goal was to always try to help his parents as much as I could if I couldn't help them I wanted to find someone who could help them um that was always my goal um so I tried to instill that with anybody also who I work with so whether it was lyanna or
031whether it was Liz um we I wanted to be our office we needed to be helpful to them because if you call the superintendent's office you're looking for help you know we shouldn't be an office who brushes them off they're looking for help they're looking for someone who can actually assist them and so that was what I hope that you know they got from our office and I appreciate the fact that I was entrusted with many projects so I'm very serious projects HIV being one of them um that's a very serious thing and something that was very serious but was dear to my heart because um these are children these were children's lives um bullying um seeing some of the serious things that were happening to kids at that time um some very sad things
032that happened during those times and that when I was helping the attorney and the HIV coordinators on this case has been the HIV coordinators were some of the people who almost dear to my heart and and I really got close to them and I enjoyed working with them and and the parent coordinated the parent to Center as well um also policy um learn a lot about the word the board and the way the board works um also can you get going four-day registration that was something that I well I started doing when I first got there so all of those projects helped me to grow as a person and help me to shape who I am today and um as well as special education settlements again helping to know what real issues are with with
033the parents parents are advocates for their children and I think every parent should be an advocate for children I was an advocate for my son my son had an IEP and I understand what that's like and so every parent should be an advocate for their child so I appreciate the time that I had here there with the board and I appreciate everyone who has helped me and helped me to grow and I again I appreciate all the wonderful people that I got to work with and I shall miss my colleagues immensely um and lastly I just want to say um even though I'm retired you know I started when I was like you know five years old so I'm not as old as I look um I have 35 years of education I have 23
034years in New York City um not 14 15 years in South Orange and Maplewood um but I really really appreciate everything that everyone has done for me and I should miss you all immensely and I wish all of the retirees um that I have worked with and over the years all the very very best and and even our student reps they have done a tremendous job and they have served the position with dignity so I wish you all the very best thank you so much thank you Carl and uh and we do miss you please don't be a stranger um next up our presenter is principal majeed of Tuscan good evening I am here to honor an amazing teacher Martha O'Connor we've all heard the expression that a truly great teacher is hard to find
035difficult to part with and impossible to replace and Martha O'Connor is exactly that teacher Martha O'Connor has served this district for 25 years as a kindergarten teacher at Tuscan and I have had the honor to work alongside with her and to just be amazed by her for 21 of those 25 years Martha is like our soul sister I mentioned before when Barbara Jackson retired Anna Reyes Cheryl Hewitt now breaking my heart Cheryl was my son's she was assistant principal at Tuscan when my son was in the second grade so we we have a strong connection and bond and Martha was on the third grade team with Cheryl Anna Barbara Jackson and I believe Joyce Smith and the previous principal wanted to make sure every child had a teacher of color and Martha is beautifully representative
036of the diversity of color within our community because the soul for the teacher comes from your heart and it's not always what's on the outside it's absolutely what's on the inside and Martha one of your favorite one of my favorite lessons that you used to do when we were able to have food in the classroom which is way back was um a lesson that we would call like a model lesson in diversity brown eggs and white eggs and you would cook the eggs and show the eggs and the students would taste them you would explore them it was a Hands-On science learning diverse experience for students and they knew what was most important with all of us was what's on the inside what's on the inside and you did that in the kindergarten class during
037the holidays another favorite lesson was a lesson on needs versus wants oh my goodness that discussion among 24 kindergartners were so Dynamic so amazing there were pictures of different items they had to sort and it all came down to what's most important family love friendships and not those material things and that was something so wonderful so beautiful the students talked about fresh air exercise having someone love and care for them and you have done that you have loved and cared for tuscan's children for 25 years wow and I miss you so much already we had kindergarten orientation and you weren't there and my heart broke can you stand next to me as my emotional support person my emotional support and I'm not gonna cry I make I put extra makeup on so but I love
