Sayreville Board of Education Meeting - 06/16/25

001The June 16th meeting of the Seville Board of Education is now called to order. Please rise for the pledge to the flag. 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. Please remain standing for a moment of silence. We recently lost another member of our district family. Robert Poss, better known as Bobby, who was with us for three years as a security monitor and then a bus mechanic, has lost his three-year battle with cancer. So, please keep Bobby and his family in your thoughts and prayers. He was loved by everyone who knew him. Thank you. Well done, Mrs. Miss Hill, roll call. Mr. Callahan. Mrs. Chedcowski here. Mr. Fernandez here. Mrs. Hernandez here. Mrs.

002Maldonado here. Mrs. Npalitano here. Mrs. Pabone behind you. Mrs. Bone, can you just say here? Here. Mr. Smith here. Mrs. Bloom. Here. Miss Hill, will you please summarize executive session? Uh, the board discussed personnel, including but not limited to agenda items, the superintendent's evaluation, negotiations related to the teamsters, student matters, and matters falling under attorney client privilege. Okay. Any correspondence of note? Yes, there were two thank you notes from graduating seniors regarding Very. That's really nice. Thank you. Okay. Okay. I need a motion to approve the minutes of the May 20th and June 2nd meetings. Second. Oh, and Mrs. uh which was it Allison. Mrs. Npalitano. Okay. Mrs. Chedcowski. Yes. Mr. Fernandez. Yes. Mrs. Hernandez. Yes. Mrs. Maldonado. Yes. Mrs. Npalitano. Yes. Mrs. Pabone. Yes. Mr. Smith. Yes. But I'm going to abstain from this

003special meeting because I was not here. Okay. And Mrs. Bloom. Yes. Okay. And now to my favorite part of the meeting, our student council representatives. Morgan, you're gonna go first. Good evening, Board of Education members and administrators. My name is Morgan Coun, SWHS student council board of education representative. I would like to begin with clubs and activities. staff, students, and their families celebrated the accomplishments of numerous 12th grade students during the 2025 senior awards night. During this incredible event, students were recognized for their hard work and dedication to SWMHs. The students received many awards and scholarships during that evening. Students in Miss Lcala ceramic arts classes visited the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial Museum in Homeell to install over 400 ceramic poppy flowers that they made for their Memorial Day celebration. After installing the flowers

004on the museum grounds, the students received a tour from veterans. Students proudly showcased their cultural heriti heritages with their peers during the world culture day which was sponsored by the student council. It was a wonderful event that included food, dancing, and music from numerous countries. Ceramic art students Jonathan Yehuda, Ava Wallenstein, and Karina Cardardozo's ceramic art pieces were selected out of 70 total submissions during the recent Clay and Mine exhibition to go on display at the Noyas Art Garage in Atlantic City from May 18th through June 21st. The school held a National Honor Society induction ceremony where over 150 students were inducted into the SWMHs National Business, Math, English, Science, Computers, and French Honors Societies. Each of these high school departments recognized and inducted many juniors and seniors who have demonstrated excellence inside and outside

005of the classroom. This year, in one or more of these departments, students were also inducted into the 2025 Hispanic National Honor Society. Students in grades 11 and 12 attended the construction industry career day at the New Jersey Convention and Expo Center in Edison. The students interacted with representatives from companies within the construction industry, including electrical, insulation, carpentry, fire suppression, iron workers, and more. 10 students in grades 9 through 12 attended the Young Men's Conference at Middle Sex College. This conference included workshop sessions presented by dynamic speakers covering topics relevant to the male identifying student population. The young men's conference workshops covered topics like drug and alcohol prevention, health and wellness, leadership, and community connections. The JOTC cadets performed exceptionally during their Raider JOTC competition hosted by Northern Burlington High School in Mansfield. Congratulations to all

006JROTC cadetses who were recognized and won national and local awards during the awards night. The Sarville student assistance counselors, Miss Saxs and Mrs. Consulmano, took seven students to the Middle Sex Wellness Summit, which was hosted by the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide held at Middle Sex County College. Students were able to participate in group activities and breakout workshops with their peers from other Middle Sex County high schools. They were educated on support resources and emotional regulation skills. The exceptional people initiating change society inducted students into its membership based on their achievements in academics, service to the school and community. This year's induction ceremony featured a special performance by the SWMHs choir and the return of alumni Jaden Prescol who was created who created the idea of the epic program at the high school.

007Members of the class of 2025 had a magical time during their senior trip to Disney World. Senior prom was a success. Students had an amazing time dancing with partners and friends during their last prom. Congratulations to the juniors for winning Powderpuff last week. Moving on to sports. Congratulations to the softball team for winning the 2025 Greater Middle Sex Conference White Division Sportsmanship Award. We also congratulate senior softball player Josie Bennor who made a verbal commitment to the University of Lynchburg in Virginia. Congratulations to baseball player Robert Shaw who was selected to the 2025 Greater Middle Sex all all academic team. We also congratulate James Kho for being named to the tap into Raritan Bay athlete of the week. Congratulations to student athletes Brody Cananan and Angelina Sepovita for being named Serville's GMC sportsmanship athlete award

008recipients. Furthermore, we congratulate Dev Shaw and Sarah Smith for being named Saveville's GMC Scholar Athlete Award recipients. Congratulations to the SWMHs girls golf team for winning the Greater Middle Sex Conference White Division Sportsmanship Award. The girls lacrosse team celebrated their third consecutive Greater Middle Sex Conference Championship season during their end of the season banquet. The girls and boys track and field teams celebrated their GMC white division championship championship seasons during their end of the season banquet as well. Congratulations to Molly Logan for committing to Sacred Heart University to run division one cross country and track and field. We also congratulate Chase Rogers for committing to Wagner College to run division one track and field. Congratulations to boys and girls track and field teams along with the boys and girls lacrosse teams for winning their divisions

009this season. We also congratulate the cheer team for winning the Amary Cheer National Championship. I would like to take a moment to thank every member of the board of education for allowing me yet another opportunity to speak on behalf of Sarah Memorial High School at each meeting. I came into my first meeting in 8th grade terrified to read in front of you guys, thinking you may be disappointed if I messed up. I was completely wrong. You guys have been so welcoming to me at every single meeting. And at this point, I consider you guys my second family. I can't cry at the board meeting. I'm sad that this is Let me know when you want me to tag in. I'm sad that this has come to an end, but I'm very thankful for opportunities like

010this. So, thank you again for your time and support, and I hope to see you guys soon. Thank you. And of course, I'm not letting you have the hook. How much of a role did you have in that student cultural day as part of the student council? What? That was amazing. Oh, that was I not really have a role in that, but it was really fun. I was there and I went to every table and it was really cool. It was remarkable the number of different tables that truly reflected the diversity and I think the diversity of Saveville is what makes Sville so great and the fact that you guys showcased that as a student council and as administration and as a schoolwide was phenomenal. Okay, Disney trip. Did your sister like it? Yes, she

011had a lot of fun and she got a lot of cute outfits for the trip. Oh, so mom and dad are here right now? No problem. Did they know that you had they have to buy you some cute outfits for it too next year? Yes, I've already started planning. You already any any advice that she gave you going into next year for you when you go on the Disney trip? No, she did not. But I heard from other people that you should bring a fan. Okay. Powderpuff, did you play? No, I'm a sophomore. Oh my. I thought you were a junior. Wow. Oh my gosh, that's fantastic. So, we have three more years with you. Where are you going next year? And then anything on the end of the track season for you? Um any

012any any special races that that you ran? Special times? Did you have a personal best or anything this year? Yes. In my 800 I dropped seven seconds. Wow. Smile. I That's fantastic. Thank you. So, it's interesting that you talked about when you started with us in 8th grade because um from the moment we all got a chance to listen to you, we were all taken aback on your maturity, your eloquence, and your sense of humor. And I remember that's when I was doing a little stint over there with Mr. Glusky at the middle school. So, we were sharing some of those corny jokes uh in the morning and you did a morning announcements, too. So, we got a chance to bond there. And I was so sad on that last day when um you know,

013you were going to go to the high school and we knew that we'd no longer have you as our representative for the middle school. However, that grief was replaced by sheer joy when I heard this year that you are going to represent the high school. Your personality is sparkling. Um, you I sound like Simon, I think, from America's Got Talent. Um, you have this unique ability to light up this room, especially in times when we really need it to be lit up. And I don't know what you want to do, but we're sure hoping that you can stay with us for at least two more years as a junior and senior. Morgan, yes, I will be back next year, actually. Oh, you will? We would like to thank you more important. Thank you for all

014that you're going to continue to do for us for the next [Applause] Yes. I got fancy like you dress up at every meeting and I have unfancy shoes tonight because it was supposed to rain. Could I say something to Morgan? I have special shoes. Oh, no one cares. Morgan, I want to say that you know the best thing about your um summaries is you really don't leave anybody out. If they got an award, you mention their name. And if this I'm sure that there's not that many students who spend their time watching the BOE meetings, but I could assure all of you that all of your accomp the kids, all of your accomplishments, everything that you've done as students, Morgan has sat here meeting after meeting, reporting it to us and making us proud that

015we are representing the students of Seville. So you all did a great job and thank you for letting us all know you were on the money and you do a good job, too. So um both of you, thank you very much. So, so I think Alana is up. Thank you, Morgan. Um, and you know that that's my box of tissues, by the way, because I'm usually the crybaby. Okay, Alana, you're up. Good evening, Board of Education members and administrators. My name is Alana Sages, and I am representing the students of Serville Middle School. Here's what is going on at Seville Middle School. Student council had their last meeting on Monday. Thank you to the hardworking students of the SMS student council this year. We would like to wish the eighth graders good luck and stay

016involved at the high school level. The student council and community service club will be hosting a blue clause game on July 25th at 7:05. Join us for fireworks and a night of fun. The PTO hosted the eighth grade formal on June 13th. The under the stars theme night was definitely one to remember. Thank you to the PTO who works tirelessly on events and fundraisers to benefit the students of SMS. Glass council hosted the eighth grade breakfast this morning. Yearbooks were distributed at this time. The eighth grade trip to Eagle's Landing took place on June 2nd. Students had a great time with all the activities which included ziplining, swimming, and spending time with peers. The music department hosted the annual duets performance on May 30th. Congrats to Mr. Gizzy and Andrea who took home the win.

