001thank you um the education committee met on November 6th and we discussed uh Ai and Mr maluso gave an overview of the use of AI in education Mr maluso ran a workshop for the staff during the October 9th professional development day the workshop was well attended and well received by the staff he discussed AI competencies working with conscious and unconscious interactions with AI and the dangers and risks of overuse there are two platforms Microsoft Bing chat and Google bard for using AI that can be monitored he explained the two platforms and how they are used in the classroom we also discussed overnight overnight field trips and the nurse coverage costs Mr laera discussed the cost involved in an overnight trip where a nurse is required for a student with special Health needs presently when a
002nurse is required the cost is shared by all of the students on the trip he suggested possibly having a budget line item for when there is a need for a nurse the committee discussed the suggestion and asked the administration to provide more information and the costs involved involved uh Ela strategies and interventions um Miss failen discussed the integration of AI and writing and the personalized writing instruction students are provided in English classes feedback on student writing has been an increased uh area of focus in our Ela courses as well as as other subject areas does anybody have any further additions or comments thank you thank you Susan uh before we move on to Personnel I just want to put a plugin for the haunted is going to be this week I believe on Thursday Friday
003and Saturday night at 7 o'clock then there's a MAA on Saturday at 2 o'clock correct okay great uh Personnel oh sorry my bad uh operations I was not present at the meeting so Tim will uh read those minutes we met on November 1st we talked about the agenda items um on the agenda tonight uh we talked about the construction the pending construction that's coming up um as a matter of fact in December they're going to start the nursing the nurse room the nurse area and that's going to be during the day so there will be a little bit of noise um but you know it'll make the project go smoother and quicker um we talked about the track project which is being worked on by the engineers there's significant amount of um underwater drainage Underground
004drainage that we're going to put in around the track have the water flow out so it doesn't cause those cracking problems that we've been having um we talked about the traffic study I'm actually meeting with the engineers tomorrow we have a a consensus so to speak on the way we think we're going to go uh we just want to get engineering to take a look at it make sure that we crossed all our our te's and Dot of the eyes um let's see we talked about the solar panels we did just a three-month look at the cost and the amount of kilowatt hours used um just for board's purposes so first three months of the year we the the electric bill is $120,000 lower um now the summer months clearly the electrical is that's where
005we're going to spend the most so that was kind of a good way to look at it but we it was in about it was about like um let's see it went from the kilowatt hours went from 2 million to 1 million and the cost I mean the cost actually went up I think everybody's electric and gas has gone up we all know that so that 120,000 was actually net of that so that's a good thing actually if the the rates remained the same it would have been higher so that's a good thing um and then the uh we talked about the budget calendar which I will submit to the full board in fact it's in the operations committee folder now but I'll I'll send an email to you so so you can see that
006uh and then there was just a a conversation about the calendar survey just updating the um our committee and I think the calendar committee will talk about that and that was it question thank you Tim any questions great uh negotiations we will be meeting December 7th with the teachers and the bargaining Council and hopefully uh becomes productive and we can move forward to uh uh finalizing a contract calendar Katherine um in attendance at the calendar uh committee meeting was Janine Potter myself William mayor Carol prazza Dr Jet and Mr laera the committee discussed the results of the survey emphasizing the high response rate from both staff and families based on the results the committee will recommend to the full board on Tuesday evening today that we continue with our current calendar structure When developing our
007school calendar for the next two years the survey results were for the families 68.1% uh answer responded 76.5% selected option one which is keeping it current as it is 23.5% selected the second option the staff survey results where uh they had respond 56% of the staff responded 79% selected option one which is our current one and 21% selected option two so both the families and the staff were pretty consistent the results any questions well thank you to the calendar committee for their hard work and diligence and trying to resolve this issue okay first opportunity for public comment note the first public comment period will be limited to agenda items only for this meeting only second public comment period will be open to any topic all comments are limited to five minutes are there any comments
008public comments seeing no public comments uh first round first opportunity for public comments over again there'll be a second round opportunity uh board discussion items is there anything to discuss in that area just if anyone has questions on any of the future action items the preview items anyone okay great and we can move these all together because we don't yes all right so uh action items Mr President Mr vice president Mr acting president I would like to move uh action items A1 through a13 uh does anyone want to pull any of those items out there any comments questions or discussion with respect to any of those items seeing none sorry was a second for that I'm sorry yeah I don't think oh Carol sorry okay all call okay Mr Gall yes Miss Lee yes Mr
009MK yes Miss obber yes Miss prasa yes M chour Mr Burber yes motions carry great there are no curriculum and instructional items do I have a motion with respect to Personnel item C Mr President I would like to move items C1 through C8 okay does anyone want to pull one of those items out is there any discussion with regard to C1 through is there a second sorry for second second I'm sorry is there any discussion with regard to any of these items Tim you're up sorry the singing distracted I I heard that too the spooky singing uh Mr Gall yes Miss Lee yes Mr May yes M over yes M prasa trur and Mr yes okay motions carry great okay Finance motions Mr acting president I would like to move items D1 through d11 is
