Good evening everyone and welcome. We have met in exec session and we have done the flag salute. So I will begin by reading the statement of public notice. This is a regular meeting of the board of education of Berners Township. Notice
of the time and place of this meeting were provided and copies of that resolution were forwarded to the official newspapers as designated by the board of education and to the township clerk and a copy of the notice was posted on the bulletin board of the board of education or offices. For those
members of the public who cannot attend our meeting in person, a live stream link to the meeting is posted on the district website. We very much welcome input from the public. There are two times during regular meetings that the public is invited to speak. One time is early in the meeting before the board
votes when you may speak about any item that's listed on tonight's agenda. Towards the end of the meeting, there's another public forum to address any matter of public concern related to the schools. When you approach the microphone, please state your name and address. Each statement made by a participant shall be limited to three
minutes duration. No participant may speak more than once during a given public comment session. The first public comment session will be limited to 30 minutes and the second will be unlimited in order to run efficient meetings and to allow maximum opportunity for members of the public to speak. The board reserves the right to set a different
time limit for individual comments and the overall time limit for the public comments portion of the agenda. All statements shall be directed to the presiding officer. No participant may address or question board members individually. Please understand that public comment portions of our agendas are not
structured as question and answer sessions but are offered as opportunities to share your thoughts with the board. The board and administration will respond to public comments to the extent possible. Any board responses to public comments will generally be addressed during board forum or committee reports. However, all
comments are considered and will be investigated and addressed as appropriate. Please be courteous and mindful of the rights of others when speaking. Comments may not be abusive, obscene, threatening, or irrelevant. Please understand that students and employees have specific legal and
privacy protections. The board is not permitted to respond in public to comments about students and employees. Please also understand that the board will not be responsible for the content of comments made by members of the public. Members of the public are cautioned that they are speaking at
their own risk and any personally directed statements they make make subject them to legal liability to the affected individual. If it's necessary for the board to go into exact session at the end of the meeting, we will provide an estimated length of time for the session and whether any action is
anticipated to be taken upon to public session. And with that, we are up to our student representative MJ. Hello everyone, and thank you for joining us today. As per my usual role in the board of education, I'll be going
over updates of what we have been doing in student government as well as updates of the school community to both inform the public as well as the board about student life. Please do excuse my slightly informal attire today. I'm usually a bit more formal, I promise, but I finally committed to a university
and it's student tradition here at Ridge to wear the clothing of the university that you are going to. And without further ado, okay, thank you very much. Thank you. Yeah, this has been a amazing time for seniors as we've finalized our
college season. But yes, in terms of student government, uh right before spring break, we held our talk kind panel. Thank you for all of the parents, teachers, and board members for attending. And if you did not attend, we would strongly encourage you to watch
the video recording of the panel. I talked to a lot of Bernard's Township parents who attended the panel about how they felt afterward and I think it was a great opportunity for parents to learn that hate speech has been really permeated into protected classes like
race as well as gender identity as well as religious identity as well. Um a lot of parents were telling us how they didn't know about this issue and after listening to what we had to say everyone has been a bit more incentivized to put a stop to this. So, we'd strongly
strongly encourage you to watch the video which is posted on YouTube. In addition, tomorrow night at 7 PM, we have a screen time night and we'd strongly encourage all the parents to attend that. We have a lot of student representatives who are going to be
speaking about, as the name implies, screen time here at Rich. Furthermore, the student government will be holding their elections for next year's student government soon. So if you have any children of freshman, sophomore, junior, seniors who want to run, we'd strongly
encourage them to do so. We're also trying to organize an international day in 2026 where students of different cultures and ethnicities can spend the day spreading awareness of their foods, cultures, clothing, and customs. I don't think we held it last year, but we're
hoping to bring it back because it's just incredibly fun and amazing to try other cultural foods and see the diversity we have at Rich. I already brought up the meeting we had with Mashio's Food Services and the work we've done in the past, but because we've got so many members of the public
here today, I'd like to quickly thank Mr. Roberts and summarize the changes we've made, including fresher sourcing of veggies and fruits from local farms rather than commercial ones. uh healthier caffeine alternatives, more vegetarian options, and Mr. Robert is
now working to bring in halal options for Muslim students, and we've recently had these meetings to kind of give student voices and advocate for these changes within student government. We're also changing up our music Fridays, which is an initiative we started to
play music between every period um on Fridays and really encourage school spirit. This week, we're finally letting the Ridge High School faculty choose the songs. So, and we're excited to see what they select. Secondly, within the school community, I'll cover the events that
occurred before spring break and beyond. In terms of athletics, our track and field team had several school records broken in many events with season openers. We also had athletes from our unifi sports team sign up for the New York Red Bulls team and I wish them a
huge congratulations because it kind of portrays how inclusivity of everyone really brings strength to our school. Within the realm of stewardship, I also want to shout out the National Honor Society. I also lead the organization and this year we have had 166 members of
our rich National Honor Society give back 4,000 hours of community service and this has taken in the form of school events volunteering and tutoring students all throughout the community for more than 4,000 hours. We can't wait to see what next year's National Honor
Society will bring as well. In terms of career development average, we're also hosting our spring career representative visit by the counseling office. And I know several freshman as well as sophomore peers who are learning about professionals across fields like
medicine, law, government, and education and so much more. I know a lot of seniors and juniors who are looking forward to attending and learning more about the professional world have benefited greatly from this opportunity. Last, but certainly not least, I also
want to end this report on a bit of a casual anecdote. Um, during spring break, as seniors, we finally decided and attended college visits. And since most of us know the school we are going to at this point, I have many friends who are now attending Bulldog days for Yale, weekend square days for New York
University, and Rucker's days for Ruckers here in New Jersey. So, I attended Cal Day um in California, and it was just amazing to see what the next four years will offer. But while I was talking to a lot of professors there about course requirements, clubs,
leadership and more, I realized something about Ridge that has really really benefited me in the next four years. The curriculum we offer at mandates exploration of all fields across fine arts, musical arts, athletics, and a lot of
interdisciplinary courses to really really learn the foundations of philosophy and government and critical thinking. And to a lot of students, they complain about having all of these course requirements. But after listening to what the professors there at UC
Berkeley had to say about the school, I urge everyone in the community to be so grateful for the curriculum we have at Rich that'll not only prepare students academically, but also for the rest of their life as well. That will be all for our school updates. Thank you for listening.
>> Thanks, MJ. Um, I also just want to echo what you had said. I did have the opportunity to attend the speak kind and it is always so powerful to see the kids speak themselves and the panel of you and your other students very bravely spoke up and
and shared stories and so I do um really encourage parents to um watch the video when it's posted. Um and just as that was spectacular to be able to watch those students, it is also another opportunity to hear about the greatness that goes on in our district from the
presentations. um from all the different elementary schools. So, we are going to go and sit in the audience for the showcase and then we'll come back to the stage after All right, while that is making its way down, I just want to share that tonight from Cedar Hill, we have some of the
members of our fourth and fifth grade character crusaders. So, this is a group of student leaders in fourth and fifth grade who are really known for their exemplary character here at Cedar Hill. and they do so much within the building to really promote all of the goodness that you see from our golden owls. Later
on, they're going to do a little game called Goldie says. It's very similar to Simon Says. Now, if you're here during the monthly assembly, you would see our school mascot, Goldie, but there is a very comfy nest where Goldie is resting right now. So, Goldie won't be making an appearance tonight. But without further
ado, I'd like to welcome Maddie Bowman, Hannah Higgins, Suvidi Jen, and Ana Pavapati. Good evening. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to share about our character crusader student leadership program at Cedar Hill. In fourth and
fifth grade, all students have the opportunity to apply to become a character crusader. Character crusaders are student leaders that help promote our character education program at Cedar Hill. We act as role models to students in our
building and set a positive example by being kind, respectful, and following our expected behaviors. We also follow our Cedar Hill salute. One, be kind and show compassion. Honor yourself, others, and our community. Show your personal
best in service to yourself and others. Each month we focus on a new character theme, including topics such as respect, empathy communication self-regulation and more. We meet with the school counselors to practice our assembly and then present a new assembly each month
to the entire school community. We are now going to share a little bit from our most recent character assembly in April, which was focused on the theme of neurodeiversity. Neurodyiversity means that everyone means that everyone's brain is unique
like a different map of perceiving the world. And these differences are not good or bad. They're just different ways of learning, thinking, and acting. When people think differently, they bring different ideas, talents, and strengths. This helps classrooms, teams,
and communities become more creative and better at solving problems. Some people's brains like to move a lot. Some people's brains are really good at remembering facts, noticing tiny details. Some people's brains are great at imagination, and some people's brains
are great at organizing things. All of these are different ways brains can work. Neurodeiversity means no two brains are exactly the same. Different brains make our school stronger. And two, different brains bring different strengths. And
sometimes people may need different kinds of help and tools. Think about a classroom tool box. Inside are crayons, scissors, glue, and markers. Each tool works differently, but they all help us create great things. Our brains are like that, too.
