Maybe she has like to call this Barnagate Board of Education meeting to order, please. Hello. Hello. In the back. Thank you. We got a full house today. Is that allowed that we're not
student athletes here? The notice of this meeting has been forwarded to the Aspberry Park Press. the beacon and placed in the foyer of each Barnagut Township school in the Barnagate Township Municipal Building and has been filed with the Barnagut Township Municipal Clerk in conjunction with the Open Public Meetings Act NJSA 104-10.
I roll call please. Miss Churnney here. Miss Contin here. Mr. Fedorzic is not Miss Jeanie here. Mr. Hearn here. Miss Msa is not here. Miss Terinowski here. Miss Washburn here
and Mr. Sarno here. We have a quorum. Thank you. Please in the back. Can we keep it down a little bit? All right. Join us in a flag salute. 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. All right. Item five on our agenda is approval of the agenda andor
additions. Is there just uh two changes? One, uh we uh moved the renewal and of tenure to non-tenure report to after executive session that'll be conducted as new business. And then uh motion was updated to reflect the tax levy incentive aid and a 3% tax levy per the
state requirements. Um so it's the same numbers. It was just some verbiage changes. Okay. So, can I have a motion to approve the amended agenda, please? So, moved. Second. Roll call. Miss Churnney, yes. Miss Continza, yes.
Miss Genie, yes. Mr. Hearn, yes. Miss Terowski, yes. And Miss Washburn, yes. Mr. Sarno, yes. Motion carried. Thank you. Item six on our agenda is approval of the minutes. We have six motions. Can I get
a motion to approve those six, please? So moved. Second. Roll. Miss Churnney. Yes. Miss Continza, yes. Miss Green Genie, yes. Mr. Hearn, yes. Miss Terowski, yes. Miss Washburn,
yes. Mr. Sarno, yes. Motion carried. Thank you. Um, next on our agenda is our student upstanders. And I will turn it over to Dr. Lwis. I would like to invite up Miss Camarada to lead us in the upstanders. They just
have loud. Good evening. The upstander program is a wonderful opportunity to recognize and celebrate students districtwide who demonstrate a specific Bengal pride trait. Oh, wait. Just my teacher voice. These traits continue to enhance the
positive climate in our schools as well as the home, school, and community partnership that plays an essential role in our student success. This month, our students exemplified respect for the R in Bengal pride. To reward these students, we are granting them with a
gift card for a family dinner to a local restaurant. Thank you. There you go. Great. Thank you, Tom. The American Legion Auxiliary sponsored tonight's gift cards. I am honored tonight to recognize seven upstanding individuals for their commitment to making Barnagget a better
place. When you hear your name, please join board president Scott Sarno and Superintendent Dr. Brian Latwis in celebrating you by coming to receive your plaque and gift certificate. From Barnagate High School, we have Isabelle Anderson. [Applause]
Isabelle is an admirable student who has made an amazing transition into a new building during her first year of high school. Isabelle is blind. She works extremely hard each school day to navigate the building and her busy schedule and does so with a positive attitude. She is very respectful student
who always looks out for her friends and always ensures the students and staff are respectful to one another. Isabelle has worked on many new things this year and she continues to grow. Her respect for our school building and the district rules and policies have never swayed. Isabelle kindly greets others every day,
truly cares how their day is going, and provides a positive example for other students to see. She is a defining example of putting her best effort forward each time she walks into BHS. Above all, Isabelle is just as respectful to a random person in the hallway as she is to the closest
friends. Isabelle treats others equally and continues to be a bright spot in our classrooms. Congratulations, Isabelle. From the Russell Ockman Middle School, we have Elizabeth Topaloski. Elizabeth consistently demonstrates exceptional kindness and
respect in all her interactions. She encourages her peers to be their best and always shows consideration for both classmates and adults. Elizabeth is mindful of others feelings and needs, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment. In addition to her strong interpersonal qualities, she is
dedicated and hard-working student, consistently applying herself to all tasks with focus and determination. Her respectful attitude and commitment to excellence make her a valued member of the school community. Congratulations. From the Robert Earlbell Intermediate School, we have
Null Garley. Null is always looking out for his classmates. If someone says or does something wrong, null is the first person to say that wasn't nice. He is kind, empathetic, patient, and sticks up for the underdog. He also has a great moral compass. Null knows when things
are right or wrong. I've never seen him angry. He always does the right thing and is welld deserving of this award. Congratulations. From the Joseph T. Donahghue Elementary School, we have Joseph Lutz. Joey Lutz deserves this award for so
many reasons. He goes out of his way to make friends and help anyone he sees struggling. When a student is having a bad day, Joey's empathy and kindness go into overdrive. Joey's teachers have never seen a student of Joey's age such show such respect, maturity, patience,
and compassion toward others. He actually seeks out people in need because he loves helping. He doesn't just help them, he makes them feel respected and valued. Sometimes when we watch him in action, swooping in to calm someone down and save the day, we see all the characteristics of a hero being
displayed. We can't wait to see and hear all about the amazing things Joey will do in the future. Joey Joey truly is a room 205 superhero. Congratulations, Joey. From the Celeste Collins Elementary School, we have Whitney Jean Baptiste.
Whitney consistently demonstrates her helpful nature through her interactions with her peers. She's always willing to lend a hand, whether it's assisting classmates who are struggling with difficult material or volunteering to help clean up the classroom. Her genuine desire to help others not only enhances the learning environment, but also
fosters a sense of camaraderie amongst her peers. Her caring attitude extends beyond academics. Whitney shows a remarkable sensitivity to the needs and feelings of those around her. She often is the first to notice when someone's having a tough day and offers her support without hesitation. This
emotional intelligence is a testament to her character and makes her a role model for her peers. Congratulations, Whitney. From the Lilian M. Dumpy Elementary School, we have Dasha Franklin. [Applause]
Dasha is one of the most kind-hearted students I've ever had the pleasure of teaching. She knows right from wrong and leads by those values each day. She's the embodiment of love, which is noticed not only by Mrs. Carol, but many other teachers in the school. She's a helper, a wonderful friend, and will do anything for anyone who is struggling. I cannot
put into words how deserving Dasha is of the Upstander Award, but I know she upholds all the traits we aspire students to have. And from the ASUS program, we have Aiden John Buffoon. [Applause]
Aiden. Aiden consistently demonstrates friendly and positive relationships with both his peers and staff members in his environment. He is a cheerful little boy who always greets others with a smile. Aiden is not only respectful, but also shows a strong understanding of personal boundaries. Aiden ensures that his
actions are considerate of those around him and is mindful of the feelings and needs of others, making sure to approach situations with kindness and empathy. Congratulations, Aiden. [Music] Thank you and congratulations everybody.
[Music] Hey, I want Next, I'd like to invite up Mr. German, the athletic director, to the mic. [Music] Hello everybody. My name is John Gano. For those of you who don't know me, I'm the director of athletics here at Barnagate, the proud athletic director
of Borne Township Schools. And I got some great news to share. Um it's one of those one of those winters that Barnagget High School has never experienced. We had first across the board. At this time, I'd like to bring up a few people because I'd like to introduce you. And if I could have Mike
Porro, our head boys basketball coach. Can I have Diana Stanton, our dance coach, Jessica McDermott, our cheerleading coach, Tammy Nicolini, our basketball coach, and Brendan McCarthy, our wrestling coach.
Now, one of the reasons that I wanted to bring everybody up here first before we bring the kids up together with the teams is this is one of our proudest moments in Barnett athletic history. This is our winter coaching staff and each one of these coaches was
named coach of the year by their conference and division. Is that amazing or what? Yes. Can you get a couple pictures? Oh, give me a couple pictures. Thank you. Thank you. And the amazing thing about each of
these achievements is for the first time ever in school history, girls basketball, boys basketball, and wrestling all won a division title in the same year for the first time ever.
and our girls cheerleading, which is quite used to winning state championships, has won another state championship. So, it's not a first for them. But it's an amazing amazing amazing achievement and the dedication that you give to our students. We'd like
to thank the board of education very much for supporting our coaches, our teams, our athletics, the superintendent. Thank you very much. without your guys' support and the parents, there's nothing that we could do to to get better without your support. So, we want to thank you again for your leadership and guidance. And now, if you wouldn't mind, we're going
to do individual teams and then we'll get pass it on to the next. Okay. So, we're going to start with boys basketball. If I could have the boys basketball team come on up. Just come right over here. Get your clap. Each one of our championship kids was given a uh championship sweatshirt that
the board of education purchased for the kids. So, congratulations, guys. And we have a plaque that was awarded by the Shore Conference. So, the boys are the boys B South champions in the Shore Conference.
