001Call the meeting to order. >> Roll call, please. Mr. Crowy. >> Mr. Akabondo, >> present. >> Miss Bali, >> present. >> Mr. Ericello, >> present. >> Miss Einelo, >> present. >> Mr. Laurentino, >> present. >> Miss Roloff, >> here. >> Mr. Torbick, >> present. >> Mr. Verso, >> here. >> Maderelli, >> here. >> Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance 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. Adequate notice of this meeting has been sent to all members of the board of education and to the Bergen record in accordance with the provisions of the open public meetings act chapter 231 1975. Okay. Our student representatives. >> Hello. Okay. Awesome. The high school
002has been active with academic celebrations and preparations for upcoming events. We proudly held our National Honor Society induction ceremony, welcoming new members who exemplify scholarship, service, leadership, and character. The junior class breakfast also took place, giving the class of 2027 a chance to come together. Our instant decision day with Caldwell University and Ramapo College was a major success with 100% of participating seniors accepted. Counselors also continued providing valuable support through Bergen Community College application assistance. As we move into December, students are gearing up for spirit week, bringing holiday energy to the building. This Friday, 10th and 11th graders will begin scheduling meetings to plan next year's courses. Seniors also have their cap and gown measurements tomorrow, a reminder of how quickly the year is going past. We have several exciting events ahead. Our snowland dance
003is this Friday. The pep rally is scheduled for December 19th. and our high school winter concert will take place next Thursday. This month, we are thrilled to also announce that the rising falcon award is being presented to Zuzanna Bubeno, me in recognition of her out [laughter] in recognition of her outstanding achievement in academics, character, school spirit, perseverance, and her commitment to building positive relationships within our school community. Congratulations to me on your welldeserved success and continued growth. Your dedication sets an inspiring example for all F. Overall, students are engaged, motivated, and looking forward to closing out the year on a positive note. The middle school students have completed one full marking period. Our seventh graders are into their quarter 2 classes. The school year is in a full swing and the students are acclimating nicely.
004Our parent partnership night was a success. It is nice to see our community come together and see what great things are happening in our district. The middle school concert is scheduled for December 11th at 7 p.m. Mr. Cudin and Mr. Ortga has as well as our students always put on a great performance. It is a great way to kick off the holiday season. The week of December 15th through 19th is our spirit week with December 15th starting with wear your warm and cozy pajamas. Wear your ugliest holiday sweater. Wear your Grinch clothing or green. Wear your holiday best. And lastly, December 19th, seventh graders wear red and eighth graders wear green. Seasons greetings from middle school. On behalf of the entire middle school faculty and staff, we extend our warmest wishes for a very happy
005and peaceful holiday season. We wish you and your family a happy and healthy new year. See you in 2026. Our November newsletter highlighted a number of exciting updates and successful community events at Washington School. We are pleased to share the following. Our annual Thanksgiving feast was a tremendous success made possible by generous food donations and the support of many parent volunteers. Students from the sale program also joined us, helping make it a warm and inclusive celebration. Parent teacher conferences were held last week and ran smoothly with strong parent participation. We are currently preparing for a busy and festive December. This includes our upcoming Cookies with Olaf event in collaboration with the service learning club on December 17th, as well as our holiday show on December 23rd at 10:00 a.m. in the gym. December 23rd will
006also be a single session day. Looking ahead, schools will be closed December 24th through January 2nd and will reopen on January 5th, 2026. We are also excited to announce the development of a lending library for our students. Thanks to numerous book book donations, we are in the process of catalog cat cataloging new titles and establishing a checkout system. This initiative will support reading engagement and provide students with expanded access to books. The PTO extends heartfelt thanks to all families who donated food or volunteered at the Thanksgiving feast. It was a wonderful success and we are grateful for the community's generosity. Our holiday shop was today and will continue tomorrow. The holiday shop is a beloved event that allows our younger students to shop for holiday gifts for their families. Thank you. Now, I will share
007updates from our elementary schools. Beginning with Franklin, November was a busy and exciting month at Franklin School. Their clubs and student activities planned several meaningful events. The safety patrol organized Ruby Bridg's walk to school day and the student council led Thanksgiving food collection. Franklin school also celebrated their falcon of the month recipients. As Franklin heads into December, they are looking forward to holding parent conferences which provide a wonderful opportunity for families and teachers to connect, celebrate growth, and set goals for trimester 2. Franklin School thanks their staff, families, PTO, board of education, and community partners for their continued support. Over at Long School, students participated in activities centered on gratitude and engaged in fascinating new subjects through the new Amplify curriculum. Fourth graders explored the medieval ages. Second graders are learning Greek mythology. And first
008graders are deciphering hieroglyphics, just to name a few examples. Long Memorial successfully concluded their parent teacher conferences and also held their holiday gift shop organized by the PTO. Long school looks forward to the holiday performances by their music students on December 23rd and wishes Saddlebrook a wonderful holiday season. Finally, at Smith School, they are very excited to share that the third annual Thanksgiving tradition, balloons over Smith School, was a huge success. Their students have become more creative each year. This year they had balloons that were all different types of animals, gumball machines, Starbucks, cake pops, unicorns, ice cream cones, and more. Last week, Smith School held their elementary parent teacher conferences over four days. This year, they had nearly 100% participation with almost every single family signing up and attending the conferences. This in-person connection
