001I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. >> Good evening and welcome to the South River Board of Education regular meeting of Thursday, February 26th, 2026. In compliance with the Open Public Meeting Act, chapter 231, laws of 1975 of the state of New Jersey, adequate notice of this meeting of the South River Board of Education, was provided in the following manner. On January 16th, 2026, the notice was delivered to the office of the South River Burough Clerk and posted at the Board of Education Administration Building. On January 16th, 2026, the notice was faxed mailed to the following newspapers: Home News Tribune, The Star Ledger. On January 16th, 2026, the
002notice was posted at the South River Burrow Clerk's office. Notice has also been provided that as of March 1st, 2026, all future meeting advertisements will be posted on the district's website, sriver riverj.org, and will no longer be advertised in physical or online newspapers. Mr. Rosa, would you call the role? >> Mr. Bzac has been excused. >> Mr. Butson, >> here. >> Mrs. Bush has been excused. >> Mrs. Laauo >> here. >> Mr. Nielsen >> here. >> Mr. Unaway >> here. >> Mrs. Saddowski >> here. >> Mrs. Youngo >> here. >> Mrs. Arbanic >> here. >> Miss Shiza Hussein >> here. >> We have a quorum. >> Thank you. Our first item of business on our agenda tonight is the are the minutes of our last meeting. Mr. Rosa, >> we have the January 22nd regular
003meeting minutes. >> Okay. Thank you. Board members, what is your pleasure on the minutes? >> Move the reading of the minutes into the record. >> We have a motion by Vice President Nielsen. >> Second. >> And we have a second by Miss Stowski. Uh, all in favor? >> I. >> Thank you. Next item on our agenda, we have several use of facilities. Mr. Rosa. >> Yes. So we have uh number 984, number 1,00 number 1007, number 10,3 number 1030, number 1032. >> Wow. >> Number 10, 137. You have a retroactive number 139. Number 10, 144. Number 10, 153. Number 10, 155. Number 10, 162. And number 164. Thank you. Board members, what is your pleasure on the use of facilities? >> Move the use of facilities in accordance with board policies. >> We have a
004motion by Vice President Nielsen. >> Second. >> We have a second by Mrs. Sidowski. All in favor? >> Thank you. Next item on our agenda are the financial reports. Miss Low. >> Thank you. Be it resolved that the board of education hereby certifies that it is in receipt of the financial report which indicates that no major account has been overexpended and that sufficient funds are available to meet the district's financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year. The finance committee recommends that the reports of the board secretary and the treasur of school monies for December 2025 be approved and I so move. >> Thank you. We have a motion by Mrs. Low. >> Second. We have a second by Miss Yong Yao. Any questions? All in favor? >> I. >> Thank you. At this
005time, we're going to turn the meeting over to our superintendent of schools, Dr. Zer. >> Thank you so much, Mrs. Orvani. Um, first, I do want to point out item 3.2 is one founded PIP uh for the board to take action on. Um, and then in my report for this month, I'd like to begin, um, by just really speaking about Black History Month, uh, which was the month of February, and, um, a lot of the activities that took place throughout our district, including, uh, different projects, um, art, uh, even social media, mock profiles of famous historians. Um, all of these activities really fostered student engagement and critical thinking and just an overall appreciation of black history and leadership. Um, and I really appreciate the work of our teachers and staff in helping our students um,
006complete these projects and learn about really prominent and important black um, people throughout our history. So, thank you for that. Um I also have an item that I included in our last eam which is related to the new law regard uh regarding personal devices and cell phones. Uh this is a law that was just passed in January of 2026. Um, and it does require that statewide beginning in September, uh, that we implement, uh, programs and that we implement a process for students to, um, not have access to their personal devices um, or any other device that's internet enabled um, from bell to bell, meaning from the moment that they come into the school to when we dismiss them. And so right now we are working on what those procedures and policies will look like. We
007are looking to pilot um some of this this spring to help our students and parents really get um used to the um the new procedures and this process. We also opened up um we also opened up opportunities for parent feedback on the comments section of our um of our district website. So please we ask parents to provide us their feedback. There are provisions in the law that speak to students who need these devices for medical reasons um for special education or special needs circumstances and also um for emergencies. So we are like I said working through what the law requires and how we're going to implement that here in our school district. So, please be on the lookout for more forthcoming information on that. Um, I want to remind the community we have our spring
