001Call this meeting to order. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. This meeting is in compliance with the open public meeting law and has been duly advertised in the newspaper as an official meeting. Roll call. Mrs. Barocas. Mrs. Cass. Here. Dr. Osman. Here. Mr. Walsh. Here. Mrs. Rivera. Present. Mr. McCarron. Present. Mrs. Gardella. Present. Um before we have a motion for the approval of the approval of the agenda, we have um something to add under students. Yeah, I have It's actually three separate resolutions. It'll be student motion F, G, and H. I'm going to read it all together, um and I'll clarify it in
002a second. So, it reads, "Resolved that the Board of Education hereby continues the long-term suspension of pupils C, G, and H through the conclusion of the 2025-2026 school year, and directs that the students shall receive their educational instruction exclusively through the district's home instruction program for the remainder of the school year. And be it further resolved that during the period of suspension, the student is hereby prohibited from entering upon any property owned, leased, or operated by the Board of Ed, and shall not be permitted to attend any school-sponsored event, activity, or function, whether held on or off district property through the conclusion of the 2025-2026 school year. And be it further resolved that prior to the commencement of the 2026-2027 school year, the student shall be required to participate in a re-entry meeting with his
003assigned school counselor at a date and time to be scheduled by building administration for purpose of reviewing expectations, supports, and conditions governing the student's return to school. And be it further resolved that the administration is authorized and directed to take all steps necessary to implement the terms of these resolutions, including the arrangement of home instruction services in accordance with applicable New Jersey law and board policy. And be it finally resolved that the student's family shall be provided with a copy of these resolutions together with written notice of their right to appeal to the Commissioner of Education. And for students C and G, there's one further resolution, which is be further resolved that prior to the commencement of the 2026-2027 school year, these students shall be medically cleared prior to return to school. So, it's three
004separate resolutions that we will be voting on." Thank you. I need a motion for the approval of the agenda as amended. Motion. Second. Discussion? Roll call. Mrs. Gass? Yes. Dr. Osborne? Yes. Mr. Walsh? Yes. Mrs. Rivera? Yes. Mr. McCarron? Yes. Mrs. Gardella. Yes. At this time I'd like to turn the meeting over to Ms. Permilli for her Superintendent's Report. Thank you, Mrs. Gardella. Um so, good evening everyone. Uh hopefully everyone is going to stay safe with these storms. I'm hearing that some of these storms are are getting bad out there tonight, so um I'm going to move us right forward to what part of this board meeting that we actually all enjoy the very most is our high school board representative reports. Uh Colin and Peyton are unable to be with us tonight, but they
005promised they'll be here for the June meeting, but I am excited because we have two upcoming seniors joining us tonight to give us a report about our high school activities. So, tonight we have Noah and we have Sophia here from the high school. So, if you could please come forward and welcome. We're so happy to have you here tonight. Good evening, Superintendent Permilli, members of Board of Education, and honored guests. Thank you for allowing us to speak on behalf of Jackson Township High School. My name is Sophia Cassella, and I am the junior class vice president. And I'm Noah Bravo, and I'm a member of student council cabinet. As we move through the month of May, our students continue to excel in athletics, academics, leadership, and their arts. We are excited to share some of
006the many accomplishments and events taking place throughout our school community. In athletics, our spring teams continue to achieve impressive success. The boys volleyball team has had an outstanding season, currently holding a remarkable 20-3 record while making a strong run in the Shore Conference Tournament. In track and field, Skyler Carpenter made school and county history by breaking the Ocean County all-time record in the 400-meter dash with an incredible time of 54.35 seconds. Softball, baseball, and lacrosse are finishing their regular seasons, but have all qualified for the state tournament that begins next week. We also celebrated many successful senior nights this month, recognizing the hard work and commitment of our graduating student athletes. We would also like to recognize our athletes of the month, Jack McBrearty for boys volleyball, and Faith Maroney for girls lacrosse, for their
007dedication, leadership, and athletic achievements this season. In academics and student leadership, we are proud to recognize our seniors of the month, Emily Hirsch and Maya M, for their leadership, commitment, and academic excellence. AP testing has officially concluded and we commend all of our students from their hard work and preparation throughout the year. Decision Day was a huge success and highlighted the exciting future plans of our seniors with a large map where students were able to pin their next adventure. We also recently hosted an Ocean County College pathway event, helping students explore future academic and career opportunities after graduation. In addition, student council held its annual teacher superlatives, creating a fun and memorable experience for both students and staff. Our clubs, art programs, and extracurricular activities continue to thrive. JTV's 19th annual Ferrone's was an incredible
