001That microphone works. Where's Where's the fuzzy thing? All right. So, we'll call some order 6:03 p.m. This is to advise the general public that in compliance with the open public meetings act, the Little Egg Harbor Board of Education was advertised in the Atlantic City Press and posted at the office of the Board of Education located at 307 Dock Road, Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey and posted at the office of the Municipal Clerk of Little Egg Harbor. Roll call, please. Mr. Trcone is absent with notice. Ms. Urban? Hello. Here. Ms. Lesniak? Ms. Middlekoop? Dr. Snyder? Here. Mr. O'Keefe? Here. Mr. Philishaw? Here. 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.
002Okay, moving on to student presentations. Student of the month acknowledgements for George J. Mitchell and Frog [singing] Pond Elementary. First, George J. Mitchell. Good evening. >> Good evening. The George Mitchell Character Trait of the Month for April was cooperation. All the students who will be presented tonight were chosen based on that trait. First, I'd like to call up Ayush. >> [applause] >> The special area teachers chose Ayush and this is what they had to say. Ayush consistently shows cooperation, kindness, and a willingness to help his classmates. He leads by example, demonstrating respect in every class he attends. His positive energy truly helps to create a warm, welcoming, and supportive learning environment for everyone. >> [applause] >> Next, Joey Balada. >> [applause] >> The special area teachers also chose Joey and this is what they had
003to say. Giuseppe Joey is a valued member of our first grade classes. He consistently demonstrates cooperation and a positive attitude. He is always willing to lend a helping hand and step up and comfort a friend in need. Joey sets a strong example of respect and responsibility in everything he does. His upbeat, friendly energy is contagious and contributes to a positive learning experience for those around him. >> [applause] >> Next, we have Cain Harmon. >> [applause] >> Miss Younger says, "Cain's a hard worker Jaeger says Kane is a hard worker who will help his classmates and cooperate in any task in all aspects of the day and approaches difficult tasks with a positive attitude. Kane works together with his peers in a cooperative manner. Keep working hard, Kane. We are so proud of you. >> [applause]
004[applause] >> Miss Whitacre chose Finnegan and she said, "Finnegan is a kind and thoughtful friend to his classmates. His patience, generosity, and willingness to lend a hand is someone others naturally look up to. Finnegan leads by example showing what it means to be supportive, responsible, and caring. Finnegan is a role model to his classmates. Well done, Finnegan Ford." >> [applause] [applause] >> Please take a cookie for your siblings as well. Mhm. >> Good evening everyone. We are here for the Frog Pond citizen of the month now. Our first Frog Pond citizen of the month Sophia is our >> [applause] >> And here is what his prayer had to say about you. Each week, Sophia brings enthusiasm and positivity to the music classroom. She always sings with joy and motivates others to participate alongside her. Sophia
005offers creative ideas that give a new perspective to our lesson goals, whether it be a fun nickname for a note or a new way to sing out a rhythm pattern. I cannot wait to see where her musical journey takes her and I look forward to playing the recorder more with her this spring. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> Our next student of the month comes from the health and PE department. That's Mr. Bleak, Mrs. Ostler, and Mr. Martinez. And it's from Mrs. Truck's class, Abel Solaro. >> [applause] >> We are going to do some wonderful things about Abel. This month's student of the month is Abel who is being recognized for consistently giving his best effort in physical education and health. No matter the activity or challenge, he never gives up and always maintains a positive attitude.
