001Allow the stream to start. Uh good evening everyone. This meeting is being held in accordance with the schedule of meetings adopted at the organizational meeting held on January 5th, 2026. Adequate notice of this meeting of the Kenilworth Board of Education has been provided to the Home News Tribune, the Star-Ledger, and the Local Source on January 15th, 2026. A copy has been filed with the Kenilworth Borough Clerk, posted in the board office, the Kenilworth Borough Hall, Brearley and Harding schools as is provided by the Open Public Meetings Act. Would you please stand and join me in the flag salute. I pledge allegiance to the flag Okay. Now, I'll administer roll call. Biner? Here. Crnicoli? Here. David? Here. Habibullah? Here. Heredia? Here. Rodatti? Here. Penich? Here. Tiers? Here. Zimmerman? Here. All present. Okay, we have a special
002meeting going on this evening, so we have an opportunity for to see some presentations. So, I'd like to have a motion to suspend our regular order of business, specifically to allow us to hear these and see these student performances. Is there a motion? Made by Mrs. Zimmerman, seconded by Mr. David. Um All those in favor? I. I. Okay, motion carries. Mr. Davies. Thank you, Mr. Ganal. Good evening, everyone. I'm so excited to start our Board of Education meeting tonight in Brearley's auditorium. We have some fantastic performances from some wonderful students. Um so, I'm really eager to hear and see uh for the upcoming shows, uh The Little Mermaid as well as Cinderella. Uh to kick it off, I'm going to introduce Mr. Bubnowski, who's going to speak just briefly about the Harding uh musical coming
003up. Mr. Bubnowski. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Mr. Davies. Well, as you all know, looking at the audience, Harding School has a long tradition of putting on fabulous spring plays, and this year is no different. I was just talking to our advisors, and they informed me that we have 48 students. That's right, 48 students participating in this year's spring play either as in the cast or the crew. So, I'd like to call up Ms. Boney, Ms. Walsh, and Mr. Mills so they can kind of give you a little glimpse of what you're going to see tonight. Our fine advisors have put on a great job. Let's give them a big round of applause. And I don't want to forget to mention that if you're free Friday, May 8th at 7:00 Harding auditorium, please come support
004our students in The Little Mermaid. >> [cheering] [applause] [cheering and applause] >> Mr. Mills, did you want to say anything? Sure thing. So again, The Little Mermaid is Friday, May 8th at 7:00 p.m. You're all welcome to attend. It is a free performance, and we hope you can come and see. Thank you. >> [applause and cheering] [applause] >> Thank you, Mr. Mills. And I just want to say congratulations to the performers. That was wonderful, and I'm looking forward to May 8th myself. And I also want a new red suit. So, hopefully I can get one of those myself. Um Yeah. >> [applause] [cheering] >> And if our Harding students could stay for an additional performance, we have our David Brearley High School students who are now going to perform a teaser performance from Cinderella, which
005is this weekend, Friday and Saturday night 7:00 p.m. right here in Brearley's auditorium. So, our high school students are going to get into their positions. Now, Lord Pinkleton, I want you to announce this to announce this to all. A pronouncement. An announcement. His Royal Highness, Christopher [music] Rupert Please don't say my full name. So embarrassing. >> [music] >> Herman? Herman. >> [music] >> Sebastian, can we talk about this? Please? Now is the time, the time to act. No other time will do. Live and play your part. Don't give away your heart. [singing and music] Don't take what the world gives you. Now is the time, the time to live. No other [music] time is real. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is a guess. Today you can see [singing] and feel. No, no, no, listen. Tradespeople, tinkers
006and fishmongers, I shout to the [music] prince, but he ignores me. If he and Sebastian can take the land of the very poorest, it is only a matter of time before they take from all of us. Can't [singing and music] wait to be served by fate on a silver plate or a tray. Now is the [music and singing] time, the time of your life. The time of your life [singing] is today. The prince is giving a ball. >> [music] >> A ball is announced at all. The prince is giving a ball. The prince is giving a ball. Hear ye, hear ye. His Royal Highness, Christopher Rupert James, [music] is giving [singing] a ball. The prince is giving a ball. The prince is giving a ball. Hello? I'm talking here. Now is the time, the time