038the way you introduce yourself to the families and you I know what you said but you said it better you talked about your degree from Dickinson and you said I have a degree in Russian and Soviet area studies with an art history minor and I said oh but it was the 70s the 70s I don't know and then I loved when you used to say you lived in Chatham in Chatham but the part where the nice people live where the nice people live right because you are one of the nicest people and we are so honored you you of course teaching learning has always been wonderful in your classroom you it's kindergarten magic you were able to make like just an ordinary school day and into something extraordinary for children it was a big mess
039the leprechauns that came into the bathroom and then the water was green the footprints all over again we could have food the barbecue sauce and the bath socks latkes that the turkey oh my Thanksgiving feast but we could go on and on but we won't um we we've had so much and you've dedicated so much and and above all things you've given children a really firm foundation for learning the winner they left your classroom confident independent Learners more than ready for first grade reading thinking writing it's been truly amazing and some of them work for the district and some of them work for the district now I know it's like the grand teacher but thank thank you for everything um congratulations to all our retirees and to Martha O'Connor yes you deserve all the Hat
040we did it together you deserve all the happiness to come congratulations well um yeah yeah I I if you were a bunch of little kids it would be easy but well I'll try anyway if I get stuck I'll just do that anyway um it's been a wonderful ride um we've had so much fun um I find myself thinking of all the little I actually added them up I think they've been like 600 kids that have come through my door um and I've loved each and every one of them as if they were my own and they could make me mad and I could you know we'd laugh and I'd look at them and say if I didn't care about you you couldn't make me mad so sit down and get your work done um I
041mean it's one of the best compliments a parent ever gave me was that they would when there were things going on at home they would say what would Mrs O'Connor say and sometimes it would turn into Aunt Martha but what weaknesses O'Connor say and they're like I I guess I better do it you know but anyway it's been lovely um um I I really feel at home I feel very sort of um split you know as to but it's time um but as I told the kids I'm not planning on disappearing I'm not moving anywhere I plan to resurface in some other guys so um so anyway that's um that's all you said stop no no we're not rushing it out [Music] I'm proud of you oh yeah matters okay [Applause] so our next presenter
042I believe is virtual yep I see her up there married desarno the floor is yours thank you um good evening I have the pleasure of standing in for um principal glander this evening and I would like to speak on behalf of Stacy patalino ask her colleague um Stacy has service Maplewood South Orange and in particular Seth poison for 32 years of service um the same school that has that she has loved for 32 years has nothing but love back for her for 32 years Stacy has taught second grade she's taught fourth grade she is most currently for the past I guess eight years been in academic intervention for reading where we are colleagues currently um also she has helped to run our school's safety patrol program instilling confidence and um so much in all of
043her students most recently a former student from many years ago has contacted her and she is now a principal of her own elementary school and when speaking with Stacy and Stacy said oh you know um thank you for reaching out how are you and she said well Stacy I'm reaching out to you because I'm hiring students for teachers in my school and as I sit here and I think about what qualities I want to hire in a teacher you are the teacher that comes to mind you are the teacher everything I think of this is what I want this is what I want to hire and she spent a lot of time meeting um talking with Stacy and coming to a special planned retirement dinner just to share all of the characteristics of what has
044stood out to her about miss patalino all these years um so uh just in closing I just would like you to all help me wish Stacy panolino a warm retirement as I know um she has taken so much time of her life and dedicated it 32 years not just to our school district but to Seth Boyden um and has selfishly given of herself and now it's time for her to start her new journey and to give to herself thank you Miss patalino are you on with us the floor is yours okay well good evening everyone and thank you so much um I'm gonna get emotional but uh we said I'm out there as I live like an hour and a half away from Seth Boyden but I grew up in Union five minutes away but
045when my parents and I moved there was no way I could teach in any other school but Seth poydon so even though I live down the shore I travel for Seth poison I've enjoyed all my years there I will really miss the students there I can't imagine September not seeing um um I've met so many wonderful colleagues and people and administrators and um it's like a second home to me more than half my life I've spent there um so um I'm just not gonna miss the two hour this morning commute that I got up there so once again I'm sorry I couldn't be there and um I also they don't want to get emotional but um I really wish my dad could see me who was the captain of South Orange Police Department and helped
