Everybody ready? All right. Good evening everyone. Welcome to the Mon Monday, November 17th Board of Education meeting. Would you all please rise for the flag salute? Okay. This meeting has been posted in accordance with chapter 231 PL1975.
Miss Ikeo, could you please call the role and read the sunshine? >> Notice of this meeting has pro been provided in accordance with the open public meetings act NJSA 10 col4-6 by the board secretary. A written notice was posted in the office of the board of
education filed with the township clerk and sent to the designated official newspapers at least 48 hours in advance of this meeting. The notice stated the date, time, and location of this meeting and to the extent known the agenda to be discussed. The New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the
right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of this board except where specifically exempted by law at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of this act, the board of education has caused the notice of this
meeting to be published by having some advertised in the Belleville Times. Also, notice 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. Roll call. Trusty Leon >> here. >> Trusty Gillis >> here. >> Trusty Munice >> here. >> Trusty Misagia >> here. >> Trusty Pacheco >> here.
>> Vice President Daryl >> here. President Bennett Meanie >> here. >> We have a quorum. >> Great. Thank you very much. And could we have an approval for our minutes from October 27th, both close session and open session? >> So moved. >> Second.
>> All those in favor or Tina, do you want to call the role for that? >> Yes. >> Yes. Trusty Leon. >> Yes. >> Trusty Gillis. >> Yes. >> Trusty Munice. >> Yes. >> Trustee Majia. >> Yes. >> Trusty Pacheco. >> Yes. >> Vice President Darl.
>> Yes. President Bennett Meanie. >> Yes. Thank you. All right. And let's start off with our student government organization representative, Joselyn Sepita, here to tell us what good things are going on in the high school. Thank you for coming. >> Good evening everyone. Firstly, I would
like to congratulate the student and staff members of the month. Congratulations on your achievements and thank you for being an amazing representation of Belleville schools. In old news, throughout November, Belleville Public Schools has been hosting a food drive, helping Belleville's federal workers and
families in need. The success of this food drive is a testament to Belleville's sense of community and kindness. Congratulations to both Emily Barta and Rosyn Almadovar, the captains of Belleville High School's girls soccer team. Emily Barta, our goalie, reached
an astonishing 400 saves throughout her high school career. >> Wow. At the team's last game of the season, Ross Almadovar became Belleville High School's girls soccer all-time leading scorer with 67 goals. Belleville held its annual Veterans Day
parade on November 9th. Multiple organizations from the Belleville public schools participated such as Belleville High School's Key Club, Belleville Middle School's National Junior Honor Society, and Belleville Junior Bucks cheerleaders. Congratulations to Belleville girls volleyball team for
winning first place in Essex County's Invitational tournament. The team won two 2 and 0 against Bard, earning them a well-deserved victory. In new news, Belleville High School's open house will be held on November 18th from 600 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This is an
opportunity for eighth graders to see the greatmies, clubs, sports, and more that our high school offers. All eighth graders and their families are encouraged to attend. Please see the Beville High School website for more information. The National Honor Society's induction
ceremony for the class of 2026 will be held this Wednesday. I would like to congratulate all inductees who have worked incredibly hard for this moment. Check out and follow the journalism club on Instagram at Belleville Buccaneer to access Bubble High School's monthly newsletters with school news,
information, updates, events for staff, student, and teachers. Lastly, have a happy Thanksgiving. Thank you. >> Thank you very much, Mrs. Sephita. That was terrific. Okay, we have good things going on here at uh Belleville Public
School District. Uh our superintendence report with Dr. Eric Alonso. >> Good evening, President Benamini, members of the board, staff, families, and our Belleville community. November has been a powerful month in Belleville schools. From student accomplishments to
community partnerships, there's a lot to celebrate as we continue to move forward in our district with purpose and heart. First, we have a life skills pop-up cafe that happened at the high school. Our students from our life skills pro program hosted our own little cafe right by the auditorium. It was an amazing
experience. The coffee was fantastic. The amount of community that we saw gather for this initiative was amazing. We even had a a guest uh appearance by our county executive, Mr. Joe Zara, and he was elated with the presentation from
our students. By the way, the branding and marketing absolutely amazing. Uh on Halloween, our culinary program had the Halloween lunchon and the amount of work and the quality that they're really doing this program speaks volumes to our
staff and to really to the students and their abilities to not only exceed instructionally, but also in the culinary space. One thing that I'm extremely proud of was our district-wide food drive. We recently completed one of the most
impactful food drives that I've ever seen witnessed. Thanks to the generosity of our family, staff, students, community partners, we provided support to over 2,000 people over those three to four days. Saturday marked our final pickup day and the turnout reflected the