017Now, on to several middle school athletics. The fall coaches for the middle school and high school hosted interest meetings last week. Student athletes should submit their paperwork on time in order to be cleared for tryyouts. Please refer to the athletics website on serville k12.net for due dates. Good luck on the upcoming season. Thank you very much for this opportunity to speak on behalf of the students at Serville Middle School this year. Miss Mrs. Bloom, I have questions. Go ahead. Dr. Labby, eighth grade formal. I want a full report. How was it? It was really fun. Little really fun. What was the most favorite part of it for you? Oh, come on. Was it dancing? Was it the food? They don't dance. They don't dance. They dance. You dance, right? They jump up and down. They

018don't dance. Okay. But was it that? No. Or just being with your friends. The robots. Did you like Oh, yeah. Those are Did you like the venue? Yeah. The venue is nice, right? Kind of feels fun to dress up and and have a good time like that, right? Did you like all the glow sticks that everybody was beating everybody with? Yeah. Glow sticks. Glow sticks. Okay, great. Um, all right. So, the breakfast. How was the breakfast? Um, it was good. We all just like went around signing each other's yearbooks. Pretty cool. How many signatures do you think you got? A lot. I filled up like two pages and then I started having to fill up the back of the yearbook because there wasn't enough space. Fantastic. That's awesome. And then you got to tell me

019about Eagle's Landing. Oh, that was fun. Oh, whoa. Whoa. What? I didn't hear the same inflection in your voice. Not as great as the deformal. It was good. It was It was good. Yeah. Did you do any ziplining? Um, no. No. Why? You're afraid you don't like that stuff? No. Um, you had to climb up this like weird pole to get up there and I didn't really want to do that. And then I don't know, it didn't look very safe. Very wise. And what was your favorite part about Eagle's Landing? Just socializing with your friends or was there a particular part that you like most? Um, yeah. I didn't have to go to school. A bad day at Eagle's Landing is better than a good day in school. Um, Yeah, maybe. All right, good. Very

020cool. They say the same thing about the golf course. Just I'm just saying. Oh, yeah. Mini golf was all right. Yes. Oh, they had mini golf. Did you like that? Yeah. Oh, there you go. Excellent. All right. Great job, honey. As always, I don't know if any board members have any questions or things for Atlanta before I make some special comments. Uh, is are you going to be coming back to us next year? Um, well, Morgan's the thing that Oh, so you're you're going up to the high school? She's going to high school. Oh. Okay. Oh, yay. Okay. Well, I was at the eighth grade semi formal and it was lovely. And what what kind of shoes for the noodles would I what kind of shoes did I wear? Yes. I had hot pink shoes

021with a big puffy flower on the front and the shoes matched S's tie. Oh, very nice. Was so sweet to take a picture with me. So, that will be one that I treasure. Wonderful. And I did get a picture with I don't know if S's here tonight, but I'm so sorry, S. S. I am so sorry, S. Not that S. Not that S. Different S. S, please tell your parents I'm so sorry. Special. And I did get a picture with my grandson who, contrary to his father's thinking, was not embarrassed to have this picture taken. That's wonderful. So, Elana again, thank you, sweetie. We when we first met you, our first impression was, "Wow, she's got talent." Oh, thanks. And not only did you meet that expectation, you far exceeded it. Again, just as we

022said with Morgan, your presentations and your reports are so comprehensive, so detailed, but you bring again such a positive, radiant attitude when expressing yourself about the middle school, which to me truly reflects how happy you are there and makes me feel so proud that we've been able to create an environment where you can come to us and talk to us about the things that are going on there with such pride and joy And we also enjoyed learning a lot about you and your accomplishments with cheer and everything. And the fact that you allowed us in to that, allowed us to ask you questions to get to know you better. I greatly appreciate that. And as I said with Morgan earlier, and as was expressed to you previously, when Morgan goes ahead and graduates, we're so

023hoping, Alana, that you step up and come back to us where you belong. But until then, Alana, we would like to express to you our token of appreciation for all that you did for us this year and the lasting memories we have because of it. Okay. Thank you. Central administration fancy shoes. Okay, now perfect. Step aside. Brutally honest is good. No, I'll only bring that picture down. No, let's do it. Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen. Now, one last comment. Morgan said she broke a record earlier in track, but I got to believe during the last board of education meeting, she had a personal best for getting out of here. running out of here. A personal best for getting out of here. Thank you ladies so much for everything and please express our sincere gratitude to your

024parents because we know that we took you away from your parents on many Tuesday and sometimes Monday evening. So please express our gratitude to them too. Thank you. Thanks guys. Pass it back to Dr. [Applause] Rick. Okay. Um, okay. Now, for the president's comments, I just have a short little thing to share with you. On Tuesday, June 3rd, Mr. Fernandez and I attended a Seerville American Legion event at the Bombers Beyond Cafe. The first part of the event, the post commander Joel Bloom presented the Brew Crew with the American Legion certificate of appreciation for their assistance in placing over 700 American flags at the grave sites of veterans at the St. Stan Cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day. And actually, this is the second year that the Brew Crew has participated in this task. For

025the second part of the event, members of the color guard demonstrated the proper way to fold the American flag into the 13 triangle folds. They then had the Brew Brew crew, that's a tongue twister, fold the flag as well. Uh pictures of both of these events are coming soon in the South Amboy Times. Uh the Seville American Legion has performed several other events at the Bombers Beyond Cafe throughout the year and this was just one of them. And I would like to thank the American Legion for all that they do to support our community and schools. And I am also a member of the American Legion Auxiliary. Very cool. Thank you, Mr. Smith. So, thank you. I'm going to repeat most of what Morgan said in her highlights. Um, congratulations to Sarville War Memorial High

026School ceramic arts student Jonathan Yahud. um Ava Wallenstein and Karina Card Do whose ceramic art pieces were selected for out of 70 submissions at the recent Clay in Mind exhibition at to display at the Noise Art Garage in Atlantic City from May 18th to June 21st. That's an awesome accomplishment by the three of them. Uh congratulations to Mr. Joseph Schmidt, Sarville War Memorial High School theater director and the cast and crew of the fall drama Don't Drink the Water for winning the award for overall outstanding achievement by an acting ensemble in a recreational production at the Foxy Awards at Montlair State University. Congratulations to Sarville War Memorial High School senior Ari Brahman for winning the 2025 Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship. He will receive up to $40,000 in paid tuition uh at the college of his

027choice along with a paid internship at Amazon after his freshman year. That's an amazing accomplishment for him. Uh congratulations to Sarville War Memorial High School senior Lori Estafont who was the recipient of the class of 25 subre Corporation scholarship. This competitive award is a $2,500 4-year renewable scholarship. Lori also was awarded a $1,000 Middle Sex County Association School Administr Scholarship for her extraordinary efforts in and out of the classroom. Congratulations. That is fantastic. Uh, congratulations to Sarville War Memorial High School senior Lily H Highleberg, who was awarded a $1,000 scholarship for extraordinary efforts in and out of the classroom by the Middle Sex County Retired Teachers Associations. Congratulations to the Sarville War Memorial High School student athletes Brody Cannon and Angelina Sepulva u Sepulva for being named excuse me for being named the Sarahville uh

028Sarville's GMC sportsman athlete award recipients. Congratulations and accommodations to Dev Shaw and Sarah Smith for being Saraveville's GMC Scholar Athlete Award recipients. And finally, congratulations and commendations to all the Saveville War Memorial High School Air Force Junior ROC cadets who were recognized and won national and local awards during the awards night the other night. So, and that is my district highlights. Thank you, Mr. Smith. Thank you, Mrs. Bloom. And you know, I said this during the last board of education business meeting we had in May that these two last board meetings along with the let the children children lead meetings are by far the best that that we can offer. Um and they're the most fun for me and the most rewarding for me as a superintendent and I hope you feel the same way

029because this is a time that we get to truly celebrate what's most important in the Sville public schools and that's a our teachers and um a our students. Um, you know, we do everything in that in our power to promote the best outcomes we possibly can for our students and we work together with our amazing teachers to do that and of course our incredibly supportive parents. So, I couldn't be prouder for this evening to recognize Seville's absolute best and we're going to begin with some um special student awards and then we're going to get into some of our teams that had major accomplishments. So, I want to first begin by apologizing to everyone that's in this jam-packed room. We tried to put as many seats as we could in here. We got started a little

030bit late, so I do apologize for that, but I'm sure we're going to make it all worthwhile in the end. So, let's begin first and foremost by celebrating the top 10 students at Seville War Memorial High School. So, if Mrs. Sakola and Mr. Glhusky can join Mr. Smith at the podium so that we can recognize these extraordinary students. And I emphasize the word extraordinary. And please know students, we are so very very proud of you. Good evening everyone. Once again, I'm very excited to be honoring our top 10 students in the class of 2025. Mr. Mr. Smith, you have the certificates. All right. So, we will start um we'll start at the bottom, which is usually the way we do at the high school with our number 10 student. I'm not quite sure uh if

031everyone is here. I'll just call their name. We'll give them a round applause. Yes. And then we'll bring the certificates back with us if not. Okay. So, our number 10 student we have is Safic Pavula. [Applause] Number nine, Abdullah Khan. Y and if our students can stay up there for a group picture. Number eight, Erica Sue. [Applause] Number seven, Quinn Guera. Number six, Sarah Smith. Number five, Rachel Clerk. number four, Dev Sha. Number three, Anvi Totti. Congratulations. And our saludiatoran in the class of 2025, Arib Raman. [Applause] And our validictorian numero uno number one, Marissa Mandola. Would you like to take a picture? [Applause] Okay, for our our next award, Every year the Middle Sex County School Boards Association and the Middle Sex County Association of School Administrators recognizes two students, a junior and a

032senior from every high school that they select has students of the year because of everything that they've done inside and out of the classroom and despite sometimes some adversity they might have uh they might have had in their career as a student. Um, so we couldn't be more proud to introduce to you these incredibly talented and successful students. And to help us do that, I'm going to ask Mrs. Bloom, who's the past president of the Middle Sex County School Boards Association, and Mr. Glusky, to go ahead and welcome these incredible students and celebrate them. Sorry, I'm a little tall. All right. Uh, so first Sarah Torino, our grade 12 recipient. And our second unsung hero is Nicholas Bernardi, grade 11 pictures. Thank you. Thank you so much. [Applause] And I'm going to impose on Mr.

033Glusky one last time. That's why he wore his favorite jacket tonight to celebrate another very very special student. Um the winner of the Middle Sex County Association of School Administr uh Association of Secondary Administrators Student of the Year. And to help him do that will be Mrs. Pabone. Woohoo. Hey, how you doing? I got all dressed up. Thank you. You have nice shoes on. Oh, thank you. I'm kidding. Match S. What he's wearing? I don't think it was S. Was he? It wasn't S. All right. So this year's several memorial high school um selection is Angelina Suppla. She is an explan explan excuse me exemplary student whose leadership and dedication have left a lasting impact on several wrod council vice president during her freshman year. She quickly demonstrated her commitment to fostering a positive environment

034for her peers. as class president in her sophomore year and executive member in both her junior and senior years. Angelina played a pivotal role in organizing events and initiatives that promoted school spirit inclusivity. In addition to her leadership role, she managed the baseball team in her freshman year. She excelled as a varsity basketball player for four years. She was named captain in her junior and senior years while competing in girls flag football throughout high school. Her academic achievements are equally impressive, sustaining a near 4.0 gradepoint average. She is a proud National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society member and participates in Heroes and Cool Kids and FBA Future Business Leaders of America. Angelina's unwavering commitment to excellence in academics, athletics, and the school community. That's the star. She's absolutely amazing in terms of school spirit,

035exemplifies her pure leadership qualities, and sets a remarkable standard for our future students. Angelina Suppla, [Applause] Angelina, congratulations. [Applause] So I mentioned earlier about what makes Seville so special is our diversity. And the next presentation is another example of that diversity. And I'm going to need Mrs. Gman to help me out with this. Mrs. Gman, currently, what are the number of different languages spoken by our students in Seville? 23. 23 different languages spoken by our amazing students here in Seville. In fact, the majority of them speak which five languages? He was going. Well, it's 23 for our multilingual learners. We may have more than that in districts, but um Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Erdo, Ukrainian. Did I get them all? That's it. Five. So, several years ago, the New Jersey Department of Education did a very,