008curriculum fair coming up. We did have some discussions today. Um, and we will likely be making a change to the date of our curriculum fair. It was originally scheduled for Thursday, May 21st, but with the un uh with the now used snow days. Um we are looking to change that to Friday, May 22nd, and we'll be putting out some communications about that. But we are um really looking forward to our curriculum fair. As always, we will be displaying student work, our art show over at the middle school, our wellness fair will once again be at the early learning center with some food trucks as well. And then um by popular demand, our petting zoo is returning at Denny Stadium. So, we're looking forward to that great event. It's always well attended and a great opportunity
009for everyone to come together. I have a bit in my uh superintendence report about Ram Runway and Ram Runway Junior. We began with Ram Runway several years ago and our goal there was to provide opportunity for students and families to have access to clothing and personal items that they need. Um, and we expanded that to Ram Runway Junior where now we have two opportunities, one at the high school and then also at the primary school. And um, we're really just thankful to our adviserss who run that program. They really do a lot of hard work towards making sure that there are always good quality items for our families to have access to. Um they run different uh dropin days. They uh do seasonal events. For example, in winter they did coats. Um and so we're
010really thankful to to have their um their support with that. And we just welcome the community to use Ram Runway and Ram Runway Junior as you need it. And then lastly, we are going to bring back our day of service. We usually do this in June, and it's a day that we dedicate districtwide for every single student in the district to do some sort of act of service. Um, so we're really looking forward to the planning of what those activities will look like. They certainly range based on um the age of our students, but all the way from our littlest ones to our high school seniors, every one of our students is engaged in a service project on that day, and we're really proud of that program. So, thank you so much for that and
011all of the work that goes into that special day. And with that, I conclude my superintendent report. >> Thank you very much, Dr. Zer. Uh the next item on the agenda at this time, we are going to open up the meeting to the reception of visitors. This is the time that the public may address agenda items only. There will be another public session at the end of the meeting where the public may address any items of concern for the board of education, but at this time it is limited to agenda items. If you do come to the microphone, please state your name and address and please keep your comments to a 10-minute time limit. And this is on first call and on second call and on third call. Seeing none, we will close this public
012session. And at this time we are going to turn the meeting over first to our own Dr. Lieberman. Good evening everyone. So I'm very pleased to be here this evening as we're honoring our teacher of the year and our educational support professionals of the year. So first I'd like to start by introducing myself. I'm Heather Lieberman, the principal of the early learning center and the primary school. And I would like to start with the teacher of the year for the Early Learning Center. The Early Learning Center honors Mrs. Sarah Augustine, preschool teacher, as our teacher of the year. Her patience, creativity, and loving guidance help shape little hearts and minds at the very start of their learning journey. Her dedication, passion, and commitment to her students truly make a difference every single day. This well-deserved
013honor reflects the incredible care and dedication she brings to the classroom. We thank you for making such a lasting difference in the lives of your students and families. We also honor Mrs. Tanya Dominguez as our education service professional of the year, our speech therapist. Her dedication, compassion, and support make an incredible difference in the lives of our youngest learners. The care and expertise she brings every day help create strong, nurturing foundations for student success. This well-deserved honor reflects the incredible dedication she brings to the work she does each day. We thank you for making a lasting difference in the lives of lives of your students and families. The South River Primary School would like to honor Mrs. Brittany Luna, kindergarten teacher, as our teacher of the year. Her enthusiasm, patience, and creativity make learning an