Different brains of different kinds of brains help the world in different ways. Neurodeiversity reminds us to be kind and patient with others. Respect that people learn differently and appreciate the strengths in everyone. Different brains make our world a more beautiful
place. As we discussed today and during our April assembly, it is important to respect all of our friends and their and differences in others. We will now playing a game with you called Goldie says, which is similar to Simon Says. We
will read a sentence and if you agree with the sentence, you will put a hand on your head. For example, Goldie says, "Put a hand on your head if you have a pet." Goldie says, "Put your hand on your head if you play a sport." Goldie says, "Put your hands on your
head if you learn best by hearing things explained." Goldie says, "Put your hands on your head if you learn best by seeing pictures or videos. Goldie says, "Put a hand on your head if you like ice cream." Goldie says, "Put your hand on your head
if you like math." Goldie says, "Put your hands on your head if you like to work quietly by yourself." Goldie says, "Put your hands on your head if you prefer working in a group with others. Goldie says, "Put a hand on your head if
you are proud to be a part of the Burners Township School District." >> Thank you so much. Now, you got to see a little piece. Our character crusaders get up in front of the entire student body and they present to over about 700 people, staff and students, every single
month on a different character focus. And I think you did a really good job showcasing that tonight. And now I'd like to welcome up Liberty Corner. At Liberty Corner School, our theme this year is step into our story, which provides us multiple opportunities to incorporate literature into across our
curriculum and in everything we do. Together with our specialists, students have the opportunity to participate in many student leadership opportunities. For example, we're going to show you a little media presentation with some student led assemblies, some uh video
morning announcements, and other opportunities for students to be peer mentors as boosters and readers. And we have a live accompaniment for you, of course. with some fourth and fifth graders.
>> We are members of the LCS kids for good. Okay. All right. Thank you so much. We invite you to step into our story. >> Good evening everyone and welcome. We are members of the LCS Kids for Character Boosters program
>> and we are proud to participate in one of the many leadership opportunities in our school. Enjoy a look at just some of what we've been up to this year. >> And now introducing select members of the orchestra >> under the direction of Mrs. Fina Q orchestra.
>> Yay. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Good evening. That was amazing. Thank you, Liberty Corner. Yeah, let's give a round of applause again.
You can stay and soundtrack our part our part if you want to. Um, thank you. Good evening. My name is Mike Pepatone. I'm the assistant principal of Mount Prospect School. Uh tonight I'm excited to highlight the work of our student council which is created each year when our third, fourth, and fifth grade
students elect two uh leaders to represent each of their classes. And being a member of our student council requires a high level of commitment serving as the voice for our student body, taking feedback, concerns, and ideas back to our administration.
And we really work to uh be collaborative in creating real concrete ways to um promote student experience in for each of our students. And I have the pleasure of introducing two of our fifth grade representatives with us tonight,
Hia and Adve. And they're going to share some of the initiatives for student council this year at >> Mount Prospect. Our values are built around panther pride which stands for being positive and showing respect, integrity, determination, and empathy.
The student council is responsible for promoting these traits among the student population. One way we do this is through a leadership role during our monthly assemblies. Our student council speaks at each assembly to introduce the character trait of the month. We also
illustrate real situations where these traits should be used with skits that we act out during the assemblies. By presenting these character traits to our peers, we aren't just talking about values, we are modeling them. We also organize school spirit days
throughout the year. These days include unique ideas like crazy hat day, team sports day, and mismatch day to name a few that the student council decides on and promotes each month. While these are fun activities, they serve a deeper
purpose to build a sense of belonging and community within our school. As a member of the student council, we believe that leadership is defined by service. We work on projects throughout the year that connect our school to a wider
community. One example of this is our annual food drive. This initiative allows students to practice empathy by providing essential resources to local families in need. The student council organizes and promotes this food drive
and help deliver the collected items to local food banks and charities that support families facing financial challenge and food insecurity. We also help organize our yearly school beautifification project. The last two
years, we raised funds for gardening supplies and planted flowers at the entrance of our building. These projects teach us responsibility by participating in the school beautifification project. Students learned that they have the power to improve this rising through planning and
hard work. This year, for family reading night, the student council decided to turn our cafeteria into a five-star restaurant called the Literacy Cafe. When families arrived, they didn't just find a place to read together. They found an elevated
dining experience where our guests were treated to a full three course meal of literature. We started everyone off with a poem appetizer, a small taste of reading to get things started. For the main course, families ordered a picture book from our
many to read together with a focus on great illustrations and storytelling. For dessert, we hosted a silly Mad Live session. We shared these as a group at the end of the night and the whole room was filled with laughter. The student council didn't just plan the
event, we ran it. We took our jobs very seriously and even had two soft opening practices. During the night, the greeters welcomed every family at the door and showed them to their seats. The waiters helped families find a perfect book to enjoy, and our
chefs worked behind the scenes to keep everything organized. We also wanted to make sure the reading didn't stop when the cafe was closed. We organized the free book exchange where students could browse donated books. Every student was able to choose a book to take home and
keep for their personal library. >> We we really took off with our family reading night in the cafe. We're ready to open up our own restaurant, I think. Now, um you know, I think for Mount Prospect, we just are really dedicated in developing student leaders and our student council gives us that
opportunity to do that and show that um students really can make a uh be significant and make improvements in our school. We appreciate that. Thank you so much for your time and thank you to Adve and Tah here for being here tonight as well. And now I'd like to introduce Mrs. Foley
from Oak Street. >> I'm going to let the video they made speak for themselves. I'm just going to tell you that we have to thank Mrs. Mr. Rogerio for helping the students write the script and plan it and Mr. Matarazzo for helping them film it. I'm going to
let them each introduce themselves and then we're going to take a seat and watch the premiere of our little film. >> Say your name and then >> um my name is Logan. >> My name is Zoe.
>> My name is Lyanna. My name is Eden. My name is Charlie >> and my name is Kevin. >> Okay, here is their great work to tell you all about how they're leaders at Oak Street.
>> Hi, we are Evan and Leah. We are here to tell you about the kindness challenge. The kindness challenge is is an amazing week at OSS where everyone has a chance to learn and experience kindness. Everyone gets a paper with challenges to spread kindness. So, so kids who are new to Oak Street feel included. Everyone
and everyone feels while also learning about kindness. The paper has check boxes to check off the things that you've done to spread kindness. We hope you see one of the reasons that OSS is such a good school. >> Thanks.
Hold the door. Check. >> I'm Zoe Ho. >> I'm Charlie Truit. >> And I'm Kevin Glazer. >> We are on the Oak Street Student Council. >> We are here to talk about how student leadership led to lunches. The student council met with the people who run our buyers life.