008success, showcasing the creativity and talent of our students through outstanding performances and productions, while celebrating Mr. Ferrone and the impact he has made throughout his years of teaching. Students also enjoyed this year's junior formal, which was a memorable evening for all who attended. Members of Jaguar Appreciation of the Arts had the opportunity to attend a trip to see the Philadelphia Orchestra. While members of the chorus traveled to Hershey for a special music trip experience. The Science National Honor Society also enjoyed an educational trip to Jenksinson's Aquarium this week. Our AFJROTC program continues to make us proud recently earning first place overall at the Raider competition through their hard work, discipline, and teamwork. As grad As graduation approaches, there are many upcoming events such as our senior goodbye. These elementary school walk-throughs began this week and
009will continue in the weeks ahead. It is a great tradition celebrating seniors and inspiring young students throughout the district. As you can see, even though the year is winding down, there's still a lot to be excited about. Thank you for your continued support of the students and staff at Jackson Township High School. We look forward to sharing even more accomplishments through the end of the year strong. Have a wonderful evening and as always, go Jags. >> [applause] >> Friends or siblings in the back cheering you on. That was wonderful. Thank you, Noah. Thank you, Sophia. I love how you you did that as a team. You tag teamed it a lot. It was fantastic. Lots of good happenings at the high school. Lots of good happenings across the district. So, with that, I'd ask the
010board to just turn around, see some slides. I'm going to give a couple of highlights. Some of those things you just heard about from from our high school board reps, but there's some wonderful things happening across the district. The first thing I just want to emphasize, and I believe this went out tonight to all parents on the call, is I strongly encourage families to take advantage of this a free parent night that's happening here at the middle school on Tuesday, May 26th from 6:00 to 7:00. An opportunity to really have an time to discuss some very important things about mentoring, communication, emotional regulation, and building stronger connections at home with your children. Conscious Youth Development and Services, KYDS as they refer to, are hosting that evening. Very skilled in this area, so So, people to
011come out. The Jackson Police Department had asked us to share some important information regarding e-bikes. You may have seen this in the media recently, but New Jersey has enacted a new legislation due to the serious and fatal e-bike crashes across the state. There are new regulations for e-bikes, which include registering all e-bikes now with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and that they are also properly insured. So, those things are important to make sure you take note of if you have e-bikes for your children. Online purchase of electronic bicycles are prohibited in New Jersey. Modification kits used to increase speed of those e-bikes is also illegal. And as always, helmets remain required for all riders. Under Jackson Township ordinance, it's important to note that e-bikes are not permitted on roadways with posted speed limits of
01240 mph or greater. So, our board reps this evening mentioned the ROTC. Amazing. Congratulations to them for winning first place overall in their recent competition at Manalapan School. The team also won second in logistics relay, third in rope bridge, and modified physical fitness test competitions. Congratulations. So proud of them. It's such an excellent program. Also at the high school, the English Department had seniors create banners for their college decisions for the National Decision Day. You see a picture there. National Decision Day was on May 1st. Acceptance continue after after May 1st, but some schools have rolling ones. And courteous courteous courteous of Mr. Palumbo, who's in the audience over there, director of guidance, he was kind enough when I asked him if he could put together a few slides just to show the public and
013the board just an overall overview. You can see there the visual of some college acceptance in our our high school class, our senior class this year across the the United States. Um I absolutely love this fact that our post-graduation pathways uh not only include college but our trades. We have many um acceptance into a electrician apprenticeship programs, um local 300 and 400 elevator operators as well, local one, um accelerated programs for medical assistant, cosmetology, and welding, and auto and diesel technology and welding. Just wonderful different pathways for our students and boy are those important pathways. Um and obviously we also have the military enlistments and so proud of our students who are um making that commitment on the behalf of all Americans to the Army, Marines, and the Air Force. Impressive. Also impressive are the
014next few slides that I won't speak to all of these, but there are five slides of many of the acceptances across the United States um of our senior class. Just again, impressive. Congratulations to all of these students um in their next steps in their journeys and we'll talk more about that obviously over the next 2 months, but um just take a look. I'll just let you pause for a second on some of these slides. Um incredible, you know, University of Michigan, >> [clears throat] >> Universal Tech Technology Institute, United States Air Force, Texas A&M, North Carolina State University, Florida, Boston College, Centenary University, Temple University, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, University of California, Georgian Court, Ocean County College, Colorado State University, Purdue University, Virginia Military Institute. The College of New Jersey School of Education.
