001I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Notice of the January 7th, 2026 meeting of the board of education was emailed to the clerks of the burrows of Essex Falls, North Caldwell and Roseland and to the township of Fairfield and to the editor of the progress on December 16, 2025 and the Star Ledger on the same day. I will swear in board members. You want to print it nice and big. >> Very good. >> So you can read it. You just have to raise your right hand. >> Sure. >> Am I ready? >> Yep. You're good. >> All right. I, Philip Andre, do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of
002the United States and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and this state under the authority of the people. So help me God. I, Philip, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and partially and justly perform all the duties of the office of board member according to the best of my ability. So help me God. I, Philip Andre, do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications of membership prescribed by law, including a specific declaration that I'm not disqualified as a voter, and a specific declaration that I'm not disqualified due to conviction of a crime or offense listed in NJSA18A 12-1. and also that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office. So
003help me God. >> Perfect. You're good. Congratulations. >> You could sign the page on the back and then I'll collect it from you at the end of the day. You're good. >> Thank you, >> Miss Calder. >> Uh these are the extra ones. Just raise your right hand, please. >> I, Deborra Sack Calderon, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the government established in the United States and this state under the authority of the people. So help me God. I Deborah Sak Calderon do solely swear that I will faithfully and partially and justly perform all the duties of the office of board member according to the
004best of my ability. So help me God. I Deborah Sack Calderon do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications of membership prescribed by law, including a specific declaration that I am not disqualified as a voter and a specific declaration that I am not disqualified due to conviction of crime or offense listed in NJSA182-1 and also that I faithfully discharge the duties of the office. So help me God. >> Perfect. Congratulations. I will swear Miss Hall sat in on a leader. All right, roll call. Mr. Andre >> here. >> Miss Chrisall is absent. Miss Giovani >> here. >> Miss Helen is absent. Miss Calgro >> here. >> Mr. Sher >> here. >> Mr. Sampone >> here. >> Mr. Toad >> here. >> Miss Wajitz >> here. >> I will conduct the election of the president of
005the board. Are there any nominations? >> I'd like to nominate Mary for the president of the board of education for the next year. >> Any other nominations? Okay, I'm going to call the RO. Mr. Andre, >> you can abstain if you'd like. >> It's up to you. >> Thank you. >> We're just noting it. >> Miss Giovani. >> Yes. >> Miss Calderon. >> Yes. >> Mr. Sher. >> Yes. >> Mr. Sampone. >> Yes. >> Mr. Toad. Miss Wadwitz. >> Yes. >> Right. I know. I know. >> Congratulations. >> Uh, and then Oh, yeah. Mayor, you have to run the election for the vice president. >> Okay. Um, just turn your microphone. >> Oh, yeah. Sorry. Sorry. Okay. Are there any nominations for the election of vice president of the board? >> I'd like to nominate
006Mr. Stamp. >> Second. >> Are there any other nominations for vice president? >> I will roll. >> Mr. Gioani. >> Yes. >> Miss Mr. Yes, >> Mr. Sam. >> Yes, >> Mr. >> Yes. How did you do? >> It's been fun. >> It has been fun. >> Okay. >> Oh, see now you have >> Now you have to do this. >> Oh, sorry. I was saying you need to move that >> constantly getting screwed by Um the readings board member code of ethics. Okay. So at this time we're going to have the board members. We're going to go around. Everyone has their um um board member code of ethics. We'll go around. Everyone will read. Um, Philip, you can take one and we'll go around the room and um, read that and then we'll sign
007it. I think most people signed it and gave it back to Melissa. I think most people are going to sign it and give it back to Melissa. >> Philip, do you want to start with number one, please? Sure. Thank you. >> I will up uphold and enforce all laws, rules, and regulations of the state board of education and court orders pertaining to schools. Desired changes shall be brought about only through legal and ethical procedures. >> I will make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of children and will seek to develop and maintain public schools that meet the individual needs of all children regardless of their ability, race, creed, sex, or social standing. I will confine my board action to policym planning and appraisal and I will help to frame policies and plans only after
008the board has consulted those who will be affected by them. >> I will carry out my responsibility not to administer the schools but together with my fellow board members to see that they are well. >> I will recognize the authority board of education and will make no personal promises nor take any private action that we compromise the board. I refuse to surrender my independent judgments to special interest groups or partisan political groups or to use the school for personal gain or for the gain of friends. >> I will hold confidential all matters pertaining to the schools which if disclosed would needlessly injure individuals or the schools. In all other matters, I will provide accurate information and in concert with my fellow board members interpret to the staff the aspirations of the community for its schools.
