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Video-1: youtube.com/watch?v=_E5LEctoHkY

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except were specifically exempted by law at which any business affecting your interest is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act. The board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having same advertised in the ledger NJ advance and the record. Also, notice

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of this meeting has been mailed to the members of the board of education, the burough clerk, all elementary schools, the middle school, the high school, Hornblower Early Childhood Center, and posted on the district website. Also, this meeting is being televised via the district's YouTube and Facebook pages.

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Thank you, Miss Ikeo. Can I please have a motion for the approval of minutes for our June 16, 2026 uh meeting for our close session and public session? Can I have a motion? So moved. >> Can I have a second, please? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> All right. Thank you. Moving along. Uh

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we are now going to items presented by administration. Starting with our superintendent report by Dr. Eric Alonso. Good evening all. While students are enjoying a well-deserved summer break, our district is already hard at work with our summer projects.

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We have an extensive amount of projects that we have going over the summer, even with our new curriculum revisions and our new reorganization of our district administration. So, we're looking very promising for the upcoming school year as far as our academics and also our facilities and grounds.

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I want to acknowledge extraordinary collaboration that happened on July 3rd. We had our fireworks display as you all know and we got slammed with uh I'm gonna say slightly unexpected. We knew it was going to drizzle. didn't think it was going to be, you know, a hurricane

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coming, but uh the collaboration amongst uh Mayor Alleso's here, OEM, Captain Maloon, and myself, we got things going. Everybody was safe and secured in the gym. It was a immediate shelter in place. And kudos to PD, fire department,

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emergency services, our custodial crew. Miss Ao was even with a squeegee there the following morning trying to get the water out. So, kudos to the whole team. It just shows the collaboration goes a long way, especially in the blink of an eye when there's such a crisis at stake.

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So, remediation's already starting at at the high school and we are moving. A little a little blip as far as our summer projects, but we're still on track to be ready for September school opening. So I, as mentioned, I want to thank our custodial maintenance, technology,

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transportation, food service, administrative, and central office teams for the amount of laundry list of things that we're doing this summer to make September that much better for our students. Uh, much of the work happens long before anyone sees the fruits of

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their labor, but their efforts are critical to success of opening our schools, and a lot of times they're are unsung heroes because they're always behind the scenes. And I want to thank the board of education, the entire Belleville community for your continued support as we prepare this ongoing

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process over the next two months to get everyone back bigger better and again seeing the fruits of what everything we're going to be doing this summer. One new thing that we're looking to start incorporating with our ongoing collaboration with the township. I spoke

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to Mayor VeZ and we know that sometimes certain members of the community cannot make it to a council meeting or some members cannot make it to a board meeting. So I've asked the township of the representative want to come during the board meetings and give just like a brief five minute update of what's happening on the township just to

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enhance the transparency and communication between us and the township. So that is the end of my report and Mayor Vez, Council Member Rodriguez, welcome both. If one of you would like to come up and just give a brief update of what's happening at the township side.

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Okay, good afternoon, Mr. Superintendent, Board of Education, the public. Just going to move that here. Um, really happy to be here with Councilwoman Rodriguez. Um, and really, really happy to, you know, just have been able to work uh with Dr. Alfonso,

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the board of education, um, our business administrator, Miss AO, um, and just really the community. Uh for those of you who haven't seen uh just the other day we actually had a shared services meeting between the board of education and members of the

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council and we are so so excited uh for all the great things that are in store. Um and we're really really excited about the collaboration uh that's already taking place. Um, everyone knows uh for me it the board of education is a very

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very important partner was really really proud uh to serve on the BOE and we actually have three uh former BOE trustees. So we have a a lot of inherent connection to the board of education. We understand how things work and how we can work together from the township and

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and the board uh to save money to cut costs and to collaborate and move our municipality forward. Um just very quickly um you know although the board of education has already wrapped up its budget season at the township level uh we are just now going to be uh

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introducing the budget and having a lot of discussions. So uh be on the lookout for that. Uh we'll also be uh doing a lot of collaboration as you see in the coming months with the board of education. You'll be hearing some announcements very soon. Uh and we are

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excited for our summer concert series. It's actually kicking off tomorrow. Uh so everyone's going to line up about 6:30 and then the music should start at 7:00. Uh so we're very very excited and always very happy to have our events here at the high school really here.

