Enhanced notice required therein has been provided. This is a meeting of the board of education of Branchburg at which formal action may be taken. The public will have an opportunity to be heard as shown on the agenda. Can I have a roll call, please? Mr. Henbeck here. Miss Joyce here. Mr. Christian Murray
here. Mr. Mayor, Miss Shaw, Miss Smith here, Mr. Tuma here, Mr. Sai here, Mr. Carpenter here. Can we please stand for the pledge of allegiance? I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Dr. Chase, you are up with the superintendent's report. Thank you, Mr. Carpentier. Um so we have some guests in our
audience and that is because um we are going to be talking about the first item on my report which is the employee spotlight program. Um every month we've been proud to recognize some outstanding individuals. Oh sorry for the month. Um this month we have our employ we today
we have our employee spotlight recipients from March. Um sorry I'm a little caught off guard. Just give me one second. Okay. All right. To be selected as a spotlight recipient, you have to be nominated by one's peers and then they write something about you that explains why
you are why we are recognizing you as going above and beyond the call of duty here in the district. So tonight, I want to take a moment to recognize the individuals who are here and read a little bit about what their colleagues had said about them. Um I don't think um EMTT Johnson is here. No, but he is one
of our bus drivers in our transportation department. And um I also while I'm speaking about the bus drivers, Miss Vorhees and I want to just let everybody know that we had bus driver appreciation day the other day and we just want to recognize that because these are the folks that are that greet our students
first thing in the morning and drive them back when they're full of energy and eager to go home. So I wanted to just thank them for all of the hard work they're doing. Um so our first recipient, Mr. Johnson EMTT, is a bus driver and his colleague says that he's more than just a reliable bus driver. He's actually the kind of teammate who
makes the transportation department stronger. He's flexible, dependable, and always willing to step in whenever he's needed. Uh whether it's adjusting his route at a moment's notice or greeting students with a smile, and I can attest that he does that because many of our students actually comment on that. Um
EMTT brings a steady presence that our students and staff can count on. His calm demeanor and can do spirit make him a standout. So, um, EMTT, if you're watching, or maybe you're watching the draft, thank you for all you do and congratulations on being a March
employee spotlight recipient. Karen Prman is here. Thank you, Karen. Karen is one of our instructional aids over at Whiten Elementary School. Um, I think you are the quickest employee spotlight recipient winner because you just came in February. Your colleague said you
started in Whiten in February. Um I went to a classroom in February, but Okay. Been here for like six or seven years. Okay. But but getting in the classroom, this person nominated you immediately. So you're our fastest. I don't know what you're doing in there, but great job. Um
so you're in the kindergarten team and your colleague said that you've been a natural fit from day one. Um, so you have a special way of connecting with our youngest learners, getting to know their personalities, helping them navigate challenges, and creating a positive classroom climate through engagement, encouragement, and kindness.
Her energy, creativity, and willingness to step in whenever needed have made Karen a val invaluable part of our team. So, I want to thank you for what your colleague has said you bring to the heart of Whiten School. And congratulations on being our March recipient winner.
Zack Maloon, how are you? Zach is an instructional aid whom I know very well because he used to work up here at BCMS and now we've transferred him to Stonybrook and I just had the privilege of talking to Zach last week. Um, and I could attest to this too that Zach is a really kind
person who brings a whole lot of life to the work that he does in our schools. Whether you're greeting students by their name, which is a huge important thing to do. So, I want to thank you for knowing all of our students or offering supportive word to a colleague. You
spread positivity and connection. Uh, your colleague has said that you have genuine care for your students and passion for supporting their growth and that's evident in everything you do. So, Zach, your warmth and commitment has made Stonybrook a better place and we're very grateful to have you in our school
family and congratulations on being our March employee spotlight recipient. and Laura, we were just actually emailing today, so thank you for coming. So, Laura Barker is a teacher here at Branchburg Central Middle School. Um, and your colleague has said that you
lead with heart, skill, and a quiet strength. In her classroom, Laura students students feel very supported and seen and challenged in all the right ways. Um, your colleague has said you're always thinking ahead, whether it's about differentiating instruction, supporting a student's
emotional needs, or partnering with a colleague to solve a problem. You have a calm presence and a deep commitment to your students, and that makes a lasting impact. So, Laura, thank you for being such an anchor at BCMS, and congratulations on being our March employee spotlight winner.
Um, and just so I could tell you, Laura and I were actually um, emailing last night um, and today uh, about a grant that she is submitting to the to the Ed Foundation, which is about transforming learning spaces using flexible furniture and new classroom design. So, that's
going to be really exciting to see come to fruition. So, I'll update the board on after that comes to show. So, thank you for doing that extra work. Um and last uh is somebody that I work with on a regular basis u multiple times a day um is Mr. Steve Davenport. He is our
district safety and security coordinator. Um so Steve might work behind the scenes. However, the impact is his work is everywhere. Even when you come in the first and you sign in any one of our buildings, you're going to be seeing that ricotta signin signature that makes sure that the people are entering our building are here for the
right reasons. That's a direct result of some of the work that Mr. Davenport does. Um, some of his work is visible and much of it is happening in the background because sometimes he's coordinating safety drills to strengthening on our emergency procedures. Steve approaches his role with the mindset of a true emergency
management professional and I can completely attest to that because last night he called me about a specific emergency issue that we were able to mitigate very easily, but he's always on call and always ready to help us and tells me a lot about the weather coming up too. Um, so Steve is always
thoughtful, proactive, and really steady under pressure. Steve goes well beyond the call of duty to keep our school safe. As I said last night, he was calling me at home. His attention to detail and follow through make him somebody we all really rely on. It's a new position that we put
in place two years ago. So, from the moment Steve came in the district, he hit the ground running, and I can't thank him enough for all he does. Um, he's led meaningful enhancements to our safety practices. Um, and that's made a real difference every single day. So, Steve, thank you for the countless ways you show up to work. Thank you for
helping our staff and students be safe. And congratulations on being our March employee recipient. So, I don't want to keep you all because obviously you're doing a phenomenal job and I want you to get home or get outside and enjoy this beautiful weather. But before you leave, if we could just take a photo and put
you on the website and LinkedIn and all the great stuff that we do. Um, Miss Worhees, would you take a picture? We're going to just stand up here. Watch the park right now. Actually, I'm not over a little bit more. Thank you.
