001Pretty cool. We'd like to call to order. Thank you. Welcome to the regular meeting, Tuesday, October 28, 2025 here at district administration office, the North Huned Revori Board of Education. Our vision statement, every student empowered for tomorrow. Our mission statement, the North Hunter and Bor's Regional High School District empowers all students through innovative and personalized learning to achieve their full potential, embrace lifelong learning, and continue responsibly to a changing world in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meeting Act and JSA 10-46. adequate notice giving the time, date, location, and to the extent known. The agenda of this meeting was published by the Hunton County Democrat and the Star Ledger on January 9th, 2025. In addition, notice of this meeting has been posted at North Hunter High School and Boris High School provided to
002the municipal clerks of Bethleam Township, Calhoun Burough, Town of Clinton, Clinton Township, Franklin Township, Glen Garner Burough, Hamptonboro, Hybridgeboro, Lebanon Burough, Lebanon Township, Tukesbury Township, and Union Township, as well as other interested parties, and posted on the district website. Fire exits are located in the directions indicated. If alerted to fire, please move in a calm and orderly fashion to the nearest smokefree exit. Restrooms are located through the doors be behind me and to the right as indicated. At this time, please silence all cell phones and we will stand for the flag seat. >> I aliance 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. >> At this time, um, our Katie uh Blue, our BA, will
003uh uh administer the oath of office to our newest board member, Andrea Stein, representing Califon Tukesberry Township. I, Andrea Stein, >> I, Andrea Stein, >> do solemnly swear >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same [clears throat] >> and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and in this state >> to the governments established in the United States and and in this state >> under the authority of the people. >> So help me God. [applause] I,
004Andrew Stein, >> I, Andrewstein, >> domly swear >> that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law >> that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law >> for the office of member of board of education >> for the office of a member of the board of education >> and that I am not disqualified as a voter >> and I am not disqualified as a voter >> pursuant to RS194-1 >> pursuant to RS >> 194-1 >> 4-1 nor disqualified >> nor disqualified >> due to conviction of a crime >> or offense >> listed in NJS >> 18A12-1 >> 18A 12-1 >> and that I will faithfully >> impartially and justly >> perform all the duties >> of that office >> according to the best of my ability. >> So help me God. >> [clears throat] >> Welcome.
005>> Thank you. Can we have a roll call? Katie, >> Mr. Chapman >> here. >> Dr. Dean >> here. Miss Gallup >> here. Miss H >> here. Motrin >> here. >> Mr. [clears throat] Lordy >> here. >> Mr. Misa >> here. >> Miss Reyes >> here. >> Mr. Spanton >> here. >> Miss Stein >> here. Miss V >> here. >> And Miss Lelina >> here. >> Thank you. Can I have a motion and a second to approve agenda item 5.1, the minutes from September 30th, 2025, our regular board meeting? >> So move. >> Second. >> That was Dan and Dy comments. All in favor? >> I. Any knees or abstensions? I'll abstain. Andrea. At this time, we'd like to have our recognition of our student achievements. >> Okay. [laughter] Dr. Kra, it's my pleasure to
006introduce you to um Nora Reer and Dean Alvarez. So, I'm just going to kind of tell you the story. what happened and I'll tell you a little bit more about them, but about two weeks ago, we had a student getting dropped off here, uh, she was riding a bus and as she was getting off the bus, she had a medical episode that caused a student to become lightheaded and essentially pass out as she was coming down the stairs. And she was getting dropped off kind of behind the circle, the bus was blocking uh the view of the the staff members in the courtyard. And we can see this all on video. So, I'm just going to tell you what I saw on the video. Again, I see a student who stumbles and passes out, falls
007forward, her her spills her coffee, her her cup goes everywhere, her bag comes off her shoulder, books come out of her bag. Um, and then several students proceed to get off the bus and go to school. And then we have Nora who steps up. She comes off the bus, sees one of her classmates in need, and she goes over to make sure that she's okay. Several other students proceed to get off the bus, go to school. Then we have Dean comes off the bus and sees another student in need. And so he goes over, checks on him. And so they help uh this student who's now, you know, trying to get back with it, uh, gain her composure. And they help her get her bag and, you know, books in the bag, pick up her
008cup for her, help her up. And then so this that student now is getting up, walking again toward the school. We think everything's okay. I think they think everything's okay. Uh but this student again has another episode and again stumbles and they again help her as she comes to the ground and they stay with her uh until at this point our our some of our staff members see what's going on and they come over. But I just it really struck me when I watched the video how you see other students walk by and you see these guys step up and make sure that um that that student's okay. And it's that kindness and compassion that I hope that we continue to celebrate here. This is why I want to celebrate them uh for what they
009did uh for that student, making that student feel comfortable, making sure that that student feels felt safe. You know, thankfully, they didn't have to give any first aid or life-saving measures, but they would have, I'm sure, if they needed to. Um and but just being there and the compassion when you see so many people walk by, they step stepped up and did the right thing. So, a little bit more about Nora. Um Norah is involved with theater choir. She enjoys drawing and is a member of our girls tennis team here at North. When I asked her why she went out of her way to help, she said it's just the right thing to do when you see someone who needs help. Dean has many hobbies including drawing, graphic design, and music production. He hopes to
010be a therapist one day. So, his is helping people I think will maybe carry on to that profession. When I asked him why he stopped to help, he says he tends to have a strong empathy for others and notices when someone is in need of help. So, that's why you did that. So again, I think those two very GOOD [applause] [applause] >> [applause] [clears throat] >> And can we welcome Mr. Ron Peterson from Bor High School. Good evening everybody. So up here I have uh two outstanding athletes at Forheese High School that [clears throat] are literally second to none. And I'm going to tell you a little bit about them. Uh we have Ella Ortiz and Mattea Tramata. Um, Ella has uh had scored her 100th goal in girls soccer on senior night on September
01125th. And that weekend, she also scored two more and broke the 10ount record. So, she owns the 100ount record for most goals scored. Um, Vorhees has four players in girls and boys soccer history who have clip eclipsed the 100 point mark. How you get there is a goal counts actually as two points and assist counts as one. Ella's current totals of 107 goals. That's probably more than that now I'm guessing. Or what are you up to now? >> You still had 107. Okay. And 23 assists give her a ridiculous 236 points. Far beyond all our great scorers of the past. She has actually ushered in the most successful era of Borhees girls soccer with three going on four winning seasons for the program. And I don't know if you know this, we've only had three
012winning seasons in girls soccer history in our school. And Ella's been a part now of four straight um due to her her influence. So I Ortiz everybody. [applause] Now, Matteo Tramatola is the first Vorhees football player to eclipse the 1,000 mark for rushing yards in two seasons. He eclipsed Charlie Rod Rodenberger's um as Vorhees all-time leading rusher mid-season and his his current lifetime rushing stats are and this does not include the milk can game recently uh to which he was the MVP of the game um 43 carries for 2,792 yards and 36 rushing TDs. He holds the records for the most rushing yards, carries, rushing touchdowns for a game, a season, and a career. He has powered our football team to a now 8-1 record thus far. Only the fifth time we've ever had such
013a strong start in our history. And oh yeah, he's a pretty good linebacker, too. Uh second on the team in tackles. And the team will take on the uh top ranked um team of Camden Friday night at 6:00 p.m. uh in the state playoffs. So tell you try to [applause] congratulations [applause] >> [applause] >> Thank you. >> Uh [clears throat] at this time we'll have our board student representatives reports. Um can we start with Maxwell? >> Yes. Hi everyone. So it's been a lot happening in the last one since I saw you guys. We start on Saturday October 11th we had our homecoming. Our theme was lights of Rio. So Rio de Jane Rio de Janeiro carnival theme. We sold 9005 tickets which was one of our biggest homecomings and it was a great last
014one to attend to. That was really fun. Um we also had our powder puff on Wednesday, October 22nd. This that's the if anyone doesn't know that's like the the female athletes are the ones that play football. And um the seniors be the juniors with a blowout score of 38 to6. Um I know this was a concern at other board meetings. There has been a new like driving drop off plan at North Hunter. Instead of the parent drop off and pickup line extending onto 31 and having some of the traffic there, our line now extends back into the parking lot. And we've seen um like good um reports with that. Our boys cross country team won their 1016 or county championships with a perfect score and they're now going to the top five finishers. And our
015girls cross country also won the entire Skyland Conference this month. Um, our Patriotic Youth Club is partnering with the Roappa History Honor Society and we're starting a warm [clears throat] hat in sock drive for homeless veterans. This we had a planning meeting today. This will start at the beginning of November. So, please keep that in mind. Spreading the word about donating that along with donations. [clears throat] The senior class is starting their third annual thrift shop again. This will happen towards this will occur towards the end of November where every class, every kid in school will have the opportunity to go down to one of our gyms where we'll be selling um all the items that we've sorted through throughout the month. We've raised uh thousands of dollars before. This goes towards the senior class
016and fundraising for our prom. Um our fall play, which was 67 Cinderellas, was October 18th and 19th. We had the biggest pre-sale ever. We sold over 500 tickets in pre-sale and had more than that the day of shows. Um, Interact Club is planning their friendship day. This will happen on November 14th just to get the word out there. I'll have more on that after it happens at the next meeting. Um, and then lastly is talking about our football. As most of us probably know, North Hunter unfortunately lost the milk can this Friday to Vorhees, which I no doubt Sam will talk about in a bit more. Um, but despite [clears throat] this loss, we had a very fun and successful spirit week. Um, and we also had our hallway decorating competition. We started that last
017year where each class has a bunch of volunteers come and you decorate the hallway. So, and we each get different colors. So, the seniors had green, the juniors had yellow, sophomores had white, and the freshman had pink. And you decorate those. And it's competition. the seniors did win this year, which I'm very happy about cuz me and a lot of my friends spent a lot of time on that. Um, and our pep rally was a great way to end the spirit week. And we also for the first time started the battle of the beads. That was the student council that hosted that. So, what that was is that throughout the week, the student council sold $1 beaded necklaces and you could buy as many as you wanted. And then on Friday, the day of the
018pep rally in the game, anyone wearing a necklace, you could challenge to a game of rock, paper, scissors. If you won, you would take all their necklaces. When you receive five necklaces, you could then challenge a teacher. And then the two people with the most necklaces at the end of the day challenged each other at the pep rally, and the winner got a Duncan gift card. [snorts] On a more personal note, my twin sister was in the finals but did lose. Unfortunately, considering she's the one that drives me to Duncan, unfortunately, that's not a free Dun. [laughter] However, the proceeds for this all goes to our state charity, which is the Crisis Response Kines, and this helps support um the support dogs that help in times of trauma and emergency. And that's all I have
019for you all. >> Thank you. Thank you, [applause] >> Samantha. >> Okay, so mine is unfortunately a little bit longer, but that's just because we've had so many accomplishments this month, and I just thought it would be unfair to not share them with you all. So, we had our homecoming on Saturday, October 4th. The theme was masquerade, and we [clears throat] sold over 600 tickets, which was pretty high given our population is a little bit smaller than our, but it was it was very exciting, and it was a great fundraiser for the senior class. In terms of sports, we've had a lot going on. So, the girls cross country team plays third inund Sussex, third at Skylands, and first at Shore Coaches Invitational, and they're on the way to first at sectionals. The boys cross
020country team is third in 100 more in Sussex, third at Skyland Conference, third at Shore in Shore Coaches Invitational. Wow, they make this hard to say. Um, the girls tennis team is currently 154 and one, which is one of their best records. Field hockey is 15 and three and they placed first in the Skyland Conference and made it to the semifinals in Ced War and Sussex. Our football team, they're 8-1. We did beat North at the Milkan game on Friday and we have a couple of standouts that I'd like to mention. So, as Mr. Peterson said, Matteo Tramata has achieved a slew of records at Vorhees and he also got the MVP of the Milk Game. So, very exciting for him. Sam Mikings, our quarterback, has achieved the most passing touchdowns in a game and
021record for a single season passing touchdowns. Ryan Bonitz has earned the record for single season receiving yards. And the team is going to the playoffs on Friday for the first time since 2018. So, we're very excited about that. Girls soccer is 10-8 led by Ella Ortiz, who has joined the 100 Goals Club. [clears throat] Boys soccer is 10 and five, and on Saturday, they won the 101 Sussex Championship. That was very exciting. Girls volleyball [snorts] is 11 and N and Lily Meyer has set a new school record for career hills and her number is still going up. So we'll see how high she gets by the end of the season. Our marching band, their show is the upside down. They placed third at the Randolph band competition and they have an upcom upcoming competition on
022November 2nd. And our unified soccer team is 7-1 and place third in the unified cup. In terms of arts, our drama club production of curtains the musical, which is a murder mystery. I am a part of it. It is very good. is November 13th to 16th, the 13th, 14th, and 15th at 7, and the 16th at 2. If anyone has questions about tickets, you can reach out to Mr. Reynolds. BHS Unified Theater is putting on their production of Moana Jr. on December 13th at 6:00 and 14th at 2. In terms of clubs, Unified Club has their unified community night on Wednesday. So, tomorrow, we're very excited about that. their community nights really bring the school together and it unites our unified students with um other peers in the school. They are fundraising for the turkey
023splash. This is very exciting. So, at the pep rally on Friday, they announced what Mr. Peterson would be dressing up as if we raise $10,000. So, if they raise $10,000, Mr. Peterson will dress up as Ursula. So, that's going to be very exciting. And [clears throat] if we raise $15,000, Mrs. Kefir will dress up as Ariel. and that's going to be a lot [laughter] of fun. So, if anyone is interested in donating or checking it out, I have some QR codes, so feel free to check that out. Uh, Spanish Club celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a banner in the language wing that highlighted Hispanic celebrities. Key Club hosted their non-p perishable food drive for Spiritfest and raised over 1,500 pounds, over 100 pounds more than last year. So, that was very exciting. We're going to
024host our perishable food drive the week before the week of Thanksgiving. The National Honor Society hosted their induction on October 7th to welcome new members and hosted their pink breakfast to raise money for breast cancer awareness on October 17th. History National Honor Society hosted a voter registration drive and registered over 40 new voters. That was very exciting. And finally, my favorite topic, Spiritfest. So like what North did with decorating, we also decorate areas of the school, but we have specific themes instead of colors. So the overall theme was biomes and the seniors were rainforest, the juniors were ocean, the sophomores were wetlands, and the freshman were arctic. And they have to take a versus north kind of aspect to it and then decorate that area. We also have to put on a skit. There are
025dressed up days and we also do penny wars to raise money for crisis response kines like what you did with the battle of the beads. Um, overall I'm happy to report the seniors did win. So, it's very exciting. Um, but it was a lot of fun and it really gets a bunch of students from all aspects of the school engaged. And then our my final thing to report is that Dine Italian, which is something we brought back a couple years ago, which is an all you can eat Italian dinner right before the Milk Can Game, raised over $2,000. And we're excited to put that towards our fundraising efforts and our community service projects this year. And that's all I have for you. >> WOW. [applause] THANK YOU, Maxwell and Samantha. You have been busy. Thank
026you. >> Thank you. At this time, we would like to have our presentation and public hearing of the New Jersey Department of Education school self assessment for North and Boris for determining grades under the anti-bullying bill of rights act for July 1, 2024 through June 30th, 2025. presented by um Miss Jennifer Kamaraskki, our district anti-bullying coordinator. >> Everybody, thank you. I don't really want to talk about HIPP grades after all that good stuff, but here we go. It's actually good news. So, um so I'm here to present the initial school self- assessment grades under the anti-bullying bill of rights for both North and Vorhees. And so this is for the 2024 2025 school year. Um so the school year we just concluded. So this self- assessment is completed yearly, typically in September um at the
027building level. It's done by the school climate and safety or school safety, excuse me, and climate team, which is composed of the anti-bullying specialists in the building, building administrators, the staff, and a parent representative. Um, it's meant to be a reflection of the year prior and used to identify, if needed, any areas for improvement. It's then submitted for your review prior to submission to the New Jersey Department of Education. Uh, the results of North and Vorhees are linked in the agenda for you. Um, as you can see, North and Vorhees both scored a 77 out of a possible 78 points on the assessment. Um the assessment is composed of eight different core elements which looks at different things like staff training on policy and procedures, curriculum instruction regarding HIV, HIV personnel that's looking making sure
028our you know we have anti-bullying specialists um HIP incident reporting and investigation procedures etc. Just kind of looking at our of our procedures across the board. Um our scores are very similar to our year scores in years past and I think kind of represents our continued dedication to implementation of our HIPP policies and procedures throughout the district. Um, so where we go from here, after tonight's approval on these scores, they'll be certified and submitted to the NJDOE, which will then be reviewed. And then from there, they will then create and issue our district and schoolwide grade reports, which last year I got and presented in May. So you'll see me again in May talking about these same scores from tonight. So any questions about any of those? No. Nice, easy, and simple. Thanks everybody. And
029next we'd like to um welcome uh uh Mr. Brun, director of curriculum articulation, student achievement. He will be sharing our 2025 NJSLA results. >> Good evening everybody. >> I will share my screen here. Oops. There we go. I think it took that minute to restart, but there we go. Okay. Oops. That's okay. Here we go. All right. Well, good evening everybody. I'm here tonight to share the results of the 2025 NJSLA administration as the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment. Uh the entire presentation is linked in the agenda and I'm happy to answer any questions that you have throughout the presentation and also at the end. So, for those of you who aren't familiar, the NJSLA, they are statemandated tests designed to measure student proficiency. There's an ELA portion, a math portion, and a science portion.
