Board of Ed General Meeting

001You have to take it out to check. That's fine. Yeah, that's on. Okay, great. Thank you. All right. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Oh, heat, heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. My head. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. What's your future? [Music] All right. I would like to call to order the uh meeting on April 25th 4th. 24th. Sorry, get ahead of myself. Chris, Mr. Jones, can you please call the role? Miss Barb, Miss Bower here, Miss Boroff here, Miss Brody here, Dr. Policowski here, Miss Ariani here, Miss Winkler, Miss Williams here, Mr. Murray here, four is present. Can we all please rise for the pledge of allegiance? The flag is ready. Allegian to the flag of the United

002States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. Well, we have some visitors this evening that seem very excited. So, we're going to skip ahead in the program to the Brunner third grade arts integration presentation. Stand up. We're going sooner than we expected. Squish, squish, squish. Yes. Well, we are very excited to be with you tonight and to share our unique journey. You can see behind you. All the slides we're giving you will be behind you. Uh our unique journey through KD Camilo's book, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulain. Our presentation tonight is titled Imagine a Different Ending. Through our weeks of reading this book together, uh we never intended to write a different ending at the end. That was

003not the plan. Um it happened because as we got to the end and we um found that we we loved her ending. It was wonderful. It was a surprise. It was it was just a wonderful ending. But we were taking time as a group to discuss all the different characters that had been in the book previously. And we started talking about well what happened to soand so and what happened to this character. And then as a group we just decided that perhaps we could write a different ending. And what we ultimately decided was uh a better ending with characters that gave an even more powerful ending to it. So what we will be doing tonight is showing you uh our process of of rewriting a famous book. Uh, and so we have some students that

004will first go through and give you a synopsis of uh what the original book was and then we'll be sharing with you illustrations that they did for our new version of the book and uh Mrs. Paul will be discussing the value of read alouds and how important they are in the program. And um we will ultimately I'll also be discussing what it was like to have 26 different opinions writing one book or writing one chapter. And it took a lot of discussion, a lot of compromise, even some voting. And I think we ended up with something that we are very proud of and we love the new ending. And it just so happens that when we sent it to Kate D. Camila, she loved it too. So we will start first with Isabella and we're

005going guys and we're going to just pass it down the line. Good evening. My name is Isabella. We are all in Miss Hall's third grade and I and have had the wonderful opportunity to work with prestitch. Tonight we want to share with you all about this wonderful book, Miraculous Journey of Edward Tuling that we've read this year and that sometimes we have to image if we could have a different ending. Good evening. My name is Laya. This is the beautiful story of a young China rabbit named Edward to Lane. Edward was a gift to a young girl named Abalene. Abalene loved Edward so much, but as we learned about Edward, we learned that he loved no one or anything but himself. He lived a very spoiled life. The family went on a cruise and Edward

006was thrown overboard. Edward's journey began. He found himself at home with a fisherman and his wife and then he was lost again. Edward went to live with an old man and his dog and then lived a happy life together. But then he was lost again. And then he was found by an old man who made him a scarecrow until he was rescued by a little boy who knew he'd be perfect for his sick little sister. Hi, my name is Chloe. As Edward's journey continued, he started to feel differently. Each stop on his journey made him better. These people all needed him in different ways and he started to feel empathy and love towards others. He changed. Unfortunately for Edward, he was damaged and was put back together in a fancy doll store. Edward hurt being

007away from all his people he learned to love and that he never was given the chance to say goodbye. Good evening. My name is Alice. The book ended in a wonderful way that left us all surprised and happy for one of the characters. But as we talked about the ending and how it made us feel, we wondered what if the story ended differently. Did we all really think that Edward should have been should have ended up being with the person that he was with? And then we said, what if we could write an ending that had a different person getting him? Because as a group as as great as the ending was, we all felt that there was a voice that wasn't heard enough and that was Bryce. So, we spend a lot of time

008in our class doing amazing readalouds and the amount of discussions that come from eight-year-olds and how indepth those conversations are is very touching and moving. It's like you really wouldn't believe that these people are eight. You know, they have such insight and such important things to add to conversations, right? Yes. It's true. It's true. Like sometimes I look and I'm like, "Oh my gosh, could they really have that much wisdom in them already at this age?" You know, it's So, we love readaloud time. It's a very quiet, special time in our room that we really try to get to every day. um and that we include everyone and those beautiful minds come together and just really touch all of us. Yesterday we were discussing this and about there's some very difficult things in this story

009and a death and how uh Mrs. Paul has made her room such a safe place and they all have so much respect for each other that we could handle crying in front of each other. We could handle different opinions. It was a really wonderful process. When this book was first um given to me, the person that gave it to me was a former media specialist and she's like, "Mrs. saw. She's like, "You might want to read the book ahead of time because something really sad happens and you might not want to read that to the kids." And I was like, "Oh my goodness, what could happen?" Well, I didn't read it to myself first. I read it the first time to everyone. And I told the kids, "Someone said we should skip a part. We're

010going to I'm not going to tell you. We're going to learn about it together." And, you know, we all cried together. Um, and then I said, "Should I have skipped any of that?" And they were like, "How could you have skipped any part?" Right? So, it's it was beautiful. Um, our PTA was very generous and gifted us the opportunity to have a live author visit with Kate D Camilo and a lot of her books are sad, right? They are sad and that was brought up in that conversation with her and she said she wants us all to grow and to know that sometimes in life things happen but we have a community around us that helps lift us. So there's no way that that part could not have happened in the book, right? We grew

011more because of that. And not only did we grow, but the book is all about Edward Tulain, this puppet who goes from being very unfeilling to learning all kinds of emotional growth things. And as we watch Edward grow and discuss it, they they too grow. So all right, here's J. So, what we're going to do now is show you um the slides of and you'll have to turn around. Uh these are illustrations that the students did to the new sketch that they wrote. Uh part of this process was to um be able to have write with continuity like we had to get part of the middle of the book inserted and we had to be able to keep um Deep Camilo's flow and Deep Camilo's voice in our thoughts and all these discussions were very

012um important and Good evening. My name is Judith. Once we decide to add a new entry, we also want to add some additional illustrations to go along with our new. This slide was illustrated by Isabella. It shows them looking up at the constellations and finding comfort in this. Lawrence was the first loving male in Brit. Good evening everyone. My name is Jane T. Poor Bryce just didn't have anyone that cared for him. Hi, my name is Aean. In this slide that was illustrated by Alice, you will see that Bryce is all grown up. He had a daughter named Ruthie. We named her that in memory of his sister Sarah Ruth. Keithy Camilo mentions his eye color in the story, so we wanted to include that with the new version. Hi, my name is Nick and

013this is Skyler. Good evening everyone. This slide was drawn by Luke and it shows that the seasons just came and went spring, summer, fall, and winter. And the seasons just kept coming. And poor Edward waited and waited. And then he waited some more. But no one came for a very long time for him as he waited on a ship all by himself. Good evening. My name is Aana and this is this picture is illustrated by Taylor. We notice in this book as in as well as as well as in her other books she repeated. We thought that he would pass this habit on to his daughter and our revised chapter ended. We also noticed that Edward constantly looked for the stars because he found comfort in their life. We noticed that this reputation was important.