deep need in our community and the incredible heart of Belleville. A special thank you goes out to Yolanda, Amanda, Alexa, and Rnado. They are my right left hand. Every crazy thing that I could think of on the spot, they
get to it and we make it happen. This was a thought on a Friday morning when we didn't think SNAP benefits were going to expire and we had donations coming in by that afternoon. So, a special thank you to them four because every single
call was made by one of them pickups, deliveries, every single pickup night and day. They were actually the ones who suggested a Saturday pickup for our families. So again, kudos to them for that. We have our prek to 2 family literacy night on November 20th. It's
going to be held at Belleville High School and it is that uh wonderful time every three years where we have our NJQAC preparation. So we've officially begun preparation for our review cycle which occurs every three years. This process gives us an opportunity to reflect on our progress and assess our
systems. Some of the things that we're assessed on are from the previous year as a look back year and some things like operations are our current year. So we're looking forward to the feedback from there. And lastly, we have our Belleville Aspiring Leaders Academy. Congratulations to all those that were
accepted. There were over 40 staff members that applied that got accepted into the program. We're looking aggressively to get the first meeting in by the end of November, but if not, absolutely by the first week of December. And it is just great to see
that we have for 42 42 educators that are willing to take the next step, are willing to be part of that call to help us lead. So very excited to get that going and really continue to grow our pipeline. I
want to thank the staff, family, students, community members for your continued partnership. Belleville is moving with momentum and everything we accomplish is rooted in our shared commitment to elevate, support, and uplift every child in all our schools. Thank you.
>> Very good. Thank you very much. And do we want to do the recognition? Okay, you're going down. All right. So, this is our acknowledgement part that we've uh embedded into our board of ed meetings to really highlight and showcase some of our community,
staff, administrators, and students. So tonight, we are very proud to honor someone whose voice has become part of the fabric of Belleville. For 29 years, Anthony Cesa has brought energy, pride, and heart to every game, uniting generations of Buccaneers. Anthony, your
passion has elevated our community and created memories that will last forever. It is our honor to present you with this plaque in recognition of your incredible service as the voice of Belleville. Congratulations, Miss Cessa. [applause] Thank you.
I'll show you. >> All right. >> Okay. Well, first of all, it's been a long time since I've had the pleasure of attending a board meeting. And I tell you, it this is this setup, this high-tech setup is nothing like the way
it was when I served on the board and had the honor of serving on the board 21 years ago. We were back in the old library downstairs and there was no live streaming back then or anything remotely like it. But um but I want to just take a moment. I just want to say thank you
to Dr. Alfonso, uh Dr. Delia, the entire uh board of ed, um you know, trustee Lois Munes for reaching out to me on um you know, about this for tonight and everything. I just want to say thank you to all of you for taking this moment to
recognize me. And you know, it's been 29 years in counting. It's been a I've seen a lot. It's been a a tremendous ride and adventure. I've seen a lot of wonderful Belleville athletes um excel grow and um you know many of them you know are you
know have their own you know families now now and so forth a lot of them I saw when they started playing on the wreck level and and all that so it's been a it's been a pleasure and um and what can I you know it's 29 years in counting so
I just want to make it clear I'm not going anywhere um I'm looking forward to the 30th year. I'm looking forward to the next 30 years. Um, you know, I bleed Belleville Buccaneer blue and gold. I I love my hometown and no matter where life takes me, I will always continue to
remain involved. I will always continue to try to bring that energy um every every fall um at that beautiful stadium and I look forward to the next year and all the years to come. Um what I can all I can say is you haven't seen anything
yet. I'm just getting started. Um but thank you. Thank you all. Seriously, thank you and congratulations on all the wonderful achievements. Um that food drive, I was following it with Facebook and everything. Just incredible to see all the wonderful things that are happening. And I think, you know, that's
what really needs to be focused on more is the wonderful things that are happening. We're always going to have challenges, but we need to focus more on all the positive things that are happening within our district and of course within this entire community because there are a lot of good things happening. So, thank you. It's been an
honor. Thank you. [applause] So, this next recognition goes to a family whose generosity truly reflects the spirit of Belleville. During a time when our community needed it most, the Locio family stepped forward and donated
a tremendous amount of supplies to support our district-wide food drive. Your kindness helped feed families and brought hope when it was needed the most. On behalf of the board of education, it is my privilege and honor to present to you this plaque. Please come on up.