014exciting adventure for her students. She makes learning an adventure for her students each day. This recognition is a reflection of the inspiration, guidance, and care she brings into that classroom. Thank you for shaping minds and touching lives. This is so welld deserved and we thank you for making a difference in the lives of your students. We also would like to honor Mrs. Nicole Howell, our school counselor, as education service professional of the year. Her compassion, guidance, and unwavering support help our youngest students grow not only academically, but socially and emotionally as well. She creates a safe, caring space where children feel heard, valued, and empowered. This is also a well-deserved honor. We thank you for making a difference in the lives of our students, families, and staff. Thank you to all four of you. We
015appreciate you beyond measure. >> Would the four of you please come up? >> Oh, yay. Extra This is how this is hell. Thank you. At this time, I'd like to invite Mr. Valentine Gladen up to our stage. Good evening everyone. Uh board members, good evening. Thank you for having us. Um I am Mr. Christian Valentine Gladen, the proud principal at South River Elementary School. And it is my distinct honor to formally announce to the board of education and to the community Mrs. Stacy Yanuk as South River Elementary School's teacher of the year. Mrs. Yanchchuk exemplifies instructional excellence, professionalism, and an unwavering commitment to our students success. In her inclusion classroom, she creates a welcoming and nurturing environment where every student feels valued and supported through purposeful differentiation, data-driven driven instruction, and researchbased strategies. She ensures
016that all learners, including our multilingual learners, our students with disabilities, and all students are challenged, supported, and empowered. I am so proud to announce Mrs. Stacy Yanchchuk as our teacher of the year this school year. And her classroom is amazing. She doesn't have formal seating in there. There's like bounce seating and everyone just loves her classroom. It is a pleasure to visit every single time. And I'm jealous of the students that are in there. I wish I was one of your students. It is also my distinct honor to formally announce to the board of education and community Mrs. Saz Grover as South River Elementary School's educational service professional of the year. As our school counselor, Mrs. Grover consistently demonstrates exceptional dedication, expertise, and compassion. She creates a safe and nurturing environment where students can thrive
017academically, socially, and emotionally. She works tirelessly to remove barriers to learning and ensures that every child feels valued and supported. Every school needs a good counselor and SAZ is beyond good. She is great. She is my right hand for many days. She serves as our anti-bullying coordinator, our homeless liaison, our school testing personnel, a key member of our school climate and culture team and threat assessment team. And I can keep going on and on. Of all the titles that SAZ has, she is a remarkable human being and an excellent school counselor. And it is my honor to say that SAZ is our elementary school's educational services professional of the year. Would you both please come on up? And for our next uh honors, we would like to ask Mr. Risk to please come up. Valentine.
018>> There we go. Good evening, everyone. It is with great joy and pride that I am able to recognize Mrs. Lorie Honey as South River Middle School's teacher of the year. As a valued member of the math team, Mrs. Hony exemplifies dedication, passion, and excellence in education. Mrs. Hony is an extraordinary educator, a remarkable individual who brings energy, compassion, an unwavering dedication to her classroom each and every day. She goes above and beyond to ensure her students feel supported, challenged, and confident in their abilities. Her innovative teaching methods and ability to inspire the love for learning make her an invaluable asset to our school. Her commitment to keeping her students best interest at heart has made a lasting and meaningful impact on our school community. Please join me in congratulating Mrs. Lori Hony on this
019well-deserved recognition. Her contributions make SRMS a better place for everyone. It is with great joy and pride that I am able to recognize Mrs. Lorie Weber as South River Middle School's educational services professional of the year. As a vital member of our child study team, Mrs. Weber has consistently demonstrated extraordinary professionalism, empathy, and dedication to the success of her students. What truly stands out about Mrs. Weber is her remarkable ability to collaborate effectively with both staff and families. Her tireless efforts ensure that every student receives the individualized support they need to excel. She goes above and beyond building strong connections with students, advocating for their growth, supporting them both academically and socially. Please join me in congratulating Mrs. Weber on this well-deserved honor. Her contributions make SRMS a better place for everyone. Please come up.
