001You gathered to honor a man who did so much more for the students than what the job description reads. Walter Slazinski started with you in the seventh grade and he stayed with you since. Only Caucus kids can truly understand the value of the of a Caucus teacher. Congratulations, Walter, and congratulations to the class of 1977. [Applause] We would like to thank Mr. Vorhees for listening and being committed to seeing this honor through. Without him and his commitment, this would not have been possible. Thank you, Mr. Voes. At this time, I would like and I would wish to acknowledge classmate and friend Carl Heitzman for his initial idea to recognize and honor Mr. S. Now I would like Carl and all the classmates to come up next to us here stand with us to present this
002honor. Mr. S, I would also like you to come up. Walter Slazinski played an instrumental role in shaping the identity and legacy of Caucus High School. As the founding chair of the high school art department, he built the program from the ground up, establishing a rich and lasting foundation. Many of the programs and initiatives he created continue to thrive today, a testament to his vision and leadership. Beyond the classroom, Mr. S was a guiding force for students. He served as class advisor to the very first graduating class in 1977, mentoring them from their early days at Lincoln Junior High School in 1972. through to their senior year and a senior class trip to Mexico. Who in their right mind would take a 100 teenagers to Mexico? Mr. Swood >> and I brought them all back.
003couple came back early. >> under his guidance, the class led fundraising efforts, organized meaningful and memorable events, and engaged in charitable community service, setting a high bar for the classes that followed. Over a remarkable career spanning more than 40 years, Mr. S gave gave generosity of his time, talent, and heart. He consistently put his students first, often at a great personal sacrifice. He had a rare gift for recognizing potential and inspiring excellence in every student he taught and mentored. In addition to his decades of service to Caucus High School, Mr. S is a proud honorable veteran. Thank you for your service. His contributions to the school and the wider community reflect a deep commitment to service, integrity, and education. Recognizing Walter Slazinski is not just an honor, it is a responsibility. It is the very
004least we can do for a man that gave so much of himself and to see cuckers high school and to all of us. Thank you to his wife Be and his two children Brian and Kimberly. You'll never know how much we appreciate. Thank you. Nancy O'Keefe and Mickey and Rose is going to present the plaque that's going to hang outside the honor outside the art room in honor for Mr. S. [Applause] So, and the plaque says, "The Walter Sluetski Art Room, dedicated to Walter Slinski, founding chair of the Caucus High School Art Department in recognition of his vision, creativity, and more than 40 years of extraordinary dedication to the students. of Caucus High School. A beloved teacher, mentor, class advisor, and veteran, Mr. S. inspired generations and built a legacy that lives on through every
005brushstroke, idea, and act of kindness that fills this space. With deepest gratitude, we honor his enduring impact. Dedicated 2025. [Applause] I've been he was like that in school. I've been very fortunate all the years that I was a teacher, I had the uh the um good foundation of being in involved with Caucus Board of Education for 42 years being a teacher. I spent my entire teaching life working for the Caucus Board of Education. the administrators, the faculty, and of course my students made this possible, especially the first graduating class. They let me share their dreams and let me go to places that teachers don't usually get minute of it. I saw them to a point where they were almost like a second family and we did a lot of things together and we tried to
006um make things better for people that we we heard about, we read about and the class, the students were always there to raise money, raise fun uh raise funds, donate me. So, it was um it was it was a wonderful trip. Could you find a better job than I had? No. And and part of it was because the students were so involved and they they they listened and they had a direction. They shared their dreams with me which I thought was a a a wonderful thing. I tried to give them support and encouragement along the way when they were becoming leaders and as you can see they did a wonderful job. I would like to include students, faculty, and everyone that's here tonight to be part of this wonderful honor. And it truly is um
007I don't know if I could express my feelings, but um it'll probably hit me when I get home. So, I want to thank everyone. Thank you for being a part of my life. Thank you for being here tonight. I love you all. >> We love you. And in conclusion, I welcome all of you to join us at Biggies to continue with the celebration. Thank you. [Applause] I got to put it back. >> We got to send it back. >> Thank you all. Thank you everyone for coming out and congratulations to Mr. Sinsky on behalf of the board of education. a true a true honor and it's a testament to the amount of people that came out this evening um to the educator that he was to everyone here. So, thank you [Applause] Okay, we're going
008to continue with board business. Um, so I'd like to start off by saying on behalf of the entire board, it is my sincere pleasure to welcome everyone back to a brand new academic year. The beginning of the school year offers us the opportunity to reflect on our past accomplishments as we look to the future with a commitment to fulfill the district's mission to ensure that our students continue to be challenged academically and supported emotionally to enable every student to reach their full potential. To our students, welcome back. Your energy and potential are boundless. Embrace this year with curiosity and a desire to learn. And remember that every challenge is an opportunity to grow. To our families, thank you. Your unwavering partnership is more critical than ever. We encourage you to remain engaged in your child's