010there a second okay great uh does anyone want to pull any of these items out is there any discussion with respect to any of these items see none roll call Mr Gall Mr yes mayor yes obera M trur and Mr Burber yes motion carry all right now we're on to Second opportunity for public comment is there any public comment second opportunity oh please come up if you have a comment state your name in the town you live in thank you Dan I'm Madison landout 40 Christy Drive I'm currently serving as a senior class parliamentarian diversity Club president and I'm on the principal advisory committee I'd like to say I'm not speaking on behalf of these clubs as a student at Wong Hills I feel unsafe from the rise of anti-Semitism building in your school the
011silence coming from the school is absolutely terrifying and the lack of support coming from you as Leaders of our community is disheartening as a student what I have seen since October 7th from my peers is absolutely petrifying the messages being spread on social media about the acceptance of Hamas is unacceptable people berating into classroom sharing their so-called unfactual news on the war is intolerable what is taking place in Israel is not about land or politics it is simply about innocent people being murdered for the sole purpose of them being Jewish this is an evident attack of anti-Semitism your students and your teachers are not aware of this as a result there's a hostile environment being created in the walls of this building there are two things that are allowing this to take place the first
012is your silence this is a clear example of modern-day anti-Semitism the second is the lack of Education being created from your silence here's my single ask bring in a speaker from the Anti-Defamation League to speak on stopping the defamation of Jewish people and securing Justice and fair treatment for all all students teachers and faculty have the right and should be educated on this topic you say you want a safe learning environment for everyone this is how you do it stop the hate running through your hallways withit the double standards you as our leaders have set by allowing all groups to feel supported except for the Jewish community in this hard time the Jewish Community asks for support and the only way for you to do this is by educating the watchong hills Community hi Alana
013Goldstein 40 Gates Avenue um superintendent jwi Mr President and board members I'm here today to request two things from you for the Board of Education to make contact with the Anti-Defamation League and ask them to collaborate with you so you may hold a schoolwide assembly to educate both staff and students about anti-Semitism can you hear me okay uh second please do whatever it takes to help our students create the Jewish Student Union they very much want need and frankly deserve we are aware of other student clubs such as Project 7 and the Muslim Student Association I think adding a club is so much easier than trying to get rid of all of them and whatever the cost might be I know we can afford it the Jewish Student Union would be a wonderful opportunity for
014the students to be together in a safe space and perform acts of kindness as that is who the Jewish people are at the court we love to be together and we love to give back to our community so why are we asking for this because swasa drawn on lab tables and desks hell Hitler salutes and pramas rhetoric right after the October 7th attacks Within These very halls and classrooms my family and I sorry have been subjected to acts of anti-Semitism over the years and we were really embarrassed to say anything but since June it has gotten a lot more serious kids at the middle school were handing out pennies to Jewish students we found and covered up scores of sasas at the Municipal Park and we um and we received a death threat a real
015one I realized that not all these acts have happened on these school grounds but it is happening in our town and it feels like we are alone the silence is not only deafening but it's painful and it is clear indication of modern day anti-Semitism I've heard people say well it's not another Holocaust you'll be okay but it's really not okay and the world remains silent was the title of Ellie gizelle's Memoir before it was drafted into the small book we know as night in the book The main character Eleazar asks himself how is it possible that no one is speaking out about what's happening to the Jews how could people stand by and let this happen happen we cannot let the silence take over now we cannot be embarrassed and we for sure cannot let
016our children walk these halls and be and be afraid we cannot stand silent we cannot let you stand silent we need to act now it is your promise to ensure that every single student feels safe and hurt it's your responsibility to arm The Faculty with the best available tools and information to help educate our children our students can handle these serious issues what they cannot handle is another minute of your silence or in action there are two weeks until the next meeting and we are hoping that you are working on our requests and get back to us with results by then thank thank [Applause] you before anyone else comments I'll just respond to those two comments about our alleged silence for those who were not here a couple weeks ago president Bob Morrison issued a
017state where he came down very strongly against terrorism and all that sort of stuff which the board supported uh his statement uh there are certain policies in effect with respect to U actions that student take as they relate to bullying and that fall into all this hate group so and also coincidentally this happens to be uh United against United against hate week as well and Dr JW can certainly comment about that as far as creating clubs clubs can be created there's nothing that says they can't be created so there is a process and we can certainly the process can be streamlined so the fact that we don't speak every single day doesn't mean we're certainly for the actions that are taking place because I am certainly one who's certainly affected by all these actions that
018take place and as a Jew I certainly feel the anti-Semitism and I've lived it and I know it's on the rise so I don't like to see it and if I had my way uh certain things would be different uh unfortunately we live in a society where the United States believes freedom of speech even though it's limited is allowed I am sure that you're well aware that in Germany if you uh we swasa you're going to jail in the United States not necessarily the case so United St you know so we're Bound by certain laws within the United States however we have some protections within the school as I said you know actions like that fall under bullying and certain hate crimes and we can take action and just because you don't hear actions or
