001at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon according to the provisions of the Act the Board of Education is cause notice of this meeting to be published by having the date time and place narrowed posted at the Augusta financial and Sussex post offices and notice sent to the New Jersey Herald The star-ledger and the clerk of the bows of Branchville and Sussex and the townships of Frankfort Lafayette and Wantage mission statement - regional high school in partnership with staff family and community is dedicated to the quest for individual excellence by forcing high standards of achievement we prepare students to become responsible and productive members of a diverse society Jim could I have a roll call this is Anderson here mister and cliff here present here here here here dr. Kehoe dr.
002Ripley here Thank You Ann we also have mr. Kathy alright I'm just going to quickly run down for the public to make sure everybody knows it we're about to go into a training session with public at 6 o'clock we're going to go to executive session however we're going to forego an update on legal personal and negotiations at that time and workout objectives and the CSA evaluation and then at 7 o'clock we'll sort the public meeting well resume the public meeting I'm sorry and then at the end of it if we still need exactly obsession' will go back into executive session to complete the CSA evaluation with that do I have a motion to go into executive session never mind we'll start the training session all right thank you very much everybody can hear me okay
003I hope sounds good all right good it is still good to see all of you I know that we had mapped out our training sessions long in advance if this would be how we do our training right but it's it's always rewarding to work with this group because they're so participatory and even signing on with the conversation going got a good feeling about the work that we are about to do not that it's really work but wanted to kind of share some thoughts with you observations as you you know going through your service job and serving districts under these conditions it's still the same you know high quality material I mean great references and I'll send you a copy of what we're doing tonight later on via email but I recognize or at least it
004certainly is happening for me and my colleagues said these online trainings they and meetings are a little more exhausting to use a very descriptive word than then being around the dais in person right these 2d meetings whatever reason they're just they just think we're out of us and in facilitating some of these workshops in the immediate past they're very different because there's not the same level of participation and oftentimes it's just me yapping and yapping which it's not my favorite way to rec with people if you can call it interaction so looking forward to seeing you all because you are a very participatory group and that's very rewarding for me as a facilitator right so by all means as I go through tonight's presentation ask questions talk to you throughout and I think that'll make
005things you know more valuable than otherwise right and I also do want to thank bill and Eddie for jumping you know a virtual meeting with me to just get our ducks in a row for tonight so thanks for your time and thanks to Dan for helping out earlier to make sure that I could share my sin my presentation and all that and as it turns out as I share I'm not gonna be able to see your faces I'm just gonna be seeing a big screen feel free to yell out or you know what have you but just let me know who's talking because I won't be able to see and at the outset any questions you know before we begin or you know anything you gots before we start no okay all right I am
006going to now I am going to share scream this is gonna be very exciting right so if I press all these buttons right okay all right I think we're good we are going to now I am going to switch this a little bit okay so you guys should be seeing something that says NJ SP roles and responsibilities twelve common mistakes is everybody Matt yes yes yes awesome okay terrific so it's kind of a fun topic actually because because it's always a little bit maybe I have a streaker shot in Florida in me um that I don't typically like to admit to but it's always a little bit fun to learn from other people's mistakes um but it's valuable right so um we've identified four very common mistakes and you know the fact that they're common
007really says a lot because the members who make them all feel very passionate about serving their district they are good people they're putting out unpaid volunteer time to make tough decisions and really do what's best for kids but you know it's not instinctive there are certain things that are really learned behaviors that take a lot of time to learn and a lot of times our muscle memory pulls us back into a place where we don't really want to go but you know a private citizen or a regular community stakeholder or a parent or someone who comes here who is just as passionate about the school can do things you know in the meetings and can you know you know um and kind of exercise their passion for the school district and help the school district
008employees that you just can't it's just different when you sit around the day so kind of keeping those mistakes to a minimum and finding out what they are I think will serve all of us well so we'll begin now I know there's like nine board members and a couple of administrators so as I'm going through this pick your favorite pick your favorite mistake and we'll talk about it at the end of the at the end of the program okay and our first one is impatience right and this is uh this is certainly not just common to board members if you're an impatient person to begin with like um like just like myself on occasion you'll probably be an impatient board member but what you might be surprised about is the most patient and Zen opponents
009when they enter into a board service um they become a little less patient sometimes just downright impatient because everything we do is so methodical there is a process to follow there is a qualm or greater that needs to be at a public meeting that needs have a 48-hour advertising time it is not unmet or where you can pick up the phone call someone identify the problem identify the solution and be on your way that is not Ward service I can't see your faces but I hope at least some of you are smiling at this because nice the truth of it so expecting to solve every problem in your first year just isn't going to happen some people say especially those who are hot off the campaign think that every problem can be solved in the
010first month it doesn't take long to learn that that's not the way it's going to be but it's okay because there is a process it works beautifully public education in New Jersey still I believe I strong even under the situation that we are facing now is a top in the nation so just stick with the process and you're good it doesn't mean that the board is not smart it does not mean that they need to agree with you but it does mean that there's a lot of things to learn besides you know all the ancillary stuff about you know a district goals and price per pupil and what our budget is but also what the process is and that can't really be learned immediately move on to number one so we'll move on to the
011right way which you know I just to make a point um I like that third bullet and I think it speaks to everybody here I think you guys get it um you don't automatically gain respect from your colleagues you have to earn it after you know that kind of respect also comes hand-in-hand with trust and it makes for a really solid team the work behind really sometimes takes a year and product there you know you just need to sort of practice a little empathy understanding what motivates patience with them if that means you know a phone call in between board meetings or a cup of coffee rent err I think that's worth it as well okay so moving on to number two behaving poorly did you know that I don't really care for that that
012cartoon but there is corporal punishment still allowed in some states believe it or not but throwing temper tantrums is one example using off-color using your cell phone to text during a meeting throwing things yes we have on YouTube there are board member to throw things during meetings and you know threatening your fellow board members of the public I hope that this isn't too painful to listen to you know but you know in so many videos whether sound is fine how it isn't the sound acting up thank you anyone can hear me or no I can hear you we can hear you can be okay okay good I'm sorry I just can't see anything but I think this light kind of speaks for itself like all these are bad beat they're behaving poorly bad examples I
013bet you could think of a few more this let's get go on and on they're all awful we know that when you sleep during public comment you may you know what it is further um you do you need to just pay absolute attention no matter what what people are saying right because not only does falling asleep look bad but some kind of an appearance of boredom or distraction really does um really just resonate the wrong way with the person who actually had the guts to step up to the microphone or perhaps to the reporter who is in the audience who's we you know we're going to write about the board meeting it's just not a good look you know but why do people act out why is this a common mistake well because it's you
014know it almost goes back to the first one people are frustrated they want a solution right away they think everybody agrees with them and they don't quite know how to do avoid conflict so put head that off always honor the code of ethics okay you know and I wish that that were automatic but it's not but it really should be you know in in everyone's wheelhouse that code of ethics do's and don'ts really should be on everyone's refrigerator if you ask me and you really but out of holes that just make sure you know you may not know that I have that memorized but just acting the way you would expect the kids in your district to behave keep that in mind that's kind of interesting when we're going to these virtual meetings because there's
015a lot of different behaviors by board members whether it's unwittingly or or waiting Lea in front of the computer screen right if people who are eating during the meeting we have people who are you know you know obviously multitasking and it's difficult I get it because of your narrow scope of physical vision really you're not you there's just something in our minds it's not putting us in that board member that board member decorum but what I've suggested that people do and especially since these board meetings get so long and they can be so boring is to take a child's or a student's picture take it off your Twitter page right take it off your website cut it out put it in the corner of your computer it's just any child in your district any student
016it just remind you that that's why you're there and they may not be looking at you during this meeting but you know what they could be or someone just like them could be so just that kind of helps to keep your decorum in the in the right place if you're having understandable difficulty another one publicly challenging the board after a vote once you vote that's the the majority decides right and and I've talked to you guys about about your your authority is only in place when you're at the dais bla bla bla you've heard all that I've done that with ethics I did that with the Oakland presentation I think um you know it's important to work towards consensus right and you do that around the day and I know you guys do that um
017but every once awhile you'll get a split vote and you may be on the losing side of that and the thing is is that you brought to the table what you had you did your best to try to help people see your point of view you may have been unsuccessful in that but the majority rules right that's the once the ward mate takes a action that passes then that's the work of the board you're a member of the board the under work of the board is to undermine yourself the right way of going that a you know in in a fewer words it's just a fight hard for what you believe in and then accept the will of the board whichever way it goes right and you don't have to run out and you know
018scream about how wonderful a decision is if you don't you know if you were on the losing side like I always say you don't have to buy pom-poms but you do need to publicly support the decisions of the board and that's whether you know the newspaper calls you or your best friend asks you about it and you should but in the other hand don't the majority shouldn't be dancing in the end zone you should be sensitive to opposing viewpoints and you work hard together you know that's a teamwork that that's what teamworks all about I'll be sending you a copy of this presentation but this is something that some boards have had success with you know there's a new board member orientation that it that districts do for new board members and sometimes I put