007to act. No other time will do. >> [music] [singing] >> A what? A ball. Now is the time, the time to live. No other time is real. What? >> [snorts] [music] [singing] >> His Royal Highness, Christopher Rupert Windermere Vladimir [music] Carl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman Herman? Herman. Gregory James is giving a ball. The prince is giving a what? >> [music] [singing] >> His Majesty has issued [music] a decree to attend the ball. All one requires is an invitation and suitably fashionable attire. And the prince shall [music] choose a woman from the ball to be his bride. That's me. Anyone can be the queen. >> [screaming] [singing] [cheering] >> Woah. Okay then. >> [music] >> Now is the [singing] time, the time to act. Now [singing] is the time, the time to live. His Royal
008Highness, Christopher [music] Rupert >> [singing] >> Slayer [music] of dragons >> [singing] >> Protector of dark oils >> [music and singing] >> Sportsman and poet Herman? Herman. [screaming] >> [singing] [music] >> is giving a ball. >> [singing] [music] >> He's giving a ball. >> [applause] [applause] >> Wow, another round of applause for our students. >> [applause] [applause] >> I appreciate the energy on the stage so much. Congratulations and I'm looking forward to the performance this weekend. Just a reminder to everyone, this Friday and Saturday 7:00 p.m. Cinderella here in Brearley Theater. And also don't forget Harding's musical May 8th. Um so proud at this moment as superintendent that the arts are thriving here in Kenilworth. And I think it's a testament to the staff members who oversee these programs as well as a thank to
009the thanks to the board for supporting these programs. But most especially thank you to our students who get involved and bring their talents and their passion to the stage. So whether you're at Harding or at the middle school cuz I know we have some middle schoolers on the stage as well as high schoolers. Thank you for believing in the arts and for supporting our arts program here in Kenilworth. Clearly some great stuff's happening around the district. So congratulations again. Thank you all the students here. >> [applause] [applause] >> Thank you everyone. That concludes this portion of the meeting. The board will now return to the board conference room and reconvene the regular portion of the meeting. So thank you everyone. Have a good night. >> Motion to go back into real actually reopen and have
010open session. So motion. Second. Second. >> Motion made by Mr. Haybrether seconded [snorts] by Mr. David. All those in favor of opening the meeting, please say I. I. Opposed? I's have it. Motion carried. Mr. Gonnella, do you want to do you want to read the statement? We already did read Okay, do you want to read it again or no or whatever for video? Okay. But we that was that was videotaped. Good. Okay, so we did into the flag, roll call. We'll now have the receiving of minutes and committee notes of the secretary, March 9th a regular Board of Education meeting, March 18th the Finance and Facilities Committee, March 25th a Special Education meeting to adopt the tentative budget. Does anybody have any questions? If not, can I have a motion to receive the minutes and
011committee notes of the secretary, please? So moved. Second. Second. Motion made by Dr. Concoli seconded by Mrs. Tiers. All those in favor, please say I. I. Opposed? I's have it. Motion carries. Mr. Gonnella, do we have any monthly correspondence? >> We do not. Okay. Having none, we will now move on to um Superintendent Davies. Yes, so we started our um my report in the auditorium. So again, congratulations to all of the student performers for from Harding and the middle school and the high school. Uh just a reminder that Little Mermaid will be performed at Harding at uh on May 8th. And of course the David Brearley musical is this weekend, Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m. At this point, I'd like to move on to the student liaison report from Ms. Katie Lima. Uh so