030Students took the test in May of 2025. >> [clears throat] >> So for um students in grade nine take the ELA 9 the algebra 1 geometry and algebra 2 and also any student who is completing algebra 1 for the first time also takes the assessment [clears throat] for science it's only students in grade 11 and then there for the official results uh students in themies and full-time polytech programs are not included but I have also uh I will also share with you the unofficial results that do include those students So overall, our district uh results show strong student performance, significant achievement, well above the state average in ELA, [clears throat] geometry, and science. And just to give you the big takeaways first, and then obviously we'll dive, you know, into these more deeply as we
031get to the individual um areas. But [clears throat] two main things to celebrate here. In science 11, it was an 11% increase compared to last year and well above the state average. For geometry, a 6% increase. It when I talk about the increases, that's the percentage of students who are proficient. Uh, which we'll talk about what those what the percentage what the um proficiency rates are in a second. But, uh, you can see geometry increased from 2024 and it's well above the state average. And the two areas that we'll see us focusing on in the presentation as areas of focus are ELA9. And even though we're we're 15% uh above the state average, we decreased 8 and a half%. So that's an area that we want to take a look at in algebra 1 uh
032which we'll talk about where there was about a 5% uh decrease in proficiency rate um from 2024. So, we'll first talk about ELA and math. And those are scored uh there's five different proficiency bands from level one, not yet meeting expectations, to level five, where you're exceeding expectations. So, when I talk about proficiency, I'm really talking about levels four and five, where four is meeting expectations and five is exceeding expectations. So, if I mention proficiency, I'm talking about students who are in levels four or five. So, we'll start with ELA. And with ELA, just the the big picture here, um 65.7% of our students districtwide met or exceeded expectations. So that is, you know, 15.8 percentage points above the state average of 49.9%. And it did slightly decrease from 2024. So uh it went down
033about 9 percentage points from 2024. And obviously we're looking at that shift to ensure strong performance moving forward. So this [clears throat] slide here, slide nine, shows the comparison for the for the past four years. Um, and I started with 2022 because there was no testing in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID. So this gives us a nice uh four-year time frame to see the [clears throat] results. Uh the North Hunter and Vorhees results are in blue, the state results are in red. So you can see that uh we've consistently the last three years been about 15 percentage points above the state average there. So this shows looking [clears throat] at the the levels those levels that I mentioned before compared to uh 2024 and to New Jersey. So um like I mentioned in 2024
03474% of our students were proficient in ELA9 compared to 59% across the state whereas in 2025 64% of our students were proficient compared to 50% across the state. So still 14 and 15% uh difference between the state the state there. Now this slide slide 11 shows the difference in the schools uh compared to last year. So you could see in 2024 73% of the north students were proficient that dropped to 64% in 2025 at Vorhees in uh 2024 76.7% of the students were proficient that dropped to 68.5% uh in 2025. So both of them went down around 8% and that mirrors what the state went down. state also went down 8% from 24 to 25 in the proficiency rate. When you add in all of our students who took the test, you can see uh
035that that's what I call the unofficial that that goes up to 67 and a half% proficient at North and 72% proficient at Vorhees. [clears throat] So this slide here shows the subgroups and how they performed. And as you'll see, you know, since it did go down about 8% from last year, um all of our with the exception of our black or African-American students, all of the other subgroups, actually Hispanic, Hispanic or Latino, also went up a little bit. All of the other um subgroups decreased in a proficiency rate from uh 2024. So that's the ELA portion. So looking at mathematics. So this is an incomplete graph because it does not include the 2025 results yet. Um what this shows is the same results for North Fun and Vorhees in blue, but in red it shows
036only the grade nine students across the state. So, the reason why I don't have the 25 2025 grade nine results is that my screen just went blank, but it's still projected there. >> No, it's not. My computer is restarting. >> Sorry about that. I don't know why it just restarted right now. Maybe you thought it was a good time to update. Okay, I think we're back up and running here. There we go. All right, let me get back to where we were here. >> All right, so as I was mentioning about algebra 1, um the red line there for the state shows only the grade nine students. Later on when I show you the statewide results for algebra 1, it's going to include all of the students across the state, including students in seventh and
037eighth grade who took the assessment. Uh we don't yet have the breakdown of just the grade nine students. We'll certainly be looking at that in committee once we've received that information. Last year, I think it was around January when we received all of the statewide results. So, I look forward to seeing that. But typically, we're about 10 to 15% above the state average when we look at just grade nine students, which is obviously all that we have here in our district. So when we compare our results to the whole state including those seventh and eighth grade students who took algebra 1 um last year we were 39% proficient compared to 40% across the state. Uh this year 34% at North Hunter and Vorhees uh versus 70 38% across the state. So we did drop down
038a few percentage points from last year uh from when we look at it by school. Um last year or 2024 I'm sorry at North it was 38.5% students who are proficient that dropped slightly about a percentage point to 37.6% in 25 and at Vorhees there was a 10% 10.8% decrease from 2024 where it was up to 39.6 and it dropped to 28.8% proficient. And again, when you add in the students from the academy programs and the full-time polytech programs, those percentages go up 1 to 2%. Um, so I have both the official and then the unofficial where we add those students in here. Uh, when this looks at our subgroup population, when you see only one when it when it doesn't have one of the years represented, it's because there weren't 10 or more students
039in that subgroup to publicly report that information. But you can see our Hispanic and Latino population went up. Um all of the others slightly decreased from 2024 in the percent proficient for those subgroups. When we move into geometry, um 78.7% of our students were proficient. That increased 6% from 2024. Um that is 22.7% higher than the state average. So that is that is fantastic. Um, and this shows the the trends from those four years with geometry. And you can see that we've been consistently around, you know, 20 or so percentage points above uh the state average for geometry. So that's all of the geometry students across the state compared to our students taking geometry. And again, that's just our ninth grade students taking geometry. Uh, looking at compared to the state and last year, last
040year 73% of our students were proficient. this uh 2025 was 79%. So there's that 6% increase. Um with the state, the state also had an increase. It was 49% proficient in 24 and went up to 57% proficient in 25 across the state. And looking at this by school, so you could see that North Hunan increased three percentage points from 24 to 25, from 73 to 76%. and Vorhees had an over 10% increase uh from 24 to 25 from 72.9% proficient to 83.1% proficient. So both schools increased work where he's with that 10% increase. And when we add in those students uh from the full-time Polytech and Academy programs, those uh percent proficient go up even higher to 70 79.3% proficient at North and 86.8% at Vorhees. Uh and since the overall scores increased, you would
041expect the subgroups to increase as well. The Asian population, those that subgroup did slightly decrease in proficiency. Uh but all of the other ones increase from 24 to 25. We don't have enough students who take algebra 2 as freshmen to publicly report that information. Uh the state requires us to have at least 10 students take the test to report that information. So we did not have enough students to report that. Moving into science, uh there was significant improvement in science from 24 to 25. 52.5% of our students were proficient. That was an 11 point increase from 2024. Um and I know it's hard to believe that a 52.5% proficiency rate was 11 percentage points higher than 2025, but that is 21% higher than the state average. So when we look at science, just keep in
042mind 31% of the students across the state were proficient in this science assessment, which just shows you how difficult this assessment is. Um, but that is of all the the assessments that we're examining today, this is the most successful result in terms of our year-over-year growth. So the way science is scored is out of four proficiency levels. Level one is below proficient and it goes up to level four with advanced proficiency. So uh when we talk about proficiency for science, we're talking about obtain obtaining level three or four. So you can see that huge spike um from 24 to 25 uh you know over 10 percentage point increase. Uh but you can see that we've been consistently about 15 percentage points or so above the state average you know in 2025 about 20% above the
043state average in proficiency which is which is fantastic. looking at the comparison to 2024 and to the state. So you could see that in 24 42% of our students across the district were proficient. That jumped up to 53% uh in 2025. Across the state there was an increase. It was slight uh in 24 28% of the students across the state were proficient and that increased to 31% in 2025. Looking at the schoolwide results, uh both schools increased. Uh North increased 7.2% from 38.7% to 45.9% proficient in science. And at Vorhees, it jumped from 47% proficient to 63.3%. So an over 16% increase in the Vorhees proficiency rate. So, as you would expect, since uh those scores increased so much, all of our uh subgroups increased in proficiency rates as well uh from 24 to 25.
044So, as we look, you know, at the intervention strategies, you know, while our overall scores are strong, we're seeing some performance gaps in certain subgroups, especially in ELA 9 and algebra 1. So, that's an area that we want to focus on. you know, we've we've drilled down into the course and classroom level to look at targeted strategies, you know, to ensure greater equity and success for every student. And for our teachers and for the curriculum, we obviously are refining our common assessments. Uh we do use our common assessments to identify the specific learning standards so that student we can identify what students need additional focus on across all course courses. We obviously work with our ascending districts to better align our uh instruction to close those skill gaps for the incoming freshmen. And we've really
045had a renewed focus on literacy with writing across the curriculum to stren strengthen the ELA skills which obviously is critical for all subjects as well. And as we look at supporting our students, uh we do have our response to intervention program which provides that structured academic help. We have extra help available um which you know we have doing our workshop classes for our seniors. We have resource rooms throughout the day. We have help for all of our students after school from 2:30 to 3:10. And we also have our tutoring program um the uh tutoring program to help students with homework and and other things as they need throughout the year. So, are there any questions that I can answer for you about these results? Yes. >> So I I noticed in the EA 9 there
046was the significant drop 8% drop but I also noticed that the state also dropped by the same amount. So >> could that be reflective of the test itself or >> Yeah. I mean year to year the test you see the statewide results fluctuating and usually the the difference between us and the state state mirrors that change. So we're in line with with um with how the state the students across the state performed and it just varies. Now, I will say I didn't include this in the presentation. We've had a nice four-year run with consistent results. Um, this year, you may have heard that during a 25 26 school year, there is going to be a new test. Um, so it's still called the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment, but it is now going to be
047an adaptive assessment on a new platform. So, I don't know how the scores are going to be reported for this year. Um but yeah, what we've seen throughout the last four years is that as the state moves up and down, we usually move up and down with it, keeping that same gap between our performance in theirs. So that's probably the Yeah, that's probably what attributes to it. >> Yes. >> So just to comment on that, too. So when we discussed this in the curriculum committee um one of the things that I pointed that out as well and saw the 2024 test as kind of an anomaly >> and really felt that the better way to gauge what our um how the students are performing is really to look at 2023 and 2025 because that seems
048to be more in line with where the performance was. Um so that was one of the comments that I had made. Um, but the other the other thing that I just wanted to point out because I I found the tables to be misleading when you're looking at um the the ELA grade nine and even in the algebra one that when we look at these percent differences between you know at you know when you look at level one and level two for example and it shows [clears throat] that there was a negative number that's actually should be viewed as a positive because we have less students. students or we may have more students who are it's actually less looking at EL 9 less students in levels one and two >> and we have more in three
049four and five. >> So I just want to make sure it's clear that it should be viewed in its entirety and not across each line item because it does show that there's been improvement by the students o overall coming into the school. Um, and then, um, I just want, since I'm still going, wanted to add something, um, to the action plans. And one of the things that I've noticed, um, that differs quite a bit from when when we were all in school is that the kids don't do enough writing. Um, and the things that they're writing on are not really that they don't appear to be that useful to be honest. I mean, we used to do book reports. I haven't seen a none of my kids have done book reports. um and there they
050tend to have to write essays based on you know a four-page newsletter type of thing. So I do think that there is a benefit because between social media and text messaging students are kind of getting dumbed down um in terms of the way that they write. And so I do think that it's important to have a better focus on the writing side of things especially since they need to know how to write when they leave high school. >> Absolutely. I think that's a great point. >> Any other questions? >> Just a a couple of [snorts] um observations items. Uh [clears throat] first, thank you for including um the unofficial results. Um and I think that was a topic that came up in past years that those are the academy students who are in our English
051and math classes. while they don't count for our official score, it's good information because they are um within our English and math curriculum sort of representing that. Um the other thing and I may have brought up before and I don't know if it's something that could potentially be included in this um type of report kind of comes down to that cohort comparison which ultimately and kind of to Beth's point a little bit can be misleading from year to year and we have seen instances where certain cohorts of students perform phenomenally well um and then you know the next year it's different batch of kids with a different testing history behind Um, and in some ways it's sort of unfair to um, [clears throat] compare. It's almost like comparing your middle child to your oldest child
052about who's doing better on ELA or math. So it would be really great if going forward there is some ability to see those cohorts over time simply because while what might appear like an underperformance one year when compared to the year before might actually be a good trajectory of growth for that cohort of students and that is something that I think gets lost and where now we can kind of see if we're ebbing and flowing along with the state that might enable us to see if there's something a little more unique happening with a group of kids or almost more significantly is it happening when they're here? Um because I think one of the other points that has come up in the past was um 8th grade students taking algebra 1 in our ascending districts
053and information has come out that the percentage of kids there um varies quite considerably from a low of 15 to 16% to a high of roughly 60%. And I know that's an ongoing articulation comparison. So, um, yeah, as you're as you're saying, more of that is is certainly better in terms of the ability to get kids moving and accelerated in math at those lower grades is huge in terms of of where they where they are and where they perform with us. And uh, last, not that you would have an answer to this, but I am sort of curious that you pointed out there was some subgroups where we actually saw some gains and some gap closures. I don't know if at this point we have any sense as to you know that like what maybe
054had an impact of that. I don't even know if that's something we've been able to look at. >> In many cases those suburbs we're required to report more than 10 but it could have been 10 or 11. So we could be talking about one or two students in those again sort of falling into that cohort. You might just have a group of students who perform particularly strongly. >> Yeah. And again, and to comment on the cohort, um we did look at committee at the seventh and eighth grade results, but again, that's just us putting together to the best that we can from the release information from the state. Um some of our districts, as you know, are very small. So those numbers are not publicly available. So you know, we we put together what I
055do is whenever those results are released, I put together the results from all of our sending districts and look at the school that they're most likely going to go to. And that doesn't even completely capture because of the academy programs. But uh we do our best to track when they're I I start in third grade, you know, and and look at, you know, my in my office I have third through uh nth grade to see the the results and track them by their cohort. Um and they do typically follow that same progression throughout. Um and we do track that, you know, throughout, but um we just all that we can use is the publicly available information. So the first test that we give is this one for our grade nine students. When we have the
056NJ GPA, we did show, you know, how they did on the ninth grade assessment and then again in the 11th grade assessment. So >> yeah, and I guess sort of with that comparison, even looking at something like grade 8 ELA, while we may look at grade nine ELA and say, all right, it's okay. It's what it is. What it doesn't tell us is that same cohort of students, how did they do in 8th grade? And did we did we see a gain >> and how does it compare to the state correct as well? >> Yes. Yes. >> And and I didn't mention but probably around >> it's usually around January when we receive the results from all of the schools across the state and that's where we dig into um the the really important work
057you know with the results that are available. Rich, >> do you think that the changing of this this year's test differently than it's been administered in the past couple years affected these numbers to be this this decreases? >> Oh, this is not the new test will be 25 26. >> Yes. Yes. >> And the other thing too is like when we have a cohort with like 10 children, right? Like 10 students, um if one student doesn't do well, it really throws off that balance. And sometimes I feel that's like an unfair advantage for that cohort. >> And it's or disadvantage. >> It's a huge disadvantage. Yeah. >> And there's no other way that we could possibly calculate that. >> No, I mean it it is it is you know the numbers are what they are.