>> We talked about the food that we liked and disliked. In the end, we decided to change the menu and lunch got tastier for everyone. >> These lunch changers show that students can make a difference. >> Pizza, please. >> We love our school so much for many reasons.
>> One of the reasons is that we help our community. >> We do the purple apron and >> food drives. >> These activities teach us responsibility and community awareness. Oo, thank you. >> Thank you. >> We're here to tell you about our science fair. >> You get to show off your science and
math knowledge to your friends and family. >> Each year, students run fun experiments and present their ideas to judges. >> But the best part is you feel like Albert Einstein. >> And we learn how to be accountable for our independent projects. >> Don't forget about the award,
>> right? Everyone gets an award, helping to build confidence. Okay, you do your thing. I'll do mine. >> Hi, we are Nila and Tegan and we are both from the student council at OSS and we're here to tell you all about Buddy
Builders. Buddy Builders is a program that lets fifth grade and fourth graders some responsibility and compassion by buddying up with children in our SEAP program. During Buddybuilders, you play a bunch of fun games, make new friends, and have a great time. It's a once in a lifetime
experience that teaches us to leave with empty. >> Hi, we are Charlotte and Tegan, and we're here to tell you about kickball at OSS. >> Kickball helps with fitness, sportsmanship, and teamwork. We elect team captains who help organize and communicate with the team. Not the best
player, but the kids who represent our class with integrity. We are also taught that anyone, not just captains, can lead by example and encourage each other. As student council, we are given the opportunity to keep the entire school informed through the videos like this in
something we call kick OSS kickball news. >> Uh-oh, out of time. Recess is over. >> Testing one, two. Testing one, two. >> Is this thing on? Greetings from >> We are
>> Lyanna, >> Kevin, and Charlie. >> This is the stage where our drama club puts on an annual show. It is an opportunity where you get to audition for a part >> or take part in creating sets and props. >> It's a very exciting experience for
fourths and fifth graders. A very nice thing about the play is that although you do audition, everyone gets a part and we practice multiple times a week. >> Drama club teaches us about inclusion, work ethic, and dedication. It's super
fun as well. >> What the world? >> Hi, we are Logan >> and Martina. >> Our nest program is where small groups of students from all grades get together with an assigned teacher. We talk about our feelings and do bonding activities. >> Nest helps kids build characters and
helps you become a better person. >> And just like the buddybuilders program, it teaches you about empathy and kindness. >> It's a very fun experience for every student. >> Bye. >> Let's go. >> Okay, you ready for nest? Come here. >> I know.
>> Okay, let's go. Peace Patrol is an awesome opportunity for kids to learn responsibility and leadership skills. You get to be a leader and make friends with kids in younger grades. >> You get to meet younger kids and have fun with them. >> You can also learn to be kind and be a leader. It's a great opportunity.
>> Bye. >> Okay. Go. Do something. >> The PTO at OSS does so much to make exciting events happen for the students here at OSS. Whether it's a sweetheart dance, swimming, pizza night, or the color run,
these are events where we interact with friends and peers from all groups. This is when we are able to independently demonstrate the social emotional learning skills that we learned from many activities we talked about in this video. All of the birds look forward to the events
and we make new friends. This is this is why OSS is the best for leadership and character development. We are giving given many opportunities to learn and to practice these skills. Thanks for watching. Student council
signing off. So, I was really proud of their leadership and proud of all of our schools because I think we do a darn good job of preparing these kids for the next step. Thank you guys for coming. One of the things that um our district does really well is provide
opportunities for students to show us how they shine each and every day. And that is what makes this this presentation so special. So, thank you to all the students for coming and and participating. It's not easy to stand up in front of a full
audience. So, um you have to be commended for that. And thank you to the parents who brought their children here tonight. Uh we appreciate that. And thank you to all the principles and assistant principles and administrators who make this all possible for us. Um, with that, uh, we're up to the
superintendence report and there are two items. >> Thank you, Miss White. Uh, just to echo your thoughts on the presentation. Uh, really appreciate it. Thanks again to the parents, the kids, the staff, the administrators. Uh, great job and thanks
for lifting our spirits with the kids tonight. Um just two items tonight under superintendent report our HIP report and we have to report out whenever we have our school bus evacuation drill. So they're listed as well. Thanks.
>> Okay. Can I um any questions before I ask for motion? Second a motion. Robin and Dave in a roll call. >> Miss White. >> Yes. >> Dr. Mune. >> Yes. >> Mr. Mr. Molinari
>> abstain on item one. Yes. On item two. >> Miss Caranado. >> Yes. >> Mr. Shaw. >> Yes. >> Mr. Talbot. >> Yes. >> Mr. Omalanic. >> Yes. >> Miss Mohan. >> Yes. >> And Mr. Lewis? >> Yes.
>> Okay. We're up to public comment on agenda items. If anybody has anything that they would like to say, please come down to the mic, sign in, state your name and address. Members of the board of education, John Coo, Benedict Crescent. I'm writing to
really request a challenge for the selection of superintendent of the Bernard Township School District ahead of this meeting that I saw on the agenda. I believe we could have done better. The challenge is based on demonstrated left-leaning bias and preference towards
the rank and file of the local Democratic party wherein education is intended to be objective and free of political bi. >> Just as a reminder as as we mentioned before, please be aware that you should consider your comments in light of the legal rights of the identified or
affected people and the board bears the responsibility and any personally directed statement might subject you to legal liability. >> I understand. Thank you. My remarks are directed to this that the superintendent must prioritize parental transparency and B the protection of all
students from misguided external agendas and bias. I think this is a very important fact that the board should consider. I urge the board to consider its appointment and the implications. Thank you. Uh, good evening. Uh, Frank Claus, Owens
Court. Um, every month we come here, we pick up the, uh, stacks of the agenda items. We have pages of a lot of people are getting different appointments, different uh things that are going on and all of the amounts of money down to the penny um for all these different
items. I noticed today it was a pretty big agenda item and um we have a four-year contract going to new superintendent, but we've neglected to say what that contract holds and how that pay uh compares to an outgoing superintendent with a couple decades of
experience and someone who has weathered a number of uh pretty tough storms quite well. So, I'd be curious since we list every single other person's pay if we could have the transparency on this appointment as well. Thank you. Not very lighter HG Road. I'm here to
discuss the field use policy. I understand that it was the first reading at the last meeting and this meeting is the second reading. I have strong concerns over most specifically is the stipulation of an allowance for
privately used sound equipment. I don't understand where that come from and why that is even being considered. We have PA systems at Lee Field. We have PA systems at Varsity Field. We have PA systems at this at the softball field. When members of this administration went
to the zoning board to get approval for the uh turf field, it was explicitly stated there would be no amplified sound on that field. So my question, one question is where are we allowing this
use of publicly of public sound system? My other question is regarding what are the stipulations that if you allow this What are the constraints around this? There is a lot of specifications in the policy about the
system run by this district that it's only run by admin that the sound is set by the administrator that it's only run in with um adult supervision. There's nothing indicating anything like that with this privately used sound equipment. Where did this come from? And
why are we allowing that? You're putting it back on the neighbors to have to police it because the the standards are vague. The wording says that the sound equipment would be reasonable and considerate. Who's judging what's reasonable and considerate? You're
putting that back on us as neighbors and that's unfair. We came to you asking for a policy that was measurable and a policy that was enforcable to make our lives and our yards liveable. and that use does not allow
that. It actually does the opposite. So I would ask you to please remove that from the policy. And I also don't understand where this where the use of portable lights came in. I thought that the lights were dead when we came last time. Portable lights have more glare.