012Katie's here to provide the the report. Katie. Good evening, Katie. Hello everyone. Good evening. I hope that everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable spring break. I will now start off with a update on Brearley athletics. I wanted to start off with our baseball team. The baseball team had a strong start to the season and is continuing to make great progress as they move forward in the season. Our softball team has also started season off strong, currently holding four wins and showing great promise for continued success for the season. Track and field. Track opened the season with major meet on Saturday, April 4th at the Rebel Relays at Howell High School. Both teams, boys and girls, won their team championships. This past Saturday, the boys four and four relay team placed first. And upcoming, the team
013will compete in the county relays on Wednesday. And golf. The golf team is currently undefeated, which is pretty amazing, with two wins and no losses. They have secured victories against Plainfield and Union. A sophomore Zach Sims holds the lowest score on the team so far. But I just learned that lowest score means best score today as well, apparently. They are scheduled to play Roselle Park today and will compete in their first conference mat conference match next Tuesday. Looking back, we had the Day of Silence on April 10th where students participated in the Day of Silence where they had the opportunity to remain silent in support of victims of bullying to raise awareness. As far as middle school activities go, the middle school recently held a March Madness Day on March 23rd bringing great teamwork and
014school spirit. The eighth grade class attended a field trip to Kalahari Water Park for the day on March 26th and had an amazing time. I wouldn't know. I wasn't invited. The sixth and seventh grade classes visit visited Medieval Times and also had an amazing and fun experience on March 27th. Looking forward, we have Noche de Música y Cultura Española will take place on Thursday, April 16th at 6:00 p.m. With free admission, the evening will feature a performance by Juan Pedro Jiménez, a traditional flamenco singer and guitarist along with additional percussionists and singers. Tapas and drinks and free giveaways will be provided. This event is brought to the school by Kenilworth Education Association FAST Committee. So I hope to see you all there. The spring musical Cinderella on Friday, April 17th and Saturday, April 18th at
0157:00 p.m., the Brearley Theater will present Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella in the high school auditorium. Tickets are available for purchase online at dbhstickets.com. And we are excited to bring back voter registration at Brearley for seniors ready to register in this upcoming election, including students who will turn 18 before November 5th. I believe this is important because it gives our seniors and the next generation a meaningful voice in shaping their future. The voter registration drive will be held Monday, May 4th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the back vestibule here at Brearley. May 4th to May 15th, AP testing will take place. May 6th at 7:00 p.m., the middle school and high school dance performance will be held. And leading up to the June 6th SAT, a free SAT boot camp will be offered at
016Brearley to help students prepare for the SAT. Parents also received an email with more information about this amazing resource. So I'll now open the floor to questions that anyone may have. I see there's none, so I guess I did a good job. So I hope you all wonderful rest of your night. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you, Katie. Uh a few other updates um from my standpoint, uh today was Mr. Cucuro's first day here at David Brearley uh as Brearley's principal uh for the high school. Uh so that was exciting for our building here to move forward in that way. Also um reminder to any Brearley seniors out there to apply for the special one-time scholarship opportunity supported by the Board of Education. It's the David Brearley essay scholarship. Um who was
017David Brearley and to what extent did David Brearley's concept of the New Jersey Plan and his ideas around judicial review influence the founding of our nation? That deadline is coming up May 15th. So that's any students, it's a $500 scholarship um sponsored by the Board of Education. Uh so please make sure you're following up. There's a special scholarship website on our counseling page for any seniors who are looking for opportunities for financial uh assistance with college. Um Arbor Day is coming up, April 24th. I bring that up because um you know, if we're speaking of David Brearley, um the school district is engaging with the community on Arbor Day, April 24th to plant a tree in recognition of David Brearley and his role in the founding of our nation. [snorts] Uh so this is a