058We have to report them. But obviously it's just a way for us to reflect and to look at uh and for the teachers to look at the individual students to see how they did and to see how we can inform instruction. Unfortunately, it it we get the results too late to actually inform the classroom instruction that year, but we can for the following year. Yes. >> Why does it take so long? >> That is from >> my understanding that is one of the reasons why they're changing providers. Yes. >> Any others are scored by humans which is a good thing but it but it does take time to do that. Yes. Um so in terms of the classroom itself where the learning comes alive um were there any considerations for next steps and interventions to
059look at the supports that are needed for instruction how we can help our teachers um particularly when they see refined assessments are there action steps to help them give them support with using data to drive instruction. At the same time, I see writing across the curriculum. Is there are there supports in place or is that an action step to help build their um their writing, you know, instruction? >> So, uh we we are talking about and we're starting to we used to have literacy committees in each building and that uh during COVID kind of went away. So we're discussing, we're in the process of bringing those literacy committees back in. And what those committees do is we have teams of teachers, a representative from each department get together and we talk about different ways to
060bring in uh bring writing instruction into each classroom. Uh and then those representatives turnkey it with their departments at department meetings. So we are starting up uh literacy committee meetings and we're also uh we also just trained all of the administrators on what to look for for writing instruction when they do observations. So those are things that you know we want to make sure that we want to make sure that there's writing being done on a regular basis in all classes. >> And that was my other thought of you know leveraging walkthroughs and evaluation as a way of supporting um instruction. >> Right. >> And to get back to your point about the common assessments. Yeah. We have um two of our upcoming professional development days. The teachers will be getting together to look at
061the results from those common assessments and they do give them uh you know the platform that we use gives them a breakdown by standard and question and all kinds of things and it even gives them the time spent on the on the on each question. so that the teachers will be able to get together to look at the results and you know for example if your students are performing at a higher level than mine we could talk about how you taught that particular skill um so we can make sure that all students get the same level of instruction >> any other questions are graded manually >> uh well the the openended questions are but there is a lot of multiple choice as well or tech technology enhanced questions that is graded automatically Uh but the
062the open-ended questions are graded by humans. >> Okay. >> Yes. >> And when you're comparing the data from North to the state, it's the same. It's it's all nth graders. >> No. Uh it depends which test you're talking about. So for ELA 9, yes, it's all nth graders. Um for algebra 1, no. So that is every student in the state who took the algebra 1 assessment. >> But we obviously only have the high school students. >> So So ours, so we're really kind of comparing apples to dragons here. >> Yes, we are. Yes. >> Okay. Um, and then >> except for that one slide where I showed just the ninth grade students. >> Okay. I guess there's no other way to >> at this time. No. >> So the data is really I don't want
063to say unreliable, but not a fair representation. No, >> it doesn't. At this point, we don't have the drilled down information that is most useful to us. Okay. And I guess my last question would be has the committee given any consideration to put like a subset of it like against the county to kind of I see the state. >> So >> is there anything to see like locally like how we're doing against? >> Not yet. When that all the when all the scores are released probably around January that's when I compile that information on my own. The state doesn't compile it, but I do it on my own. And then, you know, we definitely perform favorably against the other schools in the county. >> And you'll be compiling that? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> And
064and typically what we do is go over that in committee once that information is out. >> Yes. >> Okay. Thanks. >> Sure. And in other schools that, you know, beyond the county that we compare ourselves to, um, there used to be district factor groupings which are similar socioeconomic status districts. And I have a list of all those and I always compare us to all of them as well. >> That's a good idea. >> Yes. Now the the state hasn't updated DFGs since the year 2000. Demographics have changed slightly in 25 years. Uh but still I compiled that information. Yeah. >> You're welcome. Any other questions? >> All right. Well, thank you so much for >> Thank you. Uh, moving forward, we will have our chief school administration report, Dr. Borchuk. >> Thank you, Kim. So
065students took a lot of my fun away, which this usually happens with all the fun stuff, but um I will I will just um say thank you to all the students and staff that are involved in things like our homecoming dance and our theater performances and our pirate puff games and all the things that happened spirit week um leading up to, you know, the the game and and the things that are happening, you know, in the our staff and students put a lot of timing [clears throat] for that. So thank you. I know you are very involved and um I know there was a lot of other students and other staff that gave their time to make these things possible for our schools. Um couple things I did want to mention that I didn't hear
066about was PSAT testing. [clears throat] It's very exciting. Although you're senior so you don't get to sleep in the 9th 10th. That's true. The 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students that um Northern Bor took the PSAT PSATs on October 22nd. So, um, thank you to everyone who make that makes that a successful endeavor. Um, especially Mr. Swaria. He's here and, um, I know he he's very involved in that. And also, GMO because the technology involves that, too. Uh, food drives, I did want to mention that we are still have active food drives at both schools. Um, anybody who can um, donate, I know there's ways you can donate through both schools. Um, there are a lot of families in need this time of year. Um, it's really important to get our food pantries um, back
067up and and stocked up. So, anything that anyone can do, I know North Hunter Kowanas are organizing a food packing event at Clinton Township Middle School the Monday before Thanksgiving. Um, you know, our staff and our, um, students will be helping with, um, pack all those things up. So, um, and then I want to mention there was a driving simulator at North Hunter and that was uh, we received um, with the help of the North Horn and Education Foundation. um the Northland Educa Education Foundation funded half of the cost of this driving simulator and it's basically a hands-on learning tool to provide students with a safe risk-free experience and hazard recognition, adverse weather conditions, and distracted driving scenarios. And um you know, if you've ever did one of those driving simulators, it is interesting. Um
068and then the spirit weeks went great at boat schools. Uh we did um we did um get to visit both schools and see all the decorations. Students did a great job at both schools and um so congratulations to them and thank you for um ending that that week on a very high note. So I also wanted to mention that it was we did talk about the Milk King game um but it was the 50th anniversary and that was a pretty big deal. Uh we did have um both schools played fantastic. um the the the end score does not show the result because it was a very close game all the way up. Um at the end few things happen and you know in football games scores you know they go up quickly. So um but
069I did want to congratulate both schools on a well played game and congratulate boys on getting the fan. Um we did have since it was a 50th anniversary we had some dignitaries there that were in the first game or coached the first game. Um, and um, a lot of people um, showed up, you know, from from the past. I saw a lot of faces I haven't seen in a long time. As someone who's been here as long as I have, it was nice to see a lot of those faces, say hello to them, and um, they were all very excited about, you know, the the 50th anniversary of that. Um, so congratulations again to John Hack and the Warriors football team. Um, and wishing them all and great uh, all the best in the upcoming
070playoff games. I know they're excited to go down in Camden and and hopefully keep moving on in that process. So, I also wanted to do a strategic plan update because I was asked to um come up with some information based on certain pillars. Uh I picked pillar number two of our strategic plan for this month. Uh because this is what we've been doing a lot of work on. So, I just want to read what our pillar number two goal is and then what our objectives are and then go into a few um items here. So first of all, our goal for pillar number two in our strategic plan is to establish and foster a workforce committed to student success characterized by high performance, data-informed decision-m and continuous growth fostered through proactive recruitment and comprehensive professional
071development. The three objectives that reside under that goal are to enhance personnel growth, support and growth through quality professional development, to foster a positive and supportive school and district environment, and to empower staff members to develop and deliver a rigorous curriculum and instructional practices. So, in order to achieve our strategic plan annually, we are going to be we create district goals. And so our district goals are our annual metric on how we're going to measure what we have succeed how how we have made success towards our strategic plan as a 5-year uh plan. So our district goal that relates to that this year is by the end of the 2526 school year increase status staff satisfaction with school climate and support systems through initiatives focused on staff camaraderie, wellness recognition, and facility improvements. Data from
072a school climate improvement survey that is conducted annually will be analyzed to determine improvements as well as qualitative data collected through the strategic planning advisory committee. That leads me into the next thing that I want to report on is that the first meeting of the strategic planning advisory committee was held on October 14th at North Fun High School. Uh this committee is made up of 18 employees from across our district and we discussed the relationship between the strategic plan and the district goals and then we reviewed the four district goals for the school year. After we reviewed those goals, most of the discussion then revolved around goal number one uh regarding school climate and staff satisfaction. Uh the committee agreed that we should be evaluating our communication with staff and developing standards so that communication
073from administration to staff is consistent across the district. We also discussed having the administration in classrooms more often for non-evaluated visits. Uh the committee read that most teachers are always looking for ways to highlight what their students are doing in their classrooms and myself and I know the other administrators um have been trying to do that uh more often now. Just get in and say hi and talk to students and and make sure the student the teachers know that we're there to support them as well as evaluate. We also discussed how professional development can play a vital role in how staff treats students but also how leadership treats staff. So again, we did a professional development for all of our staff on how to get the best out of our students and motivate our students.
074And we're going to try to do the same thing as a leadership team to make sure we're motivating our staff. Um many of the same concepts from the staff to student um professional development like communicating uh consistent rules and acknowledging hard work are all important to improve school climate. And so we are going to continue those endeavors. Just a couple examples. Um, Borius has developed a professional development series um, where staff who have expertise in certain areas are going to be offering unofficial professional developments for any staff that want to join. So, one of them one that two that just happened were um, proper stretching. So, you know, being able to um, from a a wellness perspective and um, taking good photographs. So, if somebody had an interest in taking good photographs, you know, that
075was um, something that the other staff could learn from their colleagues on. And so these are all ways that we're trying to make sure our colleagues and our staff are um feeling together and have that camaraderie. Uh North Hunter also has scheduled um things they call lion pride events uh throughout the school. One of them you heard what from um from um which was the battle of the beads and um you know that one was I was going to say that was a rock paper scissors contest that I think included a lot of students but it was also you know staff and students. So, it's great to have the staff and students work together on something that really brings the whole school together and again makes staff feel like they're part of you know something
076at that school, something more than just what happens in the classroom. And they also the staff also had a um pumpkin painting contest amongst the staff and you know that always amazed me that we can have 18 pumpkins out at a public high school and they last for a week in the hallway. Um and so that went very well and um and so we're proud of our staff for doing that. So that was what we have accomplished for pillar number two for our strategic plan this month and I'll continue to report on those as we go out month. So the business part of my report is we have our report on harassment, intimidation and bullying which this month there was two two incidences reported at North Harden. One was inconclusive, which means there wasn't enough
077evidence to decide whether or not it was founded or unfounded. Um, and then the second one was unfounded. And then we would need the motion. You want to go for the motion? >> Yes. Can I have a motion second to affirm the determinations on the HIP incidents reported on September 30th, 2025 board meeting? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Thank you. >> All in favor? I. >> Any knees or abstensions? [clears throat] All right. Andrea, it's Andrea, right? Not Andrea. Okay. >> Thank you, >> Rich. Before you go into the next one, I wanted to just go back to something in your um the report on the things happening at schools. Um, so with the food drives and the donations, >> [clears throat] >> um, my a followup question I have is, are do we
078have the ability to provide meals [clears throat] for students to take home where their families won't be receiving SNAP benefits after November 1st? >> Um, is there anything that we can look at to make sure students are being fed? >> We do that. our um our our health offices actually organize that a new school and we do have plenty for families [clears throat] to take advantage of that. >> Okay. >> That's in addition to trying to help, you know, fill these food banks up so that somebody who's even not in our school still has access to the >> same. Okay. All right. >> For same services. >> Yeah. Because I I just want to make sure that it wasn't just the low, you know, the the thing we do at the beginning of the school
079year. It's, you know, sometimes you don't factor they don't factor these kinds of situations. >> And again, if there's somebody who needs something, um even the students, if you you know, >> if we're always there to help. Um, so we want to be able to support our our [snorts] families and also families in the general community. >> Okay. Thanks. [cough] >> Very good question. >> Um, at this time I'd like to uh need a motion and a second to approve the annual renewal of the New Jersey uniform state memorandum of agreement between education and law enforcement officials for the 2526 school year. And documents are available in the board office if necessitated. >> And a second. Oh, are you Dan? >> Sarah. [laughter] >> And just so everyone's aware, this is a standard document that's
080prepared through the prosecutor's office that we all agree on on sharing certain information when necessary. So, >> okay. >> All in favor? >> I. Any nays or abstensions? And >> last but not le least, monthly school reports are here for review. Any questions on the market? Thank you. Um, moving on to school board president's report. I just have a few just a tiny bit of things. Uh, business. Uh, Tuesday, November 25th, 7:00 p.m. is our next regular meeting. Um, at uh 11.2 board [snorts] goals. It was in the folder. It was everything we discussed. One and two. They're lofty. I think two is you'll see they're very lofty. Is everyone in agreement? Any comments? I didn't receive anything from anyone. >> Well, one just maybe by way of clarification. I know when we had discussed
081the idea of exploring the um committee of the whole model um as part of I can't remember it was last month or the month before. >> It's been both month. I think it's been every month. >> Um since >> Yeah. [laughter] And I guess the the one thing I wasn't sure about was the expression of it shifting to it as a deterministic end. >> I left that in there, that language, we discussed it and if it's brought up and we have a comments and there's a motion made on it and the board will decide as a majority I think. So it may or may not shift. >> Okay. >> I guess is the >> Yeah, I was just clarifying on that. Yeah. >> Cuz I saw there was also discussion that um there's policy discussion
082that has to happen anyway. >> Yes. >> Right. >> Yes. >> Okay. Thank you. And I have just one more item I'd like to share. I was thank Dr. Burjax for adding on our agenda. If everyone has noted and I read it, our vision and mission statement is now on our agenda and I think it's it's great. We're celebrating our district. Um, I [clears throat] just would like to read something. You might have heard it before, but I'm going to say it again. As a school district dedicated to fostering thoughtful engagement and mutual respect, we recognize the importance of helping students navigate complex events with care and understanding. Recent developments have had a profound impact on many in our community, our state, and our nation. This is a time that calls for steady, compassionate leadership.