019things that we we don't report on everything because uh we don't necessarily have to or necessarily can report but we do a lot of stuff in executive session or we do them directly uh with Dr JWT so there are things that are happening so the fact that you don't hear about it doesn't mean things are not happening but we're strongly against that certainly as a board we're strongly against a lot of these actions but if Dr Jew if you want to just comment about the the hate you know one thing I I want to share is that when anything is reported to us um in terms of a a bias incident against any group whether it's due to race religion um culture we take it very seriously and if it's any kind of potential bias
020crime it's reported to our student uh school resource officer um and a report is drawn up even if we're not sure who uh you know uh Drew or did whatever was done we cannot share anything that happens past that point because we're dealing with minors and so I know that's sometimes very unsatisfying because you want to know what happened or what consequence quences were issued but we can't do that um so that's why you may not know what happens beyond the point of you reporting it to us uh but we do investigate everything thoroughly um the Anti-Defamation League uh you know is certainly a a good idea for a group to reach out to I encourage you to bring that up with the diversity Club um you know our principal met with the uh student
021leaders of the various clubs and with the advisers um to talk about some things you know that that they may want to do in response so that's something I'll certainly follow up with him about um but we also you know this is not the first time that education about this is is being talked about here it's part it's a mandated part of our social studies curriculum um we also have a holocaust and genocide course we have uh actually several courses that speak to that because it is a very very important piece of history that our students need to be aware of um and you know however as a school we also have to to be aware that there are a wide variety of groups represented within our school um and so just because somebody is
022of a certain descent doesn't mean they agree with some of the beliefs being put out there on social media by members of their group um so we have to to have an awareness of all of the groups of students within our our building the other piece that is very difficult for us to to respond to or manage is social media and we actually don't have the authority to come down on students or anyone for things that are posted on on social media outside of the school um because as as uh Mr Burber alluded to there is freedom of speech um so you know that does not mean that we support it um it just means that unfortunately it is not necessarily within our jurisdiction to actually take action about it um but that being said
023when students come to us about something that they've seen posted that troubles them we uh put them in touch with the various resources we have here to help them process that and help any students process that we have a very robust counseling program here um and a lot of services available for our students so that is where we're able to respond to to that piece of it um but in no way you know do is any of our actions or words you know support any of the um atrocities that have occurred um by any means and our hearts go out to all of you and your families and everyone who's been directly affected by this and I think Mr Morrison said it very well at the last meeting um that it does directly affect many
024people in our community um and so you know it's something that that a lot of people throughout our our four towns are dealing with um but just so you understand as a school where our role is limited um but our students you know we have tremendous student leaders in the building that have taken a leadership role during United against hate week and um in one of our gyms during lunch every day there are activities going on we actually brought down the peace poll if anyone here tonight would like to sign it um sign your name on it we have Sharpies here that that you can sign it with but there are just a lot of um you know gestures that our students have come up with during this week to show unity and this is
025something we do every year United against hate week is is something that our school participates in uh every single year uh and it's constantly evolving thank you um are there any additional public comments may my name is Rabbi Mandy hon I'm not a parent here I've been living in Baskin Ridge serving the uh I grew up in New Jersey born in New Jersey but I've lived here for 32 years and um member of the community and I'm here because my people I I'm I'm sensing a lot from kids and parents and I want to share with you an insight you have a position of authority and I want to just give you an Insight from my experiences to what I want people of authority to understand about something about how Jews think when there was
026a synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh a synagogue shooting in Powe after Powe I had a conference call with the attorney general at the time and and with superintendent Callahan of the State Police and someone from from the governor's office about local Municipal Police who have all been great I shouldn't say all certainly ambass R has been great and wonderful and I was representing um synagogues across the state but one thing they were missing was that they were responding if we were reaching out I wanted a chief of police to understand that when someone with hatred and evil walks into a synagogue in po California and shoots people simply because they're Jewish they're actually aiming for me and for you I've never been to PO but it's very personal and just to think because it's in California
027I'm New Jersey that's not not it and since then actually we've act we've seen that the state um Chiefs of police police um departments municipally across the state have been proactive when there's an act of hate they show up at synagogues they show up at temples because they understand doesn't matter make a difference where it was Jewish people around under attack and you should do that for any minority if they're being under attack right now is a time when Jews rightfully feel personally under attack when you have think about it if God forbid there were people demonstrating thousands of people on campuses which you think is a Bastion of liberalism and love and in different cities Campa campaigning against African-Americans and glorifying organizations that are calling for the extermination of African-Americans I would hope that
028Educators wouldn't just say we're into unity and we're prepared you would seek out those African African-American kids and say what can we do to make you feel comfortable you can't you have to be I'm sure you're traumatized hearing from siblings hearing from parents when we have this is not about about as as you told this isn't about the politics it's not about the the the the friction between Israel and and and the Palestinians this is about people in the streets glorifying Hamas who does not hide that they want me dead they don't know me they want me dead because I'm a Jew and they they're showing sasus if you kids know that their siblings know that their siblings or who are in in in colleges universities they are flabbergasted said that kid I eat lunch