They're run by generators. They're noisy. So can you speak to where these lights would be used and what type of situations? I would also ask that those from the policy as well. In terms of setting the volume by the administrators, the volume at Leaf Field
currently, specifically for the lacrosse games, the warm-up is too loud. It's loud in my home. And when I went up last Tuesday to see what's the size of the crowd that warrants noise that loud, there were five people on the ridge side
and no one in the stands on the opponent's side. So, who's setting these limits? Also, the baseball field, varsity in a limit on varsity field. The music starts at a warmup and it goes for three hours until 7 o'clock and you're hit with sound bites. You get walk up
music for the players. You get music when the innings change. You get innings when the um new music when the pictures change. Sometimes there's three music changes in a 10sec span. That's unfair to the neighbors. The volume needs to be lower and the use for that field needs
to be looked at more carefully. Thank you. Hi, I'm Ray Leader. I also live at Beach Tree Road. Um, we've had a long history with this noise issue with with fields both at Lefield and the Varsity Baseball Field. I have 10 15 years worth of
emails that I shared with some of the board members last year. And we were advised to come to this board and to seek policy that they could enforce that would do something The policy that's been put forth is it's neighborly on the surface, but the detail and the broadening of it makes it much worse
than anything we've seen before. So, I don't really understand what we accomplished here. We've gone backwards. It leaves us in a position where we're going to have to complain for another 10 years and be frustrated. So, please reconsider this policy. We saw it the first time. The first reading was not privy to us. We saw it after the last
board meeting and it's got we're going backwards. I don't know what to say, but please reconsider this policy and vote against it tonight. Give it one more time. Thank you. Okay, that I will close public comments. Mr. McCary, is there anything you want to address?
Sorry. Uh thank you, Miss White. So, um with regard to uh the superintendent's proposed salary starting uh salary is $230,000. Um relative to the existing
superintendent, that is myself. It's notably less. Uh I think uh in terms of uh compensation uh consideration was given to similar positions um recently being approved by
similar uh school districts and boards of ed. Um, with respect to the sound system policy, uh, the policy, just to be clear, is very specific to
Bernard's Township sponsored athletic co-curricular activities. So, there are two policies that relate to the use of um, school facilities and fields. The policy that the board has been
considering is specific to the student sponsored activities, meaning our own sports teams, uh, our own student events that may take place on school fields. Um, I think I I understand um that what
is considered reasonable um is not necessarily going to be agreed upon by all parties. Uh, I I certainly can appreciate that that we are are um you know looking for a balancing point. The students are supposed to be using the
systems with the supervision of the staff. Um but we do understand that there are times where kids may be using their own athletic fields and they may have portable sound equipment um that they bring to an event. Um and so they
are expected to be considerate of the neighbors. The policy does uh call for uh concerns regarding the use of the fields and uh activities therein u by our students that those concerns are
directed to the school principal. Um so I I can appreciate that it it's not necessarily perfect. Uh if the board wants further consideration um I'm sure they will give me that direction. >> Thank you.
Okay, with that we are up to approval of minutes. May I have a motion? Mike and Robin and a roll call. >> Miss White, >> yes. >> Dr. McHune,
>> yes. >> Mr. Molinari, >> Miss Curado, >> yes. >> Mr. Shaw, >> yes. >> Mr. Talbett, >> yes. >> Mr. Malanic. >> Yes. >> Miss Mohawk. >> Yes. >> And Mr. Lewitz.
>> Yes. >> Okay. We're up to finance. There are 16 items in a report. Dave, do you want to do the report first? >> Uh, sure. I'll do the report first. So, there are actually two reports. Um, I'll do the most recent and the older one.
There probably isn't much, but I'll look at it real quick for everyone. So, first item, the committee reviewed an additional advertising revenue proposal from Foxrun Group, a firm that works exclusively with school districts. Key terms of the proposal include commission
rate of 35% implementation timeline approximately 18 months before advertising would be placed. Uh, projected annual revenue ranging from 60 to 400,000. The district would retain veto power over the placement of any types of advertising. The committee had
followup questions and will continue its evaluation. The item will be revisited at future meetings. Uh the next item, we discussed the budget and the county review and the district budget remains under review by the county. No changes to report at this
time. Um, next we looked at um informal Somerset County School District taxes and the committee discussed the Somerset County tax increases for um and compared it to ours. Um the next item, the
committee reviewed per pupil cost and activity fee data from peer districts. Following a review of the peer districts data and accounting for additional staffing savings realized through additional retirements and other personnel changes, the committee is recommending a reduction from the
original preliminary budget proposal for activity fees. The new fees that we're recommending is for high school. It's $100 per participating student. So only participating students an activity fee and then for the middle school $50 per
participating student for activity fees. Uh there is no fee if you do not participate. This represents approximately half of the amount originally contemplated in the preliminary budget. The next item uh we discussed was
Chromebooks. So we were informed of growing constraints in the Chrome Chromebook supply chain driven by elevated chip demand particularly from the rapid expansion of AI related applications. This pressure is anticipated to persist in the
foreseeable future. To mitigate potential disruption to the district's device replacement cycle, the committee is recommending that the budget for Chromebook replacement be secured early in the procurement cycle. Next, The district will transition away
from my school bucks. I think everyone will be happy with that. Current payment platform used by families for school activity fees and related charges. Key drivers of the change include the current provider providers credit card fee of 4.95%
has led many families to revert to paper checks undermining the benefits of digital payment adoption. My school bucks has generated complaints from families including limited visibility into food service purchases. Um we'll be moving so the district will
move to pay schools. The new fee structure is as follows. E checks will be a $1.75 flat fee. Credit cards will be 3.25 plus 125 transaction. Food service payments will transition to pay schools in September. Other payment
categories will mitigate on a timeline to be confirmed. Uh the next item which is also a voting item is our 403 U 457B employee retirement counts. The district has administered the process internally
without using a third party for years. We're planning to switch this to a third party serer which will mitigate risk to the district among other things. plan connection is the company we are looking at and there will be no additional charge to the district for
that. So it'll just save us on risk. Uh the next item is Mashios which replaced Armeck as the district's food service provider at the start of the school year. Um is they're completing their first year. The committee received a
preliminary look at year end financials at ahead of the contract renewal discussion. Um, it is typical for a a new food service provider to operate at a deficit in year one due to startup costs. Mashios is currently
approximately $40,000 short, which may reduce the district's contractual guarantee of 225. The provider is entitled to deduct for certain items, including reduced serving days resulting from snow days and half days. Despite the financial result, Mashios
has been a strong partner in year one, fully staffing to district needs and demonstrating responsiveness to feedback from students, parents, and staff. And then just a quick look at the week before, I think we discussed everything,
but um or voted on them. So, I don't think there's anything else to report on there. >> Yes. >> The budget. Oh, the budget was approved. So, by the county office. So, the budget was approved. Thank you.
Um, and then as far as voting items, I want to point out just a couple items before we vote on them. So, number six, the Oak Street PTO and the PEC are both looking to um raise money about $30,000 for a swing set for Oak Street. So, that
will be very exciting. Um number eight is the preliminary approval for grants for the BTEF. So we are approving the preliminary list. That doesn't mean that all the items on there will be approved. So it goes through additional rounds. Uh
number 10 is what I talked about for the 403b that um that's approving plan connect as the third party. Uh number 11 on the list is USA architects. that will be the board approved um architect for record for updating the district's
long-term range facility plan. And then number 13 is also good um a direct install the direct install project for Mount Prospect. We're getting some additional savings there. So it has lowered our costs a little bit. That's
it. >> Any questions for Dave >> Robin? >> Not a question. And I just wanted to clarify for anyone out there for the activities fee this would be $100 maximum for as many clubs and sports as you could possibly do at Ridge and the
same thing 50 for William. Right. >> Okay. Can I get a motion? Keith Mike and a roll call. >> Miss White. >> Yes. >> Dr. Mcune. >> Yes. >> Mr. Molinari. Yes,
>> Miss Curado. >> Yes, >> Mr. Shaw. >> Yes, >> Mr. Talbot. >> Yes, >> Mr. Omalanic. >> Yes, >> Miss Mohan. >> Yes. >> And Mr. Lewitz? >> Yes. >> Okay, we're up to personnel. Robin, do you have anything that you're able to share?