[applause] Thank you for this. Um, it's always an honor to give back to the community to those that give to us. Um, I have roots deep in Nutley, but I also have roots deep in Belleville. My grandfather immigrated from Ireland right to Hornblower Avenue and in Nutley to uh,
Franklin Avenue at Chopright. So, like I said, it's just an absolute honor. And, uh, Nutley and Belville are separate communities, but really one big community. So it's a wonderful joy to give and be part of this. So thank you so very much.
[applause] Okay, for our next recognitions, I would like to call up Miss Gillian and Mr. Pulia. Please come on up. They're announcing the awards and not the awards, but they're always they're the gift that keeps on giving though. Good evening everyone. Uh, it's my
pleasure to recognize our district student of the month, Julian Cologne. Everybody give him a round of applause. Come on up here. [applause] Julian is an exceptional student whose strong academic performance and impressive test scores reflect his dedication and love of learning. He
consistently puts in hard work needed to excel and sets a high standard for his peers. But most importantly, Julian's just a great kid. He's respectful, responsible, positive role model in our school community. I watch him on the playground play football and uh he's
he's constantly keeping the peace. Um and he's got a great arm. So, uh we're proud of him. We're excited to see where his talents and determination will take him. Congrats, Julian. Come on out, Mom and Dad. [applause] >> [applause] [applause]
>> Good evening everybody. I would like to call up our staff member of the month, Miss Nicole Michella. Come on up. [applause] So, when I knew I had to come here to talk about Nicole, there's there's no problem in trying to figure out what to
say, but I was trying to figure out how to say it because if you see Nicole working in the school, the only word that comes to mind is warrior. Nicole is she takes care of our most vulnerable students, the students that struggle.
Um, she's she's part of our RT RTI team, but she knows students by name. She knows their strengths. She knows their weakness. It blows me away when she comes and we have to talk. We have to talk about and then she'll say the student and she'll be excited about
their growth and their progress. Um, she is an such an amazing educator because the the care is so real for our students. in number five. Um Nicole is going to make a wonderful administrator. I had the privilege of of working with
her in my school in that capacity too with our classes. But I think we have a real gem here at Belleville and Nicole Michellis. So Nicole, congratulations. [applause] All right. So, our administrator of the month, I had to put up this picture because if a picture says a thousand
words, I don't think I need to tell any of you why principal Brian Belton from number school 7 is our principal and administrator of the month. Mr. Bell, can you come on down? [applause] So, to give you all background, yes,
that is actually a suit that is engulfed in water. Um, this was actually, if you all recall, the last torrential downpour we had that half of your houses were probably flooded. That was Mr. Bellon outside with one of our students waiting to get picked up. Um, the symbolism
behind it. That is who he is. He takes from himself and gives to others. He covers other, he shields others, he protects others, not just students, staff. Uh, every conversation I have with Mr. Bellen is positive. Even in difficult circumstances, even when
difficult conversations has to have, I can guarantee you he will find a silver lining in everything. And you'll find the good in everything. It's been an all hands- on deck approach since day one, since I got here. and he is in the very front of the line ready to go whatever is needed any given time of day doesn't
matter. Um and it's funny because you know his name was coming up as the potential for the administrator of the month and then a parent actually sent me this uh this picture and said wow you have an amazing team which yes we
absolutely do and Mr. Bellin is a true example of Belleville excellence. So Mr. Bellen, thank you so much and congratulations. [applause] Well, guys, I just want to say uh it's an honor and a privilege to serve uh the
city of Belleville and all of our kids here in this city of Belleville because eight years ago I came here and I've seen a lot of changes within this town, within this community which are all positive and our job here is very simple
to make sure our kids are safe, our kids are supported and with the other administrative team that I have here um here within Belleville that makes it possible from every principal to director to the board members to the superintendent to Dr. Gia to making sure
that our kids are there. They are supported. But it it's an honor to be a part of this learning community and to serve the community of Belleville to make sure our kids are protected and they're able to grow and benefit. So, thank you very much. This is an honor.