029with him we're friends he's going out there saying glor to Hamas it's happening and therefore I'm I'm giving you just insight because your job is to take care of kids and I'm sure you doing a great job at it I want you to know what I think they need I think the ADL coming in here is a great idea because the staff needs to know and again I'm not talking about taking care of Jewish kids more than any other if anybody's in the crosshairs take care of them right now we're in the crosshairs it's a time to bring in the ADL and it would be absolutely beautiful if we could have the Jewish kids have a club so they can take strength from each other and with that strength be able to blend in and
030and have the unity from all that entire diversity but they have to feel feel first feel safe and who they are themselves thank you my name is Laura Cohen and I live in Warren I have been personally disgraced by the lack of acknowledgement and action by the school after the terrorist attacks against Israel and the Jewish people the silence by you the district has been perpetrating anti-Semitism in the school and our entire Community School is a place of education and a place of belonging you the district have failed both miserably right now our Jewish students are not feeling either of those things we want the school to publicly denounce anti-Semitism by showing your actions to do the following first it is urgent that the entire faculty get training and education from the ADL Anti-Defamation League
031it is unacceptable that the staff are silent and this silent is fostering an unsafe School environment please contact the ADL have them come to the school for an assembly for the entire student body so students can better understand anti-Semitism and the trauma many of the Jewish students the vast minority of this population that that this District are facing lastly there is a clear double standard at this school our group of Jewish students filed the necessary paperwork to form a local chapter of the Jewish student union and was turned down with the excuse no clubs with religious affiliations can be formed and there are no funds for any new clubs yet there was a new club formed called Project 7 it's a Christian club that discusses Bible and prayer please approve funds for a club to
032be formed for the Jewish student body so our voice are not ignored now is the time for the community to stop the silence please help educate and train our students and staff to unite and stand up against terrorism and anti-Semitism I hope that you will take advantage of this huge opportunity to show us that we are supported and our voices are heard any other comments hi I'm Meredith landow 40 christe Drive Warren I understood and appreciated your comments and while you say you cannot stop free speech of students we're not asking for that we are asking for Education my daughter who just spoke is president of diversity club and she she was told she was prohibited from doing any programs about Israel United against hate weak it's a nice concept but I don't believe it
033actually teaches the kids anything and they get anything out of it signing a peace poll wearing white it's not tackling any issues being silent and looking the other way is the definition of modern-day anti-Semitism the October 7th terrorist attack by Hamas has led to an increase in anti-Semitism of more than 400% swastikas have been drawn on a whiteboard and on a desk right here in this school if any other group was targeted by hate and Prejudice it would be discussed in our schools but there has been nothing but silence why is standing up against hate not as clear-cut when it's targeting Jews that is blat anti-Semitism and that must stop now the only way to stop it is through education there are Wang Hill students who are posting daily on their social media praising Hamas
034they don't even understand that they are a terrorist terrorist organization that they are anti- women anti-lgbtq and anti-American you have students who are celebrating terrorism and you have the power to teach them the facts yet our teachers do not have the resources or the knowledge on this subject matter to intercede in class debates leaving our Jewish students feeling Al and vulnerable our children deserve to be educated in a positive learning environment that promotes mutual respect your selective silence and instruction to teachers to avoid this subject matter infringes on our students civil liberties to have access to education and an emotionally safe environment Jewish people are protected by law against racial discrimination how is Wong Hill supporting our Jewish students and as the person before me mentioned the paperwork has been filed to start the National
035Jewish Student Union however the Administration has said no because no clubs can be formed since teachers do not have contracts however I think it is time that you start this club because there are many other clubs representing other groups and we need a safe space for these Jewish students now we ask that you educate your student body and give your teachers the resources they need by bringing in a speaker from the Anti-Defamation League and by holding a schoolwide assembly the ADL offers a variety of programs that help recognize bias and Foster a more inclusive School environment you have had speakers in the past to talk about other minority groups and they have made comments when students have asked about anti-Semitism their response was we don't need to worry about them so you are not showing
036Equitable treatment to all groups and that was reported to Mr flacker so you can check check with him on that um you have a choice now to remain silent in the face of anti-Semitism or to stand up against hate and promote mutual respect thank you thank you um hi everybody my name is Andrea Barz I live in Warren um I just want to say on Tuesday October 10th 3 days after the terrorist attacks insued in Gaza I turned to my freshman daughter and said please come to me and Daddy if you feel threatened in any way because of anti-Semitism I never thought in 2023 that I would be saying these words to my daughter I never felt that way myself when I was in high school however the high school said nothing to their students
037about the attack on Monday when they returned to school and on top of that there were swasa founds in some of the classrooms the silence to her was imp palpable and the blatant anti-Semitism from swasa being found was utterly frightening to her and to myself and my husband what happens on October 7th was an act of terrorism that occurred to people from all over the world in 40 countries not just to Israelis and Palestinians yet the rise in anti-Semitism is at its highest since the Holocaust our administrators teachers staff and children as everybody you know has already said we need education and resources to address the evil that is spreading and also asking that you please bring a speaker from the ADL to hold a schoolwide assembly and also to take advantage of many other
