Good evening everybody and welcome to our first board meeting of the school the new school year. Uh we will do our call to order and pledge of allegiance just to get things started and then we'll hopefully recognize some of our distinguished students and educators for
the month of September. Uh to start, let me just read uh New Jersey's open public meeting statement, which says that the New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies, at which time any business affecting their
interests is discussed and acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of this act and board of education policy 0162, the board of education of the bureau of bound Brook has caused notice of this meeting to be posted in the board office and at Bound Brook High School and mailed or faxed to the Courier News Bound Brook Clerk,
Southbound Brook Board of Education and any person who has requested individual notice and paid the required fee. At this time, please stand for the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the stand.
Miss Lee, roll call, please. Mr. B here. Mr. Dawson here. Miss Gazino. Is Miss Casino here? No. Okay. Mr. Hy. Oh, no. She's not here. Sorry. Uh, Mr.
Januzi here. Mr. Manhaz here. Miss Mson here. Mr. Lulma here. Mr. President, um, uh, we have a quorum. Thank you. Uh at this time I will turn
the mic over to Dr. Freeman for his superintendence report. Good evening everybody and welcome to our September meeting. Very good to see everybody out in the audience. We get the pleasure to to recognize uh some of our hard work that we've done this year. I'm happy to report that the opening of
the school year was very smooth. A lot of positive energy uh with new programs, new initiatives. All went well. So we're off to a great start. At this time, I would like to call up Dr. S. to announce our students of the
month for Lamont, Lamont Annex. Hi. So, good evening. Um, congratulations to Jamari Santiago Tuks in Mrs. Bates class. He's his favorite subject is the playground. He enjoys playing with toys and sports, and he hopes to be a police
officer one day. Congratulations. [Applause] We'll just [Applause] Do the whole thing. Oh,
so you have to get in, too. You can't just take the picture. You have the balloons. Okay. Okay. Another round of applause. Congratulations to Dylan Deville in Mrs. Peton and Mrs. Freeze class. His
favorite subject is play. Another one. And he enjoys movie nights at home and he also hopes to be police officer when he grows up. Congratulations. [Music] Congratulations. [Applause]
[Applause] Congratulations to Mariah Caldwell and Mrs. Ganderellis's class. Her favorite subject is art. She loves playing with her sister and tap dancing, and she wants to be a dancer when she grows up.
Congratulations. [Applause] Congratulations. Another round of applause. And next up from Lafayette School, Miss Cahas.
[Applause] Our second grade student of the month is Brooklyn Bascar. [Applause] Brooklyn is here from Miss Patrick's
class. Miss Patrick is here. Uh, he has a three-year-old sister named Me Messa Mesa. His favorite school subject is math. His favorite hobby is soccer, and he wants to be a soccer player when he grows up. Congratulations, Brooklyn. Ready?
Brooklyn. Dad was coming. Our third grade student of the month is Daniel Lopez Antonio. [Applause] Hi, Daniel. How you doing?
Daniel always gives me a hi, Miss Cahus, every time I see him in the building. Daniel is from Miss Fitzgerald's class. He has three siblings. His favorite subject is PE. He loves to draw and color, and when he grows up, he wants to be an engineer and an artist. Congratulations, Daniel.
Yeah. Are you ready to take a picture? Another round of applause for Daniel. And next up from Smallley School, we have Mrs. Morgan. [Applause]
All right. So, Smally's fourth grade student of the month is Victor Medina. Victor, come on. Victor has one little brother who's going to second grade and who is also trying to be student of the month. Right. Um, his favorite sub subjects are math and art. His favorite
hobbies are playing soccer and drawing. He's not sure what he wants to be when he grows up, but probably a soccer player because he's very good at it. Congratulations. He is very good. He's good at it. Oh, yeah. He plays every position for
me. Congratulations, bud. [Applause] And our fifth grade student of the month is Eri Gomez Hernandez. Is she here?
All right. So, she was she was going to come. I don't see her here today, but she has lots of family that she loves very much. She has twin baby sisters, an older brother, an older sister, and a stepbrother, and two cousins. She um her favorite subject is math and she loves
to cook and clean and loves spending time with her mom helping over the summer. She likes to cook breakfast on the weekends and when she grows up she wants to be a paleontologist. So we'll give this to her tomorrow. And then the sixth grade student of the month is Sere Asario Asario. I know I
saw there she comes. Beautiful. Okay. And she, I think, is here with her mom today. She has one sister in seventh grade. Yep. Her favorite subject is math. Her favorite thing to do is to hang out with her sister. And when she grows up, she wants to be a detective
because she likes to investigate things. [Applause] And next up from Community Middle School, we have Dr. Santa Surma. [Applause]
Hello everyone. Hello. The Community Middle School is proud to recognize Dana Santa Mendes as its eighth grade representative of student of the month. [Applause]
Dana was nominated by her teacher, Miss Deetta. Uh has no siblings, but favorite uh subject is social studies. Dana loves playing volleyball and drawing and grows up wants a career in criminology.
