001to order and welcome everyone. This meeting is being held in accordance with the schedule of meetings adopted at the organizational meeting held on January 6, 2025. Adequate notice of this regular meeting of the Kennorth Board of Education has been provided to the Home News Tribune, the Star Ledger, the local source on January 16, 20125. A copy has been filed with the Kennorth Burough Clerk posted in the board office, the Kennorth Burough Hall, BR and Harding Schools as is provided by the open public meeting act. Thank you, Mr. Gala. Please rise. Join us in a salute to the flag 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. Mr. Ganalo, can we please have roll call? Biner
002here. Crinkoli here. David here. Ferrara. Habrith here. Hardina here. Lead here. Penichi here. Zimmerman here. We have quorum. Thank you. We'll now have the receiving of the BOE minutes and committee meeting notes of the secretary, the regular BOE meeting notes of the secretary from April 14th, 2025 and April 30th, 2025. Can I please have a motion? So move. Second. Second. Motion made by Mr. Habith, seconded by Dr. Conoli. All those in favor of receiving of the minutes from April 14th and 30th, 2025, please say I. Oppose. Eyes have it. Motions carried. Thank you. Uh Mr. Ganelloo, do we have any monthly correspondence? We do not. Okay. At this point, we will have superintendent reports and presentations. Superintendent Davies. Uh good evening everyone. Um I'm going to be calling up Mr. Ganella in a few moments
003to provide his referendum projects update. But before I do that, just a few things. I want to remind all of our parents and guardians that NJSLA testing is happening throughout the month of May. Uh third and fourth graders were testing last week. Today and tomorrow our fifth and sixth graders are testing in math and they test again next week um in language arts. Meanwhile at Brley, Mr. Pillo sent out the testing schedule which begins later this week at the middle and high school. Please consult Mr. Pill's email for all the details at Brley. I just ask that all parents of students who are testing to please reiterate what we always tell our students here at school that they've been well prepared by their teachers and that they should put their best effort into these assessments.
004and I wish all of our students best of luck on NJSLA testing. Another topic I'd like to draw our parents attention to is the New Jersey School Climate Improvement Survey. Uh it's also known as the Sky Survey. Um in addition to academic achievement, we want to make sure our schools are places where students feel like they belong, where there's a healthy climate. Therefore, we've partnered with Rutgers University and administering the school climate improvement survey. Uh Harding parents, you'll be receiving an email from me tomorrow for you to complete that survey. There'll be a link. Takes about 15 minutes. Breley parents, you'll receive your link in early June. Um the survey is available in four different languages. And I'm just asking for strong participation so we can gather u really strong information to make best decisions
005to improve the school climate for both Harding and Brley. Please, I ask for 15 minutes of your time over the next few weeks uh so we can prepare for the 2526 school year. Also, um while it was last week, it's never um it's always appropriate to recognize our teachers. Uh last week was teacher appreciation week. Uh so I want to publicly express my gratitude for the hard work and energy our teachers put forth into our profession and how much they give to our students. Thank you teachers. Um, you have a you have wonderful teachers here in town. I've always seen that firsthand at Breley and I've had the joy of seeing that at Harding these past few months as superintendent. Uh, I see dedication, I see integrity, I see love. Um, it's wonderful to work
006in a a district that has teachers as strong as ours. So, thank you to all of our district teachers. Similarly, last week was nurses appreciation week. Uh, so I'd like to publicly recognize our nursing staff, Miss Bishop, Miss Botino, and Miss Condo for all that they do. um everything from a little tummy ache uh to some serious incidents as well. They're always there for our students and they deserve a lot of appreciation from all of us. So, thank you to our nurses. Um speaking of appreciation, a moment to recognize Mr. Michael Tetsoff. If you look at resolution 27, Mr. Tetsoff has announced his retirement. He's served the community of Kennallorth as a social studies teacher since 2011 uh at David Burley. In these past 14 years, Mr. Tetsoff has impacted hundreds of students and their
007appreciation for our American history, our founding principles as a nation, and the need to maintain a high level of civic engagement. I know several individuals that Mr. Tesloff has personally inspired to become a teacher themselves. So, Mr. Tesloff, thank you for your service to our district and to our students. Also, I want to draw everyone's attention to resolution number 31, which is my recommendation to the board to approve our current supervisor of special education, Miss Kathleen Derillo, as Kennallorth's next director of student personnel services. Mr. Dillo has proven herself as a thoughtful and thorough administrator who works collaboratively with students, parents, and staff to best serve the needs of the district. Mr. has a calm, kind, and decisive demeanor, strong follow-through, creativity, and problem solving, and program planning, and truly enjoys calling Kennallorth her professional