046me prepare my retirement then passed away a year ago so um I just want to thank my parents and you know what she could see me so thank everybody in the South Orange Community for me and it was my father's home as well so thank you awesome can can't um can't say it better our next and I think our last presenter is Dr Bean folks um well good evening everyone and we always save the best for last when I heard that Eureka was going to retire I said I can't believe this she and I both arrived together most mornings she's my buddy that I passed in the hallway um so I'm going to miss you terribly but when I started to talk to others in the department and just asking them about Eureka and what
047might we say well first of all I might say I'm gonna miss you dearly not only from that walk in the morning but when anything happens that knock on the door and she sits down and she's like okay let's talk I love that but my colleagues have said Eureka you're like a buzz ball you're passionate for literature and it's evident in how you zoom about your classroom growing more and more excited as ideas grow and grow and I have to say she's got a wicked sense of humor which I love others have said that she's a wonderfully supportive colleague and friend others have described you as warm funny collegial a compassionate professional and beloved by your students you're dedicated you're down to earth you have so many Rich experiences and she's an avid storyteller but
048your love for the students is unending and your commitment to their success is truly inspiring we're going to miss you but we know that you're going off to greater or much greater Journey and you can always come back and visit absolutely but we are going to miss you and as a result I'd like to share this with you on behalf of the department and it reads presented to elrica wedi in appreciation for your dedication to education for believing in children for guiding through example for inspiring passion for leaving an everlasting mark on the future thank you for yourself well that is right it's that HR did a great job thank you very much yeah could you turn it on for me yes okay well yeah well I'd like to thank the board very much for
049um allowing me to teach here it's uh it's really been a blast and uh as I tell my students and I've said this through the years you know I look at them and I say to them you know when I stop laughing that's when I know it's time to leave um I am leaving but I haven't stopped laughing and um they've given me so much joy and I smile all the time and I'm chuckling all the time that I'm going to take that laughter and that Joy with me as I think about them and my experiences here and I just want to thank you very much for allowing me to teach here to teach at Columbia High School to teach the students to teach your children thank you very much it's been really fun maybe
050some pictures oh really sure yeah Colombia come on [Music] yes wait we have to go to the side [Music] absorption thank you very much all right thank you so much we do have attendees well we do have honorees who are not in attendance I'll read their names for our record and we'll get them their certificates as well um Gerald Archibald Dr Janet boostron Beatrice Greenberg Lynn or line Marshall I apologize thank you thank you thank you it's spelled l-i-n-e right I'm doing like okay all right thank you uh David Master Mastro natto mastronato thank you Mark Richmond Stacy Robinson Abe Amy singer Bernadine Smith mark turenzi faraja Thompson thank you for your service Madam president today on behalf of the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education we'd like to express our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation
051to a group of extraordinary Educators who have dedicated their lives to educating the young minds of our community We Gather here today to Bid Farewell and extend our deepest thanks to our beloved teachers who are embarking on a new chapter in their lives retirement made this new chapter of your lives be filled with joy fulfillment and the opportunity to pursue additional Passions take this time to reflect on the incredible accomplishments you have achieved and the lives you have touched please know that your contributions have not gone unnoticed they have positively influenced the trajectory of countless lives leaving an indelible mark on generations to come We Are Forever grateful for the immeasurable impact each of you have had on our students and the South Orange Maplewood School Community as a whole thank you for your exceptional
052service and unwavering dedication to our students and their families you will all be greatly missed thank you so much so I'd like to make a motion to take a brief recess for 10 minutes so that the board can proper properly acknowledge and congratulate our Educators this evening we want to get some time with you may I have a second okay thank you all in favor all right we will be taking a brief recess and we'll come back for public speaks and for the action portion of the meeting thank you so much I feel like picking one and running it's weird here at South Orange Maplewood School District thank you so much and thank you all for your patience we are now going to begin our hearing of individuals and delegates thank you for coming in