036very good thing. They began to recognize how incredibly talented our students are in New Jersey. By the way, New Jersey is number one in education nationally. And again, recognizing that it's that diversity. So, they wanted to show their appreciation, respect, and reverence to the students who have conquered or are fluent in more than one language. And they award those students with an endorsement called the seal of biiteracy, which will actually go on their diplomas. And we couldn't be more thrilled to share with you the vast number of just seniors tonight. But overall, how many juniors and seniors did we have? I I was just trying to log in. Mrs. Capero. Mrs. Capero. I was thinking I thought it was around 37 pe 37 students. Yeah. So 37 students passed the test this year to demonstrate

037that they are fluent in two at least two different languages. So with the assistance of Mrs. Capero as well as Mrs. Maldonado, we are going to celebrate these very unique and very very talented young people. I probably do. Yeah, I have three things to give out. So here's the you want to do the chords. I'll do the searchs and she has the others. This way you can call their names. One the first student has two certificates. Okay. Yes. So as Dr. Labby said we have a great number of students this year in the class of 2025 that have achieved the seal of biiteracy. Um and I'll be calling out their names. We have tonight we're giving them their um board of education certificate. We also have their department of education certificate for them and their

038graduation cord. So they'll be receiving all that tonight. So our first student is Felipe Almeida. [Applause] Haley Essang, Annabelle Barrett Morales, [Applause] Tiffany Boatang, [Applause] Mega Chowan, [Applause] I was getting worried. [Music] Alexandra Tinos. [Applause] Oh, Tiffany. Tiffany's here. Haley's here, too. Yeah, I know. Congratulations. Congratulations, Alexandra, Rachel Clerk, [Applause] Lori Estant. Congratulations Angelina Garcia [Applause] Carolina, excuse me, Jadritz. [Applause] Apologize for that. You're welcome. Kiryaki Cacadelis, [Applause] Natalie Loa, [Applause] Austin Mammani, Naelli Mayorgga, [Applause] Nicholas Nunees. Okay. Yeah. Congratulations, Annelise Nunees. Pina, Emily Pa. Congratulations, Erica Paya. Ivana Perez. I got you. I want them to see Congratulations, Marik Pomco. I told you there are a lot of manha rizana [Applause] roas. Maya Salvati, Sarah Smith, Valentina Suarez, Gonzalez, Congratulations, Gianella Tapia, Maria Tartaglia, and Giana Waranowitz. We told you there were a lot

039of them. What's amazing about these guys is I'm a 58-year-old man with a doctorate and I'm still trying to perfect English. And these guys have perfected two different languages, which is extraordinary. One of the things that we often do, it's our first American Sign Language. Oh, give her a big hand. American Sign Language. So one of the things we traditionally do here is we give the students an opportunity to share what language other than English that they are literate or fluent in. And there might be more than one. So let's start right here. Spanish. Spanish. Spanish. Spanish. Okay. Spanish is Spanish. Spanish. Haitian creole. Haitian creole. Love it. Espanol. Spanish. Spanish. Polish. Polish. Spanish. Spanish. Spanish. Spanish. Spanish. Spanish. Spanish. Spanish. Spanish. And all right, so I don't want you to be frightened, but this

040is like Mrs. Bloom's favorite thing to do to organize you in a picture. So she does invite. I promise. But she will bark. Two rows. Poor guys in the back. [Music] Stand up and don't It is so Beautiful. Everybody. One, two, three. [Applause] Well done. She's like, "Kim, help me." No, I don't want to get up. Yeah. Okay. So, we're going to shift gears a little bit now. Now, we're going to focus on our student athlete accomplishments. And we have some extraordinary student athletes in this room that are role models to us all. Not only do they perform at the best of their ability in the classroom, they transcend those qualities onto the court, the field, whatever venue they're competing in. So, we're going to begin tonight by not honoring a state champion, a division

041champion. We're going to honor a national championship team. So, Mrs. Maldonado is at the podium and I ask our coaches from our extraordinary cheerleader team, Mrs. Boil to join her so that we can recognize, honor, and celebrate our Amer cheer national championship War Memorial High School bomber cheer team. Good evening. Um, thank you members of the board of education and administration for having us here tonight. In the last year, our varsity game day competition cheerleading team has had the most successful season since the start of this team seven years ago. They were the GMC Game Day red division champions, took home a first place win and a grand champion win at every local competition throughout the winter. came in second place at the state championship and finally won first place and grand champions of the

042game day teams at the Ammeriter International Cheerleading Competition in Orlando, Florida. None of this would be possible without the support of our amazing athletic director, Mrs. Jennifer Badami, the unwavering support of our parents who show up to every competition and event ready to cheer our athletes on, and our team of coaches, Mrs. Nicole Lynch, Mrs. Samantha Ritter, and Miss Erin Handy, who invest so much time to help this program become what it is. Finally, our season wouldn't have been as great as it was without the passion, hard work, dedication, and commitment of our athletes. Through every practice, fundraiser, and competition, these girls were fully invested in the success of their team and would show up every day ready to work. We are extremely proud of all of this team's accomplishments and cannot wait to see

043what next year has in store for them. Great. Thank you, Zoe Anderson Jada Bonitez, Hannah Bagata, Tegan Brain, Cryandra Cabinsan, Rachel Cruz, Summer Carbelloo, [Applause] Olivia des Simone, Rachel Galbrath, Egypt Handy Hunter, Riley Hastings, Leah Heislop, Anivvia Kenny, Ariana Kenny, Lacy Kent, Abby Lukai, [Applause] Cat Borovets, Madison Mari, Gabby Mo, Sarah Murphy, Isabella Negron, Jenny Peralta, Jada Rankio, Brooke Rosario, McKenzie Shack, Jillian Slavichek, Casey Slavichek, McKenna Switzer, Emily Sakowski, Sarah Torino, Delila Valoy, and Jada Walker. Yep. All good. Thank you. Where's the coaches? Another big hand for our team. Okay. to this next group. It's It's almost like a rerun because every season we invite this group to come back because they've won yet another white division championship. And I'm speaking about our incredible girls and boys track and field teams. [Applause] Sorry to cross.

044So like Labby, we've been here in our blue shirts all night for crying out loud. So is uh Mr. Posa here and our coaches. Can you please join Mrs. Npalitano at the podium so that we can once again recognize and and Mr. Posa if you can begin by letting us know what consecutive championship this is for your incredible team. Uh so uh for spring, spring's a little tougher than winter for us. Uh this is two in a row, three out of the last four. Okay. for the girls. He says it like it's no big deal. But we were we were at 10 for the for winter. So two in a row is a little you know not as great. Not as great. I I know and we feel terrible for them. Um um I would

045like to uh introduce our girls uh track team who had a phenomenal season uh once again. Um, on top of just the the team awards, which we've we've already discussed, uh, we had 18 of our girls make the all division team. Two of our girls made all conference. Uh, we had two school records broken, Za Khan in the shotput, and our 4x4 relay team of uh, Lysy Anning, Generally, then Jada Roqu and Leila Stevenson broke school records. And then at the meet of champions, we also had three state records broken in the course of an hour by Mia Emory in the wheelchair 100, the wheelchair 400, and the wheelchair 1600. So, uh, fantastic season all around for all the girls. Um, I'm just going to call out our varsity members. of Flea Akinun, Mo Akinon,

046Brianna Aonsa, Loy Anning, Rana Elkoli, [Applause] Mia Emory, Anna Gchinska, [Applause] Za Khan, Morgan Coun, Kayn Coun, Casey Corang, [Applause] Julia Kuchlitch, Angelia Lri, Lucy Logan, Molly Logan, [Applause] Anna Morero, Destiny Mullen, Caitlyn Mahoney, Crystal Onachi, Ariana Paul, Alicia Pena, Charlie Rogers, Jada Dada Roqu, Crystal Simileo, Sarah Smith, Leila Stevenson, [Applause] Jenny Then, Desiree Underwood, Santiel, and Taylor Winfrey. [Applause] Yeah, of course. Yes. Our white division girls track and field champions. [Applause] And I mentioned that not only were our girls teams white division champions, our boys teams were white division champions. So, Mr. Logan is going to join Mrs. Npalitano so that we can pay our honor to the boys team as well for their championship. Mr. Logan. Uh, thank you to the board of education for inviting us here tonight. Uh, it's nice to

047be here. Last year we were here, but we tied for our division last year with another team. So, it's nice to be back this year having won it outright. um which was very exciting winning both our divisional championship and also our divisional relay championship this year as well. I'm gonna Thank you. Over the course of this season, we had several boys make it to our allconerence and all division teams as well. And we also had a school record broken by senior Chase Rogers in the 400 hurdles. The boys are Eric Allen, Sherwin Aia, Cherry Ata, Yatali Ata, Jason Quo, Ebenezer, Dwina, John Fields, Joshua Gatun, Wares Gimenez, Will Lewis, Carson Martin, Dan Madano, And I got I gotta say he is dressed to impress. I like that. Mordia, Daniel Nunez, Damen Oliver, Nathan Oliver, Brandon

048Pylock, Brian Rathben, Chase Rogers, [Music] [Applause] Steven Samson, Wini Strong, Casper Cheshik, Hershel Via, Bryce White, and Kaden Wilson. Hershel. Everybody, thank you. Are they joining them? Perfect. [Applause] Yep. Okay. So, the people sitting to my right in blue have looked at me like, "Lavy, you better call us next. We've been waiting patiently." So, I'm going to ask that Mrs. Hernandez join Mrs. Charmelo at the podium so that we can honor, celebrate, and recognize our incredible our incredible GMC white division girls lacrosse team who I believe have won a championship in the white division now for three straight years. Incredible. Give him a big hand, Mr. Charmel. Good evening, Dr. Labby, administration, members of the board of education, parents, and student athletes. Thank you for allowing us to honor these amazing young women. Um, your

049continued support is something we value greatly through this program. I cannot express how proud I am of this team, our program, and our coaches. I just want to take a quick moment to highlight their accomplishments. We ended the season with a 10-8 record overall, and we were nine and one in the white division, tying with South Brunswick for the title. Uh, we have some new school records. Um, Sheridan Marowski with 162 draw controls in one season. Wow. McKenzie Hastings with 171 career goals, 49 career assists, and 220 career points. Woo! We did have four students um nominated to the white team all division. Uh Sheridan Marcowski, McKenzie Hastings, Lily Zakreski, and Shayen Handy. And McKenzie Hastings, nominated to the allconerence GMC team. A special thank you to the amazing coaching staff. We wouldn't be where