018joint effort in collaboration with Kenilworth Am Rev 250 Committee. Uh the tree will be planted along Brearley's driveway behind me here. And all are welcome to attend the ceremony on April 24th at 11:30 a.m. Uh grounds improvements, you may have seen some ongoing work across our campus facility recently. There's a new boulder park, um a climbing park that was installed at Harding over spring break. Uh the caution fencing still remains around that installation because we're just ensuring that all Harding staff have been trained appropriately on the boulder park as well as the students being properly advised uh in terms of safety protocols. Also, you may have seen that the tennis courts today began their um became a construction zone. Um this is the upgrade and improvement of the courts to create a new tennis court
019and pickleball court. Um originally this project was slated for the summer, however, it needed to be moved early earlier, so you're seeing that construction start now. Uh a reminder that the boulder park and the tennis ball tennis and pickleball court items were made possible by state grant money that we received last year earmarked specifically for site improvements. Um I also wanted to inform the board uh that um this coming Wednesday, there's a Borough Council meeting. Um keeping with the spirit of transparency and full disclosure, I plan to attend that meeting on Wednesday night. Um I want to share with the council members and the public an overview of our 2026-2027 school budget, um outline the benefits this budget will have for the youth of Kenilworth as well as the impact on taxpayers. Um additionally, I
020want the council to learn about the resolution that will appear at our next meeting on April 29th. Um, this is the resolution asking the board to vote on moving the annual school board election from November to April. Um, this initiative was discussed at previous board meetings, um, and going before the council on Wednesday provides one more opportunity for outreach into the community, and I think that's important. The school district wants to fully communicate how to move to the April election, how that move, um, places budgetary decisions that are above the tax levy cap in the hands of Kenilworth citizens, which I think is an important component of our American system. Um, so I want the borough council and its residents to hear directly from me, again in that spirit of open communication and strong collaboration.
021So, that's my plan for this coming Wednesday. Uh, finally tonight, I would like to recognize the service of our school board attorney, Marie Lawrence Fabian. Um, >> [applause] >> ML, as she is known, is off to a well-deserved retirement in June. Uh, as this is her final Board of Education meeting with us, I'd like to take the moment to honor her. ML has been with Kenilworth since 2008 as a member of Porzio, Bromberg and Newman. ML has guided district leadership and the board through a myriad of issues and cases. She is measured, thoughtful, and thorough. Nothing ever gets past ML. She leaves no stone unturned, and she has the wonderfully helpful knack of asking just one more question before the call ends. That's the question that no one had thought of yet, but that's the
022question that gets to the heart of the issue. ML is a skilled counselor who is adept at seeing the scenario from multiple perspectives. Kenilworth has been strengthened by her guidance in her 18 years with the district, and we will miss her dearly. But, we wish her and her husband, Dave, all the best in her retirement. ML, thank you for the support you have given our district and the support you have given me and my predecessors through the years. I now want to present you with a little something on behalf of the district in thanks for your service to the Kenilworth community. I would like to say thank you very much for that recognition. I can't believe it's been 18 years. It's very hard to believe, but I have enjoyed, um, my time counseling, and I
023know I drove you all crazy with my millions of questions, but that's how I roll. So, >> [laughter] >> thank you again for the recognition. Well, it's been an honor, and I want to present you with a gift and some flowers here. Thank you so much. And for you. Oh, beautiful. Thank you. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> Thank you. I can put it down here. Thank you. Congratulations on your retirement. Um, finally, there's the March HIB report in your, um, board materials. There, you'll see two investigations at the high school, four investigations at the middle school, and one at Harding. Um, in your packet is also the March discipline report, the enrollment report, and the residency report. I'll give you a moment to review those. Um, if there's any questions, I'm happy to respond to those