He definitely is. Wow. Oh yeah. Yes. Can we Can we get a couple pictures? You guys are all drastically this way. Yeah. Really? Oh my goodness. Maybe some like
kneel meal in front. Thank you, coach. So guys, if you could just double up. Double up. Get in there. Have a meal in the front. And if you notice, a lot of our kids play multiple sports, which is one of the things that we preach around here, and they're rushing off the baseball
diamond or the softball field to get over here as quick as possible. Your 2025 first ever division champs. Thank you fellas. Thank you very much. At this time, can I have the girls basketball team?
Great job. [Applause] Sanders, the little girl, Miss Sanders. [Music] Congratulations. That's amazing. Do your best job. I know this is a proud proud moment for
coach Nicolini. She's been working so hard to get where she is today and I want to thank her staff for coming here. As you can see, coach Coach Tags just ran up from a first round victory in the playoffs today in a tournament game. And here he
is over here with the coach. Thank you. your B South champions. [Applause] Hey, it's our moment. We could stay a second. She wants another picture. Can you come take a picture? Miss Collins again. She's good
at pictures. Thank you. Thank you everybody. Thank you. And now, can we have Coach Mcder and our state championship cheerleaders? [Applause]
I might be able to do that. Good job. Great job. Awesome. Very fun. How you guys doing? Good job. Good job. Good job. Yeah. Good job. Good job. Good job, guys. Good job. Good job. Congrats. That's cool. You guys good? All right.
Slide in a little bit. They were state champions. Congrats again. So, how many is that now, coach? Oh my god. A lot. Five. I think five since I've been here. Fifth. Congratulations. That's since I've been here. And out of how many years?
We just started going back to States when we So, we've gone to five out of eight. No, it's No, we've gotten four out of five. Four out of five. So, this is their fourth state championship out of five years. So, they're pretty they're pretty used to this. So, they're
not camera shy. This is our state championship cheerleaders. [Applause] Pause. Pause. Don't move. Thank you, coach. And coach of the year. Somebody coming in as always. I I think
they're all coach of the year every year, but [Applause] Yeah, really. They can. And now, can I have a wrestling team, please? Yeah, she came in. [Applause]
There's like two What's up, buddy? Man, congratulations. Thank you. Appcate. This is wrestling. Wrestling. Wrestling. Wrestling. Oh, this is wrestling. Wrestling. As we assemble, I don't know some of you remember this gentleman. This is uh Mr. Griffin Jackstat. He's a born again
legend. Made it to Atlantic City. His senior year, finished sixth. I want to know. Oh, everybody went eight six. I pump it up. You got to pump the stats a little bit. Got to pump the stats a little bit.
Dominion, first ever wrestling champions. your champions. Wrestling champs. And before we leave, you guys, you guys can go. Oh, there's Fos, too. Mr. Suiting It Up. Another se Bengal who graduated
here, Mr. 100, we call him around here. 100 wins right there. And is coach Stanton still here? Come on up, coach. For those of you who know Coach Stan, she lives in town. She's been our dance coach forever and nobody is more
deserving than you and I'm so proud of you. I just wanted to make sure you got your moment. Come on up in front everybody. Girls, thank you for coming and supporting her. She's truly deserving. Congratulations. Oh, that's right. the first team ever in school history to make it to finals at
nationals, which they've been working so hard for. How about that? Coach Berserk, get up here. Get up here. Come on. Hurry up. You're just as much a part as this as everybody else is. They really like you. You've never missed a practice in 20 years. Get up there. 20?
I'm not that old. [Music] Thank you very much. And everybody's excited to try to do it again in the spring, guys. Thank you very much. We really appreciate it. Thank you. [Music] Okay, I'm back with an upstander uh from
the Celeste Collins Elementary School. We have Whitney Jean Baptiste. Yay. Whitney. So Whitney consistently demonstrates her helpful nature through her interactions with her peers. She is always willing to lend a
hand, whether it's assisting classmates who are struggling with difficult material or volunteering to help clean up the classroom. Her genuine desire to help others not only enhances the learning environment, but also fosters a sense of camaraderie amongst her peers. Her caring attitude extends beyond
academics. Wendy shows a remarkable sensitivity to the needs and feelings of those around her. She's often the first to notice when someone's having a tough day and offers her support without hesitation. This emotional intelligence is a testament to her character and makes her a role model for her peers.
Congratulations, [Applause] Whitney. Look at her little shoes. She's got She's got little heels on.
Why are they all the rowdy sports? Lost. All right, back to the agenda. Um um Not yet. I'm going to give it a minute for
our athletic teams to get out of here. All right. Next on our agenda is our student representative. Each month, we allow uh invite him to fill the the community in on what's happening in our schools. And as always, I'll turn it over to Mr. Daniel Hoffman.
Thank you so much. Um good evening and thank you to everyone joining us here today. Uh, for those of you who may not know me, my name is Daniel Hoffman and I'm a senior at BHS this year and I'm grateful to be here today representing the Barnagget student body as the executive student government president at the high school. As tonight's meeting
primarily serves as the board's initial budget hearing, I wanted to start off by underscoring the great depths of vision, hard work, and perseverance that is behind our student body. At the end of the day, the budget serves to affect us most substantially. However, the student body is confident that every administrator, every higher up, and
every stakeholder in general will hold us in the forefront when dictating what next year looks like in Barnagget advantageously as well as financially. But that does not come one-sided. As our student leadership is continuing to put in great work to see the type of change we wish to emulate in the district, as we head into the final months of the
school year, the student advisory committee at the high school will begin to finalize implementation plans for all the wonderful projects and ideas we have brought to light these last eight months. The committee's main goals this year were to target the root causes of issues amongst the student body. Generally speaking, how to make BHS and
the district at large an overall better community. As with any institution, our culture and climate is a strong indicator of where we stand with the people we are meant to help. In an effort to tap into residual issues and soft spots, the committee identified the need for valuable and efficacious relationships within the school through a peer-to-peer mentorship program for
all students, but most importantly for those who may not have someone to point them in the right direction or keep them on track. We are not only working to create smaller tight-knit communities for students to build connections within, but we are also creating means to identify issues among students with consistent mentors overseeing each student. Our primary goal is to bring to
build a more inclusive and community-based landscape for all of our students one step at a time. Additionally, the student advisory committee has approved a proposal for the repurposing of Courtyard 2 at the high school. The comprehensive report outlines the goals and activities, potential outcomes, as well as funding
and partnership information of an agricultural green space and the currently unused and barren secondary courtyard at BHS and renaming it Benny's Den. We are now working to research grants and search for donations to make this hard work a reality and bolster our buildings and grounds as well as our extracurricular and elective offerings.