Uh I'm not good with words. I talk about everybody else, not myself. So, thank you very much, guys. It's greatly appreciated. Thank you. [applause] >> I don't want to take a picture. >> [applause] >> Okay, congratulations again to all of our award recipients.
Um, congratulations, Mr. Sessa. And uh I remember those board meetings 20 some odd years ago because I always came and I remember being cramped in that library. So been around for a long time.
Thank you again. So former board member. Okay, let's move on. Um Dr. Eric Alonso gave a little report on the CUSAC. The CUSAC is that uh monitoring report that all schools in New Jersey have to do for accountability.
And I think that, you know, I just wanted to say I I know that it's been some ups and downs since the transition of our last superintendent. And I know everyone's been working hard because there are different areas of the QAC report, the instruction, programming, fiscal, operations,
um, governance, personnel. I think no matter what happens with the report, I think everyone here has done a a great job. And, you know, with these reports, you develop action plans and that's kind of how you move forward. So I I wish the school district luck in uh whatever the
grading system comes out to be on the annual CUAC report. Um that's all I have. So um Tina Ikeo, our BA, do you have any reports for us regarding fiscal? >> Yes. Thank you, President Benamini. Uh
the district's 2024 2025 audit is now complete. The business office and central office administrators held a formal exit conference with our auditors on October 14th. Subsequently, our auditors presented to our finance committee on November 13th. This presentation will be scheduled for the
entire board in public session in January after our reorganization meeting. The district received four recommendations, none of which were of material defect or substantiative nature. Budget meetings are now underway, which launched with a central office meeting including all district
administrators to discuss procedures and expectations for the budget process. Um, a food services update. Our food service uh management company, Mashio, conducted its first round of food service advisory committee meetings in each of our school buildings. Each committee included staff, students, and administrators.
Board members were also invited to attend. Here, students were able to provide feedback about their cafeteria experience and sample some potential menu items. We are currently showing 68% free and reduced lunch status in our student population, but continuing to
carry a very high volume of negative lunch balances. We continue to encourage all families to reach out to the business office if you believe you may qualify for free meals. The application and eligibility requirements are available in English and Spanish on our website if you click menu and then quick links to access. The district
facilitated increased partnership between Mashios and Apollo earlier this year to extend our availability of nutritious snacks in afterare. And I'm proud to announce that in October alone, students were provided with 5,595 free snacks to all students regardless of status to which the district will
receive federal reimbursement of $126 per snack. That concludes my report. Thank you. >> Thank you. That was terrific. And thank you for starting these budget meetings early. As always, the board always asks for uh our superintendent and VA to
please be mindful during budget season. Although um you know, we'll see what happens. But again, please be mindful of the taxpayers. Uh it is budget season and I know you guys are working very hard and diligently with our budget. We can't wait for that um presentation.
All right, so let's move on to remarks by citizens. Can we have a motion to open? >> So moved. I'll second that. >> And all those in favor? >> I >> Okay, great. And so first to the podium, could we have Michael Sheldon? Okay. Uh, good evening everyone. Michael
Sheldon. Um, I have a bunch of quick questions to ask about tonight's agenda. There's a disturbing pattern that's been developing over the last few months where many agenda items are listed by title only. There's no there's no information provided. You know, at least with our previous superintendent, uh
granted, I had many issues with him over the nine years he was here, at least he provided almost always full explanations for each agenda item, but now there's really just nothing there. So, let me give you an example. Um 8.1 uh you're you have a new revised
curriculum. No details. 9.3 guest speaker for school number eight. Who's the guest speaker? How much is it going to cost? 9.5 The middle school drama, theater, arts, play proposal. Nothing's
there. What is that proposal? 9.7 Heck uh uh presenter. Who's the presenter? How much is that costing? 9.16. Uh approve the CUAC district performance report. Miss Bennett Meanie spoke about that a few moments ago. It when when are
we going to see the CUSAC report? Why isn't it attached to the the agenda? Is it going to be uh included later tonight or do I have to go through the the routine of of uh having to file yet more OPRAS? Uh 9.20
an addendum approve the quantitative and qualitate qualitative and quantitative merit goals for the 2526 academic year. Who are those goals for? Are we going back to the old system where the superintendent has merit goals?