009is a factor that will truly make a difference for their students as they come together to support and challenge them. Now, everyone is looking forward to spirit week next week. Smith schools thanks their PTO, the board of education, and their families for all the support this year. Overall, all of our schools are excited to celebrate the holidays and wish the entire Saddle Brook community a safe and warm holiday season. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you, me and Susie. And congratulations, Susie, on winning the earning the what the rising falcon award. I'm going to start with introducing Melissa Del Roso, our field service representative from New Jersey school boards. >> Hi everybody. Can you hear me? Okay. Okay. Um I'm Melissa Del Roso from New Jersey School Board Association. I am your new Bergen County
010representative, your field service representative. Um so I don't know how many of you are familiar with the services we offer at New Jersey School Board Association. Um, but if you need it, we're here to support you. Um, so I handed out some paperwork, just some um, you know, things for you to take a look at to help you guide you through the beginning of the new year and also to talk a little bit about some of the topics of um, presentations that we can offer to help you in your training. Um, the goal of New Jersey School Board Association and myself is to support all board members. Um so what that means is um to support you in your training to help you do a role that you volunteer for uh gener generously donate your
011time to um and you're a lot of people come from all different walks of life etc. So when you come on to the board you're bombarded with a bunch of stuff that you're probably not used to. So, even if you're a seasoned board member, you may run into questions or, you know, just have questions about how things are done from procedure um to general questions of what other boards are doing. Um, so that's what I'm here for. Uh, anytime you want, pick up the phone and give me a call. My number's on the card, any topic. And when we talk, one other piece of information that's kind of important, when we talk, it's between us. I don't go back and talk to other board members about anything that we discuss. So if you have a
012question that you're not sure of but don't know how to ask it. Um I say this because especially with new board members coming on the board, a lot of times they spend their time, you know, for the first six months afraid to ask questions assuming they're supposed to know something. It can be a very daunting role to be sitting on a board. So, if you're a seasoned board member, you probably have it down pat, but if not, don't be afraid to give me a call to ask questions and um any way that I can support you. Um and then I will go one f step further and invite you to come to the Bergen County meetings because it's really important for you to get involved on that level to get to know some other districts
013and get to know what other board members are doing. It's a great opportunity for networking as well as there's also more instru you know um learning experiences there as well. You can get involved in the Bergen County School Board Association, give your input and help elevate what is being offered to you. Um and also to support all the other county uh school boards. And one last thing because we also have the New Jersey level. Um so if you have any questions about getting involved, I know we just had the delegate assembly. I'm not sure if anybody here attended um or was involved in that, but that is something that a lot of districts don't know. This is something that I'm learning new coming into this role. Um it is an excellent opportunity if you as
014a board member want to get involved in helping the legislature understand what you do and um what you would like to see the state do um and have your voice heard as a board member who sits here on a regular basis and sees what's happening and let the legislature know what is happening in your district and what you would like to see happen. Um so that's where the delegate assembly kind of comes in and that's where the association is so important. We can talk at another time, but if you have any questions, I know when I was on the board for nine years in my local district, which was Old Tapan, I it took me quite a while to understand it. I went to a few of them and still didn't understand it. Um, I
015can help you right through that. And I'd like to see more involvement from Bergen County on that level. That's pretty much what I have to say. Um, does anybody have any questions from me or >> No. >> Anybody have any questions? >> No. Okay. Um, so I look forward to seeing you in the new year for some um, presentations. [clears throat] I'm sure we'll probably do ethics or something along those lines. But remember, I can also tailor anything that you need. We can combine things to save time. I know your time's valuable and thank you for everything you do. I've been there, done it. Um, and it's not an easy job and um, obviously there's no pay. So, thank you very much and I wish all of you u happy holiday. And again, please feel
016free to reach out to me at any time, just even to say hello. I got my phone going all day long. So, love to hear from you. >> Thank you, Melissa. We appreciate you taking the time to come meet us tonight. >> All right. I don't have too many further updates. Middle school and high school concerts are coming up. Tomorrow's the middle school and next week is the high school. Unfortunately, I'm unable to attend tomorrow's. I have a an event with my husband's job. If any of the board members are planning on attending either v um via the board's Google calendar, please RSVP or let me know so that way we could be sure to save a seat. Last month, a parent spoke about receiving an email in his preschool's child absences. So, the principal
017has since met with him and I followed up via phone call and I just wanted to make sure I covered some of the points that we talked about. You know, we discussed how daily attendance is required for all preschool students. Preschool attendance is recorded at NJSmart and it does appear in school performance reports. Strong preschool attendance improves readiness for K to3 literacy, numeracy, and social emotional development. Preschool attendance does not count towards the state's accountability based chronic absenteeism rate. However, chronic absentis absenteeism is still calculated and publicly reported for preschool in the state performance reports. Our district responsibilities do include family outreach if a student is absent, mainly to assess any wellness concerns. We did update Washington School's handbook since that meeting because he did notice a couple items where he was not wrong. And