083It is essential that we model respectful communication, especially when perspectives differ. We must also be mindful of the emotional impact on students who may feel unheard or overlooked. Quiet responses do not mean these moments pass without significance. Remaining true to our shared values means standing against intimidation in any form, encouraging constructive dialogue, and promoting an environment free from bias. These principles are not just part of our educational mission. They are vital to creating a safe and welcoming space for all. Thank you. At this time, we would like to um welcome I'm sorry. Oh, we would like to welcome our attorney, Phil Stern. Um he's going to give a um a legal update. >> Yes. Thank you. Um good evening everybody. At the pleasure of the board, uh, for a couple of minutes at each board
084meeting, I'm going to be providing a a brief legal update to something that should be of interest to NHV, uh, school district. And so, um, tonight, uh, I I have chosen, um, a provocative, uh, document that that we can share. It's going to be a It's going to be a homework assignment. I was a teacher for 11 years before I was a lawyer. I've been a lawyer now for about 35 years. All the time involved in public education. And in all those 40 some odd years that I've been involved in public education, in one form or another, I have never seen the rate of change that we are witnessed to right now, this very moment. uh when when you were talking about events that are going on and comments that are being made, I I
085could make a a quick legal report from just listening to the radio on the way here, just just listening to whatever happens. Things are changing minute by minute. And so, uh, tonight's very brief, um, legal update is starting us all off at about 40,000 ft legally. And 40,000 ft is uh, basically what is happening on the federal level that impacts um, NHV, that impacts us in this room. In April of 2023, the Heritage Foundation published a document called uh Project 2025, a 900page document that sets forth a blueprint for much of what we're seeing in today's administration. And my sharing this has absolutely nothing to do with one's political point of view. It is just that in project 2025 which is called mandate for leadership the conservative promise chapter 11 of project 2025 is all
086about the department of education. If anyone in this room or within the sound of my voice wants to understand what the current administration is doing right now, what the plans are, what the goals are, what the values are. It's all here in black and white in chapter 11 of this document. I happen to teach a course in uh to undergraduates at a at an a university in Connecticut. Um uh and they this is required reading. It's it's the course is education law and this is required reading in this course. I urge all of us who find the rate of change in our world right now to be dizzying. Read read this chapter. I [clears throat] mean by reading it is everything we're seeing happening is happening from this blueprint and it's a wonderful opportunity to
087understand agree or not with exactly what's going on today and what will probably be going on in the days to come. So from 40,000 ft the legal update is chapter 11 of project 2025. It's called Department of Education. It's 43 pages. It's very important and interesting reading. Um next month I hope to to talk about something a little closer to home as the legal update, but at the pleasure of the board, I would continue to do so. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. At this time, we will have uh our public comment. During this portion of the meeting, the public is invited to address the board of education with comments. You are requested to sign the register provided and state your name, municipality of residents, group affiliation if applicable, and direct your comments to
088the school board president. While all comments will be considered by the board of education and a response may be forthcoming if and when appropriate, individual school board members may not respond to the speakers at the time of their appearance. The public comment period will be a maximum of 30 minutes in length unless there are unusual circumstances. You will be allocated three minutes to speak and no one will be permitted to speak more than once on the same topic until all others who wish to speak on the topic have been heard. Please keep your comments respectful and non-defamy and maintain the level of decorum appropriate for a public meeting where students our students and others may be present in the and in the audience. Good evening, Carolas Group over Clinton, New Jersey. Um, I come here
089tonight as a concerned parent of the girls North Hunter soccer team. We were notified last night by the booster club that the coaches will not be attending the end of the season banquet that has been scheduled for next Wednesday. Instead, on November 20th, the coaches will be hosting a playersonly assembly on campus where parents are not permitted to attend and awards will be given out. Then, this abrupt change is fully supported by the Department of Athletics and Administration per the AD's email from earlier today. I come before you this evening to express some concerns and would appreciate your full attention and reconsideration. The initial communication came from the booster club email last night. The communication should have come from those making this decision with clarity, transparency to avoid any misunderstanding. Historically, on the night of
090the banquet, the girls speak about the seniors who have worked so hard the last four years to earn, keep, and maintain a spot on the varsity team. It's an evening to celebrate wins, losses, personal achievements, team achievements, and freshmen receiving their varsity letters and sending off our senior teammates. All the while having their families there to celebrate these hard-earned achievements. One email has taken that all away from these girls, and it has been supported by the coaching staff and administration. The season lacked communication and transparency from the very beginning. Many girls tried to advocate for themselves and it has fallen on deaf ears or a blind eye. Parents have reached out with no response. Like you said, you can't have constructive conversation when there are no responses to inquiries. Directives were given by the AD
091and completely disregarded. To date, seven practices have been cancelled. This is a varsity team and having that many PR having that many practices canled should be looked into. We have an assistant coach. Why can't she run practices when the varsity coach is not available? We have been told that individual achievements cannot be celebrated by the team. Is this how we want our students athletes to see this program? Many students are in fact celebrated in this very room for their individual achievements. How can administration support this new initiative? Is it acceptable if this was your child? Would you be up here doing the same thing that I'm doing? I wasn't going to make this personal, but we honored a Vorhees goalie today, right, for 100 saves. Someone needs to look into the North goalie who had
092100 saves in the prior in in the prior season and this current season. And no one acknowledged that. I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed in the coaching staff for robbing the girls of this one night for them to celebrate or the administration for fully supporting this. Who supports these athletes? It's clear neither the coaching staff or the administration. We are now a week away from states and this team has no support or encouragement. How does this make the girls feel? Has anyone from the coaching staff or administration asked the girls their opinion on this abrupt change? When things get hard and or uncomfortable, the decision just shows that the girls are okay just to not participate like the coaches are doing. Would it be acceptable for the girls to walk off the field in
093a close game or a game where maybe the refs ref's calls aren't in their favor? No. Absolutely not. They have to press on and give it their all. Why aren't the coaches pressing on and giving it their all? And if the coaches are going to do it and no and not show up for these girls on the night of the banquet to hand out awards, varsity letters and and words of encouragement, then maybe the athletic department and administration should. We cannot just quit when things get tough. And this is exactly what has happened. Is this the environment we are promoting? Coaches quitting on the team. It speaks volumes. And just so you know, their practice jerseys state we over me. Perhaps the coach's administration should follow that mantra. I also happen to notice that on
094the agenda it states the vision statement, every student empowered for tomorrow. How is this empowering them? I'm asking the administration to seriously reconsider and intervene on behalf of the student athletes. I'm not really sure what the coaches are trying to hide by making this award ceremony private. Um, but in this day in technology, nothing should be private and if the parents aren't permitted to be there, then perhaps we should have it on a Zoom meeting so everyone can participate. Thank you. [applause] Hi, my name is Valerie Chores. I'm also here for the same reason that was just discussed. Um, it is >> I'm sorry. Can you say your name? >> Valerie Chores. >> And your um >> Clinton Township. >> Yeah. All right. Uh, yeah. So, it's just with deep sadness and frustration that I
095stand before you today. Um, as was already mentioned, we recently learned that the coaches are not going to be t um, attending the girls soccer banquet and that this decision is being fully supported by the athletic director, the principal, and our superintendent. For months, parents have poured time, effort, and love into supporting this program. We have attended every game, planned fundraisers like the car wash, organized senior night, and spent the last six weeks preparing for the banquet. We do these things because we care deeply about our players and this team. The banquet is not just another event. It's the culmination of an entire season of hard work, growth, and camaraderie. It's a moment where our daughters are recognized for their dedication, their teamwork, and their love of the game, surrounded by their families and coaches.
096To be told just two weeks before the banquet that the coaches will not attend feels like a slap in the face to the players who have given their all, to the parents who have supported them every step of the way, and to the very spirit of the program itself. It is not only disappointing, but it's unfair. Are any other teams at North being denied a banquet because their coaches chose not to attend? The banquet, complete with coaches and awards, has long been a proud North tradition, an evening that honors our athletes. So, why is the girls soccer team being singled out? How will our players feel as they watch their classmates in other sports enjoy celebratory blank banquetss surrounded by their coaches and families while their own season ends with a half-hearted celebration in the
097cafeteria? What message does this send about equity, about respect, and about the value we place on our female soccer players? And beyond that, what are we teaching them about conflict and compromise, about grace, empathy, and leadership in difficult moments? These players are being hurt by a decision that diminishes their hard work and undermines the lessons we strive to teach them through sports. I don't claim, sorry, I don't claim to know everything that has happened behind the scenes, but punishing players and parents is not the solution. Choosing to withhold the coach's presence at the banquet shows a lack of respect for this program and a failure of imagination. To suggest that a small awards ceremony in the school cafeteria with only players and coaches present is an acceptable substitute diminishes the meaning of these achievements or
098their achievements. It cheapens what should be a proud joyful celebration shared with family and friends. There are reasonable compromises. Why not dedicate an hour of the banquet to awards? The coaches could attend that portion, present the awards, and leave if they wish. Surely, we can find a solution that honors both the players efforts and the coach's boundaries. Another possibility is to have another respected adult hand out the awards, perhaps a principal, a respected teacher, or a guidance counselor. Allowing this decision to stand is not only deeply hurtful to players and parents. It is embarrassing to the district and sets a troubling precedent for the future. Let's be honest, without the awards and speeches, the banquet loses its purpose. Parents attend to see their daughters recognized, to celebrate their accomplishments, to mark the close of a
099meaningful season. If the coaches don't attend or we fail to have another respected adult handout awards, the event at this point will very likely be cancelled, probably due to low attendance, and the final celebration of the season will be reduced to an awards ceremony in a cafeteria without parents present. As a parent, I'm devastated. I've looked forward to celebrating Kylie's four years of commitment to North soccer program, her growth, her dedication, her love of the sport. To have that moment taken away feels deeply unfair. I ask you to reconsider. Think about how you would feel if this was your child. If years of commitment were dismissed with so little regard. These players have earned more than that. They deserve to be celebrated with their families, their teammates, and yes, their coaches. [applause] That's okay. Karen
100Go of Hybridge. speaking as a resident taxpayer, not as a school board member. So what I say does not represent the hybrid school board or the Honing County School Board Association. [clears throat] In your discussions about functioning as a committee of the whole, some board members express concerns about how long the meetings would then be. The problem here, as I see it, is that so much of what your committees report on and discuss in committee meetings is administrative. At the last meeting, I saw this. Why is a board member suggesting alternative ways for leadership to raise money, student leadership to raise money? Why is the board even involved in plaques that are going to be hung up at a school? These are building or super level decisions. This is why a committee of the whole
101is important. The agenda items would come from administration like they're supposed to. The administration [clears throat] would explain them and the board gets to ask questions and discuss them. I made it to go away. Hold on. Uh, where'd it go? Oh, and if or how students fund raise doesn't even come up because it's not supposed to. Natural gas, something the BA would be looking at and then come to the board when they have the numbers. Not for the board to explore. How will kids get to Lambertville for an event? Administrative issue. Advising what students should be writing in school. Curriculum adviser. Rich has to explain way more than he should because the board is administering and micromanaging and not governing. And that is what you're supposed to be doing, governing. Also, I'm quite happy that
102board members were cleared of any ethics charges. Um, I'm hoping that when new leadership takes over, these issues will be addressed. And Jess, may I say how sorry I am that you're not running for your seat because you truly understand the role of a board member. Thank you. >> [applause] >> I have some handouts. >> If you could just leave them at the end of the table. Thank you. In respect of your speech earlier, I will be bleeping out certain words from my for what I'll be saying. Let me write my name here. I'm Dan Kleinman from Chadam and I'm here to correct some uh incorrect statements online from a school board member seeking reelection. First, know that when the schoolboard ethics complaints are filed, only school ethics commission itself is legally constrained from making
103the matters public. The parties themselves may say what they like. Saying otherwise is false and a potential violation of a first amendment could occur. Second, supporting the Miller test for obscenity to keep the book Let's Talk About It in the Library is legally incorrect. But I'm not going to talk about the past. I'm going to talk about this week. This week, a motion was filed in the lawsuit against me that was served on me right over there about 11 months ago. So, I'm going to read a few sentences from that case that pertain to the Miller case and the book Let's Talk About It because people might like to hear a fresh perspective from a prominent lawyer before they decide who is best for a school board seat. As the motion shows, there is a
104nationwide debate about the range of conduct that school libraries consider to be defensible, allowing minors to have access to comic books that teach how to use bleep plugs or other bleep toys. While millions of Americans consider this to be inappropriate and constitute grooming and sexualizing minors, the Miller test is not for pornography, but rather for obscenity as to adults. Further, material can be obscene as to minors, and thus minors access to it can be restricted without satisfying the Miller test. Right? And uh saying books are properly available to minors by claiming that they are not obscene is both a red herring and completely legally incorrect. Let's talk about it. Is a comic book whose authors and publishers say they should be read by minors from ages 14 to 17. This comic book discusses how virginity
105is a silly label with depictions of bleep and bleep. It provides tips on how teens can look up pornography and research their favorite porn stars along with depictions of a bleep and bleep sex or just doing it bleepy style. It's hard to tell. and it provides detailed instructions with visual aids on how to use bleep plugs. At this end of three minutes, I want to say thank you for letting those other ladies speak longer than three minutes because it was the right circumstances and you're a terrific board and I understand you want me to stop talking now. So, uh, let me just shorten this up then and say that school librarians advocate for books that don't sat that do not satisfy the Miller test, which that might include Hustler magazine being available with no physical
106safeguards preventing children from any age from accessing such materials. I think you ought to just re uh reconsider your Miller test views. I'm sure the attorney here might be interested in that one. And I thank you very much. Hi everyone. Um, thank you for allowing me this time to speak up. My name is Jenny Allen. I'm in uh Clinton uh Township. What was the other Is there anything else you need to say for that? Okay. >> Um, I have three teenagers attending North. They're honoral students active in sports. My son's a junior and has played on bar uh football for over three years. I have twin daughters in soccer. One's in varsity and one's in JV. They're they're freshman, so this is my first exposure to the soccer program. but they have extensive travel experience.