015I'd love to seeing that. Loved it. Future teachers. Impressive. So, thank you again, Mr. Palumbo, for putting that together for us. Um quite an impressive list today, and it will continue to grow. Also, what you heard from our board reps this evening, uh Skyler Carpenter, congratulations. What an amazing accomplishment. Um being crowned Central Jersey Group 4 Sectional Champion, along with winning the 400, Skyler broke the 19-year-old Ocean County record set in 2007. Impressive. Congratulations to Bella for earning a statewide New Jersey Cheerleading and Dance Coaches Association scholarship. That's Bella there receiving her scholarship at a luncheon. Congratulations to Ange, uh capturing her 500th career save this week in the girls lacrosse last game of the season. She compiled 10 saves to hit her 500th and is on her way to break us and set the
016school record for next season. Again, impressive athlete. Congratulations. One of the things that is just one of our most favorite things to see, um and again, our high school board reps mentioned this. You can see a visual picture here of our high school students that have begun participating in their senior send-off, uh the tradition here. We love it. Um the high school students go back to their elementary schools. They have an opportunity to walk the halls. You can see how uh they're congratulated and how all the elementary students are excited to see them. It's such a great opportunity for elementary students to have that vision of graduation and that end of where they're headed. Um it's also awesome for our seniors to see those students and encourage those younger students and to see their teachers.
017And it's just as nice for their teachers to see those seniors and and they have grown and and their accomplishments. So, it's a just wonderful feeling for for everyone. We're so happy that we can do that. We have another coach being recognized. Amazing staff here and coaching um staff here, Stephen Van Heest, for being selected as the volleyball coach of the year in the Shore Conference A South. And then also mentioned by our board reps, uh if you haven't had the opportunity, QR code's there, please go check out the Ferrone's, the 2026 Ferrone's. Um you know, Mr. Ferrone's last ride. There is a beautiful and heartwarming tribute to Mr. Ferrone. Uh the students and the staff wish him all the best in his retirement. It's really heartwarming and we can't thank him enough for the
018impact that he's had in this district. So, please check that out. Our Big Brothers Big Sister Mentoring Program was a huge success this year and the organization has identified funding so we can continue to provide the students with these hands-on experiences next year. It's a fantastic program and we're so happy that we're going to have those funds to do that. Um During the most recent experience you see here in the pictures, the Monmouth Medical Center, the Southern Campus, students learned how to use the Hoyer lift, tour the pharmacy, and saw x-rays in the radiology department. Just the power of that, being able to see those experiences and perhaps maybe interest somebody in that career path is phenomenal. Lastly, I just want to point out uh the Jackson Township Clean Communities Cleanup. Uh the flyer has
019been out for a while, but please come help residents to volunteer. If you're uh volunteer soon, I believe you get a free Great Adventure guest pass. That's worth a lot of money these days. Um and you also get to clean up your community and uh that's always wonderful and nice. So, those are some highlights that I wanted to point out tonight. Uh we will continue to highlight more things in the June meeting. Uh this is a busy time of the year. There are 5 weeks of school left. Crazy, but 5 weeks of school left. Uh much more to do in those 5 weeks academically. and also there are many wonderful events that are planned for our students and our and our families. So, encourage to continue to work hard and let's have a strong and
020safe finish for the year. I also wanted to mention this evening that we continue to seek bus drivers. You can apply, you can go online and you can learn more about this, but I did want to share just the process and requirements for employing a bus driver in the district. So, I'm just going to share some of that for anybody who's interested in those positions. So, our candidates participate in a formal interview process as any candidate would. They questions they are assessed on their experience, their safety of knowledge, their professional professionalism, and their communication skills. The district verifies that applicants possess the required commercial driver's license, a CDL, and appropriate school bus passenger endorsement that's required by the state of New Jersey. We also we also review the driver history and motor vehicle abstract that