024questions in the best way that I can, um, or we can talk at a later time. With that, my superintendent's report is closed. Does anyone want to take another minute, or accept two? Someone still reading? I'm done. Is everyone okay? Do we need a couple more minutes? We can give a couple more minutes if we need it. No? I'm good. >> Okay. Need any more time? Yes. Excuse me. No. Okay. Thank you. Just want to check. Okay, we're now going to move on. Thank you. For report of committees, review of resolutions, and board discussion, up first, finance, facilities, and negotiations, Mr. Leddy. Thank you. Okay. Um, the the preliminary budget was forwarded to the county executive, and we were informed of its approval, um, for advertisement. The advertised budget is on the district website. The
025def- The definitive budget is scheduled for approval, um, during a public meeting here hearing on April 29th. As for res- um, resolutions, I reviewed the building list, the payment list, and all the financials are in order. Um, I'm just going to move down to some of the resolutions. Resolution eight approves a, um, contract to conduct a district-wide asset inventory to ensure compliance with the GASB 34 and GAAP um, financial reports. Those are basically accounting terms, or um, nine auth- 36-month contract with X- Tel Communications for for, um, network service utilizing E-rate bidding guidelines to ensure eligibility for federal reimbursement. 10 approves statewide corrective action plan for, um, special education Medicaid initiative. Um, basically, we get money back, right, Vince? I believe that is. Not a lot. Not a lot, but we get so- it's something
026we have. At least you're getting something back. Um, resolution 10 is for the, um, Harding Elementary School facilities for summer camp. It's through the Kenilworth Recreation. 12 approves the fire department to hold the carnival on school premises on in August 26th. Resolution 13 approves, um, the Harding School Loop parking lot for the annual Kenilworth Street Fair car show on Sunday, May 17th. Um, resolution 14 approves the school grounds for use of the annual fireworks display, which is on June 28th. Um, 15 approves the, um, continue participation in coordination transportation service with the Union County Educational Services Commission for 2026-2027 school year. And 16 sets, um, the school meal prices for 2026-2027 school year. And that's all I have. Does anyone have questions for Mr. Leddy? I just have one, which I didn't ask before. Was
027the, um, when we do the fireworks, they are going to protect, you know, like we did last year to make sure they're not going over Yeah. the new field and We make them out to say we're good with the contract with the fire department, and Great. review that. Thanks. Thank you. That's all I have. Questions? Okay. We will now move on to personnel and management, Mr. David. Thank you. This evening, we just have resolutions. Resolution 17 appoints Edith Ostrom as a consultant for the 2025-2026 school year at a cost not to exceed $3,500. Resolution 18 approves the hiring of Brian De Sousa as a full-time tenure-track social studies teacher at Brearley for the year 2026-2027. 19 approves the leave of absence request for Caitlin De Kelsky, um, Mr. David Brearley Middle School science teacher from
028June 1st, uh, 2026 to January 19th, 2027. Resolution 20 approves the leave of absence request for Jacqueline Schmidtberg, a Harding teacher, from April 13th to June 24th, 2026. Resolution 21 approves a leave of absence request for Michelle Zickgraf, who's a Harding aide, from April 3rd to May 29th, 2026. Resolution 22, um, uh, student teacher approves uh, Toriana Sandal, um, to perform student teaching/observation under the supervision of Jamie Hill, and finally, resolution 23 approves the [snorts] hiring of four individuals as substitute aides for the 2025-2026 school year. That's all I have. Does anyone have questions for Mr. David? No? Okay. We will now, um, move on to curriculum and instruction, Mrs. Tiers. There's just one resolution tonight, uh, resolution 24 to, um, for the February HIB report. Does anyone have questions about that report? No. No?