006He's also very polite and demonstrates excellent character by consistently following our school expectations to be respectful, responsible, and safe. Abel can always be counted on to try his hardest, support his classmates, and do the right thing both in and out of PE class. Keep up the great work. CONGRATULATIONS. >> [applause] >> NEXT WE HAVE ROWAN YODER. >> [applause] >> ROWAN ALWAYS ARRIVES AND IS positive and ready to put her creativity to work. Rowan is an active participant in class discussions and projects and is always willing to help out, whether it be the teacher or a classmate. Because of all this and more, Rowan is my choice for April student of the month. So, congratulations. >> [applause] >> Our next student of the month comes from fifth grade and this is Lennon Homer Lennon what he
007knows. >> [applause] >> Lennon Homer >> [music] >> is nominated by Mrs. Broster and Mrs. Bruno, so this is really from both teachers. Lennon is an absolute joy to have in class. Not only hard working, but is also kind, respectful, and considerate of others. Mrs. Bruno says, "I find Lennon's positive attitude toward learning and willingness to persevere through difficult problems is refreshing. She is the student of the month in April, but really this award is to celebrate her entire amazing year. So, awesome job Lennon. >> [applause] >> Lennon, come on up. Come on up. Mrs. Broster and Mrs. Bruno say we appreciate you and all of your efforts and the at home work for you. They say we need to please keep your joy of life, love of Christmas, infectious laugh, and outstanding work ethic.
008Don't ever lose those things. >> [applause] >> And last but not least, we have Ella Shelton. Come on up Ella. >> [applause] >> Ella is nominated by the health and PE department, Mr. Weid, Mr. Hoffman, and Mr. Martinez. This month's student of the month in health is Ella, who is consistently a kind and respectful member of our classroom. She completes all of her assignments with care and responsibility, always putting forth her best effort in her work. Ella treats both adults and classmates with respect and kindness, helping to create a positive and welcoming learning environment. She's a true pleasure to have in class and sets a wonderful example for her peers each day. Keep up the excellent work, Ella. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> Yes. All right, we're going to kind of rewind for a second. So,
009we mentioned earlier our student of the month from recognized by the health and PE department is Abel Solero. So, Abel Solero, come on up. >> [applause] >> So, this month's student of the month is Abel, who is being recognized for consistently giving his best effort in physical education. No matter the activity or challenge, Abel never gives up and he always maintains a positive attitude. He's also very polite and demonstrates excellent character by consistently following our school expectations and they are be respectful, be responsible, be safe. Abel can always be counted on to try his hardest, support his classmates and do the right thing, not just in health and PE, but everywhere. Keep up the great work, ABEL. >> [applause] [applause and cheering] >> CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SECOND FAMILY AND THANK YOU once [applause] again to
010family. Brother and sister. >> [laughter] >> All right, thank you very much. Moving on to executive session. May I have a motion for executive session? Motion. Second. Second. Any questions? Whereas the Little Egg Harbor Board of Education is a public body that's subject to the requirements of New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act. All meetings of a public body are required to be open to the public except for NJSA 10:4-12 when public body may exclude public from that portion of meeting in which the public body discusses certain specific matters. And the board has determined that it's necessary and appropriate to discuss certain matters privately in executive session where certain subjects will be excluded. Now, therefore, the board intends to move to executive session for the following purposes. The board is going to go into executive session
011to discuss negotiations. To receive attorney-client advice and to discuss personnel matters and contracts. It's expected that the board will be in executive session until 8:00. We will not be taking any formal action in executive session. To the extent that any formal action is taken, it will be done out here in the sunshine after executive session. All in favor? Motion carried. >> Mhm. >> All right, we're out of executive session. It is 3:00 p.m. Approval of the agenda. I recommend motion to approve the agenda. Can I have a motion, please? >> Motion to approve. Second. Second. Are there any questions? All in favor? Aye. Okay, approval of the minutes. Recommend motion to accept the following minutes. Can I have a motion, please? Motion to accept the minutes. Can I have a second? Second. Any questions? Motion
012to accept the minutes as presented. All in favor? Aye. Motion carries. Okay, public comment. The Board of Education now welcomes the public to comment on the items which are on our agenda tonight. It it not always be possible or appropriate for the board to directly answer questions during public comment. Each speaker is allotted a maximum of 5 minutes to make their statement. No one may speak more than once on the same topic. You're required to give your name and address before speaking. Please keep your comments respectful and non-defamatory. Maintain the level of decorum appropriate for a public meeting where minors may be in the audience. Seeing none. Correspondents. Informational items to follow items are being presented for informational purposes. Any questions? >> [clears throat] >> Seeing none. Superintendent's report. >> Oh, just one question. So,
013the amendment on E, that doesn't have to be voted upon? Or will we vote it upon the agenda that I approved? I think it says the next step is to vote. Just to clarify, it's an amendment, so you have to vote on it only? No. Yeah. The way that I read it is that it's correspondence regarding an amendment to a motion. I don't know that that requires a vote. I I believe it's just correspondence. But we didn't amend it last week at the meeting. So, I would then ask whoever prepared the agenda to let us know what that that refers to. It was in the minutes that we discussed it and we got to I guess we left it as There was no amendment called last week. I don't think it's supposed to be. Okay.