020And now I would like to ask Miss Canard if she would please come up to the stage. Mr. Risk. Seriously. >> Good evening everyone. My My name is Jamie Canard and I'm proud to be the principal of South River High School. Tonight, it is my honor to announce Miss Nancy Ro as our South River High School teacher of the year. Nancy has served as an exceptionally skilled and dedicated educator in the South River public schools where she has been teaching for 26 years. Fluent in English, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish, Miss Ro is a passionate advocate for South Rivers Spanish and Portuguese speaking populations. In the classroom, she inspires students of all backgrounds through engaging in creative lessons. She incorporates hands-on cultural experiences such as classroom fiestas and interactive projects to bring language and heritage
021to life. Her happy and welcoming demeanor always brings a smile to those around her, especially when you hear her warm Ola as she enters a room. She is widely admired by both myself and respected as an educator, a neighbor, and someone who continues to make a lasting impact on the entire school community. Congratulations to Miss Rogue for being our teacher of the year. Although she couldn't be here tonight, I do want to take a moment to uh announce our educational service professional of the year for South River High School is Miss Amanda Montto. She's been a valued member of the South River School family for 24 years where she served as both an English teacher and a high school counselor. As a counselor, she consistently goes above and beyond in every task she undertakes. She
022is deeply committed to the academic success, emotional well-being, and personal growth of her students. Her professionalism, empathy, and unwavering dedication make her not only an outstanding counselor, but truly a trusted colleague and mentor to both staff and students. She truly embodies embodies the spirits of the South River community. She's compassionate, hardworking, and most importantly, student centered. So although she's not here tonight, if we could please give her an air round of applause. And on that note, Miss Rogue, please come on up. Congratulations. Thank you. And I'd just like to offer my congratulations to all of our esteemed teachers and educators on getting this most prestigious award. Uh it's truly an inspiration and it's very significant in your field to receive an award like this and it uh means a lot to know that we have
023so many of our staff receiving these awards here at South River Public Schools. Uh are there any other board members that would like to add? Please. >> I'd like to I'd like to piggy back off of uh what the president there says. Um, in years past, we board members would read the resolution and hand it out to the teacher. I think it made it a lot more personable to have the principles come up here and speak to the quality of individuals that uh you you people are. Um, it definitely I was more impressed with it than we have in years past. nothing to take away from the teachers I got in in the past, but to hear your your principles come up here and speak so highly of all of you, it it makes me
024proud that you work within our district and that you are teaching our children. And I thank you all. >> Okay, thank you. Uh we are >> It gets boring after this, folks. >> Yes, you're Oh, yes. You're welcome to stay. We will not be offended if you leave. So, >> absolutely. Please take this opportunity if you would like to leave. We just ask that you leave, you know, in a uh kind of quiet manner because we're just going to keep continuing with our meeting. So, thank you very much. And once again, many congratulations. Welld deserved. Well earned. Okay. So, moving on to our committee reports. Our athletics extracurricular, Mr. >> Buden. One of our great grand fans passed away. >> Okay. Thank you. Under buildings and grounds, Vice President Nielsen. >> Uh, Mr. Johnson's report
025is in the monthly report. Uh, everybody has read through it. Other than that, there is nothing to report tonight. Madam President, >> thank you. Uh, finance. Miss Low. >> Thank you so much. Um, so the finance agenda includes the appointment of our architect of record, approval of the district funded employee financial protections benefits program for upcoming school year, multiple contracts were authorized for professional development, teacher mentoring, security enhancements, uh, fencing, graduation, yearbook services, and uniforms. I'd like to add that field trips are included in here in terms of transportation agreements for the Museum of Jewish Heritage, FBLA, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Tech and infrastructure items were included as well. Um, in addition to our regular information. So having said that, the finance committee after reviewing all items on this month's agenda and upon