008home. I know that she will serve our students very well in this new role as director of student personnel services. And she's joining us tonight, Miss Derillo. Um, also additionally, you'll see in resolution 32, um, Miss Maline Pavlech, which is my recommendation to the board for Miss Pavlech to be hired as the new David Brerley Middle School, our first ever middle school principal. This is an exciting time for our district and a wonderful time to be a middle schooler because Miss Pavle was born to lead a middle school. She has co-led Brley as its assistant principal for the past four years, bringing to our district loyalty, a superb work ethic, and an eagerness and openness to improve and grow. She is a champion for the middle school child and the middle school identity. Under Miss
009Pavle's leadership, I'm confident that the middle school will grow into a thriving school in its own right. And she is joining us as well, Miss Pavlech. Um, these leadership recommendations are representative of a restructuring of the administrative team that you'll also see in resolution 26. As part of this restructuring, uh, which was partly, um, to help with our budget situation, I'm also recommending Mr. Scott Miller become the David Brley High School supervisor of student discipline, athletics, and special projects. And I'm recommending Miss Don Kuchallo shift directorships to become the director of human resources and community outreach. Both of these administrators have served our district in other capacities and I look forward to them growing into these new positions to enhance the educational experience for our students. Also, I want to thank the entire leadership team
010for appreciating where we are with our budget crisis uh and understanding the need to take on more responsibility uh for everyone. Um finally, a few things. Resolution 51 is a conf confirmation of HIV investigations we reviewed in April. These incidents occurred in March. There were three investigations at Brley, two founded, one unfounded. And also some calendar updates for our parents especially. Please note that this Wednesday is a early dismissal day for both Harding and students uh at Brley for teacher professional development in the afternoon. That's this Wednesday. Also a reminder there's no school on Friday, May 23rd. That's a um unused snow day. So the day before Memorial Day weekend kicks off. And then I know Nelie will provide us uh some really updates. Just two Harding updates for everyone to know. Um Harding is
011putting on Annie Jr. this Friday. Uh so excited for Annie Jr. I encourage everyone to attend. Uh the students have been uh rehearsing under the leadership of Mr. Mills. It's going to be a fantastic performance this Friday at 7 p.m. at Harding's newly refurbished auditorium. So I'm excited for that. And then next Wednesday, May 21st, is Harding's music concert uh at 6:30. So can't wait to see Harding's music students perform uh next Wednesday. Uh with that, uh Miss Sully, Miss Nelie Sully is here to present the Brley updates from the student le liaison. Nelie. Good evening everyone. I'm Nelie Sully and I'm excited to be here as David Bley, board of education representative to talk about our recent and upcoming events. May 1st was National College Decision Day. Seniors proudly wore their intended college gear.
012May 2nd and 3rd, audiences were treated to Emma the musical performed by the high school drama department. Congrats to Mr. Weinstein and the entire cast. On May 7th, Mrs. S dance classes performed in the high school auditorium to a packed house. Advanced placement testing began on May 5th and will continue until May 22nd. This week and next week, students will take the NJSLA. An email went out to all the parents from Mr. Pillo explaining the schedule for May 15 and to May 22nd. I hope everyone has a restful Memorial Day weekend. We will appreciate not having school that day and I will be sleeping in on May 27th. Thank you for giving me your time today. Next month will be my last board meeting as a burly bear. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you,
013Nelson. Appreciate it. Any questions for Nelson before she leaves about student events at really? No. All good. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Nelson. Have a good night. Thank you. Have a good afternoon. Uh, next up is Mr. Ganella with our uh presentation on the referendum construction projects. Mr. Ganell good evening everyone. Uh first like to u start going over our uh projects that we've um um coming to real close to uh completing some of them. Um the field uh we're just have a little more work to do on that. Uh actually no more work, just paperwork uh to finish that as well as the HVAC. Uh those are more punch list type of items. Um going back and reviewing uh what needs to be readressed. um getting close to hopefully we'll have both of those
014um uh we'll definitely have the field work done uh by June uh and hopefully the HVAC by uh the end of the school year. I'd like to get those off the books and completed. Obviously, the addition and the renovation work will continue throughout the summer. Uh area A, which is the addition and the renovation work, uh the storefront is in progress, which is basically you you could see the um the doors going up. uh mechanical, electrical and plumbing uh rough uh installation is is pretty much complete. In fact, we had the inspection above ceiling uh inspection today on the second floor. Uh the staircases uh and railings have been installed and painted. Casework installation is in progress. Um uh that's the the the casework that goes into the classrooms and the offices. Uh not the
015science lab equipment. That's a separate contract that will which will start uh sometime in June. Uh elevator was delivered last week. Installation is uh soon to be scheduled. Uh painting is in progress. Um uh almost everything has had at least one coat. Uh the tile floors are starting to be uh installed. Uh flooring installation is being scheduled. Um the first floors uh the first floor will have polished concrete and the uh second floor will have LVT tile. Um the auditoriums are complete. Um uh we received our uh occupancy and we were already been using them as you've uh uh as Mr. Davies has indicated we already had some performances in both um uh spaces and Annie is this week. Um, Harding passed its final inspection, so we were good to to to get it. Uh,