[Applause] [Applause] The seventh grade representative for student of the month from the community middle school is Aaliyah Rodriguez Horna.
[Applause] Aaliyah was nominated by Mr. Raphael, uh, has two older siblings, favorite subjects are math and ELA, and loves to act, wants to be part of the drama club this year, and enjoys reading and
playing soccer, and when Aaliyah grows up, wants to become an actress. [Applause] Congratulations. And last but not least from Bound Brook High School, we have Mr. Smith.
[Applause] Good evening. Our first recipient citizen of the month is Derek. [Applause] Eric does not have any siblings. child.
His favorite subject in school is science. His favorite hobbies include singing, drawing, and playing games. And his future career aspirations is to become a professional archaeologist.
[Applause] [Applause] Our next recipient, Crystal As [Applause] Crystal has five siblings.
Favorite subject in school is English and history. Her favorite hobbies are cooking, playing video games, and dancing. And her future career plans include becoming a veterinarian. Yeah. Our [Applause]
[Music] next recipient was not sure if he was going to be able to make it tonight, but I still wanted to give him recognition. Titus Godis [Applause] has three siblings, Tyler, Tim, and TJ.
subject in school is English. He enjoys playing basketball, video games, and listening to music. His future career plans include engineering. I'm an engineer. [Applause]
And last but not least, we have one of our football players who just arrived from practice to be able to get out early. Gen. child does not have any siblings. His favorite subject in school is biology. His favorite hobbies include playing football. I think he has a Dallas
Cowboys shirt on. So, he's been playing football. His future career plans are to work with his family business. So, [Applause] [Applause]
And at this time, I'd like to call Miss Morgan back up to the mic. [Applause] So, I'm extremely excited to see our fifth grade student of the month, Arily Gomez Hernandez. If you can come down,
it looks like she has her twin baby sisters with her if we can remember. She she has lots of family she loves very much. Her sisters, her brothers, her favorite subject is math. She also has some cousins. Uh, she loves to cook, clean, and help her mom, right? And she
wants to be a paleontologist when she grows up. Yeah. Come on. Let's take a picture. And this is for you. Congratulations. [Applause]
Mrs. Morgan, you could stay at the mic. Okay, so she can stay at the mic. I'd like her to call forward our district educator of the month, Sarah Laboski. Come on up. I'll make her stand up here while we
talk about her. So Sarah is a dedicated teacher who always steps in and helps whenever she's needed. She brings energy, kindness, and optimism to Smallley Elementary School, creating a warm and supportive place where all of her students are encouraged to do their best. In the classroom, Miss
Laboski keeps her lessons engaging, clear, and meaningful. She asks thoughtful questions, encourages teamwork, and makes sure every student has a chance to shine. her cheering squad over there. Um, her focus on student growth is clear and
it's something to celebrate. 94% of her students from last year either held their proficiency on NJSLA or improved their score and 15 of her 33 students moved up an entire entire proficiency band. Uh, this reflects the hard work of
both Miss Laboski and her students. Sarah also goes above and beyond outside the classroom. She helps with drama club, organizes special events like Star Lab, and supports school activities such as plays, debates, and spelling bees. Her efforts give students opportunity to build confidence, creativity, and school
spirit. We're grateful for her passion, professionalism, and unwavering dedication to our students. Congratulations. Oh, thank you so much. Congratulations [Applause]
and Dr. Santa sermon for our support staff of the month. [Applause] Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming Mrs. Melody Leavia as the school district support staff member of the month from the community middle school.
Y come on up, Melody. Yeah, you have to come on down. Throughout the summer, Melody worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a smooth and successful start to the school year. She meticulously managed the ordering and tracking of supplies,
quickly addressed any issues with delayed or missing materials, and made certain that every classroom and team had the resources that they needed. Her attention to detail and her proactive approach ensured that teachers and staff were fully prepared and able to focus on
students from day one. From prep from preparing essential documentation to coordinating with staff and warmly welcoming families, her behind-the-scenes efforts lay the groundwork for a wellorganized and supportive school environment. Each morning, she's the first welcoming
face seen by students, staff, and families, setting a positive tone for the day and embodying the spirit of CMS. That's a little inside joke. you know, this smile and supportive sometimes not every day, right?