019this in the new board members packet sometimes we talked a bit about this at board meetings and it's kind of a past as a resolution or just mention that you know could all board members sign it as part of a board retreat and dated and it's yielded some good results so it's just something to think about to act like the lone ranger is always bad news and I will tell you I know a lot of lone wolves right and every single lone wolf I know I really really like they are passionate they mean business they want to do what's best for kids they are convinced in their heart that they are doing what's best for kids but they will never get anything done because they're trying to do things by them and here's some really
020bad examples of what lone Ranger's tend to do right or lone wolves they tend to speak for the board and act as if you know their opinion because they are so convinced of it is the board's opinion they also tend to micromanage and start like investigating activities ie following the busses around right making sure that that buses are at their stops when they're supposed to make sure that all of the chaperones showed up for the field trip all of that stuff asked to go into a science classroom to see if the next generation science standards are being taught that's that's what long walls do it's not a good idea because you know the board may be a committee of the whole but it's never a committee of the one you guys work under the committee
021system so that doesn't quite apply to you but the bottom line is that a board member has no more authority than any other member of the public okay not a bit unless you are at the board table and a publicly advertised meaning of a quorum or greater and then you have as much authority as your fellow board members no more and we are we touched on number five long way a little bit this is so evident lone wolves do this all the time when you can't see the forest for the trees and micromanage you need to leave administration to administrators and we as board members have the honor of taking the 30,000 foot view that's what makes board service fun in my opinion it's it's about the what it's not about the how our awesome
022administrators take care of that so we have the ability to focus on vision and planning right and and policy is your state is is your codify statements of your vision for how you want your school district to work and how you want the educational experience to come down to your students and your stakeholders okay it's all about vision should be your favorite word it's the port map um you know to help guide you through that one and trying to avoid the micromanagement that so many port numbers you know fall prey to is to think about legacy you want to leave you know when they write you don't mean to sound I don't mean to sound dramatic but when your obituary is written in the newspaper it's not going to say that you followed the school
023buses around or you made sure that the parking lot was paved the right way while you were on the high point right that's not it's not no one's gonna hopefully gonna say that about this stuff me you know you care deeply about children you're a strong advocate for public schools and you are a good board member part of being a good corporate member is to at all costs avoid bomb dropping right so dropping a bomb on the superintendent or board meeting is a common mistake it is a bad one I'm sure everybody recognizes the wisdom in that statement so if there is a concern that you have that you want to talk about as a board member you know call the board president of the superintendent beforehand give them a heads-up because you know a
024prepared answer and a prepared conversation is going to it's just a win-win for everyone it's a win for you to get the kind of information that you need it's a win for your superintendent so you know they can contribute to the conversation in a positive manner it's a win for your public and so they can glean the information that you are looking to seek as well and six be superintendent shouldn't be dropping a bomb on the board either it works both ways so that's what your board packets all about right imagine going to a meeting with no board packets that being said it takes a lot of work to get the agenda ready and it's attachment so just make sure that you read them before you okay any any any questions I'm doing a lot
025of talking anybody have any questions as I move through this happy would you say that having a board member as part of one of the school committees can you guys hear me yes okay would you say that the I clamp that having a board member on like a school committee that has something to do with what's going on in the school is overstepping and micromanaging my automatic answer my first that comes to my mind is yes that that is being in the schools rather than being you know that thirty thousand foot view that I was talking about so that being said you know if if the superintendent requested that um you know I imagine that might be permissible but in that case I honestly would if if that's something that you both want superintendent and
026board member I would ask for an advisory opinion from the Ethics Commission okay yeah I mean I mean think about it there's parameters on volunteering in the schools so serving on a committee might you know might very well fall into that category but right away with a committee for you know the day-to-day operations of school that seems to be at odds with the role of the board member that being said I think it's a very fact sensitive situation so don't take my word for it no I get it yeah yeah but but yeah anything any other questions that I then I'm that you'd like to put before everybody and just to be clear this was actually not an issue at high point it's where I work so I don't want anybody thinking oh no that's
027fine yeah I mean you know what honestly I gotta tell you one of my lines and you might have heard it before is like and I'm not the board police or anything thank God I don't have any regulatory authority I'm just a support right and I do see things if courts are doing that I've been like oh how do you like that um but it's looking for everybody right and mine is is that it works if it works it works until it doesn't right you know you got to keep your eye on like what if the wrong person I don't mean to sound dismissive or foreboding but what if the wrong quote-unquote board member gets on one of these committees right you're kind of setting the stage for something to go wrong in the future
028even if it's working perfectly well now so you know that's what I would you know urge that board to kind of consider and that's superintendent all right let's go back to my slideshow here I just wanted to see you guys before um all right let me um display settings here okay all right so back to my big screen where I can't see anybody you know this one I don't think I need to expend much breath on this I mean you gotta use your independent judgement here do not vote along policy lines it's always kids above politics I don't think that needs to be said to anybody here around our virtual dais but you know what another the step pile of that is becoming a ball carrier for others with hidden agendas you know if you
029have someone who is is you know a group of parents or a group of staff that are unhappy about a particular event or decision I am telling you and and I see this I see this a lot with other boards I will tell you if this is happening in High Point I don't see it but along times people ignore the chain of command and they feel like a particular board member or board members is there pal their friend at the dais right their friend on the inside and they circumvent the chain of command and tell the board member all this horrible stuff enough to curl your hair enough to make anyone concerned and they create a sense of urgency in the board member that is absolutely misplaced and that is a you know I excuse
030my strong language here but that is manipulating board members and they don't even realize they are being taken advantage of please excuse my strong language I've just seen a lot of damage done with this type of activity so how do you avoid being the unwitting victim of that always sticks chain-of-command that will absolutely help you and when you hear a complaint as per the Code of Ethics you bring it to the superintendent you don't necessarily you don't bring it up at the board table you and remember from our ethics training and from other conversations that we've all had together if you hear about something if you hear a complaint you're obligated to bring it to the superintendent but what you should not say is make sure you solve this or look into this or you
031know make sure you tamp this down or anything just explain what's what you've heard and then walk away and let administration do what they are hired to do and and what they're most capable of doing right so I hope that makes sense any questions on that particular one another one too is just to listen to your conscience to you are all good board member you've got a conscience listen to it if you feel like you might be being played you might be right um also and and and also educate people on the chain of command just in case they don't know it and this is just a beautiful statement that I'm happy to send you um make sure you memorize it it will come in handy all right I'll read it out loud so everyone
032can hear this problem could end up requiring board action and if I'm involved I'll be unable to act on it as a member of the board because I would have conflicted myself and as a violation of due process so you know what you really need to go through the proper channels here they are OOP that's that and that should keep you out of those waters 8b is a sad reality because sometimes some board members will get you know elected who are those troublemakers that I'm just talking about right so honestly you know having a global perspective that vision that vision that 30,000 foot view that's what you want an ax board member that's what your commute a board member and if you do have someone who's kind of straying into the weeds who may have
033a passion you know they never qual itted their own agenda right they call it a passion project something that means a lot to them um you know that may require a little coaching that their service as a board member is bigger than that now we're looking out for the whole district and every kid in it and that requires vision right and that's an honor really illegal executive sessions I don't think I have to waste much press on that but yeah I mean if you're trying to discuss board matters away from the dais with a quorum or greater that's a real problem and also discussing any kind of confidential matters with anyone other than your board members is completely of legal and against the code of ethics and can do some real damage okay so just
034make sure that everybody is on the same page I don't think we need to worry about that here and you'll completely sidestep that which is you know he's mommy this is its stepchild right the others here are too and I will tell you that first bullet point speaking about litigation before resolution that is so that is violated all the time all the time perhaps unwittingly but I think that board members sometimes feel like they're helping a questioner by sharing some information to make them feel better about how responsible the board is being but it's never a good idea ever just keep your mouth closed what happens an executive session needs to stay an executive session always if you get an email that says confidential that means confidential and as like that other contract that I
035mentioned sometimes is put in board members packets as well when they first get onto the board right into our orientation packet it's just a good practice it's just kind of focuses your eyes and the direction needs to be another thing that will undermine your service as a board member and remise the integrity of the port if you don't if I may be so bold to say is to behave as if you consider staff the enemy right and you know seen a lot of this maybe four years ago when there were a lot of cuts to school aid under the Christie administration and you know unfortunately there was a there was a sentiment that was gaining ground about teachers not doing a lot and being paid for it and what's up with tenure they sit there
036and they can do whatever they want and there's no culpability or accountability you know that is just it's regretfully here members of the public think that is but for a board member can get that impression is is really toxic to the rest of the board in the district so if you're creating like a you against us relationship as it says here in the slide you know that's right that's that's absolutely against the code of ethics which is that you will support and protect school personnel in the proper performance of their duties so the right way of doing that is to just recognize that the board and the superintendent are a team that are dedicated to superintendents it's just student success and everyone needs to consider the input of all of our stakeholders as we address
037issues in the district but you need to respect the superintendent's appointment process and his evaluation process and his ability to just keep things moving the direction that matches the vision of the board ignoring policy is number 11 I'm such a policy wonk I would have made this number one if I possibly could have because I love policy but it does get elected right and I wouldn't say ignore policy is um necessarily the biggest problem but sometimes forgetting policy right when you're making a decision right or if you have something before you my yeah I'm telling you like 40% of the things that I say over the telephone with when I'm working with my board members comes in - have you checked your policy yet what does your policy manual say you go back to that