016some pictures here. You can see the exterior um, uh, the entrance, uh, and the storefront and the windows are in. The glazing has there is glazing on site. It's going to start being installed tomorrow. Second picture on the top is the, uh, middle school courtyard area. You can see that the uh, sidewalks has been installed. The third picture is the emergency exit stairwell going from the second floor to the first floor on the uh actually ex to the exterior uh in the um uh addition. Uh the third the third picture first picture on the bottom there on the left hand side is the uh exterior. You could start to see what it's going to look like in the final version. Um middle picture there on the bottom is the uh the the toilet rooms have
017received their windows, their not their windows, their uh toilets and their sinks. And in that big box is a mirror I believe. Um today they're working on the uh panel metal panel uh for the entrance. Um that finally we finally received the trim to allow us to to continue that work there and it's starting to look sharp. Um on the second floor uh you could see on that top picture that's the unistrut uh suspension in the physics room that allows us to uh the physics teachers to hang things off and suspend things from the uh the from the ceiling. Um uh the ceiling tiles have uh grids have all been installed. Uh you could see the on the third picture on the top you could see the lockers installed but you could also see the
018wardrobes that will be going into the classrooms uh ready to be positioned uh there to go into the classrooms. Um the bottom picture is the uh special education classroom on the second floor. Uh some of the um cabinetry and fixtures there. Uh the third picture, the the middle picture is the um that would be the um um I think it's the art room. And the bottom p the last picture there is the first floor hallway. That would be high school. You can tell the difference between the high school and the middle school hallways. Middle school has lockers. The high school does. Here you could see the um office space coming to um um coming together. uh you could see the the mailboxes for the teachers and you could see uh beyond that you could see
019the um counter uh for the reception counter. Uh the next picture is the conference room uh for the middle school. Uh the third picture is the teacher workroom for the middle school. Um then the bottom is the lobby. Um, and the second picture is looking from the stairwell up uh uh to the lobby uh to the main main office um windows. Um the final picture is the nurse's office uh with its cabinetry installed. So uh we're getting close. As I said, the uh field project is 99.1% mechanical HBAC is 95.8. The additions and alterations is 65.6. Auditorium seating is 100% and we're still waiting for the science um uh middle school science and high school science rooms um cabinetry and tables and um um all that equipment. Okay. Any questions? No. Okay. On tonight's tonight's
020uh agenda, we have some small approvals uh as well as a change order uh for some work that was done um that finally got uh approval. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Canella. Thank you, Mr. Ganella. Uh final things are just uh in your packet, board members, is the April HI report was one investigation resulting in one confirmed harassment, intimidation, and bullying incident at Brarley. So you have those uh details in your packet and then following that information is the April discipline report, the enrollment report and the residency report. And if there's no questions, that concludes my superintendent report. Any questions or need another minute? No. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Dies. We'll now move on to report of committees, review of resolutions, and board discussion. Up first is Mr. Lead with negotiations and finance. Thank
021you. Um so, um as always, I reviewed all the financial reports and um I found them to be accurate and appropriate. Um it's just on 276 pages this month. Thanks. Thanks for let me review that. But um under as resolution number four, there was no line item transfers. Um and I'll just get into some of my um report. Now the 202526 budget was approved by the uh by the board at the public meeting on April 30th and final um submitts forward to the executive u been sent to the executive county superintendent. Mr. Ganella met with the burough clerk and we have certified the taxes for the upcoming school year. The userfriendly budget has been posted on the website. Um just get into a few of the resolutions. Um resolution six is payments to the cont
022contractors. I reviewed those bills. They all correspond to the work performed. Um resolutions 8 to 23 are what we consider um schoolyear organizational resolutions. They address various items um that need the board approval so we can operate in the in 202526 school year. They range from anywhere from the tax levy to purchasing options, payment requirements, it custodial services, Genesis um software um and so on. Um final resolution 54 has been added to the agenda for the board consideration and are for two projects previously discussed throughout the budget process. It's fence working along the boulevard and the softball field and bleachers and the curtain for the middle school multi-purpose room. Um, basically that's all I have this evening. Any more questions for Mr. Lady on resolutions. Okay, seeing none, we'll now move on to personnel management.