009>> I will vote to appoint the best qualified personnel available after consideration of the recommendation of the chief administrative officer. >> I will support and protect school professional sorry personnel and proper performance of their duties. >> I will refer all complaints to the chief administrative officer and will act on the complaints at public meetings only after failure of an administrative solution. >> I will behave my fellow board members with respect to their office. demonstrating courtesy and fair play at all public meetings and all public statements. >> Refrain from inappropriate conduct in public meetings and making public statements from any disparagement of my public fellow board members or others on personal, social, racial or religious basis. >> Great. Okay, we can all sign them and hand those back to Melissa. Perfect. Um I will read the
010results of the West Essex Regional School District election that was held on Tuesday, November 4th, 2025. The results are the Burough of North Caldwell, one member of the board of education for a three-year term. Philip Andre, 2,50 votes. Burough of North Cwell, one member of the Board of Education for a three-year term. Debbie Hollenstat, 2,137 votes. And Burrow of Rosland, one member of the board of education for a three-year term. Deborah Sako Calderon for 1,269 votes. >> Excellent. Congratulations. Um, okay. The following reorganization motions are made at the recommendation of the superintendent of schools. Anything placed on this agenda items 1 through six have been deemed to be non-controversial in a matter of routine business and will be voted upon in one motion. And I so move. >> Are there any um questions about any
011of these items? >> Okay. Yes. Thank you, >> Mr. Andre. >> Yes. >> Miss Giovanni. >> Yes. >> Miss Calderon. >> Yes. >> Mr. Sher. >> Yes. >> Mr. Saman. >> Yes. >> Mr. Toad. >> Yes. >> Miss Wadwitz. >> Yes. >> Okay. Um, first I'd like to just say welcome back and um, happy new year to everyone. Um, I want to thank the board for voting me in as president and I look forward to working with everyone. I want to congratulate Rey on his appointment to vice president. I think you're going to do a phenomenal job. Um you're very detail oriented and we love that. Um I want to congratulate Deborah Sacko Caldron and Debbie Hollinset on their reelection and also um Philip. We'd like to welcome you to the board. We look forward
012to working with you this year or the next three years. Um so welcome aboard. Um I also want to take this uh a moment just to uh express our gratitude to Deborah Calderon for her leadership this past year. Um, we know you're so dedicated. You go above and beyond and yeah, put a lot of time into this board and it shows and we really appreciate all you've done. So, thank you for that. Your unwavering dedication to the board. >> No, no, no. We'll keep you on that though. Um, no, but really your dedication, you you know, you put so much time and effort into the board. We appreciate it. >> And we're happy to have you back. Um, and also on behalf of the board, we'd like to um congratulate uh Alicia Anion who will
013be our next she's on this um agenda this evening to be our next middle school principal. So, we want to say welcome to the West Essex family. Uh we're happy to have you board. So, congratulations. Um I do have some like board business stuff. So, yeah. Um so, on the agenda for tonight, we are approving our uh scheduled meeting dates. Everyone has said it's page four on your agenda. if you could just look over the dates and uh let me know Damian and myself if you have any conflicts. Um I know people schedule vacations for the summer or have business travel. We just want to make sure that we have a quorum. So if you see anything that stands out, if you could just let us know. Uh this way if we have to reschedule
014a meeting. So let me know about that. Um we also oh we're also approving our committees this evening. So, everyone should have gotten a form to fill out for your committee um choices and then if you could get that back to Melissa by Sunday, Saturday or Sunday, the 10th or 11th because they can they can send it into Google Doc, right? >> I think Google >> Okay. So, I think everyone here could probably fill it out immediately and we can have Laya and Deb I'll reach out to them tomorrow. Okay. All right. So, they can get that back as soon as possible so we can uh work on our committees. Um we also have I know Nick Stampon is working on our events calendar and when you have that you'll you'll email that to the
015board, correct? We can all sign up for activities or events at the school that we can um sign up for those and attend the events. So, that would be great. And then I think um On Tuesday, December 30th, Deb Calderon had sent an email from Jean Clearary from New Jersey School Boards uh for a retreat, our upcoming retreat. Uh just I guess she had given us some topics. If everyone could just pick one, two or three topics that they'd like to look at and review, we can get back to her and let her know some of the topics. Like she said to Deb, she could pick topics, but what's important to us? So, she'd rather us um you know, pick the topics that we want to talk about. We'll also at our um retreat be
016going over our annual ethics training and HIV training, but this is in addition to that. So, um Deb, were there any other items to follow up on from last year? >> And whatever will go towards our cification. >> She may have, but I think she also said, >> okay, she also said, you know, what's important to us that she'd rather discuss those topics. >> Okay, >> I'll do just a note that wouldn't have got that email. So, make sure you >> Oh, okay. Perfect. Thanks for that. Yes. >> Yes. Good point. >> It was the data. >> Okay. >> Thank you, John. >> Okay. Also, um so um Philipe is a new board member and something that we've always done um here at West Essex is our new board members always get a mentor. So