038programs they have to offer to teach students to recognize that bias and and Foster a more inclusive School environment in addition there's seems to be a double standard at the school as um other people have expressed as well um as you've heard some of our students have filed paperwork with the National Jewish Student Union to create a local chapter here at the high school they were turned down as the administration said no new clubs could be formed as the teachers don't have contracts yet there was a new club formed at our high school called Project 7 which is a Christian club and that club does discuss Bible and prayer how come the Jewish students were told no so I you know always think back to 38 years ago um from the infamous song We Are
039the World and those words ring true to me every single day of my life especially now um and those words are there comes a time when we when we heed a certain call when the world must come together as one there are people dying and when it's time to lend a hand to life the greatest gift of all we can't go on pretending day by day that someone somewhere soon make a change we're all part of God's great big family and the truth you know love is all we need We are the world we are the children we are the ones who make a brighter day so let's start giving we're saving our own lives it's true that we'll make our better day just you and me I'm asking you to do the right thing
040for our children stop the silence help educate about anti-Semitism as well as to Foster inclusiveness for all cultures and races please bring the ADL into help thank you very [Applause] much anyone else hello my name is Stephanie vanderbeck I live at 117 Wallace Court in Greenbrook I have two kids in the school and up until now I've been very pleased with their emotional educational experience here at Wong Hills on October 7th my family and much of the world witnessed with complete horror the ATR the atrocities committed against innocent Israeli citizens in their homes at a large Music Festival women were raped babies beheaded children murdered right in front of their parents families wiped out like bugs this level of an attack and annihilation of Jewish citizens has not been experienced since the Holocaust the next
041gut-wrenching punch for me came when I opened an email from my school board a brief vanilla letter acknowledging the terrorist attack overseas it promised a safe nurturing environment for our children the idea that the atrocities of this heinous attack in Israel were washed over by that comment was a huge understatement which was extremely hurtful and a direct insult to every member of our Jewish Community this letter lacked everything empathy for those whose families and friends suffered at the hands of this mass murder resources for both students and families on how to process and discuss the events training for our teachers so they can help our kids in real time in their classrooms and most importantly keeping your words of Promise of providing a safe and nurturing environment for our children this has not happened thusly
042our Jewish students do not feel safe with the posture of complete silence and indifference your silence speaks volumes to our students and this community we are teaching a generation of students who will someday be the next leaders of this country to acknowledge and move on this is completely unacceptable I have seen letters from other superintendant like maten that came out very clearly and said we will not at all accept this terrorist attack on Israel and its citizens here is a list as long as my arm of references for your families and your students that they can access to help them process this this letter to me was so hurtful I almost wish you didn't send it at all some of our students went to the Pres uh principal requesting a Jewish Union Club I don't
043want to reiterate what everybody said everybody has said this before we're not sure why there's a sticking point in our being able to join start a club for the kids um I am hoping that this will be corrected promptly so that they have a safe place but I too am asking you since all of the teachers have taken a posture of I don't want to talk about it I don't know enough about it I have been told not to speak about it we've heard a Litany of excuses and that's what it feels like to the Jewish Community simply lip service and quite frankly I can't even accuse you of that because your letter didn't even give us that except for providing that safe environment for the kids my daughter told me that the when she
044hit the school on Monday before anything was said by the board to our community there were letters posted all over the school and flyers from from different clubs that made her feel very uncomfortable this is so disappointing to me in this community that I've been so happy and so much a part of being the freshman football parent getting involved wherever I can when my kids are involved this really feels like a complete letdown and if there's any takeaway that you have from this meeting I think you can understand that all of these people who came out tonight to tell you that your silence I understand you're working on things behind the scene but what does that tell the community nothing absolutely nothing I too would like you to engage the anti-deformation league get them in
045here they have amazing amazing seminars and um assemblies for the kids they can help train the teachers so at least our teachers are educators of these kids can honestly look at the kids and give them some information that is unbiased that is safe for everybody to hear but your silence to me is what is most hurtful and one letter that was six lines long with some ridiculous reference to a terrorist attack overseas that could have happened in Uganda was insulting and it made me feel very badly and very ashamed to be part of this community and I hope that you will hear all of our voices and please respond appropriately in a way that will support our students and our community here thank [Applause] you thank you for hearing me I am not a Jew
046however I believe that not supporting Jews in this country at this time is indeed an anti-Semitism not condemning terrorism is in fact supporting it the fact that you could say we are under control we are looking at it you haven't heard about it that's the problem no one has heard about it if you guys are doing something we have no idea what it is okay and that's unacceptable it is unacceptable how can we support our young people in this community in these trying times where we see college campuses instilling fear in Jews and those that support them a recent email from this very board claimed that the board and the staff of the school have responsibility to create a safe and nurturing environment for our students tell me please what has been done up to