Why didn't that take a picture? I did. I did. I think I got you. Before you leave, check your phone. I'm multiaceted. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for
coming out. I'll call you later. Hopefully not. Congratulations. All right. Um, so that was the first item on my report. The second item is just to let everybody know that tonight the board will hold a public hearing for
the final adoption of the budget for the 2526 school year. Um I just wanted to take a few moments to highlight a key point, a few key points. Um as you recall, Miss Vorhees and I did a comprehensive presentation several weeks ago with the preliminary budget. Um, and one of the things that I was happy to
share was that despite all of the challenges we faced, especially with regard to operational costs exceeding the 2% tax cap levy, we were able to present a balanced budget during uh, difficult times. And you've probably seen a lot of the information coming out
from other districts that are having some challenges balancing their budget because of the changes in the funding formula. Um, we were able to use a few of the adjustments that were available to us for health care and enrollment based um, enroll adjustment which
allowed us to have a balanced budget along with the modest increase we received in state aid. Um, so thanks to Miss Warhees uh, experience with the budget, she was able to put together a really great sound budget that advances
our goals for the upcoming school year. And thanks to the strong ratable base in the community, the taxpayers are going to be able to recognize about a $360 decrease in their school property taxes per every $500,000 of assessed
property value. So, that's a that's an interesting thing that uh shook out and is a meaningful outcome and one that we were proud to deliver. I'm also happy to report that we have not had to have any positions cut in this budget. So that allowed us to preserve our current
programs um and which will lead to some uninterrupted services for our students in the upcoming year. So since the preliminary presentation, Miss Vorhees was ahead of the curve and submitted the budget to the state. There was a clerical question. She easily answered
that. So tonight on the board agenda, this is the final motion. Nothing has changed, but I wanted to ask if the board wanted me to go back to the presentation to answer any of your questions. I'd be happy to do so. But um that's basically we're at the same point
we were when we presented last time. Okay. I just we want to make sure that everyone knows it's a public hearing and if there's anybody in the public at the time would like to question anything from the bud budget, now will be the time. Is the is the budget on the one of the
agendas? The budget will be posted on the district website tomorrow morning. The actual whole userfriendly budget will be available on the website. Okay. The I'm sorry, the resolution for the basic levies and adjustments are are all on
the tonight's agenda if you picked up a copy. Yeah. And the budget presentation that I shared, the one that is actually on the screen is on the website currently for anybody who wishes to view it. Um, I also want to thank all of the staff that met with me and all of the schools after I conducted the budget
presentations to all the faculty. I was able to be on site either the week or the following week after to just be available for any staff who had any additional questions. Some staff members took me up on that offer um to talk about the budget. Some took me up on the offer to talk about other things. But
regardless, it was great to spend some time with our staff and to make sure that they clearly understand where we're heading moving forward. Okay. So, the final item on my report tonight um is going to be to turn it over to Miss Anderson, who is our director of student support services and
educational programs, along with Miss Landisburg, who's our supervisor of educational programs. Uh both are here this evening to share just a glimpse into the important ongoing work they're doing to really advance academic excellence across the district. As those
of you who may recall, this is in our visionary action plan, which is really targeted on ensuring that our academic programs keep moving forward and remain rigorous. So, they're going to give you a snapshot into just some of the work that they've been doing this year. Thank you for allowing us to come back.
It's loud, this microphone. Uh, thank you for allowing us to come back. For um those of you that were here back in October, we had um I had a few more people with me. Some of our other supervisors were part of that presentation. um where we really tried to lay the groundwork of what we looked
um looking at the whole child and the support of the whole child um through the programs that we have here in the district and what our plan was moving forward. So since then I know that we have presented um or spoken about Dr. Chase has even spoken about the support that we've done on the well-being side. Um,
and we want to take a moment tonight to be able to talk about all of the work that we do in the background um with our staff members related to the academic excellence piece of that. So, sort of balancing out both sides of that triangle. So, um if you remember back to
our October presentation, we um used this graphic to represent the support um equal support that needs to happen for a well-rounded student of both well-being and academics. And so we're sort of going to refer back to this this same pictorial representation um focusing a
little bit more on the academics tonight. So just as a reminder and again we started off our presentation October um the importance of educating that whole child. So, we were moving away from relying solely on emphasizing the academic component um of student
performance um and we want to make sure that we were broadening the supports and programs that foster that overall growth for our students um in a multiaceted approach. So, as a reminder, we have cognitive factors and n cognitive factors that factor into how a student
performs right in life every day. So tonight we're going to focus a little bit more on the cognitive factors um in those academic skills of reading, writing, um problem solving, and critical thinking um and how they are directly linked to classroom
performance. So our district-wide instructional priorities have always been, but continue to be that we are working to provide our students with highquality evidence-based instructions. We pay attention specifically to the opportunities for equity and access for
all of our learners um across all grade levels and we are always cognizant of making decisions about professional development for our staff members that align to what their needs are. So there are probably many of times the people who are sitting here behind me are like oh my god do I have to do that what does
it matter to me the same way that our students say why is this important to life in life and so just as we say that it is important to be differentiating the instruction that we provide to our students in the classroom it's important that we provide differentiated professional development to the staff
members in the district so that they're getting what they need. Now, that being said, there are trainings that everyone has to be a part of from time to time, but we really try to utilize the opportunities for PD sessions um to tap into professional development that aligns with instructional practices and
priorities um to support our students needs. We also work to focus on student engagement and growth with the instruction that we provide to our students. And it is always important that we are looking at the measurable outcomes when we are looking to improve
something or maybe use that as the basis for an understanding that we need to improve something moving forward. So those are the pieces that are always in the background of the decision-m processes that our admin team is a part of but also that our staff members are a part of um in their instruction. So
tonight we're going to highlight mathematics and ELA. I'm going to take some time to take you through um the mathematics enhancements that have happened over the past few years and then Miss Landisburg is going to step up to talk about ELA. So, I apologize that it's small, but you'll be able to have
this shared with you to look at it. Um, what we wanted to do was sort of highlight the adjustments that have been made over time in the mathematics program because while it may sound like we're doing something new this year with the Envision program at the middle school, that really all started about 5
years ago when we were starting the implementation of or the exploration of looking into additional programs um for upgrades at the elementary level. So back in 2020 2021 um and even prior to that we have each year we have to do
presentations um as per the state about our student performance in ELA and math based off of NJSLA. Previously it was park. So we are always looking at our data and reflecting on the previous year or multiple years to see if there are
trends that we're noticing um or if there are areas of improvement, areas of growth, whatever it may be. Prior to 2020 2021 um our students were doing well. Our students, knock on wood, have always been doing well, but it was getting a little stagnant. our numbers
weren't necessarily moving up and down in different ways that made us feel that um we were pushing the limits. So, we were reflecting upon student performance and really looking to say, hey, we'd been with our previous program for 20 years. Um you know, different versions
of it, but really sticking with that everyday math through that entire time. And technology had advanced, things had changed, the standards um were updated. So we wanted to start to explore other programs and see what else was out there. So we started um to pull together
a K5 math program committee. So that was representative of staff members at different grade levels. You had gened teachers, special ed teachers, um instructional support teachers who came together and we really looked to review what programs were out there, what were other districts using, um what was the
new upand cominging piece and we started to explore and then um pilot different programs. So I think we narrowed it down to three in that initial year and then we piloted three across the different grade levels and that committee was able to make a determination for what we
wanted to move forward with which at the time was envision um for grades one and two. So you'll see in the following year they went to full implementation in that 2122 school year but we continued a pilot at the kindergarten level um with
illustrative and we used a pilot in grades three and four to in certain classrooms to help sort of bridge that gap. So each year we were trying to learn a little bit more before we implemented it with our students. Um, and the nice piece about every year
where we work worked on the either pilot or implementation, we were able to reflect based off of what we saw to make changes because there is not one program out there in any way, shape or form. I don't know what people will tell you that works perfectly for a given space.