029Okay. We will now move on to old business. Anyone have any old business? I'd like to bring up old business as usual, which is please make sure that you are looking at the website. If you have questions about procedures, policy, anything related to the school, that you're reaching out to the school administration, and contacting our team members in order to help facilitate answers to any of your questions, and all of our social media pages where we post information regarding to the school. >> [clears throat] >> and and all of our social media pages where we post information regarding to the school as well as upcoming events. Any new business? Okay, since we don't have any new business at this time, we will now move on to the public comment portion of the meeting. Can I
030have a motion to open up the meeting for public comment? I'll second. Second. >> Second. Motion made by Mr. Dean, seconded by Mr. David. All those in favor of opening the meeting to the public, please say I. Opposed? >> I's have it. Motion carries. Mr. Gonnella? Uh public comment will now be accepted. The Board of Education sets a limit for the public to speak at the Board meeting to 5 minutes per person. Excuse me. Unless prior permission has been granted by the Board of Education for extended time pursuant to Kenilworth Board of Education Bylaw 0167, please be reminded that uh while board uh while members of the public may speak on personnel matters during public comment, the Board of Education is legally prohibited from discussing individual personnel issues in public session unless the employee issue
031has requested a public discussion. The Board's role is to set policy and ensure an effective operation of schools while personnel recommendations are the exclusive responsibility of the Superintendent of Schools. The Board reviews and acts on these uh those recommendations in accordance with state law and district policy but does not uh initiate or manage individual staffing decisions. The Board and Superintendent work closely in collaboration to maintain a professional and well-functioning um school system that uh serves the best interests of the students, staff, and community. For the record, please include your name and address prior to making your comments. Is there anybody who'd like to make a comment at this time? If you'd like to, please step up. I'm just talking about uh track and field. Um First off, good evening. I just wanted to come out
032here and stand up for my team and speak up. Uh throughout my my years of running track and field barely track for David Brearley, this team had a huge success. Girls and boys placed in multiple events such as state events, county events, breaking school records, meet records, and even placing out of school events. For a Group 1 school, we have made a huge title for David Brearley and wanted to continue by making a name for ourselves at Penn Relays. The boy had a perfect opportunity to win the whole meet and take home and show Kenilworth how much we came as a team. Unfortunately, Mr. Miller didn't give us that give this team that opportunity to do that. We want to know as a team what we have to do what Excuse me. What do we
033have to do to be able to go and compete at these huge meets that mean the most to us? The qualifying standards to enter at Penn Relays was 3 minutes and 40 seconds. Um Our boys team now runs a 3:33. The time to beat was a 3:37 and we could have won the whole entire thing and this would have been huge for my coaches, my teammates, my family, and even for the Kenilworth community. I also want to stand up for these seniors. These seniors spent so much hard work, dedication, and endless hours just to not go to this meet. Penn Relays really meant something for them. A good majority of people who run in this track team have hopes of continuing their track journey and going places to and getting a name out there in
034college. This team has so much success over the years and more to come in the future. I wish moving forward something could be done and Miller giving us and Miller giving us track athletes opportunity to go out there and show off David Brearley pride and we can be something big one day. Overall, we just want a support from the school and meet the deadlines to attend these opportunities that are presented to us. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else like to make a public comment at this time? Please step up. Name, address. Um Kelly Bloswick, 207 North 15th Street. Um This is the first time I'm coming to a Board meeting, so hello to everybody. My daughter is a student here, uh currently a junior. And back in February, we had some issues. The issues were
035reported to the school. Um my daughter had to fill out an long extensive report of what was being done um under some harassment and bullying. Uh A couple months later, right before Easter recess, the incidences escalated. Um while I understand that things take time for investigation because it's not just the Board, um it's not just the HIV, it's a Title IX, I think, also as well um investigation. It's unfair that to say the least that I was just made aware this week by I understand the principal, Mr. Luciano or how who was in charge of it is now been replaced as well. But he lost the report. He called my daughter down and asked her to rewrite her first report from February because he did not know where it was. So you have a legal