023Mr. Hathther, thank you very much. There are 26 resolutions and one policy review. Um, resolution 25 approves the collective bargaining agreement with the, uh, secretary, clerks, and aids unit. Uh, resolution 26 is the approval of the organizational chart that Mr. Davies touched on earlier. Uh, resolutions 27 is the approval of Mr. Tets's retirement. Uh, resolution 28, 29, and 30 are the, um, maternity leave of absence requests, uh, revisions, and, um, just general approvals. Resolution 31 is uh the approval of Miss Dillo to be the uh director of student and personnel services. Uh resolution 32 is the approval of Miss Pavle to be the middle school principal. Resolution 33 is uh staff transfers. 34 is uh a withholding of an increment. Resolution 35 is the approval of 2526 certified instructional staff. 37 36 is the approval
024of par profofessional aids and lunch aids for the 2526 school year. 25 uh sorry 37 is the approval of secretarian clerical staff. Uh resolution 38 is the approval of confidential secretaries and non-bargaining unit contract. Um resolution 39 is the approval of custo custodial maintenance staff. Resolution 40 is approval of administrative staff. 41 employment of superintendent uh continued employment of superintendent of school with Mr. Davies. Uh resolution 42 is uh the approval for the school board administrator and board secretary Mr. Ganella. Resolution 43 is the appointment of school position. Uh resolution 44 are various appointments throughout the school. Resolution 45 is co-curricular stipend positions. Resolution 46 is the approval of student teachers. Resolution 47 is the approval of substitute staff. 48 is the approval of curriculum writing. Resolution 49 is the approval of special education extended
025school year staff. And resolution 50 is the approval of summer programs and substitute coverage. Uh resolution 52 is the policy 1400 and 4111 which approves the following of new revised and abolished job descriptions and I won't go through all of them but they're on here. So if anybody has any questions questions or comments for Mr. to go. Um, not so much a question, but just a generalized comment before we get to there. When we do get to voting on resolutions, there will be a number of resolutions within this zone that I would be voting on separately. Um, in the negative, I've discussed multiple times at committee meetings my concerns with some of the situations. I do want it clear that when I do vote no on these, they are not necessarily a reflection on the
026individuals tied to certain positions uh as much as perhaps the positions themselves. So, I just want to put that out there. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. We'll now move on to curriculum instruction. Resolution 51 is the acceptance and the recommendation of the superintendent to accept the HIV report from March 20. I'm sorry, March 1st, 2025 to March 31st, 2025. Anyone have questions regarding the HIV report? Okay, thank you. We will now move on to old business. Anyone have any old business to share? Okay, we I would like to continue business. Um I wasn't at the last meeting. Um I had the honor of being invited to um third third grade culture night, which uh I attended with Mr. Davies. I was able to attend as a parent and a board member and it was
027just absolutely unbelievably done. Um I just want to give credit to all those third grade teachers at Harding. This is really a a fabulous night. It was the pride that the kids took in talking about their heritage and their parents and their grandparents was absolutely beautiful. It was just great night. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Adena. We'd like to remind the public and to parents that there is a Friday folder that goes home from Harding and Really. It has dates, information, we have websites, social medias. Please continue to leverage those informations systems that we have. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to the leadership team or the superintendent so that we can support and address any questions that you have. We'll now move on to new business. Does anyone have any new
028business? Yeah, I'm not sure if it was old or new, but in any event, I just want to say this past Saturday, the Tim Carbone Memorial Scholarship Fund um committee held its annual clothing drive. And on behalf of the committee, which Mr. Lady and myself are both members, I want to thank those students who actually participated in helping on the clothing drive. So, we really appreciate their help. Thank you. That's it. Anyone else? We wanted to also thank the PTO's for both schools, parents, uh local businesses. There was a lot of donations and support for teacher appreciation week and it was a great celebration and we couldn't have done it without everybody's input. So we appreciate everyone's support. We'll now move on to opening up the meeting to public comment. Is there a motion to
029open up the meeting to the public for comment? Okay. Second. Okay. Motion made by Mrs. Zimmerman, seconded by Dr. Conoli. All those in favor of opening the meeting to the public, please say I. Opposed? Eyes have it. Motion's carried. Mr. Ganella. Okay. Public comment will now be accepted. The board of education sets the limit to the public dispute at the board meeting to 5 minutes per person unless prior permission has been granted by the board of education for extended time pursuant to KBO E bylaw 0167. Please be reminded that while members of the public may speak on personnel matters during the public comment, the board of education is legally prohibited from discussing individual personnel issues in public session unless the employee at issue has requested a public discussion. The board's role is to set policy
030and ensure effective operation of our schools. While personnel recommendations are exclusively the responsibility of the superintendent of schools, the board reviews and acts on those recommendations in accordance with state law and district policy, but does not initiate or manage individual staffing decisions. The board and staff board and the superintendent work clo work in close collaboration to main a professional, well functioning school system that serves the best interests of our students, staff, and community. For the record, please indicate your name and address prior to making your comments. Thank you. I'd like to know for the record that we had one written formal request for extended time which we granted. Okay. This point, any public like to come up? Please come up. Hi, Michelle Ryan, Middletown, New Jersey. Um this past Thursday we had our retirement party