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This is really the lifeblood of the town and we're so so uh grateful for our partners in the board of education. You know, every every event that we have uh we really do a great job working together, keeping people safe. Um, [clears throat] and really following up on that point, um, you know, earlier

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today we did have a meeting of the council and we really spoke about that collaboration, that amazing teamwork that we had on Friday, uh, between our police department, our fire department, um, our OEM, our SER, our DPW, our board

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of education. Uh, we really, really came together when everything fell apart. had seemed for a second. Uh we were there to hold everything together when uh the lightning hit [clears throat] and the power went out and we had nearly some

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people say almost like 800 people in that gym. We don't even have the final estimate of just how many people were actually in that gym when the lightning hit and the power went out. Uh we all came together. We kept everybody safe and no one got hurt. You know, thank God

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no one lost their life. Uh it was really a historic event. We saw downed trees, downed wires, power loss, transformers exploded. You know, it's it was incredible. I mean, we just saw it on Lloyd Place as an example of one of our streets that were hit really hard here

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in the township. Um so, we're very excited to be working with the board of education. Uh we're really excited to all the collaboration, the partnerships, and all the special announcements that will be coming very soon. uh and we cannot wait uh to just really start uh

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fresh and be able to have uh really an even closer working relationship with our BOE. So I know Council Rodriguez if you have anything to say. >> Well, yes, recently we also had a meeting with the shared services committee. So that was very informative.

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uh there's a lot that I'm digesting so that for the next meeting I am more prepared and asking more questions to better understand how we can work together. Thank you. >> Yeah. So, we're very very excited. So, again, thank you all and we cannot wait uh to continue doing great things

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together. Thank you. >> Thank you very much, President Leon. >> Thank you for that report, Dr. Alonso, and and that update. Mayor Veles. Uh, personally speaking, I look forward to working together together and collaborating and moving our district

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forward. Uh, moving along to the to our meeting. We are now doing our business. Moving on to our report by our business administrator, Miss Ikeo. Thought he was staring. [gasps] I have a couple updates. Good evening. Um, first

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is on the fire recovery and the insurance claim update. Um just a quick update at this point all remediation and repair work associated with the incident has now been completed including the fiber optic work um which is a permanent restoration. We had the temporary in place and now the permanent is complete. Uh the district has submitted all

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supporting documentation and invoices to our insurance carrier and the claim is currently under review and that claim includes everything associated with the HVAC cleaning, emergency fire remediation, environmental testing, staff overtime, temporary and permanent uh fiber restoration, emergency professional services, equipment rentals, and all related recovery

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expenses. Um I know Dr. Alfonso already touched on this, but uh just to give a quick update, our buildings and grounds department has been very hard at work. Literally the, you know, the students had a half of a day on the last day of school and they were jackhammering floors an hour later. So, they wasted absolutely no time. Um, they've shifted

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all their focus on all of our preventative maintenance, capital improvement projects that we're planning for the summer and of course all of our deep cleaning in our classrooms. Um, I would like to thank our custodian maintenance staff for their continued hard work and dedication. Uh, their efforts during summer months are critical to ensuring that the schools

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are safe, clean, and ready to welcome students and staff back this September. Uh, also touching on the um the flash storm on Friday, July 3rd, uh, Belleville High School did experience a groundwater intrusion and a temporary power outage, uh, which presented some

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additional challenges to our summer maintenance schedule. Our buildings and ground team responded immediately and has been working alongside our remediation partners to address the affected areas. The remediation process is well underway and while the community members may notice restoration equipment and service vehicles at the high school over the coming days, I want to assure

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you that and assure everyone the situation is under control and at this time we remain on schedule to complete all of our summer cleaning and projects for the start of the 2627 school year. Um and then finally, um you'll notice that there's a lot of activity on the

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municipal field. uh you know the FIFA closing ceremony uh performance uh they're practicing on the the municipal field. So in collaboration with the township to make sure that they could effectively rent out their their field space, we've uh utilized some of our our

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parking lots uh for their performers for their vehicles and equipment. So part of the district parking lots are utilized right now by an outside vendor and that includes uh school number seven which will just be impacted through Sunday and the high school which will be impacted

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through Monday, July 13th. Uh with the exception of the horseshoe. The horseshoe is available. Uh these are temporary parking arrangements. They will not affect student drop off for all of our extended school year, all of our summer programs. Uh there's absolutely no effect to that and we appreciate everyone's patient and cooperation

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during this time. there is going to be a little bit more, you know, street parking and a little bit more congestion because some of our staff will be using some of those street parking. But we appreciate that and thank you and have a nice night. [cough and clears throat] >> Thank you, Miss Ikeo. Uh, moving along,

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we are now I need a motion for to open up for remarks by citizens on agenda items only. Can I have a motion, please? >> So moved. >> Can I have a second? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> All right. Thank you. Uh, can I please have our first speaker? You have three minutes on agenda items only. Mr.