107So, I've been um a sports mom for over 16 years. Um I'm here to share my concerns by the behavior of the program. Um total lack of communication and in my opinion respect to parents time. Um, you know, since about I don't know, I feel like 8 weeks ago, there's been a complete shut out to the parents for communication, resulting in constant changes to schedules without ever sharing where and when practices were, when they were cancelled, or when the game times are. I'm a mom that travels with my kids since they were six years old. I deserve to know when I could see them play. That has never been the case. I need as a single working mom, I need to coordinate three active teenager schedules and I I respect I ask that the coach
108respects my time to make sure that I can coordinate that. This was not done. Again, this is JV and varsity, [snorts] but mostly varsity is where I have my concern. This does not foster a supportive soccer community. And I define that community, right? To me, community involves the parents. its players, coaches, and parents. They have basically blocked out the parents. Despite a lot of feedback from parents for fear of retaliation, which I've communicated to the AD and comments of like, Jenny, don't go. Nothing will ever change. Nothing will ever change. It's a waste of your time. I have to speak up at this point. I'm not usually one to do so and as you can tell I probably have a fear of speaking but I'm here tonight to share my concerns so to understand what's
109been happening within the girls soccer program and I'm teaching I brought my one daughter here so she can understand that it's okay to have a voice and it's very important to speak up in difficult times that's when you should do that and that takes courage that's not a weakness that's courage we need to come together as a soccer community to support our kids. And what's been happening is there's been complete reduced communication and and avoid the family inclusive event. They're just avoiding it. They just decided not to go. Um and that's not the solution. We have to foster collaboration and the community. I want answers. I want to understand why I cannot see my daughter receive a varsity letter for J for V um a varsity letter for my one daughter and any JV awards
110for my other my son has a program at the country club and I go and I got his freshman letter but why how do I explain that to my children that you could do it for one but not for the other and I agree is it a sex thing but there's no absolutely no communication on the why and I want to know why I have a right to understand that and again this is a fundamental aspect of sports recognition to have and celebrate with your uh kids achievements. So tonight I asked the board of education to consider changing the banquet year and event to allow parents to attend. Why I don't know if it's on the school uh campus why we can't attend. We could set expectations. We're all adults. we can follow those expectations
111or there will be consequences, right? So to me that should be allowed. So I leave it with you all tonight to really hear our parents' concerns. I I know there's a survey coming and I honestly can't wait to put it in there and I know there's a lot of people in the soccer program that would gladly speak up, but I think they're afraid to. So you should know that that there is fear of retaliation >> 100%. >> I leave it um I leave it with you. We talk about change is hard. I think you the lawyer spoke to it. Change is difficult, right? It's right in front of us. So I ask you as board of education members. What will you do? Will you make an improvement and support our girls and soccer program and
112truly include parents in our community? But I leave that with you tonight. The ball's in your court. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Hello, my name is Marina Bartelli. I live in Franklin Township. Um, I'm the mom of two North grads. And I'm I'm happy to hear in this this meeting that there was mention um by Miss Seleno of compassion. Um that really popped out at me. It's an important thing. Um, and I'm not really familiar with any of the details of what's going on with the the soccer banquet, but as a parent, as a mom myself, to listen to the heartfelt and impassioned presentations by these moms who are speaking from their heart about this important moment for their daughters and for them them their families and as parents. Um, I would certainly hope that
113the compassion that was spoken of that the ideas of respect and nurturing the student population, the student community will be taken into consideration so that these athletes who have worked so hard will be able to receive recogni recognition. in a manner that is fitting for for what they've worked on and achieved and that honors their families as well and includes their their families. Um, again, I don't have a lot of detail or background, but what I'm hearing is parents who feel very shut out of an important moment in their daughter's lives and that they're feeling their daughters feeling very um just cheated out of out of an important milestone. So I would I would hope that um this would be examined in an appropriate manner and that some solution to what whatever the uh underlying
114mechanics or issues are are are resolved in a way that's appropriate for [clears throat] um leadership. E even that that the demonstration is that the students come first and their families matter and that the school community matters that these programs that these kids who work so hard that their work matters. If you're preparing people young people to go forward in the world there's no no benefit to showing them that like yeah you can work hard and it gets slapped down and disrespected. So, I I just would encourage the board um and any um anyone in a position to be involved in an appropriate manner would would resolve this with respect for the students and their their parents and to understand that when these decisions get made, it ripples through the entire school community and it
115we want a healthy environment for all of our kids in this community. Thank you. [applause] >> [snorts] >> Hi Jamie Kohler. from Bethlehem Township. My daughter is also on the varsity soccer um team this year as a freshman. Um I agree 1,000% of what all the other parents have said so far. Overall, it's not just about the banquet. Overall, the girls soccer program is lacking any type of positive environment. It's been an overall toxic and a toxic environment. Um, the North Girls soccer program is uh fail failing our our female students athletes. They deserve way better and I hope that the board will take this into consideration and make positive changes for next year. Thank you for your time. [applause] My name is Lisa Piper, Clayton Township. I've been a part of the girls soccer
116program for six years. I was also a volunteer lacrosse coach here at North. Um, what's happening among the soccer program has been reported to superintendent and athletic directors and coaches. Um, it has been beyond bullying to a point where players have been called fat by the coach. They have been told to go back down to JV to figure their out. Um, there has been a roller coaster of emotion where the players have been trying to support each other to lift each other up and to get through it. There have been well over eight or nine practices that have been cancelled for absolutely no reason. The players were told at 2:25 one day that practice was cancelled and there was a school lockdown probably 35 minutes later. 35 minutes later. Coach had no idea where those
117players were. The captains that were supposed to be selected this year were chosen by the coach against how North usually does it where they let players vote. And the coach said that it would minimize it to a popularity contest and wouldn't allow them to vote on who they wanted. So with a letter to the superintendent and to the athletic director, the athletic director decided that the seniors, because there's six of them, would all become captains. DLO, who was a former coach, had 14. And since they all couldn't decide who they wanted as captains because they respect each other, DLO allowed all 14 of them to represent North. And they did. They rotated at every game and they all stood up there for their school. We were told by the athletic director in a September 13th
118email that the coach was required to rotate captains immediately and that has never happened. On senior night, there were pink bands for Sylvia Torres, my daughter. That was one of her best friends. And they were to wear the pink bands in honor of her. We have yet this season to honor her in a game. a moment of silence or anything. George has been in communication and every day I fill them in that Riley plays for her every single game. She wears that band with her name on it. But yet the school has not honored it. In lacrosse last season we did. We wore our shirts. But in soccer two years in a row we did not. There is such a disconnect in this soccer program. It is toxic and dangerous for our players. It is
119manipulative. It's bullying. It's narcissistic. If they come forward to talk, they get reprimanded. When a player was told that they were going to split the teams because there wasn't enough at practice for JV, some of our city players went down to the JV. The JV coach was coaching them. And when a player did not just kick the ball, she was told she can only kick the ball. She's not allowed to pass or use any skills. The direction with soccer is just kick. When she said that she was listening to her coach, the head coach, varsity coach said, "I am your coach," she turned to the JV coach and said, "Well, what am I supposed to do?" The co the varsity coach benched her for 45 minutes. She sat on the bench because she didn't know
120which one to listen to. What's happening on this has to stop the what happens with the coaching evaluation at the end of the year. You need to read these evaluations and the selection for coaches has to have safety over our players. The banquet is just the icing on what it's been like to be a part of this program. And I've been with it for six years and I've never seen it this dangerous. This dangerous. Thank you. [applause] any more public comments actually um this is just a question I don't know if anyone will answer it but will we get any kind of notification or any type of correspondence from anyone from administration on everything that has been presented today. Um, >> yes. >> Okay. Um, and like I said earlier, um, I didn't make it
121personal. I made it just kind of overall. There are so many layers to this. Um, and I didn't think that it was appropriate to bring it in front of the entire board and public comment. Um, so if there are any questions, I would be more than happy to answer them. And I'm sure that there are many more parents um that I forget who else mentioned it um are afraid of retaliation. And I'm not going to stand here and let my daughter think that it's okay not to speak up for yourself because that's something that we need to do and the girls need to see that. Um so I appreciate you all listening and I appreciate you um trying to understand what's going on with the limited information that you do have. Um, but I think
122that every parent in this room and every parent on both JV and varsity are entitled to some type of response. Okay. Thank you. [applause] Are there any other public comments at this time? Seeing no more public comments, we will close public comments. We'll move on to on the agenda. Moving to curriculum, instruction, and technology. Um, Beth, could you report out? I'm sorry, Brent. Is that okay? >> Thanks. Yeah. So, um, Brent didn't ask me to cover the meeting because he was >> Thank you, Samantha. Thanks, Kelly. Um so um we went through our standard court agenda items which were the monthly reports, the home instruction and the out of district placements and then we reviewed um the nursing the nursing services plan which um is was is going to be submitted and voted on tonight.
123Um we reviewed it and um some of the questions that we asked about was um and I think the first one was really you know the this it covers this number of students in each of the schools but as part of the agreement um the nurses at North will be covering the students at the Polytech building. And so we uh felt that the those students should be added into the total number of students being serviced um under the contract as opposed to leaving them out. So um I believe that we've added that in at this point. Um the um we also talked a bit about the um students that were going to um the Somerset County uh VOTE and and similar programs um will finish out their programs um if they're you know for their
124tenure that they're at the school. Um, but incoming students will go to the the Hunter County programs that are going to be offered starting in 2627 as it relates to the arts and theater programs that are being offered um through the Hunter County Vocational School District. Um, that will um we looked at the the cost for transporting students to Somerset County. Um and we'll also be needing to [clears throat] look at the costs of transporting students to um South Hunter for that [clears throat] program as well as as we get more information. Uh then we did uh we had a a detailed NJSLA presentation which everyone is has seen at this point so it doesn't really need to um we don't really need to go into detail on that. It was really just to help
125clarify some of the information for members of the board and really evaluating um what's the best approach to communicate out the results of those that testing um versus what we're required by the state to report out. And I think there we may you know evaluate if there's other ways for us to do that going forward. Um we talked a bit about the um the strategic plan and um Dr. Burgess um updated us about the steering committee that had been formed and that the October and November meetings are going to focus on um creating and administering a needs assessment um of what's what's going to be needed for students going forward and then also talking about um uh AI and um how AI powered instruction can be incorporated into the curriculum for students. So, as opposed
126to just an outright you can't use it, we discussed the fact that there's a real positive and educational aspect to putting things that you've drafted through AI and learning from the tool um how things can be written better, for example, or um how the prompts that you're putting into AI can really help to set uh the type of information that you're that you're getting out of it. So, there'll be more work and I know that that was discussed at the school board's meeting. um and uh and I think it's something that we'll be looking at going forward. Unfortunately, we didn't have a a big chance to get through the department review because the topics were so um important and wholesome. Um but other than that, um that was the full agenda. Uh I should say
127one other thing was we reviewed the um the calendar for next school year. Um so that is also uh up and an uh action item for us tonight. Does anyone have comments for Seth? >> No. >> I was just going to just say thank you for your facilitation. >> For whatever reason that there was a lot of interaction and a lot of, you know, dialogue that went on. So, I appreciate you stepping up. >> Thank you. Appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you, Beth. Um, can we have a motion and a second to approve agenda items 14.1 through 14.4? >> So moved. >> Second. >> So that was Tara and Dan. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any nays or abstensions? Moving on to policy and school security report. Um Nicole. >> Yeah. So the
128policy and uh security we committee met on October 20th. Um all were in attendance. We had a few agenda items. Agenda item one was attendance policy data. Uh we reviewed the attendance data effective through September from the beginning of school through September as compared to attendance data from the same um time period in 2024. Right now the data is encouraging with about 40% reduction but we will continue to analyze the data monthly to ensure these numbers were consistent. Um Dr. Vortax had created a spreadsheet that is going to be very useful um going forward to be able to kind of compare the numbers. Um but we would continue to monitor agenda number uh item two was the New Jersey school board detailed review of the open items of um spreadsheet that we were working on
129in the transition but we didn't really get to this um because we were talking about some other things uh right so yeah we moved it to the end but we didn't have time to discuss and agenda item number three was we had another discussion about committee as a whole Um there was discussion about the process to move to committee as a whole structure. Board policy 9130 um will need to be revised. Um I welcome any suggestions or any kind of comparisons if anybody wants to send anything in. Um you know just to update the policy if if we go that route. Um the committee decided to determine if the full board wanted to vote to move in this direction and then work on policy language. Um the conclusion is determine if the board wants to
130formally move in this direction. Um and then action item would be board vote and then a policy change. Um agenda item number four uh the committee was present presented with additional data on the school safety specialist and SRFO for the district regarding options for security within our district. Um a consultant is scheduled to come and evaluate our current model, make recommendations and we will wait for further information on that. Um, we will continue to collect data and options for school security. Um, and yeah, that's where we are right now. >> Can we make a motion? >> Okay. I'd like to make a motion to move this board to committee of the whole structure. >> Second. >> Okay. Comments. >> That was Deie and Rich. Oh. That was Angela D and comments discussion anyone? Well, I
131would want to know [clears throat] um the thinking of transitioning from the committee structure where we have the committees allocated for an hour to an hour and a half. Um what we recognize would have to be sort of trimmed from that approach um in a I guess a work session meeting. Um, and if the board is comfortable sort of recognizing that there's a number of items that would not be part of those discussions or just not be the material that we would traditionally have gone into. Um, and I don't know if that's something that everybody's comfortable with. um and what sort of um just habits and practices we've had there and what folks are willing to let go of and sort of comfortable sort of embracing like that would be from my own understanding going
132forward >> and what sort of um moved me to put this motion out was actually Brian in um the policy meeting that sort of said you know before we go forward with the nuts and bolts which would have to be done. They just have to be that we even have to see if there's interest cuz why do all that work before only to find that, you know, it doesn't pass. So, but I agree that there'd have to be structure put in place. You could be here all night. We don't want that. Um, and I also think too that, you know, it's something to give ourselves time to try. You know, some of us have had experiences of both, some of us haven't. [snorts] Recognizing change, may not be comfortable. Um, but that it's worth a
133try. We can always go back, you know, what works for the sport. We We don't know until we try. But I think it's worthy of a try, particularly in the spirit of I, for one, would like more engagement with my board. I'd like all my board members to have more engagement with each other and I'd importantly like to have transparent conversations for the communities that we serve. >> And if if this were something that the the majority of the board, you know, deems our policy drives will drive that. >> And we can in policy set those, you know, talk about it, set standards. You want to set a limit like you're saying, you know, you certainly don't want to be here. You know, we're going to have one we you would have one working committee
134and one board meeting and that working committee is where all the nuts and bolts. That's where we're going to have those discussions and it would be in lie of having those committees. So yes, to your point, there needs to be parameters set and policy would drive that. And my my my recommendation would be to if that's something the board wants to go to that moving forward for next month, we bring it to policy, we have those discussions and then we can implement for the following month and then I'm with Angela um miss um some of us have experienced it and been on both sides um and I what I'd say is that open dialogue that public conver that conversation in public, everyone's hearing it. And then that act that meeting follow-up meeting is an action.