038now sometimes policies need adjustment sometimes you know district realities require a revisit sometimes it's mandated from trend that we've got to change them so you know doing that when it's warranted is absolutely a best practice but overturning board policies regular basis to match the situation at hand is never a good idea you know that your policy manual is your vision encoded really and that might sound really corny and but it's the absolute truth and also to be a little bit more sobering your policy manual is law it's the school districts law you all have a hand in making sure that that law matches your vision and your community's vision for the school district so after all that work you should make sure that your policy is adhere to especially by you the members of the
039board your and your bylaws and this third bullet point never changing policy in the middle of the crisis is key and even something that might not seem like a crisis right and also know how to access your policies when I was at new board member orientation years ago I remember in my small group there was a girl who had just been elected to a board that had people in place for many many years right and she after she was elected and and sworn in she went to the board office and asked how to read the policy the warrant online and no one could find the policy manuals no one could find the books by the time we got onto our board you know our board training our weekend training it was March and they still
040hadn't found him anyway after she was took the seat in January don't be bored and lastly this one may sound kind of counterintuitive coming from a New Jersey field service rep who you know makes her living you know absorbed in board business right in a department that does nothing but support board business but put the school board which I love and school board services which I also love and my department loves and that hopefully you love above your family and your in your line of work is a real danger sign and that could actually cause an awful lot of odd Judah and stress that will lead to you doing your job in the wrong manner if I may be so bold you know you have to strive for balance and all of your responsibilities and
041obligations you owe your family and your employer that right so put your family first if things I if you are thinking if you feel like you need to call your superintendent every day I I don't know if I can break it to you gently but you're doing things wrong a you know service as a Board of Education member should not be unless there's a crisis in place it should not be a daily gig right it should it should committee meetings board meetings preparing on your board packet maybe interacting with the community when necessary and when you know the community wants to interact with you but it's not a it's not a 24/7 job as interesting as it is and if you're treating it that way then your service is probably not optimal because vision doesn't
042require you know activity 24/7 right really doesn't and I'm really happy to share with this in this slide with you because it's the secret of life I ain't write this slide I'm trying this out my life is pretty good I'm not sure if it is the absolute secret of life but you know what if you're able to identify what problems you face as a board member as a school district and kind of focus on the best the proper way to solve them and the proper input that you can have to them and the solution often just finds itself really easily and lastly I know it's kind of hard to UM to work as a team if you haven't done it before but if I may be so candid one of the reasons why I really
043do enjoy coming to high point is to see your team coming together to get all the conversation that you all engage in under difficult conditions and to know that you know you're doing a thorough job and that you are respectful of others opinions and if you don't mind my saying so I see all the indications of a really good team in high point and I will also tell you that I don't say that everywhere try to get other people to that place and if I'm a resource for you guys and I'm really pleased to be one it's my honor but I think you guys are really moving in a beautiful direction so I commend to all of you for that and that kind of ends the slideshow presentation so kind of opening it up I'm
044wondering if anyone's got a favorite favorite mistake it'll go viral as they say so and and if and if someone takes a picture I will add it to my slideshow you know so I don't have to use cartoons and make it a little bit more interesting for all my other boards that was about that Kathy I wish that when I first became a superintendent or actually when I was before I became one that the trainings that you have provided were a part of my working knowledge at the time because many of the things about which you just spoke as the wrong way I have personally engaged in and I have made those mistakes out of ignorance but nevertheless I've made them and you know had I had that prior knowledge my life would have been
045marginally easier over the last seven years I do well that's a pretty brave statement there you know and I appreciate that I know I'm sure you're bored that I'm looking at the face it I think everyone appreciates hearing that from you um you know what it just makes you a human being you know oh they've seen that other's thoughts other mistakes that you're like oh wow or oh no or how funny or any of that stuff I'm gonna just throw it out there again the and Leanne I appreciate you asking that question about having board members on committees and I can see where it can get dicey I can see and having been a boarder first of all there are some committees that require a board member to be on it that's true yes that
046is true there's that when we were looking into blocks schedule I was asked I was invited to be on the committee that was going out to different schools that was meeting in the in house to talk about it just to get a perspective of it as a chair of the curriculum committee and where I felt extremely I loved it first of all I love being with everybody and I love going out to the other schools and see what could happen and in curriculum world with block scheduling but I can understand going forward going past all that where there may have been some situations where it wasn't appropriate for a board member to be involved and as much as I loved being a part of it looking back field 2020 is hitting again right what in
047here could be a problem I have you know being when you work at a school and I've worked in several different schools you and I like I didn't know any better then you know and so as you work through and I and I look back to all the schools I worked in all the things that took place and wow like half of these were really not great yeah witness to a lot of them well you know it's interestingly an and I'm so glad you brought up and thanks for all so Debbie I mean what you know it's not it's not all bad right because oftentimes when to have a board member on a committee it works to create buying good you know which is good the problem is is that the Ethics Commission has said
048you know as far as on terrorism goes and that is at odds with so and you know when you kind of apply that it does match and the problem is too that if you're not successful not buying or even if you are just working side by side at a committee level could really set the tone is that the fertile ground for for board members getting into you know what for board member would be micromanagement for a committee member would be a perfectly appropriate role you know so and when you ask the school Ethics Commission which should I do obviously they're always going to come back to the board role you know that that's the hat you need to always be what their thoughts I just misread one of the slides and I thought it said
049you can't threaten another board member in public and I'm like what I can threaten them I realized it was threatening a board member or the public well I guess I should change it to like you can't threaten a board member or the public where anyone can hear you we should do that with your mic on right yeah right yeah I just misread it but yeah that's a riot yeah I mean you know YouTube is full awful board meetings awful awful awful and unfortunate ances being what they are unfortunate there's not going to be an in-person workshop in Atlantic City but if you all one of the biggest hits for I don't know three years now Debbie what I'm going what is the name of that crazy district in Pennsylvania that they always it begins with
050a see I don't remember what they know in Illinois somewhere I forget the name of it but if I you know what if I find the me I'll send it to you with the presentation those videos are nuts they are and they get thousands of views the behaviors within our are twelve points might get you on there if you next time you go to a workshop go to ports gone wild man please it's a laugh right it's it's really fun and they're very polite the attorneys they never put meat except of new jersey boards as part of the right well anything else any other thoughts that one more training session to be certified for the year maybe lock even one of the whole schedule meetings and you can absolutely you know and there are so
051many there's a lot there's actually our repertoire is expanding as field services and you know I was talking I'll let the board deliberate this when I can here because you know you might hurt my feelings if you say anything bad about how boring policy is but we are I'm actually kind of excited I'm going to be part of a program tomorrow about my laws and policies and regulations that brand-new that I could also bring to you guys but what other kinds of I'm just wondering what you know off the top of your head guys what are you interested in what do you like I try to look at the list well don't even look at the list what do you want to know what do you want to know that will get a lot of
052virtual participants for that one [Music] like either something to do with either budgets or shared services or I feel like it was something to do with us being like a regional district and there were well we do have we do have a presentation on regionalization yeah that's that's a pretty comprehensive very that's kind of an up-to-the-minute issue you know um we could do that CLE I'm not sure you know who knows if we'll need to add to it or change it a little bit by the time I talk to you all but that's that's an option you know that's another one so I could I could put that on the list for you guys to consider anything else that kind of jumps out at you as being interesting I'm not really trying to be a
053suck-up Kathy but the policy thing we're just finishing up the seat here our bylaws and I I think as you said people think this is very dry stuff but I would be interested in a little bit more about policy so you you've taken it you get it all done this summer you got it yeah I'm your girl I am but my feelings won't be hurt if the majority wants to do something like I said so Debbie you advocate vigorously for policy yes well the majority is something else than we will not effect to say oh well yes with a smile on our faces right so all right so policy regionalization any other thoughts off the top of your heads and I'll I'll uh you know comb through my resources too but anything else that you
054guys are thinking about I'm gonna miss the legislative panel at workshop this year that's something together and micro sense I know I know well you know something I don't know what workshops gonna look like Wayne play frankly I think they're still kind of you know refining it but you know what would actually count towards board certification if we could um is certainly to have one of our Giotto people our governor's relations people are our lobbyists you know who work on visit high point or a Q&A session or a presentation about any kind of particular dislocation if you get quite credit form just as if I were doing and hopefully I could also join but that's you know you know we don't a standard presentation on legislation because it changes so rapidly but our G people
055are are fantastic I was really lucky um God do I think that this was I think this was at the beginning of this school year um when I was able to bring our director of gr to the Sussex County fo meeting and everybody learned a lot from that conversation so you know that that could be an option as well to spend some time and you should know your gr rep boards really um should be it the kids for themselves so that's a great idea I'll put it on the list I think policies gotta go first right there so I still love you Wayne okay okay let me look at my book excuse me just in case I mean I sincerely doubt it because with this with this virtual format my calendars kind of cleaned out