050we are without you. And a special thanks to Miss Badami for her continued support. [Applause] Anniah Sparks, [Applause] Elelliana Torres, Diaz, Amelia Leano, Madison Anthony, Kaylee Pinso, [Applause] Shayen Handy, [Applause] Alyssa Shrivever, Deanna Cantalupo, [Applause] Giana Novak, Jordan Maer, [Applause] Karina Cardoso, [Applause] Karolina Jedra Nevich [Applause] Kiana Sherwood, [Applause] Kirsten Avery, McKenzie Hastings, [Applause] Melena Parsler, [Applause] Natalyia Hernandez, [Applause] Olivia Charmelo, [Applause] Samantha Marley, [Applause] Sheridan Marcowski, Lilia Zakreski. Yay Lily. Standunch. Another big hand for our white division. Of course, we're saving the best for last, right, Mr. Ivy? So, Mrs. Hernandez is going to stay up there at the podium, and we're going to ask Mr. Ivy to join her so that we can celebrate, recognize, and honor our white division boys lacrosse team champions, Mr. Ivy. Hello. Thank you. Thank you for having

051us for the third straight year. Again, I want to thank the board of ed. Thank Dr. Lavyby. Thank Miss Badami. I remember six years ago when Miss Badami came to my room and said that we were getting lacrosse. Again, in that six years, that time span, we've been given everything we've ever needed. Everything we needed be successful. We've gotten. We are just approved for a middle school lacrosse team, too, which is the most important piece. So, thank you for that. The middle school team will be huge. We've gotten thousands of dollars worth of nets. We've gotten thousands of dollars worth of equipment. We have the best equipment, the best jerseys. So, again, thank you for always supporting us and making sure we have enough to be successful. So, thank you. I'm going to call for

052no particular order, actually. I'm going to call for my guys that are here. They're all eyeballing me because I said, "What time did I say?" 7:30 to 8. 7:30 to 8. I knew I wouldn't get him here otherwise. It's It's Labby's fault. Just tell them. And I know and yeah, teenage boys, you're not going to get him out unless you lie to him. So, I'm going to thank our seniors first. I'm going to call them up. Brody Cananan, Philip Lachinski, John Yehudav, Gabe Ferrari. Among those two, Brody Cananan uh just achieved over 300 ground balls. If you don't know lacrosse, there's only three things you measure. goals, assists, and ground balls. And over 300 is a record that will most likely never be beaten in sable history. And Philip Linsky broke and then set a

053record that will be very hard to beat. 170 points career, breaking the previous 123 by a lot. So 170 points, Philip Linsky. Next up, I'm going to call up again the key part. We couldn't do it without them. Let's make them all uncomfortable. And that's Lacy Kent, Tegan Brain, and Jillian S. Lacy got the board of ed award for managers. When all the coaches were talking about their managers and I brought up Lacy and I just said what she had done, they all unanimously said, "Oh, she gets it. Why doesn't my manager do that?" So, again, they've all been amazing. We will miss Lacy. The other two are returning. Lastly, I'm going to call up four uh players next year. They will be captains for the team. Sean Lorenz, Michael Shitman, Joseph Carbelloo, and Gavin

054Brain. Lastly, on our roll to the white division championship, we outscored our our white division opponents 43 goals to four against. Wow. Sorry. Okay, They don't want to always extra three. You guys get to go home. All right, everybody. [Music] Our championship lacrosse team. [Applause] Mrs. Bloom, that concludes our presentations for this evening. Congratulations, everyone. Okay, thank you Dr. Labby. We'll let our athletes leave and then we'll proceed. Goodbye, Lily. Bye. You look really beautiful at the prom. Dr. Labby, I think June might be my favorite board meeting because we always end the year with these amazing presentations. It's long, but it is the best meeting of the year. Well, it's the it's the fruit of our labor, you know, and we get to we get to see what it really is all about, and

055that is what it's really all about. So, I share the same sentiments. And Dr. Lobby, what was amazing is the number of kids in that group that got called up multiple times. Yeah. that are amazing athletes, amazing students, amazing characters in the high school, just incredible, incredible kids. And to get young people out to a board of education meeting is something. And it speaks volumes about get me out to a board of education meeting and their coaches. And you know, all kidding aside, and you know, it's it's getting getting late and they have to be at school at 7:30. So, I can't thank them enough and their parents for coming tonight so that we could honor um and celebrate them. If if I can say a couple words, Dr. Larry, just um I just want

056to take a moment and say what what an incredible accomplishment our students and athletes and that it's a powerful reminder of what public education is truly about. Unlocking potential, celebrating growth, and preparing for the next generation to lead, serve, and succeed. To our students, congratulations. Your dedication, character, and resilience inspires us all. Whether you are recognized for academic excellence, quiet strength, or leadership in the face of adversity, you've made your families and your community incredibly proud. But none of this happens in a vacuum. On behalf of the board, I want to offer our deepest thanks to the many people in our schools that makes that makes this possible. To our teachers and aids who challenge, support, and believe in every child. To our support staff and administrators who guide and uplift our students and staff

057every day. To our custodians, building and grounds, crews, and security who provide a safe, clean, and welcoming learning environment. To our cafeteria workers who nourish our students with care and love. To our bus drivers and aids who are often the first and last friendly face our students see each day. It truly takes a village. And tonight's students achievements are a testament to your collective efforts. Thank you for helping shave shape not just scholars but the kind of thoughtful and capable young people you have helped prepare them not just for graduation but for life. Let's continue working together in the spirit of excellence that keeps us alive. Thank you. Okay. Now we will move on with committees. Miss Pabone, finance and infrastructure. Get ready for the camera. How to get ready for the camera. Sorry, I'm

058a star, you know. Now, last Tuesday evening, the BOE finance and infrastructure committee of which I am the chairperson met. Attached. Please find the um following report. During the meeting, Mr. Colemansburgger provided an update on all the facility improvement referendum projects which are going quite well. Everybody would be very pleased. He reported that the transformers for the middle school and Truman are going to be delivered by June 16th. Therefore, they should be installed on June 23rd at the middle school. Power to be shut off for about 3 days and June 30th at Wilson. The power will be shut off for about 1 to two days. Likewise, the Eisenhower switch gear should be installed after July 4th and Truman should be installed the same week or the following week. Hopefully all the electrical infrastructure work will

059be completed by the end of July for all schools except sellover. Yay. Let's hear for that. Additionally, he informed the committee that all rooms at the um UEES have air conditioning and the cabatry is now being installed. The middle school is also progressing well. In fact, once the electrical work has been completed, all rooms should have functioning air conditioner by the beginning of August. I can't believe this was so far a away and now it's all happening. Um, similarly, the HVAC installation at Eisenhower and Wilson is progressing on schedule and should be finished by the end of August. Finally, the installation of the HVAC at Orle and on the first floor at the high school, including the uh John Bonjovi Performing Arts Center, is on schedule and should be finished by the end of August.

060Sell offer is also on schedule and should be finished by the end of the fall when JP uh JCPNL installs new transformer for the school. On other projects not related to the referendum. Um I provided a brief update on the litigation with Green Skies in the Burrow. Erin reported that next week we'll be advertising the bid to finish the carport solar panels. We also held a pre-construction meeting with Lentil, the vendor who you awarded we who we awarded the Eisenhower parking lot expansion project bid to. We are hopeful the work will begin by July June 23rd. In addition, Mr. Coleman'sburgger reported that the student bathroom renovations at the middle school have been completed. We now have we will now begin renovating the staff bathrooms and the main office on June 23rd. The high school electronic

061sign has been installed but is not operating yet because our original wire from the old sign was inadequate. Therefore, we will be trenching the front lawn and re lawn and replacing the wiring ourselves to save money because we're so efficient. The southacing windows in the main vestibule at the high school still need to be tinted. Erin concluded that the meeting um concluded the meeting by reviewing the estimated two 2024 2025 fund balance and informed the committee that we will be asking you to transfer about a million dollars into reserve accounts on June 16th. That's tonight people. Business meeting agenda. Finally, she informed the committee that she would like to once again contract with Supplies Clooney and Company LLC to perform our 2024 2025 annual comprehensive fiscal report ACFR and auditor's management report. That's it. We're

062moving ahead people. Thank you, Mrs. Pabone. Um Dr. Agile, do you want to take personnel since Mr. Callahan is not with us tonight? Certainly. Do you want to do the first one that we discussed or are you going to do it later? You can do everything. Okay. Well, yeah, I'll do the first one. Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Yeah. Awesome. I'll skip that one. Yep. Um the committee met this after uh this afternoon or this evening uh with our new elementary supervisor who Dr. Labby will introduce later in the uh meeting. We also discussed the open positions for the upcoming 2526 school year, both certificated and non-certificated staff. We also discussed our fill rates for the months of May and June, fill rates are the uh number of substitutes that cover any open

063position. And uh we're very happy to say that because of the work being done in human resources, we had fill rates for May and June from 55% to about 82% this year. um these last two months, which is the highest we've had in about five years. So, um we're moving forward. Uh we won't stop till we hit 100%, but we're we're definitely on the right path. Uh we uh updated a job description. We also discussed a um job posting uh transparency law that passed recently that requires us to change the way we post our jobs. Uh that'll take effect on July 1st and uh that was it. Okay. Thank you, Dr. Agalise. Um Governance Committee, Mr. Fernandez. Thank you, Madam President. The governance committee met virtually on Tuesday, May 27th. The committee rem reviewed the

064status of pending policy updates. At this time, there are no new updates as policy 511, eligibility of residents, remains under review by the county office. We discussed the committee continued to discuss regarding the potential of naming of Sarah War High School athletic field and stadium. We also the committee also reviewed proposed job descriptions including school safety specialist, director of school safety and security, support secretary, stipen self-insured benefits coordinator. The committee also overviewed recent pending legislative actions impacting public education. The committee will continue monitoring developments as the at the state level to ensure district remains informed and responsive and and the meeting concluded with an open forum for committee members to raise additional topics. That's it. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Fernandez. Um, student achievement. I It will be my pleasure. Thank you. The student achievement committee

065met on May 27th. The committee reviewed the two guides that are on tonight's agenda for approval. The grade 2 reading, which was revised due to the New Jersey student learning standards updates and to add additional Hegerty resources for the Bonics component that we added over the past year. Film studies is a new elective at the high school and the other guide that we are seeking approval for this evening. We also discussed the details of the bilingual waiver submission which is on tonight's agenda. Seerville has met the um cut number which is 20 across the district. Uh speakers for Spanish, Portuguese, Erdo, Ukrainian and Arabic to qualify for bilingual support for 2526. Citing geographical reasons, grades span and age span. We are submitting a waiver to the Department of Education stating that rather than bilingual education,

066which would be a challenge for the district, we are providing SCOP staff for these students in addition to highintensity ESL and other resources that we provide for them. The New Jersey GPA preliminary report was reviewed. 66% of our 11th grade students demonstrated readiness in math, which was an increase from 5% last year, and 91% of the 11th grade demonstrated readiness in ELA, which is an increase of 1%. Um, uh, Mrs. Bert and I, sorry, it's written in third person. Uh, Mrs. Bert and I then discussed the programs and the PD that the district is offering this summer for students and staff. Mrs. Bert discussed plans for the June staff development day which was held last week and she provided updates on several grants that she is applying for including the climate change extension for grades

067four through five and uh COPS which school violence prevention school violence prevention grant. Thank you. and focus, which is a literacy screener grant um that we were just awarded by the DOE to help us uh fund the new mandate for literacy screening for students grades K through three, which starts in September of 2025. Mrs. Burns shared the results of the Ecker's evaluation for um Project Before Sulliv. We are still waiting on Project Before Cheesequake, but Slover proudly earned a three-star rating. Mrs. Burns also discussed the transitional meetings for the prek to create k which were held earlier this month and the open houses that were also held over the last two weeks for our private and in district prek providers. Our next meeting is July 22nd. Miss anything? Thank you very much. Okay. Um Middle

068Sex County Schoolboard Association update. There really is nothing happening right now. We're setting our dates for next year. Tentatively, the first meeting will be September 30th, but I'll keep you informed as the calendar is set by the New Jersey School Board's coordinator. Okay. At this time, we will open to public for presentation and agenda items only. Okay. Seeing none, we will uh Oh, we have one. There we go. agenda items only. I believe I am. Go ahead. Good evening. My name is Teresa Focarelli and I'm a Seerville resident and a grandparent of middle school and elementary age children. Our parents and our grandparents have been greatly impacted by the policy of 5756. That is not on the agenda. I'm sorry. You're going to have to wait till the end. I'm sorry. That's not agenda item.