Something that was phased out completely back in 2019 when I sat on the board with which was done at Dr. Tomco's request. 10.6 South Bergen uh jointer commission for related services. The superintendent for that, as I'm sure you know, is Michael David Coocher, who was
key in the superintendent search later this year. So, it kind of I wonder if this is a conflict of interest. you know, he did work for you and now you're reciprocating by giving his uh uh group uh district monies. 10.10 Axiom
Solutions Consulting. The uh individual who's not listed in this agenda, but who's responsible for it is a man by the name of Mark Jacobus. Interestingly enough, he's the BA and has been the BA for Elwood Park for the last 10 years. And I think you all know what the connection is between Belleville and
Elwood Park. 10.11 FDS summer convening. Bunch of administrators are here. Can someone explain what is summer convening? I have no idea what that is. 10.18 Sentum Bino Architects to uh do a conceptual planning and cost estimate
for a proposed parking area improvement at the middle school. Are you talking about the upper level, the old high street level, or are you going to sink another $80,000 into the Washington Avenue portion? So, you know, I have two
seconds left. All of these questions, you if you had made the effort to attach some detail, I wouldn't be here tonight and I I would have answers to these questions. But you guys just don't want to give us any information other than titles. So, if you could I would appreciate it if you could clarify most
if not all of these items. >> Thank you, Mr. Sheldon. >> Any any answers? No, we're you're gonna Could you please send an email to the superintendent >> with all your questions? Yes. >> All right. I'm going to blanket you with open request.
>> Okay. And that's it. Could we have a motion to close public participation? >> So moved. And a second. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> Okay.
All right. So, moving on to our agenda for resolutions on personnel items 7 to 7.28. >> So, moved >> and a second. >> Second. >> Is there any discussion on any of the personnel items?
Hearing none. Mrs. Ikeo. >> Trusty Leon. >> Yes. >> Trusty Gillis. >> Yes. >> Trusty Munice. >> Yes. >> Trusty Majia. >> Yes. Trusty Pacheco. >> Yes. Vice President Darl. >> Yes. >> President Bennett Meanie.
>> Yes. >> Okay. Eight. Um, curriculum and instruction 8.1. Is there a motion? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Second. >> Is there any discussion on the curriculum agenda item and hearing?
None. >> Mrs. Ike. >> Trusty Leon. >> Yes. >> Trusty Gillis. Yes. >> Trusty Munice. >> Yes. >> Trusty Majia. >> Yes. >> Trustee Pacheco. >> Yes. >> Vice President Darrow. >> Yes.
>> President Bennett Meanie. >> Yes. >> Um resolutions for board action and board policy items 9.1 to 9.20. Is there a motion? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Second.
>> Is there any discussion on these agenda items for the board action or board policy? Okay. Hearing none. Mrs. Ao. >> Trusty Leon. >> Yes. >> Trusty Gillis. >> Yes. >> Trusty Munice. >> Trustee Majia. >> Yes.
>> Trusty Pacheco. >> Yes. >> Vice President Darrow. >> Yes. >> President Bennett Meanie. >> Yes. [clears throat] Resolutions for purchasing and businesses services 10.1 to 10.23. Is there a motion? >> So moved. >> And a second. >> Second.
>> Is there any discussion? Hearing none. Mrs. Ao, please call the role. >> Trusty Leon, >> yes. >> Trusty Gillis, >> yes. >> Trusty Munice, >> yes. >> Trusty Misagia, >> yes. >> Trusty Pacheco, >> yes. >> Vice President Darl, >> yes.
>> President Bennett Meanie, >> yes. >> 11. Resolution on finance. Uh, items 11.1 to 11.9. Is there a motion? >> So moved. >> And a second. >> Second. Is there any discussion on the
finance list? Okay, hearing none. Skeo, could you please call the role? >> Trusty Leon, >> yes. >> Trusty Gillis, >> yes. >> Trusty Munice, >> yes. >> Trusty Majia, >> yes. >> Trusty Pacheco, >> yes. >> Vice President Daryl,
>> yes. >> President Bennett Meanie, >> uh, all to accept uh, check number 095366. Okay, we're going to abstain. And then yes to everything else. >> I'm sorry that was 09536 >> 366.
>> Thank you. >> Okay. And remar um a motion to open up public participation. >> So moved. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> All those in favor? I. >> Very good.