018I wanted to share that our chronic absenteeism rate in 2022 2023 school year was 13.5%. Out of approximately 1,800 students, that's 243 students who were absent from school more than 18 times that school year. Since then, we've really been focusing our efforts. And our efforts have yielded a 9.4% chronic absenteeism rate in 2324. And last school year, according to our embargo data, it's not official yet, we had a 6% chronic absenteeism rate. So 109 out of 1809 students. We're moving in the right direction. I want to thank my principles for all the followup that they're doing with their families and thank our families and our students for showing up for school because you do need to be present to learn. At this time, we do have a large representation from Washington School. Thank you very
019much for coming this evening. I'm going to ask our board members to transition over to the chairs for their presentation. help you. So, Mrs. Hannenburgg, who is the preschool of Washington School, is here this evening, and she can introduce her staff that's with her. Thank you very much all for coming. It is Thank you, Mr. Luminoso. He's going to make the tech go work. And we've been highlighting different schools each month at our board of ed meetings. So, this month was Washington school's turn. We wanted to share with the board and our community everything Washington School is accomplishing. We since the referendum, we have utilized the second floor. We have four new classrooms. There's a lot of good going on at Washington School. Our program is growing. So, we wanted to give them the opportunity
020to share everything that they're doing. And thank you to our students. Um, we have several students from the service learning club. They've been partnering with Washington School a lot this past school year and we appreciate them for being here as well. >> Good evening. My name is Brooke Hannenburgg. I have the honor and the privilege of serving Washington School as the principal. With me tonight is Mrs. Laura Kova. She is our preschool for general education teacher. Mrs. Jill Corsen is one of our 34 integrated preschool teachers. Mrs. Jennifer Cannon is our school-based school social worker. And Mrs. is Katie Austria. Your name um is our preschool disabled threes um half day teacher. So I appreciate you guys being here. Thank you. Um so Washington School Washington School as I this is my third year start
021uh being at Washington School. Um over the past two and a half years I really have seen the growth that Mrs. Violeti had uh noted. The teachers at Washington School not only deliver developmentally sound and research-based curriculum and instruction, but they make it very meaningful. So everything they do has a real world component. So whatever instruction or lessons that they're implementing in their classroom, there is some type of event or field trip or real life material that comes into the classroom to make it come to life for our students. Our preschool is in comparison to other preschools that are not district associated. We're fortunate in that all of our teachers are New Jersey certified. Many of them are dualcertified general education and special education teachers, which means that they have so many tools in their
022toolbox to meet the needs of our students on a regular basis. In addition to that, we're fortunate to have our related service providers inhouse as well. So if there's a communication need or a gross or fine motor need or a social emotional need, we don't have to go very far. We go down the hall and we have a licensed clinical social worker and we have a licensed speech pathologist and a physical therapist and an occupational therapist. So I our INRS team um at Washington school school serves a great purpose in if there is a developmental concern um we get to those students right away and we're able to see a ton of growth in a very short amount of time and it's a beautiful beautiful thing we with and you've seen here we've have general
023education we have integrated preschool we have preschool disabled we have an ABA classroom so no matter what the need is uh usually we are able to meet to meet that for our students. Technology in our school is growing. We have interactive TVs now in all of our classrooms and our related service providers rooms. So, our students are interacting with technology and learning how to use it. This is the world that we live in now. Um, so not only is it fun and engaging, but they're learning again real life skills that they're going to need to apply. Lastly, but maybe most importantly, we are Falcons. And I say that because that is and I say it in that way because it's all-encompassing. Us being a part of a bigger school district allows us access to so
024many things that other preschools just don't get access to. I just already named a ton of them. But for example, and I'll just give you one because there's a hundred. Um, and we'll hear from the service learning club as well, but our four-year-olds who are getting ready to transition to kindergarten because we're a part of the district will take field trips to like say Franklin School to participate in one of their assemblies so that they get kind of like a kindergarten experience and they get to be with the big kids um and have different experiences that way. So, it's just one thing that we're grateful for in being um a part of this school district in particular because everyone the community is just so warm and welcoming. Okay. So, I'm going to turn it over
025to Mrs. Jennifer Cannon, our social worker, to talk about um social emotional learning in our building and then everyone else is going to highlight something different. >> Hi. Okay, so social emotional learning is a key part of preschool, helping young children build the skills they need to succeed both in and out of the classroom. Through daily routines in play, children learn to identify emotions, manage frustrations, take turns, and work cooperatively with peers. These early skills strengthen communication, support positive behavior, and create a strong foundation for learning as students move into the later grades. So this encompasses everything that we've talked about with having then our social emotional club coming in and working with their students getting to understand working you know with an older person. >> Mrs. Cors is going to speak to our curriculum.