Uh, Mrs. Levia manages critical communications, logistics, and daily operations with a calm and professional demeanor. In addition to her administrative duties, Melody plays an active role in student life. She serves as the co-advisor for both the CMS
yearbook committee and the eighth grade class, helping students plan events, celebrate school traditions, and prepare for important milestones. Melody's involvement in these roles highlights her deep commitment to the CMS community and her willingness to go above and beyond to support students outside of
the front office. Melody's consistently Melody consistently works on ways to enhance the work environment for staff. From organizing school spirit t-shirt orders to improving shared space spaces for students and staff, she approaches every task with thoughtfulness,
initiative, and care. For her exceptional service in the positive impact on the CMS school community and making my day better every single day, it is with great pride that I recognize Mrs. Melody Leavia as the Community Middle School in Bound Brook School
District staff member of the month. [Applause] Okay, with all the students of the month and their families please come up front on the stage so we can take a group picture. Have a good night. Congratulations again. Congratulations.
Congratulations again. kind. Yeah, I want to get a picture. But you know what I'll do? Yeah, she's very shy, isn't she? No, I my consciousness. I was driving. I said because I said because I missed it.
I was like, well, you're right. I said go get her. I said, "Go do it." And you didn't cuz I I just didn't pay attention to half. So was once I was like, "Ah, I was probably in the middle of something else.
Sorry. Okay, everybody. Now that we've had an opportunity to celebrate, let's move on to our reports for this evening. Starting with our student board member, Mr. Musen.
So, school has just begun. So, we've had a lot of improvements in the school. Um, overall, uh, very positive reviews about the new bathrooms. Um, I know we had some issues today, but overall the students are very happy about that. Um, there's a lot of mixed reviews about
the new scheduling and about the mandatory binders, but you know, we don't know what does that mean? Um, I just think a lot of students just feel indifferent about it. So,
um, coming up soon on October 29th is SAT testing and, um, that's for all seniors and excelling juniors. It's also college application season, so a lot of students are doing things like letters of recommendation, asking for transcripts, etc. Um, with
the new school year starting, lots of clubs have started meeting. Um, they're kicking off the school year with lots of new initiatives and fundraising ideas. Um the official homecoming date is October 25th. Um with that there will be a homecoming pep rally in the gym as
well as a homecoming football game on October 24th. Recently a young girl at our school district h um was that she has leukemia. Her name is Charlie and she was honored at the Bark High School football game on September 19th. Um lots of people
wearing pink and gold to show solidarity for her as well as red, white, and blue to show support for our veterans. So um another update is Mr. Caspersonson and Mrs. Parker are the new adviserss for the neurodeiversity club and they've been planning a friendship fest which
will occur on November 26th to celebrate inclusivity and support our star program as well as Mr. Meliserggo's class at Smally. So for sports news, football has had one of the best seasons for a past their past few years. Their current record is
three to one. They've won against South Hunan, JP Stevens, and Denellan. Um similarly, boys soccer is doing fantastic with a current record of 6 to1, winning against Robinsville, College Achieve Central, Immaculata, Belvadier, South Hunan, and Manville.
Coach Abb is also approaching his 100th win for his coaching career, so congratulations to all of them. Girls soccer has also had a successful season with a current record of 5 to3. Girls volleyball currently has a record of 4 to four and girls tennis currently
has a record of 3 to five. Um, finally, our boys and girls cross country teams have had a successful season. Um, many students getting personal records and even securing first place for boys and girls during their meet at Warren Tech. And that's all.
That's an excellent report. Um, I will just echo the comments. You know, Mr. Bal and I were uh reflecting on the fact that we're having one of our best seasons in terms of fall sports, you know, beyond just football that, you know, the the community has enjoyed in a
while. So, uh, plenty of recognition to our athletic department as well as the coaches, staff, and, uh, our student athletes are doing a great job. Uh, any questions for Mr. Musen on his report? All right, hearing none. Thank you, sir.