031for the association uh for Karen Glover and we were unable to meet with the TAB. So we do want to say we want to get another date on the calendar as soon as possible before the end of the year. So we just wanted to apologize that we weren't able to make that meeting. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Uh, Jia Singleton, 686 Trenton Avenue, right here in Kennallworth. So, to the board of education, thank you for allowing me this time to speak this evening. Um, I've been a Harding parent since my son, who is moving up to middle school, was in kindergarten. Literally from day one, I have tried to be a very active and involved parent, not only for my own child, but for all children and teachers at Harding. At the beginning
032of every school year, I let my son's teachers know that once they have him as a student, they become an integral part of our family forever. they're stuck with us. One of those teachers is Mrs. Le Leslie Bedford. When I learned my son would have Mrs. Bedford as his first grade teacher back in 2019, while I did not know we would experience a global pandemic months later, I did know without a doubt that he would have one of the best teachers around. My son's reading level soared and he came home every day excited to share what Mrs. Beford did and what they learned about. I am fully aware that Mrs. Beford is known to be a strong and demanding teacher who expects a lot from her students, but she should be. We do not send
033our kids to school to become friends with their teachers. We send our kids to school to learn. In Mrs. Ber's class, children truly do learn, and she has their best interests at heart. I have raved about Mrs. Bford to many other parents over the years, and they have come back and raved about the difference she has made in their children's lives. I recently learned of the news of Mrs. bet for being moved from the classroom as a first grade teacher to the media room. To say I was shocked is an understatement. She is a phenomenal teacher and one of the absolute best at Harding, which is also an understatement. So, I could not understand why this decision was being made. I'm not sure if my letter will make any difference, but I could not not
034be here this evening even postponing my mom's birthday who's in town today. I had to be here because I just, you know, I want to be an example to my son as well. When you feel something, you have to speak up. So I want to also, you know, be an example for him as well. Um, and my mom said, "Please go." She's she's she loved Mrs. loves Mrs. Befford as well to offer my support for one of Harding's best. If there is an opportunity for this decision to remove Mrs. B from the classroom to be changed, I hope a reconsideration will be made. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Randy Love, 79 Park Drive. Been here I don't know how many times. It's good to see other people here in the audience as well.
035Maybe not for the best of reasons, but good to see other people here. Um people that are here. I've been here numerous times complaining to the board and to administration and they listen. So don't think that things necessarily always fall in deaf ears. Um I'll start off with this. For the past year, I've been a thorn in all your sides as well as the police department about the fire lanes at the schools. Uh I would been told that once the weather broke, uh lines would be painted, signs would be put up, it would be taken care of. Uh it's yet to be done. I was happy to see when I came in today, nobody was actually parked in the fire lane here. They use the parking spots, but um anybody ever goes for pickup at
036at the at um Harding, it's it's a disaster. and god forbid there's an emergency there. We're really looking for a problem and why this isn't being taken care of it. It's beyond me. So, if it is scheduled to be done, if somebody could please let me know when so I could stop giving you guys a hard time about it, that'd be awesome. Uh, next thing, um, my wife is president of the PTO for Harding and I get to do some of her dirty work sometimes. Um, she has been harassed also from parents asking what happened to the $30,000 donation that they gave to to I guess you guys or the school or whatever. I I don't know exactly where it was supposed to go to, but whatever. Um, she's wondering when that $30,000 is actually
037going to be used for the outdoor learning space. Um, she was told that there was going to be a committee formed to come up with ideas and all this other stuff. This was like, I don't know, five, six months ago or something. Nobody has heard anything. So, people are asking what's up with the 30,000. Um, I think they have a right to know what happened to that money or where it's going or when it's going to be used or whatever. Um, I also couldn't make it to the last meeting. I did see that we're upgrading the school playground areas, but is any consideration being taken into account for kids that might have physical disabilities that can't do things? And if so, that's awesome. But it was kind of hard to tell from YouTube and looking
038at the the stuff that was online. Um, so if it is, that's awesome. If not, I think that really needs to be considered. Next, the reason why everybody is here. Um, until I saw this paper, it was to me it was just rumors and speculation about what was going on with uh, Miss Bedford, but come to find out that she is looking to be moved to the tech media specialist. Um, here's what I kind of wrote. I'll go off of it. Uh, I'm not one to tell anyone how to do their jobs and certainly not make important decisions, especially when I don't know all the information. But what I can do is speak on my own experience as a parent and a business owner. As a parent, I got the opportunity to have both my