The committee also began the foundation of a Barnett High School alumni association. The student body leadership has noticed that if we want to exemplify the principles of being one Barnagget, then we have to enrich our experiences from the time we enter elementary school to when we turn our tassel in June of our senior year and further than that into the workforce and our future
endeavors. Barnagget has seen such great talent and such great potential and it's important we begin to string together that network of promising students past and present to not only create a tighter knit student body, but also seek alternative means of supporting our students for years to come. Our current student leadership is set to begin the
process of what that structure looks like and how to scale it moving forward. As one Barnagget, it's important we continue that unity from start until even after finish. Last meeting, we were thankful to have Dr. Lis join us and we took up many important discussions. Mainly, we talked about the budgeted aid loss from last year and how it will
continue to affect the district in the next fiscal year. We also discussed the removal of the straight eight Mondays and the high school's daily schedule, opting for a true AB block schedule in the coming year. We discussed a more conceded effort to institute more feeder clubs at the middle school level to expand extracurricular continuence from Brackman to the high school. Again, in
an effort to create a better, more tight-knit community, we talked about ways to bridge our sports and clubs to begin supporting one another in the name of better Bengal pride. Our other topics included expanded extracurriculars and electives, a revitalization of our Bengal buzz program, lunch issues,
parking issues, and much, much more. Moving forward, the committee looks forward to working closely with all of our administration to regularly address the needs of the student body. Shifting gears, we have had so many great happenings amongst the students themselves that I would be remiss not to mention. Our AP students at the high school will have AP exams in the coming
weeks and after a year of hard work. Barnagget will test 16 subjects and many of our students will be eligible for college credit depending on their scores, which is truly amazing. Also amazing is that our FBLA safety ambassador program was selected as one of five groups out of all participating schools from across the street state to
work with the RWJ Barnabas Health on a highway safety grant where they will help structure training modules for all safety ambassadors who will come after them statewide. The SAP program covers pedestrian safety, wheeled safety, fall prevention, and safety in and around cars. High schoolers go to our elementary schools and give dynamic
monthly presentations on each lesson. It also works in part to satisfy RWJ Barnabas' best practice programs in accordance with their level one trauma status. Bengal athletics is also doing amazing as per usual. BA's lacrosse is having an amazing season. Our Lady Bengals lacrosse team is 8-2. Our boys
volleyball team is 11-1. And our spring track and field team has already placed several athletes for the Nike outdoor nationals. Before I end, I know we just heard a lot about them tonight, but I did want to again note the great accomplishments of all of our winter sports team under all of our finest coaching staff. I've said it at the last
few meetings and I will say it again. Barnagget set record after record this winter season and none of it would have been possible without our coaches. So on behalf of the students, we thank you for your never-ending dedication to your athletes and congratulate your teams on such amazing accomplishments etching their names into Barnagate history. As
always, a huge congratulations to our upstanders. But at least for now, that's all from me. Thank you for your time tonight and I yield back. Thank you as always, Mr. Hoffman. Um, next on our agenda is our BEA uh liazison, Mrs. Morganov. Thank you. The
staff across all schools had an exciting and busy spring filled with engaging events, egg hunts, sorry, classroom parties, and lots of spring activities. We're proud to share that the Barick Education Association has successfully has successfully applied for and
received several grants this year. uh through the through the NJA. The NJA public education partnership grants are designed to celebrate the successes of New Jersey's public schools while strengthening the connection between schools and the broader community. The grants can be used for a variety of
purposes, but we were lucky enough to use it for a dinner and tickets for the Mirage Men's Club and their guests to attend the Horbell School drama performance. Looking ahead, we have several additional events this spring, including the upcoming Memorial Day ice cream social at Donahghue. Thanks to the
grants, nearly all the supplies for these events, including the ice cream and custom cups, are fully funded. In the last couple of weeks, the staff and students at the Duny School put on a beautiful art show, and we're looking forward to the upcoming chorus and art shows at both the Collins and Donahghue
School. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Morgan. Um, next on our agenda, item 10 is our state New Jersey school board representative. Any report any I'm not state. I know. Um, I can report
out for county. So, tomorrow evening, the Ocean County School Boards Association will host its hybrid meeting featuring the county teacher of the year and milestone celebration. The event will take place from 6:00 to 8:30 and will recognize outstanding educators and board member service achievements
throughout the county, including you, Scott. Oh, yes. I you reminded me. Thank you. 10 long years. Thank you. Thank you. Um, and that was the Ocean County
also. Yes, that was Ocean Austin County. Okay. Thought so. All right. Next up on our agenda item 12 is committee discussions. Uh each committee chairperson will give a report out on what has happened in their committee the past month. I will start off with finance and the
chairperson is Miss Tarnowski. Finance met April 16th. I was unfortunately not able to attend the finance committee meeting, but I thank Miss Constanza for being the active chair during my absence. The committee discussed various topics including about the district's easy pass and v and its
various uses as well as the evaluations purchase orders for specific evaluations that require specific certifications for students. We would like to thank the listed donors on this month's agenda including the Robert El Horbell student council, the American Legion post 232 and the women's club at venue at
Lighthouse Station. Thank you for your continued support of the students here in Barnagate. The budget is on the agenda this month and our lease purchase agreement. Finally, the motion on the agenda was brought forward to approve the New Jersey School Board Association
to conduct a special education strategic plan. It's also on the agenda. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Tornowski. Um, next is buildings, grounds, transportation, and food services. Mr. Washburn is the chairperson. The buildings, grounds, transportation, and
food service committee met on April 14th. The 90-day facility use report and projected use fees for 2024 and 2025 were reviewed with potential increases discussed for the 2526 school year. There were reports on facilities updates including Springfield grooming,
irrigation setup, completed lead and water testing. Results are on the website and staffing adjustments. Transportation updates included new sidewalks, scheduled road repairs, and upcoming gate replacements. Um, it's also noted uh that we spoke about driver
recruitment, the return of a wheelchair accessible bus, and ongoing training on new routing software. Bus evacuations are now completed, and the next committee meeting is scheduled for May 19th at 10 a.m. in the board office. Thank you, Miss Washburn. You're welcome. Um, next committee is
education, and Mrs. attorney is chairperson. Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, good evening everyone. The education committee met on April 15th. We started the meeting by reviewing and approving several key motions. First on tonight's
agenda, a motion to approve Daniel Hoffman uh to attend the Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership Conference in one breath. Uh this is an incredible
yes this is an incredible opportunity for him and we are extremely proud of him and to support his participation at the national level. Personally I've witnessed firsthand Daniel speak eloquently and very passionately and um
only you bring all this excitement and applause. So congratulations to you. Very welld deserved. We look forward to hearing about this experience upon his return. Next, we approve the adoption of Front Lines 504 program management
software. This tool will help streamline how we manage 504 plans across the district since we already use Frontline for IEPs. The interface will be familiar to staff and training will be provided to ensure a smooth transition. We also
approved um discarding of outdated Spanish language materials because they are no longer aligned with current instructional practices. Our usual motions passed, including approval of our work-based learning locations, college and university placements,
continuing education requests for staff, and upcoming field trips. There was a good conversation around uh field trips. Several board members expressed strong support for ensuring that all students have access to at least one trip per year. We also spoke about career day.
Feedback from last year's event was extremely positive, especially the resumeé project for seniors. We will be putting our staff and volunteers together to organize career day 2025 uh this coming summer.
Also, um, one exciting, uh, update for our district has been, uh, awarding, we've been awarded nearly $40,000 through the New Jersey Department of Ed computer science grant. These funds will help us establish an AI
lab at Barneut High School to support the development of a new artificial intelligence course set to launch in the 2026 2027 school year. This is a huge step forward in preparing our students for future focused careers. We spent
time reviewing the comprehensive equity plan which is due to the state this June. Although there's been some national debate about DEI programs, we are still required to follow New Jersey state laws which remain in place for
now. Lastly, on our positive note, we've got great things happening in the district. Uh the VFW will visit Barneut High School for chat with a vet in late May, early June, both uh late May and early June in some of our history
classes. Teacher Chris Kristen Shialo, I want to say her name right, um has been invited to serve on a panel of experts for workbased learning development by the New Jersey Department of Ed on June 10th at Atlantic County Special
Services. want to congratulate her for that. That's a big accomplishment. Um, also a collaboration between our special education students and our AP arts students at Barneut High School produced artwork that was selected for the second
annual statewide statewide autism virtual art expo called Spotlight the Spectrum. Their artwork was selected for the exhibit. This is an incredible accomplishment. Our next education committee meeting will be in
March uh May 20th at 8:30 a.m. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Turney. Um next is governance committee and chairperson is Miss Constanza. Thank you, Mr. Sarno. The governance committee uh met on April 16th. On tonight's agenda, there is for
approval the following board motion. Um motion to approve the first reading for 9163 spectator code of conduct for intercolastic events. Um the athletic director Mr.