>> Calling Michael Mion to the podium. Good evening. Uh Mike Mion, Belle Education Association President, 387 Union Avenue. Um, okay. Before I start, I'd like to uh on behalf of the Belleville Education Association leadership, I'd like to also thank all
the teachers, nurses, counselors, and CST who also donated so generously to the district food drive. I can't speak on behalf of the administrators and custodians in Paris, but I'm sure, you know, thanks will go to them. Also, um,
on another note, I have to I have an underlying theme here that's going to match Mr. Sheldon's theme here. Um, I want to read off to you just a bunch of outstanding concerns um that our association has. Um, looks like we have a need for more um help at the wellness
center. So, we need more looks like we need more counselors at the wellness center. We have different discussions that we want to have on the attendance swipe system. Um, do we still want to have discussions on the cell phone policy, equity in policy amongst all the districts? That's another another very
lengthy conversation we need to have. Um, sixth period, we got a lot of sixth period um, issues that are going on in the high school uh, particularly that we have to resolve because according to our contract, I always bring my trusty yellow book here. Um, those are only supposed to be used in emergency uh,
situations. Um, we have um we have we're not uh contract we feel like the contract's not being filed as it pertains to notifying the BEA on certain issues. So, we have a bunch of those things that we would like to resolve.
Um, want to talk about staff morale. We want to talk about supervision of children as being the responsibility of of staff members. Um, I'm just giving you an overview. We want to talk about professional development centers uh sessions and where they're going and the issues that we have with them. We want
to talk about IMAC and and having them visit our schools so that we can have our questions answered on the new health care system. And then lastly, we have um for now we have uh discussions we want to have on on clubs in the future. So, the reason why I bring these issues to
you is it seems like a lot, and it is, and and I'm sorry. I I guess I've been spoiled over the past eight years, and prior to that, I've been the president for over 12 years now. Um, we've had standing scheduled weekly meetings with
our superintendent. Dr. Tomco was phenomenal at that. We had we built a relationship around that. our meetings were probably wound up being like 45 minutes and then another 45 minutes about talking about you know kids and family and stuff and we don't need to do that. We just need that initial maybe 45
minutes to an hour tops of constant discussion of the issues that we have with the association and with our our members which ultimately means the students. Um so again I I just we've had one meeting in August, one meeting in se
in September, two meetings in October, and now we're going to have a meeting um we actually had three meetings in October. One of them was uh Dr. um uh Alfonso's agenda. And then it looks like tomorrow uh Wednesday there's another meeting scheduled, something that Dr. uh
uh um Alfonso wants to bring to our attention. But I'm wondering if we're going to talk about any of these issues. Now all these issues so you know were shared to both my uh vice president Dr. Alfonso and uh Dr. Dia. So it's not this
isn't anything that they haven't seen. It's there. It's you know they requested it so we gave it. But we're just looking for a relationship. That's all. We're just looking for communication. And that's why I say I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna roll off the back of Mr. Sheldon on
this. If we're left in the dark, we don't know what to do. we don't have any, you know, we have to come up here and talk about, you know, uh, association issues. We shouldn't have to and I don't want to start doing that now. I just want that schedule, regular scheduled meeting where we can discuss
these issues and they some of them are going to be long discussions. Now I want to say on a positive note before my bell rings uh we did have a discussion uh I think a little over two weeks ago on health and safety and it was a threehour discussion that probably could have been
three 45 minute discussions right or maybe even less than that but because we let it wait so long it took three hours but we got a lot accomplished so that's the good news we had some great things accomplished we're rolling forward on this health and safety issues I have all the confidence that we're going to make
further progress address, but there's so many other issues that we need to address also. So, I urge the board to encourage Dr. Alfonso to get a regular scheduled weekly meeting with our association um uh leadership so that we
could continue uh having a relationship and resolving our issues in the district. Thank you. >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mell. And I'll follow up with the superintendent and the assistant superintendent. and thank you for the health and wellness policy. That was our discussion in our policy
committee meeting. Thank you. Oh, yes, you can. >> I just want to respond to you the same way that I respond to you in the email that you sent me. We have over 5200 students. We have over a thousand families. We have over a thousand staff members. Email works very well for 90% of the
things that we have met in our meetings. I have asked you several times. Email me. Let me know what it is. >> Mr. Mong, you had your opportunity to speak. Thank you. >> Speak. >> No, he's not speaking to you. Let me if
I can. Hold on, Mr. Hold on a second. >> This is the board's meeting. You have an opportunity to address the board. You had about 20 seconds left even in your time. You'll have a chance to do that the next meeting as well. You certainly have an opportunity to address the superintendent by email as he's desri des describing, but he's not speaking specifically to you. He's speaking with
respect to your comments and he's going to have an opportunity to do so. Moving forward, besides the immense amount of stakeholders that I just mentioned, we have our internal external vendors community as well. We have several
different parties that I'm only one person. July 7th, July 24th, August 25th, September 11th, October 1st, scheduled meeting. I was then emailed by you that we should meet alone.