047now that the student students can feel that the students know about what has been done I believe that the New Jersey law against discrimination in schools has been used to protect Muslims and rightfully so what about the Jews I believe that has been used to support the black people in our community what about the Jews it has been used to support the Asians in our communities what about the Jews what has been done it seems like nothing could we maybe Begin by the board clearly condemning October 7th as a terrorism as terrorism it was a terroristic attack it is not a war this is a terroristic attack the Board needs to declare it so the Board needs the students to hear you declare it so we need to educate our staff how can our staff
048be told that they're not allowed to discuss this in class because they don't know how how is that possible if they don't know how if they need training get them the training because ignoring this is making it worse how about the club for the Jews how about them I know we have them for other organizations and I know we can't do it because of certain factors you can get by those factors you all know you can make it happen I know these people will help pay for the for the teacher I'll help pay for the teacher if that's what it takes if there's no money in the budget because of the because of the contract we will help give us the opportunity this can't stand the way it is right now your silence is a
049problem and what you have done up to this point is silence and it cannot [Applause] continue your name thank you hi so don't count my time right now I'm gonna apologize I just ran here so I don't know what you've heard um your name and where you're from I'll tell you but I would not I don't want to walk out of here without saying my piece okay so my name's Erica Green Mountain Avenue Warren first they came for the Socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist then they came from the train unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew then they came for me and
050there was no one left to speak the silence during the 1930s was deafening we vowed to never forget we vowed to educate our children about hatred genocide anti-Semitism yet the board the school administration and the faculty silence after October 7th has been deafening we encourage our students and children to be an upstander and if you see something say something yet your silence has been deafening your email on October 11th where you state your key responsibility as a board leadership faculty and staff to ensure a safe nurturing educational environment has not happened your silence has been deafening when students have gone to faculty expressing their concerns their fears sadness sense of isolation as a result of your silence the students are met with more silence the staff has claimed that they have been told they cannot
051discuss the situation in Israel because they're not educated regarding a geopolitical landscape it's not about that it's about humanity and your silence has been deafening when dozens of students requested to start a Jewish student union or an Israel Club they were met with excuses regarding lack of funding that as a result of the teachers not having a signed contract no one was allowed to be their adviser and yet your silence is still deafening when students see the existence of Watchung sponsored clubs such as black student unions Project 7 which is a Bible Club whose mission is to unlock Faith Elevate Christ through lunchtime Bible studies your silence has been deafening when you fail to discuss anti-Semitism genocide terrorism of the Jewish people you are squandering a teachable moment for our students during Warriors against hate
052week none of that has been discussed your silence is deafening when you water down your messages ensuring that you appear neutral failing to take a stand against the raping beheading murdering torturing kidnapping of innocent humans your silence is deafening let me be very clear tonight this is not an anti-palestinian message that I am voicing this is a plea I am begging the Board of Ed The Faculty the staff to stand up stand up for the civil rights and for the human it of the Jewish student population that you serve their voices need to be heard action needs to be taken stop your silence I stand Here respectfully and I request three impactful solutions that should take place immediately please contact the Anti-Defamation League have them come to this High School have them educate the board
053have them educate your faculty your coaches your counselors your administrative aids your parents on everything current events Israel anti-Semitism anti-zionism you need to stop your silence I also request that the ADL hold a schoolwide assembly discussing Israel's current events educating our students this is no longer an Israel problem this is a wung Hills Regional problem and I'm asking you to stop your silence please lastly I ask that you approve Pro and find the funds for a club let it be either a Jewish student union or an Israel Club let the students decide regardless of the politics that are going on with the teachers union I implore you stop your silence it has been pr8 days since the war on Judaism began we have seen an increase in Acts of hate and violence towards Jews in
054the United States by 388 since October 7th we have patiently waited for the board to take a stand to use these acts of genocide as a teachable moment to educate our students on what is right and what is wrong and your silence has been deafening and the community the parents the students they've heard your message loud and clear now is your chance now is your chance to stop being silent now is the time for the community and the Jewish student body of wung Hills Regional High School to hear your voice I implore you if not now then when and if not all of you then whom thank [Applause] you any additional comments my name is Susan Kleberg I'm on Johnston drive and watch I have a freshman um he absolutely loves the school can you
055hear me his friends classes programs I also have a sixth grader that's going to be coming to the school in just a few years to the Board of Education I'm here today to ask three things most of which you've already heard today but first take a solid stance on denouncing hamas's terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7th which brutally killed 1200 civilians and took over 200 men women and children as hostages in a single day the very brief and vague email that was sent out to to the district on October 12th was insufficient in its condemnation of these horrific attacks the attacks of October 7th were acts of terrorism and it's it's important to call out terrorism for exactly what it is the unlawful use of violence and intimidation against civilians in the pursuit of