056but let me just make sure Tuesday all right I'm writing you guys down okay I can add a google meet videoconferencing but uh will I believe we will be live by then [Applause] okay a list of suggestions what we've talked about and any other ones you come up with we can select it over the next couple meetings get back here sure you know I'd be pleased and we've plenty of time and as always I will look forward to delivering it to you guys like I almost feel bad about it's only May right we're taking a long break so if you need me in between now and then just call me in my schedules a lot easier to manage now thank God so I'm at your service thank you Bill back to you with the end
057of the training session the next is an executive session a motion will be made to the Highclere Regional High School Board of Education and during an executive session to do the CSA evaluation its exempt from public participation pursuant to New Jersey public order 1975 chapter 231 open public meetings act any discussions held by the board which need to remain confidential will regret do not new remain confidential will be made public when appropriate minutes of the executive session will not be disclosed until they need for confidentiality no longer exists the board will reconvene in public session virtually at the conclusion of the executive session it no actually is anticipated to be taken so we'll go into CSA evaluation if we have a motion seeing no opposed we'll move into executive session dan would you let us
058know when that exactly session you hi all those seeing nobody opposed will move the public session seeing no unfinished business approval minutes Jim do I have a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes of April 28th and the executive session minutes of April 28th so moved second I don't it's not dropping a bomb thing but there's no mention in our minutes about the conversation that we had about a liaison to Montague there's absolutely not in our minutes and I think that was something that should be memorialized very good so if you can I don't know if we need to do that now or we can through and I couldn't find it Frannie I know there was a motion I couldn't find discussing first no no we just we made the motion and then we discussed
059it and then we almost didn't vote but then we said no there's a motion we had to vote and then we said Leanne can do the motion to it right to move forward with it and then Miss Smith made the motion or Miss Smith said that she was going to look into the position and that was as far as with the motion I think she would take the position yeah yeah and and I guess what I'm saying is because this was a lengthy discussion and we chewed it up for a while that there should be some mention of it even if it's not a finalized position yet that we are planning on going forward with some type of liaison with Montague sending one of our own members to a Montague meeting to observe we have
060that I honestly don't have any access to my minutes at this point so I can't I looked for a couple times Nina's not there it's a towards the end who sent it out prince did you send it out yeah I'm over here to decide find me how and then Miss Smith was going to let me just fine for you on page six it's all right in efforts to inch to of transparency a positive and cooperative professional relationship and open lines of communication that - Board of Education establishes the position all right and that was the vote the Miss Smith said she's going to work on creating the position so that's on page six okay thank you I could not find that and you know we I had some discussion with Scott about this a little
061bit about what that position would entail but really aside from just kind of we're having a hard time finding some kind of language or you know like boilerplate just to kind of you know get off from there kind of work off of and it really there really isn't anything so aside from you know if anybody else has ideas or any you know things that they would like to see for this position you know basically I you know I've been attending the meetings and when I know about them because recently it's been a little bit difficult yeah so and you know just kind of listening to hear what they have to say when I can understand them and I think maybe just being kind of a contact point for our students the and the parents of
062in Montague that for High Point students you know for concerns or things like that I mean is there anything I'm missing I at this point we're just moving the minutes is there any other discussion on the minutes okay there's no other discussion points other minutes yeah mr. cliff yes mr. Arnold yes mrs. Anderson yes mr. Dunn yes Miss Smith yes dr. Krauss it yes there's Nugent yes mr. donut yes yes public comment Genda items only we're gonna require the name and address or the face of making the public comments and in accordance with the open public meetings act we will open the public comments for generators only at this time each speaker for each writer because we're taking written comments and I will read them I will include the name and address we'll all time
063it up to three minutes reading it and it'll be addressed to the board we were women for sections of no longer than 45 minutes if if the comments are not respectful I'll stop reading them at that point all right the first comment that we have we have a comment on the transgender policy from Kevin Craig from one is New Jersey the New Jersey Department of Education issued transgender student guidance for school districts to help school administrators create an inclusive environment in which transgender and gender non-conforming students feel safe and supported and to ensure that each school provides equal educational opportunities for students high for regional high school prides itself on caring for the unique and individual needs of all students as a parent of high point students 3 any member and school safety practitioner I
064have seen firsthand the difficulties that transgender students have in navigating through this orphan your thought process of transitioning as if high school was not already difficult enough these students face judgment harassment name-calling and isolation far beyond the experience of other students they face additional issues of depression anxiety self-harm and suicide at higher rates as well New Jersey Department of Education provides detailed guidance for school districts which includes the development of policies and procedures to ensure that schools provide a safe and supportive learning environment that is free from discrimination and harassment for transgender students this guidance also addresses adopting a student-centered approach confidentiality and privacy activities school records and use of facilities to support transgender students most importantly however is the state many of the guides that says a safe and supportive environment within the school
065begins with understanding and respect by 4e Board of Education has the opportunity to show these students that they respect transgender students as they do for students the board can do this simply by qualifying the New Jersey Department of Education guidance in the board policy to make it clear to all students teachers sports their coaches and parents that transgender students rights matter and that all the highpoint community will continue to be an inclusive export of environmental Fallston environment to all students by not adopting this policy and simply relying upon the New Jersey for men educational godless to address transgender issues that may arise the board leaves it up to individuals to navigate through the complexity of these issues and how best to provide needed support not to mention legal requirements around transgender students even more detrimental
066is the message that will be sent to these students at the High Point Board of Education does not value them enough take the simple steps of codifying by policy the guide is already promulgated by the New Jersey Department of Education it is my hope that the Board of Education sees the value of providing an inclusive and supportive environment to its transgender students by adopting this policy as always I appreciate all you do you're careful and deliberate approach for the issue of encodings of high point to me thank you Evan code do something the wire no the next comment is from Debbie Robert from Wantage New Jersey what plans bill bill I'm sorry to interrupt please forgive my indiscretion these are for agenda items only I don't mean to be disrespectful to anyone's comment I'm just
067front trying to find a follow protocol okay if you want to proceed that's that's up to you I'm just bringing that to your attention agenda item it can be done later right bill you can do it at the end we don't have a lot of comments and I don't think it would hurt to mention it so I'm gonna read it rather than wait because we do have I think we touch on this issue on the agenda if I'm more than I apologize just a quick question what plans have been set to move forward with an on-site graduation for that virtual graduation look like regular students be made aware of the scholarships Debbie Reynolds - New Jersey though so I can I can I can give a reply to that if if that's if that's permissible
068the graduation also great I mean we see dr. Whitley's newest letter and was wondering what is a plan for an in-person graduation I understand that it is rewind and I apologize this is Colleen ranzan from Wantage I understand that is relying on the release of certain state requirements but all this will be here before we know it and I feel that a plan needs to be put in place many surrounding districts are already announcing plans on another note when I was sending correspondence to the district yesterday could not find any board member contact information so I called inquire so the information cannot be given now Kiley told us exited the Board of Ed member emails or public knowledge like you know why email address are not listed on the website why emails usually go through
069the business ministry it is a lack of transparency doctor if we if you'd like to address the graduation issue that's in the last two comments yes yes sir just want to make sure can you I'm flipping between multiple screens to monitor I just want you can hear me all right so we are planning the best we can to proceed with an early August on-site ceremony how that works and what that looks like is it yet to be determined and I know that people want answers to that and I appreciate that and I respect that as I've written and as I tried to clarify in the second letter we are working on a virtual ceremony as is every other district in the county which is what is permissible at this time and we're going to do
070the best we can to have that be as professional and great and experience as possible for our kids we have our media tech for students working on it with with mr. Finland and administration and they're working diligently to make sure that it is the best that it can be we spent mr. talam a and the administration and the staff spent the past month vetting past month the past few weeks vetting vendors and how to best proceed it was our determination that we could do a better more personal product in-house and so that's how we're proceeding what we're doing in early August is we are doing the best we can to prepare for an early August on-site ceremony should restrictions be lifted regarding the question of scholarships Evite's are going to go out this week for
071a ceremony that will be conducted on the 27th of May for the scholarship in lieu of the scholarship dinner so the students will be notified this week we're really not getting anything from the state regarding an on-site ceremony in early August but our ability to provide a virtual ceremony in the the tremendously small amount of time that we're doing it is indicative of the fact that we'll be able to marshal forces and resources to be able to put forward a ceremony in early August anything after that would be very difficult for a number of reasons not least of which students are will be moving on in life and going elsewhere so our hope it would be to do with neroli August if permitted and finally I want to comment on the board emails that was
072an oversight it should not have been that way it is I believe it's being rectified at this time I'm very sorry for that I will say this though that I do not with all due respect to the comment I do not believe that ms kaufman state that stated that they are not I'm trying to look at the comment but they are not public or permissible she she did say that she needed to check with me first and I said yes they are here they are please provide them and they were provided in a very timely manner however that wouldn't have been a problem had it had they been on the website and that's being rectified as we speak thank you very quickly the next comment is not on the agenda item so I'm going to
073read it at the end of the meeting the next we have two more comments so for maybe three next one is Sharon McAuliffe it does not say what community from with the transient with the transgender policy part their new mandates that have the potential to impose more for us as a result of requiring special bear from in water facilities plus additional record-keeping for students will now be entitled that's two sets of records in a given name and they're transgender name etc the last thing this board Abed should be focusing on right now at a time when state aid is being cut further and the board already raising taxes by 14% and does this motivator really think this is what the community wants them to focus on right now I would also like to note dr.