I said to you, "We will not meet alone. Please bring your representative." An hour and a half after our scheduled meeting, you said you were not going to make it. An hour and a half after our scheduled meeting, we want to talk about respect.
October 14th, we met. October 24th we met. October 28th we met the October 28th. You're right. It was over three hours. So July 7th that was your intro session. Absolutely. That's you introduce
yourself. Nevertheless, we're talking about nine meetings in about four to five months considering the ma the vast amount of work that needs to be done. And again, first year coming in here, getting to know the stakeholders in the systems and making myself available to
the community as I have, I think I've been more than available for the BEA. But a weekly meeting, as I've said seven, eight, nine times, I'll say it a thousand times, I will never agree to something that I cannot keep a weekly
meeting. I don't meet with anyone up here weekly. The only person I say weekly is my wife. So that being said, I will address the needs absolutely as they are needed. First through email. What can be handled through email is email. If it's confidential personnel, we will meet as
long as I am told that is confidential personnel. But a weekly standing meeting, absolutely not. Your vice president just suggests today a monthly meeting that we can absolutely schedule because we can move things around. But on a weekly basis, things happen.
>> Thank you, Erica. Thank you. Uh, Michael Sheldon pass those to Tina. Uh, good evening again. Um, I want to start off here by actually apologizing.
Um, I lost my temper a bit at the last meeting and I said a word and made a hand gesture that I regret saying and doing. So, uh, I'm offering a sincere apology, but you have to put yourself in
my shoes, if you will, and understand, um, you know, what I've been through at the hands of this board over the last, uh, several years. And, um, you know, sometimes we all have a breaking point, a snapping point. Unfortunately, I reached mine. But I, uh, I was really
triggered by being called a racist by our superintendent. I don't know if he's aware of the fact that um when this board began its superintendent search process back in March the very first public forum held by Mr. Coocher this
room. He began to ask the uh group. We had maybe 15 people here. What are you looking for in a new superintendent? Surprise, surprise, I was the first to speak. And the first things out of my mouth were considering that our school district is
now 75% Hispanic. our next superintendent should, if at all possible, also be Hispanic. I said, I obviously understood that you couldn't discriminate on that basis, but if it came down to two equally qualified
candidates, that the nod should be given to the Hispanic candidate considering the demographics of our our district. So, to be called a racist, I I essentially planted the initial seed. I won't I'm not going to say I'm responsible for your selection of our
superintendent, but I at least, you know, planted that very first seed back in March, which ultimately led to your selection of of Dr. Alfonso. So, um, I would hope that since I'm apologizing
that he could find it in his heart, too, to apologize for calling me a racist. you ask. Most of the folks in this township, you know, you want to stop by my neighborhood, most of my neighbors are Latinos and Hispanics. Um, they all love me because I've done so many things
for them out of the goodness of my heart to help them and their families over these years. So, I'll put that aside. Uh, I had a question. I was going through some of the recent agendas, but I noticed that um there's really a confusing situation regarding the
district's grant writers. You had hired gentleman Mr. Wendling back and I know this you're going to say this is a personnel matter you can't talk publicly about it but I just I I just want to address something here. You you hired Mr. Wendling back in what was it? July August August of 2024
and for grant writing purposes and then he resigned in December of 2024. At that same month at that same evening you hired a new grant writer Evan Bosio. I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly. Um, as far as I know, Mr. Bosio still is a
grant writer, but you've recently rehired Mr. Wling in September. So now you've got what do we have two grant writers? And I've heard through the grapevines that um uh the reason why the first grant writer left was maybe there's some issues with him u that the
grants weren't properly filled out that they had to be redone. So, I just would like to know you if you at all possible if you can tell me why do we have two grant writers right now and why did you bring back the other gentlemen. Uh I had a question I only have a minute and a
half left. um regarding our new business administrator and again I know going to say this is a personnel matter you can't talk about these publicly but um Miss Ikeo um when you had your special meeting in September at the BOE complex
on Ralph Street um I asked if um she would be starting right away or later on and Dr. Alfonso made it very clear. He said that she would be starting in January. And her contract, by the way, the contract that uh Mr. Zara or at
least the cover letter that's on the district's website, there's a typo there. He has her starting January 1st, 2025, but I think he meant 2026 to June 30th of 2026. You might just want to, you know, look into that. But if if it's true that her contract doesn't start
until January, is she able to legally mim this is a question that Jonathan will need to answer. Is she legally able to serve as >> as the uh as the business administrator if our contract she is. Okay. All right. Well, thank you. Thank you for that information. >> Um let's see.