069Thank you. Okay, Dr. Labby, we will close public. Dr. Labby, your uh Thank you, Mrs. Bloom. And I'll try to be as brief as I can be. Uh let's let's begin with finance and infrastructure, uh page number four, number 16. And maybe Mrs. Burns can help me out with um with this particular one. So, we're asking you to accept the generous donation of 40 standalone time timer wash touchless handwashing timers from the Time Timer Company valued at $1,158 for a project before. Can you let us know what that is? Yes. Yeah, I know that was a tongue twister. There are these very cute little timers. So under echors which is the rating skill that we were working towards to get our you know the stars um the kids have to time we have to time

070them watching their hands. So, we used a song and um so we we went to a convention and there was somebody that had these little cute little timers and you just put them next to the child and it does this movement and sings and it's really cute and um they offered to donate them to the entire program for free. So, we took them out in that offer. So, I'll let you know how it goes. So, every little preschooler gets a cute little timer. You should have brought one in so we could see when they come in. I'll bring it in. Okay, perfect. Thank you, Mrs. Burns. Hands, too. So, number 17, which you can find on page four, we're asking you to accept the 2025 20226 funding for optimal comprehensive universal screeners grant in the

071amount of $17,340. Number 20, which can be found also on page four. We're asking to approve a contract with Central Power and Light to install electric distribution facilities at the Jesse Slover School. Mrs. Pavone talked about that earlier. That'll be done hopefully sometime in the early fall in the amount of $55,91082. Number 23, which you can also find in page four, we're asking you to approve additional withdrawal from capital reserve. Mrs. Babone talked about that in the amount of No, she didn't. In the amount of $10,45920, and that's for the parking lot upgrades and expansion at the Eisenhower School. As you all know, you approved the parking lot expansion, but um speaking of the signs, we obviously want to put a sign, an electronic sign at the Eisenhower School. So, we figured while we were

072there, we would also use funds to go ahead and trench the electric the electric for an electrical sign. So, that's where the additional $10,459 comes from. But again, that's to be out of capital reserve. Number 26 on page five. We're asking to approve a contract with generation services for underground conduit tracing and wire damage assessment at Sville War Memorial High School. Mrs. Fabone spoke about that earlier. We're going to go ahead and trench that, but we still need to go ahead and have someone take a look at that old wiring to see what exactly is the damage there and why it's not allowing our our sign to work. And that's in the amount of $1,900. Number 29 through 31. This was also mentioned by Mrs. Bone, which you can find on pages 5 and 7.

073We're asking you to approve resolutions to transfer a maximum of, not the exact amount because we're not sure of that until after the audit, a maximum amount of $5 million of unanticipated revenue or unexpended sun uh fund balance line item appropriate appropriations anticipated at the end of this school year, which is coming up, into capital reserve and then a million dollars into maintenance reserve and $250,000 into emergency reserve. Once again, we're not sure that we're going to be able to transfer all that amount of money, but that's the maximum that we're asking you to go ahead and approve. We don't estimate it's going to be that much. We estimated like we Mrs. Babone said about a million dollars, but um this is something that we annually do just in case after the audit we find

074that we have more fund balance than than we think we do. Any questions on those items or the 70 I believe it's 70 something other items on finance and infrastructure. Just have a question with on page four number and just for clarity number um 22. So it says that the funds are going to be taken from the capital reserve. Would it not be are those not the uh referendum the plan with the referendum for improvements on parking lots and buildings? No referendum is totally separate. That was the vote we went out for in 2022. So that's totally separate funds. Capital reserve is our reverse re reserve funds we've set aside for capital projects in district and the parking lot upgrades is one of them. Okay. Thank you. It's almost it's considered like our savings account.

075Any questions? Okay. Seeing none, I'm going to move over to student achievement. Mrs. Gman mentioned this earlier in her report. We're asking you to approve those two curriculum guides. One is the grades 9 through 12 film film studies guide, which I'm really excited about. And the second is our grade two reading curriculum guide. Any questions on student achievement? Anything on student achievement? Of course, we have the resolutions for the kids that you honored earlier. All right. So, let's move over to governance. We do have a few on governance number two, which can be found on page 39. We're asking you to approve the submitt of a uniform state memorandum of understanding between the Sville public schools and the state of New Jersey office of emergency management. Um it's something excuse me for coughing. It's something

076we haven't done in the past but it's something that is going to be required. Heaven forbid we have a situation where in which we will need FEMA funds um if we have another disaster like you know heaven forbid hurricane Sandy um in order to receive those funds. I believe Dr. Mr. Glock Malloy, we're going to need to have this partnership with the state of New Jersey emergency management. Correct. Well, thank you for being brief with your explanation there. Just kidding. I'm just kidding. Ask the yes or no question. Number 39. Number three on page 39. We're asking you to prove the submission of the 2025 2026 by bilingual waiver. U Mrs. Gman talked about that earlier. And again, uh, we're asking for that waiver for Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, Erdo, and Ukrainian. Number five, which you

077can find on page 39, we're asking to approve the submission of the comprehensive equity plan for the 2025 2026 school year as well as the 2027 2022 school year to the middle uh to the New Jersey Department of Education through the Middle Sex County Department of Education office. And again, that's on page 39. And if you can see above that is another u motion where we're asking you to approve the um affirmative action team to go ahead and work with Dr. Agile to create that. Dr. Aguilles did a nice a really nice job with creating that. This is a requirement that um if we do not do we do not receive points on CUAC. Um so it is it is a measure that is used by the Department of Education to evaluate us. Number six,

078which you can find in page 39, Dr. Agile. Um uh no, Dr. Agile did not ref Mr. um Mr. Fernandez referenced this earlier. We do have some job descriptions that we're asking you to approve. And finally on the addendum which you can find um or or number seven which you can find the addendum we're asking the board to finally and I don't know why we haven't done this sooner to name the stadium at Seville War Memorial High School War Memorial Stadium in um in celebration of all the members of the United States military. Any questions on anything on governance? Okay, moving along to personnel. Yes, I'm sorry. I just wanted to um mention that the job descriptions for the um supervisor and director of safety and security. I'm excited to see some of the inclusions

079in there, especially coordinating and scheduling security for before and after school events and programs and to ensure that all staff are acting in accordance with such policies and procedures related to school safety and security. So, these are important pieces and now Jeff will have help and there will be two people doing this job and hopefully we will all be safe forever. I'm excited. Thank you. Well, and and obviously the the safety, the health and safety and security of our students and staff is our highest priority and I think we've demonstrated that through our actions as a board of education and as a school district for the past 10 years and I can't thank enough Mr. Sprag and Mr. Glock Malloy for all that they've done to advance this school district far beyond many if not

080any other school districts in New Jersey. But um the the more we do, the more assistance that we are going to need and the more leadership. So um by going ahead and approving these job descriptions, it gives us the opportunity to have someone leading our school safety and security throughout the district, but also someone to assist that person in leading and supervising our security efforts in the evening. We are one of the few districts in New Jersey, I don't know of many, that provide the level of security that we do in the evenings. Most school districts only do that during the day. We do it during the evening. So, it's hard for Mr. Sprag to be everywhere at once. Um, and and Mrs. Sprag um, you know, knows that, too. The man is all over

081the place at all times of night. And now we'll have somebody to, um, assist him in supervising all of our security efforts after school. Especially when you hear things such as the vandalism that occurred in uh what school it was. How did those students get in there at night? Was the building not secured? You know, I mean, that's the kind of thing that makes us stand out among districts because we have that security. And many districts don't have any security. And unfortunately, we just this week there was a mass shooting at a school, not in the United States, but a mass shooting at a school where unfortunately more than a dozen students lost their lives. So again, um you know, we're we do our best to try to be as close to perfect as we

082can be knowing that we can't. Um so we try to uncover every stone possible to prevent anything like that ever happening here and we'll continue to do that um for as long as I'm here at least and and I know that many of you feel the same way that I do. Absolutely. Thank you. So, moving along to personnel, uh we do have one of those bittersweet moments um where we have to say goodbye to an absolutely beloved staff member, and that is Mindy Schiffman, who's been a district bus aid for quite some time. On behalf of the entire Sable Transportation Department and school district, we'd like to extend our deepest gratitude and heartfelt congratulations to Mindy Schiffman on her retirement after more than 20 years of dedicated service. Her commitment to the safety, care, and

083well-being of our students has left a lasting impact on everyone that she's ever worked with, including me. From her early mornings to her calm presence during hectic afternoons, she has shown unwavering patience, kindness, and professionalism, which has been appreciated not only by our students, but by their parents. Her ability to connect with students, calm anxious riders, particularly the young ones, and provide consistent support to our drivers, has made her not just an aid, but a trusted friend, role model, and companion. It is not often that someone gives over two decades of their life to serve a community with such quiet strength and compassion. Mindy has helped ensure that countless children have arrived safely to school and returned home as safely each day. This is a legacy to be incredibly proud of and one of which

084we are. Mindy, as you turn the next page in your exciting chapter, know that you leave behind many fond memories and the utmost respect and appreciation from all of us, particularly me. We will miss you, your friendly smile, your steady hand, and the heart that you brought to work every single day. Wishing you all the joy, relaxation, adventure that retirement can bring and that you've earned incredibly. So, on behalf of the Seville public schools and the Sville Board of Education, we congratulate Mindy Schiffman on her retirement and thank her for the impeccable manner in which she has served our students and this school district. And on a personal note, since the moment I came into this district, um, I've, you know, I was greeted by Mindy and we developed a friendship that has lasted this

085long. She's not only, if you know Mindy, she's not only an employee, she's a community member that has dedicated the better part of her life to Seville. I believe she was the chair of the human relations commission for quite a bit of period of time. She's one of the most amazing and inspiring people that I've ever met and I'm truly going to miss her um quite dearly. All right, so let's move on. Numbers 12 through 15 as well as 75 through 76 as we always do. We're asking you to approve new certificated and non-certificated staff um for this year and for next year. And you can find that in pages 44 through 45 and the addendum number 16 through 20. We're asking you to approve the transfer certificated non-certificated staff for next year. And you