039kids in Miss Bedford's first grade class. When we first learned that Victor, our oldest child, was going to be with Miss Bedford, we were worried because of all the rumors we heard about Miss Bedford. Uh, the rumors that we heard was how strict she is, how hard of a teacher she is, and how hard she is on the kids. But those rumors were from the parents that didn't have Mrs. Bedford as a teacher. When we actually spoke to parents that had her, it was, yeah, she's hard. Yeah, she gives a ton of homework, but your kid is going to benefit from it. So, if you want your kid to improve in life, you want Mrs. Bedford. That's exactly what we did. And we're like, you know what? We're we're going to we're going to ride
040this out and see where this takes us. Um, when Victor was in her class, he achieved more than I could have imagined. Uh, his reading went up. Everything just improved. I mean, any first grader should improve, but it's like beyond expectations of what we were looking for. Um, we developed a great respect for her. my kids developed an enormous respect for her and that respect that they uh that she has earned still carries out to this day. Um when my son got out of first grade, my family went a year without Mrs. Bedford as a teacher. Uh but that didn't really mean anything because every day at pickup we were there, we were bsing with Mrs. Bedford and it was like our kids were still in the class. They would walk past her classroom, she
041would be yelling out in the hallway at them. um they would yell back into her and not in a disruptive way but in a uh typical Mrs. Bedford way with if any of you have been around her, you would know exactly what I'm talking about. Um the next year we found out that Victoria was going to be in her classroom and she was, you know, beyond thrilled with it and so are we. And Victoria, and I hope that they're not listening to this, got a lot more out of Mrs. Bedford than my son did. She excelled like this much more. Uh if Victor heard this, he'd want to kill me, but it is what it is. Um so to me, first grade is her home. That's where she belongs. Uh probably if you looked at
042a dictionary or um encyclopedia, if those even exist anymore, it'd be like her picture or her sketch. Not media tech. Like I don't I don't even know if she knows what that means. But um you know, we've exceeded the five minutes. It's five minutes. I'm sorry. We only had requis Thank you. Sorry. Thank you. Next person that would like to come up for comment, please. Thank you. Hi, Britney Dalamo, 740 Clinton Avenue. Um, my name is Britney Djamo. I have two children, ages eight and six, enrolled at Harding. I've had the honor of serving as a class mom for the last three years and as the PTO corresponding secretary for the last year. All this to say that I consider myself to be an active involved parent at the school. I find myself in the
043building pretty frequently and have been able to interact with many of our teachers and administrators. I wholeheartedly believe that Harding School has a roster full of absolutely incredible educators whose main concern is always putting the children and their needs first. And while the school is full of A+ educators, I think you would be hardressed to find one that is more valuable than Mrs. Bedford. Mrs. Bedford is the stuff of legends. My daughter was lucky enough to be a part of her classroom last year, and I can honestly say that Mrs. Bedford changed her life. You'll hear more about that from her later. As a parent, I could not have dreamed for a better teacher. Every report card we received came with two pages similar to this typed report about my daughter. When we first received
044it, I cried tears of joy reading it, and everyone I showed it to did as well. I couldn't believe that Mrs. Bedford had not only taken the time to give us such a detailed report, but more importantly, how well she had gotten to know my daughter and the short time she had with her before the report cards were were issued. And it didn't stop there. Every report card was accompanied with a report like this. There was no questioning where my daughter was at because these reports highlighted where she was thriving while giving tips on how to help in areas she wasn't as successful. It is clear that Mrs. Bedford loves being a teacher. Her students would agree walking into her classroom is a magical experience. She creates so many hands-on learning opportunities for the children
045and makes learning so fun. But to me, what made Mrs. Bedford so special was the connection she made with every student in the classroom. She somehow found the time to find out what each one of them loved and what is able to connect with them on a one-on-one level and make them feel special for it. My daughter loves to get dressed up and when Mrs. Bedford recognized that, she would praise her outfits daily and make her go show them off to some of the neighboring teachers. One of the kids in her class was going to his first Major League Baseball game. And the way the class was so excited for him thanks to Mrs. Bedford hyping him up. You would have thought he had just gotten drafted to the major leagues himself. I watched her
046at a class trip to the library taking pictures of a student's drawings so when they got back to school he could go show them off to Mrs. Bony. The way she found what each child in her care was passionate about and encouraged them in it was truly magical. Towards the end of last year I sent Mr. Bubnowski an email about Mattea's first grade year. This is part of what it said. Mattea had the honor of being a part of Mrs. Bedford's bunch this year. I am absolutely floored by the growth she has experienced in her classroom. Her reading level, her math skills, and her confidence in herself and capabilities has improved tremendously. As a parent, Mrs. Bedford was absolutely everything I dream about as an educator for my child. Our kids spent so much time