>> Um, the committee met on March 19th. Um, there's only a couple items that I can report out on. One of them is, um, we just had gotten clarification about AP readers. So, some of our AP teachers um I think five of them this year have been asked by the college board to be a
readercorer for the national tests. This is an honor and we feel that it helps our teachers learn about what's upcoming in changes to the curriculum for the AP classes and tests and how to teach the tests the teach the classes and prepare the students. Our district grants PD
days to teachers who are asked to do this. Um and the other thing was we discussed um the rate for BTAAA members who work at at an event and um discuss the fact that it would be the same rate if they were working at a whams event versus a ridge event.
Okay. Uh any questions for Robin about those two items? Okay. Can I get a mo motion? Smearia and Brett and roll call. >> Miss White. >> Yes. >> Dr. McHune.
>> Yes. >> Mr. Molinari. >> Yes. >> Miss Curado. >> Yes. Mr. Shaw, >> yes. >> Mr. Talbot, >> yes. >> Mr. Alanic, >> yes. >> Miss Mohan, >> yes. >> And Mr. Lefawitz, >> yes. >> Okay. So, for those of you in the
audience, um, or at home viewing, I am thrilled, as you just heard us vote on, to be able to introduce Kristen Fox as our next superintendent. Miss Fox is our successful candidate among dozens of applicants due to her outstanding skill
set, experience, and knowledge of our district. Miss Fox began her career as a high school social studies teacher in Maine and then in New Jersey. As an administrator, Miss Fox served as a social studies supervisor in West Essex, New Jersey before assuming the same
position here in Burner Township from 2008 to 2018, at which time Miss Fox was promoted to the position of assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. In her 18 years in Burner Township, Miss Fox has proven herself to
be an outstanding employee and school administrator who works well with staff, students, families, board members, and the community in a professional and student centered way. Miss Fox is extremely hardworking and tackles even the most challenging situations in a
graceful manner to resolve them. Miss Fox's time in the district has positioned her well with an indepth knowledge of district programs and operations so that she can keep the district on a positive trajectory. Miss Fox earned her bachelor and master's
degree from the University of Maine and Southern Maine respectively and is currently working on finishing her doctorate from Drew University. With her educational background, experience, proven leadership capabilities, and deep understanding of our district and
community, Miss Fox is an outstanding choice for our next superintendent, and we're lucky to have her. And on a more personal note, I've had the opportunity to get to know and work with Miss Fox for many years, especially while I chaired the curriculum committee, and
I'm excited to continue to work with her in this new role. So, congratulations to you, Miss Fox. Thank you so much everyone. Um I appreciate you coming out. Um those of you who came tonight, I appreciate you being here. Um Mrs. White, thank you so much for those very kind words. I
appreciate them very much. Thank you to the whole board of education for your vote of confidence. Um I'm grateful that you're trusting me to pick up the torch when Mr. Mararyian lays it down at the end of the summer in order to go pursue his dreams. I'm deeply committed to our students and
their families, our staff, the administration, the board of education, and the entire community, and I'm ready to face the challenges ahead of us. I've worked alongside Mr. Mararyian, Mr. Rollo, Mr. S, the rest of the administrative team to navigate the current budget challenges we are working
through, and I will continue to do so with that amazing team. Our other major priority right now is the restoring focus initiative. I'm especially proud of our district's long-standing commitment to supporting students mental health and well-being. As evidenced by the wonderful presentations from our
elementary students tonight, we've worked intentionally to ensure that students can achieve at high levels while also maintaining balance and having a positive overall school experience. The Restoring Focus initiative is committed to this goal and we are navigating together with families
the impact of technology on student learning. In fact, I would encourage you to join us tomorrow night in the Ridge Cafeteria at 7 p.m. for a dialogue on screen time. While those may be two of our biggest priorities, there are many more and I'm ready to move into this position and focus on all of our goals and
priorities. I will work hard every single day to that end with our outstanding team. And again, thank you so much for the opportunity and I really look forward to working with you starting in the fall. Any other comments before I um
Oh MJ >> first of all, I just want to say a huge congratulations to Miss Fox and especially as a part of the student government here for the past four years. I just want to share a really quick experience I've had with Miss Fox that really adds credence to her value of
focusing on the students and really trying to better the district. When I first reached out to Miss Fox, I was a nameless sophomore who she's never heard of before, and I asked to meet with her after school to bring up some policy initiatives as well as some questions. She responded literally an hour later.
I've never seen anyone respond so fast. And she stayed an entire hour and a half right after school to help answer my questions. And even in junior year when I was having issues applying for early college credits at our community college, she met with me regardless of
how small the issue was. The issue of like early college credits, for instance, affect five people out of the,600 students we have at Ridge High School. But despite the fact that no bad or good could really come out of whatever we had
to do in the meeting, she decided to meet with me. Not because she is so focused on just the results, but she's also focused on the value of uplifting my student voice as well as the voices of others in those community. I am so so so grateful to have her as our
superintendent because she is someone who will offer a listening ear to everyone. >> Thank you, MJ. It's great to hear from the students perspective. Robin, >> you just said it all right there. But congratulations, Kristen, and we look
forward to working with you in your new role. >> Thank you, Aiden. >> Yeah, I've uh served on the curriculum committee for I think going on four years now. I wrote a few things down so I would get it right. Um but I do want to congratulate you, Kristen. Um I wish you well in your upcoming tenure as superintendent and you know, over the
last four years, we've we've had disagreements um on aspects of the health curriculum on notably the text sociology textbooks, but those are resolved and one way or the other. I think in the end for the betterment of the district and you know there's a lot of people out there going to focus on those disagreements. There's actually
been major items that we've been completely aligned on and you just mentioned one of them restoring focus initiative um as well as school start times uh and you know numerous points of everyday agreement that mostly fly under the radar. Um you know it's these points of alignment uh along with my confidence
in your work ethic, experience and good intent for the district that led to my yes vote. Um, now that's not to say that we're going to never disagree in the future. We just spoke about that in a little bit earlier, Nick. Um, there may be times when we publicly disagree and there may be times I vote against your recommendations and that's okay because
I hope it's the same relationship I had with Mr. Mark Herren, you know, where alignment is is possible even in disagreement, uh, where we can have respectful discussion and even when we don't agree. And that's always been kind of the approach I've taken to my seat on the board. Um, and I do think those in
the community who view that going as an voting as an administrator or teacher is disrespectful, I think that's misguided. Uh, just as I think that those who feel that we can't work with those who we have certain points of disagreement, I think that's misguided as well. So, uh, Christian, I look forward working with
you, I look forward to collaborating with you and when need be, I look forward to, uh, debating you with you and maintaining a positive construction constructive tension that I think in the end is the best for the betterment of the district and for our students. So, congratulations. Good luck. >> Thank you. >> Okay, with that we will move to policy
which there are uh three items. Uh the policy committee we met on April 9th and uh it's pretty short report but um uh we talked about the funding for current new athletic teams and extracurricular clubs. Uh wanted to make it clear the fee can be charged not just
for high school and K12 but there will be no exemptions for sports regardless of how much the sport costs. So if a sport costs more than another sport, you know there's they're not exempt from paying the fee. Uh another aspect uh with 5P5513.1
uh we said all activity fees and other charges to pupils must be kept at a minimum and may not exceed the total direct and indirect costs of the total academic program budget. Uh so basically uh the schools are going to should be keeping the school the student fees as low as possible. The total
amount they charge can't be more than what it actually costs to run the program whether that's an academic pro uh program or club activity or sport. And with the school calendar, the 2020 2027-28 school calendar, we didn't make
any changes. Uh, so it's pretty much kept the same, but we did slightly revise the 2028-29 school calendar. Uh, after talking to the Islamic Center of Baskin Ridge, schools will be closed on February 14th, 2029 for Eid. So that was
after consulting them. And that's pretty much it. Dave. >> Yeah. So, my maybe it's a question or comment, but just based on the comments earlier from um from the audience, I
think it's worthwhile to revisit the policy just to make sure it's all buttoned up. I'm going to reread it myself. So, I definitely think it's worthwhile to make sure we're addressing their questions. high grid that will be on there. >> I'd still say we can vote on the changes
that we have, but we can make more if we need to. >> Robin, >> yeah, I mean, I agree. We keep trying to like fine-tune it to cover everything. And the thing about like the portable, you know, devices was because there were people bring little tiny speakers can be really loud, you know, and people can
bring them. So, we were trying to address the fact that like you can't just bring your speaker and blast it. We weren't trying to like open up new noise. it's already happening and we're trying to like find a way to control it. So, I agree. We could we can look at the wording of it again and stuff. That's fine.