009education, whether by joining a parent teacher organization or simply by discussing their day. To our faculty and staff, your dedication is the bedrock of our district. You inspire our students every day and we are grateful for your hard work in preparing for this year. Our school year unfortunately started with much sadness in our small educational community. One of our teachers, Sharon Kim, suffered the devastating loss of her mother in a tragic accident. Our hearts and prayers go out to her and her family. Shortly after that, Mike Kelly passed away. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mike's family and friends during this sad time. Mike was a true inspiration to all who knew him and his loss will be deeply felt. Thank you to Charlie Vorhees and the administration for navigating through these challenging times. Our
010acting superintendent, Mr. Charlie Bourhees, has decided to leave his position on September 30th and return full-time to his role as the district's athletic director. Mr. Borhees stepped up for our district at a time when the district his leadership and he went above and beyond to serve our entire community. Charlie, I enjoyed working with you and I express my gratitude to you for always putting our students first and creating an environment where everyone feels safe and valued. The board will continue its search with third round with a third round interview scheduled for September 22nd. We are bringing one final candidate forward for this last round of interviews. However, even assuming that the board is successful in appointing a new superintendent, there will be a need after September 30th and Mr. Vorhees departure to appoint an interim
011superintendent. The board is in the process of hiring a retired administrator for this position. The interim superintendent will serve in that capacity until a permanent superintendent is appointed by the board. We will continue to update you on the selection of a superintendent and an interim superintendent as we move forward. We are proud to recognize our students who have earned AP Scholar Awards, acknowledging their outstanding performance on advanced placement exams. This achievement reflects not only the dedication and talent of our students, but also the commitment of our teachers and staff who guide and support them throughout the academic years. 10 students earned the AP Scholar and Distinction Award by achieving an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken with scores of three or higher on five or more exams. 16 students received
012the AP Scholar with Honor Awards having earned an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken and scores of three or higher on four or more exams. 26 students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP exams with scores of three or higher. On behalf of the board, we are very proud of their achievements and accomplishments. This past summer, we saw an accelerated an acceleration of technology change that will shape the future for our students. We are all aware of the growing presence of artificial intelligence in our daily lives and this year it will become an integral part of our educational journey. Our district has proactively explored how AI can serve as a powerful tool to enhance instruction, personalized learning, and prepare our students for the future. We
013are committed to teaching our students how to use AI responsibly, responsibly, and creatively, focusing on AI literacy to empower them for tomorrow's world. This year, let's build a community where innovation and compassion go hand in hand. Let's work together to make this a year of exce exceptional achievements and memorable experiences. I am confident that together we can overcome any challenge and achieve great things for our students. Welcome back everyone and let's make this the best school year yet. Thank you. At this time, I'd like to turn it over to Miss Yo, who will present um >> um No, it's just to acknowledge um the Caucus High School boys cross country team. They placed third Park. Um, the S Caucus High School boys cross country team opened the season in an impressive form. The Patriots placed
014third in the team in standings at the annual CHSAA development meet. The competition took place at the historic Vancland Park 2. It was a 2.5 mile course in Bronx, New York. Coach Stanford said, "I that we will be able to build some real momentum off this week. Congratulations to boys cross country team. >> Thank you, Miss Yo. Congratulations to the boys. Uh tonight we will be appointing our student representatives later on in the agenda. Correspondence. >> Um there is no correspondence, but can we just approve the minutes? >> Oh, yes. Sorry. Go back to that. I'd like to make a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes of March 18, 2025. >> Second. >> Discussion. >> Hold the roll. >> Mr. Bartletta. >> Yes. >> Mr. Bolanina. >> Yes. >> Miss Detta. >> Yes. >>
015Mr. Barry. >> Yes. >> Miss Keller. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lewis. >> Yes. Yes. >> Acting superintendent report will be read by Missio. >> Good evening. Tonight, under the acting superintendent report, the board will be voting to accept the student safety data report. The SSDs report is a mandatory submission to the New Jersey Department of Education to report incidents of violence, vandalism, weapons, substance abuse, and harassment, intimidation, and bullying. The system also collects data on HIV trainings and programs and is used to track safety, school climate, and adherence to state and federal regulations. The report is available to review at the Caucus Board of Education offices. >> Like a motion to be made. >> Second. >> Discussion. Call the RO. >> Mr. Bartletta. >> Yes. >> Mr. Bolan. >> Yes. >> Miss Detta. >> Yes.