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Michael Sheldon. Uh good evening everyone. [clears throat] Michael Sheldon, 47 Floyd Street. Uh just uh four very quick questions regarding agenda items. Firstly, uh 9.7 there's a memo of understanding with Western Governor's

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University which is based in Utah. Could you kindly explain uh the purpose for thisou? Is this an opportunity for our students to pursue some college courses? I just would like some clarification of this item.

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Okay. Uh the next two items kind of are coupled together 10.19 and 10.23. 10.19 uh deals with school office solutions LLC and it's marked as uh that LLC providing business payroll services and

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then 10.23 Axiom Solutions Consulting LLC. Um they're marked as providing business office consulting services. Um my understanding is you know based on my years on the board and following everything since that time that we have

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a very well staffed business office. So, could you please explain the need to hire all of these outside firms to help with the business office? Are you possibly moving in a direction to begin to outsource uh much of the uh district's business office operations to

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third parties? I'd like some clarification. And then lastly, 10.16. Uh this needs a little bit more clarification. The vendor here is listed as Minuteman. And uh in the verbiage it says they're going to provide full uh

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you're having them provide a full coverage plan for preventative maintenance, software updates, repairs, labor, materials for a little over $34,000. Exactly what are they maintaining and what software? You know, again, we have

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a very robust IT department. are is this uh Bender helping our IT people or are they doing something uh separate from what our IT department does? So, if you could kindly give me some answers to these questions, I'd appreciate it. Thank you.

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>> Mr. Sheldon, thank you for your questions. Uh speaking to the um business office consulting um the 1019 and 1023 um I can tell you since I have started the business office has been reduced. Uh furthermore we do

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have a um a staff member unfortunately out on long-term medical leave. She's dealing with a pretty bad situation. So um this is to plug the hole there. Uh regarding 9.7 what this is is a um pretty much a standard agreement for clinical placement for student teaching.

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Uh the the school itself might be based in Utah and there might be online uh learning going on. However, the clinical placements we get requests from universities, University of Phoenix, uh, University of um, Capello University. A lot of online

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programs that do require, my apologies, require uh, clinical to be done in person. This is a standard agreement to allow for that to happen. >> Is there anyone else in the audience that would like to speak tonight on agenda items only?

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Okay, hearing none. Seeing none, can I please have a motion to close remarks by citizens on agenda items only? >> So moved. >> A second, please. >> Second. >> All right. Thank you. Uh on to uh resolutions on personnel as recommended by Dr. Aonso. Resolution items 71

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through 720. Can I please have a motion? >> So moved. >> Can I have a second, please? >> Second. >> Uh Miss Ao, please call the role. >> Trusty Garrow? >> Yes. >> Trusty Gillis? >> Yes. >> Trusty Moses? Yes. >> Trusty Pacheco. >> Yes.

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>> Trusty Santana. >> Yes. >> Vice President Dr. Misagia. >> Yes. >> President Leon. >> Yes. >> Next up, we have resolutions on curriculum instruction. Uh resolution item 81. Can I please have a motion? >> So moved. >> And I have a second. Please. >> Second.

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>> Miss Ikeo, please call the role. >> Trusty Gar. >> Yes. >> Trusty Gillis. >> Yes. >> Trusty Moz. >> Yes. >> Trusty Pacheco. >> Yes. >> Trusty Santana. >> Yes. >> Vice President Dr. Sagia. >> Yes. >> President Leon. >> Yes.

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Next up, we have uh board action and board policy resolution items 91 through 99 as recommended by Dr. Alonso. Can I please have a motion? >> So moved. >> Can I have a second, please? >> Second. >> Miss IO, please call the role. >> Trusty Gar, >> yes. >> Trusty Gillis,

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>> yes. >> Trusty Moz, >> yes. >> Trusty Pacheco, >> yes. >> Trusty Santana, >> yes. >> Vice President Dr. Misagia, >> yes. >> President Leon, >> yes. Next up, we have purchasing and business services resolution items 101 through 10:35 as re recommended by Dr. Alonso.