014We tried to include it in our new addition too. Some things that we wanted to include some symbolism where there was a there was a pocket box that Edward carried everywhere and when he was thrown overboard, Aene hung the pocket box around on her as a necklace as a reminder of Edward and even that and even in that time when they were separated, it would show that she would love him. We noticed that Bryce always had a harmonica in in his hand in the older version, so we wanted to include that in our new story, too. Hi, my name is Charlotte. This picture was illustrated by Miles. This picture shows Edward after he was English and he's waiting for waiting and waiting for someone to Hi, my name is in this slide you will see

015that Edward went to live and as he went to each new person his name was changed. He was given the baby jingles by the fish little girl that really needed him. Edwards was learned that being able to love others and love them looking back is important. The theme of the story it was about love and loss. Good evening. Good evening everyone. My name is Julian. This illustration was done by Sky. When Rey saw Edward on the shelf and took him for the shelf from the shelf, as soon as he felt his her arm around him, he was reminded of the girl that loved him so long. My name is Scott. In the picture, you've seen his dog Bryce and his daughter. And that we finally all realized that maybe Bryce should have ended up with

016that because he was the one who who lost the most and and Bryce and his sister probably probably made changing the Good evening everyone. My name is Sarah. This is my illustration that was picked for the new front cover. As you can see, this is Bryce remembering Edward the first time he saw him on the scarecrow pole. Bryce couldn't stand to see Edward up there and rescue him. I picked this scene because the words describing the scene really popped into my head. Bryce knew immediately that he needed to get Edward down from there and into his six sister's arms. I really think that the little sick girl is who really made Edward change and become a rabbit that loved someone else besides himself. Thank you very much for listening to us [Applause] all. Hold your

017book up so they can see. [Applause] So, Mrs. Prestridge and I would like to read you the words the children wrote for the new ending. Many years ago, kind old Nelly and Lawrence were feeling very sad since their children and their rabbid child Susanna were no longer with them. They were lonely. They missed having children around, so they decided to visit an orphanage and adopt a child they could help. While walking through the orphanage, Nelly and Lawrence spied a boy alone in the corner. As they approached him, the boy looked up at Nelly and Lawrence with hopeful sparkling brown eyes. At that moment of smiles, their family became complete. 8-year-old Bryce went home with Nelly and Lawrence to their little greenhouse. Life with them was sweet and beautiful. At night, when the sky was clear,

018Lawrence would take Bryce outside and teach him all about the night sky and the constellations, Cassiopia, Orion, the Big Bear, and many more. These nights made Bryce feel loved, safe, and protected. The years passed and life stayed as beautiful as the constellation, sparkling like diamonds in the sky. When Bryce grew older, he married a woman named Rose, and they had a beautiful baby girl and called her Ruthie. Her white blonde hair and hazel eyes flecked with the gold reminded Bryce of his beautiful little sister. Meanwhile, for Edward, sitting in the doll shop, the seasons went by. The spring and summer hot days, the fall colored leaves, the white winter snows. The cold breezes came into the shop and got Edward cold as he sat on the shelf year after year. "I hope someone comes," he

019thought to himself. Then one day, a day that was just like any other day, Edward ears perked up as he heard a familiar instrument playing softly in the distance. Gradually, the music became louder, as if it was coming towards Edward. Eventually, a man and his daughter walked into the shop. Edward didn't recognize the man, but the little girl certainly reminded him of someone that he knew long ago. An object fell out of the man's pocket, and it was something sparkly. Edward recognized the old yet still sparkling harmonica. Just as excitement was building in Edward, the man wiped his nose on his sleeve and began to speak. Ruthie, remember how I was telling you about Jangles yesterday? said the man to his daughter. At hearing the word Jangles, Edward's ears perked up again. Well, I first

020saw Jangles hanging on a pole like a scarecrow. I brought him home for my sister Sarah Ruth, who instantly fell in love with the rabbit, and she decided to call him Jangles. While her father was talking, Ruthie had begun wandering around the doll shop. Suddenly, she spotted Edward and they locked eyes. Ruthie called her dad to come see this rabbit. Edward noticed her hazel eyes with the gold specks, and now he knew who she reminded him of. She looked like Sarah Ruth of long ago. Edward was shaking and could hardly believe his ears and eyes. And this man who is talking about Jangles and Sarah Ruth must be Bryce. Only Bryce would know these stories. Edward was silently shouting, "Bryce, it's me, Jangles." Bryce looked up at the rabbit with the cracks on its face,

021and he felt a quiet warmth and joy come over him. Jangles, you must be Jangles. Bryce took Edward down from the shelf. Bryce remembered what it was like to sit and wait for someone to come and pick you and love you. Bryce handed Edward to Ruthie. Instantly, Edward recognized the gentle but fierce hug. Sarah Ruth had loved him just like this. Edward's heart was bursting with joy and hope. Once, oh marvelous once, a rabbit found his way back to the little boy who long ago and now again saved him with a family's love. The end. So, you know, we had a a had a talk about writing letters, right? And I said, "Let's write a letter to Kate D Camilo and send her our ending." You know, but we also had to preface that with

022we really, really, really loved your ending, right? But, you know, like as teachers, we we kind of have to push it sometimes, right? So, like they were very worried about hurting her feelings. I mean, I think I wrote it like we really really really really really loved your ending. You know, we didn't want to insult the artist, right? But we just explained that as beautiful as her ending was, there was a voice that just wasn't heard enough. There was somebody that was forgotten. And you know, we had so many discussions about this little boy that after some negotiation, you know, we came up with that we should write about Bryce and his new ending for him. So, we wrote to her, she sent us a letter back. There's a picture of her with her dog.

023Um, and then here's her response. And you know I told it because I know this is genuine because I have met her and she's some signed some of our books that that is really her writing. Um so we you know at the end it says your ending and end ending to Edward's story is beautiful and so are your pictures. So it was really you know a sweet glow card that came for us that we were all so happy about getting. So we're very proud of you guys. [Applause] So we have to the board if you have any questions you want to ask the kids anything um we thought we would entertain a few questions right I think if the kids could come back to the seats that sounds great um I So if they have

024any questions and you feel like you might want to ask answer the question, you can just raise your hand or something and we'll call you up. But don't feel pressure. So we leave it to you. If you have any questions about the process, about readalouds, because it is a really significant part of our day. Go right ahead. I just want to thank you all for coming. Uh first of all, we love when when when you're from the students. That's why we're we're here. And uh I just want to say thank you for coming. It's not easy to get up in front of a group and share your art or writing. So you all showed a lot of courage in doing that. And I could not believe that that writing was from a group of third

025graders. That was incredible writing. And I was just wondering how long this this project took. all of the discussion and rewriting and illustrations you developed. How long did you work on this? Uh, a few months. Julian, do you want to answer this? You could stand up. You can stand. Uh, kind of like kind of like at the beginning of the year through like until Januaryish. That's a good estimate about reading it because it was just a book that we constantly even though it's a shorter book like we would read a little and then have to stop and talk so much about what's going on. But then the writing process probably took about two months because Mrs. Prestridge would come once a week, you know, in the little time that we can kind of fill her

026in in our busy schedule. I think it's amazing how you took something that somebody wrote and you you reflected on it. how you felt about it, how it made it made you think and feel. And so, um, I really appreciate that. I think it turned out incredibly. Thank you for sharing with us. I'm curious, uh, if you had different favorite characters and if anybody wants to talk about who their favorite character was in the story. Skyler, you want to stand up? My favorite character in the book was probably rice because it shows that he was he was going through hard times in his life and it just shows people who are going through stuff that they can do it and that they should Thank you. Anyone else want to talk about a favorite character? Laya.