Germano met with the governmentance committee and spoke about the policy for the spectator code of conduct for intercolastic events and the parameters of the policy. The governance committee is recommending that the board proceed with the first reading adoption of
policy 9163. This policy reinforces our district's core values by promoting respect, accountability, and sportsmanship among all participants, students, coaches, and spectators alike.
By setting clear expectations for the high school and middle school spectator code of conduct, policy 9163 defines and lists the unsportsmanlike conduct and a list of disciplinary offenses that will incur.
With the policy in place, we are supporting not just athletic ele excellence for our schools, but a safe environment for all involved in our school sports. The next governance meeting will be held May 21st. Thank
you. Thank you, Miss Consinza. And next is personnel committee. I'm chair of the personnel committee. We met on May uh April 14th, sorry. Um and again, ending up the end of the uh rounding up the end of the year. A few different things to
touch on. Uh two retirements on our agenda for uh Donna Marie Durning, a teacher at the Robert L. Corbel School and Donna Gulla, a teacher at Lilian M. Dumpy School. Um, again, appreciate and thankful to them for their service to uh
our students in our community um at the Barnagate School District. Um, also on the agenda is hiring of uh several part-time positions, par profofessional, a substitute groundskeeper, and a substitute bus driver. I think other
than that it was just um volunteers, chaperones, translators, and home instruction staff. And that was it. And I'm not sure in front of when our next
meeting is uh in May. In May 20 that Monday. The 21st. 21st. Yeah, May 21st. It's a Monday. And that's it. And lastly, I don't know um for our new ad hoc committee, I don't know, Mr. Fedorsk, I don't know if you have
anything you want to report out. No, just uh over the last two days, uh the board did uh tour the ACES hall. Um I was there this morning myself. I think there was two groups that went through yesterday. So, all nine members have
been through. Uh you I want to thank Mr. Furantino and the staff there, Miss Shork, uh very insightful, you know, appreciate moving forward and you having some discussions. As far as the ad hoc, it has not officially met. We still got to discuss uh time and place for that,
but I know there is uh some information forthcoming. We got strategic planning on on the horizon as well. Um but more to follow once uh once we actually have our our first official sit down. All right. Thank you, Mr. Dorsick. And again on that the ad hoc committee that was
created was for um special ed AC ASUS program um and uh there's four board members serving on it um that will have more of an in-depth um insight on what is happening uh more closely with that those programs um
reporting back to the board again just giving us information um to help us in our decision-m process moving forward. So again I thank you Mr. Porsche for stepping up and taking the chair on that. Um, next on our agenda is item 13, superintendent highlights. I'll turn the
floor over to Dr. Lowis again. I appreciate it. So, uh, we obviously started off with honoring the athletic uh, teams and the coaches of the year. So, big congratulations to them. Uh, congratulations to Kelly Lucas and Tina Summerton for being uh, selected to receive the Barnagot School Safety Award. They were the first recipients of
this year. Um, so big shout out to them. uh bringing everybody's attention to uh uh Duny had bubbles for autism at the Duny School on 414 and that was really well attended um very successful. So congratulations to them. Uh couple staying with some athletics.
Congratulations to Daniela Holly and Reagan Shive uh in their respective events for earning first place at the Lion Invitational. Uh congratulations to the cast and crew of the Bengal Theater Company on an outstanding performance of Chicago the teen edition.
Um, obviously the safety ambassador program has brought up uh before. Um, they recently came down and uh worked with our first and second grade students at the Collins School on important safety practices to use within our community. And I think Danny left out the fact that when he was talking about the training videos that were being
made, he's going to be the featured star uh one of our two students that'll be featured in that. So, congratulations on uh on being selected for that. And uh last but not least, uh we uh officially got uh accreditation uh today from Middle States. So um at we've
reported out obviously a couple times um that the high school was uh being nominated for that and being recommended for that and today we actually got word about uh about an hour and a half ago that we were officially accepted into that. So big shout out to obviously Danny was part of that committee. Big
shout out to the high school admin um Katie Torres uh for taking the lead in all their hard work and uh putting together all the different initiatives that were presented um as well as uh participating throughout the lengthy process uh that that was. So congratulations to all of them. Uh with that being said, I will turn it back to
you. Thank you very much. Um next is president's remarks information. Um again on this part we have two different um uh remarks for the president superintendent. I'm going to limit my remarks here at this portion just dealing specifically with the budget
because the budget presentation is next um and the public hearing. Um again, I want to thank u obviously our business administrator Kate and Dr. Latis for their their work on the budget this year. Um and and the rest of our staff,
administration, um and obviously the board, all of us working together um on this as a as a unit, all nine of us. Um, you know, as you look around the county and you see other districts um that we're all familiar with and the problems that they're going through financially,
um, you know, cutting staff, selling buildings, um, sports programs in disarray, um, you name it, it's happening everywhere around us. And fortunately, um, you know, Barneut has been pretty steady over the last few years and again
this year. Um, and again, I give that as a testament to obviously, uh, the people, you know, here on a day-to-day basis running things. Um, having a board that's that's working together, united in what we're we're doing and where we're going with things. Um, you know,
again, we we did not cut anything. We did not cut any staff. We did not cut any programs. Again, we added um again, where we could, where we felt it was needed and um kept the tax rate at a as minimal as you can keep it in this day
and age, especially as our state aid is getting cut every year. Um you know, you can only go so many years when your state aid is cut 2 something million last year. Even though we did get increased in some areas this year, we we
were reduced 600,000 in another area. Um, so you're talking almost $3 million over two years this district has lost. Um, and again, like I said, uh, we're still on pretty solid ground as far as what you see us doing on a day-to-day
basis as compared to, um, others around us. So again, it's a tribute to everybody here, and I want to thank you. I want to thank the community for, again, um, I know it's not easy in these times for any type of increase. Um, but as I said, uh, considering the circumstances, I think, uh, you know,
the board and and the administration did a an incredible job, um, for our students and our staff and our community. So, again, thank you very much on that end. Um, next item on our agenda is our budget hearing. And I guess I am turning
the floor over to Miss Fantastel. Uh, we just have to open it. Oh, yeah. Sorry. No, no, sorry. Oh, I didn't see that afterwards. Go ahead. Do you want first and second motion? We have to open it. All right. Can I get a motion to open
the public hearing? Sorry. Second. Roll call. Miss Churnney? Yes. Miss Continza? Yes. Mr. Fedorzic? Yes. Miss Genie? Yes. Mr. Hearn? Yes. Miss Msa? Yes. Miss Terowski? Yes. Miss Washburn?
Yes. And Mr. Sarno? Yes. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Now I will turn it over to Miss Vanas. All right. Uh so I just would like to um reiterate what uh the president Mr. Sarno said. Um it's been a pretty eventful three months
developing this budget. um especially once we got our state aid numbers um and we got a lot of our figures from next year. Uh so it was quite a challenge but it's a budget I think all of us can be proud of. It's certainly uh certainly student focused
and um I think very equitable to what we need to provide for our staff and students. I don't have my glasses on. Hold on one second there. My face. So again, the budget uh we look at it every day. I'm in the budget every day.
It's a 365day process. Obviously, it kicks up in November um where we start to develop our calendar and then certainly hits the ground running in December when we start meeting with the principles and understanding their needs and um what we see for capacity for the
following year. Um the big part though when we understand developing the budget is it's really you're not developing a one-year budget, you're developing a three-year budget. So you need to understand what's coming down the road. So as far as curriculum purchases, transportation and busing and really
what our capacity needs are. So again, we're putting together this budget, but we are always planning for two and three years ahead of time so we understand what we have coming down the pike. Um again, March, we get the state aid numbers. We usually have the budget pretty well developed and then have to
make any adjustments based off of what our state aid comes in and then obviously tonight we're doing the hearing and proposing it to you all. So last year we did get that $ 1.9 million state aid cut and there was really a large push to make sure that we
looked for efficiencies rather than cuts in staff and I think we did that pretty well and it's been quite a successful opportunity for this district this year and we'll be able to carry it over for next year which has really helped us be able to not cut some other programs going forward. Um again we've took a lot
of stuff that we had in the out of district routes um and move those in district which um our transportation director has done an excellent job of being able to accommodate all of that title one. So we used to put a lot of our staffing in there um which then
required us to give a 56% back to the state for TPAF reimbursement by redoing all of our title one funding we were able to save $374 in the district. So when those funds came in, we were able to keep them and allocate them to things like extracurricular activities and things
that were very student focused, better tracking and collection of outstanding fines. Um there's been a big push the last couple years, obviously after COVID, to go to onetoone Chromebooks. Um we were really losing the battle of keeping the Chromebooks
working and not being broken and what that kind of looked like as far as costs and warranties. So we have better accountability between our staff, our students, and making sure that they have the technology needs that they need to do their jobs and their student uh work every day. Uh the extraordinary aid, um
we really dug deep into that this year. We thought it was an area that we had a lot of potential. Um we went through every stu special ed student in the district and made sure that we accounted for all their needs to make sure that on the application um we were getting the credit back for what we were spending.