026>> Hi Jill Corsen and this is my 14th year in Saddlebrook and six of those I spent at preschool. I was also in other grades, but I'm back home at preschool in my favorite place, and I just absolutely love it there. We use um the creative curriculum, which is a play-based program, and it incorporates language, literacy, math, and social interaction. We have um various studies that we do throughout the school year. Um, in Washington school in particular, we've done trees, balls, clothing, pets, buildings, recycling, insects, just to name a few. Um, the parents get involved with what we do. For example, when we do our ball study, the children bring in different balls from home and we communicate with the parents about how we're going to incorporate those studies into the classroom. Um, when we
027do the ball study, for example, we have two bowling alleys set up. We have a golf course and we have tennis, bad mitten, they play softball and they do all of this in the classroom in a miniature version and we have a clothing study and the parents send in different types of clothing and we talk about what the children wear and when you would wear certain things. So, like Miss Hannenburgg was saying, everything is real life experiences. And then we do a fashion show and they get to dress up and walk down the aisle and get to show their stuff and it's a lot of fun. >> Highly recommend attending the fashion show. [laughter] >> So, it's it's a very fun place to work and the children are really adorable. You have to come to
028the fashion show like Mrs. Hannenburgg said. Um we also incorporate handwriting with our tears which is a multi-ensory way to teach early literacy. We have um they they have kinesthetic, auditory, tactile. So for example um kinesthetic we do writing the letters with our arms. They dance to the letters. They build the letters with play-doh. So there's something for everybody. They all they we have the wood pieces. They form the letters so they see what the letters look like. And it's also presented in a developmentally appropriate way as opposed to teaching the letters from A to Z. They teach them with how what the easier ones are to write. So the straight lines are first. So like letter L is two straight lines. And once they get used to the straight lines, they introduce curves and
029then after curves, they introduce the diagonal lines. So it's very developmentally appropriate and the children are very involved with it. they come up and they use the new line board and they're able to do the vertical writing with their fingers and they're they love doing that. They all come up and they get to write on the board. So, it's a a very developmentally appropriate way to teach handwriting and get give them that early literacy exposure. Um, I think that's it. I covered it all. >> You're welcome. And it wouldn't be preschool obviously if we didn't talk about the importance of play. So, Mrs. Austria is going to do that for us. >> Hello everybody. I'm Katie, Austria. This is my fourth year in the district and it's also an important town to me because my
030parents actually graduated from this high school. Um, and I have the I got moved upstairs to one of the newer classrooms this year, which is beautiful. Um, so we use the elevator sometimes now with the little ones and when they first start I have the self-contained three-year-old class and because it's self-contained, they're eligible to start the day they turn three. So I had many students start on their third birthday and they don't always want to come to school and leave mom and dad. But that elevator button, that was a big highlight. So that helped them. Um, so in preschool, play matters a lot. It's very important. A lot of my students and in other classes as well come in without a lot of language. Um, so the play really motivates them to want to be
031together and to want to use language. Um, we use it throughout the studies too, as Mrs. Corsin mentioned. Like for example, when we do the building study, we'll build buildings with the blocks and talk about the shapes and the colors and it makes it more motivating for them. It also helps with turn taking and sharing. Um it drives the whole child development. Play connects directly to learning objectives. Um they learn best through active meaningful experiences. It builds independence. And then we use the play for intentional instruction. And a lot of it, like my class really likes this um little ice cream set we have. So we use like how many scoops of ice cream or what color and let's share, let's pretend to eat it, but don't really eat it. [laughter] Um so play is
032very important part. >> So and I just wanted to also highlight our new what we've now grown to call it the playroom. Um, and this is kind of like a personal project for me um, since last year. And I want to thank you guys also for approving the purchase of this funronic floor um, because the kids absolutely love it and there are so many learning and fun activities that did I show it to you when you Yeah, it's [laughter] so I have a video of it. But in addition to So in the playroom Yeah. So we have a little action shot of them playing. So this is one of the activities. They can pop balloons. So there are a lot of activities that just get them moving. So they're jumping. Sometimes you can call out
033the the colors, find [music] the green one, jump on the pink one. They have to learn how to avoid each other and not bump into each other. They have it's I highly recommend come over and play because the the soccer one here there's actually a ball and you could have a two-player game where you actually can like kick the ball and make goals and it cheers for you. Um so it's really really fun. It's interactive. It it serves as a reinforcer for some of our kids who earn it to come and play with it. Um so it the possibilities with it are really endless. So, it's been a really nice addition to our building. We also have a new Lego wall that we're working on here. Um, we're working on a a magnetic wall to
034play uh put magnetiles to and build things. We have like a little train that they can ride on. And the room is carpeted, so it it allows them a kind of quieter space as an alternative to the the big gym uh for students who need that. It allows them some like good space on the floor to do floor puzzles and all kinds of different things. We're really using this room to teach a lot of functional play skills right now. So, there's a lot a lot of great things coming out of that room. So, I wanted to make sure to highlight that. >> Oh, okay. So, now um as Mrs. Violleti mentioned earlier, we do have um being a part of the district, we have access, like I said, to so many different groups. Um Zuzie
035mentioned in her report that we had Sale come over and do the Thanksgiving feast with us. Service Learning Club comes over a lot and they do a lot of um fun events with our kids and our kids love it because they're the big kids and they sit with them and they play with them and they talk to them. Um and I think our service learning kids are getting a lot out of it too. So we have Olivia, Olivia, and Mia, right? Okay. So, if you guys want to come up and just say a few words about your experience with our Washington preschool. So, we were part of the service learning club and we went to the field day which it was a blast. It was a lot of fun and we were able to organize
036all the like setups for the students and they just had a great time and it was it also gives us like a really good experience working with like younger age groups because I know a lot of kids um or like a lot of kids in our grade want to become teachers and I feel like working with them gives us a really good view of what it's like and we also get to like kind of learn about them do learn about their interests, what younger kids like to do now. And it's just a really great experience to like we get to like hang out with them too. It's really fun. >> Um, I'm agreeing with everything that they said about us going there and spending time with them. But looking forward into January, Miss Canon and
037I are planning like a cute little snowball dance for them to attend. And it's just like a time for them to have fun. There's going to be like decorations, music, and like a bunch of crafts for them to do as well. And I feel like just seeing them all happy makes me happy and like planning this stuff makes me happy. So I'm glad that I was able to get this opportunity to do this. Thank you girls so much. We really really do appreciate it. Um it it it's an amazing thing and we're so lucky and fortunate to have them. They do spend a lot of time working with their counselors planning and their teacher adviserss planning different activities for our kids and they come and they actually do it. They paint with them. They give
038them instructions. They prompt them. Um they're like the best like free babysitters. Um [laughter] um and it's and it's meaningful for everyone, so that's a bonus. All right. Uh Mrs. Laura Clova is going to speak to PTO. Hi, I'm Laura Kova. I've been with uh Washington School for nine, this is my ninth year. Um and I'm the teacher liaison and I work work closely with our PTO. Our PTO at Washington um our school is small, right? But our PTO is pretty mighty. Um and I feel like what you said about it um being fun, right, is what PTO is sort of all about because PTO raises the funds that um they they're able to use to put on fun events uh for our our children. Um and to name a few is the Thanksgiving feast.