027Um my favorite character is because he teaches us how it's hard having a life without a job, a bed to sleep in and company even though he has his lovely seat. And I think it's nice that we he'll bring him up in her books. Thank you. Anyone else? Natalia. My favorite character in the book is ever because it shows that no matter how many hard [Music] Thank you. Skye, go ahead. My favorite character is also Edward because it kind of like shows that like even though like you're like really spoiled and mean that doesn't mean your heart can change and stuff. Thank you, Chloe. Mine is Lucy because I love dogs. Good reason. My favorite character because even though she was really sick and she was going through a really hard time, she tried to

028stay positive. She did. She had a good brother, right? She did. Go ahead. Uh just those answers alone, I am so so impressed and you can just see how much you've all learned in this one process. Of course, I have so many questions for you, but there's limited time. Um, how Okay, so you have how many students we're working on? 24. 24. Was it hard choosing making your final choices and like it's sort of like which direction does this go in? Right. So, someone want to share what the hardest decisions were? Anyone want to speak about the process of that? Let's see. Let's go with Alice. Probably the beginning was like the hardest part because some like there's one group like you split into groups to figure out the ending. So there's one group who

029um kind of did most of the beginning of the final product. So, but then other groups kind of wanted it to be like I don't know it was kind of totally different but we just we compromised right after some negotiations and really thorough listening right Sarah I think the beginning was the hardest because like my group we didn't know where to start and changing someone's beautiful work Right. That was a hard part, too, that we knew that these were beautiful words that she wrote, but All right, let's see. How about Sky Cat? Um, I feel like kind of in like the middle was kind of the hardest because like you needed to kind of like write what you wanted to like say to her like for the letter and stuff because like you don't want

030to say something to like say like you didn't really like it or something and you need to agree on like with the whole class. you in like in separate groups and all like they all need to like be like like like they all need to agree on something but you didn't want to say something that like offend her and like she wouldn't want to do it right and I would say just to add on that thank you to the PTA for this seems like an amazing collaborative effort for our for our PTA and I'm sure those that are watching at home they'll be thrilled to see this amazing work you guys Congratulations. Thank you. I just want to I just want to thank you for teaching me something tonight because this is a book that

031I read a long time ago now and it reminded me that a book is like an old friend and I can go back and read that book again. I'm going to do that now because you reminded me of how great that you could change the ending. Yes. In your spare time, you can just do that. And I I would just like to say I did have the opportunity to visit this class when you were in action of really in in your groups working on your endings. Um really debating which which ending would uh you know be be the one and and just the the level of engagement, the intensity, the teamwork, the collaboration, it it was really incredible. And now to see where you brought it and to see your final illustrations, it it's really

032it's really something that makes me SPF proud. So, thank you for coming tonight. Thank you. [Applause] You don't have to stand. [Music] [Applause] [Music] I am the doctor. I'm sorry. [Music] All right, we'll continue now with um the report section, executive session report. Uh we went through personnel, h suspension, detention, legal status report. Uh board president announcement. The New Jersey open public meeting law is enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and attend the meetings of public bodies in which the business affecting their interest is discussed and acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of the actual board of education has caused notice of meeting be published by having the date, time and place there posted the board of education offices located 313 South Avenue, New Jersey. Such notice

033was also provided and written forward forwarded to the evening county hawk star led German Township clerk in scotch plains clawood in the annual regular schedule notice public meetings as adopted April 25th 2024 revised August 274 uh we have one addition to the agenda and thank you so knowing you know the reason why a lot of people are here tonight I just want to emphasize is that I know that this week included difficult discussions focused on administrative changes including the decision to eliminate the position of supervisor of social studies and the position of communication technology specialist. These choices were made after considering budgetary constraints and um very large student needs. Our high school requires an additional assistant principal. Our child study team case loads have exceeded recommended maximums. We are well above the maximum in those

034cases and it is really difficult for those who are managing those cases as well as the the students and the families who who receive those services. Our middle school counselors are approaching a student ratio of 1 to 450. Every counselor has 450 students in their case load. Addressing these needs is critical to support our students. Due to current budgetary restraints and uncertainties surrounding future funding, adding any position necessitates the removal of others. If I need to add things, I have to give things up. And I assure you that that's hard. I don't think any one of you would want to do that. Prioritizing student needs is always our core mission. You know, because we all are taxpayers. Taxpayers contribute a significant portion to our school budget and are providing additional support through the referendum. We

035can not see the future. However, just listen listening to current news, reading papers, just being plugged into what's happening in our society with the uncertainty of federal and state funding. Future school budgets may require additional difficult choices. These kinds of decisions are painful for everyone, but we need to work together to meet these economic challenges. Unfortunately, we can see hard economic decisions happening across the country and happening in New Jersey. I ask and need your support during these difficult times and the new challenges that we are facing. So, thank you for being here tonight. I know you're here because you care very much. Thank you. Um I just want So, for my report, I just want to talk about the reference. a lot of uh resolutions on the agenda um to kick off really kick

036off the referendum uh execution process. So, one of the big things that we wanted to focus on is commun communication to the community. So, look forward over the next month. We'll be taking the referendum website that we use to give information on the vote. That's not going to turn into a what's in process or referendum. So, we'll give a status update of where we are on projects, what's happening, pictures, things of that nature, and we'll be uh have a social media plan to get information out so everybody's well informed how your tax money is being spent. Um, so look for that to come. We're excited to to kick off these projects. It's going to be a lot of work, but uh I think it's going to be worth it for everyone here. Student repo back

037in Greece. Okay, so we just started the fourth parking period in the district. Um after coming back from spring break, we currently for seniors at the high school, we have senior project coming up starting May 19th. And right before spring break, seniors gave their presentations to their cohorts and their cohort leaders on their ideas and are currently waiting awaiting final approval. Last night at the high school, we hosted district coral night and district band night. And we have vocal and band and jazz performances from high schoolers, middle schoolers, and fourth graders. And that's a really cool night getting to perform with kids of all ages in the district and seeing how strong our music department is here. Also in the music department, we had our Virginia Beach trip earlier this month, um, which was a

038lot of fun and both of our bands and choirs won a lot of awards competing there. And coming up next week, May 1st, is commitment day for seniors. So both seniors are finalizing their plans for next year in the future. So So as for AP testing, a lot of juniors and seniors are starting AP testing in early May. So students are stressed, but they're trying to study for these exams this early May. We also have prom. Prom tickets have been sold for junior prom and seniors have their upcoming senior prom, I believe June 21st. We also have sports, so track boys and girls are heading into their championship season. And we have over 35 girls on our flag football team and are having a great season so far. We also have our senior honored um

039will be in the top seed in the county for boys tennis and his championship starts on April 30th. We also have baseball, both lacroses and softball starting their counties in early May and should be within the top six seeds in each sport. Thank you both. Uh we have one other uh instructional update. Uh it's our QAC presentation. I believe Dr. Hines. Good evening. I will be uh I will be quick here. Um so the uh we were required to have the high school a corrective action plan for addressing chronic absenteeism. Uh for 2023 24 there were uh a little more than 10% of chronically absent students from our 9th and 10th grades. Uh and across the board for all four grades the students with chronic absenteeism had uh a particularly high rate among those those

040those smaller groups of folks which brought our overall numbers up uh higher. uh our economically disadvantaged students with disabilities and multilingual learners had about double the average for uh the for for for each of their grades. So with that we uh need to both uh acknowledge what we are already doing and what additional steps uh we would take as part of that plan. So I'm speaking on behalf of myself and uh Christine Hayissi our director of counseling uh wellness and and uh counseling health and wellness. the two of us were charged with putting this together. So, first of all, the attendance uh uh officer that we have in our building keeps daily student attendance. When a student is absent for two blocks and has not we have not heard from the parent, our attendance office

041calls home to verify the absence. In addition, after any time there's been six unexcused absences or tardies to any of our blocks, uh a letter is sent home and if the absence continues, a meeting is arranged involving the student, parent, our assistant princip, one of our assistant principles, uh counselor and attendance, uh officer to figure out what are the barriers to the attendance and provide support and a formalized plan is compiled. In addition, attendance numbers can make students ineligible for things like proms, senior projects, field trips, and athletic events. And also, we have conducted home visits involving uh uh stakeholders such as counselors, case managers, ESS clinicians, assistant principles, and the principal as well. So, what are additional steps that we have for this corrective action plan? one, as we would always do over the