Um, we were able to get about a million and a half dollars back this year in addition to what we had in past years. Again, that helps us pay for the increased costs going forward. And free and reduced lunch applications, making sure that every student that qualifies for it gets an application provided.
That way, they're getting the meals that they need. And then that also relates to how our student our state aid is calculated. And that was why uh this year we were able to get the stadium numbers turned around a little bit because we had certain things like that as contributing uh
calculations. So if you just look here, this is kind of where we're trending and what we're chasing really essentially, right? So in 23 24 our payroll was 33 million. We're up to 37 million. Our utilities again, gas, water, electric, we're at 1.1 million. Two years ago,
we're at 1.4 million now. Social Security obligations. Again, another 70,000. And obviously the big one, which everybody always talks about, is this year-over-year 15% increase to health benefits. So, we're at 12 million. Two years ago, we're at 15 million uh
anticipated going forward. Um, but what you will see is the big win. So, when we dug in and we figured out how to become more efficient and bring those routes inhouse, we went from $2.4 4 million in paying out for student transportation
costs to 1.1 million. So, um this is kind of like an overview of what S2 has done to these districts. So, we talked about last year, we'll continue to talk about it because while S2 essentially is over, we're still feeling the effects of it. So, Barnagget continues to become more
efficient in how we educate our students. So, the New Jersey average is 20,000. Barnick gets at 17. When you look at the indicators which are on the New Jersey DOE site, um there's a list of maybe 23. Um obviously these are ones that we pay close attention to to make
sure we're spending the money appropriately and student focused. So um if you look in 2023, we were 15.8 faculty to admin. We came became a little more efficient and yet our ranking went down. And the
reason is because when districts lose state aid and they're having to do staff cuts, they're becoming less staff focused. And so therefore, even though we're becoming more efficient, our our ranking changed, not for the better. So that is a direct result of the S2 that has kind of been going on in Ocean
County and across the state. Same thing with indicator number 18. We again got a little bit better and we stayed at the exact same ranking. So, you can see our district enrollment is increasing. Um, what this story doesn't tell though is we probably
register and dregister over 350 kids a year. So, we're constantly evolving. It's a super intense labor and process for all of our staff. Um, and at the end of the 350 kids, we're either enrolling or unrolling. We're, you know, averaging maybe 80 kids total at the end of the
year. Um the reason kind of is where we're having to put some of this extra funds. So you know our special ed capacity um the amount of classrooms that we need to have for that is increasing and we're having to find more capacity for that.
Um that equates also into support services into like child study team services and also transportation costs. The homeless student population, we talk about that um every year. It's certainly something that Ocean County is struggling with. Um Barnea is no
exception. Um we probably have five times as many homeless students as we did five years ago. And where that affects the budget is um every time those students relocate to a new place, we have to bid out the runs. They become very expensive to transport. Some students were transporting an hour and a
half away. Um and then the other part is that uh depending on where the residency is, we're paying tuition to a lot of other Ocean County schools and some other schools across the state. So there is a tuition and transportation cost associated with it. Uh LEAP students are
English language learners. So obviously as the country is becoming changing and evolving certainly Barnagget is no exception to that and we have to be able to meet the needs of those students that are learning the English language. Uh so again that translates into a lot of
extra translation services different um evaluations that we have to uh send out for and devices actually that we have to pay for and then alternative students. So our pause academy which Barnagget does very well. I think in this way it's actually a budget budget positive
because those are students that we would normally have to send out of district and we're able to meet their needs internally. So, what are our challenges? Kind of like similar to last year, they're going to keep going. So, our enrollment is
increasing. We're running out of capacity in our district as far as classrooms. Uh we need more special ed classrooms. And so, we kind of are having to constantly redo the planning on how we meet all these student needs. Uh long-term planning and facilities.
Obviously, we're trying to prepare for that as we talk about how to build the budget and what our upcoming costs are. This is certainly a a very important topic to understand what the long-term uh needs are of the building and the community. And again, as probably all of you are feeling the rising utility
costs, um you know, we're projecting a 23% increase on our electric when that's a $900,000 bill. 23% is a pretty big chunk of change. And aging facilities, we have several buildings that are aging. um HVAC system. So, while we were
able to do a tremendous amount of HVAC work during COVID with those extra funds, um those funds are no longer available and those uh needs still need to be met. So, uh we certainly are trying to prioritize them and making sure that we're doing maintenance. So, again, that's the biggest thing right
now is making sure that we budget to do preventative maintenance and special ed. So we are constantly trying to do what is appropriate. So as far as whether we can meet the needs internally or the students need to be out of district. Um
and most out of district students uh it's a significant cost. So we certainly try to meet their needs internally. Um we do need to add two more classrooms this year and anticipate another two classrooms the following year. And again, some of those internal needs
and external needs for uh special ed are coming the cost of onetoone aids, nurses and staff and all the training. So, um just being aware of what is kind of coming up the pike. Uh this is where preschool helps I think districts in this way. Um as we are able to bring in
the three and four year olds, we're better able to understand what those needs are once they reach kindergarten and they be become part of the general fund budget. So uh it certainly helps us planning and again uh we have to buy two more buses. So the specialized transportation that's required for all
of that and while we talk about transportation we've become super efficient in it. Um Lisa, our transportation director, has worked tremendously hard to do this, but again, rising fuel costs, cost of easy pass tolls, um and just the need for more
vehicles, and um is certainly something that we're having to plan for budget tax levy proposed in state aid approval. So, that was like super complicated this year. Um the last two years the state after they gave out state aid numbers um gave most school districts a portion of
their state aid back and something called stabilization aid. Um this year we were told if you are um underfunded by the tax levy that you should work with your board to assess what could be the maximum tax levy that would be appropriate for the township. Um, and if
you did that and you raised it above 2%, they would give you up to 5% of whatever you raised back in the form of state aid. Um, so that required a whole different process and approval process. 4:00 today, we heard from the DOE that we got approved. Um, so there is the
proposal for us to go from 2% to 3% to meet our needs for next year. So again, how do we figure out how to have all these rising costs and go up 3% on our tax levy and make sure that we're staying student and staff focused? Um,
obviously looking at any consolidated vacancies. Um, I think the school does that very well. I this is my second round of watching the administration work very hard in understanding what courses they want to offer and what student needs are and if we have capacity and where we could best use all
of our teachers and staff. uh transportation. We're looking to bring back another run for next year. So again, trying to continuously see where we have capacity to run these out of district runs and have the staff and the equipment to do so
internally. Um the homeless, so that's where we've really saved a lot of money because um if they are constantly uh relocating to different addresses, each time they do, those runs would have to go out for bid. Sometimes it ends up being about $800 a day. um by providing
our own district in uh staff, we can certainly acclimate very quickly to those changes and not have to put the bus runs out for bid. And so that means that we're relying less on that co-op and being able to control our costs a little bit better. Facilities, as we talked about, um we've worked very hard
on maintaining all of our HVAC systems and doing a tremendous amount of repairs to them this year. Um resurfacing some asphalt and some um concrete work around the district. again maintaining it so that way we're not faced with a big bill because um things have deteriorated past
the life shared services. So um this year we've been pretty successful. We we believe we're picking up another district next year. Um so a lot of these out of district runs that we're able to do very well. We're now assisting other school districts in. I think it's a win
for two ways. One is obviously brings in revenue for our district, but it's also helping our neighboring districts out in Ocean County that are also certainly struggling with their budget. We're able to do a little more efficiently than the co-op. Um, but it certainly has a benefit to us in the form of revenue. Shared services. We we have
done this for several years with uh Burlington County for our shared services with Pitull. It's certainly relationship that works very well for us. It gives us an opportunity to bring in extra staff when we need to and kind of evolve as our technology needs evolve. um tuition in students. So again,
looking at what we do well here in Barnagate, other districts are looking at what we do well and this year we were able to bring in almost $200,000 in tuition for students. So again, maximizing and showing the county what we do well. So this year, uh as as the board
president said, there'll be a 3% proposal. Um this is how the the tax levy breaks out. Your general fund tax levy is 1.42. Um you have debt service which was in the form of bond referendums that were previously passed at 10 cents. That brings your total
assessed at 1.52. How does that Yeah. How does that equate for you guys? Um so just take a $300,000 house. The the cost of a 3% tax levy would be $7.92 a month for the tax
home base at 300,000. And that's kind of where we're at. Thank you, Miss [Applause] Fantast. All right. Next on our agenda
is the audience participation. Um, I guess we'll handle that like we normally do. Um and again this part of the audience pres uh participation is directly uh related to the budget. Um we will have another public session
following uh this section for any other issues, any other questions, any other comments. But this part portion right here is just budget um discussion only. Um so again if you have you want to uh
speak raise your hand I'll note you and you can come up to the podium. um and go from there. So with that, I see go right here. You can Yeah, you can. Yeah, come up to the podium, please. And just state your name and address.