056political aims we must we must educate the teachers and students to understand that Hamas attacked Israel unprovoked violence is never Justified understand that the Jewish Community is still reeling from this it is in the front of our minds and the center of our hearts every single day the Deep pain of the past has resurfaced and and in order for students to feel safe in our schools we cannot be silent about the terrorist attack in Israel on the contrary we need to educate my second request to the board approve a club that represents the needs of the Jewish students as you've heard several students requested to start a chapter of the National Jewish student union and there were requests were denied where there were other clubs that were formed um it's really important that their requests
057are heard and that this club is formed especially now our students cannot be denied the opportunity to discuss issues related to anti-Semitism when it is so prevalent finally I urge the board to use a reputable Source such as the Anti-Defamation League and run educational programs for the teachers and hold a schoolwide assembly to educate our students in an unbiased and safe way there is so much misinformation amplifying hate and confusion and the only way to combat this is through education currently our teachers are not comfortable responding to student questions about the issue and that's a failure we intentionally move to Wang knowing the Multicultural nature of our town these are trying times for the Jewish people and Silence about the conflict breeds misinformation and more hatred we must be supportive of one another and speak
058out against anti-Semitism as well as other cultural bies in existing in our community and our country today thank you [Applause] anyone else only once twice okay second opportunity for public comment is over um I'm going to give people a chance to respond in a moment anyone certainly can have the right but uh I heard a few things I just want to straighten out some of the truths out there number one we do have a contract with the teachers number two the war on Judaism did did not start 38 days ago it started thousands of years ago um the board has not been silent uh uh the board president Bob Morrison uh I'm going to read his statement again uh October 17th at the at that meeting he read a statement which we can put on
059the on our website which I guess uh cuz our meetings are so well attended I guess there were a bunch of people who didn't hear it so I'm just going to read it certainly not with the emphasis that Bob put on it but uh again it was supported by the entire it was submitted to the entire board and the entire board uh encouraged Bob to speak out on October 7th 2023 early on a Saturday morning terrorists from Hamas breached the Israeli border and perpetrated the greatest act of murder on Jewish people since the Holocaust the atrocities atrocities are unspeakable the tragic and senseless loss of so many innocent citizens is unimaginable this is an indefensible barbaric Act of terrorism this is not something that is just happening somewhere else many people who are suffering are
060right here in our community the Jewish Community is a close-knit group many Jewish families in our community know someone or had a relative who was brutally murdered or taken h ostage many families know someone or have a relative who has been called into active services with the IDF the suffering of our neighbors and friends is very real and they need our support we must also call for all efforts to be taken to ensure the safety and well-being of the civilians in Gaza are now caught with no place to go we must hope and pray that civilian casualties will be minimal hatred has no place at Wun Hills if this is a teachable moment we must be clear that terrorist ISM has no place in a civilized society and we must speak up and call out
061evil when we see it and we must respect the rights of all citizens to Live free with the free from the threat of terrorism any students needing support should not hesitate to reach out to a member of our school counseling team you may also want to visit our Warrior Wellness Resource page on our website one of our key responsibilities as a board leadership team faculty and staff is to ensure a safe and nurture ing educational environment for our students hate has no place on our campus the strength of our community lies within our support of one another again he read this October 17th uh that was our first meeting right after uh the attack the media is at all of our meetings and general and our meetings are all live streamed and recorded So with
062that said does anyone on the board have any further comments one thing I just want to correct the misinformation as well so Project 7 has actually been a club since 2014 that was not a new club that was approved this year and it this is like a bad game of telephone because there was actually several different reasons presented for why a club wasn't formed um and we did also talk about this at the last board meeting as as well which I think was in one of the articles in the paper as well that clarified um why no new clubs are being formed right now when a new club is formed there is never funding for that club because we haven't budgeted for it but we don't want to tell students that they can't put forward
063new clubs because of a lack of funding because we obviously have to budget for it a year in advance um and and clubs come and go based on student interest so there's a large majority of our clubs that have volunteer advisors when we are working when when the staff is working under an expired contract generally they may be working to rule so they are not going to be volunteering for additional work outside of their contract which is why we are not approving new clubs because those students won't be able to find volunteer advisors for their clubs so most of our other clubs related to diversity because those are relatively new those are actually unpaid advisers they are not in the um the the units in our uh Collective bargaining agreement to get stiens so that
064had nothing to do with the club not being approved we actually did talk to those students and let them know that there was a staff member that was willing to that and was would welcome them coming to her classroom during lunch which is when our club's meet so that they could talk about things that they wanted to talk about and could meet so it wouldn't have it won't be formed as a formal Club right now but it would act it would certainly be provide they were looking for a place to meet and talk and gather and that's what we were providing for them so I I just want to clear that up it had nothing to do there was so this is not a dialogue public comment I believe we closed um so this is