039I think um Susanna uh talked about that. Uh they donate books um and Olaf comes at holiday time and u we have serve cookies. They uh purchase bubbles for neurodeiversity week. They purchase uh plastic uh eggs filled with some goodies for our spring egg hunt. They purchased butterfly life cycle kits, refreshments for field day, graduation. They um help came and helped us today and tomorrow for our holiday shop and our on-site which is the biggest funnest event our on-site annual petting zoo um complete with pony rides um the during the last week of school. Um so we are excited to announce that Mrs. Cororsin and I applied for an SBA sponsored grant that helps New Jersey public schools build community support and parent involvement in the schools. And the sponsorship was approved and the SBA
040is awarding our PTO $1,300 which will cover the cost for that um petting zoo event that we'll hold um during the last week of school. So, we're we're excited about that. Thanks. Yeah. Um, but that's what it's all about. It's lots of fun at at um Washington and we invite you to come anytime. >> What? >> We welcome visitors all the time. >> Miss anytime. If I hear it, I don't know who it is. >> Yeah. Um, Miss Laura works endlessly um and tirelessly with our PTO. So, we really really appreciate her and all the things that that she does. And she's right. Our PTO for the last few years has been mighty and strong and they have raised a lot of money and they've done amazing things and at every event we are not
041short on having parent volunteers in our school and we love it. They do come through. So one last thing um before we sign off we are working as Susie mentioned earlier too. We are working on um cataloging our new lending library. We did happen to come upon a large donation um of books. So, we figured we have this space in our uh hallway downstairs that people kind of just walk by and we're finding books there from when I think Washington school was a middle school. Um, so we're kind of going through everything now. And our hope is that we can catalog books, make it nice and neat, and the kids can actually come down, check out books, and take them home to read with their families um every week so that we have like a
042library. So, stay tuned for that. Thank you very much. Oh, I forgot to say our baby falcon. I don't know if we introduced this yet. Mrs. Wolf, our art teacher, uh, reimagined our baby falcon. So, there he is. >> Cute, right? And he will be on our spiritware, which is going to be for sale in the spring. >> And it's painted on the hallways upstairs, too, like peeking around the corner and stuff. It's It's really cute. Do we have any questions from our board of education? All right. I just I want to extend a really heartfelt thank you for all coming out this evening. I mean, their heart is in their job. I can't even everything that they're doing and we as a district are getting better at including them in everything and Mrs. Donas
043and I spoke about including PD more and we're getting there. But we appreciate your patience for so long. They just really ran their own ship and they're really doing such a fabulous job. And thank you to the staff, our students, and Mrs. Tannenburg for really building up our program. I want to just take a picture in front of the [applause] I couldn't get away without I'm so excited. Like when I know you have like 60s something kids are coming. I'm so excited. >> [laughter] >> Go back to preschool knowing what you know now, right? Thank you. Have a good holiday. >> You're going. >> Who's going to close? >> No, I'm just kidding. >> All right, let's get back into it. Uh, Mr. Karate. Okay, a couple items here. It's um >> it's the holiday
044season. However, for the business office, it's the season of reports. I'm in we're in the middle of our annual audit. >> Uh we have a couple of state reports. Uh the state school application, which will be for our state aid, is due uh next week. We have a mid-year budget review from the county office next week. And we have a health savings analysis report due at the end of of December called chapter 44 health savings. The budget development for 2627 school year has begun. In February, there will be another state review of our food service operations. This occurs about every five years. As far as the referendum projects, Mrs. Vleti updated everyone about the middle school high school canopies. Um, but they just installed the three flag poles uh today at the athletic field entrance.
045And the other project that's in the referendum that's still ongoing is um they're placing a lot of various doors throughout the buildings and that'll be done probably in the springtime. Uh election results from November 2025. I'll read the votes. We have Mariana 20454, Lawrence Dabello Jr. 200346, Michael Akamando 20489, and Vincent Laurentino 20124. The board reorganization meeting is set for 7 p.m. on January 5th, 2026. At that time, I'll give the alt of office to the newly elected board members, Mr. Akamando, Mr. DLO, and Miss Ayanelloo. So, please join us for that evening. And that concludes my report. >> Thank you. Um, can I have a motion to open the meeting to the public for agenda items only? >> Motion second. >> Second. >> Thank you. All in favor? >> Any opposed? >> Does anyone
046like to speak? Anything to tell us? Okay. Can I have a motion to close the meeting to the public? >> Motion. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> Any opposed? >> Okay. So, board action items B2526.22 22 through B2526.24. Does anybody have any questions? We have anything you want to >> We reviewed all of this on Monday, Monday night's meeting, but I'll highlight some of some of it throughout our meeting, but for board action, I don't have any. >> Okay. Any questions >> through the chair? >> Yes. >> On 2526.23, didn't we go through fours? These are the ones that we spoke about last month and now you're voting on the findings. >> Okay. >> Anything else? >> Okay. Roll call, please. >> A motion. >> Need a second. >> Oh, motion. Sorry. >> Motion.