021is provided to us from the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to ensure that our drivers have a safe record and evaluate their driving history and any violations. Applicants are screened to ensure compliance with the New Jersey Department of Education fingerprinting requirements and the criminal history requirements as well. Candidates must provide a current federal medical examiner certificate to confirm they are medically qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle. Professional references are contacted as well. Then after all of that is reviewed, if they are hired and board approved, the next step is they have to be trained at the district level. And we have an extensive of training program here and very well qualified trainers. Prior to operating the school vehicle, all new drivers complete mandatory training including the New Jersey Department of Ed required training video
022for interacting with students with special needs. All new hired drivers are required to successfully pass mandatory pre-employment drug and alcohol testing and perform any safety sensitive duties. New drivers are assigned to district trainers for behind the wheel route training. Training durations range from approximately 3 to 10 days depending on the driver's prior experience and skill level. Our district trainers utilize documented evaluation and training checklist to assess the vehicle operation, student management, safety procedures, route performance, and district expectation. Drivers are permitted to transport students independently only after successfully completing these training requirements and meeting all of the other expectations that I just outlined. Um, that's our process. I just thought it was important for everybody to know the process. Um, and if you are interested, please go to our website and fill out an application. June
023goals update. For uh, June, I just wanted to let the board know that, um, I will be providing a year in review. Our team will be providing a year in review and updating our district goals at the June meeting on June 17th. Um, the year in review will include uh, it's important for us to not only review our district goals, but also a year in review. This is a year uh, that has been different than any other year in in a long time in in Jackson. So, it's important for us to share with our community and the board how the restructuring year went. So, we'll be providing an overview and an an update of all of that to June meeting. In regards to the 2026-2027 goals, Mrs. Gardella is going to share some information about
024goal setting for the next school year. So, for that in a moment, I'm going to turn it and um, conclude my report uh, and toss it back to Mrs. Gardella, but I just wanted to um, also mention have a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend and please remember to take time to honor the US military who have sacrificed their lives for all of us. Mrs. Gardella. Thank you. As you all know, this board recently took a major step forward for our community by appointing Mr. Dan Beginsky as our next superintendent of schools. While we we are fortunate to have an internal leader who knows Jackson so well, moving from business administrator to chief school administrator is a significant professional evolution and it's a shift from management to executive leadership. To ensure Mr. Beginsky has the
025strongest possible start and to ensure this board is fully aligned in our governance and our work moving forward, we have decided to embark on a formal leadership transition and goal setting process facilitated by the New Jersey School Boards Association. We have specifically chosen a transition model for this year, which means we will be doing this strategic work with Mr. Beginsky during his first 60 days in the seat. This process will unfold in three distinct phases. The first phase is technical grounding, where we will start with a formal presentation from the New Jersey School Boards Association to the full board to ensure that we are all aligned on the legal distinctions between the board's role in policy and the superintendent's role in execution. The second phase is a diagnostic. The board will complete a comprehensive self-evaluation.