074Whibley these thoughts on this policy right now we're taking comments so we appreciate the call if your comment we're gonna move on to the next comment Sharon you know cheetah it says from one Matthew drive because no not say the community with the transgender policy right there which looks like a repeat of mr. Carlos with the transgender policy party new mandates that have the potential to pose more course the result of requiring special bitumen lab facilities it is an identical thing plus additional record-keeping for students who are now being titled bath two sets of records in a given name and they changed into name etc the last thing this Board of Ed should be focusing on right now at a time with the state aid is being cut further than the board is already raising
075taxes by 14% and does this Board of Ed really think this is what community wants them to focus on right now I'd also like to know dr. Whitley's thoughts on this policy the next comment we have it's Ptolemaic you sir and the comment is big dr. Whitley include the union leadership in this matter the next comment is from Ashley Johnson not say the community shouldn't a board in public at least hear from our superintendent whether he supports or opposes the transit the policy before the board votes whether it is not so far that is comets that we have there is one other comment in general comment and mr. Rowland will address your comment this whirlwind for I apologize will address your comment at the end of the session so seeing no other public comments at
076this point time I'm going to move on to presentations and if mr. Campbell is available to join us and hang grace us with his presence of presentations mr. Keane Alavi mr. Campbell sent me the presentation and I will be presenting it in May of 2019 High Point administered the new science assessment the mga SLA for the first time formally this assessment gave us a baseline of how well our students are performing with the new state science standards it's the first administration and we hope that we can use this as a baseline for future growth this test is federally required it's based upon the standards that went into effect in 2016 high points stem supervisor mr. Delic consulted with the Department of Ed regarding its creation and all students who took the test last year have
077had their individual score reports mailed home New Jersey standards mirror the next generation science standards these are a great set of standards which really focus on skills the standards ask students in every science course to think that like scientists to act like scientists and to know what scientists know they're not content standards their skill standards that want to see students develop skills and apply those skills to each science course they take year after year let me show you a few sample questions of what our students face this rigorous test the first sample question provides four diagrams related to photosynthesis and after viewing those diagrams it asks them to answer a higher-order thinking challenging multiple-choice question even better the new assessment requires students to use critical thinking skills and to apply them to writing here's a
078diagram of magnetic recording and a data table related to it and here is a writing prompt asking students to look at those two charts or graphs to make an argument and then to support their own argument with evidence that's a critical academic skill that students in all courses and all disciplines are being asked to do make an argument make a claim and then find evidence in the text to support your argument high points performance performance was based on level one two three and four twenty three point four percent of our students performed at the higher two levels obviously this is a baseline and we plan to see improvement one hundred and eighty eight students tested and we received data on how students did in specific areas using specific skills we also got subgroup data gender
079disability and socio-economic groups are reported here on this report and our plans to improve next year involve greater collaboration between our science teachers so that they can understand how these skill based standards relate to each specific course we want to increase professional element increase the use of literacy and we want female students students with an IEP and students who are economically disadvantaged to participate in more science electives a few questions 20 21 22 is the first year that Cusack will be using these scores to evaluate district performance and it is not yet a graduation requirement this entire report will be posted to highpoints website and I invite you to contact me Seamus Campbell director of curriculum if you have any questions or concerns thank you and be well the board save yourself two objectors last
080year one is to review and update the Board of Education bylaws to ensure greater transparency and operations we've all reviewed the by Wars there's two meanings I believe we've started approving changed by Wars and by the June meeting we'll have we've changed reviewed and change those are the necessary dr. Whibley yes sir we have we have 12 remaining two to approve at the June meeting so they will all be updated in approved yes sir great thank you and also during the calendar year and the next couple years we have a continuing objective to have the Board of Education could be full credits for a year of board training and each member to maintain their training level so they will get forward certification by the New Jersey school boards we met it last year we're on
081schedule to meet it this year the business first the superintendent will provide us an update on Wow yes this is something that had been communicated to us several years ago and one second I just lost my feed there you go I'm sorry forgive me there was a seven-year rollout seven year anticipated reduction initially we were informed that we would lose after the seven years would be completed we would lose approximately 2.7 million dollars of what's referred to as equalization aid well in the first four years we've lost one point seven to three million with three more years to go I will say this and I will elaborate further in a moment but we that reduces our equalization aid which is what we're talking about here it's not inclusive of special education aid but um where
082the state gives us aid of three point three three million dollars a year if they continue on the pace at which they've set over the first four years particularly given what I'm about to tell you one could foresee the possibility of us getting next to no equalization aid by the end what I'm trying to say is that while we have a fabulous community we are not as affluent as a Chatham and yet the state is going to fund us in a similar manner meaning giving us giving you me and all of our community back zero of our text our property tax dollars for education now that is disconcerting enough given the cove at 19 and the economic ramifications of that we have been informed by the state that and I'm sure everyone's aware of this
083there they're redoing their budget the governor will will present that revised budget on August 25th and we do not know as of yet to what extent they are going to reduce our further our aid but it is a given that it will be significant what I mean by that is as I've informed the board I really don't know precisely what that is but I anticipate anywhere from 200 thousand to a million dollars more in reduced state aid this budget year communicated on August 25th now that is a broad range and the reason why it's a broad range is because I have no specifics I believe it's somewhere along that continuum I could even be wrong with that I don't believe it would be higher than a million hopefully it would be less than 200,000 but
084that is something that we were aware of and that we're anticipating it was mentioned that the last board meeting and so we we're preparing for that in the best manner that we can and finally there has been some discussion regarding the cares Act that was communicated by the federal government and that was that's money sent to each state and the state of New Jersey got X number of millions of dollars so I'm quite sure that people were thinking you know that's a lot of money what are we going to realize at High Point High Point we'll see approximately fifty five thousand dollars of the cares Act and so that is while that is appreciated and it's helpful it is not solve the issue of the funding being reduced to the degree that it has 27
085percent so far already ultimately we could be looking at far far more and we anticipate that in August the let me be clear to all those listening that will not change the tax living we will manage any further cuts I can just add in there I believe it was last week that the Trenton note issued a report that they estimate their shortfall to be approximately three billion dollars this year and that they need to find shared sacrifice from everybody to come up with that deficit of three billion dollars that's the bad news the worst news is they're estimating a seven billion dollar shortfall for next year and that was issued by Trenton last week and considering how much they're cutting us I don't think that boat I had attempted to communicate this to the various
086Town Council's I have communicated to Frankfort I believe a week or two ago and I said listen I appreciate that this this is difficult I know that the fiscal 21 budget is a a bitter pill if you will but as I said that and I'm not trying to soft-pedal that I I won't the reality is however over the prior over the last seven years high points tax levy it remains as low if not the lowest district in the county so I'm not trying to say the 14% in one year is not a blow please do not misunderstand me but I think that gives some context as to our commitment to fiscal responsibility yes the health preparedness plan is what we put in place back in March it is updated frequently and posted on our web
087page at this point we have on the agenda for this evening a closing plan it is required for us to submit a closing plan to the county office as to how we are going to close school for the 2019 2020 school year that was administratively created and led by our director of curriculum instruction mr. Campbell and the county stated that it was exceptionally well done and that is free up for your approval that this evening now the reason I bring up the closing plan is because we needed to follow the state guideline regarding closing prior to proceeding with any reopening considerations but as I said we try to update the community as frequently as possible regarding the health related concerns with which we're all dealing as a community as as individuals as households as families
088and there's no way to make this easy and I know that there are concerns and frustrations and disappointments I understand that and I appreciate that in the second letter that I wrote regarding the graduation because I'm bringing up the graduation because it's relative to this overarching issue look there's two ways to look at this one is the devastation of you and your child possibly being denied that which you work for for so long and is a rite of passage in life the other viewpoint is how do you assemble given the circumstances in which we all find ourselves and so Health and Safety unfortunately override our disappointment and I'm not trying to say that disappointment is not bitter and sad and crushing we have however followed the directives of the state there are multiple agencies like