047>> I didn't. >> Okay. >> I thought I did. I didn't. Can I have a motion? >> Motion. >> Second. Thank you. Now, can I have a roll call, >> Mr. Lurentino? >> I was doing so good. >> Yes. >> Moloff. >> Yes. >> Mr. Verso? >> Yes. Miss Adarelli, >> yes. >> Mr. Akamando, >> yes. >> Miss Bali, >> yes. >> Mr. Archello, >> yes. >> Miss Ayanelloo, >> yes. >> Miss Torbett, >> yes. Education and curriculum. >> I know. [snorts] At the recommendation of the superintendent, I make a motion to approve the following items. E2526.39 through E2526.42. Can I have a second? >> Second. >> Thank you. >> For the field trips, there is an overnight field trip for our concert band and concert choir and coralers to the Mid-Atlantic Festival of Champions
048and Busushch Gardens Theme Park. As I mentioned on Monday, they wanted they do this every couple of years so that every student that's in their program will have an opportunity hopefully during their high school career to do this overnight trip with them. And then there's our ski club trips. The FBLA for a competition. The service learning club and honor society are going to Washington school for an event. Um and then some of our grade level trips. Then for point 41 and 42, those are two proposed new courses for next school year. I'll start with 42, the dual enrollment interactive multimedia. That's more of an advanced videographic course or video editing course that we already run. But now with the dual enrollment um in collaboration with Bergen Community College, they'll be able to receive their college
049credit. And our career exploration is for our it coincides with our work-based learning program that is really growing here at our high school. And it's going to run similar to the way tomorrow's teachers runs where our students go to their sites four days out of the week and then one day out of the week they meet with the teacher. So Mr. Shell Cross proposed this and there's a whole lot that we can do with our students. So we're going to divide our students into students that already know or have an idea what interests they have and the ones that don't know and utilize Naviance and other projects that he has created in order to guide them. A lot of like work ethics, resume, cover letters, problem solving challenge, financial literacy and earning projections and there's
050there's a whole lot. We are hoping that he'll be able to come one board meeting as well as we continue with this um workbased the growth of our workbased learning. >> That's it. >> Very interesting. >> Oh, okay. Any questions? Roll call, please. >> Mr. Laurentino, >> yes. >> Miss Roloff, >> yes. >> Mr. Verso? >> Yes. >> Merelli? >> Yes. >> Mr. Akamando? >> Yes. >> Miss Blli? >> Yes. Mr. Oello, >> yes. >> Miss Zinelloo, >> yes. >> Miss Torbick. >> Okay. Yes to all except E2526.39, field trip 82, 88, and 96. I'm obstaining. >> Okay. Budget and finance. At the recommendation of the superintendent, I make a motion to approve the following items. BF2526.50 through BF2526.61. Second. >> Any questions? >> You want to go through workshops? >> Roll call, please. >>
051Mr. Laurentino. >> Yes to all, but I'll abstain on BF2526.52, check number 6742 and 7093. and I'll abstain in BF2526.53 workshop number 68. >> Okay. Miss Roloff. >> Yes. >> Miss Traverso. >> Yes. >> Miss Aarelli. >> Yes. >> Mr. Akamando. >> Yes. >> Miss Bali. >> Yes. >> Mr. Roello. >> Yes. >> Missello. >> Yes. All but in item number B F2526.52 I'm going to abstain from check numbers and 7024 and then in BF2526.53 I'm going to abstain from item numbers 71 and 74. Yes to everything else. >> Okay, Miss Torbick. >> Yes. >> Facilities and operation. >> At the recommendation of the superintendent, I make a motion to approve the following items. F2526.6 through F2526.7. >> Second. >> Thank you. Any questions? always. >> Okay. Roll call, please. >> No one, >> no
052questions. >> Okay. Mr. Laurentino, >> yes. >> Miss Roloff, >> yes. >> Mr. Traverso, >> yes. >> Misselli, >> yes. >> Mr. Akamando, >> yes. >> Miss Vali, >> yes. >> Mr. Oello, >> yes. >> Misseloo, >> yes. >> Miss Torpick, >> yes. >> Okay. Posy >> at the recommendation of the superintendent I make a motion to approve the following items. P2526.3 P2530 to R 9130. >> Second. >> Thank you. >> So I had shared this previously with the board. We did have a committee meeting before this meeting to finalize and review. These are mandated. The governor signed a freedom to read act effective December 9th. So this is only the first reading, but we're close to being in compliance. These policies are mandated. We don't currently have any policy or regulation for library material.
053That one's new. And the two others need to be revised to remove any reference to the term library and instead use library material. And they also define a clearer procedure for selecting resource materials and the process for public complaints. >> Thank you. Any questions? >> Roll call, please. >> Mr. Laurentino, >> yes. >> Miss Roloff, >> yes. >> Mr. Traverso, >> yes. >> Misselli, >> yes. >> Mr. Akamando, >> yes. >> Miss Bali, >> yes. >> Mr. Oello, >> yes. >> Missyello, >> yes. >> Miss Torvick, >> yes. >> Okay, we have no negotiations. So, personnel, >> Mrs. Mr. Florentino. >> At the recommendation of superintendent, I make a motion to approve the following items. P2526.32 through P2526.34. >> Second. Thank you. Any questions? >> We do have we have two resignations and one retirement.