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Can I please have a motion? >> So moved. >> Can I have a second, please? >> Second. >> Miss Ikeo, please call the role. >> Trusty Garam, >> yes. >> Trusty Gillis, >> yes. >> Trusty Mos, >> yes. >> Trusty Pacheco, >> yes. [clears throat] >> Trusty Santana, >> yes. >> Vice President Dr. Misaga, >> yes. >> President Leon,

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>> yes. Next up, we have finance [sighs] resolution items 111 through 115 as recommended by Dr. Alonso. Can I please have a motion? >> So moved. >> A second, please. >> Second. >> Miss Ikeo, please call the role. >> Trusty Garrow, >> yes. >> Trusty Gillis,

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>> yes. >> Trusty Minos, >> yes. >> Trusty Pacheco, >> yes. >> Trusty Santana, >> yes. >> Vice President Dr. Majia, >> yes. >> President Leon, >> yes. All right. Now I'm going to ask for a motion to open up for remarks by citizens on any issue. Can I please have

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a motion? >> So moved. >> Can I have a second, please? >> Second. >> All right. All in favor? >> I. >> We are now open for remarks by by citizens on any issue. You have a total of five minutes. Please state your name and your address when approaching the podium. Can I please have our first

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speaker, Mr. Michael Sheldon. >> Okay. Uh good evening again everyone. Michael Sheldon, 47 Floyd Street. Uh first thing I want to mention at the last meeting, you know, as everyone knows, there's been a lot of community concern and outrage about the rift notices that were initially issued back

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in May. And at last month's meeting, um Mr. Leon made a somewhat disingenuous remark uh directed at me. He said, you know, Mr. Sheldon, you know, all the years where we listened to you uh scream about all of the hires that Dr. Tomco

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made, you know, you should be happy that we're, you know, doing a reduction in force. Not going to deny that I was very critical of Dr. Tomco throughout his tenure about the expansion of the the district's payroll. But as a solution to

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this and over these last few years, what I have been advocating was some sort of moratorum, a freeze on hires except in emerging cases. You know, if you lose a chemistry teacher or calculus teacher, obviously you have to find someone with

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those credentials to to fill in the gap. But I I had never advocated a mass layoff, which obviously hurts a lot of people, especially Belleville residents, because most of those rift notices go to

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to people who are are are living within our township. So, I just wanted to set the record straight there. Um, second item, uh, the, um, I want everyone to know, those who are watching, uh, at home, um, nominating petitions to run

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for the board of education. Uh, those nominating petitions are available through the Essex County Clerk's Office. They're due back by 400 p.m. Monday, July 27th. Of course, the election will take place in November, but um, uh, people have about three weeks left. you

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need 25 signatures on those petitions. Now, uh no longer 10 is sufficient. Um the last thing I want to mention tonight, I started this last month. Uh, and I'm going to basically repeat what I said um at that time last month is um I

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am uh very concerned as I've recently discovered that uh there is a um really severe ongoing ethical crisis that compromises the integrity of this board's performance and the the facts of

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the matter as I outlined last month are absolute and already part of the public record. Uh your board president, Mr. Leon has publicly confirmed that he is a metriculating graduate student in the educational leadership masters program at Montlair State University.

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Concurrently, our superintendent serves as an adjunct professor in the very same academic program. And as Mr. Leon said last month on the record, Dr. Alfonso is his professor. Uh this is not merely an unconventional arrangement.

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It's a textbook violation of the New Jersey School Ethics Act. Specifically, that this this dynamic creates two irreconcilable conflicts under the law. Number one, there is a severe power inversion.

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The uh by law, the superintendent is an employee of the board. The board is charged with independently evaluating, supervising, and determining the retention or termination of the superintendent. However, in the classroom, that power is reversed.

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Dr. Alfonso could very well have great influence, control over Mr. Leon's degree pursuit. Number two, violation of the public trust. Under section 24 C of the school ethics act, school officials are strictly prohibited from engaging in

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acts that are in conflict with the proper discharge of their duties in the public interest. Representing the public while maintaining a subordinate private relationship with the chief school administrator creates an immediate per se conflict of interest. It destroys the

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standard of objective oversight required by the state of New Jersey. This structural conflict of interest compromises every vote, every evaluation, and every executive decision made by this leadership team. To resolve this clear violation without causing further disruption to the Beleville

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School District, I am offering one last final opportunity for voluntary corrective action tonight. And once again, for the last time, I'm calling on Mr. Leon not to step down as a member of the board, but to vacate his position as

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board president. And if you choose not to do so, I will have no choice but first thing tomorrow morning file the appropriate complaint with the school ethics commission and have them weigh in on this matter. I may also decide as a

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courtesy to also send the copies of that same ethics complaint to the New Jersey Attorney General in the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. So your call, Mr. Leon, do the right thing. I'm not asking you to leave the board just to resolve this conflict. Step down as

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board president and let Dr. Misagia take over that role. Thank you. >> Can I jump in as board attorney? I just want to Mr. Mr. Sheldon and I think you appreciate this. I've you know you've been on the board so you know and you've certainly been you've had your fair share of uh ethics uh complaints filed I

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think on your behalf and against like you know I think even the I don't know if you had I I don't know I don't remember all the circumstances. I represent a lot of districts. I don't remember specifically. I just know that there's, you know, ethics have been thrown around in this district quite a bit. So, don't hold me to that. But I will say that that as a matter of law,

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and this is not just for Mr. Shelton. I'm speaking generally to the board. Matters involving the school ethics commission are confidential. I mean, you're free to send things to whomever you want. You know, nobody's going to knock at your door and demand, you know, a cease and desist of any of this stuff.