042summer, but we'll certainly be be addressing here, uh, a school review of our practices for communicating chargeable absence numbers, attendance policies, and loss of credit parameters so that students and families are always able to see and appreciate the limits. Secondly, stronger enforcement of student removal from extracurriculars and field trips. That's an area we can improve upon to when students see that they are actually being truly being removed from those activities which has happened with with things like the senior project. There's a stronger motivation among students to be present and to avoid losing privileges. An additional step is to address attendance policies in depth with freshmen at the beginning of the school year to clarify the importance of being present to avoid losing credit and working toward good attendance habits. In addition, uh meeting with every

043student who has five or more absences by November 1st with parents present as well, taking that sort of proactive approach to address potentially troubling attendance patterns and also to reach out uh in September uh at least by phone to every parent of a student who has had two absences by September. Studies show that two absences by September can uh quite likely be a strong indicator of chronic absenteeism. So, we will continue to address this. is uh always at the front of our focus and will continue to be. Thank you. All right, we are going to move now to uh 2526 school budget. So we have uh open public comments for um the proposed tenative school budget that was presented. no changes from that tenative budget for us to adopt this evening. So if anybody has

044comments specifically on the school budget, you can come to the mic, state your name on which you Good evening, Dr. Mass, members of the board of education. I am Andrea. I have been an educator in the Scotch Prince family community for over 30 years. I have taught some of your children. I have taught some of you. I have been asked to speak for our social studies department. Sorry, just Yes. public comment is is after this. This is just on the school budget. You said public comment. I will sit for the school budget. You sure you don't want me to continue? No, but you can be the first one. I'm sorry. No problem. Public comment will be literally right after this. Not a problem. We just have to do the budget first. [Music] Budget related, isn't

045it? Pretty sure it's a budget comment came out of that. It's not it's related to the proposed school budget for next year which has already been presented. That is not that is personnel related. That's not school, but it's budgetary budgetary. That was the excuse. Y don't have the money to if we can. Is there anybody on the school budget? I I understand your point, but is there anybody on the proposed budget because that is up for final adoption tonight. Any comments on the budget and then we'll help you write that down. Not okay. the uh Gary Morris fan. Um the budget that you showed uh the last time regarding the enrollment figures was very confusing because the in the beginning of it, it switched where the fifth graders were in terms of which school. So,

046I'm just thinking maybe that should be corrected for the for the final budget because the numbers all of a sudden you see the numbers explode in one school and then go down in another school. It's kind of confusing. That's all. Thank you. Anyone else on the budget? Then we'll close the public budget. The budget specifically. Okay. So, do we have a motion to adopt the 2526 school budget? Bro, we have a second. Second, Williams. Miss Bower. Yes. Mr. Borov, yes. Miss Broy, yes. Dr. Paulowski, yes. Miss Serani, yes. Miss Williams, yes. M. Yes. Motion passes. We'll now be in the first public comment section in accordance with the Scotch Wayne's family public school bylaws 164 through 165. The meeting will be open for 15 minutes for public comments. Maximum three minutes per speaker. Speakers addressing

047superintendent items. Business functions without the board business will be heard first. If time remains, speakers may address other items. Speakers, please state the full your full name and the town in which you reside. Please note boards use the public comment period as an opportunity to listen to citizen concerns, but do not debate issues or inter question and answer session or cross-examination between the public and the individual members. Be aware that not all issues brought to the board will be resolved that evening. Boards may respond to public comment by speaking, seeking additional information or by delegating the authority to investigate the issue to the superintendent or your design. So now I will open up the first public comment section for 15 minutes. Well, now my joke's not going to land. Dr. Mask and members of the

048board of education. I am Andrea Veronic. I have been an educator in the Scotch Plains family community for over 30 years. I have taught some of your children and I have taught some of you. I have been asked to speak for our social studies department to express our grave concern for the elimination of the supervisory position of social studies. Can my colleagues please stand? We recognize the dire financial situation schools across our state have been facing and are sympathetic to the difficult decisions that have to be made. However, we fail to understand the cost-saving benefit of eliminating a content supervisory position in favor of adding an assistant principal. Even if there was a savings to be had, the opportunity cost of cutting an administrator that oversees and leads our content area is too high. The

049high school social studies program accounts for seven advanced placement courses and seven elective courses in addition to our core courses. The entire social studies department um uh middle and high school bears this responsibility to de to teach statemandated curriculum including Holocaust and genocide studies, financial literacy, LGBTQ and disability history, diversity and inclusion, and information literacy. Furthermore, social studies teachers are asked to speak to our classes about important events as they happen in our country. We have been adaptable, learning as much as we can in a short period of time and providing vital information for our students as well as being an outlet for them. This is attributed to the leadership resources and discussion techniques that we learn in our professional development sessions at the direction of our supervisor. Create [Applause] Creating a leadership void in

050vital content areas creates a disconnect in the articulation of our curriculum as well as reading, writing and oration skills from the elementary to the middle school to the high school. Without specialized leadership, our curriculum will become stale and outdated. While other content areas continue to progress, our department will become a secondass subject without any representation to the administrative team where every other content will have an advocate. We will cease to receive meaningful professional development from someone that knows the inner workings of our community, our department, and the specific needs of our students. We will be illprepared to in to include new state mandates and district initiatives that are undoubtedly on the horizon. Noel Baxter, a leader in the social studies community, notably as president of the New Jersey Council social studies supervisory association, is a

051consumate professional with 16 years of dedicated experience to the district. She has been unrivaled in her expertise and support of this department, single-handedly developing programs such as an exploration of the Tuskegee Airman. She has spearheaded multiple district initiatives, including the renaming of Nettingham Middle School and supports our new teachers as they begin our the journey in our district. I'm almost done. We w we are all the better for it. Her absence will be a tremendous loss. [Applause] We understand the challenges of running a school district are far greater than one content area. However, we wish to strongly express to you that creating a leisure leadership void in our content or any content area undermines the support systems we teachers rely on, lessens the consistency which our students need to thrive and limits our ability to

052reach the standard of excellence you have come to expect and our students deserve. Thank you. [Applause] I'm sorry. Thank you everybody. I I appreciate everyone standing. Uh just if we could so that other people could see uh please so the people in the back could see the speaker. Thank you. I'm the evergreen librarian media specialist and I am standing before you today representing all the librarians here in our district. Together we wrote a statement about the dismissal of Baxter. The librarians of the Scotch Plain School District are deeply concerned about the recent decision to dismiss Mrs. Baxter as our K12 library supervisor. A move that not only impacts our team but also undermines the essential role of school libraries in for in fostering informed, literate, and civically engaged students. Throughout her tenure, Mrs. Baxter has

053been a steadfast advocate for our elementary, middle, and high school librarians. She has provided consistent professional support, ensured alignment with educational standards, and champion the critical role of librarians in student learning. Her professionalism, vision, and unwavering support have helped us to reach grow us grow in our roles and serve our students more effectively. At a time when the political climate increasingly challenges the access to diverse information and the teaching of civ civics, the presence of a knowledgeable and supportive librarian supervisor such as Noel is more important than ever. Libraries are not places just for books. They're foundational to the development of critical thinking, media literacy, and civic awareness in our students. We need leadership that understands this and is equipped to navigate these complex challenges. We respectfully urge district leadership to reconsider this decision and

054to recognize the invaluable role of a K12 library [Applause] [Music] supervisor. Noel plays such a strong role and she helps us to maintain We respectfully urge the district leadership to reconsider this decision and to recognize the invaluable role of a K12 library supervisor plays in maintaining strong, equitable, and future ready school libraries that serve our diverse population of students across the district. Thank you. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Kate Vanderhaven. I live at 598 West Court in Scotch Plains. I am a lifelong resident of Scotch Plains and Bwood and I've also taught elementary school in the district for the past 19 years. Tonight, I approached the board as a concerned parent and educator. I felt it was my civic responsibility to speak to the board and community tonight. With respect to my middle school