089its communicated a letter last I think it was last week yes that we received from the colonel who was the head of the State Office of Emergency Management prohibiting any type of on-site graduation that was issued on May 9th one of the reasons why I issued our virtual graduation is because we had to get busy planning kids need to get their diplomas and we were prohibited from doing that and communication is vital even when that communication is painful frustrating and disappointing and I understand that and I am deeply sorry for everyone for all students who are struggling not and and and of course for the seniors especially but for all kids who are missing out on a vital component of their childhood it is it is it is heartbreaking and so the preparedness plan is
090a living document that we adjust based upon the sorry based upon the state directives I will tell you that I reach out to the county prosecutor yesterday because anything that is done either on site or at a neutral location in the county has to go through their office and at this time they're still considering options but anything on-site is strictly prohibited furthermore they're considering whether it's feasible to do anything on an alternate site and at this moment I don't know if that would be permissible but it would require that all windows be shut all Sun roofs be shut and and and and and I know that there's a lot of misinformation out there and I think to some degree with all due respect I think that the governor's handling an overwhelming amount of responsibility and
091weight and trying to do the best that he can I believe and this is very hard and we talked about leadership and communication and communicating difficult information can be very very difficult but if we don't do it and we don't do it in a timely manner it causes concerns and I think in an effort to try to save graduation there's been some mixed messages I think and so we are following the absolute written and herbal directives of this state and the agencies under whom we function we follow the delegated authority and in this instance that results in us having to send a letter saying we're going to have a virtual graduation and the reason why I'm spending this much time on it is it is a part of our health preparedness plan and that this
092ensures the health of any would-be attendee to an open-air large gathering like a graduation ceremony so at this time we are trying to put together the best virtual graduation we can and we will pursue hopefully an open air as close to normal as possible graduation in early August the process of reopening we have received and the only in the last week really once once the close your plan was discussed and finalized and as I said that will be on the agenda for this evening to approve or consider we then began to meet regarding reopening here's here's how that's going to look right now there is no specific guidance but we are looking into purchasing necessary equipment whether that be personal protection equipment whether that be equipment to monitor any incoming visitors as far as their
093temperature or other concerns we are in a preliminary stage on that I will tell you that the state provided Maryland's reopening plan and that is robust and we have that I have multiple other documents and I've been meaning on the on a sub county level the county level and on the state level so as to proceed with how it is we're going to reopen so we are either going to remain in virtual on September 1st which no one wants we are going to open on a hybrid schedule meaning a reduced capacity in some in some manner which presents significant issues of transportation and other matters of difficulty logistics and what's permissible and what's not and the third option which I think everybody wants even though it's reticent student of which I was one I think
094people want to get back and so our hope is that the best-case scenario is we open up on September 1 it is my sincere hope that athletics are able to start practice on time over the summer when people say oh it's not gonna happen it's not gonna happen I say look I understand maybe not but we're in this now a little over two months and things are beginning to open up that is still more much more than it's still more than two months away and so I remain hopeful that fall practices begin on time and that we open up fully on September 1 but those meetings are happening in earnest now and we will proceed as I said in the last board meeting with a reopening task force okay if I may we just said
095to take from Miss red zones letter or comment when she said I understand it is relying on the release of certain state requirements but always will be here before we know it we need plans in place and I'd like to say to the public that just because you're not here with the pleasure right now doesn't mean there's not a scurry of activity being done at the school come up with those plans and she goes on to say that many surrounding districts are already announcing plans well I don't know that rushing to have plans that you don't know you can legally do is the best alternative I believe that dr. Whibley and the administration are taking the prudent path of coming up with the plans fine-tuning it and when they're sure it's the proper plan and
096can be implemented then communicating it rather than communicating multiple possible plans so dr. affray I want to thank you for for the work you're putting into it and I hope everybody appreciate what you're doing for mr. Keogh I can't tell you how much I appreciate that and I would like that the administrators and the board office staff who have been in working so diligently in meeting every single day multiple times a day to to ensure the trust of our community to the fullest extent and I want to recognize their efforts which which are exceptional I owe I say to them all the time and I know they get tired of me hearing it you have an administrative staff that is so committed to the district and the community that it should inspire our community members
097I am a community member and I will tell you that I am inspired by the leaders of this district in doing everything they possibly can for the good of children and our community and so I'm sure they appreciate hearing that dr. Keough thank you okay we move on to items the first action item is curriculum instruction and technology so right now items one through four not included because of the situation we're in so am I to assume that we do not have to do anything with those yes that is correct they are still under consideration we're still looking for direction from the state there is there is not direction at this time so we leave that on there as a placeholder so as not so as to be transparent that we didn't just get rid
098of it but that it we still we need direction to be able to finalize those numbers really no more information to report okay thank you so at this time then I make a motion and seeking a second two for a five through I can move all of them together correct yep I'm just scrolling something a five is recommended by the superintendent that the Board of Education recognizes there are no curricular field trips listed in number six is recommended that the Board of Ed approves the professional development activities as listed on attachment a six number seven recommended that the board approves application for the cares Act that ESEA ite a and Carl D Perkins career-tech grant funding for the fiscal year 2021 and upon award accept the funding thereof number eight is the recommendation that the
099board approves highpoint joining with the consortium of Sussex County Schools headed by Hopak on Burroughs school district to pursue $26,000 327 I'm sorry 26 thousand three hundred twenty seven dollars in funding through the Carl D Perkins Career and Technical Education grant and number nine it is recommended by the superintendent that the Board of Education approves the High Point Regional High School Oh and that the superintendent is recommended by superintendent that the board approves the revised 2020 2021 school calendar and number 11 the 2021 2022 school calendar so make a motion seeking a second okay any discussion second question and discussion on an item nine I was wondering the doctor briefly if you happen to have a handy what the response was we had from the county superintendent on our preparedness plan or closure yeah Thank
100You mr. Dunn the county specifically stated that it was the the best closure plan that they had received and it was exceptionally thorough well done and followed the directors of the state if that's what you're referring to now item number nine our health related closure plan is that what you're saying yes yes okay guys when we Nick kudos when we can yes sir that was administratively done led by mr. Campbell roll call mr. Arnold yes mrs. Anderson yes mr. Dunn yes Miss Smith dr. karate yes miss Nugent yes mr. Dona yes mr. and cliff yes dr. Kehoe okay I'd like to move item number one it's recommended to the board that this that we accept with regret the retirement notification of Christopher Kapil Myer effective July 1st 2020 can I have a second I move
101it any second Parker any discussion I would like to say three of my children who went through High Point had had mr. Kaplan Meier and all had very strong impressions of him he was an excellent teacher and he did very well by all my children and I want to personally thank him for that any other discussion yeah I'm sorry um I would want to say that dr. Kehoe was gonna say dr. capla Meier I will tell you that if there's anyone that I know who is not a doctor whose intellectual ability would certainly supersede that it would be mr. cafmeyer I have known him since I started working here actually since before I started working here and he may be one of the smartest people that I know has his master's degree in mechanical engineering
102from Princeton University and so the title of doctor particularly on my part may is certainly not an indication of any intellectual acumen but it is it would be with mr capa meyer he has taught all levels of AP and physics and has been a has honored our community and 25 years of students and it is a better place for his having been in the classroom over that time he was also a head football coach and won the SCAL in 2001 so he has a finishing a stellar career and he is not someone that one could replace and so I want to wish him congratulations ok thank you any other roll call mr. Dunn yes Miss Smith yes dr. Carazo yes miss Nugent yes mr. Dona yes mr. n cliff yes yes ok I'd like to
103move items 2 & 3 it's recommended that the board approves the extension of the maternity childcare leave family medical leave a New Jersey family leave - employee 1298 until November 2nd it's an unpaid leave of absence and number three is recommended by the super ten at the Board of Education proofs kiap asked us to continue as a long-term substitute of Spanish starting September 1st until November 2nd 2000 as listed can I have a second darken any discussion roll call Smith yes dr. Carranza yes mr. Nugent yes mr. Dona yes mister and cliff yes Arnold yes mrs. Anderson yes mr. Dunn yes dr. Kehoe yes all right the next item is extra curricular it is recommended under there - both one and two move both one and two number one it is recommended by the superintendent