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I just the the law is very clear on this that this is confidential. Um, and you know, sending it out to to to the media or reporting it from the microphone. I mean, it's your prerogative, but it strictly violates the law. Again, if you're going to file it and you haven't done it yet, that's one thing, but you

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just it's clear. You just need to know that this is not ethics acts are not intended to be thrown around like, you know, like footballs. They're they're serious matters, which I think you acknowledge. And so, just reading about them from the microphone, whether you filed them already or haven't filed them, is is kind of willy-nilly. It's a

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serious thing and you shouldn't they shouldn't be used politically. I'm just telling everybody that because at the last couple of meetings I feel like in Belleville we've starting to use this in a different kind of way and as the board's attorney not any single member here. I just want to make that really clear. So I don't know if anybody

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>> just so that you know Jonathan I I have not yet filed the complaint. The complaint's ready to go. >> I I got it. I just again want be really you know this these are serious matters that we're talking about. You're also you're also calling for the resignation or the stepping down of a of a I mean this is a serious thing that you're saying. So I'm trying to explain and and

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bring the gravity of this to everyone's attention. I'm just trying to that's my job otherwise otherwise why am I sitting here? I just got to readily the gravity of this >> and also just for your information when ethics complaints are filed with the SEC I've been through their website enough times to basically memorize all of the

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ins and outs. They ask for complaints to be kept confidential until they Mr. But they you update that I file. I never Mr. Sheldon after it has been the Thank you, Mr. Leone. All right, Mr.

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>> Uh, Mr. Sheldon. No, I am not resigning. Uh, I'm not stepping down from board president. So, please feel free to file that ethics complaint. Uh, I look forward to a third party looking at it and, uh, dismissing it after reviewing all the facts. So, uh, do with what what

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you want to do. That's fine. Uh, but I am not stepping down as president. Okay? You gave your opinion tonight and that's all it is is your opinion. Uh, and we'll leave it at that. Would anyone else uh in the audience like to speak on any issue?

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No. Hearing none, seeing none. Can I please have a motion to close public comments? >> So moved. >> Can I have a second, please? >> Second. >> Uh, all in favor? >> I >> I >> All right. Uh, are there any board members that would like to make any uh comments, remarks before to before we

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adjourn our meeting? >> I'll say [clears throat] something. >> Um, I just want everybody to continue enjoying your summer vacation and take time to relax, recharge, and stay safe. And I also hope to see many many of you tomorrow at our summer at the town summer concert series kickoff. It's a

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great opportunity to continue to come together as a community. Enjoy the wonderful evening. Thank you. >> President, I just want to highlight something real quick. I totally slip my mind with everything else. I want to definitely highlight agenda item 8.1 is

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a monumental agenda item that is coming to Belleville. We actually are signing an agreement with the electrical training academy. What that is doing, it is a two-year program that we're going to be rolling out where our students are getting a head start on an electrical. It's their progress to become a master

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electrician. So, with this program, we're rolling it out year one. So, our students are going to have a one-year advantage going into the actual field, but by the following year, it'll be a two-year program at Savage District for juniors and seniors. As soon as they graduate, they're already being placed at a job to start doing their

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apprenticeship hours, continuing education, and within the following two years, they will have the apprenticeship hours, plus the curriculum needed to become a master electrician. So, it is a huge step in the right direction and exploring the CTE and the vocational

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trends that we so desperately need. I'm sure you've all heard in the media that uh electricians are actually one of the top rated uh growing fields rated right now in the United States and the world because of AI and everything else. You need electricians. So uh it's a very

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very big uh very very big point that I wanted to highlight that I sorry for slipping my mind but uh we're very excited what this is going to produce and in the next coming years hopefully we're going to have a nice cohort of uh electricians coming back and hopefully working within town. So, I just wanted

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to bring that to light. Thank you. Would anyone else like to speak? All right. Thank you everyone for coming to this evening's uh meeting. Uh we will be back on August 12th, 700 p.m. Uh can I please have a motion to adjourn the

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meeting? >> So moved. >> Can I have a second, please? >> Second. >> All in favor? I. >> All right. Thank you everyone for coming tonight. Have a good night.