You can say your town at least. Hi, I'm Michelle Laswitz. I am a resident of Barnagut. Just a couple questions for for the budget or I I don't know what you look at when you're doing the budget. Um, but maybe for energy savings, doing like an hour at
every school for like a lights out type thing. Um, you can still teach when it's the middle of the day and you have the lights out. Um, I also don't know if you have um for AC if you don't turn it on
to a certain temperature outside. I know there are other districts that do that. They don't have um heat and AC set to um on at all times and switch between the two, but actually turning it off and
opening windows. Um the Chromebooks for another area too. Um there are some families that are able to provide Chromebooks to their children to be able to bring to school. So, um
maybe having some families or providing a renting service or a sign out service, um where you can sign out a Chromebook. And then families that can also provide for their kids a Chromebook at a a
discounted rate if there's some type of negotiation between the district and a certain provider. Um that might help offset some costs, too. Um, and then digital textbooks. Know my my kids come home with with paper books, but then
they're also required to do um the Chromebook. So, there's these huge stack of math books and science books that they come home with, but then they're also doing a ton of work on the on their Chrome book. So maybe doing a like McGra
Hill um does I know a lot of negotiations with school districts and doing digital textbooks um as opposed to having both the Chromebook and paper textbooks. Um that's all I had. I just I
I don't know what you're looking at when you look at the budget, so I thought that I would throw some ideas out there. No, I appreciate any idea is a good idea. Um, so thank you. I could either let Miss Van Hassel or Dr. Lowis if they want to address some of those. Uh, we
certainly do address those energy as you're discussing. Um, the issue though with turning off the air conditioning is, uh, mold. So, um, the air conditioning does have to run at a minimum temperature or we do find that our buildings would accumulate mold. Um, but we certainly run them at different
temperatures to be cognizant that when people are present in the building or not. Um the Chromebooks um certainly a good idea. Um we do have switched to a lease purchase agreement um so that way we're essentially renting the Chromebooks um and then returning them
when they're kind of at the end of useful life. That has saved the district a lot of money to do it that way. um and digital textbooks versus paper books um not in curriculum but I know we do do a tremendous amount of digital uh textbooks um going forward obviously
because now that since co we do have the onetoone initiative um we have not purchased a lot of textbooks since I've been here so that's two cycles um so probably a lot of the books that your students are using are still probably valid um curriculum but have been purchased previously to the onetoone
push after co um but the superintendent can certainly speak to more to that if he has anything to add. No, sure. So, uh two things just uh the one item we used to have a bring your own device in the district. Uh one of the concerns more recently is uh cyber security. So, if somebody has their own device and then
they're allowed to go on the network that we have set up here without the certain security things in place that could uh end up compromising uh our our information. So, I do know that that was one of the things that uh has been recommended to us when we've done our cyber security audits and whatnot. and
um uh the digital textbooks. So, uh just kind of jumping on top of that, the um subscriptions to some of those actually cost more than if you were to purchase the books outright and keep them for a certain amount of years. So, a lot of the online platforms that we have are usually things that get thrown in when
we purchase the textbooks. They're not independent from that. So, we did look at like the digital textbooks in some of the areas and in some of the situations where it makes sense we can pursue that, but actually having the hard edition um uh hard copy of the textbook in front of you allows us a little bit more flexibility with how long we can keep
it. Um the last couple years, some of the things that we've had to do because of uh budget constraints is move certain adoptions maybe back a year. Um and and we wouldn't be able to do that if it was an online subscription. they actually I think a lot of those providers prefer
you to be on the online subscription because then you are mandated each year to then update that subscription or you have no resources. So um you know I do think uh you know we are always open to ideas and things like that. We have kicked over a lot of uh as many rocks as I could possibly think of to try to figure out how to squeeze as much as we
possibly can out of um each dollar. And you know, huge credit to Kate in her office and and all the work that she's done with this because, you know, we have really gotten very creative over the last couple years to not have to cut programs like you see a lot of unfortunately you see a lot of our neighboring districts have to do because they have no other choice with the the
budget uh gaps that they're there. But, you know, um please you don't have to obviously wait for board meeting. If you have other ideas and stuff like that, kick them to me. I mean, we are definitely open to any and all suggestions and ideas that we can to possibly save uh save money. We are
currently right now in the county the number three highest for under adequacy. So if you look at the adequacy rating and that's what a lot of this stuff gets based on by the state. Um we're about almost I think a hair under $20 million under adequacy which means in the state's eyes our budget should be about
$20 million more than it is right now for us to provide an adequate quote unquote education for our children. So we are the third. I think we're just behind Brick and Tom's River and their budgets are substantially larger than ours. So if you look at the 20 million and where we sit with it, um we really I
I think as an as a leadership team, as a staff, as a from the business administrator's office, I mean really everybody top to bottom has has worked on trying to create as many efficiencies as possible for us to be able to provide all the things that we do and be under adequacy by like I said, I think it was
just about $20 million this year. That number has risen to it was about five million when I started here. So, just to give you an idea over the last seven years, um, with the state funding cuts and things like that, the direction that we've gone in as a district, but I do appreciate it and like I said, I encourage you to reach out to me at any
time with any other ideas. All right. Thank you. Anybody else um comments, questions on budget? Seeing none. All right. Thank you. Um, with that, can I get a motion to
close the public hearing for the budget, please? Second. Roll call. Miss Churnney? Yes. Miss Continza? Yes. Mr. Fedorsk? Yes. Miss Jeie? Yes. Mr. Hearn? Yes. Miss MSA? Yes. Miss
Terinowski? Yes. Miss Washburn? Yes. Mr. Sarno? Yes. Thank you. Motion carried. Thank you. All right. Motion number two on our budget agenda is motion to approve the 25 2025 2026 budget um final
budget. Can I get a motion to approve that please? So move. Second. Roll call. Miss Churnney. Yes. Miss Continza. Yes. Mr. Fedorzic. Yes. Miss Jeanie. Yes. Mr. Hearn. Yes. Miss Msa. Yes. Miss
Terowski. Yes. Miss Washburn. Yes. Mr. Sarno, yes. Thank you. All right. Thank you. With that, again, thank you everyone for um all the time and effort put into the budget. Um greatly appreciated and I think as Miss Van
Hassel said um it was our budget was student focused and um keeping also the community in mind um moving forward. So again, thank you for everybody um with your participation in that. All right.