086can find that on pages 46 and 47. On pages 54 through 57, you can also find items number 31 and 33 33 in which we're asking you to appoint paid coaches with their stipens as well as volunteer coaches for the 2025 2026 school year. And then finally number 69 through 71 which you can find on page 71 through 72. We're asking you to renew the employment of the teamsters um the saval education association non-certificated staff. That does not include the paraprofessionals because you already approved those um all staff that are called what is called non-affiliated or not covered by a collective bargaining unit and obviously that is for the 2025 2026 school year. All those job groupings are listed there for you. And of course, we have um spreadsheet attachments on our website for people

087to view as well. And Mrs. Bloom, that concludes my report. Dr. Labby, I think you want to look at page 45, number 16. Oh, yes. And I do apologize for missing that. Um, one of the key transfers that is there um is a very special person. Um, as you all know, we we um Mrs. Schlech uh who was our previous supervisor of elementary instruction. um you recently transferred her to go back into the classroom which I happen to believe is one of the most romantic things um for an educational leader recognizing that their timeline in terms of their career in this industry might be ending soon decided to go ahead and finish her career where she started and that's teaching and if you know Mrs. Schlleck. She is an extraordinary teacher and was an incredible

088leader. Um, so we first of all wish Mrs. Schlech all the best over at Truman as she romantically finishes out her career as a teacher, which you know I I think that is someone that is also approaching that timeline. It it sounds like a very good idea. Um but we were pressed with the responsibility of fulfilling or filling that position and um I couldn't be more proud to recommend to this board of education Mrs. Michelle Depalo for that position. Um I had the opportunity to meet Michelle when I interviewed her when she first joined the district as an elementary school teacher and goodness gracious talk about a rocket ride up. um she you know immediately impressed everyone. She moved from an elementary school teacher um to an ASI teacher um in mathematics but but felt

089that she needed to progress so that she could get her literacy credentials or reading specialist credentials. And when we had our first elementary opening in quite some time um I believe it was when Mrs. Stuber went ahead and moved to become principal at the Truman School. Um, she interviewed there and oh my goodness gracious, we were all taken aback. Um, what an incredible candidate, the potential that she demonstrated. We were all so impressed, but moreover, we were so inspired. Um, and unfortunately, it didn't work out at that time. Um and we had another opening and um she had a very good reason for not applying for that opening. But she um although we had many very talented um and qualified candidates both in district and out of district that we interviewed, she by far was

090um the hands-own unanimous decision as our next supervisor of elementary instruction. and having had the opportunity to know her and the privilege to witness um her growth as a professional and more importantly as a leader. I couldn't be more proud once again to recommend to you board of education members and to recognize she's here tonight. Michelle, if you don't mind standing up. She's still here. Miss Michelle Depalo, who I hope is going to be our new elementary supervisor education. Congratulations, Michelle. And thank you, Dr. Agile, for reminding me of that. It's been a long evening. Okay, we need a motion to accept the superintendent report, please. So moved. Second. So that was Mrs. Pabone and Mr. Smith. Mrs. Chakowski, yes. Fernandez, yes. Mrs. Hernandez, yes. Mrs. Maldonado, yes. Mrs. Npalitano, yes. Mrs. Pabone, yes to

091everything, but um I'm abstaining from number 28. That's in personnel. Yep. Begging your pardon, Erin. Forgive me. I need to also abstain from um let's see here. support services. Did I get pardon? Number. Yep. Give me one second. Page 26, number 96A. My son will be working at the school, so Oh, yes. Yes, we talked about it. Yes. Okay. Thank you for remembering, Mr. Smith. Yes. And Mrs. Bloom. Yes. But I'm going to abstain on number 31, the head bar. And that's in personnel. Motions pass. And now we will open public for any comments. Our time is 30 minutes per person. Several res. first, please. And we ask that you line up to save time. Good evening. My name is Teresa Focarelli. I am a Seerville resident and a grandparent of a uh middle school

092and elementary age children. Our parents and grandparents have been greatly impacted by policy 5756. This policy came down from the state in 2017 by Governor Chris Christie who signed legislation legislation, excuse me, that required the state department of education to provide guidance to schools about policies involving transgender students. In 2018, Governor Phil Murphy appointed the Commissioner of Education to release that guidance. These guidelines are designed to help school districts develop their own policies. It is a known fact that a policy writing service updates policies to districts across New Jersey. According to their website, over 560 districts use them in New Jersey to write their policies. That is pretty much every district. Now, seven years later, we know that many school districts have either accepted, rescended, or amended this policy. Actually, there is no legal authority

093that requires a district to adopt the 2018 New Jersey DOE transgender guidance for school districts as written. A district is however free to develop its own policy on this issue. So what do we know? We know that parents are the best advocates by nature. Children are our responsibility. But by taking away a parent's right to know any information regarding their children's personal and physical well-being is deemed illegal and unethical. Any child in crisis requires an urgent need for support and that support must include their parents and families. Thankfully, there are districts that have repealed, modified, or rescended 5756. In February of 2025, the Middletown School Board repealed the policy 5756 in its entirety, calling it an anti-parent policy and declaring they won't accept it as written. This followed an appellet court ruling affirming that districts

094are not required to follow the guidance and can decide on a case-bycase basis. The Handover Township public schools in September of 23 held a special meeting and repealed their version of policy 5756 because it was wholly inadequate to protect the district from any liability. Then Malapen, Englishtown, and Marboro schools are Monmouth County districts that adopted amended policies in June of 23 that required parental notification when a student requests a gender transition in early 25. Thank you so much. Thank you. [Applause] Good evening. Joe Compana, resident of Serville. I'd like to first uh just address a statement that was made at the last uh public board meeting that parents and citizens of Seville know about this meeting and what goes on here. Uh I can tell you I am the public. I didn't know. Uh many

095of them don't know. I represent thousands of people in this place who do not know what's going on here. And until someone else told me, I didn't know. It wasn't from any publication. It wasn't from the Dino papers that no one reads anymore. Um, it was because someone told me that they were concerned. And that's why I'm here and that's why I know. So, I'd like you to know that please do better with that. It's not it's not getting out there. Uh, I am, you know, we are helping to we the people are helping to get the information out. Uh, servillecret.info will help parents who are concerned. Um, now I want to address policy 5756. Uh, it's the unconstitutional rule that several adopted and keeps secrets from parents about their children. Uh, Madame President, both

096you and the vice president have put forth the argument that the public just simply misunderstands this rule because it uses the terms may and shall. And those are different words and they mean different things. And so I would like to go through because I've now studied that policy and I believe you're incorrect. So I can quote from the policy and this is how it uses those words. Quote, "The school district shall accept a student's asserted gender identity uh and uh I'm sorry, uh gender identity. Parental consent is not required." So there's your shall and not. Uh but there's no ambiguity there, right? No ambigu no ambiguity at all. Um then quote, "There's no affirmative duty for any school district staff member to notify a student's parents of the students gender identity or expression." That's a

097lot more assertive, I would say, than saying you may or may not. It sounds actually encouraging to me. Uh if my son said, "Daddy, that lady dropped a $20 bill over there. Should I give it back?" And I said to him, "Well, son, you have no affirmative duty to do so. What am I teaching my son?" Quote, "In the event a parent objects, school staff members should continue to refer to the student in accordance with the student's chosen name and pronoun." No question there. Uh, but here's the may. Here's where May comes in. Uh, this is what we're looking for here. So, it's quote, "School staff members may not disclose information that may reveal a student's transgender status." Okay? So, where we're saying may, it's may not. And as my fifth grade teacher taught me,

098may not does not mean maybe you could or maybe you couldn't. When I asked it was no, you may not. It's not an open suggestion. Thank you. Good evening, Dr. Labby, board, and staff. Uh, Anthony Spazado, Washington Road, speaking tonight for the last time as a resident of this burrow. So, tonight, as always, I would like to introduce myself as Gab's dad. Um, it is not a Seville secret that I have had the privilege of serving our community on the environmental commission, the planning board, the human relations commission and as a volunteer with the Saveville Historical Society and Wilson PTO. I have helped to invite, empower, and yes, sometimes provoke residents of the burrow into more involvement. And I have done it all proudly as Gab's dad. It's been the privilege of my adult life

099to be Gab's dad for Seville. Being Gab's dad for Seville was a choice made intentionally to show people what a family like ours looks like. to show people how much more we have in common. It was a choice to show people that committed parents can become involved and make a real difference in the community, no matter what your family looks like. Being Gab's dad for this place was about paying back the debt that I owed to the teachers who saved me as a kid. It was about giving grace and gratitude to the teachers who found me and refused to let me fail. Those adults painted the picture of what my life could be like one day, today, if I worked at creating the future I deserved and tried to help along the way. And now

100on the eve of my son's last days at Wilson School, the eve of the expiration of my term of service as Gab's dad to this burrow that I have fallen in love with, I stand again at the intersection of luck and gratitude. I want to thank Dr. Labby and all past and present members of this board for never refusing a tough conversation and for deep and committed care to our kids, their parents, our teachers, and our burrow. I'd like to thank Tim Burn and Audrey Burns and the entire team at Wilson for creating a childhood for our son that was rooted in understanding, in empathy, care, compassion, love, and imagination. And I'd like to thank the bus drivers who got my son and our kids safely to school and back every day. The team who

101kept my kid exposed to fruits and vegetables on our food service team. And the PTO who gave us more than just fun events. They gave voices and love to kids who need them the most. The village at Wilson gave my son the childhood he deserved. And I can't thank you adequately in three minutes, but please hear me. It matters that you give us your very best. And it matters that we tell these stories together. For the families who come to Seville after my family has left. What we do here in Seville, what we can choose to do is make the next family like mine know that this place is theirs, too. It is a place for us for awkward kids who find their voice and choose to use it to help. Not every kid can

102grow up to be John Bonjovi, but they can grow up to be Tim Burn or Megan Sullivan or Erin Hill, Rick Lavyby, or Lucy Bloom. Real people from real places who show up when the work is hard and don't ever quit. I've spent so much time and energy being Gab's dad for Seville. I'm looking forward to transitioning into being Gab's dad for me and most importantly for Gabe. But here, in my last moments of having a child in this district and standing before you proudly, as Gab's dad from Washington wrote, something is more clear to me than ever before. I still hope to be you when I grow up. Truly, thank you all. [Applause] Hello, Steve Fischer from Seville. Um, initially when I came up here, I was talking uh from my heart about uh

103transgender athletes and how Title Nine, which was a great law, was being neutered and changed completely the opposite way and making it not safe for the girl athletes that I had coached in the past. The second thing I brought up was that this board always has stood by the parents with parent notification, parent permission slips, all these parental things. And then of course 5756 says no parental consent is necessary for a student asserting their gender identity in grades six to eight. And I spent 31 years at that level and no two days are alike. And there no two days are alike for those children and they need adults and they need their parents. So there should be no secrets when a child needs uh help. Then I looked up careful examination. I looked at the

104board uh website and I found two great great tools. The parent square and the student square. What an awesome thing. And I'm very proud to be in this district or be a former teacher in this district when I see something like that. And it's a great tool, but not if you only use it for information. The best component of that is I'm a dinosaur. Texts, emails, that's as far as I go. This tool can be used to communicate without using a personal device to a parent. And that's what 5756 doesn't allow a teacher to do. And unfortunately, I would probably have to retire today if I was teaching, if I was forced not to communicate from my heart and from my mind what a parent needs to know. And this policy stops me from doing