>> Mike, >> I was just going to say that is, you know, something we've been talking about for a while and it's really not easy wording. So, I do understand, you know, the neighbors concerns. I also understand the athletes concerns. It really is tough getting the word in town
to have, you know, a proper policy where, you know, neighbors are going to be happy and, you know, athletes are going to be happy. You know, we've changed the wording a few different times, but it's something we're still working on. >> Yeah, a comment in that question. Um, yeah, it is tough because there's so
many different situations and so many types of nuances that you can't put enough language in these policies to cover every possible point of concern with the papers, which which I totally understand. My question and maybe I misheard it because I was looking through the policy and one of one of the members of the public came up and asked
about portable lighting. I I I didn't see that in the policy. I was reading through it and I wasn't here last meeting so maybe I missed discussion on it. But if is that a thing and is is there any uh anything in policy about that that I might have missed? So, I I think that that was really just
conceived of to recognize that there are times where portable lighting might be necessary around Leaf Field. Like, we've we've lit up the space sometimes behind the home bleacher or behind the home bleachers with portable lights just to create a little bit more safety for
events at night. Um, so trying to recognize that when we're scheduling the lights off and on, it might not strictly just be the highlights over the field, the ones on the poles. >> Okay. So, we weren't talking about uh portable lighting at like the softball
field or anything like that for >> it. It it could be anywhere. >> It could be for that field. >> Yeah, it could be anywhere. >> All right. Should we maybe should think about language regarding that and the policy as well? >> Yeah. I I mean when you read the the section, it is about leaf field lighting
and supplemental portable lighting for special events. So I I think the most transparent thing is to recognize that you might have portable lighting somewhere else. Depending on what the event is, you know, I mean, you're trying to get events done and and things held with with the kids. It's possible
that there's going to be lights on a field besides just Lee Field. Um, so that actually is the third item um on policy. So it seems like you want to discuss it more. So does that mean we we
>> I I would say if if the board sentiment is work on it some more, I wouldn't pass it on second reading. I mean, you could pass it on second reading and start over and come back with a new first reading and a new second reading, but I would say just, you know, I mean, it's it's April, right? So you're really talking
about things that are affectuating the next school year. So I would say just take it off to even vote. Amend the vote for items one and two only. >> Okay. >> And then we'll go back to the drawing board and try to tighten it up some more.
>> Okay. All right. So um can I get a motion Janice and Smearthy >> for items one >> for one and two and a roll call. Miss White, >> yes. >> Dr. McHune, >> yes. >> Mr. Molinari,
>> yes. >> Miss Curado, >> yes. >> Mr. Shaw, >> yes. >> Mr. Talbot, >> yes. >> Mr. Alanic, >> yes. >> Ms. Mohan, >> yes. >> And Mr. Lewitz, >> yes. >> Do we need We don't need to do a motion for three because we're we're
tableabling it. >> Okay. We voted only one. Okay. Um, okay. We're up to curriculum. I know there's a report. >> Yes. Uh, the curriculum committee met on April 1st. We had six items for discussion. The first item was the
summer curriculum project summaries. Miss Fox provided an overview of the proposed summer curriculum projects for 2026. These include district-wide projects such as the artificial intelligence plan implementation
for year two and work on the information literacy standards curriculum. Because budget allocations for curriculum writing were reduced by half in 2025 and are reduced again by half this year. supervisors have identified a limited
number of essential projects in their specific content areas. Should additional funding be obtained, a second list of projects has been prioritized and will be considered. All of those projects are linked in the minutes.
Uh, we also had an an update on math criteria. Because school districts will not receive NJSLA adaptive scores until mid to late fall this year, program placement for advanced math 4 will be done in two
phases. Mr. Comr will send an initial round of acceptance emails based on Kogat and Spring MAP results before the school year begins. Once the district receives NJSLA adaptive test results
from the state, a second round of notifications will be sent to the families of any additional students whose NJSLA adaptive math scores now qualify them for the program. For accelerated math, the criteria has been
updated to remove the NJSLA adaptive component entirely for this year. The revised criteria is based on reviewing prior student metrics for comparable student enrollment. That information is also linked in the minutes.
We also received an update on curse of handwriting in grades four and five. Dr. Huner had convened a committee including teachers, special education supervisors, and occupational therapists to review the available resources for teaching
handwriting in grades four and five. as is now required by the state. The committee overwhelmingly recommends continuing to use handwriting without tears, the program currently in use in grades K through three. Teachers have requested training in late May after
administration of the NJSLA adaptive which will allow them to use the handwriting without tears resources with their current students in preparation for full implementation in September. supervisor shared that handwriting instruction will be
differentiated as it currently is for students in grades K to three. The cost for handwriting without tears materials is $4,600 per building. The cost for training is $3,700
funded by the title 2A federal grant for a total of $22,100 in total expenditures. Uh, Miss Fox also shared an update on the district's efforts to partner with Raritan Valley Community College for
dual enrollment class credits. Curriculum supervisors of English language arts, math, social studies, and science continue to explore opportunities for courses offered at Ridge that can also be taken for dual enrollment credit at RVCC. Miss Fox will
update the committee as potential courses are identified. Further, the administrative team is working on a one plus one program. This program will provide students with a pathway to earn 30 credits in their junior and senior year at Ridge and then complete their
associates degree at RBCC in their freshman year. The administrative team will continue to update the committee and the board about the progress. The goal is to offer this program beginning in September 2027.
Uh, we also received an update on Bernard's Township Education Foundation grants. Teachers and administrators were invited by the BTEF to submit funding requests for educational projects or supplies not provided in the 2627 school
budget. The foundation's role is to supplement rather than supplant the resources the district provides. BTEF leadership met on April 2nd with a committee of teachers and administrators to review the submissions. They will
meet again on May 1st to determine which projects will receive funding this year. Applicants will be advised of those decisions soon after. Um we also received an update on the artificial intelligence plan. The AI
committee is considering input from all stakeholders about their experiences during year one of the district's AI plan. This feedback will help to inform next steps including potential revisions to the AI plan, curriculum projects, and
professional development for 2026 2027. Among the topics under consideration are consideration to change Chromebook distribution to students from grades five to grade six, analysis and discussion of screen time usage at
elementary, middle, and high school grade levels. Revision of our curriculum in grades K to 7 to increase our focus on information literacy, digital literacy, and AI literacy. Miss Fox will
provide an update on the year 2 AI plan uh at the c the committee September meeting and the next curriculum committee meeting is scheduled for Friday, May 1st. >> Thanks. Does anyone have any questions for Janice?