053person and dialing in by phone this evening the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education certainly respects that you've taken the time out of your busy day to address the board at tonight's meeting we value public involvement in our school district and we are eager to hear what you have to say 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 please do your best to stay within the time afforded to you all inputs share with the board of education has taken very seriously and will inform future deliberations and work by the Board of Education and its committees we have no in-person public speaks this evening but we do have one virtual
054public speaks Mr bonds can you please bring on Shannon cuddle hi everyone can hear me we can hear you Shannon hey uh so I just want to take this opportunity um thank you board president um to say congratulations to all our retirees and for their service to our district especially during these troubling times during covid um and all that you've given we know that teachers are underappreciated and support staff and we should celebrate them more I also want to take the opportunity to extend my um congratulations uh for service for Carlin more as well had the opportunity to work with them as a bu member and as a community member and know that they have worked tirelessly in many different capacities folks will never know uh the mini multiple hats that she wore to help
055keep our district running and always thinking of students first I also wanted to take the opportunity to congratulate Noah um on his last meeting with us but also congratulate Vanessa as well they came on board during my service on the Boe and following other phenomenal student leaders that we've had and I've got the pleasure to know I just want to extend a a gratitude of support for their service and raising amplifying student voices listen both well on their next endeavors um and it is my hope that for consideration for this board and future boards that during this type of ceremony um that perhaps we consider extending a small uh not just a verbal gratitude a celebration of our student leaders to help encourage them to do service um and hope that we can do that
056with Noah and Vanessa and their counterparts in the future as well I also want to take a point of privilege to also thank the the tireless work of our unsung heroes that are leaving our district tonight as well that may not be lifted up those that are moving on or those that are behind the scenes working in many different ways and capacities that we don't get to acknowledge in all of our service to students at all levels janitorial uh whether it be working with our students in one-on-one our custodial staff are our other staff members as well that are part of us I just want to acknowledge that as well and just one more Point um I would say that this is supposed to be a day of Celebration um not necessarily uh work for
057the board um and would encourage the Board of Education in the future to hold this type of special celebration to be solely for supporting our teachers and tireless staff and families and not trying to do work on the board um in between meetings thank you so much thank you Shannon we really appreciate it and I just wanted to make one point of clarification before I pass it over to Dr Taylor that um the reason why Noah we're celebrating him this evening is that he will not be at the June 22nd meeting he's heading off to New Jersey Boys State um help where he'll be working um so congratulations Noah for that um but we will we did intend to have a celebration and we will do that for a board rep Vanessa privilian on the
05822nd I don't know if there's anything else you wanted to add Dr Taylor I was going to say exactly the same thing Madam president thank you and um I want to appreciate the thanks the former board member cuddle gave to our honorees both president and who are out in the community thank you thank you so that concludes our public speaks for this evening I'm just going to check the online yep we're good so we are now going to move on to the action portion of the meeting there are three policies up for first read this evening these three policies are the byproduct of the collective effort of the Board District admin and the community at large to extensively vet these particular policies the three policies are also directly tied to the 2022-23 district goals so
059policy 7740 Security on school premises and policy 8420 emergency and crisis situations were put up for first read during the during the February 23rd meeting and the current iteration of these policies which are up for first read have Incorporated feedback from the board and the community policy 8600 transportation is also up for first read this evening policy 8600 has been an ongoing body of work for the fft committee and the board at large as the revision of policy 8600 is both a district goal and a board goal for the 2022-23 school year the updated language in this policy will account for the board of school estimate approval of non-state mandated Transportation at 1.25 miles for pre-k through fifth grade students policy 8600 has also been reviewed and approved by our legal counsel one change you'll