So we always say that we are using something as a resource and making it branchburg specific. So that first year, we always work to do full implementation with fidelity. That means following the program the way that it's designed so that we can see what the outcomes are. But then we use that following year to
really reflect and review and adjust for what needs to happen. And not just the following year, you'll see each year after that, we're always looking to improve, shift, or make adjustments if we need to. So 2122 was that full implementation in grades 1 and two with
a pilot in kindergarten and grades three and four. Um the following year we rolled up so it was full implementation K5. Um so one through five in Envision and then we continued the illustrative program um done at kindergarten which we just found was more appropriate um than
the higher level piece that Envision was asking for our kindergarteners. So throughout that um school year, we also had continued um envision support or professional development for our staff members. It wasn't just a hey this is once and done you know everything move
on. Um, but even as part of that process, we were starting to notice in reflecting on our data each year, because remember NJSLA only gives us data in whiten at third grade and then you have four or five. So we get a set of data for the first year of
implementation. But I'll be honest, that doesn't mean as much to me as it does in the second year when now we started to um sort of set a trend with it and our kids understanding is a little bit stronger. What we were noticing is that our scores there were starting to improve, but our
BCMS scores were sort of just there. Um, and so we found that that would probably be our next natural progression would be to start exploring the programs um that were available at the middle school and try to make a decision if there would be an adjustment um at the 68 level as
well. So very similar to what we did at the K5 level, we pulled together our staff members, did a program review. Envision happened to be one of the programs that we looked at um because I think at the time Somerville was using it. So we were also trying to be cognizant of sending to the same
district and would be what would be the benefit of that um piloted a few programs and then we move forward to this year where we had full imple implementation at the middle school. So, I just wanted to sort of take you through the background piece because we
don't talk about we don't often talk about or highlight the work that happens behind the scenes. It's always happening. Um, so we wanted to make sure that we sort of showed this progress through and it's not just, hey, we decided, you know, in June of last year,
this is what we're going to do with no planning behind it. Um, and I think, you know, the piece that I've enjoyed watching through the progression is how our younger students have really become mathematical thinkers and speakers, I want to say, more than they have in the
past. Um, and I'm really excited to see what that transpires to be at the middle school level when I think you have kids who are ready to have more mathematical discourse and understand things at higher levels because they have the foundation um that was built through
their years coming through. I have a question. Yeah. Uh um how long does it take to like to see improvement like you said six to eight? So I'll show you as we get through the slides third grade in particular I think we have three years of data where you can sort of see that progression. So I I
anticipate us getting data right from NJSLA that we're going to be going into in the next month. Um which will be good baseline data, right? So we'll be able to compare new program versus what we had previously. But I'm saying probably next year, the year after is where we're
really going to have the heart of it. And what's nice about that data is those kiddos would have had all of the programmatic pieces through this year. This could be the first time that some of them were introduced to it. Um, so it might not it's not as um I don't know
that I put as much weight into it as I would when they've had multiple years, you know, using a program. So the um some of the enhancements that we focused on specifically at 6 to8 because that is the piece that was newer this year. Um we looked at a new and refi we refined
our curriculum to emphasize real world application and researchbased practices. So, um, in all of our decisions, we're always looking at what is evidence-based, what is researchbased, so that it's not just, oh, we found this and it's flashy and the kids really like the pictures. Um, you know, it has to
align to our standards and we have to make sure that we're doing our due diligence and teaching our students. What we liked about um the Envision program at all of our levels was that strong focus on problem solving and conceptual understanding. A lot of our kiddos in the past you would ask them
how to solve something or how did they know their answer would be like it that's just the answer like that's what it is because we focused more on the computation piece and just being able to do that rope computation but they were not able to answer that question of why
that is one of the standards of mathematical practice that our children are assessed on with NJSLA. So we really needed to work to help with the discourse that went around their understanding as to how to solve a problem. Um we also included the use of
manipulatives um and really engaging like I said in that math discourse. So manipulatives are tools. Our job is to help our students understand what tools they can use to help them in the future. Right? We are all adults now. If we have a question about something, we know what
to access and where to get those answers. And so manipulatives are a very basic form of that and we want to let our students know that you can reference those things in the real world to help you solve problems. Um and so there's much more of a push for that in this program. And then obviously um teachers
being supported through PD. Sometimes our students are more flexible um in their thinking and learning than our teachers who have learned a certain way through a certain program. So, it's very important that we're taking the time to help support the staff just as we are our students with a new
program. So, this was that slide that I wanted to talk about with the results. So, what we were able to do here was just pull a snapshot of our whiten students. So, third grade NJSLA for the past three years. Um, you'll see in green up top that our NJSLA performance
has increased over our last two years from 59% to 74% of our students are meeting or exceeding expectations. So, sorry, I have expectations in there twice. Um, so basically, if you want to look at the visual, our goal is to move our students from the red, orange, and
yellow into those green hues as as much as possible. So, what you're seeing is a progression from year to year. And again, we have to talk about this in context. It's a different group of students every year. There's always things that filter into it. But even looking at that
um adjustment from year to year, we are noticing that we are moving the bar more to the green hues than we were in the red um orange and yellow. So that's an example of what we hope to see as we then look at our grade four and five data next year um and 68 moving
forward. All right, I'm going to pass it over. And the other piece too that um Miss Anderson we don't have up there but is our our indistrict assessments. So looking at how our students are performing on their tests in class um is
a huge piece of it and the type of tests and questions that we're asking them. So with the Envision program there is a level of rigor um that's there to those um that was added a lot by the teachers. Um, I give a ton of credit to our staff for the 20 years of using Everyday Math
and the way that they added resources to it. They searched out um, you know, additional lessons and ways to enhance that program themselves. Um, this program has a lot of things to it. Um, but it definitely brought in a level of rigor that we were missing and that's
kind of how we're going to push our students on to that next level in our hopes. um for ELA, a similar timeline, showing you kind of the history of where we came from. So, I'm going to go even farther back um than we did in mathematics because in 2016, we started
to identify and I feel like this is one of the things that makes me proud to work for Branchburg is we're always I feel a little bit ahead of the curve. Um so, in 2016, we started to notice trends in our classroom data where we were seeing a need for direct phonics
instruction. Now currently that is the thing you're going to hear all around the world. They have you know created all these different programs and box things that will hit that. That's now in 2025. In 2016 our staff identified that need and we formed a committee um and
started to look for researchbased um phonics programs and we settled on foundations and started to implement that in K and one. The following year we went K3 full implementation um in 2020 2022 and those were like transition