017I know John you have agreed to be his mentor. Um so it's always nice to have someone you know you have questions you know you could always contact me you know any board member but you're assigned a mentor just so that you know if you have any questions that you know that's great. >> Yeah. And then I know also we also do an orientation manual for new board members. I think you'll get the new that you could share with him, you go over it with him. Um, so it's just something that this way you don't feel like a a fish in a big pond when you're sitting here. What should I do? Um, it takes time to learn the ropes and whatever. So, yeah. So, this way it's it helps to have the mentor. Um,
018I think that's all I have. >> All right. So, happy new year everyone. Uh, congratulations to Mr. Andre, Miss Hollandat, Miss Calderon um for your um elections to the board. Welcome aboard. Miss Calderon, thank you for your service as the board president. Um it's been it's been outstanding and thank you for everything that you do for our school district. And congratulations to Mary and Ray. We look I look forward to working with you guys. Um, all right. So, tonight I'm pleased to share exciting news regarding the leadership of West Essex Middle School. Tonight, I'm recommending the appointment of Miss Alicia Angone as the next principal of Essex Middle School. We're confident that Miss Angion will be an outstanding addition to our district and a strong leader for our middle school community. Miss Angion currently serves
019as the assistant principal at Pamis High School in Bergie County where she has been a valued member of their administrative team for the past seven years. In in this role, she has demonstrated strong leadership across both instructional and operational areas, including uh overseeing standardized testing, serving on the school security team, supervising attendance systems and student discipline, conducting teacher observations and evaluations, and assisting with the planning and implementation of professional development. Prior to becoming an administrator, Miss Angion taught social studies at both the middle school and high school levels in the Cedar Grove public schools. During her teaching career, she was actively involved in the school community in extracurricular extracurricular programs, serving as the head girls volleyball coach, assistant cheerleading coach, a peer leadership adviser, and and the Treps adviser. Her well-rounded background reflects her commitment
020to students, school safety, and engagement beyond the classroom. Throughout the interview process, Miss Angion demonstrated a clear understanding of middle school culture, a student centered leadership philosophy, and a strong focus on collaboration. We're confident that her experience and approach align closely with our district's core values and vision for academic excellence. to provide the community with an opportunity to meet Miss Angion. She'll be on site for a meet and greet on Thursday, January 29th from 6:00 to 7:30 in the middle school cafeteria. And we encourage families, students, and staff to attend. Um, this will all go out in an email blast tomorrow, by the way, to our community. And as previously shared, Mr. D. Loberto will continue to serve as our interim principal at the middle school to ensure a smooth and successful transition. We are
021grateful for his leadership and support during this important period. So, please join me in welcoming Miss Angion to our school community. We look forward to the positive impact she will have on our middle school and the continued success of our students. Um, okay. At this time, we'll open up the floor for public comment on agenda items. Does anyone have any public comments on agenda items? Um, okay. We will move on to Finance. Um, John Toad, would you like to say finance, please? >> Sure. Following finance motions are made at the recommendation of the superintendent of schools. Anything placed on this agenda, items 1 through 10 will be voted on upon in one motion and ISO motion. >> Are there any questions or comments? >> Mr. Andre. >> Yes. Miss Civani, >> yes. >> Miss Calderon,
022>> yes. >> Mr. Sher, >> yes. >> Mr. Stamp, >> Mr. Toad, >> yes. >> Miss Wads, >> yes. >> Ruth, do you want to take buildings and grounds, please? >> Sure. >> The following buildings and grounds motions are made at the recommendation of the superintendent of schools. Anything placed on this agenda item one? If you vote upon one motion, I >> second. Any questions or comments? >> Okay. >> Mr. Andre, >> yes. >> Miss Giovani, >> yes. >> Miss Calder, >> yes. >> Mr. Sher, >> yes. >> Sen, >> yes. >> Mr. Toad, >> yes. >> Miss Wick, >> yes. >> Jonathan, do you want to take personnel, please? >> Following personnel motions are made of the superintendent of schools. Any place on this agenda? Items one through six motion. >> Any questions or
023comments? >> Okay. >> Mr. Andre. >> Yes. >> Miss C. Giovani. >> Yes. >> Miss Calderon. >> Yes. >> Mr. Sher. >> Yes. >> Mr. Sampone. >> Yes. >> Mr. Toad? >> Yes. >> Miss Waj? >> Yes. Congratulations. It's official. All right. Um, Deb, do you want to take curriculum? >> Sure. >> Second, any questions or comments? >> Mr. Andre? >> Yes. >> Missy Gabani? >> Yes. >> Miss Calderon? >> Yes. Mr. Sher. >> Yes. >> Mr. Sampone. >> Yes. >> Mr. To? >> Yes. >> Miss Witz? >> Yes. >> Ray, do you want to take miscellaneous? >> Sure. >> The following miscellaneous motions are made at the recommendation of the superintendent of schools. Anything placed on this agenda, items 1 through four will be voted upon in one motion. >> Second. >> Any questions
024or comments? >> Okay. Before you take the role, I'm just going to tell uh Philip he should not vote on items three and four. >> Yep. >> Okay. Okay. Call the >> Mr. Andre. >> Missy Giovani. >> Yes. >> Miss Calderon. >> Yes. >> Mr. Sher. >> Yes. >> Mr. Sam. >> Yes. >> Mr. Toad. >> Yes. >> Miss W. >> Yes. >> Okay. We'll open up the floor at this time for um comments on non-aggenda items. Does anyone have anything? No. Okay. Um, Ray, do you want to read us out? >> Sure. There being no further business before the board of education be resolved at this public meeting be adjourned at >> 28 >> 38 28 >> second >> All in favor. >> Perfect. Okay. Wow. Thank you everyone for coming. Now we start.