026This allows us to look at our own performance and identify the North Star priorities we want the administration to focus on. The third step is the transition workshop. So, later in the summer, once Mr. Beginsky is officially in the seat, we will hold a facilitated workshop to finalize our district and board goals. Moving forward, it is the board's hope that this becomes a part of our annual DNA. By pairing our board self-evaluation and the actual outcomes from the previous year's goals, we can ensure that each year begins with a data-driven roadmap. This systematic approach, aligning board goals with district goals, is designed to provide the stability and clarity needed to continually strengthen the Jackson Township School District. We look forward to launching the first phase of this work in the coming weeks. Should I continue
027on? Yes, please. Okay. Um the state monitor is not with us this evening. So, we will do committee reports. Do you have a report? Buildings and grounds? Mr. McGarrity. Some buildings and grounds maintenance updates, uh Elms new circuit board was installed at the RTU1 gym HVAC unit. Jackson Township High School new booster panel installed by fire securities for fire detection uh systems. Jackson Township High School eight security mirrors installed in various hallways to improve camera coverage. Also at the high school, the varsity baseball field renovation is complete and looks really good. Uh Crawford Rodriguez heating clamps repaired to resolve leaks near the gym. And Switlik parent drop-off curb was repaired by the in-house maintenance staff. Thank you. Um budget and finance, um as a board, we've been discussing with our district administration an upcoming decision
028for Jackson Township School District. Our district has a debt service from a previous investment that's eligible for repayment. As the debt rolls off at the end of the 2026-2027 school year, we are presented with a unique opportunity to infuse our budget with additional funds. This district is planning to hold a community vote that would allow us to pay back the debt to the state and reinvest the same amount of money into our schools in the form of critical improvements with no impact to the taxpayers. This would be a huge step forward for the district toward financial stability for years to come, a true win-win. We feel that this is an important decision for our community and are considering bringing on a communications team to assist with ensuring that every community member receives and understands this
029information. Making an informed vote is extremely important to the future of our schools and community. And we want to make sure we get this right. If we decide to move forward, we will provide details at our next Board of Education meeting. As we prepare to enter the next chapter of our district in July with our new superintendent, we hope to continue to strengthen our partnership with the Jackson Township community. This includes having a shared vision for building towards a successful future. Ad hoc committees as needed, Mr. Walsh. Us two weeks two weeks from now, we have scholarship night. It'll be at the auditorium over there at the high school. Wonderful. I need a motion for approval of the minutes. The closed session meeting April 29th, 2026 and the official board meeting April 29th, 2026. This
030is this meeting. >> Second. Discussion? Roll call. Mrs. Cass. Yes. Dr. Osborn. >> Yes. Mr. Walsh. Yes. Mrs. Rivera. Yes. Mr. McCarron. Yes. Mrs. Gardella. Yes. I need a motion for the approval of the bill list. >> Motion. Second. Discussion? Roll call. Mrs. Cass. Yes. Dr. Osborn. >> Yes. Mr. Walsh. Yes. Mrs. Rivera. Yes. Mr. McCarron. Yes. Mrs. Gardella. Yes. I need a motion for the approval of the treasurers and board secretaries reports. Motion. Second. Discussion? Roll call. Mrs. Cass. Yes. Dr. Osborn. >> Yes. Mr. Walsh. Yes. Mrs. Rivera. Yes. Mr. McCarron. Yes. Mrs. Gardella. Yes. I need a motion to open the public forum on agenda items only. We will hold another public forum during this meeting for other questions. This public forum will will for questions on the agenda only. Second. Please sign
031in and state your name and whether or not you are a Jackson resident. Each person is allowed a maximum of 3 minutes to speak. No person may speak more than once on the topic until all others have been heard. Um seeing that no one come forward, I need a motion to close public forum. Motion. Second. All in favor? Aye. Resolutions for action. I need a motion to move finance. Motion. Second. Discussion. I just I just want to say thank you to um the generous donations that we received um for the 250-year celebration. Um so we got quite a few and I just want to thank everyone for thinking of us. I had that too and I also wanted to point out number five. Um we have a pretty good offering for recycling um some buses
032so I thought that was great. And there was >> Okay, so we can scrap the buses then? These are yeah, they're aged out. Yep. Yeah, but we can sell them as scrap at least. >> Right. We we got three quotes for them and uh the >> Oh, okay. That's good. One was good. Yeah. Um I just also I wanted to note um agenda nine finance number 17. Um I'm just going to summarize it but uh New Jersey School Boards has a resolution to advocate for um health funding solutions uh from the governor's office and we're going to be supporting that resolution tonight. Roll call. Ms. Gas. Yes. Dr. Osborn? Yes. Mr. Walsh? Yes. Mrs. Rivera? Yes. Mr. McCaren? Yes. Mrs. Gordella? Yes. Um I need a motion to move facilities. Motion. Second. Discussion? Roll call.