026recommendation of the superintendent recommends approval of items 8.1 through 8.19 with additional items 8.20 through 8.22 on the agenda as listed including routine items. >> Thank you. Would you now continue with the instruction report? >> Thank you so much. Um so uh to match how uh Miss Bush uh references Dr. Te's report. So the agenda includes approval of professional development and travel expenses, field trips, the threeyear preschool program operational plan. Um and then Dr. T shared that at the high school level, staff completed course recommendations for the upcoming school year with students and counselors collaborating to finalize schedules based on prerexs performance um and interests. The school also hosted its annual course information session and expanded elective and AP offerings in response to student demand at the elementary and primary levels. A new online math
027platform is being piloted to support instruction and intervention while district-wide professional development continues to strengthen our instructional practices. And um one thing to note was uh the district also maintains strong university partnerships and we're currently hosting 11 pre-ervice educators this spring across classroom counseling and special education placements. The instruction committee after reviewing all items on this month's agenda and upon recommendation of the superintendent recommends approval of the items 9.1 through 9.3 with no additional items on the agenda as listed including routine items and that is all for finance and instruction. >> Thank you Miss Low. There are no items under negotiation uh for policy and legislation. Mr. on ruled away. >> The policy and legislation committee after reviewing all items on this morning agenda and upon recommendation of the supporting candidate recommends approval of the
028item recommends the approval of the item 11.1 through 11.3 with no additional items on the agenda as listed including routine items. That is all. >> Thank you. Human Resources. Vice President Nielsen, please. >> Thank you, Madam President. The Human Resources Committee, after reviewing all items on this month's agenda, and upon recommendation, the superintendent recommends approval of the items 12.1 through 12.12 with no additional items on the agenda as listed, including routine items. That's all I have, Madam President. >> Thank you. Our safety and risk management committee, Miss Saddowski, >> thank you. The safety and risk management committee after reviewing all items on this month's agenda and upon recommendation of the superintendent recommends approval of items 13.1 through 13.2 but no additional items on the agenda as listed including routine items. Thank you. >> Thank you.
029And our residency committee, Miss Yang Yao, >> thank you. Uh just a reminder that we are doing a residency check for the current eighth graders. Uh it's really easy. My daughter's in eighth grade did it in minutes. So everybody look forward to uh Mr. Risk's been emailing. So check that out and a lot of emails. >> Um and do it so that he stops emailing us. Uh the residency committee after reviewing all items on this month's agenda and upon recommendation of the superintendent recommends approval of the item 14.1 with no additional items on the agenda as listed including routine items. >> Thank you. And seeing no other committee reports, we will now go back to our consent resolution. Mr. Rosa, if you please. The South River Board of Education by means of a consent resolution
030adopt various resolution of a routine and non-controversial nature at one time. Whereas the below listed resolutions are hereby adopted by the said board of education and whole as if the same were individually acted upon. Those are the superintendent of schools 3.1 3.2 the president of the board 5.2 through 5.11 their finance 8.1 through 8.22 22 >> under instruction 9.1 through 9.3 the policy and legislation 11.1 through 11.3 under human resources 12.1 through 12.11 under safety and risk management 13.1 through 13.2 under residency 14.1 >> Thank you. Is there a motion on the consent resolution? >> Motion to move the consent resolution. >> Motion by Vice President Nielsen. Is there a second? >> Second by Miss Low. All in favor? >> I. >> Thank you. All motions pass. All items pass. Thank you. Um, moving on
031to our school board burough council lia is on committee report. Vice President Nielsen. >> There's nothing to report tonight, Madam President, but Mr. Demian is in the audience and um he does text me um every month before their meeting. Uh I like the open communication that he keeps with me and u Mr. Zian you know if I have anything I'll pass it on to you and same goes to you. Thank you again for coming sir. >> Thank you. Our PTA liaison Mrs. Sidowski. >> Thank you for elementary or for primary and ELC uh they are hosting a glow party Friday night uh March 20th. um elementary they hosted a STEM themed book fair last week. Um they were also attended family STEM night which was fantastic. Miss did a great job with that. Um elementary