years as we were all coming back in person and able to meet in small groups and things again. Um but they had dedicated designated blocks of time that they were doing direct phonics instruction. Um a lot of staff development was provided during that time and has continued to be provided on
how to teach those fund fundamental um skills for literacy instruction and we've continued to um revise and support our staff. When you get to 2223 we notice we need to bring this up to our um 45 building. So the
continuation of phonics instruction gets to morphology and that's really the study of words and we'll get into that in a little bit. Um but we created resources and professional development for our four five staff and implemented word study um in a different way than we
had previously for our upper students as well as made some revisions to what we were doing in K3. And we also included another program resource um Hagerty into kindergarten to make sure that we're really hitting those foundational skills. In last school year um we looked
at our data and we found that we needed to look for additional resources for students. So we started to build in some more um robust resources that met the needs of what we were instructing. So if we're doing all of this work in decoding and in phonics, we needed text and
libraries to match that so that our students had something engaging to use. Um so we put increased our resources for decodable libraries. We updated materials. Um and we also the state finally caught up and they added some revisions to their standards that had to
do with phonics. Um so you see we were ahead of the curve because the state added it in in 2324. Um so we also aligned our curriculum documents to match what the new state standards were as well. We started consulting with um Maggie Roberts who is a very well-known
respected um literacy consultant and she works with middle school um and I started to talk to her about our trends and data that we were seeing from the NJSLA when students started to come up to the middle school. um and she started to help us plan out how we were going to
bring up some of this evidence-based um instructional practices to the middle school so we could start to see our scores translate to what um we know that they were doing at our primary grades and our um intermediate school. So that was kind of where this this conversation
started. Um and then this year we're really focusing on sixth grade language arts and making some revisions to the curriculum as well as the instruction that's happening there. Um and we also incorporated some additional resources for them as well as continuing our
development and our staff development for um all of these best practices in literacy instruction. So these are the fun slides because you get to see our students and our teachers which are the best part of everything. Um so we increased those
resources as I said and strategies for K and one. Some of the things that we've done are aligned our phonics instruction with the standards. We have strengthened the early decoding and fluency skills through um the use of re of these additional resources. Our small group
reading instruction has shifted a bit for um it used to be like we would pull you over for small group and it's really focused on comprehension. Um we have learned to incorporate both comprehension and decoding skills um and using that phonics instruction especially at our K1 level. um but
incorporating that through our text that we're using as well. We have already noticed um since we started this several years ago, we've noticed positive trends in our literacy benchmarks. Um not they don't take the state assessment, so I can't put up an NJSLA score for them,
but there are other things that we do within district. I look at instructional support numbers, how many students are identified for needs, what kinds of needs are they identified for? And I mean I can say pretty happily and most of our um staff is happy about it that our codes for um phonics help and phmic
awareness those have decreased since we've in uh started foundations. Um and then something we're really working on right now currently this year is aligning our assessments to the classroom instruction that's happening. So, we are exploring and piloting a few different types of um assessment methods
out there outside of the DRRA, which just really assesses comprehension um to other assessments that will look more at the patterns of words and the way that our students are being instructed and to really give us a good understanding of how our students are doing. and we've started to incorporate
those and really see that um our students are making great gains and we're really impressed with how they're doing and how it's translated over. And those pictures are actually from lab sites that occurred. Um lab sites are professional development opportunities for our students that are led by our
coaches. So um our coach, Kelly Bole, has worked with the first grade staff. She pulls them offline. She teaches them a few different strategies and some of the reasons behind why we're doing the things we're doing. And then we go into classrooms right then and there and we try out these different skills with our
students. So those are um some of our students in first and kindergarten. As I mentioned before, we brought this then up to the middle school I mean to um grades four and five where we're doing morphology instruction and word study in that way. So morphology is really teaching the
students how to break apart the words and look at where do these roots come from? What's a prefix? What's a suffix? Um and this helps to build vocabulary and comprehension. And vocabulary is always something that we see from the data that we can do more with. And a lot of things with vocabulary is exposure of
what books are you reading? Um what experience has you have you had in life. But if you can understand, you know, that a root means this, then you can try to figure out what a word means. Um so this is really helpful in helping them with comprehension and using this as a reading strategy. This is something
though that our staff, myself included, need development in. um you have one course in college on this usually and my coaches are in our are um reading specialists and they didn't even have a ton of courses in this. We've been very fortunate to send staff out to get
trained through um when we had esser funding and we've continued to support that and have them go out for um multiensory approaches and learning um further on this. But our coaches are dedicated to continue this um professional development. So this brings us to our
current year here as well for the middle school. So we start small um because change takes time but in sixth grade really to bridge the transition between fifth and sixth we have been doing a lot of work on looking at um how we instruct
our students and making a shift from teacherled to student driven instruction. So we had some professional development on the gradual release model. Um which means like I do so I as the teacher model something and we and then we do it together as a class and then I'm sending my students off to do
it and there's more active engagement and my students are being the ones who are doing the heavy lifting. Um and we're encouraging them to think and to become critical thinkers but also to take ownership over their learning. This also this type of instruction allows for
us to meet our students where they are. So we're not analyzing a book if we're still struggling on decoding something or a need need more additional practice in reading comprehension. So this gives the teacher the opportunity to share something with the whole class and go off and practice and then I have the
opportunity to meet with the students who might need a different type of strategy instruction. I do this through conferencing discussions um you know in small groups and this is what is the evidence-based resources and and strategies that we know are out there
and that are working and they work at our K5 level. Um and that's why we've been working with this consultant to really bring this up through and our plans are well obviously to bring this through all of the grades. Um, but we started with sixth grade and we can really work through and next year we're
going to do some additional work and then we'll look at writing as well. So these are some just fun quotes that was also from them. So they had a professional development and that's what who's down there as well as our um sixth grade team half of them as we met with
our consultant comes on in district as well but she also meets with us virtually. So this is one of the virtual days where we were able to meet with her. um from the teachers and students. So hear it out of the mouths of them. Um one of our teachers says the progress is
very measurable and vis visible which in turn makes reading a really rewarding experience. When we students and teachers can feel and see the progress, it gives all members of our learning community the encouragement they need to keep on keeping on without giving up.