105it. May not. And that hurts. That hurts me because I spent the whole lifetime working with parents and now you're cutting me off. So those of you that want to look up in locus and what that means, that's what I grew up on. I was part of their family as their teacher, as their coach. And I cannot believe what we could we could support a policy like this. And hopefully this will change. Time opens hearts. Time opens minds. Time changes things. So, I'll just continue to hope and pray that change will happen. Thank you for your time. Thank you. This is five. Good evening. Dan Finny, Coleneck. Policy 5756 is completely backwards. Rather than having a divisive don't tell the parents policy that sets dangerous precedents and fosters long-term tragic outcomes, you should have a

106policy that ensures parents ensures parents are immediately involved when any child, but especially young children want to change pronouns, dress, or birth name. Rather than encouraging and affirming a child's feelings-based choices and creating a school hours fantasy zone where minors are bestowed with autonomy from parents, afforded special rights and lavished with attention for going down the celebrated transgender path. You should be the arbittors of truth and stick to the actual biological science within the scope of your health and science curriculum. Rather than trample on the inaliable rights of parents and undermine their roles, responsibilities, and authority, you should be affirming those long-standing precepts throughout your curriculum from K to 12. Rather than befriending children while offering unconditional acceptance and unwittingly competing with parents for their hearts and minds, you should review the bedrock of education

107and how it's what it's built on and partner with parents for the benefit of future generations. I want to share some excerpts from do Dr. M Mc Mugh, former John Hopkins chief of psychiatry on who titled whose authority is transgenderism a mental disorder or a right. Gender is a gift. It is also a given. The dangers of the gender identity movement are becoming increasingly clear. In a culture where freedom has been redefined as a right to choose anything and liberty has degenerated into license, the new speak of the age has declared the instrumental use of the body of another to be sexual freedom. It is not. It turns people into objects and degrades the dignity of human sexuality. Sadly, the same spirit of the age fails to recognize the internal integral unity of the human

108person, body, soul, and spirit, and has turned the human body into a machine with parts which the revolutionaries think can simply be interchanged. Dr. McHugh explained that transgenderism is not the solution for people who suffer a disorder of assumption. That's the notion that their maleness or femaleeness is different than what nature assigned them biologically. This intensely felt sense of being transgendered constitutes a mental disorder in two respects. The first is that the idea of sex misalignment is simply mistaken. It does not correspond with your reality. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] My name is Jennifer Woodruff. I live in Marboro and I'm a former resident of Sarville. I thank you for your time and efforts on the board. You're entrusted with a huge responsibility and one that can have long-term consequences on our children. And this

109includes um knowing which policies deciding which policies and what curriculum should be implemented in the district. I am against the 5756 policy and I have provided well doumented reasons why this is a bad policy for the last two years. The policy is divisive and discriminatory. It puts labels on children and gives special rights to others. It is deceptive to parents and it puts teachers in an uncomfortable position and often against their moral beliefs. However, it is not just the policy that is concerning to me. It is the direction we are heading. The 5756 policy needs to be abolished to send a message to our state government to stop interfering with our children's upbringing and moral standards while keeping parents out of the equation. The government seems to think that they know what is best for

110our children and the parents are clueless or they are the problem. We are teaching children as early as second grade that there are a variety of genders when we know that there are only two. We are filling little children's head with gender ideology at a time when they are impressionable and little sponges and believe everything that the teachers tell them. Why are we teaching something that is not true? And it can only cause anxiety and confusion to our little children. The curriculum is sprinkled with gender ideology ideology and it's not just in health class. We are desensitizing our and sexualizing our children in fifth grade. We are giving them information on all kinds of sexual acts and preferences at an age when they are not emotionally or intellectually able to handle it. After eighth grade,

111nothing nothing is left to the imagination. There are schools in New Jersey that are providing questionnaires to middle schoolers asking them about their sexual preference and their choice uh their chosen gender identity. Why? What does this have to do with education? Our schools have days, weeks, and even months celebrating LGBTQ++. We are normalizing, encouraging, and celebrating gender confusion. Children are not born in the wrong bodies. And to affirm this lie puts a child in a position of never being happy with themselves and down a destructive path. All children are different. We all have male and female tendencies which makes us different and unique. Let's celebrate that instead of affirming something that will never be true. The state is trying to pass laws where children 16 can have access to medical and mental health. Your time

112is out. Thank you. Good evening um board members. My name is Kim Lley. I live in Manalin. I'm a former teacher, mom, and a taxpayer. In addition, I am a former resident of Saraveville. Policy 5756 is a suggested policy. It does not unite, but it rather divides. This policy enables children to make complex decisions without parental involvement. A kindergartener is able to decide what gender they are without mom or dad knowing. A teacher creates a separate file and is sent down to the state. Again, mom and dad having a clue. Social workers and policy 5756 can act in place of the parent if not in support of the new gender identity. This policy breaks the trust between parents and teachers. How does a parent know when they get their child's record, their child's record? Is

113it real? Schoolboard policy 9240 is rights of parents located in the community section of your website. This policy contradicts that policy 5756. The parental rights policy enables the following. Number one, the board of education recognizes that parents are legal garner ultimately responsible for the care of the child. Two, the board that believes that the interests of the child are best served by the continuing involvement of both parents in the child's life and well-being. Number three, full parent rights of access to the student and to the information about that student. Number four, board directs that the school administrators accommodate the needs of both parents for access to their child's teachers and to the information about their children. Number five, every parent should have access to except prohibited by state or federal law to records retained to

114his or her unemmancipated child. How can you have policy 5756 with policy 9240 and also with the federal education rights and privacy act also known as furpa. Thank you for your time and information. [Applause] Thank you. Hi Kim Bland from Oldbridge. Um we have a family business in Saveville. Thank you for your time and listening. As I mentioned when I spoke at the last meeting, I do believe that we all mean well and want to do what we truly believe is best for our children and students. I ask you to again think about these things. Is it really a good idea to hide such important and life-changing information from children's parents? Is this helpful to the children? Does this secrecy not hinder the parent child relationship and trust? Does this encourage teacher parent communication which

115could be beneficial to our children? Does this encourage trust in our schools? Most teachers do an incredible job of teaching and truly care about our children. Is it a good thing and a helpful thing to them, much less to our children, to put them in situations where secrets must be kept from parents? Please consider the implications of policy 5756 and I ask that you would resend it and let's work together on open and honest communication and dialogue. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. Lillian Rivera from Emerald Township. Uh policy 5756, the child caught in the middle. This policy instructs schools to keep gender identity changes and other personal matters secret from parents if and create it creates systems that um that children are told don't tell your parents. But at home

116they hear we love you. You can talk with us. We love you and we're here for you. That child still developing emotionally and mentally is now stuck between two trusted adults, confused, unsure who to trust. That's not protection. That's emotional strain and isolation. A safe space. You say that uh creating a safe space, but what kind of safe uh spa safe space um encourages children to hide who they are from their people who love them the most? That's not safety. It's secrecy, a danger zone disguised as protection. If we truly care about a child's well-being, we need three-sided safe space. Child, teacher, and parent working together. That's real support, trust, empathy, communication, and accountability. And yes, many parents do understand. Maybe some don't, and they need a little time to understand. In fact, many are

117genuinely grateful to be included. Being informed builds stronger bonds, not broken trust. Hostility, and disrespect. I've been to a few of these board meetings and I always find disrespect, eye rolling, personal insults, some caught on camera, some on live. We're called even clowns at some point just for wanting to be involved in our children's lives. We are their legal guardians until they are 18. By the way, even if it's just one child, the comment comes over and over again. If that's truly your goal, to protect even just that one child, I lost my spot. Sorry. I'll move on. Leadership matters. As board members, your words and tone matter. Our children are watching. They're learning how adults handle disagreement. This is not a culture war. It's not a shouting match. It's not working with families. It's

118working with families, not against them. Let's end the teachers versus parents narrative. Let's stop pretending secrecy equals safety because no child should have to choose between two different authorities. Thank you. Um, thank you. My name is Gerald Maglo from Dolores Turo Foundation. Our mission is to protect children from abuse and neglect. Um, and we believe every human being is created in the image and likeness. Did you just say you're resident? Oh, a resident. I'm from Dolores of resident of Neptune. Neptune. Dolores Turco Foundation. Um, so we do not discriminate against anyone for any reason. And I'd like to thank you for your service first of all and congratulations on the many extraordinary accomplishments of your students in this area. It's very impressive to watch. Um but I'd like to talk about the law. Parents have

119the fundamental right under the 14th amendment of the Constitution to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their minor children. And federal courts are striking down these illegal and unconstitutional policies that infringe on parental rights. Um, just one decision from a court. A parents right to make decisions concerning the care and custody and medical uh care of their children is one of the oldest, most fundamental liberty interests that Americans enjoy. U another court ruled that a school district's policy violates the right of parents to make medical decisions for their children and block the policy of allowing students to change their names and gender without parental control. And one last um court uh stated that the status notion that government power should supersede parental authority in all cases because some parents abuse and neglect children is

120repugnant to the American tradition. Uh would like to say a word about um you'll hear about suicide um and that is completely false the suicide narrative. Uh the truth is suicide is a serious public health problem and responsible for more deaths amongst 10 to 24 year olds year olds than any single major medical illness. But um it's more due due to isolation, breakdown of the family, lack of connection uh to to a faith community. In fact, the um the largest suicide study shows that after sex reassignment, if a child does transgender, adult does transgender, that the patient is nine times more likely uh to die from suicide than the rest of the population. Um and the transgender experiment is recognized nationally and internationally as the biggest child abuse scandal of our lifetime. 14,000 children have

121been subjected to castration and mutilation by the medical industrial complex to the tune of $120 million. I'd like to just end um with a sharing an experience. I was in Rome where over 80,000 teens from all over the world went on a pilgrimage um to honor a Carlo Audis who was 15 uh and he was scheduled to be canonized. He was an extraordinary kid. Um, an ordinary kid with an extraordinary faith. Um, and these teens came to seek a new way to become whole. It was Okay. Sorry. Can't finish the story. Mrs. Bloom. Mrs. Bloom. Sorry, Mrs. Bloom. Mrs. Bloom. We only have a minute and 30 seconds left. Okay. I'm sorry. She She has a minute. You have a minute. Hi, I'm Alice Finny. I'm from Colts Neck. And I just wanted to say

122that um I think it would be wise to appeal um 5756. We're talking about a program, a plan that um allows children to make decisions and um based on their feelings. And I think all over this country and especially in the state, we're having a problem with children thinking that they're adults and thinking that they can do what they want to do and just it's just encouraging them without somebody standing in the room and saying, "Wait a second, this is wrong. You can't actually change your gender. You can't actually become an animal either." And that's also one of the options that have been given to children um just introduced by social media and so many other things. It's just common sense and it's been going on for centuries all over the world. Um but what

123I wanted to say is one thing even um Mark Twain said when he was 14 that um I couldn't stand I was I get so annoyed at my old man um and the and the things that he says to me I could hardly stand to be around him and by the time he was 21 he said I'm astonished at how m much my father had learned in seven years. Thank you. Thank you very much. At this time we will close public need to get motion. Some okay do we need a motion for that to close public? I think so. Um any board comments? Um, I would like to note that of the 10 speakers, only three were Seville residents. The rest are from out of district. I would also like to public is closed. You're