032PTA also hosted uh Valentine's Day dance a couple weeks ago and again we're at that time of the year where everybody's talking about funday funday funday. Um, so there's a lot of planning going on with that as well as uh yearbook sales are now occurring too. And that's all I have. Thank you. >> Thank you. Our South River Public Library liaison is on Mr. Buden. >> Our some of the coming events, the indoor walking club is doing very well. Monday, Wednesday, Wednesday and Friday at 1 pm. Glatte is our Friday at 3 PM. Gentle yoga for adults is at 4 pm. And they're having a special Dr. Seuss magic show on March 2nd at 6 pm and the little learner story time is 11 p.m. 11:00 a.m. on Friday. That's all I have. >> Thank
033you. Now we will hear from our student board representative, Miss Hassan. Nice to see you. >> You too. Thank you. Um I would like to say that the whole ceremony that happened with uh appreciating all the different staff that's, you know, made our community the community that it is. That was such a cute little ceremony and I loved it so much. I just feel like this is like these little small things that we do to appreciate our staff members. It is so great because it continues to motivate everybody to come to school to keep making the positive difference in everyone's lives that they do. And with the um little RAM runway, how it originally started in the high school and how how they brought it to the younger grades, I thought that was also really
034awesome because now you're giving the chance for younger kids to also experience this and help other people. So, just great job again. >> Thank you. Is there any old or new business to come before the board? I have something, Mrs. Organic. >> Yes. >> Um, I do want to just take a moment to recognize our facilities team for uh their work during this uh past storm. >> It was um a challenging one for us. And the second one um of that challenging nature and um I just really want to thank them for their tireless efforts in in getting us back to school, getting us back to school safely. I do want to also thank the borrow. Um they really do partner with us when we have these storms. They help us with their equipment. Um
035you know, I I've spoken to Mayor Gindy about um sharing the use of generators in case of a power outage. Um really just locations throughout the the burrow for snow um removal and and to place different amounts of snow. Very helpful with that. Um so if you could please bring that back to the council um as well. We are thankful for um really their support during these events. Um they're really invested in getting us open um as well. So just a a thank you on that note. >> Thank you. Uh do we have an attorney's report, Mr. Parton? >> For executive session. >> All right. Thank you. and our payment of bills. Miss >> I almost forgot. Gotta pay the bills. >> I know, but it says, "Oops, your page can't load." >> Me, too.
036>> We might not be paying bills. >> Here, this >> is so weird. We're all >> having the same issue. Oh, yeah. Now the whole thing is done. >> See, and that's the beauty of >> paper. The finance committee recommends that all bills presented having been certified by the school business administrator board secretary be paid as listed and I so move. >> Okay, we have a motion by Mrs. L. >> Second. >> And a second by Mr. Buds. All in favor? >> I. >> Okay. The bills will be paid. >> Yes. >> Okay. So as promised at this time now we are once again going to open up the meeting to the reception of visitors and this is the time where the public may address any concern or comment they have for the board. Uh
037if you do come to the microphone please state your name and address and please keep your comments to a 10-minute time limit. It's next month. That's what it says. It says 10 in here. I read what I have. It's next month. Um on first call, on second call, on third call. Seeing none, this public portion is now closed and the board is going to go into close session. So therefore, be it resolved that pursuant to sections seven and eight of the open public meeting act, the following subjects be discussed at a session of the board of education closed to the public. And those items are attorney client privilege and matters of personnel. Is there a motion? >> Neielson. >> Motion by Vice President Nielsen. Is there a second? >> Second by Mrs. Saddowski. All in
038favor. >> We are going into close. >> Fruit over there. Take some fruit. >> Oh yeah. >> Okay. You're free to go off this. Now we got to go into the