016>> Mr. Barry. Yes, >> Miss Geller. >> Yes, Miss Howard, >> Mr. Lewis. >> Yes, >> Mr. Lions. >> Yes. >> Is this administrative board secretary report? >> Yes. Um, tonight I will be adding two resolutions to the agenda. Under finance, we will be adding resolution 1.34, which is to accept the recommendation of the acting superintendent. agreement between the Caucus Board of Education and the CC Caucus Education Association. Details of the agreement are on file at the central office. This is for a sidebar. Under operations finance, we will be adding resolution R4.17 to accept the retainer agreement with the law firm of Chason Lampello, Min, and Cuzio as special counsel. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Public forum agenda items. >> No one to speak. >> Governance personnel. Under governance, we have placement of some
017staff to the school system, support staff. We also hired extracurricular activities um and also um at both the high school and grammar school levels. I'd like to make a motion to accept the recommendation of the acting superintendent to approve and adopt resolutions R 1.01 through R 1.33 and motion M1.01. >> Christina R. Wait, hold on. It's R 1.34. >> She added one. >> Yes. All right. discussion. >> Call the RO. >> Mr. Bartletta, >> yes. >> Mr. Bolanino, >> yes. >> Miss Detta, >> yes. >> Mr. Barry, >> yes. >> Miss Geller, >> yes. >> Mr. Lewis, >> yes. >> Mr. Lions, >> yes. And under policy, we met and all of the policies listed below are second readings. I'd like to make a motion to accept the recommendation of the acting superintendent to approve
018and adopt resolution R2.01. >> Discussion. Call the RO. >> Mr. Bartletta, >> yes. >> Mr. Bolanino, >> yes. >> Miss Detta, >> yes. >> Mr. Barry, >> yes. >> Miss Geller, >> yes. >> Mr. Lewis, >> yes. >> Mr. Yes. >> Education committee curriculum. >> Good evening all and welcome to the school year. Um the education committee met on September 3rd and we have some we had some guests at our meeting. Mr. Vijani and Mrs. Vesser came to our meeting and gave a great presentation on the district AP program. They presented all the recent data and shared their goals and vision u for our AP program earlier today. President mentioned the achievements of our AP students. We are very very proud of our students for their achievements and also very grateful to our teachers and
019administrators for moving the program forward. U Miss Hennessy also attended our meeting and shared um the extended school year survey results. Uh this year 61 students were enrolled in our extended school year program this summer and the district received 14 responses from the parents. 71% of the parents gave the highest overall rating to the district extended school year program. Also I would like to mention that on September 27, please join the Sakus public school team for the New Jersey turn five. All proceeds benefit Special Olympics New Jersey. Please consider donating or joining this event and this is a very great cause. Now moving towards the voting part. Uh we have three resolutions today. through the entire summer. I mentioned how hard our teachers and supervisors have been working on updating our curriculum. So, we're going
020to be voting and all the updates today. Uh we have some field trips to approve and also we are welcoming two student representative or three um student representatives to the board this year. Evelyn Torres, Giana and Meena Gay. Um so mot to accept the recommendation of the acting superintendent to approve and adopt resolution R3.01 through R3.03. >> Second >> discussion. Call the role. >> Mr. Bartletta, >> yes. >> Mr. Bino, >> yes. >> Miss Detta, >> yes. >> Mr. Barry, >> yes. >> Miss Gella, >> yes. >> Mr. Lewis, >> yes. >> Mr. Lions, >> yes. operations committee finance. >> So at this month's meeting, we were updated on uh various projects that were going on throughout the district. Um at Huber Street School, Milbridge School, uh cement work and painting on the front ramp
021and steps has been completed. The entire school was thoroughly cleaned uh including uh the windows at Claron School. The gym floor was sanded and the painting project has been completed. Cement work on the door saddles has been completed also. All locks have been school and the boiler room exterior project has been completed at the middle school. Six classrooms have been completely overhauled including ceiling tile replacement um and grids painted, LED lights installed um as well as painted. Two external signs were added. All exterior poles, railings and hydrants were painted. The entire school was thoroughly cleaned. At the high school, the parking lot painted for student parking. The entire school was thoroughly cleaned at the pack. The lighting project has been completed as you can see. Uh the entirety of the pack carpets were professionally cleaned.