055and high school colleagues as an elementary teacher, I wanted to share my from my perspective how devastating a loss of not only Mrs. Baxter is, but also how substantial the loss of a social studies supervisor is for our community. Our district uses social studies live for some of the content our students explore. Mrs. Baxter is instrumental in supplementing most of our content. Certainly the most meaningful it meaningful content is a direct result of having a social studies supervisor and in particular having a social studies supervisor of the quality of Mrs. Baxter. The social studies curriculum for elementary students has been designed with grace, thoughtfulness, and consideration for all students and community members. That in large part is due to the incredibly important role of our social studies supervisor, Mrs. Baxter. A social studies supervisor at

056the elementary level is like a master gardener. Not only do they plant seeds, but they also weed the garden, fertilize it, and respond to the changing environmental situations in a timely manner. A so social studies supervisor weeds the curriculum by reviewing content and removing contents, topics that are no longer relevant. They fertilize by adding lessons and resources for teachers such as discussion prompts and techniques. and they respond to the changing climates by being responsive to current events and leading teachers and how to appropriately teach into those situations and topics. I consider myself a better teacher today due to Mrs. Baxter's leadership and guidance guidance. Sorry. She has taught elementary teachers how to have tough conversations at developmentally appropriate levels. Yeah. Yes, she has. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] We have worked together on numerous projects throughout the

057years. The most recent one being the development of a heritage month in cultural lessons for teachers to use at the lower and upper elementary lesson level levels. If this position is eliminated, what will happen to the work? It would be a missed opportunity not to speak on behalf of what an important position a social studies supervisor is for our school district's future and to also highlight the quality and caliber Mrs. Baxter has brought to that role for her many years of service at SPF. Thank you for your [Applause] time. My name is Amber Jarrett. Um, I live in Woodbridge, but I am a a teacher in the district. I have been for 13 years in preschool and kindergarten. Um, so I actually want to start by telling you about a book that I just read

058in my class this week. Um, it's called One Boy's Choice. And in this book, this little boy is going fishing with his grandfather in the Amazon. And he's super excited. He tells these other boys about it, and they kind of roll their eyes. They're like, "Whatever." They ignore him. So, he's upset. He's determined. I'm going to get a big fish. I'm going to show them, you know, how cool I am, whatever. So after hours of floating on this river with his grandfather, they pull this net and they've got the biggest fish this kid's ever seen. And he's like pumped. He's like, "I'm going to go show these kids. They're going to think I'm awesome, whatever." And his grandfather says, "No, we have to throw it back. That's an arowana fish and that's, you know, the

059father." And the father shows them in the mouth. He carries the babies in his mouth. And he's like, "If we take this fish, all of those babies will die." And he's like, "This fish is super important because they eat mosquitoes and that, you know, the mosquitoes carry diseases that infect our people." And the boy's like, "But he's so big, you know, and I want to show my friends." And the grandfather says, "I'm going to leave it up to you. You get to decide." So, I stop reading it and we start talking about it. And I listen as five and six-year-olds debate the benefits of individualism. Like, you know, the benefits I'm going to show these kids how cool I am and stuff versus collective responsibility and our impact on not only our environment, but on

060other people. I have that book in my classroom because of Noel Baxter and because of a PD that I did with her a few summers ago. And while Noel might not physically be present in my classroom, she can be found there every day. She persists in the materials that provide the windows and mirrors that we claim to want to provide to our [Applause] students. Alen ensured that every kindergarten classroom had multicultural dolls, art materials, and books. When we transition to full day, she persists in the lessons that I teach. We have a program from an outside vendor, but Noel has been instrumental in ensuring that that curriculum actually aligns with our values and beliefs. Social studies lives may be one of the better curriculums available, but no commercialized social study pro sorry can't talk social

061studies program is ever going to reflect the uniqueness of the local context or adequately address current events as they happen. Noel has continually sought opportunities to supplement and revise these lessons. She's created lessons to respond to current events, and she's identified lessons in the program that are problematic and and inaccurate and has provided alternate resources to use in the classroom. She works tirelessly to ensure that tragedies such as the murder of George Floyd are addressed in ways that are developmentally appropriate and foster the development of empathy and the ability to identify and address injustice. She's led initiatives such as creating discussion guides for teachers when using multicultural literature in the classroom and creating additional lesson lessons to address climate change. Again, providing teachers with books and resources and in addition to all the professional development

062that she provides on topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion. So, as you know, most of us know, given our current current political climate and the uncertainty of our nation and planet's future, now more than ever, we need to make sure we're developing citizens who respect and have empathy for others, who are knowledgeable about current events, who are able to learn from history, and who understand global connectedness. With all due respect to my colleagues in middle and high school, I would argue that elementary teachers are going to have the most to lose with this decision. or district espouses these commitments to windows and mirrors and you know making a concerted effort to incorporate explicit instruction on topics that affirm the identities and experiences of marginalized groups. That's Noel's job and we don't have [Applause] Is the

063public comment period over? No. Oh, okay. I don't think this is working, so I'll just leave it. My name is Lauren Roblin. I live at 123 Farley Avenue in Fanwood, New Jersey. I am a lifelong resident of Fanwood, and I have been a district employee for over 25 years. Members of the board of education, I trust that upon receiving the communication from Dr. Mast dated April 23rd, 2025, you as representatives of the citizens, taxpayers, and parents of Scotch Plains Fanwood have a lot of questions. At the very least, I trust that you plan to ask what other options were considered before the decision was made. Before the decision was made to eliminate the district social studies supervisor and the technology communication specialist, I trust that you plan to ask who is included in the aforementioned

064decision-making process. I trust that you plan to ask for the rationale for adding another assistant principal to the Scotch Plains Fanwood High School. I trust that you plan to ask to review the data of high schools in Union County and the surrounding area with regard to the size of their student bodies and the number of assistant principles who support them. [Applause] I trust that you plan to ask if the administrators who are being moved from their current buildings were involved in that decision-making [Applause] process. I trust that you plan to ask for specifics about the new positions in special education and counseling. Thank you, Board of Education, for asking these questions and others and for representing the citizens, taxpayers, and parents of Scotch Plus Bandwood. [Applause] Hi, my name is Justin Miller. Um, I live

065at 2114 Aldine Avenue in Scotch Plains. Um, I'm actually not at my school's board meeting tonight so I could be here. I feel like I have a unique perspective as I'm a social studies supervisor in another district. Um, in fact, the reason I moved to Scotch Plains indirectly has to do with Noel Baxter. We were reviewing curriculum, your eighth grade big history project curriculum and Noel was nice enough to invite myself and a couple of teachers into Tyrell Middle School. I got to see the beautiful school. I got to see the curriculum, the instruction. We ended up adopting the curriculum and it played a major role in uh making our decision to move here. Uh so there's that piece. Uh, the second piece I like to say is that during the pandemic when my daughter

066was at home doing her remote learning in first grade, um, she was playing an asynchronous lesson that was designed and the voice narration for it was Noel Braxter for a first grade lesson for a child, a supervisor designing curriculum for all of our students. Um, and it's first grade. Um she has been an invaluable resource in the New Jersey social studies supervisors union um which supports every social studies supervisor in New Jersey. So in her role she's not only supporting her school but she's supporting the state. Um, it's baffling to me that in a district that has had so much parent involvement asking for more cultural responsiveness um, and uh, a more inclusive curriculum that you would consider allowing somebody on your administrative team who's one of the most senior members, I think you have