036document that was turned in that was three pages long, three to three and a half pages long, that magically disappeared. Okay. He then tells her when he brings her down, which I had already said considering the Section 9 portion of the harassment that was going on, if my daughter was to make any more comments or anybody wanted to speak to her, advise me and I want to be present. He did not call. I was not advised. And he proceeds to bring my daughter in and say out of we'll say three or four incidences that were in that first incident report, only write about one of them. Why would we only write about one? We're investigating a pattern of things, but we're only writing about one. Okay. When I speak to him the next day, I
037say, "Why was this Why was this It It was already confirmed to me that this report exists. We already had these conversations back in February." When I came in to speak to the detective and I came in and I had her guidance counselor present, we confirmed that this report existed because my daughter got up and said, "You only have one report there." And she was told, "Oh, this is two pages." And they My daughter said, "You're right. The second report was two pages. There's more." Where is the more? So if this was a business, if this was a police report, if this was anything of that nature, we'd have an issue that it just magically disappeared. Let's have her rewrite it. And while we have her rewrite her history of how she was harassed, let's
038tell her to only include one little bit of it. Not the full picture, just one little bit of it. We're teaching these girls, not only my daughter because it's been brought to my attention some other incidences that surround this. We're teaching girls they have to be quiet? We're teaching them not to talk about the whole thing? We're teaching them that sexual harassment because again, this was an issue. I said, "This is sexual harassment." And when I was returned phone calls and I was advocating for her, all they kept talking about was HIV HIV HIV. I said, "At the end of the day, certain things that were done, gestures that were made, parts of her body that were spoken about, was sexual harassment. We need to have something better in place here to handle these situations
039because no girl should leave high school and feel that when I speak up, nothing's done. When I speak up, it's going to be swept under the rug. When I swept when I when I speak about this, oh this person's parent might know A, B, or C or this person might be connected this way. So let's let's handle this without bringing No. Let's speak about the facts. >> [clears throat] >> The facts were that since February, my daughter has been made uncomfortable. We're now I was now told today in an email by one of the staff after I was told last week that a decision would be made this week. I get an email that they're now telling me the middle of May. Are we waiting for the school year to finish not to deal with
040it? Because guess what? If again, if this was the workplace, if this was any place else, somebody would be suspended. If somebody put hands on somebody else, something should have been done right away. Nothing has been done other than a class adjustment. That doesn't suffice. That doesn't suffice for somebody who's been sexually harassed cuz that's what it is. When you put your hands on my daughter's body, when you pull her from one side of the room to the other, when you talk about her body parts, and when you make explicit sexual gestures at her, that is sexual harassment. And that should be priority. Not just for my daughter, but for any other female in this school, for any other male that might be sexually harassed at that point. But you don't keep prolonging the date
041and pushing it out and pushing it out and pushing it out and losing reports. There's a problem. >> but the 5 minutes is up. That's fine. >> We can meet at Mr. Davis' office. >> I appreciate that. That would be lovely. >> Okay. Thank you. Is there any other public at this time that would like to make a comment? Please step up. Give name, address. Thank you. Good evening. John Hammond, 14th Street. Um congratulations on your retirement. Thank you. Um so uh Mr. Davis and I met uh several weeks back about what we had spoke about here in this meeting uh before the turn of the year. Uh safety around the baseball field and congrats to the baseball team and and the other athletes who had much success. Um my understanding is there was a
042decision made that um a certain net maybe 50x50 would be installed and that would be sufficient to provide uh you know, safe operation of the field to prevent baseballs from traveling, causing property damage, potentially uh personal damage. Um my understanding is the initial net has been delayed and I was curious if we have a date for that that one. I know a temporary one has been affixed. It should be installed Thursday or Friday. This Thursday or Friday? Yes. Second question is I know I heard from you yesterday, Davis. I'd like to hear from somebody who was involved from the board as well. Um how we landed on the 50x50 being the sufficient net. We went through this about a decade ago and someone thought it'd be okay to double the height of a 6-ft fence