022Uh the the stage was sanded. The clock tower uh was fixed. Um and then we discussed uh financials uh for the month. That's all I got. So, I'd like to make a motion to accept the recommendation of the business administrative board secretary to approve and adopt resolution R 4.01 through R 4.16 as described. >> Second, >> it's 4.17. >> I'm sorry. 4.17 discussion. >> Call the roll. >> Mr. Bartletta, >> yes. >> Mr. Bolino, >> yes. >> Miss Detta, >> yes. >> Mr. Barry. >> Yes. >> Miss Gella. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lewis. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lions. >> Yes. >> Safety security buildings and grounds. >> No resolutions this month. >> No. Okay. Uh for ad hoc, we have a scheduled shared services meeting for October 6th. Legislation, we had no meeting. Athletics, we
023met on September 11th. >> On the at the athletics meeting, we uh discussed all sports. Um all sport teams are in full swing and all teams are doing fairly well. Um we also discussed uh social media and and the varsity club. Uh we discussed uh parent communications with with a lot of the teams. Um, and one of the one of the better parts of our meeting is we discussed um doing a memorial for for another um former student that passed away. Uh, Jeff Baker who is a who is an athlete in our district passed away. Um, and we are going to uh put a memorial plaque out on the out on the island. Um, so we are working with the family on what the plaque will say. And it's we voted unanimous. >> Thank you,
024Lance. No technology communications meeting, no visions meeting, and negotiations committee will be meeting with the administrators on September 30th. Public forum general. Okay. This meeting is open to the public for the purpose of addressing any subject matter that is pertinent to andor directly related to the operation of the Caucus Public School District. Residents wishing to speak on such items must sign the register provided purpose, which we have here, and are required to state their names, addresses, and subject matter. Comments are limited to three minutes per person. The board may or may not respond to issues raised by members of the public at the time they are raised, but will provide a response if and when appropriate. The board asked that members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals when
025speaking. Please note that the board will not respond to comments regarding students or board employees in light of the privacy rights held by those individuals. Moreover, the board discourages comments about such individuals and will not be responsible for them. Members of the public who choose to speak during the public session should carefully consider their comments since they could be held personally liable for any statements that they make. Finally, please note that in accordance with board uh district polic The board will not officially comment or respond to any matter mentioned unless it can confirm that the matter has first been brought to the attention of the appropriate school personnel in an attempt to resolve the issue. Anthony Grineer. Good evening everyone. Anthony Granary, Caucus resident. Um, welcome back to school. Um, Mr. Detta, thank you for
026answering the questions that you could from those that I asked last month. Um, I also appreciate your consideration of another email that I sent to you between last month and today regarding the community's possible involvement in the superintendent search. Um I asked could you please confirm did you state that there is one final candidate for the third round interview that is to take place on September 22nd. Um also I would like if you would be able to also inform our community of the substance of our September 12th uh communication about possible community involvement in that third round interview. And finally, uh, if you could please let us know when and how you expect the board would inform the community, uh, if the board does in fact select designated community stakeholder representatives to participate in the
027third round interviews that are scheduled to begin in four days on September 22nd. Um, there were also a couple of questions that I did present last month that still remain unanswered. uh specifically with the board or the superintendent. Uh please provide information on what actions the district is and will take regarding district goal number three presented at the July 2025 board meeting. Specifically, how exactly does the district plan on providing intervention delivery support with counselors, behavioral specialists, interventionalists, school psychologists, as well as professional training on trauma informed care, seclation strategies? Will this include support for and training specific to children with special needs and what actions have been done thus far to meet these goals? also to please provide the district affirmative action team's goals and purpose and who the team reports to and if