We will move on to our committee reports. Up first is Mr. Dawson for education committee. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Januzi. Uh we had a very uh thorough education meeting this past month. A lot of good stuff. Um the
bulk of our time we spent looking at a presentation that was prepared for us that highlighted the growth in math and language arts for students K to 12. So we looked at data from our different benchmark assessments
um from the beginning of the year and then took a look at where those same kids were at the end of the year. And this is information that our administrators and our teachers can use to understand uh what's working, what we might need to adjust and see if there
are any trends throughout the district. So some of the things that um we noted were strong foundational literacy in the early grades, a lot of growth in math concepts, number sense, algebraic thinking, um literature-based skills at
the secondary level. We saw the impact of our teachers really embracing using data to help plan small group instruction. Um there are also some areas of growth that that came to light that we'll roll up our sleeves with this year um in math measurement and data
fractions decimals um comparing texts in the secondary level and literacy classes and also looking at ways to to build student discourse in our classrooms. How do we get kids talking about the work, the strategies that they're using, um how they're solving those particular um
problems? Also looking at vocabulary and comprehension work. Um taking a look at how skills spiral in our curriculum and how do we help kids build the stamina and the discipline to um pace themselves on these long assessments. So that was a
really good discussion. Uh lot lots of stuff there. Um, but as as I think I speak for the committee in saying that we were impressed with uh the level of specificity that our district staff have when it
comes to the nuances of what the standards are in each grade level and exactly what is taking place, where we're succeeding, where we can grow. Um, you may have seen this in the news. Uh the New Jersey Department of Ed in a very timely decision has announced that
we will be changing an assessment platform for the upcoming school year. Um so like many districts, we are trying to figure out exactly what that means for us. The new test uh will be an adaptive test, meaning the questions get
um leveled as students respond correctly or incorrectly to where they are. Um, and like many districts, we're still trying to figure out exactly um, what the nuances are of how that test will be administered and what that might look like for us. It is a lot of
work and we're trying to put together plans for that. Um, there are field testing assignments in the fall that will affect um, kids in 4th through 12th. Is that correct? Um, and we're looking at exactly what is needed to prepare that, but for planning
purposes, we're looking at October 27th to November 14th. So, there's a very tight window and within that window is the teachers convention and Halloween and all sorts of obstacles that are not exactly the ideal testing environment.
And last but not least, we looked at um some information from CUSAC, which is um the consortium that monitors the school district in different areas. And we were talking particularly about how um their guidance relates to the
instructional program. And I'm pleased to share with the board. Um Mrs. Griffin um shared with us that we feel very confident that our instructional program is making great strides and in a good place when it comes to um our compliance
reporting with QAC. So we feel good about where we're going and um there's a plan to get even better. So it's a very productive meeting, a lot of information, but I think all of us left feeling like we are in uh good hands. Thank you, Mr. Dawson. Education
Committee once again having a very thorough meeting and a great report. Uh questions from the members at this time. Nicely done, sir. Thank you very much. We are on to governance, Mr. Ba.
Okay. Uh just two items. First, mark your calendars. Our reorganization meeting for next year, I know it's a long way away, but it has moved to January 2nd. So, make sure I don't even remember what the old date was, but it is now January 2nd. So, make sure you
have that in your calendar correctly. And secondly, we went over our district goals. You may remember um when we set goals, we didn't get to district goals, so we started updating those. They are not finalized yet. Miss
Winter is working on typing them up and wording them. We did a lot of kind of rough drafting. So, she's working on getting those ready. Hopefully, she went through will have them for us by next month and we can share the actual goals. Is that Yeah. Okay. Sounds good. So, by next
month we'll have the actual goals firmly completed and that's it. That's all. Our meeting was very short this month. Nothing like education. Nothing like education. No, we caught up at that point. There you go. Any questions for Mr. Bow on governance?
All right. Thank you, sir. Um, since both Miss High and Mr. Zepkco are not here tonight, I will uh just briefly mention what was discussed in those two committees. Um, I'm going to kind of talk about them togetherish because uh
there was some overlap in the the topics that were addressed. So from an HR perspective, we started the meeting by reviewing the the register of open positions and the progress towards filling them. Uh just like we do with every other meeting, we also reviewed
three new job descriptions or edited job descriptions. They were for the head of maintenance, HR specialist, and the HR manager. Um we reviewed the resi revised sidebar updates which are uh on the agenda for everybody to vote tonight. Um
the ESS rates and renewal were reviewed. In particular, there were uh a subset of PR professionals that had not been uh rate adjusted for a significant period of time and had fallen off of uh the compensation schedule really that we
were paying uh across the district. Um so the committee agreed that we wanted to uh revise that, make it right, make it easy to attract qualified people and to more importantly retain the people that we've had um through ESS for an extended period of time. And then
finally, uh Mrs. Winter actually walked us through an organizational chart. Uh this is something I think the board had been requesting uh for a few months if not longer, but um something we're finally happy that we were able to uh
review and um it looks like it's significantly more sustainable than uh what Dr. Freeman had to put up with in the past. So we were happy to see uh those adjustments reflected as well. Um just rolling right into operations since the ESS rate uh and the organization
chart have the the potential to have budget impacts. They were reviewed with operations committee as well similarly endorsed. Uh we also uh spoke with Miss Lee about uh interviews for the assistant BA's position as well as some of the ongoing capital projects
particularly at uh Lamont and Lamont annex. At this point, I will pause and take questions regarding either committee. All right, hearing none. Any final questions or comments regarding committees in general?