067non-tenured members on your team, walk off your administrative team. It's it's it's baffling to me that you would consider that um the message about showing that building administrators who you're saying are already under a staffed are supposed to be supporting teacher leaders and showing that there's going to be a social studies curriculum tells me that this district doesn't care about social studies. [Applause] um has shown up in support of Miss Baxter shows me that you have a pretty good teacher. I don't know my I have a daughter now at Terrell Middle School. There have been two incidents of swastikas this year. Um the Holocaust mandate from CUAC which you just presented is overseen by the social studies department. um that that's where you get scored on it in the curriculum. Um the Amastad mandate comes

068from the social studies department. The um teaching Asian American history and Pacific Islander history comes from the social studies department. LGBTQ history, what core class would you ever eliminate a supervisor in? you recognize the importance of having elementary and secondary supervisors for your tested subjects, your ELA and your math. So there's there's clearly in the job that curricular teachers, you know, that supervision does. So, I don't understand, you know, why we could not look, why we could not find some kind of way to keep somebody with the institutional knowledge of Noel Baxter in this district. Um, I want you to think about what happens when a building's uh administrator evaluates a lesson. They're usually looking first at procedures. They're looking at relationships with students. they're not going to have the content expertise to pick up

069on the nuance, possible microaggressions, sources that may have been left out. Um, and yeah, you may have an experienced and strong staff, but as you bring in new teachers and you seek to mentor them, relying on a teacher leader, a teacher leader, when they're looking at colleagues, the message gets colleague to colleague received a little bit differently um than when an evaluator is telling you what you should be doing. Um, I strongly suggest that you reconsider this decision and you find some other way to keep Miss Baxter in her administrative role and that you find some way to keep a social studies supervisor supporting your K to2 schools. I think that this time next year, um, you're going to regret it if you don't because of [Applause] I am Adrien Stack. I have been a

070teacher in the district since 2004. Um Brad Seagull is here. He was my first social studies supervisor who is a beacon of light for social studies education really spearheaded where this district should go with shining a light on all of our community. And when Brad Seagull left, Noel Baxter came in. And I cannot tell you what Noel Baxter has done for this department K to 12 by herself for all of these years. Everything that was just said about the initiatives she has led pales in comparison to anything I was exposed to in my K to2 experience. And that's not to knock anything in my home district growing up. But what Noel has done and what she has provided for your children, for our students cannot be replicated, nor can it be ignored. She has taken

071it upon herself to include all of our community in our education. not just in social studies alive but in making me personally a better teacher. Every time Noel has come in for me for an observation, she has praised me for what I have done well, but has also steered me in a direction that I did not even know existed. And that is because her expertise is second to none. And to say that that position does not exist in the Scotch Plains Fanwood community, I cannot accept. Social studies in our political climate must be acknowledged, must be cultivated. And the person to do that is Noel Baxter sitting right there. [Applause] the resources that she provides for staff. It it goes beyond anything you could dream as an educator. on a Monday morning at 6:55 a.m.

072you could wake up with a Google Slides presentation about AsianPacific awareness and you're like, "This is incredible. I'm going to use this to speak." And Noel, for me personally, I thank you for the education you have provided me and the students that I have had in my room because they are better for you and I am better for you and this district can not lose you. Correct. [Applause] You've already exceeded the rehears public comment period of time. There is another public comment at the at the end. Oh. Oh, wait. Okay. Uh, moving on to letters to the board. We have four emails we received from the by the board and the public and forward to the appropriate administrator and committee reports. I have two. Um, one is the finance committee. Um there was a number

073of items we discussed. It was the uh building purchase negotiations and that is on the agenda tonight. Uh health insurance update that we're moving to Sigma due to cost savings. The things on the agenda already are roofing proposals and we went over the roofing repair needs it purchases servers that are especially needed for the cab. Uh Aurora Bishop communications two proposals. Um first for the May June website updated and the second for ongoing updating of the website HVAC replacements. The Brunner pavilion uh resolution is sent to the state. Uh bond issuance um we discussed different options for the bond issuance. Chose the most cost effective option of splitting the bonds time 20 years and 30 years saving over 5.7 million in interest 20 years now 30 year and six months. Uh the referendum proposals as

074Mr. Jones stated project proposals are on the agenda. Um the high school courtyard architect proposal. This is to open the courtyard for students for lunch and you need a much larger area to do that. Lease purchases truck disposal and voluntary insurance offering to close the gap and coverage of short-term disability for the staff and across the district. and you review capital reserve projections. I'm going to move right on to community relations. Um we discussed teacher appreciation week and social media campaign. Discuss soliciting thank you messages from students and posting on social media. Um the postreerendum communications plan website updated with the project on our website survey target date. updated in May and uh good news for the superintendent on meeting discussed and um there were a number of different all right the curriculum committee met

075on April 1st there were five agenda items discussed I'll go through them um the first was the second and third generation Holocaust survivors program. Brief description. No else. Brief description of the program is um speakers from different families whose relatives were victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Um are going to be speaking to fourth grade classes throughout the district. um in all of our five elementary schools combined with fourth grade historical fiction unit during which students read a book that's set during the Holocaust and speakers share their family's experiences in a developmentally appropriate way and educate students about the Holocaust. Okay. The committee reviewed a recommendation that's on the agenda tonight for approval um regarding an AP biology textbook, a new AP biology textbook for the district. um the content the rationale behind the new

076textbook adoption is that the content of the AP test has changed and um the new text will align better with this content. Uh multiple texts were reviewed and biology for the AP course by EFW publishers was selected um for its its readability um and that students would understand and digest the material best. Again, it's on the agenda tonight. Um, and students, in addition to the cost of the text, students um will have um ebook access and we are recommending 100 books total to be ordered. The third item was a review of the STEM expo um which took place um for fifth graders and we were able to see a video montage of various students explaining their projects um and all all the projects examined a problem um that the students developed and then work together

077to develop a scientific solution. examples were hydraulic robotic arm, buoyancy and density. Um, a couple students developed homemade makeup. Um, and then one student research the impact of screen time on mental health. So, a variety of projects. The fourth agenda item we talked about, I'm sorry, there's six total. The fourth agenda item is um a discussion of AP principles of business pilot. Um SPF is taking advantage of an opportunity through the college board to pilot this new AP course. Um the first year will be the content. The second year the test will be piloted and as part of this course students will become financial adviserss and work with model clients incorporating business skills and interpersonal skills. The new course will integrate materials into the principles of marketing which is a class that we currently have.

078So, it'll be integrated into that course and be taught by uh Miss Fitz Gibbons um who will receive additional professional development and offer feedback to the college board regarding the course. Um and she'll be able to be part of focus groups and interviews as well um to give feedback about this new AP course. Um next agenda item is um just about SPFHS and its offerings in terms of business co-curricular activities. Um there is some redundancy between DECA and the FBLA clubs. Um so FBLA will be dissolving and DECA will remain for students that are interested in a business co-curricular. And the last agenda item is uh about the true mark AI pilot and this is justformational at this point. The districts has an opportunity to pilot AI integration tool which will help effectively utilize AI

079in the classroom. That's something we've been talking about for a couple years. How are we going to integrate AI effectively and help students and teachers uh learn to navigate AI in the classroom? So um without undermining critical thinking and um so this AI tool um that was founded by two Brown University alumni um and early data shows a clear correlation between the use of their socratic AI features and improved student performance with 94% teacher satisfaction. So this is going to be piloted in three classrooms, one at Terrell, one at Nettingham and one at the high school to assess the feasibility of adopting True Mark's integrated system full scale in 2526 and um again as being part of the pilot to offer feedback regarding the program. It's going to be free of cost and our next

080meeting is April 29th. Thank you. So, the facilities committee met on April 21st, and I want to thank u Mr. Christopher Jones and Nick Prudy for Profy for a very thorough um report. We um talked about the district lowered the cost estimate and saved 15 million in roofing. Um you I did not realize that our district has roofs the size of six football fields. 130 extension of booths is ongoing and um 21 million grouping repairs are needed and currently we're investigating strategies to address this. Um also the high school bathroom partitions were done over the spring break. We still have to um replace a lot of the sinks and we talked about the capital project capital projects update. Nettingham fire alarms were completed. high school outside stairwell was completed. Evergreen update. There was one minor