135It's actionable. It's it's usually very quick. You get in a pattern. Um, and try it. Like to her point, you can always go back. You know, you got to get a little uncomfortable to be comfortable. Try it. What do you have to lose? That's just my two cents for it. I mean, I I I just want to voice my opinion that it I currently the committees meet for and we're set for an hour. Uh it seems like earlier in the year when we have new board members coming on and we're trying to understand the process and a lot of those meetings go much longer. Uh FFT early in the year we had some pretty tough discussions and some new board members. So, we were going on an hour and a half, two hours in some
136of those meetings. We've now brought that back to that hour. Um, I don't see how adding seven more voices to those meetings, you can reduce it to, you know, to 20 minutes or whatever we would need to to do to keep it to a consistent one night meeting. I I don't know how 12 people [snorts] can meet and discuss something in such a short amount of time and still get meaningful discussion. >> And at these meetings, the public is here and there's public comment as well. [clears throat and cough] >> Mhm. >> It has to be. It's it's a meeting. >> No, I know. >> Working session is a meeting. >> I don't I have a hard time conceptualizing 12 of us around a table. no matter who the 12 are. Um, with all that
137goes on at our committee meetings and the length of time that we take to go through each agenda item, it it seems like an impossible task to accomplish in any amount of time. Um, there's, you know, committees at a whole as a whole. I've never observed it. Maybe before we go and take a vote on something we Is there a video or maybe some example of a committee as a whole locally that we can go watch? >> There is hybrid township and township. >> Maybe we should, >> you know, have to set up your parameters and and to say that >> even then it's going to be perfect is is not the reality, right? But one thing we know is that to your point of how much time is spent on these meetings, whether a
138new board member comes on or not, if you're doing your due diligence by watching every video from every single one of our committees, not to mention then looking in each of the folders to go through all those documents. I'm not even going to talk about the 300page one. Um then with you can add that up and that's already a board meeting night right easily. I mean I could think of about an hour for my committee hour for your committee a couple hours for yours. I mean you're already clocking up the hours plus going through all the folders for each plus the followup and the emails. I mean it just still comes out to what's equivalent [snorts] to like a board meeting night. But it again, I'm not here to say it's going to be easy,
139but and I do think we all do our best attempts at getting flows of communication, but for example, one thing I put out to this board um as I'm now personnel chair is I'm trying to establish when comments or questions come in, I've created a chart so that people that aren't part of the conversation can still see the flow of communication and and again I would encourage my fellow chairs to do that as well because I I for one am frustrated when I'm watching a video and I actually think it's live because I raised my hand, >> you know, but when I [laughter] do that, you're not alone. >> I'm yelling at the screen. >> Yeah. So that's when you know I I I feel frustrated not being able to you know to engage at
140that moment. So but again we would have to have parameters and and that will take some figuring out. Um you can also go to school boards um there's a presentation school boards uh board president's corner what are the pros and cons of a committee of a whole as opposed to and if we look at our bylaws um if you go to 9130 I think it's the >> there's more information too in the structure of how how we do that um >> Jim does is there is it possible to get a link for that or if you just website. >> Yeah, >> you can send it. >> It's right there, but I can send it right. Yeah, >> great. >> But it gives a lot of it's very short, but it gives a lot of information.
141And to to Angela's point, um we have districts right here. You could network with board members. We have a board member uh Karen, you could speak to her, you could speak to Tots Bear. I think Angela, you sat on a committee as a whole. >> Yeah, [snorts] my board was and the board we were >> I have I think Dr. Birjax has, Brendan has. So, um, and >> has anyone sat on May I just ask on this board? >> We've um, no, I mean, I'm just wonder >> when it was it was committee as a whole here, but that was >> long time ago. >> That right. >> That said though, you would have still had the same amount of board members, right? Because it's always been >> Actually, I believe we had 13 members.
142>> Oh. garden was still >> in Bethlehem had we had two. >> There were two at one point. [snorts] >> So I listen I whether you have seven nine 13 it's it becomes that again you're going to have those discussions with the next board creating your norms and and building uh your your handbook whatever you choose to do but it's agreeing to disagree. We're although we're 12, we we we need to respect each other. We need to listen, effective communicators, right? We're good listeners and it can be done. You know, you got to put a little bit more effort into it as as Beth had said. So, it don't I I I just hearing that we're a board of 12 and we can't do it. Yeah. Yes, you can. >> So, does anyone else have
143any comments? I would just like to say I think in the beginning it might be like a little touch and go. It's like something new that you know stepping out of our comfort zones. Um it probably would create a little bit better decor between people. Um it would also possibly maybe limit some of the little chitchat that goes on that sometimes makes our committees go a little bit longer if we're kind of off topic. Um and I think that as time goes on I I think that it could possibly be very beneficial. And there's always the ability even if you didn't want to like if you have if you have a question you don't want to ask it it could always be followed up the next day >> you [clears throat] know with with Dr.
144Burgjax or the committee chair. Well we won't have chairs then or will we? >> No you wouldn't. >> No right or Dr. Bjax or or president whoever that may be. >> Again those are parameters that you set in your policy. If you choose to still have a a a chairperson some facilitator so to speak there there's that's your policy. It's going to you're you're going to drive that. >> Listen, >> think of the possibilities. >> So So Kim, for me, I I think the biggest take away of it, >> it's transparent. >> It's open to the public. Everyone could see everything. Everyone could hear everything. [snorts] There's could be questions about it. In the current format, I feel like there's so much of the district's business occurs behind the scenes that is not really uh
145fully transparent. So, this is going uh to this model in my mind is just clearly the best method for full transparency with the public. Um, and it's all out there. There's no way to to if there's discrepancies from meeting to meeting, it's it's out there, you know, it's it's easily for for the public to get involved and be more engaged and it's there's no really I mean I keep hearing like transparency and left in the dark and it's a common theme at the microphone that I want to hear. This is the way to to stop that. This is it going to solve all the problem? Probably not, but it's a step in the right direction. >> So, >> will these meetings be recorded? Well, >> will they be live just like this? >> Yeah. >>
146So, uh how do we how do you handle personnel and security? >> Well, you session, >> right? In fact, it's really going to focus on the things that are exact session and there's not that question really around some of the [clears throat] topics that is this, you know, on this committee or that committee. It's like no that's exact session you know >> but but the but the portion still doing the job descriptions other that would be in public. >> Yes. >> Which is good. [clears throat] >> Yeah. >> So I think I understand. I just want to clarify the motion was to move not to figure out how we would move. So it's a vote yes right now is we are going to do it one way or another. Come hell or high water, we're
147moving to a board of the whole. I have absolutely no idea how it could possibly be implemented in a month given all these questions that we've got. And you have to revise the policy, read it, read it again, >> vote on it. So, so a vote today to say yes. There's still an opportunity to say okay. Uh, so people proposed a way for it to work and and if I say ah that's not going to work. Uh, I don't I don't agree. I can at that point vote no, it goes back to if if other people agree or you know don't agree with that proposal, it goes back to the board uh to the drawing board for a new proposal. Are you comfortable with that approach or is this I want it next month? Can
148I can I interject Jack? Can I defer to the attorney? Can you explain you had a question stating that you know in preparation moving forward? Yes, we would we would take this to policy. We would we would make um amendments or other to policy. Is it a first and second reading? The decision for this board to implement committee of the whole requires no change in your current policy because there's a provision in your policy. Uh correct? It was 91 93 >> 9130 that says committee of the whole. The board reserves the right to meet and work as a committee of the whole informational discussion and exploratory sessions, no official action shall be taken at these meetings unless so advertised. So while you're working out the logistics that you were talking about before, I just wanted
149to assure you that if the board decides to enter into a committee of the whole, it in no way violates or is counter to your current policy which is called committees which allows you to do it. I just wanted to >> So does that mean then then if we move to that then we have those nuts and bolts discussion as a committee of the whole >> in a public meeting with the cameras on >> with correct >> and then if we in that committee meeting decide we want to move forward the next meeting will be the action item the next board meeting is when >> so then basically we would be it I mean basically Phil you're saying that we have this already in our bylaws to do this. So, we could possibly go to
150this for next month, try to do something where we can talk about it as a committee of like, you know, time limits, certain things that we want to address. That's why I ask if anybody has any suggestions or any other policies or anybody, you know, get some feedback and and and send it in and I can compile it and then I can present it to everybody of what some suggestions and stuff were and and then we can make a decision on that. And then again, Brian, I guess at that point then we would have the discussion and figure out if this is something that not everybody's comfortable in. But I'm assuming at this point the motion on the table is to vote to go to that for the next >> meeting. Yeah. >> December sorry
151November meeting would be a board of the whole >> I think they'll try to apologize. >> I I just want to say I mean it's it's all up to you. I mean it will happen whenever the board [clears throat] wants it to happen. The the motion can be uh specified as far as when or how you want to do it. All I wanted to make clear to the board and to the community is that the current policy permits this. It does not require a new first reading of anything or anything like that. >> So can I have a clarification of your motion? [laughter] >> Okay. But then to say, well, you know, we could move to it after we do certain things. Well, then, see, that's where I think it's a little tricky, I guess.
152Are you wondering if I'm saying could we move make the motion to move to committee of the whole in December? So, that gives us a lump. I mean, I'm not Do you see what I'm saying? Is that what you're So, come on. I'm looking for what what your [laughter] >> Well, I think I think you could also make a you could make a motion to discuss what >> correct me if I'm am I wrong with can we make could she make the motion with the um distinguishing that we make those discussions for each committee no longer than I don't know an hour and 10 minutes 2 hour we could we could do she could I'm just saying so I'm not >> yeah I'm not going to make a motion about parameters of that more that
153>> um maybe a start time of when it will occur to give maybe committees a chance like policy to maybe flush some of those out and kick it back to the board. >> I I was just >> listen I can I can say let's move right next month and we'll talk about it then. But I I'm fine with having like a some prep time and that's what >> Can I ask you then to clarify your motion? Can I do that in when it's already on the table? >> Okay. So then I can make a motion to move to committee of the whole in December. >> Correct. >> Is that what you're making? >> Um cuz I'm not making it after that. >> I'm not making it. >> Yeah, that's [clears throat] the motion. That was
154>> Yeah. Second. >> And do we need a board roll call for this? >> Just a point of order. I just want to make sure everyone understand we have a board meeting November 28th and then December 16th. So we will have >> three board meetings in a four week period. >> So [snorts] just and we would have had committees before anyway. So >> okay, >> I just want to make sure everyone knows that from a timeline. >> Well, here's another like question I have and I' it's been a burning question for me which could tie into this. Um, I've been on a board before where when the reorganization happens, that's when we talk about when we want our board meetings. I've noticed with this this board, it's here's when they are. And I don't know
155what that is, but what I'm saying is >> you could set it up so that when the new board comes on and we choose all of our meetings, then we can line it up >> better that way than kind of where we are now, right? >> And and that's where I think it would probably work just your motion, [laughter and clears throat] right? >> Just want to make sure everyone knows. But but no, but moving forward, we can have this we can make the motion. We've made the motion second. We can take the vote. Um and we can have that discussion in policy. You can have that in December knowing that December, it's December 16th. It is a board meeting on our calendar. We should have a board meeting and as I said in policy,
156if we don't have a lot of business, that's a time we could do something as a board. We could do work on north. We could have team building. We could do something. We are still sitting board members until you know the end of the year. Some of us are leaving, some are new, we have new board members coming in. I think it is a great opportunity for you to when you reorg to do that and have those discussions. >> Yeah. And um I do know that we had it used to be the third Tuesday of the month, but we we changed it because of uh bills list in that. So we want to make sure that we take um you know, right, >> you know what what the best time to have our meetings in
157regards to the work that you >> sometimes depends on calendar. So like I can propose certain dates and that they may just need to be tweaked, >> right? So we want to be respectful of that. Yeah, >> that's a good point. In terms of announcements, we've announced those dates and those would be dates where we announced we're going to take action. So, the ones that are on the calendar right now, we'd have to do some [clears throat] additional leg work. We want to make a working meeting and a add a voting meeting. We don't have the January dates. >> Setting the January dates once the once we reorganized >> now you're thinking about making it in January. [laughter] >> Okay. What I'm saying is that's going to set we we already have Go ahead. >>
158That that is a good break. That is a good time to implement this in my opinion. January, >> you know, board wants to move in that direction, but starting in January, we get to reorg. We get to um, you know, start moving in that >> we we develop a calendar based on that and we have a whole year's calendar. Um, we advertise that calendar. It's just the perfect time to implement something like this. So, timing of this, it could be November 1 reading, December 2nd reading, and in January we that's when it reaches. Could I maybe suggest then if we think in that direction, we would have the month of November, each committee to sort of be tasked to some degree to have some conversation of how to scale down the scope of that work
159because and and I've been on a board of all. I did it for nine years, so I'm very comfortable in that format. And as a first term member of this board, obviously I've acclimated to the committee structure. Um, and I think the thing that I see as a potential growing pain is just letting go of a lot of the things that folks are accustomed to talking about. And >> that is something you would have to adjust to. And that could run the risk of the first time out you end up having a 4-hour meeting because you haven't really scaled it back. And to some extent, I mean, Rich and and Katie and the presentation. So take for example the um rich prone presentation might happen at a work session um where the information is there.