Um, one of our math students in sixth grade, I feel like I understand math better because the visuals, like the video, helped explain it, and the lesson check lets my teacher know right away if I need more help. And then our one of our kindergarten teachers said, "The use of decodable readers this year has
helped my kindergarten students immensely. They see the connection of it all and it boosts their confidence when they are able to read real books and their faces light up. Ultimately, that's the goal of any educator is to have them see the connection, but also to have their faces light up and them be excited
about learning. So, if we can do that from kindergarten, you know, we're setting the expectation, we're setting that um that internal um love of learning in those students from the very beginning. And that is actually one of our teachers of the year, Karen Paco,
and um with a a student try trying out a um strategy. So some of our next steps as I mentioned before are going to be expanding these strategies and differentiation across all the grade levels. So we want to bring all the bre best practices and things to everyone. Instructional coaching and targeted PD
are going to continue. We're very fortunate that we have job embedded instructional coaches there to provide this professional um development to staff on a whim. whenever anybody needs somebody, they have the opportunity to reach out to the coaches as well as the coaches doing some really targeted
professional development. Um, we are engaging in a curriculum audit. So, we're going to look at all of our curriculum over the summer and really make sure that we we always do this, but we're going to look even closer to make sure that we are um aligning everything that we do to the standards, our
assessments, our activities, everything um to make sure that we have the very best for our students. We're focusing on student agency and academic ownership. We want them to be the leaders. We want them to be um feeling and taking on some ownership for their learning and feel like they have a say in what's
motivating to them and engaging for them. And then, you know, as always, as um Miss Anderson mentioned, we are continually evaluating everything that we do, not just through the NGS, NJSLA, but we're looking at um identifying any
needs of our students, any areas that we can grow in. Um and anything we always feel like we can do something better. The more we learn, the more we see out there, we're like, "Oh, let's see how we can incorporate that to make that a better experience for our students in Branchburg."
So, as we wrap up, I just wanted to circle back around to talk about data. Um, we didn't hit you with a lot of data. We didn't put a lot of graphs up there because data can be interpreted in different ways um by different people for what their priorities are. So, we just wanted to circle back around and
and remind you of the work that we do behind the scenes um to help make all of these things possible for our students. Um, so what are we looking at when we're trying to make determinations on whether there needs to be improvement in different areas? Um, we're looking at if there's evidence of skill transfer in
the classwork that we're seeing on a regular basis. Right? Standardized assessments are great, but they only come however many times a year. You know, some MAP does it three times a year. NJSLA is one time a year. Was it a good day for our kids? Was it not? So, we really want to see on our day-to-day
classwork with our students, is that transfer really coming through? um so that we can see that that application moving forward is um is definitely strengthening. We are looking at formative data to help guide our instruction. So again um you know what's happening in the classroom on a
day-to-day basis. We can pull those pieces together when we have common assessments at grade levels and make sort of comparisons. What worked in this classroom versus you know maybe wasn't as strong. How come your kids performed so well? So those conversations are the ones that we're trying to um encourage
our staff members to have on a regular basis. Um again, overview of any formative and summitative assessment trends. I always find this to be interesting in when our students do better in one of those areas than the other. Um summitative assessments can be hard for kids because they have to retain information. But what we're
seeing are trends um you know moving in the right direction that our kids are able to retain that information and use it to build. So it's not that they're having to see something year after year after year and you know five years down the road it clicks. Um we're seeing that application a little bit sooner which is great. Um we're always looking at growth
in areas of student performance for math and ELA. Um and lately we've been paying attention to the correlation with our INRS and other um RIALS and referrals that come in to us. So, in my role, I'm able to see all um all students really.
You know, I'm getting parent referrals, I'm getting staff referrals for students in different areas. Um INRS comes through when we start to say we're struggling, you know, we've tried all these strategies. What's that next piece? We pay attention to what are those areas? Are we seeing trends with
groups of students at different grade levels because that's telling us something's missing or we're we're just not making the connection we had hoped to. Um, and that actually was one of the processes that we went through when we identified some of the PD that we offered this year at our different
schools. Um, we were doing it based off of the data that we saw this year in INRS because we were starting to see trends in students coming in different areas um to the table. So that is just as important as the other, you know, larger data that we get from time to time. But all of this goes into the
decision-m process when we're looking to make any adjustments when supporting our students. All right, so that was our presentation for tonight. We're happy to answer any questions that you may have. Um, and we appreciate you taking the time to um, listen to all the great things that are happening here in the
district. Yes. Quick question. How much of an impact does COVID homeschooling still have three, four, five years later? So, biggest impact that we continue to see are our older
students, the ones who were sort of right in there in the midst of it. So they were our second well I won't even say second third fourth graders but that that group of kids who are moving through our middle school now continue to be the
ones that seem to be most affected because the building blocks of some of the most foundational skills were not able to be delivered in the way that we have historically done. I would say that our kindergarten, you know, first graders who have been able to be in school their entire career with the
expectations of what our instruction was prior to it, um, do not seem to be as impacted in the areas of the academics. I do think that across the board, we still have social aspects, um, that are being impacted. The social um, emotional pieces for our students are definitely
there, but the academic impacts, you can really see that difference. And are there are there supports in place for those middle school students? This those two or three years there are that we're still trying to get them to where they should be for lack of a better way to
put it. Yeah. So we have we we do have um support for those students as well as in the classroom working on differentiation and looking at our pacing and and ways that we can address those needs. Um I will say though in doing like a a comparison it show there's like um a website you can go to
that will pull up like seven years of data from NJSLA and looking at that you will see where we were before the pandemic and then you see a huge drop and we are on our way. I mean we are back up we're not back exactly but we are definitely trending upward and we
are very close to where we were pre- pandemic. So, um, that was something that I just saw more recently this year and I was like, "All right, go Branchburg." Because we are we are definitely on the trend back up. And I know I was speaking with an administrator somewhere else and they were saying their staff is um they have
had a a slower time getting back to where they were beforehand. Um, and they actually pulled our data to show like, well, it's possible because Branchburg is is there. Thank you. Yes. Um, what did you say? uh either the math or the LA ELA program. What was the biggest
challenge in implementation? So, anything that is new is scary. Um I will speak from the perspective of staff. Um and I think I hinted to that before. I I found our kids to be very resilient. You throw something new to them, they roll with it. There's
definitely some bumps along the way. Um but in each of these settings we are asking our staff who have been doing something a certain way and have familiarity with the resources that they cultivated over time to now come and trust using something completely