060see in policy 8600 is that the Hazardous routes have been removed from the policy please rest assured that hazardous routes still exist this removal from policy 8600 was done intentionally as the fft committee decided to create an entirely new policy 8600.1 that is solely for hazardous throughout designation policy 8600.1 hazardous routes should be up for a first read in the very short term I also just wanted to communicate that the remaining policies which were tabled during the 525 board meeting will begin the policy review process from scratch there will be more information communicated around that at the June 22nd board meeting so Dr Taylor um could you please lead us in the action portion of the meeting thank you um just one note Madam president that uh resolution 4470 was brought forward by a board
061member and I want to make sure that the board member had an opportunity to share with her colleagues and the public about that resolution before we move it forward I I appreciate that Dr Taylor I'm trying to pull it up right I could move it and do it during discussion is that okay yeah move it and then we can discuss it can I move the hand carriers as well Mr Carrick board members you have three very important hand carries as well so for your consideration we put forward resolution four four six nine through four four seven one C do I have a second second okay we are now in discussion for um all of the resolutions up for Action this evening okay so do you want me to I'll take over now so um this
062resolution which is resolution 4470 South Orange Maplewood School District in support of uh teach truth day of action came to us from the map so Freedom School they will be having a teach truth in action event on June 10th in Newark and um I know some of us board members will be attending it and I would hope to see all of everybody there so I'm going to give you a little background information for everybody in the public on June 10th the map show Freedom School and many other Educators around the nation will be participating in teeth teach truth day of action teachers students and Community leaders will be rallying across the country at historic sites to speak out against anti-history education bills and to make pledge make public their pledge to teach the truth the
063teacher-led rallies provide a valuable counter narrative to the oversized coverage of the well-funded anti-crt movement the situation is urgent lawmakers and at least 44 states have introduced legislation or pursued other measures that attempt to require Educators to lie to students about the role of racism sexism heterosex sexualism transphobia and other forms of Oppression through U.S history these laws and restrictions have been imposed in at least 18 states books by black indigenous authors of color and lgbtq plus writers increasingly are being banned just and this is not just in those 44 States also in New Jersey just recently there was um a book Banning issue in Roxbury New Jersey and many others throughout New Jersey they're hearing challenges to a number of lgbtq plus and racially diverse books as part of the teach truth day of
064action the mapso Freedom School has asked that our district passed this this resolution to show our support um so which can be read during the rally on June 10th uh the teach truth day of action and this resolution is sponsored by such organizations as the Zinn project black lives matter at schools the African-American policy forum glsen Asian American advancing Justice National Equity project the uh United States Hispanic Leadership Institute the National Women's Law Center the Nea and many more organizations My Hope Is that South Orange the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education can be another organization that contributes to this important work in Africa advocacy so that's sort of a little bit of background information and the policy is available the resolution is available to be read online just want to make Space Case board
065members had questions for their colleague Dr helsberg I just want to say I do think that this resolution is very important um if you remember back last year this month we had the renaming of uh Julia Bolden Elementary School and this board received I also received threats because teaching truth is very dangerous but it's something that we have to do um so I'm fully in support of this resolution thank you Dr houseford anyone oh go ahead doctor thank you madam president um the I believe that our attorneys advising us that we should sever the hand carries is that correct there's a particular order to them so for that reason they should go in order four four seven one A B and C correct can I stay in this in this cluster that we have them
066now they can because that's how they were put on there purposely so got it it's fine okay so and just wanted to um give us some background on that information on this these resolutions um I'll allow um Mr Burnside and Mr Carrick to share what can be shared publicly around uh the you know these resolutions and the Genesis of them expensive uh right so in in the normal course uh particularly with large contracts uh my office is asked to review them to ensure that there's contract language that is protective of the Board of Education without getting into the specifics of this contract um we undertook that review had a conversation with Mr Burnside um about certain things that we identified as possible issues um the business office agreed that those were issues uh followed up