All right, then committee reports are complete. We are up to item 5.1, open to the public for agenda items only. Does anybody wish to speak tonight regarding agenda items? No. No.
All right. Let's move on to item 6.1. Be it resolved that the Bound Brook Board of Education upon recommendation of the superintendent approves the minutes for the following meetings. Regular and executive meeting minutes August 20th, 2025. I have a motion. motion.
Thank you, Mr. Dawson. A second. Thank you, Mr. Minhas. Any discussion? All right. Hearing none. Miss Lee, can we have a roll call, please? Abstain. Okay. Noted. Um, Mr. Dawson.
Yes. Mr. Januzi. Yes. Mr. Manaz. Yes. Miss Mson. Okay. Noted. U Mr. Balman. The motion passes.
Thank you. Item 7.1. Be it resolved that the superintendent recommends for approval the resolutions as outlined in district personnel resolutions. This is item 7.2 through item 7.59. May I have a motion? motion. Thank you, Mr. Bow. A second.
Thank you, Miss Mustin. Any discussion? All right. Hearing none, can we have a roll call, please? Yes. Yes. Thank you. Item 8.1. Be it resolved that the Boundberg Board of Education approves the resolutions as
outlined in district education resolutions. This is 8.2 through 830. Can I have a motion? Motion. Thank you, Mr. Bal. A second. Second. Thank you, Mr. Dawson. Any discussion? All right. Hearing none. Can we have a
roll call, please? Yes. Mr. Dawson? Yes. Mr. Januzi? Yes. Mr. Manaz? Yes. Miss Marson? Yes. Mr. Walmer? Yes. Motion passes.
Thank you. Item 9.1. Be it resolved that the Bound Brook Board of Education approves the resolutions as outlined in board action resolutions. This is item 9.2 through 9.45. May have a motion. Motion. Thank you, Mr. B. Second. Second.
Thank you, Mr. Dawson. Any discussion? Well said. Thank you, Mr. Minhas. Any other questions or comments? All right, hearing none. Can we have a roll call, please? Yes. Mr. Dawson? Yes. Mr. Denuzzi? Yes,
Mr. Manaz. Yes, Miss Marson. Yes, Mr. Walmer. Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. We are up to item 10.1, which I believe is new business. Other matters to come
before the board, which we have none. New business, which I have not received, though the floor is open for any members to raise at this time. Mr. Virginia, I I think you should tell the board that you volunteered us for a PTO event without our knowledge.
I don't recall that being the case. However, what I will say is I'm just know that those emails go into an inbox that's at my house. So, I know what what was said and you got it. So, uh I will say that I'm really excited for the work that our PTO is doing to start the year. Uh both
through fundraisers to enhance school spirit as well as getting involved in different community events. Uh the trunk or treat I believe is the next uh activity to be done. Um so for any of the board members who are interested in participating, we know a guy who can get
some additional information and uh there may or may not be a board of ed trunk at the activity. We'll see. I just know I went home and I was told, "Hey, the board of ed has volunteered to have a trunk at our trunk or treat." Uh Mr. Januzi responded very quickly was
what I was told. And I said, I was not aware of that as a member of the board of ed. I'm very supportive, but I'm on board. I'm very supportive of all the work that they're doing. I am on board with it. So, there you go. Whatever you need, Mr. Januzi. Pun intended. All right. What's that?
I I knew that you would back me up. I knew you would back up. That was brought up as well that that has happened in the past. I heard. So, if we want to start with a creepy casket, that's a good that's a good start, a jump off point, I There you go. Okay. So, we're up to item 12.1 now. Uh,
open for uh public participation. This can be about items that are not on the agenda. Any members of the public wish to speak and address the board now. All right. Hearing none, we are up to item 13.1. Uh, be it resolved that Boundark Board of Education enters
executive session as allowed by NJSA410-11 for the purposes noted in the agenda under items 1, three, and eight. I have a motion. Motion. Thank you, Mr. B. Second. Second. Thank you, Mr. Dawson. All in favor?
I. We are adjourned to executive. Uh since we have nothing to move in item 15.1, we are up to item 16.1 which is resolve that the Balberg board of education adjourns. I have a motion. Motion Mr. Bell. A second. Mr. Dawson. All in favor?
I. This meeting is adjourned.