043and that would be sufficient. They asked if there was any type of um I don't want to say intelligence or science put into the size of the net based on common math, trajectory, speed of baseball. Um this is not new. You can go on a website and look it up. Why did the board think 50x50 be sufficient to keep baseballs off of 14th Street? This is a public comment portion. We don't answer the superintendent. I thought I'd give you the opportunity, but We don't. It's public comment, not a Q&A. Okay. All right. I thought I'd give MLO a chance here in their last meeting to advise there as well. So the board feels that's sufficient. Uh I've already taken four baseballs through the past weekend and thrown them back to the team. Um I know
044there was concerns that we were keeping the baseballs last year. The kids were very gracious and thanked me um for returning them. Uh the temporary net has not sufficed. I know we also said the pitching machine was only because the gym was under construction. The pitching machine has been back out there several times for practices. Again, I don't begrudge the coach or the team for wanting to use it. Uh I know they want to simulate faster pitching that coaches may not be able to deliver um and more repetitions. Um but ahead of even what might be an inadequate 50-ft long net, which doesn't even cover the length of a baseline, a little bit more than 50% seems like we're jumping the gun here a bit. So uh I look forward to can we have another
045meeting? Is there anybody else in the board who would like to attend to talk through how we landed on this arbitrary size for the net? Okay. We can meet again. Well, I'd like to meet with with others as well if possible because the answers were quite honestly insufficient, right? It was hey, this is we what I asked did we get any other estimates? No, we went with 50x50 based on standing on the field and saying that should suffice. It doesn't seem sufficient, right? >> Sure. Yeah, we I mean we consulted with the fencing netting company who does this as their business. Um so that was our consultation, but I can um certainly set up another meeting with you um and we can bring our buildings and grounds supervisor in who took the lead on the
046the consultation uh meeting. >> Yeah, and I'd like to see the the board step up and maybe the fencing contractor to put their their um money, reputation behind it uh by offering to pay for any damages resulting from baseballs that continue to come off the field. Thank you. Any other public want to comment at this time? No? Motion to close public comment. Second. Motion uh to close the meeting. Motion made by Mr. Haybether, seconded by Mrs. Tiers. All those in favor of closing the meeting to the public, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Eyes have it. Motion carried. Meeting is now closed to the public. Mr. Ganola? If I could just add um just wanted to um you know, inform the board >> Um um you know, the allegations regarding um the incident that was spoken
047about in public comment does remain open and ongoing. Um we are currently conducting an HIB investigation as well as a Title IX investigation. These are occurring um in consultation with the police as well as our school board attorney. Um and they are guided by board policy and law. When these investigations conclude, which should be soon, uh we will be communicating with all parties involved regarding the outcome. Um and if at that time any parent or guardian takes issue with the result of that investigation, um there's a formal appeal process to which they can um avail themselves. Thank you. Okay, Mr. Ganola, are we ready for roll call resolutions, please? Yes. Uh there are 24 resolutions on the agenda. We will be going to close session to discuss uh uh two additional ones, but this is
048for resolutions 1 through 24 on the agenda. Do any of these need to be voted on separately? No. No? Okay. So resolutions 1 through 24. Biner? Yes. Kricole? >> Yes. David? >> Yes. Haybether? Yes. Ferdina? Yes. Lodati? Yes. Tiers? Yes. Zimmerman? Yes. Peniche? Yes. Motion carries unanimously. Okay. Mr. Ganola, do we have a need to go into closed executive session? Yes, we do. Okay. Can I have a motion to go into closed executive session? >> Second. Motion made by Mr. David, seconded by Mr. Biner. All those in favor of going into closed executive session, please say aye. Opposed? Eyes have it. Motion carried. Mr. Uh be it resolved by the Board of Education the Board of Education meet in private session from which the public shall be excluded to discuss the topics of personnel, superintendent
049annual evaluation, and litigation, which private discussions being held pursuant to Section 7B and 8 of the Open Public Meetings Act. The matters under discussion will be disclosed to the public as soon as final decisions are made and voted upon. Biner? Yes. Kricole? Yes. David? Yes. Haybether? Yes. Ferdina? Yes. Lodati? Yes. Tiers? Yes. Zimmerman? Yes. Peniche? Yes. Motion carries unanimously. Okay. Uh this uh concludes the public portion of the meeting. As I say stated, we will be returning to public to take uh uh possible action on two additional votes, but that will not be live streamed due to the significant delay in time. So thank you and have a good night, everyone. >> Thank you. Thank you.