014Well, there's no action really to be taken anyway. So, I would just ask the administration to clarify at some point what that item is. Okay. Superintendent's report. Thank you. We have an update on our roof repairs. Sun Coast completed all roof repairs associated with the leaks across the building on Friday afternoon and will continue to monitor any issues that arise. We know that there was a leak that occurred today, but it had nothing to do with the roof. It had to do with condenser. Did you have that mentioned? That was the same day. The Ocean County Health Department is looking to focus on key portions of our county where they have seen increased illness related to chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and kidney concerns. All of these illnesses are silent symptoms until health deteriorates
015and treatment is now more difficult. The health screening program is focused on knowing your numbers. For those working adults and families, we know that a visit to the physician and we need to do lack of symptoms. However, we know that some of these illnesses present you with lifestyle and heredity. To do that end, we are in the midst of connecting with the health department to perhaps offer this program to our staff at zero cost subsequent to a virtual meeting with them. So, we're in the process of meeting with them. Please remember that as long as your student is healthy, it is expected that he or she will be present at school each and every day. Every single day is another opportunity for students to engage, learn, and connect with peers and trusted If there are
016any questions about your student attending school due to a health or mental health concern, do not hesitate to reach out to the school nurse, school counselor, and your other building administration, and you can also reach out to Mr. Mancini, the district attendance officer, for additional assistance. We are all aware of the impact of rising health care costs, specifically the recent projected SEHBP premium hike, which remains a critical concern as these increases place an immense strain on local resources often at the expense of educational program. You may have noticed the resolution on this evening's agenda that has also been shared with all Ocean County school districts. As a unified voice, it's an effective way to ensure districts receive the stability and provisions necessary to navigate the health care challenges and investigate and implement reasonable and practical
017long-term solutions. Uh let's give a hearty congratulations to Mrs. Erber, who was recognized a couple of weeks ago at the monthly Ocean County School Board meeting for having obtained the third level of certification, the Master Board Member. In order to receive the certification, board members must have already received the certified board member plus an additional 20 credits for a total of 40. She also had to have attended a minimum of eight county meetings, two NJ SBA delegate assemblies, two annual NJ SBA workshops, and three statewide or regional professional development programs. Additionally, there could be zero ethics violations and a passing score on an examination or portfolio assessment. So, please join me in congratulating Mrs. Erber for this achievement. Thank you, Mrs. Erber. >> [applause] >> The results are in. Thank you to those who responded
018to the brief survey regarding arrival and dismissal times for the 2026-2027 school year. Over 500 responses were received, and 305 of them, 59.1%, chose the earlier option, and 211 responses, 40.9%, chose option B, which is the later time frames. Uh additionally, we received information today indicating that the LEHTA also sent it out uh the survey to to staff members, of which we received they received 150 survey uh 102 members responded, and it too looks like uh that the uh results are similar. It was 83% for the earlier times, 83.3 and 16.7 for option B. And that was uh Mr. Finnegan shared that information with us this afternoon. So, be on the lookout for additional specific information from each building administrator. Each school will send out specific information that pertain to uh each individual school. And
019that is it for my report. Thank you, Dr. Intemann. There are no presentations tonight. Moving on to action items, school business administrator, board secretary. Recommend motion to approve finance items A through F. Can I have a motion, please? Motion. Can I have a second? Second. Are there any questions? You know, I just want to thank the uh Little Egg Harbor Police Department for the several meetings that they've attended um this this season. I was going to say semester, but um we appreciate their assistance and their willingness to help. Okay, roll call, please. Mr. Herbert? Yes. Mr. Schager? Yes. Mr. Middlebrook? Yes. Dr. Schneider? Yes. Mr. O'Keefe? Yes. Mr. Philichio? Yes. Motion carries. Recommend motion to approve school business administrator's non-personnel items A through F. Can I please have a motion? Motion. Can I have a
020second? Second. Are there any questions? >> Yeah, can I have a roll call, please? Ms. Server? Yes. Mr. Lasseigne? Yes. Ms. Littlefield? Yes. Dr. Snyder? Yes, everything except for F. Mr. O'Keefe? Yes. Mr. Philichuk? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Recommend motion to approve personnel items A through G. Can I have a motion, please? So moved. Can I have a second? Second. Are there any questions? Sorry, I think I said F on the wrong one. I don't know if I can change that, but it doesn't I guess it doesn't matter. So then F on the other one is No. The Oh, no, no, okay. The F one on was the school one. Okay, that's fine. I'm good to stay with that. Any questions on personnel personnel items A through G? Seeing none, roll call, please. Ms.