047in school, and I knew under Mrs. Bedford's watch, my child was safe, happy, and truly growing to her full potential and then some. Mrs. Bedford takes her time getting to know her students so well and celebrates them every mo every moment she gets, big or small. The passion she has for her job sign shines through each one of the children who walk through her classroom doors. I am so happy we got to experience having her as a teacher. She is truly the kind of teacher I know Mattea will be talking about for the rest of her life. I'm not sure who was more upset about our time with Mrs. Bedford ending war. My husband and I or Mattea. When I heard the change about the changes happening, I was absolutely devastated on a personal level
048because I have a child entering first grade next year, but also for all the children that are going to be robbed of the experience of being part of Mrs. Bedford's bunch. Mrs. Bedsford's magic is in the relationship she builds with her class throughout the year throughout the year, which will be impossible for her to do in her new proposed role. Will she be great at it? I'm sure she will be because she's a phenomenal educator. She would be great anywhere. But as I've stated numerous times already, her superpower is her connection. A half hour a day once a week takes that away from her. I won't pretend to understand what goes into making decisions like these. But an as an outsider looking in, I can tell you how it looks to me. I see a
049woman who has devoted over 25 years to her students and the school. Going above and beyond to create an atmosphere that makes learning fun and dedicating her free time to fun activities that happen in our school, such as our winter palooa and our talent show. I see a teacher who takes the time to come to PTO meetings and is always offering assistance for anything we need help with and all that to be ripped from her classroom, her home. I can't imagine the message it sends to all the other teaching teachers in the building who watch who are watching this happen to her. I'm sure this decision was not made hastily, but I cannot express enough how much I think this will negatively impact our school for years to come. I hope you consider the parents
050and the students words here tonight and truly reflect on what a change like this will mean for our students. Thank you for your time. You Hi, my name is Mata 740 Clinton Avenue. This is coming from my heart because I love Miss Beford so much. Miss Beford is great at teaching kids how to read. When I started first grade, I started at at the end of the school year at this QRS. Miss Beford is really good at doing crafts, but in half an hour she can't do all those fun crafts she does. Miss Beford is great at teaching math. After one lesson, I would know all of them. Miss Beford comes up with these crazy ideas that she can't do if she's the media teacher. Miss Beford is great at helping kids spell. She comes
051up with crazy to do for everyone. It's really fun. I think this background is great at first grade. Thank you. [Applause] Hi, good evening. Uh Si Geramo, 740 Clinton Avenue. I'm also here to speak about uh Miss Bedford. And I can go on and on and reiterate everything the other parents have said, how great of a teacher she is. Um just take Mattea's example. Uh her ability to articulate how she feels. write that down on a piece of paper, come up here and speak in front of all of you. I think that is a direct result of having Miss Bedford as a teacher. Uh I think that says a lot. I do have a personal interest. I'm hoping my she's my son's teacher next year. But um just look at all the parents that are
052already that they don't have a personal interest, but they did come feel compelled to come here and talk and uh try to advocate for her. I'm hoping I know you guys said you don't um make decisions, but you can make a recommendation. Please consider everything you heard here tonight. Um her experience all her years of teaching first grade. Uh her reported unwillingness and unhappiness about finding out that she is going to be moved. And um I hope you guys and as a voter too for half of you. Uh consider making that recommendation please. Appreciate it. Thank you. Good evening everyone. My name is Tom Martins. I live at 342 Ashwood au here in Kennallorth. So my story with Miss Bedford is that my child has been here at um Harding for you know since kindergarten
053and Dylan didn't know how to read. Okay. So um you know we were trying to do everything for him to get to read in kindergarten. He knew how to read but it wasn't it wasn't clear enough. Okay. So when he got into first grade, I also heard a bunch of rumors. I was on soccer fields and, you know, at my friends baseball games and people would come up to me and be like, "Oh, your son has Miss Beford. Wow." You know, you gota you got to toughen him up because it's going to be a hard year for him. And I was like, "Okay." I always have an open mind to everything. That's just how I see it. Harding has been nothing but great to my kids. all the teachers they've had amazing. I have a
054kid in fourth grade right now, another one in second grade, which I'm talking about him, Dylan. Um, and I remember being home one day at my office and getting a call from Miss Beford from CR, you know, from the school and I'm like, uhoh, what did Dylan do? So, I picked up the phone and she goes, "Hi, Miss Martins." I was like, "Hi, Miss Beford. How are you?" And she goes, "Well, I have someone who wants to talk to you." I was like, "Oh god, what did he do today?" She put Dylan on the phone. Mommy, I began to read today. He read for the first time a book with her. I cried. He goes, and he was like, "And Miss Bedford made a party for me." And I'm like, "A party?" I was like,
055"What are you talking about?" So apparently she does like you know awards them like with little sprinkles and whatever makes them feel part you know like it made him feel so special. She will always hold a special place in my heart. She taught my kid how to read. So please I don't know what decisions. This is my first time here. I also found out and I I was a little late because because I had to come from work but I just want you to reconsider anything you do. She's a great teacher and I think every student could benefit from her here at your school. So that's what I have. Have a good evening everyone. Thank you. Good. Good evening. Jim Kesler Kennelorth. It's been a while since I've been back at the board meeting. Vince,