On our agenda next is item 18, 17, actually 16, sorry. Um, superintendent's remarks. I don't think Dr. Lis has no he said. Um, and then the president's remarks. Again, I just have a couple things I wanted to touch upon.
Um, you know, I I usually don't sit up here and make long speeches or say long winded things. It's not me. Um, but I again I want to again I'll read from kind of what I wrote down as I've been thinking about. I was on vacation last week and a lot of things a lot of
thoughts as I was trying to sit and relax on the beach in Florida. But um, you know, a lot of things going on as I was sitting there. Um, first I want to take the opportunity to thank um, the many parents and and residents of the community who reached out uh, over the
last month. Um, hearing your thoughts and concerns and views are extremely important to us as a board. Um, I want to thank the individuals who took the time to meet and speak with me last week. Um, as a board and we as elected officials are here to represent you, our
students and our community and receiving your input does make a difference in our decision-m um, each month. Um, as I explained to each of you that I met, I think it's vital the board and the community unite during this time to make decisions that are necessary to build uh
build confidence in our school district. So again, I just want to thank I know not everyone's here and um in speaking with all the individuals I did um again I I I appreciate I appreciate the honesty um the openness um and the
feedback. um as board members, you know, that's that's our responsibility to hear. Um we represent the people of our community and it's important that we have feedback from people of our community. So again, I want to thank you. Um, one of the other things I
thought about, you know, as I was sitting over this last week, um, and as I was talking to the parents, a lot of things came up, but board unity. Um I can tell you over these um especially these last four or five weeks um you
know this board has been unified um in our direction um and our thoughts, our mission, our goals um you know during what what we all consider obviously a a horrific time that that we were dealing through. Um you know I I've been on this
board many years, served as president many of times. Um, and I've been in good and bad. Um, to have a board that's united and respects each other, trusts each other, um, listens to each other, you know, um, in the best of times and
worst of times when it comes to discussion, um, is important. It's important for the community. It's important for our students. Um, when you have a board that is infighting, a board that does not get along, a board that doesn't trust each other, it takes away from your purpose of sitting up here. um
you know people's own personal agendas and egos get in the way and things that we should be paying closer attention to and vetting are not getting vetting vetted. Um so again I want to thank the other eight members sitting up here um
you know I probably spoke to each of you a couple times a week some of you every day some of you two or three times a day um over this last month. Um so having a united board is extremely important to to our community. Um and having ai
united community um working with us as a board is extremely important. Um to have that feedback, to have that trust that we are doing the things that that the community thinks is right and that we think are right for our children, our
staff, um and our schools. Um so like I said, it has not been easy. You know, and I know a lot of you that have been here over the last few years have seen a lot of boards for I think the past four years that have not been united and have been constant battles and have been at
constant arguing. Um again, at the end of the day, that benefits nobody. It doesn't benefit our students, doesn't benefit our staff, our community, our schools. Um it lets things slide through the cracks. And you know, I I'm proud to say, you know, this board here, you
know, no matter the situation, no matter what comes up, um we differ. We differ in our opinions. We differ in our thoughts, but we can all sit there and we all sit together, respect, listen to each other, go back and forth on what we think is right, make compromises, come to decisions that we think at the end of
the day best benefit our students. Um so again, I want to thank each and every one of you uh for being that way. it's important. Um, one of the other things I know did come up during some of my conversations, um, was the public, you know, again,
perception is reality and the public sees us, whether they come here, they see it, you know, recorded on on YouTube. They see a board that comes here and just votes yes on the agenda. They don't hear much discussion. They don't hear much of what's happening.
They just see us saying yes. Um, so they think that everything that you know is presented to us we say yes to. Um, so I kind of want to again take a quick moment to kind of go through how this process works. The board operates on a
committee structure. Um, I think I believe we may have six or seven committees right now. Um, so anything that needs to be addressed in the district on a monthly basis is broken down. Any finance stuff goes to the finance committee. personnel stuff goes to the personnel committee and so on. Um
those members, there's usually three or four board members on that committee that serves with a administrator. An agenda is made up for that committee. Those members of that committee will then vet that stuff on that agenda. Not everything that gets on
that agenda for that month for that committee moves to the board's monthly meeting. So they have to recommend it from that committee to us to the board. Um, sometimes the things that are on there get changed. Sometimes it gets scrapped totally. Sometimes it gets
pushed off for a month, two months. Um, sometimes there could be recommendations for different salaries or different this or that and they change. So, a lot of the vetting goes on in our committees. It's not um, again, the board can only get together in open meetings like this.
We can't sit there and discuss board stuff behind the scenes. So, we have to do it in small groups. No small groups. Then after they have their committee meetings, those minutes from those committee meetings are then shared with the rest of the board. So then we will get it as a board and be able to review
it. We have questions on that agenda for say budget. We would call up I mean a finance, we'd call up Miss Tarnowski and say, "Mr. Tarnowski, I have questions on this. Why are we doing this? Why are we doing that?" She would give us answers, feedback, comments. um if there's something that she's recognizing or she
may kick it to me as the president and say, "Hey, I'm getting a lot of feedback on this. What do you recommend we do?" So, we could either a get to a board meeting and table it, take it off the agenda and discuss an executive. We can table it and just say, "We're going to kick it down the road to the next board
meeting." So, again, just because it gets to us does not mean that's the final um you know, how it works out. So there's a lot of moving parts leading up to this meeting that gets us to this. So it's all vetted. We've all had eyes on everything. We've all asked all our
questions because we can't ask it as a group prior to tonight. We have to do it in smaller sections um you know two or three four of us at a time or on phone calls um you know between chair people or between me and then having to go
through whether Dr. Latwis or or Kate on certain things or again some of them even legal. So again it things get bounced around constantly before it finally makes it to this agenda um for us to vote on it. And then like I said at the end of the day we have all vetted
this well enough that we have all the answers that we need. You may still get some people saying no because they might not at the end of the day just agree with it which is perfectly fine. But the items on here are very well vetted by us prior to us voting on it. So again, I don't want the public again to think
that, you know, things are just presented to us, they get put on the agenda and we just look at it and say, "Yeah, okay." Yes. I mean, there's a whole buildup to it. Um, and that's why, again, each month we have the chairperson of each committee kind of tell you, "Here's what's happened in our committee that month to give you kind of
an understanding." Um, again, it's more um a responsibility I take on myself to explain to the public how this process works. It's not just a here's the agenda, vote on it, and we make our decision tonight. So, I just again wanted to give the feedback because I
heard it from several parents um on how the process worked and just again thought it would better for members of the community to kind of hear u more in depth on things. So, with that, that is the it on my comments. Again, thank you
again. Thank you for the input. Thank you for showing up at our meetings and giving us feedback. Um, next item on our agenda, item 18 is public session. The Barnagget Township Board of Education appreciates and welcomes public comment, advice, and suggestions,
especially when it's intended to assist the board of education. Please feel free to speak to the board during the public session. Comments and discussion will be limited to one five-minute period per individual unless requested by the chairperson to continue on a point of clarification. Public comment at special meetings of the board shall be related
to the call of the meeting. In accordance with the board of education policy, each participant must be recognized by the presiding officer and must preface their comments by an announcement of their name, address, and group affiliation if appropriate. Your anticipated courtesy to the members of the public and the board is appreciated.
Can I get a motion to open public session, please? So move. Second. Roll call. Miss Jurnney. Yes. Miss Contin. Yes. Mr. Fedorzic. Yes, Miss Jeanie. Yes, Mr. Hearn. Yes, Miss MSA.
Yes, Miss Terrannowski. Yes, Miss Washburn. Yes, Mr. Sarno. Yes. Motion carried. Thank you. All right. Any members of the public like to speak or address the board? Anyone? Gentleman right here. Good evening, Joel Gold.