021Server? Yes. Mr. Lasseigne? Yes. Ms. Littlefield? Yes. Dr. Snyder? Uh yes, everything except F. F's nothing to do with the individuals, just the array. Mr. O'Keefe? Yes. Mr. Philichuk? Yes. Motion carries. Recommend motion to approve superintendent of schools and non-personnel items A through H. Can I have a motion, please? Motion. I'll second. Second. Are there any questions? Um G, the secretary facilities maintenance and grounds, do we currently have one? Yes, it's just updating cuz it was very outdated. Okay, but it just doesn't change anything to do with the salary for the position. Just updating. >> Oh, no, no, no. Just that it's just So, it's just an update. Thank you. I have a question. Is there a specific reason why the the policy, when we click on it, it says it's in the trash? Yes.
022Yeah, it's in the trash. That's helpful. This file is in trash. To access this file, take it out of the trash. If this file is in trash >> be no reason for that, but There should be absolutely no reason for I'm going to say that. That's my question. So, mine comes Mine comes up on the agenda. Sometimes it's the way it opens. I've had trouble getting it to I also had other people send me the same screenshot that I have, but it says "If this file is shared, collaborators can still make a copy of it until it's permanently deleted." And I had to I had to click "Take out of trash" in order for it to work. Okay, mine came right up. So, I'm not sure what the So, take a Take a look, but
023it came right up on the on the agenda. Well, actually on the agenda. And then with F on that attachment, I had to request access for it. Yes. Okay, again, popped right up. So, we'll have to take a look just to see where where that is. Okay. I I don't know, but It was very Yeah, cuz I just got them at 3:00 a.m. yesterday, so I didn't review anything until today. or It's a tragedy. Any other questions? Roll call, please. Ms. Server? Yes. Mr. Lasher? Yes. Ms. Middlekoop? Yes. Dr. Snyder? Yes. >> Mr. O'Keefe? Yes. Mr. Philicella? Yes. Motion carries. New business. Are there any new motions? Hearing none. Yes. Yes. I'm making one. Does anyone else have one? I'm making a motion. The motion to grant the grievance by the LEHT Education Association dated
024March 10th, 2026. I second. There's That's my motion. That's the second. Any questions? Okay. Roll call, please. Ms. Server? Are we allowed to say anything? No. Of what that entails? For the public to Uh during questions and discussion. Uh This This This uh So, you're not going to tell the public what it's about. It's This motion refers to a grievance uh that was heard this evening in executive session. Uh the board's now going to vote uh on whether or not to grant the grievance. A motion has been made to grant the grievance, which would provide the Education Association with the relief that they are seeking if it is approved. Thank you. Roll call, please. Ms. Server? Yes. Mr. Lasher? Yes. Ms. Middlekoop? Yes. Dr. Snyder? Yes. Mr. O'Keefe? Yes. Mr. Philicella? Yes. >> Motion carries.