067with a discussion with the vendor that they were transitioning to was ultimately determined that those were in fact real issues um causing the business office to reconsider the award um and so we took the steps necessary to ensure that we could do what we're doing tonight which is to one rescind the contract award that was done at the last board meeting um as that contract was never executed there is no contract we're just resetting the award to to um rescind the rejection of all bids that occur last a month that also paved the way to award this contract so we're now rescinding that action and then go forward with awarding to the lowest qualified bidder which was ESS which is also your currently existing vendor um board member valamani and then bar member malastina I
068just wanted to clarify maybe I misheard but I thought you said resolution 4469 to 71c there is no four four six nine that's correct 4469 is your first read so you're just okay voting to acknowledge that that you have seen the first reading we'll move to the next read via our policy process thanks so um I I sort of have a little bit of concerns about this um just for the fact that we have had some issues with the company that we are now going to be rebidding um with and going for and I'm would love it if we are making it very clear and putting it in writing that they are really being held accountable to address these many issues that are a brave concern to many of us that have occurred during our
069time here right now I know I can't get into great details but I just want it clear that if I'm going to be voting for this that I am knowing that we are going to be holding these people accountable to make sure something like this doesn't happen some of these issues don't happen again I probably can't say anything back to that but I will I only because of the contract laws and that stuff but I'll I'll affirm via our attorney that I think our actions have reflected our concerns and have gotten everyone's attention former board member of adlamani and and just to as a Counterpoint I mean I know that I disagree with anything she said a board member said but many parents showed up during public speaks and have sent emails for us to
070continue with the existing paraprofessional organization so so in a way this is helping their wishes when although not exactly in the time order or the events order that they wanted but eventually we're ending up with the same paraprofessional organization and the same people who are going to help children who are used to having them being there so I can I uh board member miles Cena I'd like to counter that a little um there was nothing said at all about the people in place I am very the people themselves are not the issue it's more the management of the company and the concerns and while parents May that's it that's all I will say thank you sorry I made two points okay the first one was pointing out that yes I agree with you so there
071was I don't even know what the conflict here is about number one number two I was pointing out to the many people who showed up here to talk about continuing the service so you know I don't think there's any conflict in either of those savings okay uh board member Duvall Wilson um yeah and just to add on to that perhaps we just have uh for the next couple of months a standing agenda item for fft possibly for the special ed committee as well just to continue to see how things are going and just to prosperity's dot our eyes um based on the management concerns but anyway in general in fft we talk about um paraprofessionals instead anyway because it is a large Financial item for us and it's something that as part of our fft
072goals something that we've said we were going to monitor so I think we'll be in good good shape for that board member right well I'm of the ill thing when someone shows you who they are believe them and um so I'm just gonna do that it doesn't take much uh to see what's been going on with special needs and and and the hierarchy and nobody's complaining I I understand uh Mr vladimani about the the parents who are are are wonderful thrilled with their their parents that are working with them with their children some children not all uh are receiving that that type of assistance that the parents that we heard from who were here unfortunately we don't hear from those who don't receive those assistants because they're busy working and doing other things but at
073any rate when you show me who you are I'm gonna believe you simple as that for me it's about our children yeah and one thing to note um that if thank you board members of all Wilson if we don't pass this this evening then we run the risk of not being able to have paraprofessionals with the upcoming school year so that is something to just keep in the back of your mind I think there was only one bitter for the contract when we went out to bid and I believe we're rescinding the co-op relationship but the actual paraprofessional relationship that we have essentially we're still using the same pair of professionals that we voted on last meeting on the same organization it's the the difference is that we are we are no longer going to
074work with this particular Co-op correct it's probably a little more detailed than that and I'm not sure how much more I can provide outside of what's written here is that you during our last meeting um you took an action to turn down a bit and you took an action to approve another opportunity and we are reversing both of those actions and there will be no change in the services that our students are receiving now but as I stated I think that we're very clear that we have a higher expectations around the management and support if I do share responsibility of any of our vendors we have that accountable right I think that's about all I can say but I I think there are that our actions have spoken um okay are there any other questions