>> There's anything else here. >> All right. Well, I'm just about out of time. I got 10 seconds. There was one other thing I wanted to to mention, but I guess I will wait until um next month. So, with 4 seconds left, um do wish all
of you a very happy Thanksgiving and um thank you for your time once again and I do hope that future agendas are a little bit more complete, a sense of commitment to openness and transparency. Thank you. Just to cl just to clarify the the business administrators [clears throat]
here um under an interim contract that we have um in the capacity obviously or the acting capacity I should say with a consultant. So uh yes she'll end up joining us but for continuity sake she's uh working here through the consulting agency and it's perfectly appropriate to
have her here. >> Thank you. Do we have a motion to close public participation? >> So moved. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> Okay. So, we're coming to the end of the meeting. Is there any board member that
would like to make some comments or just touch base on anything that you discussed in your committee reports? >> I just want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. >> Anyone else? >> Same thing. I'd like to echo that. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
Congratulations to all the award winners this month. >> May everybody have a happy, healthy, safe, blessed Thanksgiving and see you next month. Very good. Thank you. >> Yeah, I have a couple of remarks. Um, if you can bear with me for a second. Uh, thank you all for coming out to this
evening and for all those that are watching online. Uh, this past weekend I attended a record show. Yes, I'm old enough to be a collector and have an appreciation for original vinyl albums. The reason I brought it up is that while I was there, one of the vendors happened to be selling old concert buttons.
However, one of those buttons happened to be from Belleville representing the football Buccaneers. I don't know how old it is, but I ended up buying it for just a buck, mind you. I will be donating it after next month's meeting to our sport. I wish I brought it tonight. I totally forgot to bring it in my in my car. Be donating to our sports
department for their display case. I thought I want to bring everything back to Belleville if I find it out there. So, I did that. Uh, as far as an operations committee report, there were several items accomplished this month, mainly with EV chargers being installed at some of the various schools throughout the district. We are now just
waiting for the PSCG hookup, which may have taken place since our last committee meeting. I'm not sure. We also have our uh three new EV vehicles. We've also moved our transportation department over to 333 Ralph Street. Uh, many of us had an great opportunity to help with the food drive this past weekend that
was hosted by the district. What a great event. So glad to be able to help out folks that have been impacted by many of their most recent events. I've had the distinct privilege of providing liaison support to the HSAs and helping out schools 4,7 and 10 where I've met so many great individuals over these past
few years and gotten into some great friendships over time that I hold very dear to me now. Uh I will speak to some of this more at the last meeting of the year as I hope not to get too choked up telling how much uh many of you have meant to me over time. Uh we are now looking forward to the Christmas and
holiday seasons. I don't want to rush it. Sorry. And all that will bring along with it. But for today, we wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving and see you again in December. >> Very good. Thank you very much, Vice President Darl. Thank you all. Thank you
to all the staff. Thank you to all our families. As we head into this Thanksgiving season, just a reminder to be kind to one another and be thankful for everything that you have because we never know what someone else doesn't have. And that was quite evident of the food drive that the Belleville public
school district um had organized recently. And we do want to thank all of the donations. I know that every school had a donation box and there were tons and tons of things that ended up at the CASA. Um so thank you to all of the families and the staff and the teachers
that donated for that that drive. So again, yes, happy Thanksgiving to all. Enjoy the time off and enjoy some time with your family. Thank you very much. Have a good night and we will see you for the December meeting. Is there a motion to close?
>> So move. >> Second it. >> All those in favor?