160We're not necessarily voting on anything relative to that, but we will have to at those committee levels let go of certain things that we've become acclimated to or just selectively recognize that certain things might only come up occasionally on um admittedly we're in a different place with policy because we've been transitioning, but it used to be that you were just dealing with policy updates a couple times a year as they would sort of come through and then folks would get that material. these are the changes, this what's coming through. So, it was a little more procedural at that point, but it can definitely work. And if I can just tap into your your board leadership next year, whoever that may be, um, collaborates with the superintendent and you can that drives that agenda, what what
161is going to be there and you're going to be they're going to be very careful, you know, how to place those presentations. What what you know, what's a heavy uh, you know, uh, board meeting, what's like budget season for, for example, as Katie said, there's going to be a lot more you're not going to be doing loading up on those. [snorts] So I think that's those are discussions that will be had >> but I I guess my initial point was that in preparation for triing something in uh reorg January like I don't know if the committees could this month sort of say like okay if if we were bringing this month's agenda to a committee a work session um realistically we have on our agenda tonight these four things we would probably only address these
162two in the work session. And I don't know if that's something we can start to wrap our heads around. Um or we could really challenge ourselves and just cut our committee meetings in half this month with [laughter] a strict >> not a bad idea >> and say all right just try to stay on task. >> Yeah. Stay on task. >> Kim, historically there has been no December meeting. Is that is that correct? >> I wouldn't say historically. It's been on the agenda or the the calendar. Last year we didn't have one. We should have probably had one, but I think it's a a best practice. The district runs. There's business always to be had, >> right? how much business you know but you could all always use that December meeting as well like I'm saying
163using it putting in your presentations doing uh team building doing board norms look working on other >> I see for like December as a very good opportunity to get the start a head start and so kind of hit the ground running we might uncover some kinks that we work out before January. So, we have the time. I don't think it's a two-month transition. And >> and to Brendan's point, maybe December will be that 45 minute meeting. >> Correct. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> We can Okay. Any other comments? >> So, then what is the motion? [laughter] So my >> So your motion >> is to move to committee to move this board to the committee of the whole in December. >> Second. >> And Rich Lordy second that y >> Okay, we've had comments. All in
164favor? >> I. >> Any nays? Any abstensions? >> I just need those names just for one second. Naz, Brian, Dan, and Jessica. >> It It passes. >> You have moved the board to a committee as a a whole >> is it called just isn't it called a board of the whole committ? Yeah, >> it is committee as a whole. >> Should we spend an hour? >> I don't know [laughter] what we wanted. It's called committee. It is committee as a whole but if you want to hear board as a whole board as a whole [clears throat] >> we are [laughter] large committee. >> We are a large committee. >> Well congratulations to the board and best of luck to everyone. >> Yes. Go team Angela. I needed you to be a little bit more like
165I thought you were going to get into it and you kind of got there and you stopped. I'm going to table. >> So, um, moving forward, Nicole, I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you, but >> Yep. >> I think that was >> moving forward to finance. >> Can I comment on you mentioned policy back policy? We we didn't get to one item on the agenda, >> right? And that was a >> for fortunately for that comm or unfortunate or unfortunate for that committee, there's a backend. So it's only an hour. Um my recommendation would be you now we have this new board docs mechanism would be to go ahead and you know so the administration could go ahead and look through those. It it seems to me that there's a lot of items that
166were kind of raised that because I raised them that were like well I don't know if this is an issue or not and your answer was actually no it's not. So we could, you know, those are like, you know, cross them out. There's nothing to do, but there's a few that were like, oh yeah, maybe we have to do. So you could create in the draft section line red lined items for each of those things and the chair of the polic or I don't know how it how it happens in December on, but right now I would say would have said the the chair of the committee could then say, okay, there's 14 of them waiting to be discussed. let's talk tackle two or something like that >> or you would recommend which two to
167tackle >> that's one of the things I need to figure out is how to address policies that is done because we have those discussions presenting to the full board is the same thing it's still the first reading and second reading it's just how we're going to format that >> it's just that that's one mechanism you could use that list of things that we identified that kind of questions [snorts] >> yeah and I'll keep going. Okay. >> Uh moving are all set. Moving on to finance facilities and facilities and transportation. Uh committee report part. Um Brian. >> Yes. Uh so I stood in for Dan. This is a meeting we had on October 20th. It went for an hour and 45 minutes. [laughter] >> You had to throw that in right. and um >> spin the
168chair. >> Yeah. [laughter] >> Guess what? I'm gonna take hour and 35 minutes to go over the uh [laughter] >> um so all all committee members were in attendance except for Dan, of course. He was celebrating his anniversary. Happy anniversary, >> Dan. >> Yes. Thank you. >> Um so I'll we started uh and I'll start with the um uh the agenda items. Uh seven of them total. Um the first one we spent a a little bit of time on this is um a contract where we would north uh would be responsible for um grounds maintenance for the [clears throat] votech building and they would pay us for that. This is addendum to the contract that we have with them. They would pay us to do that. Um whereas we used to basically do the same
169maintenance in that area, you know, let's say uh plowing snow and cutting grass. Um but but now because it's their property and somebody needs to do it, we would prefer to do it because then we know exactly where the snow is going to go and when the grass get cuts with every all the other grass and that kind of stuff. Um so this is a new source of revenue. However, the discussion was around uh if we have a uh heck of a winter and there's many more snow plows, you know, inch inch square foot plows of uh that has to be done, then we could be basically um you know, it's a flat fee. They paid us for it. If we have to do a lot more plowing, then we kind of lose on it.
170if they if it doesn't snow at all, actually they kind of lose on it. So, it's, you know, Katie in in her wisdom has set it up so that, you know, based on what she thinks is probably going to happen. It's going to be about an even even thing. So, you know, we're not looking to make money from it. We're not looking to lose money on it. Um, but there was a lot of discussion because quote unquote upside risk, you know, we could end up snowplowing >> a lot. However, well, anyway, so we couldn't actually come to an agreement as on as a committee whether to recommend this or not. We said we just put it up to both. Um I I I personally think it's it's uh fine, but that's because I get to
171talk about it. [clears throat] Um 162 uh shared services agreement. >> Just a question. Do we want to discuss it first or do we want to go through the entire agenda for just Uh we can go through it because he he's giving his report out, but I think >> that's fine. That's fine. >> Okay. 162 uh shared services agreement. There's no money exchange. So we're going to provide uh Spanish instruction to Clinton Township and they're [snorts] going to provide us some ESL instruction. So it's it's like a swap. Um 163 is a the maintenance plan that Katie puts together each uh October. It's required by the state. uh she makes sure we're in compliance uh with the state requirements and and so we are but there's a you know a plan for how we maintain
172the buildings to make sure that they they foreseeable future are able to be used to educate students. Um there's uh 164 is a uh acceptance of a bid um to redo the walkway out front of this building right here. Um it actually came in a little lower than budget. Um so you know good good good um uh we we encourage the board to support that. Um 165 some change orders for capital projects. Um last month we approved um some use of some allowance to continue the doors door replacement project at North. This is now doing the same thing at Vorhees. Um and then there's also one where they're going to return um the allowance or some portion of allowance for the the HVAC upgrades that now have finished. And so this is closing out the
173project and um and we'll put that money into capital reserve. Okay. 166 and 167 are regular items uh that we normally see um bills and uh training travel requests. Okay. Uh so those are the action items uh that we uh with that I could say the committee um supports with the acceptance of 161 which was not unanimous. Um I'll leave it at that. Um discussion items. Uh Katie reminded us that normally um in October we would hear about the audit report out and um she is still reconciling some aspects of uh the financial records uh from the interim BA uh while she was out um and she will have that audit presentation next month for us. Um uh as part of the process of each committee um speaking to the district goals uh Katie uh
174brought up three things that that she has been working on related to district goals. One is around improving budget communications. Um her highlight there was that at the next FFT meeting she will be talking about the the health care um costs and um and some aspects of uh of the uh the program that we have uh you know the contracts we have in around healthcare. Um the second item is accelerating the budget timeline. Um, so she's been working with the principles and the buildings to to move up the the um process of establishing uh building level budgets um into moving that into October to to um align with that goal. and then um informing the board about uh more regularly about capital projects and and we just talked about that uh she did tell the
175committee about the the long the the plans that she has put in place that she'll report to the um to the state. [snorts] um looked into or you know we've looked into the issue that Tara you brought up which was um the question of whether Warhees is in a position to um try to get gas uh up at the the high school. Unfortunately, the answer is it would be very expensive given that the boilers we'd have to basically switch a boil boiler over or more than one boiler and and all of our boilers have not have been renovated not too long ago and so aren't due to be renovated for like 10 years. Um this the feeling on the committee was okay that's you know maybe not not the answer everyone wanted but at least
176it's an answer and now they know how to move forward. So the the the administration is not recommending that we try to change boilers that early just for this purpose. >> Um uh Dan um asked us to consider um whether we could get some more information in the I'm going to start looking over here. um some more information when we get the legal invoices about what was discussed of course not specifics but more than just well I haven't looked at one but uh you know more than just uh we talked I talked to the board president for an hour or something like that um and so the uh the president was amenable to having a discussion maybe get some more information from Dan about what he's looking for in particular but Um but getting so
177how so the board would have op opportunity to look to see what those legal services are being spent on. Again, not names, not specific cases, but but more detail. So we're hoping that could be worked out between the the president and the [snorts] board attorney. Um there's a question there was question raised about pay schools at the last meeting. Uh this is the cafeteria payment se uh method. Um [clears throat] Katie [snorts] provided some more clarification and additional followup by email to the committee. Um uh Mr. Lordy uh asked that we consider as a board ideas for how we can help [clears throat] students with their fundraising. that there's been a lot of money that's asked, you know, uh of additional monies for students to to to participate in [cough] different things. And, you know,
178he was uh I think admirably thinking about is there ways that the board could kind of try to match money or or find ways to u participate like like show our support for their fundraising and get involved a little bit. Um, and one of the specific aspects was we maybe we could think about where in our budget we could allocate or ask the administration to think about where in the budget they could allocate uh take away money in order to not charge seniors a parking fee in the future. But, you know, we have budgets. We're not a profitm company. So there if you take it away from someplace, you got to uh if you give it to someplace, you got to take it away from somewhere else. And then the last very brief mention was
179um the social media litigation that we talked about briefly last time. I guess the the committee decided that we we weren't recommending um to the board that we were going to get involved with that litigation because we didn't sense that the board was supportive. Um that there was little enthusiasm and it felt just a little bit like it was too far out of our comfort zone. Um and and and so we think that that's just probably going to stop unless unless someone, you know, feels strongly and tries to get that started again um some from somewhere else in the board. Okay. So Beth, you have a question. >> Yeah. So a couple of questions slash points. So on the um contract for the um the memorandum agreement with Polyt. So I my concern is that
180this is not a very comprehensive agreement and there should be a cap um of the amount that we would be willing to cover on things this way to protect us um so that we're not in a situation where we are spending double the amount because we have a difficult snowstorms this winter or if there are other issues. But this basically just [snorts] says that we're going to pay for all of it. And it doesn't say anything about, you know, for example, if our snow truck runs into uh into one of their buildings, who's responsible for damage in that particular instance. This is just talking about who's going to pay. And it kind of goes to to a point that that I had raised um in another meeting about other contracts that we have and the
181fact that we just can't [clears throat] keep using the status quo. Times have changed, litigation is higher. um and the risk can become more substantial to our district to be providing certain services or entering into agreements with other service providers where we're not protected as a district. Um so I I would say that I would prefer to see some additional language in here that at least provides for, you know, what is and isn't our responsibility, especially if we're using a third party [snorts] to provide those snow plowing services, right? or the mowing services or whatever um in order to protect us because you know it's different now. They were just doing construction over there. Now there is a a separate school district on our property >> and I think we really need to to make
182sure that we are separating responsibilities, liabilities and the the money for that. So that's my view on this contract. I'm not comfortable with approving it today. Um on the um comment about the um the recordkeeping point um I'd really like to have more information on it next time. Uh [clears throat] I think that it is um it's a significant point enough that should have been raised to the entire board at the time it happened. Um so I'd like to understand better how it did happen and um what's being done to ensure that we don't have that issue in in the future. Uh, and then I think um I was going to talk about the fundraising, but I think you know one idea um is you know there are a huge I don't know if anybody
183always looks at these but as a parent of a kid at at the high school there's like 10 fundraisers going on every week and you're dipping into the exact same pockets every time. It's the parents. So, how how much money are parents and students supposed to give to these activities and what exactly is being done with the money that's being fundraised? You know, it almost >> you don't have any insight to that booster club and I' not all the booster club. >> No, I know. But I agree with you. I've raised this question before. It's almost the type of situation where you just have every student pay a student activities fee at the beginning of the year, $25, $50, whatever. It covers that. Um, it it's been done in other schools. Uh, I don't know
184how many checks I've written out to NHS student activities. I mean, it's like a ton of them. So there there needs to be some braining in by the administrations of both schools and have some oversight as to how many of these things are being done because it is it truly is out of control the number of fundraisers that are happening. It just is I I agree with Rich and we can't keep especially in this economy with changes that Phil is talking about. The students don't have the money and the parents may not either. And then that puts the parent in a very difficult position of having to say [clears throat] I'm sorry but I don't have that kind of money. And and to a certain extent I think as a board we have a responsibility
185to again ensure that we're not putting undue pressure on students and parents to come up with money for things that maybe they shouldn't be doing. So that's just my two cents on that one. >> Do we know any districts? Do you know any districts that do that right now? The activity fees that we could look at? >> I don't. Um I know that >> I know the colleges do it. I mean, you get it every semester. >> Yeah, [laughter] I got >> It's right there front and center. >> $125 for the semester. You know, it covers all of their activities >> per semester. >> Yeah. But um but as you know, it's probably cheaper. I think it's something >> I think this would be something to if we could look at if there's other somebody
186doing it that we could model and >> Yeah, we can look into it. >> [clears throat] >> Beth, I'm not uh often at a loss for words. [laughter] >> You got me there. >> All right. >> Um I don't know how I follow that one to be honest with you. But um just to I guess piggy back on comments. Uh 161 I don't understand. I mean why that's our partner over there. I I don't understand. And there shouldn't be risk on either side or an up or down side to any to either side. Um especially ours. So I don't see why we just don't contract with them for they pay for what they use >> what they use. >> It's that simple. >> I know. >> I mean why put our why put oursel in
187in a situation to be exposed to any risk? >> Just doesn't make any sense to me. Um >> the accounting discrepancy. I don't know if that's what it is. Maybe Katie could share more detail on it. I mean, I was I mean, I didn't even know the questions to ask because I was hearing it for the first time. And when I heard the the figure of upwards or well over a million dollars of of between transferred between accounts, it it happened in August, but excuse me, let's let's uh there are some conversations >> that are not here >> that are not for public. The point being, I wish I had more information on um I will say on the parking aspect, so [snorts] I don't have a kid at the school, so I find out