075regarding four four six nine four four seven zero or four four seven one a through C board member valimani I'm sorry I'm confused where is 4469 I don't see it anywhere it's in school boards in the draft agenda that's where all the first 4469 is the first three for policy seven seven four zero eight four two zero and eighty six hundred okay well I don't see a resolution that says that it's on your school boards um unless things are changing second by second I mean that's that was my first question where is 4469 I don't see it even online it's it's in the agenda on it's on the agenda not in the attachments and not the attachments but on the agenda itself okay then I have a problem I'm sorry I I would have expected
076to see a separate resolution for each resolution that we pass and because can you show it to me because it's first three you're not approving the policy you're acknowledging the receipt of the first read from my understanding but I can I'll pass it to our attorney if there's a better explanation let me ask you a question maybe you can help me I mean I thought every decision we made had to have a resolution and the resolution must be existing here I don't see it here so on on the agenda that I have there's action 4469 first read and there's policy 7440 policy E420 and policy 8600. historically you have not voted to approve first reads so you're not taking a vote on that tonight you will take a vote on that consistent with your existing
077practice of voting on second read which is when they become effective but as I I can it is on my copy so I don't know if you if there's another copy circulating around there so so the question is if you're going to vote on something that is really not to be voted on why have a resolution this is what you've done historically and I'm changing things as I come in and see okay we can have a discussion about what is on this have you always done this I've I've never seen that resolution okay I mean that's fine if you're here so I don't then I have nothing against it okay yeah that is because it is customary that our first reads are a part of our resolutions yeah I think we're ready for roll call
078just to reiterate board members you're 4469 are your three first three policies your four four seven oh is the resolution from our board in support of teach truth day action your other three are your pan carries in the order that you receive them board member Acker yes board president with letter yes board member Mouse Pina yes board member Gifford yes board member right board member Deval Wilson yes board member telesford yes board member of money yes motions passed okay that concludes the action portion of the meeting thank you all with that I'd like to make a motion to enter into executive session at 806 pm to discuss the black parents Workshop settlement the length of the executive session is estimated to be about 60 minutes after which the board will reconvene and immediately adjourn may
079I have a second so thank you board member Ecker all in favor the vote appears to be unanimous we are now a journey to closed session thank you very much [Music] um I went to Rutgers undergrad too education will meet in a special special public session on Monday June 19 2023 at 6 pm at 525 Academy Street Maplewood New Jersey and will immediately adjourn to going to Executive session in person as well as using an online video conference platform in the superintendent's office to discuss the chief School administrator evaluation and negotiations no action will be taken the board of educational meet in public session on Thursday June 22nd at 6 30 PM in the district meeting room 525 Academy Street Maplewood New Jersey immediately following the opening of public session the board will move to
080go into a closed session in the superintendent's office 525 Academy Street Maple New Jersey as well as using an online video conference platform to discuss Personnel matters within the attorney client privilege legal negotiations and other matters that may arise and require discussion to be announced at a later date immediately following the post session the board of educational meet in public session estimated to be 7 30 PM in the district meeting room 525 Academy Street Maplewood New Jersey in person utilizing an online video conference platform which will include hearing of individuals the community can view the meeting by following the steps which will be listed on the agenda if there are members of the community who would like to attend the meeting in person please note that mass and social distancing are optional in accordance with
081the guidance received from the local Doh and the CDC action will be taken the board of educational meet in a special public session on Thursday June 29 2023 at 6 30 pm at 525 Academy Street and will immediately adjourn to go into executive session in person as well as using an online video conference platform in the superintendent's office to discuss the chief School administrator evaluation no action will be taken may I have a second all in favor appears to be unanimous so now uh I was going to say Mr Burnside oh I would like to make a motion to adjourn this meeting on Monday June 5th at 9 30 PM may I have a second all in favor meeting is adjourned congratulations again to all of our Educators and have a wonderful evening thank you