028there's a timetable when it is to report back. Uh lastly, I also sent another email to Mr. Vorhees on September 9th um requesting well stating that um he stated that last month there was 2,69 students enrolled in Sakus. uh I ask that the board or the superintendent please provide a breakdown of how many of those students are designated as on roll regular full-time and how many students are designated as on roll special education full-time. Uh finally, is the board able to discuss why it approved a retainer agreement for special counsel tonight? Thank you all for your attention uh and for also keeping the committee informed of these important issues. response. Um, so you might have to refresh my memory on on some of the things that you asked. So the first thing I believe you
029asked is we are about the candidates. >> Yes. >> So initially we had two candidates coming into the third round of interviews. One of those candidates um has backed out of the process. So we are down to one candidate and we will be interviewing on the 22nd of September. I don't think we we confirmed the time yet. Is it is it is it five? Okay. Um five. We may adjust that time though um now that we only have one candidate. So just stay tuned for that. That that may be changed. Um the other question was the community uh member that we're bringing in is the mayor. >> Um >> and that's the only one that's okay. Um okay. You asked about the um >> so with respect to the excuse me with respect to the
030special counsel. So the board has two lawsuits that are currently remaining. They're titled J excuse me John Doe versus Caucus. lawsuits from allegations of abuse dating back to 40 50 years ago after the governor signed a law allowing for an extended stat limitations. So the individual be handling those cases going forward and that's why >> Thank you. And then the other ones were just the uh the questions that >> the questions that you posed to Mr. Vorhees. Um, I know that he's working on I communicated with him about that. Um, so he's getting you that information and you will have it. I'll make sure that you have it. >> I appreciate that. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you, >> Melissa Fitz Simons. >> Full House. >> Good evening. I'd like to start by introducing
031myself to the new board members and our new council. I haven't been here in a while. I'm Dr. Melissa Dargan Fitz Simons. I am an expert in organizational leadership because I have a doctorate in organizational leadership. So looking around this room, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one with that degree. So I'm here to ask you some tough questions. And it's not easy because most of you I know and love for my whole entire life. Lance, our parents graduated Hoboken High School together. Christina, you and my brother went to Yukon together. Mr. Lewis, I've known you also from around town. Mr. Lions, nice to meet you. Kelly, it's an honor to teach your daughter. Grace, you're the best. Uh, Mr. Bognino, we've met before and Miss Keller, again, we've met before. So, I have a
032couple questions. First of all, I know that you're not supposed to discuss specific candidates, but everyone around town is wondering, oh, by the way, I live at 29 Valley Court, and I am a teacher here, but I'm here as a resident and a doctorate of organizational leadership. Why is Charlie Vorhees not our next superintendent? Uh, we kind of threw you a very easy lob ball and you could have hit it out of the park, hit a home run and no one around town understands why he isn't. I understand that he rescended his application, but I want to know why do you think he rescended his application? I also have some questions regarding that. Um, first of all, I want to talk about organizational leadership. Margaret Wheatley, she's a researcher. She has an idea that the
033school system is like a beehive and everything has to work together. And it really isn't happening. So I said to myself, what is the problem with Caucus Board of Education? We have the proper people in the proper roles. All the principles are very good principles. The teachers are very good teachers. The students are great students. What's the problem here? And honestly, from my diagnosis, it's been the board. Uh for the last few years, it's a very hard thing to say. There's been a lot of turmoil. Um are you getting along? Do you have problems within within the board? I I want to know that because I don't understand how we could be so divided. I don't understand how there could be so much resistance. Did you give Mr. Vorhees so much resistance that he couldn't
034take the position. Did you float an idea that Guttenberg would attend Seawas High School? Guttenberg students would ever attend Seag High School. Was that a floated idea or is that just a town rumor? Um, there's so many things that I want to say to you and I think that I just want to let you know that I'm glad that you have a candidate finally because I've talked to a few people around the the area and um I feel like a lot of really good superintendent in fact even retired superintendents they don't want to come to see because I don't understand why we have a good school district here and I people did any board members ever bring up former broad members on charges and cost the board a ton of money and legal fees. Did