025Great. Public comment. The floor is now open to the members of the public. The Board of Education recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues. The board requests that each statement made by a participant is limited to 5 minutes as cited in policy number 0167. There's a sign-in sheet located at the podium. Please sign in before you speak. Seeing none. Okay. Board forum. credit hours. Did you have all those credit hours in the school board? I do have something to say about the delegate assembly that I participated in in in Saturday morning. Um just how important it is for this board to have a voice. This board can actually make a resolution, come up with a resolution that's heard at this delegate assembly. There were 113 people there from all districts all over the
026place. And six resolutions were heard. The first one caught my eye right away because it was it was from South Orange Maplewood Essex County. And it was regarding changing the voting process for um boards of educations. Um school election officials said. And it involved uh taking one candidate's votes if they were below 25% of the tally um of all votes and giving it to another member. It's called ranked um ranked vote elections. And it just it's not even legal in New Jersey. So I got up and I made a motion um to table it. But what I learned was that it could be brought back that night that day on the table. So I motioned to postpone it indefinitely. I it was seconded by somebody in Garfield. And then someone spoke in support of it
027in support of it from Barnegat. Um the vote passed. The motion was held uh 25 58 to 55. So, it was close, but I feel like I made a real difference because it's it's very um you can look at this book. This comes out every delegate assembly and it has all the resolutions. There's attorneys there. They explain them. You can question them if you have any questions about it. Um and the rest of all the motions uh resolutions passed, but I did see friend from Pine Hill I'm sorry about that. Our board member Mrs. Crystal Horton was there and she acknowledged that I was there last night when I went to their meeting. Um so, it's a it's an important thing that we haven't done in so many years and I think I'm the first
028one to bring it up and I will discuss that with people doing it now. Yeah, it's very rewarding and very uh important because these policies and positions from New Jersey school boards turn into advocacy at the state level legislatively and they trickle down. And it doesn't mean a lot. It's just a position that they take that you uh vote for, but that trickles down to the positions actually. And that's all I wanted to say. And you know, if you have any questions or if you're interested in participating it's a worthy involvement. Thank you. I'd like to congratulate Mrs. Server on your achievement and the work that you do with the delegate assembly. Very good and you should be putting in all that time you put in to the achievement as well as the result. Congratulations
029to the students who received their awards tonight. And that's it for Give me. Uh I just want to mention some resources and free events again for the community. The library as always has their branch at the Little Egg Harbor branch. Um their upcycle junk drawers must have been a huge hit because they're doing union again on June 2nd from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. So, check out their website or their Facebook page to register. The Wildcat Shack continues to offer food bank, gently used clothing, monthly supper club, school supplies, and the use of washer and dryer. Um the PTO had um their staff appreciation week. It was a target theme. It was a great week from coffee trucks to catered lunch. So, thank you to the PTO for that. The color run was a ton of
030fun. Uh because it was warmer, uh warmer, they got to have some water. So, that made uh the chalk stick a little bit extra. Those switches were great. They sold 189 fundraising surf tickets. They provided or starting to provide Kona Ice truck for a field day treat. The sixth grade promotion signs are due by May 25th. You can find that on their website laepto.org. The sixth grade flow dance is June 5th. The student appreciation fun day is June 6th. And the rain date is June 13th. Look for the uh sign up link to volunteer cuz they need volunteers in order to make it successful. And finally, I'd like to state again for the record as I did in the last regular meeting, I would love to hear from our principals at these meetings to hear
031about all the positive things happening in our buildings from clubs to assemblies. Thank you. Thank you. I just say No changes. Um it's getting closer to the end of the school year. A lot's going on uh both in the classroom and up here in the board. Next month actually at the end of this month, we'll be closing the posting for interim superintendent. And then next month, we'll be discussing that. So, that's a big agenda that the board is going to be wrestling with next month. Sorting the resumes and uh deciding on who the interim's going to be. We've also posted for a permanent position. Um if you look at the Jersey School Boards and New Jersey What is it too? What's it too? NJASA NJASA, which is where The Association of School Su- The Association
032for Superintendents in New Jersey. And then the uh New Jersey School Board Association for permanent superintendent. So, we have a lot going on here. Uh thank you for everybody who came out tonight. And uh we are done. Almost. No need for executive session. And can I have an adjournment, please, at 8:24? Have a motion. Motion. Second. All right. All in favor? Aye.