054Um, one resignation has a new grandchild that they're going to be taking care of and one resignation is moving over to a different district. is the town she grew up in. We [snorts] have a retirement. We have a leave of absence. Then our appointments are three power professionals. We did add one who accepted the offer this morning and one lunch aid. >> Thank you. Any questions through the chair? Why are there all numbers underneath 2526.34 number two under the budget account? >> Huh? There's >> the Paris >> under the outline. Thank you. >> Yeah, they get appointed later when she's giving me the accounts and stuff. They'll have them on before you approve the minutes. >> Okay. >> To get a budget account in a unique position code. >> The paras are a little bit
055tricky because you have to state specifically if they're an ABA parah, a shared parah, what like what type of position it is. So until we know exactly where they're going to be assigned, it's difficult to know >> because I never saw that before. >> Oh, that makes Okay, that makes sense. >> Thank you. >> You're the chair. >> Yes. >> You don't know where they're going to be assigned before you hire them. >> No, our powers we tend for our powers once they accept then Mrs. Hannenburgg has a process that she determines where they're best. Right now, we're short maybe five or six powers across the district. >> Okay. So, and I truly don't know this. So, do they not have certain certifications like an ABA par as opposed to a regular PAR? >> No.
056Paras need to have 60 college credits or pass the the PAR pro [music] test. >> Okay. >> Once they're assigned, then we provide training and professional development to them. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? >> Roll call, please. >> Mr. Florentino. Yes, >> Miss Roloff. >> Yes, >> Miss Traverso. >> Yes, >> Miss Zarelli. >> Yes, >> Mr. Akamando. >> Yes, >> Miss Bali. >> Yes, >> Mr. >> Yes, >> Miss Zinelloo. >> Yes, >> Miss Torbick. >> Yes. >> Okay. Do we have any committee reports? >> Schools? >> No, >> just the schools. Tony, >> that's the leazison reports. Okay. Um, leazison reports. Just quickly, I can go for Washington School. >> Okay. >> If you'd like. >> Um, they did a great job highlighting themselves, so I thank
057them for coming today. Just some quick dates. Um, the 17th they're doing Cookies with Olaf, which is probably a can't miss event. Um, they're probably very excited for that. 12:23 is the holiday show at 10 a.m. in the in the gym. Uh, it's also a single session day. Uh, 12:24 through 12, the school is closed. Please do not come to school. and5 school reopens. Um outside of that, um the nurse would like to remind everyone that if you must stay home, if you have a fever of 100 degrees or higher or if you've had a fever in the last 24 hours, if you vomited in the last 24 hours or have um had stomach issues in the last 24 hours, please stay home. Um if you've had a positive strep test, please stay home. Um,
058if strep is sus, sorry, suspected, um, please wait for the cultural results before you send your child back to school in order to not get other children in the district sick. Um, that's all I have. Any additional questions? Um, please reach out to nurse Tara at Washington School. Thank you. >> Thank you. I think that's important for all the schools, but across >> Yeah, >> it's across the district. >> Across the district. >> I'm thinking that's an across the district thing. Yes. Anybody else have a >> I have Franklin and the middle school high school. Go. >> Uh, I'll do Franklin first. The Franklin School PTO had their turkey tray brunch on November 15th. It was a huge success and they made a great profit. This week they will have their holiday shop on Thursday
059and Friday where the students get the opportunity to shop for holiday gifts for their family, friends, and teachers. Next week on December 19th, they will have their second annual Franklin Express where the students take the school bus to look at holiday lights and come back for cookies and cocoa with Santa. Thank you. >> Franklin School would like to wish everyone a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season. I have the high school. Just give me a minute. Middle school, high school. Okay. They're looking forward to the annual holiday cheer breakfast for the teachers and staff. They would like to wish everyone a happy holiday season and hope to see them at the next meeting in January. >> That's it. >> Thank you. >> Anybody else? >> Law school. >> Yep. Go ahead. >> Long just had
060a successful holiday workshop this past week. Thank you to all of those who volunteered. The LMS PTO truly values each and every volunteer. Their upcoming programs include besides collecting PTO membership dues for $15 per family. Um the LMS has a sixth grade committee that is now hosting the annual Santa breakfast on December 21st at Applebee's in Pamis. Any questions about that or any of the sixth grade other fundraisers, please contact Melissa Traverso or Sher Dcasta. Holiday class parties will take place on Tuesday, December 23rd during their half day. The PTO will provide a slice of pizza for all students and staff. Class parents will provide additional treats, small gifts, and entertainment. Please visit the LMS PTO website which can be easily found on LMS homepage. >> Thank you. >> www.tinyurl.com/pms. weekly updates can be found
061on that website. The LMS PTO would like to take a moment to thank all who have supported our fundraisers and events. Especially special thanks to all of our volunteers. Happy holidays and happy new year to all. Next meeting will be Tuesday, January 13th. Thank you. Okay. Do we have any correspondence? Old business. >> You have some old business. >> Sure. >> All right. Now that my tenure is over, I'm now old business. So, I'd just like to say a quick few words. Uh, and if I leave anybody out, I apologize, but I want to thank everybody I served on the board with from, uh, Angel Robinson who got me to run, Steve Quinn, who took me out to eat to teach me how the board works, to, uh, Kelly Mahoney, Richie Shear, my great friend,
062uh, everybody on the board right here. Thank you for all you do, and I wish you good luck in the future. I want to thank the two superintendents I serve with, especially Tony. Tony, you are the guiding light that makes the future of this district so bright. So, thank you for all you do. Uh, I'd like to thank Ry. Ray's been here 19 years. Ray does a great job. He's very efficient. He's very effective. He was so efficient that today he texted me to remind me to hand in my fob of my computer. [laughter] So, thank you, Ray. I want to thank all the directors, supervisors, principles, especially the teachers in the classroom because they're the backbone of the district. They're the ones on the front line. everybody else in the classrooms, the Paris, the