035that ever happen? I don't understand. This is a good school district. How come we cannot get a superintendent? How come we cannot keep a good superintendent? How come Charlie Vorhees no longer wants to be our superintendent? It's a very hard question to ask these people, all of all of you who I grew up with. I don't understand what happened. Can you explain it to us? We wanted him. He was going to be good for us. Did you have Did you give him so much resistance that he just couldn't, you know, it wasn't worth it for him to take it anymore. There's a lot of things that I wanted to say, a lot of points I wanted to make, but in the end, that's why I'm here. I want to know, did you give him a
036hard time? Did you resist everything he wanted to do? Oh, also, were you thinking about taking away art rooms from the grammar schools when we were going to do full day prek? because I'm afraid that this district is going in the wrong direction. I also want to know what direction are you going in. Are you going to hire a new superintendent in October? Are you going to give us a good leader? Are we confident? Are you confident that you can give us a good leader? And I say that with the utmost respect. I really want to know what is the problem. Is it the board of ed? I'll just say there's really not much that we can say to respond to that because it's personnel, >> right? Okay. Um, please do a good job in
037giving us a brand new good superintendent because we deserve it. There's good administrators here. There's great teachers. There's great kids. And since Cynthia Dandina came in, what was that 15 or 20 years ago? We have not had somebody stay on for a long time and he was the next person. We felt that way as a community. So, we don't know why what went wrong here and we're upset about it and we wanted him. Thank you. >> Thank you, Melissa. Yeah, I mean, you know, there's I can't really answer a lot of the things that you brought to the table. Um, but I will say that we are working very hard. Um we are going through the interview process and we are working very hard to bring somebody in here. Um it's unfortunate about Mr. Vorhees.
038Um he removed his name from the process. Um that that's unfortunate. That's all I can really say. I don't know if anybody else wants to say anything. Thank you, Dina Jerbasio. Good evening everyone. Dina Jerzio, 11:07 Stonewall Lane. Um, I just want to take a moment to talk about the superintendent search. Uh, before I ask a few questions and to remind us all just how important that decision is. We're not simply hiring a superintendent. We're selecting the next leader of our district. And as we all know, leadership can make or break a district. Recently, I watched a powerful video about le leadership that really struck me. It featured a professional soccer team lining up for the national anthem with a youth soccer team standing in front of them. It was pouring pouring rain. Um, and
039suddenly the captain of the team removed his warm-up jacket and placed it over the child in front of him. One by one, every player followed his lead. That simple act multiplied across the team showed the power of leadership. Leadership inspires. It sets the tone and it spreads. Our district already has incredible teachers, staff, and students. What we need now is the leader who can bring it all together and take us forward. I brought my children with me tonight for two reasons. First, because my babysitter fell through, but second, and more importantly, because I wanted them here beside me to represent the students of the of this district. They remind us who this decision is really, sorry, they remind us who this decision is really about, the nearly 3,000 students in Caucus, including over 300 with
040special needs and even those who are currently out of districts, because how can we get those kids back here? How do we make a our district a place where every child can succeed? I know many of you have children in the schools yourself, but sometimes when you're close to something, it's easy to lose sight of the broader picture. So, I ask you to do your due diligence. Choose a leader not just because they are well-liked. Not because they fit in or they'll fall in line, but because they have the vision, courage, and determination to move our district forward for all of our students. When you look at my children, Selma and Anthony, I hope you see every student you are making this decision for. Our kids can't choose their leader, but you can. So, please
041choose wisely. Uh, with that in mind, I do have a few questions. One, similar to Anthony, how will you ensure that community voices, especially parents, students, and teachers are genuinely included in this process? Who exactly have the candidates interviewed? Have principles been involved? has Miss Sheree, has Mrs. Hennessy. As a parent of uh children receiving special education services, I want to be sure that the right voices are at the table asking the hard questions about each candidate's vision for all learners. What specific qualities and values do you believe are non-negotiable for the next superintendent? How will you ensure that community voices, especially parents, students, and teachers, are genuinely involved in this process? What steps will you take to make sure our next leader has a proven track track record of addressing achievement gaps and supporting