033Mrs. Cass? Yes. Dr. Osborn? Yes. Mr. Walsh? Yes. Mrs. Rivera? Yes. Mr. McCaren? Yes. Mrs. Gordella? Yes. Um I need a motion to move programs. Motion. Second. Discussion? Roll call. Mrs. Cass? Yes. Dr. Osborn? Yes. Mr. Walsh? Yes. Mrs. Rivera? Yes. Mr. McCaren? Yes. Mrs. Gordella? Yes. I need a motion to move students. Motion. Second. Discussion? Roll call. Mrs. Cass? Yes. Dr. Osborn? Yes. Mr. Walsh? Yes. Mrs. Rivera? Yes. Mr. McCaren? Yes. Mrs. Gordella? Yes. I need a motion to move personnel. Motion. Second. Discussion? Yes. Number 15 yeah 15. Um the surveys were sent to all for all athletic coaches for the fall from last fall. Yes. This year the fall we we sent the surveys after the sports have finished. So we sent the fall and we sent the winter. We are gearing up
034um probably next week to send the spring. Okay, great. Thanks. Yep. Anybody else? Roll call. Mrs. Cass? Yes. Dr. Osborn? Yes. Mr. Walsh? Yes. Mrs. Rivera? Yes. Mr. McCaren? Yes. Mrs. Gardella? Epstein A581 and H28. Yes, everything else. I need a motion to open the public forum on any topic pertaining to the Board of Education. Motion. Second. Please sign in and state your name, whether or not you are a Jackson resident. Each person is allowed a maximum of 3 minutes to speak. No person may speak more than once on the topic until all others have been heard. Seeing no one come forward, I need a motion to close public forum. Motion. Second. All in favor? Aye. At this time, I'd like to open the meeting for Board comments, starting with Ms. Cass. Um I just
035want to congratulate Dr. Lane. Um in addition, uh I just want to wish everybody a wonderful, happy Memorial Day weekend, and have a great night. Thank you for coming. I always forget you jumped down here. >> [laughter] >> I also want to say congratulations to Dr. Lane. Um Johnson is in very good hands. Congratulations. I'm sure you're going to do a great job. Thank you for coming out tonight. Uh everyone is turning a page in their life story right now, and I wish them good luck. I want to thank everyone for attending this evening and viewing this live stream. Congratulations, Dr. Lane. And everyone have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend. Just wanted to congratulate Ms. Permelia on her deserved recognition at the last Jackson Township Council meeting. Um also wanted to thank Mr.
036Palumbo for putting those slides together. It's good to see all the pathways of our students and uh the success that our our students were achieving. Thank you. I echo, you know, all of the other members and you know, it's really an amazing feeling to see all of the highlights of all of the positive things happening in our school district. You know, we went a lot of years where that wasn't something we always got to highlight and um it's very exciting moving forward. And I'm proud to be sitting as part of this community today. Uh By acclamation? Motion. By acclamation? Aye. One messed up. No, that was good.