different. Um so I think that tends to be the biggest hurdle of confidence like well am I doing it correctly? Am I not doing it correctly? How do we know if this is working? What's going on? So it's that second guessing piece. They're phenomenal educators. There's no question about that. there. Anyone could pick up a program and go through and do
it, but they want to do it correctly. They want to make sure that their kids are meeting the need or that they're meeting the needs of their students. And I think that that piece anytime there's something new, it's uncomfortable. Um, and so I think that that has what I've witnessed and the feedback that I've
gotten from staff over the years when we've been doing professional development. My professional development sessions are not all rainbows and butterflies all the time. And I welcome the feedback, the challenges, and the questions because it's coming from a place of wanting to support those
students. Um, I actually was just saying to Miss Landisburg when we were talking about this presentation, like, do you remember five years ago? Do you like do you remember that piece where there were some really tough conversations about what's this? this isn't going to work and the kids can't do this and and now when you hear children participate in
conversations, we've had um demo lessons in our younger grade levels with teachers coming in who afterwards in their reflection, you're like, I've never had students be able to speak and use the mathematics vocabulary. That's an outside person experiencing it. So, we get to that point, but I there's
definitely hesitations when something is new that you haven't really seen or been able to experience. Um, you know, we have we have some challenges with students making that transition too from time to time. Um, but I I found that as
we go through and continue to support them with all the additional resources, we have less and less of that. Um, and they actually are the ones who are very comfortable helping our teachers to say like, oh, you just have to do this, this, and this um, to get from one place to the other. Do you feel same
different? No. Yeah. I I would just I would say for the student end of it um I think when the mathematics program started I think that level of rigor was an adjustment of um not just putting an answer but really having to think and evaluate some of their answer choices
sometimes um because the way that the program will ask questions um might be where you you have to read through and pick three correct answers to something or um be able to answer why a problem is incorrect. Uh so it definitely is a a
higher level of of thinking that's asked of our students. Um but that's real world and that's getting them ready for the real world and that's kind of where we're going to push them from the meeting to the exceeding um in life, not just on the assessments. So I think that was the biggest shift for our students
in math. I think in language arts it's not really um a huge shift for them. So for what we're doing in sixth grade for the students is what they've been doing their entire time in Branchburg um in the way the method of instruction. So for them I feel like it's actually going
to be like oo this is something that's familiar to me. I know this layout. I know they're going to ask me to think about this in this way or to do this. Um, so I think in in language arts that's find um for the decodables and the type of instruction, the phonics instruction, they're it builds a
confidence in them because they're no longer having to just look at a word and kind of guess if it looks familiar or look at a picture and try to make sense of something. We're providing them with those tools um of like this is what this letter sounds like. This is what the pattern is in spelling a word or
sounding it out or how to read it. Um, so I think if anything that has just built the confidence in our students that they didn't have before. Thank you. Yeah, no problem. Any other questions? All right. Thank you. Yes. I'll just make a quick comment. I love listening
to you guys talk about this stuff. I you use a lot of buzzwords that I'm sure many of us here really don't don't apologize because that's your job. That's what you guys are experts at. And so I very much appreciate hearing you present and try to say it sort of
sometimes in words that we can understand, but we're all happy to hear that that um the programs are going well. Yeah, we're Thank you. Yeah, it's it's awesome to be able to see it in practice um you know or actualizing with our students in front of us. That's my favorite thing about going to do observations sometimes. You can just sit
there and be like, "Oh, it's it's coming through." Um, not that you question that it's not, but I don't often get to be in the classrooms as much to see it in action. I get to be there for the PD and those components of it, but I expect to see those strategies at that time. It's
more rewarding to see it when you're just walking in and out of the classrooms for things. Awesome. I just have some feedback. I think it was awesome like usually when we get these kinds of presentations, it's like the testing scores, how are they trending? So to see like other benchmarks that you
guys and like testimonials, I think it's more the state testing scores are obviously important, but the teachers and everybody who works with the kids on a daily basis, they can probably feel like the vibe of the environment and how things are working. So just to get that
feedback is nice to hear. So yeah, thank you for do for providing stuff. Thank you for having us. Thank you. Yes, thank you for coming out. Um, I also, you know, you saw the body of work that's being done in the district, which I'm very proud of. Um, and I also just
want to take thank the teachers who are embarking on all of this because it's like learning a new skill and and and I always say to the teachers who are sometimes having challenges with regard to shifting and it usually is coming from a place like they just don't
want to do the wrong thing. Um, and the better the teacher is, sometimes the more difficult it is to to pivot because you again don't want to be wrong. But, um, our teachers have been great, flexible, and I just wanted to thank them because this is Yowman's work that they're doing and, um, they're doing a
phenomenal job at it. And thank you for Miss Landersburg and Miss Anderson for presenting. Um, thank you. It's great to see the comprehensive work that you're doing and the different variables and outcomes that are measurements of the good work that's happening. So, that is my report from employee spotlights to uh
academic excellence. We covered it all tonight. All right. Next up is public comment on agenda items only. Anybody with a public comment on an agenda item? No. Okay. I'm going to move on to
governance. I have no report, but we do have some voting items. We have one approval of minutes. Two, approval of HIB investigative report. Three, approval of HIB findings report. And four, approval of HIP parent appeal. Can I have a motion to move those? Motion.
Second. Any questions or comments? Can I have a roll call, please? Seconded it. Sorry. Mr. Holland back. Yes. For one, two, and four. Abstain from number three.
Miss Joyce. Um, I have the reverse. Abstain from one three and four and yes to two. Mr. Krishna Marty same abstain from one
three and four and yes to two. Miss Smith. Yes. To one, two, and three and four recuse from 273470 and yes on the other and it was yes for the beginning ones as
well, right? Yes. Thank you, Mr. Kuma. Yes, Mr. Desai. Yes. Mr. Carpenter. Yes. Thank you. Next up is policy. Mr. Side, you have a report? I do. Um, on today's
agenda, we are um approving the second reading, the HIB policy, which was just updated with some verbiage that was advised by the Strauss Espay uh company. Um, but we also had a meeting on the 10th, April 10th. We have some updates
and just revisions um which is listed for first reading. A lot of the safety updates we ran through by Steve Davenport and collaborated with the Branchburg Police Department to update the agreement that we have with them. Um, and then with the smoking revisions,
it's just to enclose the vaping policy now because we are now going to say it's best practice to report it to the police and let them decide what to do and what they are. Um, and then we have the electronic surveillance. Again, that's with Branchburg Police Department.
And I think that that's it. Yeah. Okay. Thank you very much. Can I have a motion to move those motion? Any questions or comments? Can I can I just make a quick comment thanking the Branchburg Township Police Department for their collaboration with us. Many of these policies, as Mr. Desai said, requires a lot of collaboration and they have just
been absolutely responsive and fantastic and just a pleasure to have in our school. So, I just wanted to thank them for all their hard work. Thank you very much. Anybody else? Can I have a roll call, please? Did not second that. Yes. Thank you
Mr. Honback. Yes. Miss Joyce. Yes. Mr. Krishna Murdy. Yes. Miss Smith. Yes. Mr. Tuma. Yes. Mr. Sai. Yes. Mr. Carpenter. Yes. Next up is curriculum and instruction. Mr. Helmouth. Do you have a report? Uh, no reports this week. Our next meeting will be Thursday, May 1st.