042equity for all students? And finally, once the new superintendent is hired, what clear benchmarks will be put in place to hold them accountable to the goals and vision of our district? It's really important we've been through this new interim superintendent I think is going to be maybe nine superintendent nine in eight years and then permanent superintendent might be lucky number 10. So please like we need stability. Our kids need stability. We need continuity continuity. Uh so please thank you for listening and for rec recognizing how critical this decision is for the future of our children and the community. Thank you, Dina. That was very well said. Thank you. Um, I will get back to you. I will make my response public. That was a lot, but and there I have to check on some, you
043know, legal what I can and can't say in terms of your response, but just know that we are all working very very hard at at finding us a leader. >> Um, >> at the end of the day, >> it's about these guys. >> Absolutely. >> Please. >> Yes. And we definitely have that at the heart of our decision. I promise you. and they're adorable. >> Thank you. >> Board member comments. >> I have >> Okay. >> Uh I' I'd like to read something um that was sent to our uh St. Jude team here in the Sulka school system. Um dear Diochini and Lisa, on behalf of us at St. Jude, I wanted to extend our heartfelt congratulations to you and the entire Caucus Claren School community on your lifetime fundraising total of $66,69857 through Mathon.
044Your commitment to our mission and your dedication to engaging students in meaningful life-changing work is truly inspiring. Thanks to your efforts, thousands of children and families have received hope, healing, and care at no cost to them. This milestone is more than a number. It's a testament to your school's generosity, leadership, and unwavering support for the kids of St. Jude. We are so proud to partner with you and to celebrate this incredible achievement. And then as for they're nationally recognized. So, we are especially excited to share that Caucus School System currently ranks fifth nationwide among all schools for lifetime fundraising. That's an extraordinary accomplishment and a reflection of your school's long-standing impact. And the school currently donates roughly $50,000 per year. In that time frame with a they're in roughly eight years they will be at
045the $1 million mark and this will place Caucus school system among a very elite group of schools nationwide and they'll be cheering us on every step of the way. So I just wanted to send a heartfelt congratulations. >> Yeah, congratulations on behalf of the board. That's an amazing amazing accomplishment. And I know even from when God going back years when my boys who are now 24 and 25 were in that school, I know that these teachers were working very very hard even from all the way back then. So definitely an amazing accomplishment. Congratulations to them. >> Say something quickly. >> Y >> um I know President Diodetta mentioned the passing of our teacher, Mr. Michael Kelly. And so I had the privilege in 1990 of him walking in and being one of our teachers and
046not knowing anything board related. He was a long-term leave replacement and he was leaving after his time in June. And so I remember us petitioning to keep him because we didn't understand anything. We were very fortunate he came back for our final year. Outstanding. The relationships when I look at this first class of Caucus, it's kind of the relationship we had with him. And so the board, they listened, right? They rehired him. He was here for over 35 years and I'm sure thousands and thousands of students that he affected and I just really think Caucus is really lucky to have had beautifully said. Anybody else board member comments? Thanks to the resc and her staff for all the work they put forward these past few months. It's been endless meetings and advertisements and paper and
047organizing us and trying to fit around our vacation schedules. And you and your staff went out of their way to do everything they could, including us being creative and meeting on Sunday mornings from 7:30 until 3:00 to try to get as much done as possible. I'd like to thank president for the time and effort for organizing all these meetings and for all the trustees who are taking part of that for ensuring that this selection process is taken seriously because we know the importance of this. Uh it's one of the most important responsibilities of a board when you're selecting a leader and we want to ensure everyone knows how much we appreciate the efforts being put in by by the district to make this happen. We also want to thank Mr. Borhees for stepping up to
048the plate and helping us all out when there was a need. right in and did a great deal. We appreciate >> Thank you. Anyone else? Motion to close. >> Motion. >> Second. All in favor? >> I Good evening everyone.