104that the Board of Education accepts the resignation effective June 30 of 2020 are the following individuals Brad Drago coach girls basketball Christopher Cathal Meyer advisor peer counseling item number two it is recommended by the superintendent at the Board of Education approves the extracurricular appointments the 2021 school year as listed on attachment c12 over second second do we have a discussion I just want to mention on item two I had shared some reservations with dr. Ripley regarding someone on the list position so my intention is to vote no on item two that's all I say any other comment no comment can we have a roll call Jim dr. krauser yes mr. Nugent yes yes cliff yeah yes yes mr. dhowan yes on one two one two yes on one no on two okay I'm gonna move
105item one which actually includes a couple things it's recommended by the Superintendent of Education approves the second reading of the following new policies and regulations the first one listed on attachment D one is policy 1581 about domestic violence second one and on attachment D 1 a is regulation 1581 on domestic domestic violence attachment D 1 B is the policy 8220 about the school day and then attachment D 1 point C is the policy 5756 about transgender students I'm just gonna add that at the second Rio I guess I'd be part of discussion so can I have a second second all right in discussion I'm just gonna say that in regard to the transgender policy at the second reading in March members wanted the committee to review the policy further and subsequently the meeting that the
106committee has had further discussions about the policy and has decided to put it forward again with just one modification the section addressing activities has been removed since there's an on there are unresolved legal concerns and if cases involving those concerns are clearly resolved the committee will revisit that section everything else is unchanged so the vote can ball the board can vote on the policy as a second reading any other nor comments I would I would just indicate in the past that I had opposed there's policy based on the conclusion of that activities paragraph I think that was a very good compromise that we made in committee to recommend at the full board I believe the transgender policy now is simply related to the rights that transgender students are entitled to while they attend school and
107none of those affect the other non transgender students in the school so I can indicate at this point with that deletion as we agreed to in committee that I could support this policy as it is right now thank you the policy meeting is inconsistent with the minutes proposed yeah there was just a mistake and some confusion in the recording of the minutes and I addressed it immediately when I saw the discrepancy and I checked with the rest of the committee to make sure that I was correct so yeah the plan was just the discussion was just to omit the section that had to do with activities and not anything about the use of facilities do you know the our policy writing company with whom the board has done business since before I was superintendent has
108stated it was mandated as early as earlier in 2019 is that correct is it correct that it's mandated yeah to the best of my knowledge yes sir okay well then I I think we need a legal piñon on that because my understanding even our own policy says their guidelines from there to assist and their best my knowledge and belief there's no legal requirement whatsoever that this needs to be adopted and if we're being misled by the policy writers I think we should have clearer understanding of what we're considering before we would take it on with a belief that we have a legal obligation to do so well regardless of whether it's mandated or not it is our job as board members to set policy so whether or not it's legally mandated it's our job in
109our role to do so so I don't know that it's relevant whether it's mandated or not but I understand where you would want that answer but I thought we already saw it legal counsel on this no I don't think I agree with you Lee and I don't think that even on the committee I don't really think that we were concerned about whether it was legally required I really just feel that it's something that we should be doing in order to show inclusion of students and to show that transgender students are valued and respected and that it's clear to the community and to the students and to the staff and to the administration that they should be treated as such so it's not really a question we're not creating the policy as a question that it's
110a mandated thing but we're the last school in the county and possibly probably one of the last schools in the state to implement this policy and I think it's really important that we do it whether it's mandated or not okay and you're not saying it's mandated it's your voluntary recommendation to approve yes yeah bill are you saying that none of our policies are mandated you're just saying specific ones are [Music] because they want to propose it even though they doubt there's no legal requirement to do so my position when I make the I'm sorry I just want to clear up because the the agenda item does say it is recommended by the superintendent I just want to make it perfectly clear that it is my understanding that it is mandated and therefore I put all
111mandated policies before the board to consider so the reason why I put it there is because I as not I don't know I I do believe that legal opinion was sought but I wouldn't presume to know one way or the other I just know that our policy writers who are attorneys stated that it was mandated so I put mandated requirements before the board who can then determine whether they wish to pursue it or not significant issue that the constituents have a reasonable basis to know before this policy is considered and I would suggest that we either get a legal opinion or we hold off on approving it until we know what we are approving all right but though what what is the harm if it's not mandated what is the harm of implementing it as
112a policy well I would just like to know whether people are voting on it because they feel they have a legal obligation to do so or whether they want to tell the constituents they're voting on it voluntarily even knowing that it's there is no legal requirement to vote yes and I don't it's not because it's not because of legality it's because I feel it's morally the right thing for to do the state does have statutes protecting transgender students I said this a little below there's nothing in the in state statute that protects transgenders well now now I'm right recommends the board of the Department of Education issued guidelines to help schools consider policies there is no legal obligation and no the statutes required Trent a transgender policy that's not what Debbie said though I'm well
113I'm staying I believe there are legal ramifications to discriminating against transgender I believe that to be the case legally I also believe it morally to be wrong to disturbing it against transgender well that's my answer to what I'm doing though I'm voting YES because I think it's the right thing to do for our staff who have gone through an entire training session PD in the beginning of the school year and the people I talked to were very impressed with how well this was handled and they felt empowered and they felt that they have learned so much about this and felt much more in tune to what this actually meant not not what the pop culture means that what it actually means to the kids in their classrooms and I feel it's the right thing to
114do and I'm I know we bring it up because it's mandated or not mandated but that's not why I'm voting so also I also believe that it is in line with our vision and mission statement for you know you know productive and diverse society I also believe it's mandated to teach to teach the transgender to teach about transgender communities and and people that are respected I'm sorry go ahead Spencer well so first of all I'd like to echo that in answer to your question dr. Kehoe I'm voting because not because I feel legally bound to do so but because I believe it's the right thing to do additionally I have a question for dr. Ripley right now given that there is no we have no the board has no policy that the school is operating
115under to your knowledge is the school operating under the guidelines that the state do we have set out without question okay so so this is codifying something that the school already does and an important point that was actually brought up in a public comp comment earlier from mr. Craig I believe was his name was if we're already following this then actually codifying this and making sure that everybody is on the same page protects individuals from having to make difficult decisions from having to take it upon themselves to try to interpret whether something is a recommendation or they're legally bound to do something so for that reason as well we have a responsibility to make sure that we we have a policy that is clear and straightforward that everybody can follow and so I think that's
116important as well if we're all ready if we are already following the recommendations as we should be then codifying them only protects the teachers staff whoever needs to be faced with these decisions on a day to day basis one of us may be confused mr. Arnold directly so you have two sets of Records for transgender students I don't understand the question I'm sorry are you saying you already do I don't know to what extent you're referring regarding set of Records records could be a wide or a narrow construct I'm not trying to avoid the question I'm just trying to be precise in my response I did you're proposing forward it says the transgender student comes in you keep two sets of Records one under the identity in which they have the agenda in which they
117identify and a second one under their legal name and legal gender do you do that well let me first say to what you you you did state there was a premise by how you your you based your question that it is my policy and that I wrote it or anything to that extent let me say this because it has come up in comments and I want to make sure I'm click clear on this as I've stated before policy is a board determination I put them on the agenda based upon the discussion of the committee and that which is recommended by the company with whom we do business my opinion about policies is really unimportant and has no bearing as to whether the policy goes forward or not I put it on there without malice without
118prejudice my personal opinion is not relevant to this matter however let me say this we are following what we believe to be the law at this time to the fullest extent if there needs to be two set of Records that to my knowledge I'm not I think we do do that but I cannot speak definitively but if that's what the policy states and it is approved this evening then that's what we will do I do believe that we follow that but I cannot speak to finit of lis about it so that's my my response okay so your answer to Mr was not correct then you said you're following all that this would be is a codification but you don't know whether this is a codification because you don't know whether you have two sets of