16 Las way, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, aka 25 right road in Barnett. Had to put that in because I just paid my taxes. Uh the last time I addressed this board, it was in a very, very difficult,
angry manner. Today is just the opposite. We flipped the coin from tails to heads. And I want to congratulate each and every one of you for doing a hell of a job and turning a very ugly
situation around where we can now say we're proud to be in Barneut. We didn't say that back in March or February, but we are saying it tonight, April 29th,
2025. Thanks you. The other subject that I want to bring up is athletics. We have a a wrestling star here and if I don't take him to dinner after I finish, it's all over. You'll never see me again because he's
showing me holes at home. I don't like him. Anyway, uh a number of school districts both in New Jersey and throughout the country have taken the Monday after
Super Bowl and either made it a half day or a an excused I don't know what we call it, but it's a day off. So maybe we want to consider going forward in the
calendar having Super Bowl start on a a delayed opening or the school is is closed. Uh yeah, we had a lousy game this year and unfortunately the pilots of our company,
two of them were uh short so Aaron and I couldn't go to the g couldn't go to the game. But Brian, you know, we didn't miss anything. But it's something that I'd like you to consider going forward. Also, being on the board of major
corporations, uh, many times will ask for a unanimous vote and we won't go name by name by name, which just takes up time. uh our corporation right now and I'm leaving as of
Friday has 26 members and if every time we asked for something we went with the roll call of 26 members we would get absolutely nowhere. So my suggestion would be this is the item it's whatever it
is if anybody has an objection please raise your hand and then if necessary we can do the whole roll call but to ask for each and every item I think is really time consuming. So those are my comments for the evening guys. You're
doing a great job. Keep it up. Have a great summer. I'm going on vacation. Good night. Thank you. I think you've been uh been be one of the biggest fans of the staff in our district after hearing your comment tonight.
There are no raises. Thank you. Anybody else like to address the [Music] board? Seeing none, can I get a motion to close public session, please? So moved. Second
favor. Hi. [Laughter] It's a lawyer. He's giving us lawyer advice. All in favor? I c can I just speak to that for a second? So, the state requires us to do a roll call by
individual names. Um, so that's an NJSA code. Um, so while we agree with you, um, the state does make us do it. The reason for what a trend Roll call. Yeah.
Miss Jurnney. I don't want to get in trouble. Miss Continanza. Yes. Mr. Fedorzic. Yes. Miss Jeanie? Yes. Mr. Hearn? Yes. Miss Misca? Yes. Miss Terowski? Yes. Mr. Washburn? Yes. And Mr. Sarno? Yes. Motion carried. Thank
you. Um, item 19 on our agenda is finance committee motions. We have motions 1 through 16. Make a motion to approve those 16. Second. What? What? Did you just Yeah, but
sorry. A little confus. Good. Miss Jurnney. Yes. Miss Continanza. Yes. Mr. Fedorzic. Yes. Miss Jeanie. Yes. Mr. Hearn. Yes. Miss MSA. Yes. Miss Teranowski. Yes.
Miss Washburn. Yes. And Mr. Sarno. Yes. Motion carried. Thank you. Item 20 on our agenda is education committee motions. We have motions 1 through eight. Can I get a motion to approve those eight, please? So moved. Second.
Roll call. Yep. Miss Churnney? Yes. Miss Continza? Yes. Mr. Fedorzic? Yes. Miss Genie? Yes. Mr. Hearn? Yes. Miss Msa? Yes. Miss Terowski? Absolutely. Yes. Miss Washburn? Yes. And Mr. Sarno? Yes.
Motion carried. You. Item 21 on your agenda is education committee information for the public to read. Nothing for us to vote on. Item 22 on our agenda is governance committee motion. We have one motion. Can I get a motion to approve that, please? So move.
Second. Roll call. Miss Churnney. Yes. Miss Continza. Yes. Mr. Fedoric? Yes. Miss Genie? Yes. Mr. Hearn? Yes. Miss Msa? Yes. Miss Terinowski? Yes. Miss Washburn, yes. And Mr. Sarno, yes.
Motion carried. Thank you. Item 23 on our agenda is personnel committee motions. We have motions 1 through 19. Can I get a motion to approve those 19, please? So moved. Second. Roll call. Miss Churnney. Yes. Miss
Continanza. Yes. Mr. Fedorsic? Yes. Miss Genie? Yes. Mr. Hearn? Yes. Miss MSA. Um, items 1 through 12. Yes. Item 13, abstain. Items 14 and through 16, yes.
Item 17, abstain. Item 18 and 19, yes. Miss Terowski, yes. Miss Washburn, yes to numbers one and two. Abstain on number three. Um, and yes to 4 through 19.
Okay. Thank you, Mr. Sarno. Yes. Motion's carried. You Item 24 on our agenda is personnel committee information purposes only for the public to review. And before we go into executive session, on behalf of Mr. Jamano, I want to wish Mrs. Germano a
happy birthday. A he better get home. I don't know why he's still here. Great soul. Um, all right. Item 25 on our agenda, exe executive session. Can I get a motion to move into executive session to
discuss second financial budget personnel matters, please? Everyone's in a hurry tonight. Roll call. Miss Churnney, yes. Miss Continanza, yes. Mr. Fedorzic, yes. Miss
Genie, yes. Mr. Hearn, yes. Miss Msa, yes. Miss Terinowski, yes. Mrs. Washburn, yes. Mr. Sarno, yes. Motion carried. Thank you. Um, we may be a little bit in there. Um, just from what's on our plate, I
think. All right. like to call this Barnative Board of Education meeting back to order, please. Roll call. Yep. Sorry, one sec. Apologize. Um, Miss Churnney here, Miss Continanza
here, Mr. Fedorzik here, Miss Jeie here, Mr. Hearn here, Miss Msa here, Miss Terowski here, Miss Washburn here, and Mr. Sarno here. Motion carried.
Corum. Um, under new business, we have 12 items, correct? And the BA will read those 12 items off. And after the 12 items, we will vote. Motion number one is to approve the following. Medical leave of absence.
Employee ID5034. Administrator CSCS. Paid medical leave April 14, 2025 through July 11th, 2025. Return date of July 14th, 2025. Motion number two to approve
Michelle John's from April 29th, 2025 through June 30th, 2025 as interim principal of Collins with a perdem rate of $125 per day. Motion number three to approve John Fantino from April 14, 2025 through June 30th, 2025 as interimm
director of special education with a perdeium rate of $125 per day. Number four, motion to resend the April 9th, 2025 motion transferring Dan Gunderson from director of student services to district vice principal. Motion number
five, motion to approve the revised job description of director of special projects. Motion number six, motion to approve the transfer of Dan Gunderson from director of student services to director of special projects. Motion number seven, motion to approve the resise job description for supervisor of
guidance. Motion number eight, motion to approve Christina Ozello and Mary Camarado for administrative overtime hours for the additional building support at CSCS from April 29th, 2025 to June 30th, 2025, not to exceed 25 hours.
Motion number nine to approve the April 2025 HI report as presented in executive session. Motion number 10, motion to approve the school bus emergency drill and submission to the Ocean County Department of Education in accordance with title
6A27-11.2. Motion number 11, motion to approve the attached staff member renewals for the 2025 2026 school year. And motion number 12 is to approve the first reading and/or adoption of the
following policies. Policy number 312 for teaching staff members and policy 412 for support staff members. Okay. Thank you. Can I get a motion to approve those 12, please? So move. Second.
Roll call. Miss Churnney. One through three. Yes. Four, five, and six. No. 7 through 12. Yes. Okay. Miss Compton. One, two, three. Yes. Four,
five, six. No. The rest Yes. Mr. Fedorzic. 1 through 10. Yes. Abstain from 11 and 12. Yes. Miss Genie, yes. Mr. Hearn, yes to all. Miss MSA, yes to 1 through 10. Um, abstain
from number 11 and yes to number 12. Miss Terowski? Yes. Miss Washburn? Yes to 1, two, and three. No to four, five, and six. And yes to 7 through
12 and Mr. Sarno. Yes to all 12. One, two, three. All right. Motion's carried. All right. A motion to adjurnn. So move. Second. Roll call. Yep. Miss Churnney. Yes. Miss
Compton. Yes. Mr. Fedorzic, yes. Miss Genie, yes. Mr. Hearn, yes. Miss Msa, yes. Miss Tarnowski, yes. Miss Washburn, yes. Mr. Sarno, yes. Motion carried. Me being journed. Thank you.