081door improvement that's still outstanding. Um there are lots of projects going on over the summer. Um one will be the ever evergreen summer 2025 evergreen storefront replacement. Um high school offices. We reviewed the architectural drawings and also the energy savings improvement plan ESIP. There's an energy audit to be kicked over the summer. Those were some of the um agenda items. Um high level questions. So the student activities and athletics met on April 10th. Um sorry I don't think I can see. Um so uh Dr. Hines joined us um and informed us that along with Miss Lockwood, they've created a student activities committee to help define how one starts a club, analyzed looking at existing clubs, looking for things that we don't have, things that overlap, something that we've been sort of saying that we were

082going to do for a while that we would love to see. So, um a lot of great outcomes came out of it. Um we developed a stronger peer t uh peer tutoring program. I originally in my nose up with counseling. So FYI was meant to peer tutoring program which is now offered three days a week. Um as mentioned previously we combine certain clubs that have the similar interests. Um we have better understanding of some active clubs that aren't stipened. Um club in mental health awareness. We've seen them and I know a few events events that they've had environmental club. Um, and we have some new clubs, an art club and a Morgan's message club. But some of the new highlights that I thought were, you know, that newer to the past is that uh the

083library now offers three days a week of board games. The gyms are open four days a week for during lunch for soft play. Lego play will be coming soon um during the week. And there's a new Raider relief fund that is actually going through a West Foundation. um just because of parameters, but um basically it's to support um our families in our district who are on um free and reduced lunch or who in need or anyone in need and donations can go through the foundation where it will hold the money. Um athletics, unfortunately, there's just been a ton of rain. Um this is from two weeks ago, so a ton of rain. Um our teams are off to good starts. Um a lot of little updates there. I think that um the other interesting thing

084that we've talked about a lot is just um the process for charging different sports and then when you're charging attendance at sports we discussed as well. Um and then clarification that the end of the year sports banquet is run through the boo boosters for final send off for the seniors. And any questions? Okay. Uh and the enrollment report and then do we have a motion to approve the schedule of board meetings for 2526 school year? Some move. Any comments, questions? All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. So, one is the out of district placements. I don't think we have any tonight. Okay. Two, the HIP reports from March 13th. Three, the field trip the field trip requests that are listed. Four, our nursing service plan for 2526. Five, the textbook adoption that Mrs. Heriani

085referenced in her curriculum report and six are comprehensive equity plan and seven the QAC corrective action plan for the chronic absenteeism that Dr. Hines reported on earlier. Do we have a motion to approve those items? Comments, questions, Miss Bower? Yes. Miss Borough? Yes. Burley? Yes. Powski? Yes. Missani? Yes. Miss Williams? Yes. Mr. Murray? Yes. Motion carries. So I would like to move that the board approves the personnel report that we discussed in exec. Motion second with the person. Any comments or questions? Power. Yes. Mor. Yes. Yes. Yes. Mr. Yes. Williams. Yes. Yes. Harris. Number one. Stop training. two related services. Three is our transportation agreement. We don't wait till June for this because it's too serious for pavilion. Uh five is a referendum proposals. Six, the high school courtyard discussed previously. Seven, uh the grand

086architects for the renovations. Eight is the communication referendum. Nine is purchase. We do it every year for purchase of our uh our yearly cycle of uh um computers. Uh 10 is IT purchases that we discussed. 11 switches roofing repairs that were discussed. 13 track replacements 14 purchase 15 health insurance that was mentioned. uh 16 voluntary insurance for extension bond issuance. I do just want to point that one out that we are by doing the 30 and the 20 years we are reducing the cost of the total bond by over 5 million over the life. So I think it's a real good win for everybody that we're able to to structure it that way. Um 18 purchase agreement for 330 South AP 19 tax schedules. 20 is disposing of uh the previous trucks we purchased last

087year that took almost nine months to come in. This is the so get rid of the old ones. Theater vendor that was missed in the previous meeting. Um library book disposal. Uh standard uh drill financial reports dispersement listings and payment of bills. Lots of stuff. Does anybody have any questions or comments? We have a motion to approve. Do we have a second? Any questions? Followups from the agenda when we first got it. Okay. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. Right. On to more policies. There are none minutes. Do we have a motion to approve the March 13th board for minutes? [Music] Moved off. Do we have a second? Anyone? Second. Williams. Any comments or questions? All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. New import business. Leaison reports. Any leazison reports? Uh I have a

088report from Garden State Coalition of Schools. Um, so as we've mentioned in the past, the Garden State Coalition of Schools is a statewide group of um that we're involved in and uh one one of the trying to influence and um uh make changes where we can with state legislation and so forth. um at our meeting this time this month uh was very timely because uh so many districts are reaching a fiscal cliff. Um and uh the guest speaker was um Victor McDonald who is a member of the Council on Local Mandates. Um, and most school districts, municipalities, and counties have never heard of the Council on Local Mandates. And um, New Jersey is the only one who has the Council on Local Mandates. Um, and it is a very unique thing because they can uh

089they're not they are not controlled by the executive, the legislative nor the judicial branches of the New Jersey government. So 29 years ago, there were several um um there were two important um topics of great discussion in New Jersey. It's part of the history lesson we got, but I think it's really interesting. Um and one of these uh was um a bill that would have right wiped away all previous mandates in the state of New Jersey. And um and then the other one was to create this council on local mandates. Um everybody apparently in the state, I didn't live in New Jersey at the time, was very concerned about this um uh elimination of every mandate. It would have whether it was to have um police officers trained. It doesn't matter what it what these

090mandates were, the slate was going to be wiped clean. So the focus was really on that that was defeated. Um but the Council on Local Mandates was passed with 65% of the New Jersey electorate. So what that means is it's to prevent unfunded mandates. If you've come to a lot of board of ed meetings over the years, you know that we're always talking about and one of the reasons we're members of Garden State is because of the unfunded mandates and trying to influence legislation as it goes through the process and and talk to people. Um but nevertheless um what people what people can do is go to this council and say this is an unfunded mandate and if they make a decision that it's unfunded it doesn't happen. So, for instance, with police cameras, um,

091at one time there was, um, uh, I forget which governor, it's probably in my notes, um, mandated, uh, police cameras. And, um, but this commission said you can't do that because you're not giving funding to the local departments. So, it didn't happen until the legislature mandated the funding. So um one of the things that we as Garden State Coalition because everyone's budgets are under such um pressure um that we're looking at and gathering data about is uh the um uh mandate for HIB because HIB investigations take a lot of manpower. um costs a lot of money, not just in our district, but across the state. Um and um uh it's not just manpower within the school district, it's for legal fees and and so forth. So um we're ga we're gathering data and that's an

092example. Um it's something concrete that's easier to share. Um but um I think it's important to know why we're a member of this group and it's important for the public to know that this is the kind of thing that we're always trying to do every way that we can. Um, and I will uh mention that uh too there were a number of other topics, different bills that are things that are happening in Trenton currently, the budget certainly um but um and and being prepared not to receive things like IDA funding and so forth. Um there also um is a bill related to uh charter schools and and I mentioned that because um a lot of um there are a number of districts that are having a lot of financial um challenges because of charter schools

093as well. Um and um if they close the districts that uh these charter schools are in have ended up with the liability of these of the schools. Um and what had has and hasn't been done because they're public schools and if if your students go to those to a charter school, all the per person funding goes with them. So, and that can happen quickly and you can lose a lot of money quickly. Um, one of the things the charter school bill would do is prevent um online schools where a lot of money per person money is being sent out of state. Um so it's not to be against Carter charter schools but to have um accountabilities in place that are similar to the accountabilities expected of other public schools. Um there's new test state testing