Okay. Uh next we're up to the wellness report. >> Yes. Wellness met on um March 26th. We discussed two items. The first was a Thrive program update. Miss Huduk and Dr. Lazervic shared an update on the
success of the Thrive program. Thrive is designed to help our atmost our most atrisisk students with social, emotional or mental health needs that impact academics. The program offers integrated support, direct interventions, case management, and wraparound support services for students and their families. For the
school, the program has improved attendance and all-around academics. But the real success is the direct impact it has on the students. The program gives them the resources needed and a safe place to work through anxiety and stress. Case case studies show an improvement of attendance in both RAMS
and ridge. In whams, one student missed 37 and a half days and was tardy 121 times during the 2425 school year. The number of absences decreased to nine with 79 medically approved tardies in the 2526 school year. Ridge saw a case
with 39 and a half absences and 23 tardies during the 2425 school year. This student improved to 26 absences and three tardies. Another rich student was on the verge of dropping out. This student missed 50% of school and was tardy another 50% of the
time when they were in school. By meeting with the Thrive counselor twice a week, they were able to stay in school, recover their class credits and grades, and are now on track to graduate with their class. Both Miss Hudach and Dr. Lasic shared letters from students telling how Thrive helped them and how grateful they are to be a part of the
program. There are currently 18 students in the program at Ridge and 10 at WHAMS. Four students have successfully exited the program. Students need to be recommended to the program and there is a wait list. Thrive allows the district to have more control over the outcomes. Additionally, there is a cost savings
with our in-house program. Without the program, there are potentially three to five students that would need to be placed out of district. Most districts do have some type of program either in-house or partnered with another organization and there's a link to the the full presentation in the minutes. The second item was um what's
was a lot of talk tonight. It was about the talk and restoring focus events. So Dr. Lazik discussed a series of upcoming events um a parent presentation centered around the restoring focus initiative. There are three events planned to help facilitate creating a unified culture
between the middle school and the high school. The first is talk kind. While students are polite in person, they are using inappropriate language on devices with their friends. This presentation will help us understand how kids communicate on electronic devices. While impacting the high school the most, it is designed to involve the
entire community and to reinforce that we must start teaching our children how to communicate using devices early on. That talk presentation has already happened. Um that was on April on April 7th and I believe MJ had mentioned that um there's a a video link to it. The
next event will be restoring focus dopamine devices and decision-making. This will focus on grades 6 through 12. It will help determine school policies around screen time and how screen time impacts learning. That event is going to be held tomorrow in the rich cafeteria. Uh there's a link to RSVP and more
information with the flyer in the minutes. And the final discussion is balancing screen time. The focus here is on elementary school students and when and how they should be using screen time. discussions will involve when to give students Chromebooks to bring home and when to introduce AI. There will continue to be ongoing discussions to
create policy around these issues. That event is going to be held in Cedar Hill Cafeteria on 5:20 at 9:00 a.m. So, that one is during the day. And again, there's a there's a link to RSVP for that in the minutes. >> Does anyone have any questions for
Brett? >> Okay. Uh, we're up to facilities and ops. Um, do you have a Oh, sorry, Janice. >> I'm sorry. I just have a comment. I really would love uh for people to come out tomorrow night. These um these groups and this restoring focus
initiative is so important for our students and really talking about serious issues that affect not only the students themselves but entire families. So, it's really would be great to see a lot of people come out. >> Thanks, Jan.
Keith did a report for facilities. >> Yes, there is a report. Uh we met on Thursday, April 2nd. Uh first thing we went over was the work orders. Uh we the committee we discussed work orders older than 90 days. Uh the majority are painting orders. So it's uh taken time for the painter to catch up a request.
It's kind of like you make a clean spot and you got to make another clean spot. Uh but Mr. Nichol's not concerned with the other work orders that are over 90 days as they're mainly smaller non-critical items or projects with materials on order and having some professional services. The district now has one painter, one electrician, two
HVAC uh workers, one plumber, one carpenter, and two general maintenance personnel inhouse as opposed to contracted out. It's more efficient and it is saving the district money. And there was discussion about bringing some additional painters in over the summer. Um, we've talked about our food service
operations. We had Sean Walsh in from Advocate. Now, Advocate helps the district manage its food service and maintenance contracts. Uh, Mr. Walsh gave an update on sales from Masio's first year. Uh, Dave touched upon that in finance. Um, I'll go into a little bit more depth here. Operational
improvements, especially at Whams, they've led uh to year-to-year revenue uh improvements at that school. Operational improvements are still ongoing at the high school. However, year-to-year costs have also gone up. So currently the district is not trending to meet our revenue guarantee. Uh but again that's not unusual for the first
year. Uh the committee discussed ideas with advocate to increase revenue including grab-and-go options. Uh increasing serving times and creating food stations that are draws were ideas to be explored during Edate's next site visit. Other ideas discussed demonstrate
to demonstrate to Mashio's opportunities for expanding sales were app based ordering and expanding food sales during sporting events. uh being careful to avoid encroaching on events where booster clubs are already operating. Next, we talked about D grant for Echohub. Now, Echohub is a sustainable
transportation initiative that is trying to make electric buses more attractive. Solar arrays, battery storage, and contractors would be paid for by a grant through the D with the potential for up to 80 kilowatts of power generation and storage. Uh Mr. Roller will explore this further. Again, Dave touched on this,
but we selected an architect for long-range facility planning. Uh there was discussion around various architects for approx approximately 12 capital projects. Uh Bill and Jim ranked four choices all with extensive public school work and we decided upon USA architects. Again we talked about that in finance
some construction project updates varsity field. Now Mr. Mikley and Jan pushing a contractor on the fields weather had been an issue. Uh and Mr. Please correct me at the end if I if anything's been updated since I read this out, but the field was ready for
play on Saturday of April 4th. There was a parking map distributed showing fans where to park. The township was, I'm not sure if they still are, letting us use parking at the engineering building, which has a path to varsity field. War memorial parking is also available for softball. Parking is going to be a
challenge during working hours. uh coordination between the athletic direct director, contractors, and parents has been emphasized as this will be a construction zone throughout the spring season. And the new turf field is scheduled to be ready to go mid July. Some other projects, uh Mount Prospect
roof, that's the punch list that should be done by spring break. The direct install at Cedar Hill and Mount Prospect, Cedar Hill is happening as soon as possible. Mount Prospect is waiting on waiting on scheduling and some construction 2026 projects. Ridge Track. The start date is right after
school lets out. So, planning is underway for full activities if the project overruns into the fall season. Oak Street paving um the paving lot on the Oak Street and Henry Street sides. That's a summer project. And thank you to the township on doing shared service
on the design of the project. Cedar Hill roof section should have been starting during spring break. And direct install questions that are currently outstanding. Still looking into the numbers for the Oak Street direct install. and we'll be meeting again on May 7th. Uh did anything update since we
had met? >> Uh yeah, no, the only u slight update is is the ridge track start date. We've kind of confirmed the schedule that given the amount of cure time needed for that track that um it will be ready uh the first couple of weeks into September. So it'll spill a little bit
into the fall season. We'll have to shuffle around that. Um that's the only update schedulewise. >> Thank you. Anyone have questions for Keith? >> Janice? >> Yes. The superintendent's parent advisory council met with Mr. Marcarian
and the administrative team on March 30th. Several items were discussed. Among them dates for elementary conferences. Recognizing that the confluence of teachers convention, Thanksgiving holidays, teacher inservice, and elementary conferences
creates a difficult November for elementary families. The district plans to move the fall inservice dates to September and October and elementary conference dates to October 26th, 27th,
28th which will accommodate evening conferences and 29th for the 26 27 school year. Uh we also discussed school funding advocacy in response to requests from the school community. Mr. Marcarian
shared the resolution passed by this board at its March 23rd meeting. PTO and PEC presidents will be reaching out to parents to share information so that they can call or email New Jersey legislators regarding school funding.