188a lot of the fundraisers or a lot of things either from emails from that I'm copied on, but honestly, I get a lot of my information from from from parents, teachers, and and students. So when [snorts] I saw the or heard it was brought to my attention about the the parking fee, I was in disbelief. Like I I honestly didn't believe it. And then I saw it and I'm like I'm like this doesn't feel right. I mean it just doesn't feel right. So um it was upwards I think of 33,000 34,000 what was net uh proceeds from from the fees. it just it just doesn't strike me as the right thing to do. Um so with that said, uh I will make a motion to wave or to eliminate that charge effective the 2025 2026
189uh school year. And I'm hoping that this is something that the board can unite around. We always do a lot of talking about students and families first and it's it's it's difficult to to meet all of those needs, but but this is a step in the right direction. I think this sends the right message um to our community that we're not going to have these types of charges uh to our students. So, I'll make that motion. Before we accept Bridg's motion, is this considered more I I are we stepping into the balance of the BA BA's role for budgeting? We just I I heard the discussion and um and of waving fees that we're already charging and budget items. Shouldn't this how isn't this considered micromanaging and not governance when we're looking to eliminate a
190budget item and a revenue collected for the school district in an upcoming budget year during budget planning when this has already been a budget item for many many years in a row. We don't have we have to move money from another bucket item to pay that transportation GL because now we're not going to have that revenue in there and we don't know where Katie is going to move that money from. >> So is doesn't this go into doesn't this go too far into micromanaging line items in a budget rather than governance of a board as a whole? I I agree and I just want to point out that parking and driving to school is a privilege. It's not a right. We're not We have offered busing for them. So, and there's fees. We There's a
191lot of upkeep on our all that stuff. So, when we're looking at budgets, which we have experts that are doing, it's not the minimal fee. And as a a parent and children, this they don't it's they don't have to park. So they don't have to pay that. It's it's a privilege. So I'm going to disagree with that. But also about activity fees, South does a $100 fee for fifth grade through 12th annual fee and then they have financial aid and that. So in our county there is one school district that's doing activity fees. >> Bill, can you weigh in on my comment? >> Absolutely. Um, >> I I think that um the board would do well to get used to asking the superintendent when board members have ideas about about initiatives that it would like
192to uh see happen as as what you were just discussing that the question rather than it being in the form of a motion should be in the form of a question to the superintendent regarding let's say hypothetically that we were to eliminate the fees. Is is that something that you think that that we could do or is there some way that we could uh save our students money etc etc. that in the first instance um there's a real there's there's a very legitimate question as to whether or not the board has enough information among the board itself [snorts] to vote on on something like that without having had first the input from the superintendent of schools >> but it was that was exactly how it was raised at committee >> correct >> so it was
193raised exactly in that manner >> it was raised in that manner but the response was was that we have to work on the budget budget and we have to that this money is already allocated and has been received year-over-year and has been tracked and and is a line item in our budget as a revenue generating plus sign. And if we take that plus sign away that has to be filled with some other budget item and in a year where we just increased our budget to 2.67% 6 7% and that was big that was a big controversy on this board and if we have to pull from another item and with health care prices going up and up and up and I have a feeling it's going to be a very rough budget discussion when we
194have to look at those fees and to be taking money away from our from the from the needs of the school to maintain those parking lots and as Terara said it's a privilege not a right that we pay for transportation to get those kids to school. There's a bus there ready for them. >> It's just I not that I don't want our kids to enjoy things cuz I do. >> So my question would be then um why aren't we charging everyone to park in the parking lot? Would >> that is a great question. So if the students are going to play then the faculty is going to have to pay. >> We may might be able to argue too if you want to look at it strictly from a if a student's 18 they're an
195adult. they need to be driving to work maybe after school. So, I don't know [clears throat] if it's the school's place to say for this one, it's a privilege or not. It to me it's about if you're going to charge one, why aren't you charging everyone? Because it's their place of work. >> We don't bus. >> They don't they don't have a bus to their house to take them to work. >> But I I'm a student first. So, I'm saying I'm I'm I'm not a fan of charging students when I think that they're of age, they can drive. And to me, that's that's not a student first kind of decision. But that's all my question is about charge charging also since we're still discussing these things. Shouldn't this be for the future and not going
196back like >> it is for 25 26 that's my fault I did say that. >> Okay. So that's what I was that money is already allocated building a budget. So if it's something a discussion, it would be moving forward that 26 27 [clears throat] year to have a discussion. >> That's my bet. >> And then at that I guess and then at that point Katie is aware of it and then correct >> go for the budget thing. >> That's correct. >> But I I agree. I mean constituents have brought this up u multiple times about the parking um and uh and the fees. >> Can I ask is it a fair enough? I mean obviously if if we're not charging then every every student is going to just park. Are there you still have your
197system set up by which you you allow students to have um their spot, right? That system would still remain. However, that is from >> No. Are there enough spots for all the the seniors? >> Uh for all the seniors, >> that's another issue at North. Yes. >> It's a lottery, right? >> Yeah. We haven't had to do a lottery in a while. Um but when you count up the amount of seniors and the amount of spots, not every senior darts, right? So there we end up being able to um give every senior a spot that has requested it for quite a few years. There was a time years ago when we were about 1,900 at North that we did have a lottery and there'll be kids that will get um >> No, but what I'm
198saying is if they're not paying for it, then I would if I wasn't paying for it, I'd be like, "Oh yeah, I want a spot, too, just in case I I get a card next month." You know, that's what I'm saying. in. >> But there's there's a process that the administration goes through. >> There's so many spots and I think is it a first come first serve? How how do you do that? Because I with one of my kids >> need a license and a car. You need to prove that you have a car card. >> There are a lot of processes that go into this and there's a lot of administrative work goes into this. Um I will say, you know, we're practicing committee as a whole, right? [laughter] Um and and really that's
199that's what I I >> this is um >> this is >> while it is I applaud the effort um I want to save students and parents money as much as we can. Um you know there are also people that don't have students for school and they do think that parking is a privilege um and parking is a privilege. There's a lot of taxpayers that don't want their tax dollars to go to privileges and that's why we have so many student activities as well. And you know all those fundraisers and things these are all student driven. There's no faculty that are saying hey I want to do this and the kids and then we're asking the kids to fundra for it. It's the students coming to the teachers and the administration asking for activities and then
200they get approved and then you know it depends on whether or not they want to fundraate support. So these are all again a plausible I guess ideas but the the reality of it is is that um if we don't fund raise for ideas where we don't pay for parking there's going to be things that are going to be lost. That's that's one thing we have to consider. So, and that's why as administration we do try to look at all these factors um make a a decision based on you know our our expertise make recommendations to the board on what to vote on. Um so that's just if we're practicing committee as a whole that's my >> so can I don't think it it technicality but it hasn't been seconded. Let me let me clarify. I'll
201I'll make a motion to eliminate parking fees effective the 2026 2027 school year. >> I'm going to second. >> Okay. Now, there's a motion. Regardless of whether we wanted it, there's a motion on the table. Maybe we had the discussion. >> We we we've had discussion. >> All in favor? I think we should go to a roll call vote. >> I I >> All in favor? >> Hi I. >> Any nays or abstensions? >> Just hold your hand up. [clears throat] [snorts] Sorry. I'm just gonna have to do this. [snorts] Motion carries. >> You guys be proud of yourselves. This is a good thing for the students. >> I agree. >> Can I just make a comment? >> I understand the motion. um in finance committee if you want to bring up something like this
202I'm happy to entertain this outside of the board table just a comment um I have a question I have a question on uh the training and travel requests do we do we support turnkey professional development so so when you have multiple people going for one department for the same PD do we do we do that here >> it depends on the situation Okay. Cuz I I I see >> plenty of people do things in terms of >> Okay. >> Is there a specification of what what what is what does it go on cost? Does it go on location? Does it go like on >> specific to the professional development? Sometimes it's important for multiple people to seek. Same thing. Okay. Um, since comments are we're finished, um, I'd like to have a motion and a
203second to approve agenda items 16.1 and 6 through 16.7. >> So moved. Second, >> Ryan and Dan. All in favor? >> I >> any naysay or any nays? >> I think nay to 16.1 and yes as to the rest of them. >> All right. So let's go. Let's go first. Any if you have any nays, please raise your hand. And so Katie can Okay. >> So I've got Benford. >> Yep. >> And no on 16.1. >> Yep. Sorry. 16.1 >> 16.1 >> Mr. Lord. >> No on 16.1. >> Now that's in regards to the >> grounds grounds from poly contract. >> Okay. That's 16.1. Yes. >> No. To 16.1. Okay. >> Yes. >> Um, no. I'm just thinking >> No, did not. >> No, I'm not. No. Voting. >> Okay. So, we move everything but
20416.1. Uh moving on to community relations and student affairs. We did not have a meeting. However, we do have two items on the uh agenda. Overnight field trips 17.1 and 17.2 student club proposal. Um I need a motion and a second. >> So moved. Second. >> That was Tara and Nicole. >> Any comments? >> I do. >> I have comments. Um, >> go ahead. >> So, I'm thrilled to see the student club, uh, the debate club. Do we have one here at North? >> Uh, I don't think we do right now. We used to, but they eb and flow. So, I don't think we have it >> because a big it's going in. This goes, we talked about writing and the components going into college and it's huge. Public speaking is they're pushing and I
205think it's a trick. We should be bringing it back here. I mean, I'm just seeing it with my own kids and to see that. I was thrilled to see that. It's nice to see that they're stepping into that. Um the overnight field trips. Um there's a baseball trip to Florida. Who's doing that? And is that it's our school. It's outside. It's part of >> it's the booster. >> They fundra for that. >> Okay. You just have to approve it because it's associated with >> no liability. And is is North doing the same thing? Are they doing it together? >> You'd think they would probably pull the together to get more. >> I don't know. That was just my >> the North baseball um team does not do a trip. >> Okay, that's that's all I
206had. >> And in addition to this debate, as I put Beth brought up before about like the writing. So again, if we we take to social media, right, of the kids on their phone constantly, they're losing that ability to have those discussions with one another and express, right? So maybe this debate, I think this debate club is a great idea >> and maybe this could go into doing some more into curriculum when it comes to >> actually even in debating in classes if possible. >> A safe subject. [snorts] Um, the comment I was going to make is on these overnight field trips, can we start asking what the per person cost is going to be by the student to do these? Because I do think that that has to start to factor into whether we're
207going to approve these or not because yes, there may be fun. I'll give you a good example. We approved the North uh music organization to go to to Florida to Disney World and it's like an $1,800 per person trip. and that yes, there's going to be fundraising, but that's a lot of money. Um, and so, you know, I just think that we should have visibility as to what these are going to cost before we start putting that again, like I mentioned before, the pressure on the students and the parents and whether it's absolutely necessary like the one going to Hershey. >> It's a Hershey trip, you know, but to you're talking about either d, you know, taking buses or flying kids down to Florida and hotel rooms and meals and whatever other entertainment plus the
208cost of the spring training. So, that's a lot of money to fund raise per student, and I just like to be able to have visibility to that when we're approving these going forward. Okay. Any other comments? >> Okay. All [clears throat] in favor? >> I >> Any or obsessions? I >> no on >> Was that an Brendan? Was that an I? >> I was I was >> Yeah, I was in the >> Okay. No, in 17.1, but yes, in 17.2. >> Um, moving on to our delegates report. Uh, Tara, can you report out on both, please? >> Yep. Um, nothing else to report out on. The delegate assembly is going to be November 22nd at 9:00 a.m. um at Ber County Community College and you're welcome to join in. You just will not be voting.
209Um, we don't have the uh program yet, but this visit's released on board or copy to everyone. You'll get it to from school boards. >> When's the next 10 county? >> It's going to be December. Okay. >> And it's going to be a round table with BAS. And um as soon as we have that set up, I'll let you know. [clears throat] >> Where's it going to be, Tara? >> Uh that's going to be down at um Flemington um at Pace. So, >> well, if it was anything like your last one, >> I'll be there. >> Great. [laughter] >> Yeah. And once we have our panelists, I'll let you know officially. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. Um moving on personnel committee report trying to get business efficiency. >> So um the personnel committee met
210on October 22nd virtually. All members were present. We had two agenda items that included one reviewing a job description and then two reviewing [snorts] our process for the job descriptions that we intend on reviewing as we move forward in this massive undertaking and I apologize for using a word twice in the sentence. Um the job description that we reviewed was the school business administrator board secretary which was last updated in our district um on November 8th, 2008. >> Oh my god. >> So [laughter] yes 2008 >> 700 that is correct. And so one thing that the committee has done actually Rich put it to Dr. Bjac's put it together, but you know, we have and it's in our folder the list of all the job um the descriptions when they were last updated and you
211can filter to sort of see, you know, least to highest, whatever. Um so let's see. Um yeah, all of our respective documents um to this process can be found in our personnel committee folder for review um and updating job description work. We use both our current as well as the NJSBA job descriptions. You will notice in the personnel committee folder the NJSBA business administrator board secretary redline job description version um which shows our process and our updates um that was a great suggestion you had made I believe a couple meetings ago about the red line. So yeah, you'll see it in there. Um, as noted in our personnel committee minutes, we made some changes to the qualification section and also the job goal section. The committee also liked that the NJSBA separated the job responsibilities
212into categories. So, we we like that format and we kept it. This was a collaborative process and I thank our committee members for their synergetic efforts and working through this process to bring you a job description tonight that you will vote on. Our second agenda item um was to review um the job descriptions that we would like to target moving forward. There's a lot of discussions on that. Do we go, you know, top down? Do we go by what was the oldest job description, but um our intentions moving forward is to review job descriptions from NJSBA for um assistant school business administrator, coordinator of human resources, payroll and benefits, and the human resources assistant. and that oh and then you'll also see um links where I did mention that I um started sort of a
213chart where when um comments or questions come in I can just keep them logged and the names are relevant. I don't have those there, but um any responses that I would need from um the superintendent or tap into the board president, I can get that information and put it in the chart. So, um that is my report. Yeah, that's my report. It's my story and I'm sticking with [laughter] >> Thank you. Any comments? Okay. At this time, um, I'd like to call for a motion and a second to adopt resolution 102825-2 for an executive session to discuss matters reflected in the attached resolution. The board expects to be in executive session for approximately 1 hour plus plus or minus and upon return public session action will will be taken. All in favor? Any knees or
214absentions? >> We have so moved. So move. for a >> motion and second to reconvene public session. All in favor >> move and second move. >> I'm going to [laughter] get out of here. >> I'm back on. We're back on. >> Yes, we're back on. Sorry. I need a motion. A second. >> So moved, >> Brian. Second >> and Dan. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any nays or abstensions? [clears throat] >> I need a motion and a second to approve agenda items 21.1 through 22.2 and to include hand carries if provided. Um that would be p personal agenda and the executive sesh minutes. Executive session minutes. Um any comments? No first move first. >> Oh jeez. >> Second. >> Motion. Motion. >> Second. Now comments. >> Now comments. Jeez. >> Seeing none. >>
215Yes. >> Anybody? >> Okay. Roll call vote. >> Mr. Chapman. >> Yes. >> Dr. Dean. >> Yes. >> Miss Gallon. >> Yes. >> Miss Vince. >> Yes. >> Miss. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lord. >> Yes. >> Mr. Mcy. >> Yes. >> Miss Reyes. >> Yes. >> Mr. Fant. [laughter] >> It's late. >> Um, yes to 22.1. Abstain on 22.2. >> M. >> Yes. >> And Missino? >> Yes. >> Okay. [laughter] Any old and new business? >> Um, maybe just one request. Next month I can uh report having attended school boards. Maybe provide a little summary. >> Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. >> Were you Was that Did anybody else go? >> No, I was supposed to go and surgery went too. >> So maybe you know um Rich, you and Brenda could do a update.
216We totally >> Yeah. Do like a half hour presentation. [laughter] >> Just do a half hour presentation in five minutes. >> Yeah. else. >> Anyone else? >> Nothing. Okay. Can I have a motion in a second to adjurnn? >> Second. >> Nicole and Beth. >> All in favor? >> Any or abstensions? >> Thank you everyone. Have a good evening. Good night.