Thank you very much. We have voting items. We have one, conferences and travel. Two, approval of student teacher. Three, approval of fundraiser/service project. Four, approval of contracted service and five, approval of acceptance of grant funds. Can I have a motion to move those?
Motion. Second. Any comments, questions? Can can I just thank thank the BEF again? Um, we've had a a lot of our teachers who have been putting in grants lately and it's really great to see these kinds of things coming, their ideas coming to fruition. So, thank you very much for supporting
Megan Russo's idea for the the roller so she can make even greater things with our students and also for the mobile farm visit that's going to be um coming to our preschool as well. That sounds fun. Good stuff. Anybody else? Can I have a roll call,
please? Mr. Hollandbeck? Yes. Miss Joyce? Yes. Mr. Krishna Mury? Yes. Miss Smith? Yes. Mr. Kuma? Yes. Mr. Desai? Yes. Mr. Carpenter? Yes. Uh, next we have personnel. Miss Choice, do you have a report? I do not have a report. Uh, a
personnel committee has not met since the last board meeting, but we are scheduled to meet next Thursday, May 1st. Thank you very much. We have voting items. We have one, approval of reappointment of 2025 2026 contracts. Two, approval of revision of job description. Three, approval of
mentoring. Four, approval of retirements. Five, approval of personnel. Six, approval of transfer. Seven, approval of revision of personnel. Eight, approval of extra duty pay. Nine, approval of substitutes. 10, approval of resignations. 11, approval
of revision of leave. Can I have a motion to move those? Motion. Second. Any questions, comments? Congratulations, Miss Geston. You're retiring. Thank you for everything you've done for the district. We
appreciate you. Hope to see you a few more times before you are out the door. Thank you. Um, anybody else? Can I have a roll call when you're ready? Thank you.
Mr. Hall, yes. Miss Joyce, yes. Mr. Krishna Murdy, yes. Miss Smith, yes. Mr. Tuma, yes. Mr. Sai, yes. Mr. Carpentier. Yes. Uh, next up is finance and facilities. Mr. Tumo, do you have a report? A brief
report. Uh, the finance and facilities committee met two weeks ago. Um, the main topic of discussion was transportation. Okay. So, Emma came in and gave us a nice presentation on rates and what we charge other
districts for providing buses ser bus serving services to them. um this fleet cycle and trying to maintain and having to maintain a minimum of buying two new buses every year. It's more important now as the the district grows and the routes become
more complex. The buses spend more time on the road and they wear out a little faster. So the the constant recycling and refreshing of the fleet is becoming more important as the as our district grows. Um, we also spent some time
talking about the reduced afterchool buses and where those drop off locations will be. Um, not finalized yet as we're still working with some of the locations for permissions, but we're we're moving in that
direction. We also spoke about uh let's see, some of the routes that we drive are considered dangerous. So, we're looking for a grant to kind of offset some of that and restructure our routes a little bit to make them a little safer for our students. Um, the
transportation driver manual has been completed. The transportation manual for parents is underway. Uh, Mr. Davenport completed a safety assessment of all of our routes, which was very important. And, um, that was pretty much it on transportation. The last question that
what is like the grant for safer routes entail? Is that like sidewalks or It's looking at different locations and different areas of where the bus stops actually are. Okay. So, maybe moving them off of a county road to maybe a half a block in on a side street. Okay.
That type of stuff. There was also a grant that we're looking to apply for to apply to the buses for like a GPS system for the drivers. So, a substitute driver isn't as familiar with the roots as the as the permanent driver. So, this GPS system will give them basically
turnbyturn instructions on how to follow the route. And that was brought about by there was some savings on our insurance policy, and they're going to allow us to write a grant to purchase that software. We may also be looking at getting some tablets for the drivers that will interact with that software system,
which is an improvement, right? It should make our driving our routes a little more efficient, make the drivers a little more comfortable with routes they're not familiar with. And I've also asked that they reach out to Readington and whether if they'd be willing to share some of that cost with us since we do a lot of the busing with Readington
as well. I would imagine it's safer too if you're not looking at GPS systems you're looking at. Does any of that include like a mobile app for parents to see when the bus is going to arrive? No, not the software. Okay. This is more to just um if you know it what
we're finding right now is sometimes if we have a driver or substitute driver and the you know there's a detour this would allow them it's kind of like GPS for them it would make it a little bit easier but it doesn't do any of the arrival features. Um we have looked into those things are very costly.
Okay. Um moving on uh facilities the safety manual has been completed. Uh we put out an RFP for audit services for next year. Uh we're also putting out a request for proposals for both before care and after care services. Um we
received a estimate on the value of old York which we'll bring up in the next committee meeting so we can discuss that a little further. Uh health benefit rates for 2526 were finalized and food service was renewed for another year with Mashios. So they're in their third
year. Um it was a good meeting. There's a lot of good discussion and um everything that we've talked about is on the agenda for tonight. Thank you. Thank you very much. May I add for the board's purposes for um this evening, you'll see that the auditor is being I'm asking that the board uh approve the
recommendation of our current auditor. The RFPs came in. I opened them and uh lo and behold, our current auditor was able to give us a discount of $35,000. Nice. uh we discussed some of our concerns from previous years uh a good
conversation and we're looking forward to moving forward with a much lower cost and a much more efficient process. I just wanted to share that with Thank you. Okay, we have some voting items. We have one billist and payroll, two secretary
and treasurer reports. Three line item transfers for approval of agreement with Phoenix adviserss for municipal advisor and continuing disclosure services. Five, approval of group medical insurance provider. Six, approval of group prescription insurance provider. Seven, approval of group dental
insurance provider. Eight, approval of employee assistance program. Nine, approval of the Branchburg Township School District 2025 2026 budget. I am missing. No, sorry. 10. Approval of breakfast and lunch prices for the 2025 2026 school year. 11.
Approval of alle cart snack prices for 2025 2026 school year. 12. Approval of 2025 2026 school year food service company. 13. Approval of agreement with industrial appraisal company for appraisal services. 14. Approval of
purchase of 154 passenger school bus. 15. Approval of disposal disposal sale of obsolete items. 16. Approval of transportation jointure with the Bound Brook Board of Education. 17. Approval of transportation jointure with
Bridgewater Raridan Board of Education. 18. Approval of transportation joint with Readington Board of Education. 19. Approval of transportation jointer with Somerville School District. 20. Approval of Remington Township Board of Education shared services agreements for the
garage bay. 21. Approval of agreement with Master Library for subscription services. 22. Approval to accept local food for school for schools grant. 23. Approval of contract for school positions 24 approval of tax levy
schedule for 2526 and 25 approval of contract for auditor. Can I have a motion to move those 25 items? Just one thing I forgot to mention before we do that. There will be no price increase on school lunches next year. Oh, that's which I think is important in in this
inflationary environment. It's nice to give the parents a little break and kind of give them some certainty on lunch isn't going to go up. Awesome. Thanks for that. Can I have a motion to move those? Motion. Second. Sorry, Mr. Hollandach. Yes. Uh, sorry, I just
had one question. So, I noticed um like we have a lot more transportation joints or is that just like a renewal or is that like we are starting to do more athletic trips for different school districts because I don't remember reading that maybe before in the past.