063specials. I want to thank our support staff, um, secretaries, our custodians. Just want all the employees of the town to know that I always had your back, not only in my words, but in my actions and my votes. So, thank you to everyone. Um, just a quick synopsis of my six years. When we started six years ago, maybe it wasn't the smoothest time for the board, the administration. right after I started COVID hit. So, that put a big bump in the road. Um, in talking to people, you know, maybe we're not at the level people argue that we should be, but I will argue till the cows come home that we're much better off than we were six years ago. I think the reasons for that are we as a board, for whatever reason, we
064came together as one unit. Um, we work seamlessly. We're not perfect. Not saying we're perfect. Um, but we do do a great job. I like to make the analogy of think of us as a gear, a round gear with the teeth on it. That we're now turning smoothly. We're turning together. We're turning as one unit, which is important to the district. It's also very important that um our administration has changed. In fact, Ray's been here 19 years, 10 superintendents. Am I correct? Tony is the longest serving superintendent that you've had. >> Yes. Um, when I wrote down some names, we only have three people in the same position from when I first got I want to put the little uh all of this is not because of me by no stretch of the imagination, but
065I am a part of it just like we're all a part of it. So, I want to make that clear. But we only have three people in the same positions that when we uh when I came on six years ago, but look at the all-star cast of administrators that we have now. Violleti, Karate, and if I leave anybody out, I apologize. the bonus Bear Jenkins, Jillian Collie, Brooke, who was here tonight, Chris Ayanelloo, our grammar school principles, Mr. Robinson, Miss Wonder, Miss Mansfield, especially our high school principles because that was a little bit of a rocky time in the beginning, but man, did we hit a home run with Mr. Mice, especially Miss Coffee, thank you for all she's done, and Will Osborne. So, now think of our administration now as another gear like the
066board. They've come together and they're turning smoothly. So now you got the board and the administration all working together, all turning smoothly. And what that does is it drives the district. We have great personnel. So now our whole district, I think them is a gear. You got all three gears turning together, all going for the common goal. And who benefits the most out of that? And it's the students of Saddlebrook. And at the end of the day, that is what we're here for. Um, so thank you to everybody. The only thing changing now is my little part of the gear is coming out and you're putting Larry in. So, I think the future of this district is that's why I want to be a part of it because it's only going to go up. Uh
067my granddaughter starts next year in kindergarten. I have no qualms whatsoever with her entering the South School District. My kids got a great education. I know my granddaughter's going to get a great education. Um I just want to wish you all luck because I know we're not at our peak yet. We still have a long way to go till we reach what our pinnacle is going to be. Even though we've made great strides, you saw with the presentation tonight. I think you seen the test scores lately uh that we've presented. So, yeah, the future is bright for Saddlebrook. So, I thank you all for my six years and thank you for the public uh for vote meeting for two terms uh and wish everybody luck. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Florentino. [applause] >> Just
068segue right in. >> [laughter] >> So, I'm gonna segue right into um new business and we are would like to actually bring Mr. Laurentino up because we want to present him. So, I'm going to just read with a plaque while I'm at the microphone and then I'll stand up. So, it's presented to Vincent Laurentino in grateful recognition of dedicated service as board trustee from 2020 to 2025. Presented by the Saddlebrook Board of Education on December 10th, 2025. So, I'm going to [applause] Thank you. >> Okay. Does anybody else have any other new business >> through to the chair? >> Sure. >> I just Van, it's been a pleasure the last six years running with you. You've been nothing but a gentleman through everything and uh I wish you the best of luck in everything you
069do. >> Sure. >> And merry Christmas everybody. >> Oh yeah. Happy holidays. >> I want to say >> Mrs. >> Thank you so much for the last six years and I wish you the best of luck and wish you were still with us. >> Through the chair. >> Sure. >> Just thanks Ben. Thanks for being my seatmate in my two years here and showing me the ropes. Appreciate it. Best of luck. Thank you. >> Through the chair. >> Sure. >> Vinnie, I've known you a very long time and I really did. We had our ups and downs and we did for all those years, but I think you are one of the most wellspoken people that I have met and I really do appreciate the things that you've done here in this community for the
070children going forward. Vicki, you are an amazing president. >> Thank you. >> You kept us together. you kept us in line and I think it's going to be a tough uh act to follow, >> but thank you. >> I appreciate that >> through the chair. >> Sure. >> Then you know, you and I have had many ups and downs, but it has been nothing but a pleasure working with you. I look forward to doing it again because you're not done as far as I'm concerned. [laughter] >> I'm done. But I think it just shows how we all came together for the common cause no matter what. >> You know, actually in six years you become friends with people, right? Right. So, thank you for everything. >> Thousand%. >> Thank you for your service here. >>
071Yes. >> To the chair, I just want to say thank you for everything that you've done and that speech was very well put together and it didn't look like you wrote anything down. So, I am definitely impressed. >> Yeah, >> I'd be reading that. >> You got all those names right without having reading a list. I'm wondering, did you have all those in your head? >> So, thank you. And um happy holidays to everybody. >> Anybody else have any All right. Happy holidays to everybody. I'd like to say that. Um Okay. Now I have to open the meeting. Okay. Can I have a motion to open a meeting to the public? >> All in favor? >> Opposed? Would anyone like to speak? Good. Can I have a motion to close the meeting to the public?
072All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Thank you. Okay. Can I have a motion to close the meeting? >> Motion. >> Oh my goodness. [laughter] All in favor? >> Any opposed? Before we close, I just want to say happy holidays to everyone. >> Have an amazing holiday, everybody. We'll see you in January.