094that's coming next spring and of course there's no answers to all the questions related to state testing um or not yet. Uh and so uh that was just a sample of some of the things for the meeting. I think a number of people are signed up for uh the annual meeting in May. The commissioner of education will be speaking as well as a num several legislators. So uh it should be very uh interesting and useful for those who can attend. Thank you. Um I do not have an update on CPAD, but I would like to share um the special education parent advisory group meets monthly and their last two meetings are Monday, May 12th and excuse me, Mon Monday, June 5th, both at Ter Middle School. Both great opportunities to meet other parents and um

095become involved in SEAP. I just want to say one other thing about the council on local mandates. I think I wasn't clear if Garden State or another or district because I don't think Garden State can do it district filed when HIV was founded they this group said to them you can't do the HIV law but they gave them 60 days to come up with funding because there was no funding initially. They came up with a million dollars. That million dollars is long since gone. I think it was used up pretty much the first year. So really, it's been unfunded ever since. So that's the point I was not adequately making. Any other leazison reports? Any workshop reports? We have a motion to adopt the proclamation designated week of May 5th through 9th as teacher appreciation

096week. Oh, and uh National School Nurses Day. Second. We have a motion and seconded. Any comments or questions? All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. Okay, moving on. Second and final public comment of the evening. Accord Scots train with public school bylaw 01640165. The meeting will be open for 15 minutes for public comment. Maximum three minutes per speaker. Speakers addressing superintendent items business functions on the board. Business will be heard first in the time remains. Speakers may address other matters. Speaker state your full name in the town in which you reside for choose public time. Period. Has an opportunity to listen to assistant concerns but not to debate issues or enter into a question and answer session or cross-examination between the public and individual members. Be aware that not all issues that brought before the

097board will be resolved that evening. board may respond to public comment by speaking additional information or try delegating the authority to investigate the issue to superintendent for his or her designate. So I will now open it up to minutes. Brad Scotch Plains. So uh I will first open by um commending all of you and implementing the tough decision that you had to make. It's obvious so many people spoke of uh Miss Baxter and you know it was a really hard decision. At the end of the day though by reducing staff in some areas, consolidating roles and focusing more resources in special education counseling and high school administration, I truly believe that the district is prioritizing more of what our kids need at this point and I support these positive changes. So, speaking of personnel though,

098I do want to address the hiring of district personnel in general. Three months ago, as well as over a year ago, I read aloud anti-semitic and Holocaust denial dog whistle comments from a teacher at Evergreen. Now, I'm going to read inappropriate commentary from a substitute teacher. It is quite troubling to implicitly and/or explicitly single out or divide people based on skin color and ethnicity. Here are a couple of these inappropriate comments that have been posted on social media. Cancelled MLK Day. Cancelled Black History Month. Cancelled Gay Pride. Notice they didn't cancel St. Patrick's Day. What's more American than a bunch of drunks running around having sex with their cousins and taking the day to celebrate it? Well, it's also factually incorrect. MLK Day happened and was acknowledged. Black History Month happened and was acknowledged. And

099I can tell you for sure based on my own family members. Gay Pride is happening because my daughter's bot mitzvah is during that weekend. and I have gotten negative feedback about it from said family members because it's interfering with it. Here's another one. We can agree to disagree on anything and be okay. I don't like Mayo. That means white people, but I support LGBTQ plus rights. Is this someone who should be around impressionable adolescents? this individual is not a tenure teacher and hence it should be an easy decision to keep set individual away from our children. In summary, the district does need to improve some of its vetting processes whether it's a full-time teacher, a cluster teacher, or a substitute teacher. I also wanted to uh address testing. So, I do wonder if the district

100had any control over when to administer the NJ GPA tests for high school juniors. Having this test during the week when we just moved the clocks forward put these kids at a severe disadvantage. Teenagers circadian rhythms are already not ideal for standard school hours. Then they get tested during the week that their bodies are first adjusting to one less hour of sleep. This is not acceptable. And I hope that in the future if the district is not in control of these dates that the district pushes back. and if the district is in control that the district does better for these kids. Oh, one more thing. Is it a violation for a board member to utilize a fake social media profile to engage with the public about public pending BOE issues and private issues held in

101executive sessions? Thank you. Gary Morris, Fanwood. Um, I ran across a a book that is apparently in this library as we speak. It's it's a book called Lucky by Alice Seabold. And this is the description uh of the book. The author tells the story of her violent rape at the age of 18, her accidental sighting of her attacker six months later, the resulting trial and conviction of the man, and the trauma she suffered for years afterwards. This so graphically describes in this book so graphically describes a rape that it received a five rating out of five on a book review uh for adult content with a warning that if you read parts of this book out loud in a public meeting, you could be arrested. Therefore, I will choose not to read it. Now, the

102interesting thing is after the book was published, she paid a million dollars uh millions of dollars as an author. Something else occurred. They were going to make a movie about it. In 2021, the executive producer found discrepancies in the book and the court case. The author of the book actually states in the book that she picked the wrong man out of the lineup and yet he was convicted anyway. The movie producer hired a private detective and was able to prove that the person convicted of the rape was in fact innocent. Anthony Broadwater was officially exonerated after serving 16 years in prison and many more years as a registered sex offender for a crime he did not commit. The producer went on to describe Anthony Broadwater as the modern-day EMTT Till, the white woman who is

103the author of the book said, "He's the black man who raped me, and with almost no procedural process, he was sent to prison. His life was taken from him." Do me a favor. Can one of you read this book now knowing the rest of the story and tell me what the literary value is is in this book? Why is it in this library? The publishers will no longer even produce the book because of basically the egregious injustice. And I'll tell you one thing, this is really personal for me and I probably shouldn't be sharing it in public. My brother was falsely accused of something, okay? And it eventually led to his suicide. And I'm telling you, if something triggers me, this triggers me, okay? This needs to be removed from this library. Any other public

104comments? Seeing none, I will close the public portion. Upcoming meetings, we have a regular public meeting on uh May 6th at 7:30 in this room or 8:00 in this room. And then Tuesday, May 20th is staff institute of recognition. Then Wednesday, June 18th is the next public meeting. Do we have anything for the good of the order? I really appreciate having those lovely uh third graders here today. Sure. I just um haven't had a meeting in a while. Um my family was lucky enough to host one of the French exchange students for two weeks at the end of March and um what an opportunity. I know I think I saw that students well I think everyone has come already right Spanish students and French students and so a lot of families had this tremendous opportunity

105and I really didn't realize when you know the agenda was presented to us just how much work is done by the foreign language teachers in preparing such a thoughtful agenda for the students over the course of the two weeks and engaging all the family all of the communication and responsiveness. So, um I just want to thank all the foreign language teachers that that plan it. We learned so much from the students. She learned so much from us. It was a great opportunity. Um and for for French in particular. So, I just want to give a shout out to Ma Gilbert and Matt Oir for all their planning. I just want to congratulate the casting crew of Freaky Friday and is one of them. It was a fantastic show and everybody did a fabulous job. I

106I just enjoyed the the show tremendously. I wish it was on for two weekends instead of just one. I also extended this the STEM expo that Stephanie referenced and I thought there were other students besides fifth but a prepoundonderance of fifth grade students because I thought there was some seventh and eighth grade was there as well and that was excellent as well and Terrell hosted that. It was just well attended and the students were excellent. And then lastly, I went to a volleyball game with Dr. Masts and saw a very exciting exchange between the Scotch Plains and Westfield. Thank you. I followed up on that and yesterday went to the volleyball game, the boys varsity against Union and we won very quickly in the first two sets. Any other go to the order? We have

107a motion to adjourn. So second all those in favor I post return. Thank you everybody. Have a good night. I think very interesting. Sorry. Nice.