119records at this point on that question mr. Kehoe I would respectfully offer that I am NOT sufficiently prepared to engage in such legal polemics with absolute respect for your knowledge and understanding and I believe that any response that I give will be parsed to a degree that I will be confused and miscommunicate and so I respectfully state that I believe that my position has been presented and I apologize if I'm embarrassing you but you stated to mr. Arnold something and I wanted to make sure it was clarified and we'll go on to another subject and she said you're following the rules all students entitled to have access to restrooms lachman's change facilities in accordance with their gender identity first on that is correct so you have been and how long have you been there for
120thing that since the law since we were made aware of the passage of the law I don't know the number sir well even if it's the guidelines it's the guidelines so he follows the guidelines are now depressed and discriminated against that it's not a valid question we end discussion on this and we perceive I second I second mr. Dunn yes okay roll call roll calling the question oh I guess we should do it can we do in an eye or a all those in favor of moving on to the vote say aye aye all those opposed okay I think it's time for roll call it looked like seven yes to two now to call the question so I'll read the I'll do the roll call for the motion okay dr. Carazo yes miss Nugent yes
121mister Dona yes mr. ant cliff no on the transgender yes on the rest of them okay mr. Arnold yes mrs. Anderson yes mr. Dunn yes Miss Smith dr. Keough no yes on the restaurant okay okay item number two it's recommended by the superintendent the Board of Education approves the following revised policies and regulations the bylaw zero one four four the board member and orientation trading the bylaws zero one four six the board member authority bylaws zero one four eight board member and damnif ocation bylaw zero one five one organization meeting bylaws zero one five two board officers bylaw zero one five three annual appointments bylaw zero one five four annual motions and designations bylaws zero one five seven Board of Education website bylaw zero one six one call a German and cancellation bylaw zero one
122six to notice of board meetings bylaw zero one six three a quorum bylaw zero one six for conduct of board meeting by law of zero one six five voting bylaw zero one six six private meetings policy 724 to supervision of construction policy eight four six two reporting potentially missing or abuse children and regulation 533 zero administration of medication and regulation eight two two zero school closings looking for a second I guess discussion roll call mr. Nugent yes mr. donut yes Duran cliff yeah mr. Arnold yes mrs. Anderson yes mr. Dunne yes Miss Smith dr. Carazo yes dr. Kehoe yes negotiations bill under no items at this time buildings and grounds there's no items at this time finance mr. Gunn certainly so in finance I will move items one through six which is all the items
123in finance I make the motion number one is a recommendation accept the report of the board secretary business administrator for the month of April 2029 M two is the recommendation acceptor for the treasurer for the month of April 20 2008 Emeka mendacious accept the reported transfers and minute minimum expense transfer report for the month of April 2024 is a recommendation to approve for payment attach schedule of audited bills dated May nineteen twenty twenty and five as a recommendation to accept the adult education agency account cafeteria account principal petty cash in school store account for the month of April twenty twenty and item six is a recommendation to approve the following tuition contracts between High Point Regional High School's ascending and the following districts and related information as listed in the agenda make the motion seeking
124a second on items one through six I'm not gonna get any discussion on those items seeing or hearing none can I have a roll call please mr. Donna yes cliff yeah mr. Arnold yes mrs. Anderson yes mr. Dunn yes Miss Smith dr. carouser yes yes dr. Kehoe yes moving on the transportation doctor we just have the one item item one I move the following quoted contract for trips for the 2021 school year as listed various locations in Massachusetts for class trip do I have a second second any discussion roll call please mister yes mr. Arnold yes this is Anderson yes mr. Dunn yes Miss Smith yes dr. cotton yes yeah Dona Yes Doctor Kehoe yes long-term planning there is no long-term planning items at this point I'm legal there's no legal at this point time
125correspondence we have no correspondence at this time miscellaneous does anybody have a miscellaneous item I would like to just say I know that there's been a lot of concern with you know the tax levy and obviously with everything going on in our you know this recession and I and I know there's been some talk or whispers if you will about asking either teachers or administrators superintendent to either take a pay freeze or something of the sort and I just want to say that not only do I not support something but I think it's actually insulting to ask anybody that question at this time and I get that the you know there's a financial strain in various places but this is a time when teachers and administrators are doing more than they ever had uncharted waters
126going above and beyond doing fantastic things so to ask them to take less money than they deserve is just something that I think is not something that I would ever support in these times so I would like to say thank you to the teachers and administrators for doing such a fantastic job because we they really are not going out of the park and the other item and also now they're supporting our staff the administration along with the help of the Education Foundation put out placards on the in the teacher's yards was that two weeks ago it was wonderful and I know the teachers appreciated it and the staff appreciated it and it's just everybody everybody misses being together where it's a family it's a community they need to be together and when we're zooming here
127on this on the screen it's nice it's really nice to see everybody's face so I think the efforts that the administration has made to keep things like that happening to they send out videos to the kids regular basis all that stuff that's happening it's happening all over the country but it's happening in our backyard and our people are doing a fabulous job and I want to come down one so keep up the good work I would like to also reiterate the appreciation that the administration has for the efforts of the High Point Education Foundation for their contribution which was significant in the process of providing for those signs the administration did go out and deliver them as did a member of the IDI Foundation I'm not sure if they would like want me to give
128their name but they not only volunteered to distribute and put out the signs but they also participated in the overwhelming bulk of the cost and I'm sure that everyone in the district is appreciative of that thank you very much I would just like that I'd like to congratulate one of our students senior Travis Tala me Travis was high point representative to the greater Mars chapter of the National Football Foundation he was our representative as a scholar athlete I know trav known Travis many years I coached him when he was younger heíd pointies should be proud of him he's that he's a fine young man both in the classroom and out of the classroom on the playing field is his heart is as big as I've ever seen and he was a real great representative for
129High Point at that National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete dinner so I'd like to congratulate him and wish him the best of luck going forward in college as well I appreciate that dr. graça my own son who played on the team and interacted with with young mr. Ptolemy frequently speaks incredibly highly of him he is a young man who is respectful dignified and honorable and these are not always traits that are evident as much as they are in in mr. talmann and he it is an honor to be to have him in our community let alone as our in our in our school my son said of me he's the toughest person he ever met and and so he speaks very highly of him so thank you for that I maybe just like to address the
130High Point Regional class of 2020 and let them know that they are all in our hearts and our thoughts through this and I ask our community have faith in the administration and the board that we're going to do whatever we can to celebrate the class of 2020 first thing I want to do is go back to Monica Rowland or who submitted the comment earlier she's from Franklin Township she says there's a senior parent I want to thank you hire a faculty staff and administration for an outstanding job during this time they are all simply amazing in addition to being a parent I'm also a superintendent in northern school district I've seen firsthand the number of mixed messages coming to districts from Trenton about what is permissible or what is not permissible for graduations unfortunately it
131seems there is a bit of a disconnect between the Department of Education and the governor's office I applaud back to Ripley in the administration for trying to navigate all this and share information with parents as best they can ultimately I have every confidence that this administration and faculty will do all they can to recognize and celebrate our seniors the extent they are allowed I encourage parents who are concerned about the uncertainty of an in-person graduation to contact the Department of Education and the governor and ask the district's to be giving concise and clear direction instead of mixed in changing messages thank you very much and thank you Miss Ora we have another two more comments we have for mr. Craig from onyx thank you to the boys for continuing to move toward a student-centered and
132inclusive environment for all students and finally a comment from Sharon Fujita the name might sound familiar because I read two messages for Sharon we'll call up and Sharon you cheater and Sharon you cheater says sorry about the double comment I'm having a hard time with the chat so it's that email as well as they're both sent at the same time to be clear my full name is Sharon McCullough Uchida mr. cheat I hope I'm pronouncing your name correctly and thank you very much that's all we have for public comments at this point time do we have any non committee board member reports or comments no other things if other business Jim yep regarding opera requests we have received any open request since our last meeting okay and then we have the penultimate item is that
133today is Jim's last board meeting with us and I want to thank you so much Jim it made me look only a little bit like a fool of these board meetings by helping out so much I can't thank you enough we'll miss you I'll miss you a lot thank you good luck Jim good luck thank you Oshin the second executive session where he accomplished what we needed to in the first one thank you everybody for your time and for your patience for my questions have a great evening good night