Please contact your school's PTO or PEC president for additional information. The next parent advisory council meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 18th. Were there any other leazison? Mike,
>> I met with the municipal alliance about two weeks ago and just two I think important announcements. Monday, May 11th uh 6:00 to 8 at the Burners Township Library. Uh it's really interesting documentary called Angst and it brings attention
uh to living with anxiety utilizing the voices of kids, teens, parents, educators, mental health experts. The documentary screening will be accompanied by a guided discussion. So, I uh encourage it. I think it will be a really uh good program. And also, again,
I've been saying this for a while, but 36th annual Pleasant Valley Twilight Challenge 5K for the Municipal Alliance is scheduled for Sunday, June 7th, 2026 at Pleasant Valley Park. So, sign up. It's really cheap. It's only 20 bucks right now. So, it's a great cause and
you can come race me. So, come. Thanks, Mike. >> Brent. >> Sure. The Somerset County Educational Services Commission met on April 1st, um had their board meeting, and there's two notable things that we discussed. The
first is they're moving forward with plans to build a cafe in their school. Initially, it's just going to be for students to eat at, but they plan to expand that into a a full teaching model where students will learn how to cook food and and serve food as well. Uh the
other notable item was they are moving forward with a um CBA program internally for elementary school students. Um and that's not off the ground yet, but they'll starting to launch that and do the initial work for that. I think that's it for lesson reports.
Uh with that, we are up to public comment on non-agite non-aggenda items. If anybody has anything, come on down, sign in, and state your name and address. Good evening. Uh Frank Claus owns court again. Um I was surprised to learn at
the last BOE meeting that GLP1 medications are a primary driver of our rising healthcare costs. At $14,000 per user annually, even modest utilization creates a massive budget impact. We're definitely seeing its consequences
already. We have a projected 10% workforce reduction. That's about 45 teachers over three years. So, we got to ask how many people are using these and at what total cost? When was the last drug utilization review by our pharmacy benefits manager and what were their
recommendations? Other New Jersey districts are implementing common sense guardrails without eliminating the benefits. Some of these include limiting coverage to clear medical needs such as diabetes, requiring lifestyle program participation, evidence that the
medication is working in order to continue coverage, and prioritizing gener generics that could save up to $10,000 per person. This isn't about stripping benefits. It's about sustainability of the program. I urge the board and union leadership to
collaborate on these adjustments to protect teachers jobs as well as taxpayers. Making these changes would allow for more people in the union, which means more teachers for our children. To our teachers, please ask your union representatives for
reasonable GLP-1 requirements. The job you might say may be your own. Finally, I urge the board, please take caution before committing to the SHBP. That's the state health benefits program that would lock us into these rising costs
for an additional five years. This is ultimately about balance. Protecting the benefits of the teachers, protecting the teachers jobs themselves while ensuring that our district remains financially viable. I hope we can approach it that way together. Thank you.
Anukica Forzani Don Drive. Um, just as a parent who's been to a lot of board meetings, I just wanted to say that the day that I got the email from Mr. Marary and that he was going to be leaving our district, um, I felt very down. I felt very down for a week or more um and
spoke to a lot of people who felt the same way. Um I just felt that uh Mr. Marker and you're a very rational um student centered, intelligent uh approach throughout all of everything I've seen in all the board meetings. It
was something I really appreciated as I know uh many of the parents or most of the parents in our district did as well. So, I really felt it was going to be a great loss and I still feel it would be a great loss, but I will say that my spirits were lifted this week when I um saw on the board agenda that Miss Fox
that you're going to be taking over. I think it's really fantastic to have that continuity. I think your experience is amazing. Um my limited interactions with you have been nothing but positive. um and I have heard similar comments from everybody who has had interactions with
you and it was great to hear the student um comments as well. So I really feel extremely grateful that you are taking on this position. I'm also grateful to the board, everyone on the board who voted yes. Um so I just want to thank you and thank you for stepping up and
good luck. Congratulations. Peach Tree Road. First, congratulations, Kristen. Um, second, thank you for listening to our concerns and reooking at the language um for the policy for the field use. when you see um
privately owned sound equipment, you your hackles get raised because that does that sounds very different than um a Bluetooth speaker. It sounds a little more um perhaps an organization by buys it and then uses it on the field for multiple
teams. So that was a concern. We also went to Turkeybrook which was recommended to visit for the field lights and we saw what portable lights look like and sound like and that's very concerning. So I would urge caution with the language you use regarding portable
lights because we don't want to open Pandora's box with the use of those lights on our fields. Um I would like to get some clarification what the next steps are. So there was a first reading for that policy. Now is there a first reading for an updated
policy or is it a second reading and also where would the public see that policy prior to coming to the meeting? Um the other um thing is shortterm could we
please look at the volume of the PA at Lefield right now particularly for warm-ups for the lacrosse games and also for varsity field. Um, you all voted on my retirement this evening and so I am not riding off into the sunset to um,
Montana, but I would like to spend some time in my yard and and do some gardening. So, I would like it livable. So, thank you. And if you can just clarify the policy, I would appreciate it. Anyone else? Hi uh Montag
41S's place. Uh I just wanted to thank and commend the board for such an excellent selection of our next superintendent. It was news to me. It was really pleasing news and I know I'm not alone.
I know a lot of people share my view. Just um being delighted that we were able to find someone from within the district who's thoroughly familiar with our district and our schools and already has a proven track record of dedication
and commitment and extensive knowledge of our community and our schools and our needs. And you know It's not an easy act to follow up on to continue what Nick has done so capably for all these years.
So, we're excited and um just want to thank you again for your service and for making such an excellent choice um of someone who's navigated us through some challenging days and always done so
above board and made clear that she's always had our students best interests at heart. So, thank you. And we'll miss Nick, but we look forward to seeing how uh Kristen continues to shepherd us in the days ahead. So, thank you and good
luck. Anyone else? Okay, with that, I will close public comment. And that brings us to board forum. Does anybody have Did you want to Nick, do you want Oh, sorry. Did you want to comment on anything?
>> Uh, sure. So, uh, GLP1's interesting issue. Um, what school districts, public school districts in New Jersey are required to do as it relates to their health benefit programs. uh even those programs that are not part
of the state health benefits plan and the obligations that u the districts have to to mirror those are some of the challenges confronting um I think really lawmakers going forward in looking at um the program. So we'll see where that
where that goes. um with respect to um the comments about you know out with the old and in with the new. Um thank you for thank you for your kind words. Um yeah, no I I think it's it's amazing. Um
Kristen's tremendous. Um I would just say to you um don't be afraid to find the smartest people you can to help you with the job. Uh and not to make me look too bad.
Uh the policy for the athletic field and the sound systems and so on when um when we don't vote to approve a second reading and we go back to the drawing board with the policy committee, we have to start over with a new first reading.
So we'll we'll work on that and when it's ready, we'll come back for a first reading and then that has to get approved on second reading before it's finished. So we'll start over there. That's it. Thanks. >> Thank you. Board forum.
>> Yeah. Um I thought it was interesting and I I maybe it's quite a little bit of a theme tonight throughout you mentioning the restoring focus um meeting tomorrow. We talked in curriculum about um pushing Chromebooks possibly from fifth to sixth grade. uh there uh new
handwriting uh guidelines coming into u the elementary schools uh internet literacy was part of what we talked about curriculum you know we talked about talked about wellness too some of these aspects so it's like it's it's a theme going throughout everything we're talking about right now uh rethinking
the approach to electronics um not but but not being mites and make making sure our students are prepared for the digital world it's a I thought it was an interesting mal tonight because I saw I saw the same theme throughout different uh different reports different aspects of the school district and uh I don't know I just wanted to comment on that
and also talk about the elementary school so it was nice to see them up here um we talk almost not exclusively we talk the majority of what we talk about is at Rich High School which you know that's right because that's the capstone of everything we do but the elementary schools are the cornerstone so it was nice to see little kids up here
anyone else okay And can I get a motion to adjourn Brett and Janice? Good night everyone.