124all out of order. Uh, I wrote where they worked. You're right. I would also like to There were four. There were four. Okay. or from Seville. Well, one said he was from Seville, but I don't that's question. Okay. All right. It was also um brought up at the last meeting that it is thought that several of us are out of touch with our constituents. I will not speak for Mr. Smith. I will let him speak for himself. In the past two weeks, I have attended 13 events in this district. I am certainly in touch with my constituents. They know me and I know them. I have lived in this town for 53 years. My children attended this high school. My grandchildren are in this school district and half of the parents that were here tonight

125with their children being honored are former students of mine. So, I'm very much in touch with my constituency and I know exactly what they think because they tell me, Dr. Labby can verify. People tell me everything. So, I just wanted to clarify that. Thank you. Anyone else who would like to say? Can we start with you, Miss Pabone? Would you like to say a few words? Um, yeah, I guess I could say something. Um, I did discover, that's why I'm all dressed up. If you wonder why I'm sparkling, is that I am have been uh subject to becoming some kind of featured video person. So, I'm going to be coming to these BOE meetings making sure I look pretty good since I'm going to be featured based upon what I say. And once again, get

126it on the video. Go home and splice it. I will not vote to rescend this policy. So have a great evening, Mr. Fernandez. Thank you, M. Boom. Um, I'm going to speak on a slightly different matter. I want to take a moment to reflect on a very special event that took place this past Friday. As president of the several South Amway Rotary Club and as a frequent flyer at the Bomber Cafe, I had the privilege of attending a heartfelt celebration honoring the incredible students graduating from our 21 plus program. Sammy, Gary, and Big Mike. For anyone who's ever stopped by the Bombers Cafe, you know what I mean when I say that no matter what kind of day you're having, you will walk out of there with a smile. Sammy's energy, Gary's warmth, Big Mike's

127humor and smile have the power to turn any morning around. Their spirit and joy are contagious. These young men have not only grown and thrived in their time here, but they've also left an imprint on every person lucky enough to know them, especially me. I speak for many in saying that their presence has truly made our school and community brighter. I also want to thank the dedicated staff and leadership who make the 21 plus program such a success, especially Alyssa, Christine, Miss Fazini, Andrew, and Mr. Nester. Sorry, lost my place there. Um, congratulations to Sammy, Gary, and Big Mike. You served up more than coffee. You served up joy, inclusion, and inspiration. You will be missed behind the counter, but your legacy will always remain part part of Saraveville. And as Dr. Live has always

128pointed out, for those that haven't been to the Bomber Cafe, it is the happiest place in Saraveville. Thank you. Thank you. I have just a quick question. Was that our first graduating class out of the Bombers Beyond? That is those three students that Mr. Fernandez just just mentioned are what I call the OGs. They're they're the first three that started the program with us. I would like sheetrock and carpet on the floor and and no appliances. I would like to suggest that we come and honor the next meeting have them come and honor them for being the first graduates. and you know they were very successful. It's a great idea. It's a great idea. But we'll we'll be the ones feeling honored in their presence. Yes, we will. Thank you. Anyone else like to say

129a few words? No. Mr. Smith. Did No. Go ahead. So, um No, I appreciate everybody who got up to talk tonight. I especially appreciate Seville residents who came up and several residents with children in our schools. Um, I also have children in the school district. Um, I go to lots of track meets. I go to lot of lots of soccer games. I go to lots of band concerts. I go to lots of choir concerts. And I run across a lot of parents. So, I agree with you, Miss Bloom, that we're in touch with our constituents. Um, I agree with the one speaker who got up and said that most children probably and hopefully here, I love you. I care about you. You're my world from their parents at home. My question is, if a child

130hears that all the time at home, isn't the child going to come out to you, aren't you going to be aware of what your child is doing? Are you going to know if little your son is going to school in a skirt and wanting to identify as a girl? Doesn't all that start at home? So, this is not a new epidemic, a new problem. There are songs going back to the 60s to the 70s. Some of my favorites, Lola by the Kinks, 1970. Take a Walk on the Wild Side by Lou Reed, 1972. These were things that were happening before any of us were around. It's not a new phenomenon. We're not grooming children. We're not denying children. In fact, the systems we use in our school to inform parents do inform a parent if

131a kid decides to change their name because the school record the guardian has access to. We're not denying parents anything in Sarville schools. Our counselors, our teachers, our administrators. Dr. Labby sends out talk soup. Our teachers send out information in parent squares. Dr. Labby sends out almost verbatim everything we say at a board meeting to all the parents of Saraveville students. We involve the parents nonstop to make this a better school district. We're inventing a problem. That's it. Thank you. Um Mrs. Bloom you had mentioned that uh only a portion of the people who came up to speak at the microphone were sealable re residents but I am looking at a room full of people and some people come out to these meetings to support those who are speaking for one side uh of a

132debate or another. And were I to ask for a show of hands on who is here, who is not in support of policy 5756, I do believe you would see more than just the four people who spoke uh show that they are here because they are concerned about this policy. So and some people do feel uncomfortable or intimidated to speak at the microphone. They might be coming out just to become more emboldened or just to hear more about uh you know what is happening with this issue. So, we are looking at a full room and this is after students and families have left after the awards were given out. So, these are not those families that are here. So, I just wanted to comment on that. Um, Mr. Smith, you you mentioned some songs that

133we grew up with, but I just want to point out that those songs were not speaking to children. those songs were written to, you know, uh they were talking about teenagers and adults uh making those decisions, not the children that we're talking about when we do talk about this policy. So, I wanted to clarify that. Um I don't know. I I was younger than a teenager in 1972 and I knew those songs. So um and then with regard to uh the comment about the file, the student file, it it is in the policy that if a child chooses to identify as a different gender that a second file would be made and that uh the school was to use that second file and this any parent listening uh and any board member sitting here can

134look at this section of the policy and this is just for providing clarification on that point that you made that a second file uh is stated to um that it would be created uh and that that file would be used with the child's chosen gender and name and uh and not the original file and that staff would be directed to use that file moving forward and that if the parents became aware of it came to the school complained about it. It does not say that there would be a meeting and and a collaboration between the parent and the faculty and the student. It says that the board uh of education should consult the board attorney. So that that does not give parents a note of confidence that if that does happen and if they do

135find out that there is a second file and they come to the school with a concern about that uh it does not engender confidence in the parents that there would be that that collaboration and that that team conversation. it it what it does speak to is that it would be, you know, a file that would be withheld from them and if they do find out, we would we're supposed to consult the board attorney. That's that's something that would give me concern uh if I had children that were currently in the school system. So, I just wanted to make those points. Thank you. And Lucy, Lucy, I just I just wanna Okay. I just want to say that we we're talking the most important thing for me is parental rights and um Jeff you mentioned that

136if we have a good relationship with our parents at home we would say that we love them and everything they're going to come and tell tell us you know everything and you know I wish that my daughters do it and I wish everybody's kids in here does but some of the kid like we cannot assure that that is going to happen. This is the point that I wanna we we cannot say if you are a good parent and you treat your kid right, they're going to come and tell you. Most of the parent, yes, but there's cases that probably know because as I mentioned before, I think this is a very delicate and important decision in their life and it's a little scary. I know cases of two families that one was find out because

137he write something and the other family it was uh because someone else told the parents. So it's not always and they're great parents but it is not always like that. So this is this is my point you know it is just parental right we cannot put it on the side if the kids come to speak of the pattern or not. We as a parent have the right to know what is going on with the kids and and I think it's it's you know that it's a raise a kid takes a village and we are part of that village so we need to you know just keep that in mind you know and if something like that happen probably not all them are going to come to the parents thank you uh Dr. Labby, I would

138like to ask you a question. How many times has this happened in our school district? Zero. How many second files have you created? None to my knowledge. Okay. I hope they got that on tape. So, if there are no incidences of this happening, why do we need that written in a policy? Because as you know the state of New Jersey says that if somebody if a child comes out we have to follow certain procedures. We cannot just say oh yeah you do it your way you do it your way because you've already been told by the board attorney that this would be discriminate. We could be found to be discriminating and you know that but you just keep ignoring it. ignoring what we're doing is well having a dialogue about this is actually digging into

139it and opening up a discussion that's not ignoring anything. It's really us dialoguing and discussing each point so that we can weigh what you know what decision should be made about this. This is this is a dialogue that we're appreciating as new board members. It's what we've been trying to have as a dialogue. That's what you ran on. I got it. Now, I could tell you I've been listening to these people, the traveling people, since uh I think earliest meeting I have transcribed is like April of 2024. I think we've talked about it enough. We voted on it and we voted that we're not rescending it. So, we could talk about it all, but I don't think that's going to change. So, glad the records show that comment. Absolutely. And it was said by Eileen

140Pabone. P A B O N. You're out of order, lady. Thank you. Just say no. No worries. Okay. Um, so again, as a parent, it's a as a parent in the community, my concern, and this is what I raised ever since I started coming last year, is the concern about the way the policy is written, it just leaves that room for interpretation. It leaves that undue burden on the teachers. And we've talked about it at length and I've mentioned um different examples. Somebody brought up the contradiction between 5756 and 9240 which is the parental rights. Again, it does contradict the parental rights, right? I understand that per New Jersey, we have to protect the transgender students. We have to protect that community, of course. However, what that what the New Jersey um law does not

141indicate is that you have to withhold or you may withhold it from the parents, right? That's the the clause in there. That is the issue from a parental rights perspective and that is the reason why as much as we've voted on it, as much as we talked about it, we continue to bring it to light because as parents, it is our job to guide our children. It is our job to take care of them. And like I said before, I be d I'm going to I'll be darned if one of my children comes to a teacher and I don't find out about it. You can care nothing. that's fine, but at the end of the day, it's my job. Legally, it's my job. Everything else I get to be informed about their medication. Um, today

142I got a phone call and one of my kids wasn't feeling that well, but he didn't have a temperature, but they still had to call me anyway. They had a fall or they had a tantrum. I get a phone call. Something that is lifechanging, I better get a phone call. And that is a concern and that is the issue. The other thing I wanted to put on record Lucy, with all due respect, the word bigoted was used again this evening. I just heard it. So, we have to do something about the terminology. We have to do something. I'm looking forward to the board retreat because of that because I feel like we can have all these dialogues. We can have these conversations. We can agree to disagree without being disrespectful. Okay. One final note. I

143had a discussion with guidance and I was informed that if a student chooses to create that second file within 24 hours it appears in encourse so the parent would know thank you Lucy. So what's the point of the policy once again? Exactly. The point of the policy is to protect the students who don't want it. So, so my my question is because I I've been told time and time again, even if the if if the child says they don't want their parents to know, we're going to work with that child to get them there, right? They're edge cases when we talk about, you know, concerns of of violence or whatever, but again, teachers would already know. There are red flags already happening from those cases, right? So in those type of scenarios where we're already

144working with the kids in order to get them to notify their parents, what is the point of a policy that says we may not tell the parents? Why not resend that policy? And if if worst case scenario, consider amending or or not amending, sorry, because we can amend it. Consider adopting another policy where it removes that aspect. So something to think about that would be for discussion. Yep. Thank you. [Applause] So move second. All in favor? Hi. Hi. Hi.