056I like what you did with the place. Um looks good. Uh nice to see the people I recognize. Um I'm going to echo the thoughts of all the people the people that spoke before me and I ask for the board's attention when I speak. Um I thank you for one I want to thank you for the opportunity to come and speak tonight. Um although I no longer I have four children are longer none although none of them are still in Harding I feel obligated to speak on the future generations of students that will walk through the halls of Harding. Um Mrs. Bedford I've known her for a long time. Uh I I echo everything that everybody said about her as a teacher, but she's a teacher who's also a friend of mine. So when when
057I heard of what transpired, I I felt an obligation to come here and speak. I understand the challenges in education. I'm on the periphery, like I said, but I understand the challenges in education, how complex it is. But there's one thing that's certain great teachers change lives. Um in my opinion, Mrs. Bedford is one of those teachers. Um, education to me is not about test scores. It's not about textbooks. It's about developing children to be the best version of themsel. And I think and I know Mrs. Bedford does that. I've developed friendships with her and I built friendships with other teachers throughout the school. I ask the board to guide this administration at Harding. And I'm it's unfortunate Mr. Bowski is not here. I don't know if he typically attends, but it's unfortunate he's not
058here. I asked the board to offer an guidance in this decision. And I off I ask the board to not only do that but to recognize and support the teachers and the invaluable resources that they bring each and every day to the classroom. Thank you. Thank you. Any other public would you like to make a comment or speak at this time? No. No. Okay. Seeing none, portion of the meeting. Second. Second. Okay. Motion made by Mr. Davis, seconded by Mr. Haber. All those in favor of closing the meeting to the public, please say I. I. Opposed. Eyes have it. Motion carries. The meeting is um sure. The meeting is now closed to the public. And Mr. Davies would like to. Thank you so much. I just want to say um to all the parents who
059spoke, thank you so much. Um uh thanks for speaking. You know um and also Mattea um where'd you go? Um thank you. One of our school one of our district goals is to help students develop their voice. And it was just uh impressive to see you stand up there and use your voice. So I encourage um and thank parents and students who spoke tonight to use your voice to let you know to let us know what matters to you. So thank you very much. As Mr. Gellis said earlier, you know, the board is legally prohibited from commenting on individual personnel matters. I'm happy to follow up with any of you any of you as you um as you would like. Um please know that this has been an extraordinarily challenging budget year. Uh due to
060the limitations of the budget cap and significant loss of state aid, the district was forced to make very difficult decisions. If you were here at our last meeting, you know that we had to non-renew nine uh certificated staff members districtwide. Um these reductions created ripple effect across the district leading to um a lot of staff shift shifts and um necessary reassignments. Um but I understand that these changes have caused um a lot of questions raise questions and cause concerns. Um so again I welcome the opportunity to speak with each of you uh separately. If you so choose or would like to be heard further after this meeting um please feel free to to reach out to me. But thank you for being here tonight and um thank you Mr. Lovechuk. We do hear you. We
061do listen and we do take all things into consideration. So I appreciate everyone being here tonight. Mr. Ganella, are we prepared to vote on resolutions? Yes, we are. Okay. We have 54 resolutions on the agenda. Do any of them need to be voted on separately? Yes. Okay. numbers 26, 31, 32, 33, 35, and 40. Okay. So, first we will do resolutions 1 through 54 excluding 26, 31, 32, 33, 35, and 40. Viner, yes. Crinki, yes. David, yes. Ather, yes. Hardina, yes. Yes. Zimmerman, yes. Bonichi. Yes. Motion carry. Okay. Next is number 26 on the agenda. Biner, yes. Crinkolei, yes. David, yes. Haber, yes. Harderina, yes. Madatti, yes. Zimmerman, no. Penichi, yes. Motion carries. Next is 31 on the agenda. Biner, yes. Koli, yes. David, yes. Ather yes. Herdina, yes. Lead, yes. Zimmerman, no. Penichi, yes.
062Motion carries. Next is 32. This is for resolution number 32. Biner. Yes. Granoli. Yes. David. Yes. Tabithaur. Yes. Herd. Yes. Lead. Yes. Zimmerman. No. Ponichi. Yes. Motion carries. 33. Biner. Yes. Crankoli. Yes. David. Yes. Yes. Herd. Yes. Lead. Yes. Zimmerman. No. Pinichi. Yes. Motion carries. 33. I'm 35. Uh. Biner. Yes. Crinkley. Yes. David. Yes. Ather. Yes. Herdina. Yes. Lead. Yes. Zimmerman. No. And Panichi. Yes. Okay. Motion carries. And finally, resolution number 40. Number 40. Yeah. Biner. Yes. Crinkley. Yes. David, yes. Ather. Yes. Herdina. Yes. Lead. Yes. Zimmerman. No. And Panichi. Yes. Motion carries unanimously. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Gala. Do we need to go into close executive session? Uh, yes. Yes, we do. Okay. Um, unanimous. Oh, did I say unanimous? Sorry. 7 to1. Sorry. Sorry. 71. Uh, can I have a motion to go
063into close executive session? Motion. Second. Second. Okay. Motion made by Mr. Ber. Seconded by Mr. David. All those in favor of going into close executive session, please say I. Opposed. Eyes have it. Motions carried. Mr. Ganella. Uh the board of education uh be resolved. The board of education meet in private session. Um the meeting from which the public shall be excluded to discuss the topics of personnel uh PSA negotiations and attorney client privilege uh which private discussion is being held pursuant to section 7B and 8 of the open public meetings act. Matters under discussion will be disclosed to the public as soon as final decisions are made and voted upon. Biner, yes. Crankoli, yes. David, yes. Amar, yes. Hardina, yes. Madi, yes. Zimmerman, yes. Panichi, yes. Motion carries unanimously. Okay. Thank you everyone for coming.
064We're now going to go into close session. Have a good evening. Thank you. Thank you.