It's my understanding that these are all the same things we've been doing. Okay. And they all have to be memorialized in a contract. I'm not sure. Okay. How they were put on the agenda last year. They might have been in one chart. Looked a little different. Okay. Okay. These look like they're are they individual?
No. Okay. They are individual joint contracts. Each has to be sent to the county uh separately. That's why they're separate motions. Got it. And it is still the same. Somerville bound bridge Reington Bridgewater. Okay. So, it's just we do this every year. Maybe that's why I don't remember
yesterday. So, And just keep in mind that this is a revenue source for the district. So it gives us some of those funds that allow us to do some of the things we like to do. Is this the same cost as last year? No. We increase the rate.
If you if you would like to look at the committee notes it there's a lot of spelled out in it's all spelled out. Okay. Awesome. Thank you. Thank you. Uh can I have a roll call, please? I'm sorry. Hold on. You're fine. Sorry I'm rushing you.
Mr. Hollandback. Yes. Miss Joyce, yes. Mr. Krishna Mury, yes. Miss Smith, yes. Mr. Tuma, yes. Mr. Sai, yes. Mr. Carpenter, yes. Next up is public comment on any item. So, anybody who wishes to speak on any
topic is welcome to come up to the mic at this time. Hello everybody. My name is Can you hear me? Yes. I can't hear. Uh I'm a middle school teacher at BCMS
and I'm representing the BTEA to uh thank the two uh retirees who are on the agenda tonight, Vicky Brody and Kathy Gaston. Um both ladies, don't smile so much. Yeah, you're really happy now.
Both ladies. Yeah, right. Both ladies have uh a huge presence at BCMS during their years here. They will both be missed tremendously and we will we wish them nothing but the best in their next chapter. And then on a personal personal note, because I've worked with both of
them in the middle school, um Vicky Brody and I have co-e co-taught together for eight years that she has been here. Um, and she has just given above and beyond to every single student who's been in her classroom. Kathy Aston, I had the pleasure of being on her team
this year. She's our team leader. Again, above and beyond for her students and her team members. And um, we're going to miss both of them tremendously. Thank you. Anybody else? I'll close public comment and move on to board leison on reports.
Uh Somerville, Miss Shaw's not here. PTO, Mr. Meter is not here. Somerset County Ed Services, I have no report. New Jersey school boards. Um just wanted to remind everybody that May 8th, the Somerset County School Board Association will be meeting. So, if you want to register to attend that I'm sorry,
Megan, what was the date? May 8th and they'll be voting on the new leadership for that's the county, correct? Yeah. Thank you. Y Okay. Thank you very much. Uh Branchburg Township. Yeah. Just a real quick note. Um I
attended the coffee with the mayor about two Saturdays ago and they're very close to finalizing the next round of low-income housing requirements. The number that Mr. Young mentioned will be an additional 240 to 250 units which
will be in which will be added to the to the current buildout which is not complete yet. So that next phase should take us through 2030. Do they give you a date when they would be build out?
No, because they still have to get final approval from KA. Right. So they're in negotiations now. They're just about finalized. That number is pretty solid, but until the state signs off on it, nothing is in stone. But I just
wanted to kind of give everyone an idea that the there's more coming. So to get to that 240 additional lowincome units, you're probably looking at about another 2,000 market rate units. So you're
looking at another 2500 or so units to build out for the next phase. Yeah, that's the Do they have those uh planned? Do they have They have a good idea of where they're going to go, but again, nothing is final yet
on top of these 240 units. No. No. So, what happens is the 240 are lowincome units that were required to build. Y the builders look for like a 10 to one. For every 10 market rate, they build one affordable. I get it. So to get to the
240 250 affordable, there's going to be additional market rate housing built out to accommodate the builders. Thank you. Yeah. Which just makes the referendum more important because we're going to run out of space eventually. So and and we're
paying attention to make sure that they're not negotiating pilot agreements with the they're aware of that because there was there was the one development right over by town hall. Yes. that they kind of the builder snuck one over on them. So, they're a lot smarter about
that now. So, I I think they're aware and I don't think I didn't hear any whispers of pilot agreements for any of the housing developments. Well, from what I've heard, they're going to try to stay away from doing that as much as they can. So, who knows? We just need to make sure we pay attention. Yeah.
Okay. Uh that's it. Yeah, that's it. Thank you. PF um events, fundraisers. Uh number one, readathon is extended through April 29th. Since it started on April 9th, our students have read over a collective
67,000 minutes to date. 67,000. Yeah. Wow. Pocketbook bingo. Ticket sales are still open on Give Butter for BEF's Pocketbook Bingo event on May 3rd at RBCC. Board members are expected to show up with leg warmers and Don Johnson suits for the 80s theme.
Please see the BF's website and Facebook page. BF is looking for sponsors for pocketbooks and other prizes for this event. Number three, BEF's next fundraiser at Hummingbird Studio will be a special Star and Me tea party on May 8th from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Please see
the Hummingbird Studio website. grants. As um Karen mentioned before, the we have two grants that BEF approved. Um mobile farm school visit just to give you more detail at Whiten Elementary. The grant
was submitted by Miss Tracy M. Mobile Farm including various farm animals will visit the Whiten preschool classes towards the end of May. You're allowing animals in the classes. We actually have a policy on that. Um as long as they're used for instructional purposes and they
go home, they leave. I get taken back to hear what she said. All right. Uh, learning about and handling farm animals will increase the children's appreciation for nature. And the second one, as was mentioned, rolling in clab clay slab roller for
BCMS grant was submitted by Miss Megan Russo. BF recently sponsored the purchase of a slab roller for the BCMS art classroom that will allow that will help students for old clay to be used in hand building or sculptural forms which will allow students to build on their creativity and create works of art for
years to come. Back to you. Uh thank you for that. Uh CPAG on Monday, April 28th, so this Monday coming up from 6:30 to 8 in the BC BCMS media center, they're going to do um is
sponsoring a presentation that's going to be done by perform care which is basically on navigating the complexities of mental health behavioral challenges and development support for your child. So if you're in need of any support for that um I think you can register. There
was a fire that got sent out in the in email. Um and with that can I have a motion to adjourn the meeting? Motion second. All in favor? Hi. Thank you.