065just providing some some follow-up information um I would also ask you know I know some of you did speak with the principal but you know any of the concerns brought up we looked into we've met with students we are not if we could solve anti-Semitism you know I I'm not sure I you know that that is something that as as our uh as my board president was talking about has been going on for thousands of years it is certainly something that we take very seriously and we are working in our school we are always working to establish a culture of acceptance um but you know as you can see even saying figuring out you know saying the right thing um saying the strong enough thing we have never called this anything other than a terrorist
066attack I want to make that very very clear um that is all that we have referred to it as with regard to training for our staff one thing we advise our staff when students go to them who are having trouble processing something is to refer them to our counseling staff who is professionally trained to help students process things like this so that is the direction the staff was given there are certainly members of our staff that are are more knowledgeable our social study staff is very highly trained in speaking about the Holocaust so and anti-Semitism so that is absolutely something that they are able to speak about our entire staff actually did receive training in diversity equity and inclusion social justice um and things related to that through a a professional Consulting Group that we
067had do two years of professional development with our staff very recently as part of our strategic plan um so that doesn't mean that that training is done it doesn't mean that that they know how to address everything or that we're done with this work this is constantly work that we are looking at how to refine how to improve roove and how to better educate ourselves um so you know we certainly appreciate the feedback that you've provided us tonight but I do just want to clear up some of the misinformation that's out there and I also want to take this moment to thank the teachers because as most of you know what's going on on a lot of college campuses there are professors who are uh espousing their anti-semitic views which uh I find very distasteful
068but that's what's going on we do not seem to have that here where our teachers are certainly not certainly overtly anti-semitic and I have not heard of any uh statements or actions by The Faculty uh in this regard so I'm very pleased about that but I wish I could say that about some of the college university colleges and universities that my uh children went to and also that I went to um with that said does anyone else want to make a comment please Dan I just want to uh first off thank you for your comments number one number two I think it's really important to keep in mind that um the board and its Communications and statements have been um I think fairly direct as uh Michael just read off the U the statement from
069Bob Marson this president but secondly um this issue impacts each one of us in a very personal way uh October 8th uh we found out that one of our financial advisers niece um was Miss and and uh was not found uh alive shortly thereafter that's a personal thing um my um we have a long history of family history uh my grandfather's Jewish we understand where it's coming from um I personally spoke out after Bob uh spoke out to say that I personally was supportive of anything we could do and I think other board members said that at the meeting whether it was reported or or not I don't know we only I only have one voice so that's the voice I use um the other part of that is and I think this is maybe
070an encouragement for all of us but also on an individual level a lot of this teaching happens one-on-one with our children um I just spent you know a couple days with my daughter we saw the um photos of the hostages in California on a wall in college we stopped we looked at them I explained what was happening these are teachable moments on a personal level that we have to take advantage of um but in no way is this board silent in no way am I silent I don't think I've ever been accused of being silent ever um the other thing too is there was issues that brought up on social media I condemned them a month and a half ago I condemned them very directly but one thing I want to keep in mind we
071are we should not be defined by the worst among us we should be defined by the best Among Us so while we take the time out to condemn the acts of our neighbors that are not appropriate we should take just as much time if not more saying the good things that are happening in our communities in terms of these issues and I'm going to tell you Warren Warren is a great place to live and it is a very great play it while again we can beg to different on different things but um that's the way I feel I think we should be just as voiceful on the our our um specious on the uh positives than just giving power giving negative power or power to negative people in our lives in our social media lives
072so I do appreciate the fact to address uh the fact that we are not silent this board is not silent I am not silent I will not be silent I've never been accused of being silent um so I'm not sure how how more we can address the issue other than that I uh asked the administration to look into um those issues that were brought up thank you thanks Dan uh and I also just want everyone to know that uh president Morrison has been in contact with many of the Jewish leaders in the communities in the community uh with regard to uh generating ideas uh steps to move forward and I'm sure he doesn't want me to tell everyone but he's in Washington DC today at the pro-israel March that's why he's not with us today
073uh so and again everyone is certainly supportive of this uh anyone else wna yes I just want to restate last time I was here I was in Israel a few years back I was in a tour named Stan with Israel I do identify with the cause uh I am completely in support of Israel and their right to defend themselves and I just want to make that clear and I think it's a little unfair that the borderers attacked for um for not standing up because we actually have and it's kind of works against your argument um thank well then we got to do better job at communicating we got to do a better job at communic I just want to say that and I do support I do support and we will do better to try
074to get the message out anyone else and then before we end before I call from German I just want to uh wish everyone a beled Happy Veterans Day um a day that's very near and dear to my heart as I have a son who uh is a veteran uh again wish all those veterans who didn't have a choice and were drafted into the army but my son chose to uh a career in well not a career in the military but a term in the military so I just want you know to me uh Veterans Day is probably the third most important holiday after July 4th which is the independence of the United States which I'm a strong proponent of and then uh Memorial Day where people have given their life to support this country and
075make us what some might argue and hopefully agree that's the greatest country on Earth so um all those veterans any other comments or I'll call for adjournment I move to ajour