I'd like to call this meeting of the Board of Education to order. Mr. Schimp, can you please call the roll? Dr. Braddock? Here. Mr. Fain? Here. Ms. Cummings? Here. Dr. Jason. Here. Mr. Greenbaum. Here, Ms. Vanzano. Here. Ms. Palmer? Here. Ms. Stern? Here. Ms. Winters. Here. Thank you. Public notice if this meeting was given to the Board Secretary on January 20th and 22nd, 2026, in the following manner, posted notice on the school bulletin board of the Administration Building.
transmitted to the Courier Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Clerk of Cherry Hill Township. Please rise and join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance 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. I'd also like to note that this meeting is being recorded and livestreamed.
You will all notice that we are using a new agenda format this evening. We will be going low and slow and talking our way through it so that all board members are comfortable. If you are confused, have a concern. If I do it wrong, which is definitely gonna happen. Please just signal to me, raise your hand, I will call on you, and we can work through any kind of concerns or mistakes, okay? All right. There is no board recognition tonight, sadly. And we are going to go directly to, and I did give the warning about this over the weekend.
The student reports that they were going to be earlier in our agenda from now on. Dr. Braddock, am I starting with High School East or High School West? He says I'm starting with East. Is he correct, high school East? No idea. Go ahead, guys, can't wait to hear it. Starting with activities, East DECA competed in the regional level competition on January 5th. About 330 students from East competed, and more than 85 advanced to states. The exams for state seals of biliteracy tests were held on the January 7th and 8th. Hundreds of students had the opportunity to take the test in dozens of languages.
East Robotics hosted a competition on January 10th with one of our teams placing first, and they'll be attending the Gateway to the West Cometition. In Philadelphia… in Philadelphia, West Virginia, on January 30th and 31st. The student government held a town hall during lunch on January 11th. All students were able to talk about their elective representatives and present any questions or concerns. East Interact Club, a community service organization, went to Congregation Beth-El and Martin Luther King Day. To honor Dr. King's legacy of service through a variety of community service activities and projects.
We thank Bethel for welcoming the group and Interact for their continued devotion to the community. The Junior Varsity chess team competed in a tournament last week. with members from each placing 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th. Yeah, that's good. That works. Continuing with activities, East Science Olympiad team competed in the regional competition on January 15th. East made top 5 in the chemistry lab, entomology, Material Science, and a helicopter categories.
I'm also somewhat confused. Eastmark trial team began their competition season this month with a scrimmage at Bordentown High School on January 10th. And two trials, one versus Sterling and one versus Eastern at the Camden Superior Courthouse on January 17th. The freshman dance was held on January 22nd at East. Thanks to the Class of 2029 student government for hosting the event, with which about 200 students attended. East Speech and debate team went to the Ridge Invitational at Ridge High School on January 24th. 40E students went to the 1,000-person competition, and 10 won awards. The Discovery East Open House will be this Thursday, the 29th at 7pm.
We encourage all 8th graders and families to come and see the hundreds of clubs and activities that we offer, as well as get information from guidance and administration, and go on a tour of the building. The Discover East Open House… oh, sorry, moving on to athletics, um, esports basketball team is often undefeated, 14-0 start, including a 59-50 victory over conference rival Lenape on January 15th. Where the home bleachers were flooded with e-students and community members. The boys basketball team is now ranked first in South Jersey and 12th in the state.
and small forward Crystalgato recently reached a career total of 1,000 points scored. East girls basketball team, this Colts team with a 3-1 record in the past week and a half. And they're set to play Rancocas Valley tomorrow. The boys bowling team is off to a strong 7-1 start, including winning first place at the Holiday Bowl tournament. The girls' bowling team is also off to a solid start, with top-ranked South Jersey bowler Diana Lescano bowling a high series during their holiday bowl tournament. East Boy Swim Coach Joe Cuccinotti earned his 200th career win with his team leading their conference with a dominant 8-1 record so far.
East Girls swim team has won 4 matches in a row to improve their record to 6-3, including a 92-73 win over West Girls swim team on January 12. East Boys top wrestler Delma Candano is 18-1 in matches so far, helping secure the team's two of their last three. The first ever girls dual wrestling team meet between East and West occurred on December 18, December 17. And the team posted a strong performance against Rancocas Valley on January 14th. As East athletic teams continue to perform throughout the year, we remind all students and community members spectating these games.
To remain respectful and refrained from rushing onto the playing surface. And finally, with arts, the Winter Chorus concert was in the evening of January 4th to 15th. Uh, seven groups perform, with over 100 students performing in total. Everyone did an amazing job. East hosted the annual ICHSA Competition Quarterfinals on January 24. This is a multi-level a cappella competition. Uh, stay tuned, East Acapella Group competed and placed second, meaning they are advancing to the semifinals, so congratulations to them. East theater has been hard at work on their production of Footloose. Tickets go on sale on February 9th, so be sure to check out the Feeder Booster or school arts websites and check it out.
That's all from us this month. Thank you. Thanks. I'll make sure not to rush the field when I get excited for East Athletic events. It was me. Um, High School West. Good evening, good evening, everyone. We have finally successfully made it through the first half of the school year, so let's jump into our activities. To begin our 8th grade open house was held last Thursday, and it was a huge success. After we told the parents about some of our special programs, like internships, catering, GIR, OTC. NHS and student government students volunteered to take families on tours of the school. At the same time.
West athletic teams, clubs, and electives had tables in the cafeteria and Walsh gym to give 8th graders a preview. Of what they can be involved in. An electives fair was held over two school days last week to help students as they plan their schedules. Every elective in higher level class at our school had an informational table to advertise. Course of study nights held at middle schools where West students presented at Caruse and Rosa. A shadow Day was held for over 40 students last week, with West catering classes providing their lunches.
The journalism classes in Lines Roar newspaper hosted guest speakers for an informational panel about careers in journalism. Our signs Olympiad team competed in the Cambi. County regional competition on January 15th. The marking period ends on January 29th, along with our first semester. We can't wait to see what the new semester has to bring. And lastly, for academics, on January 31st, our model UN team will be attending Moom1. As for athletics, our combined Cherry Hill West and East girls wrestling team had a tournament on January 19th, one of our West Seniors, Essence Bishop, won first place.
On January 8th, our girls and boys swim team landed a big win against Haddon Township. With the boys also beating Seneca a week later. Our wrestling team scored huge wins against Mainland and PVI last week. And we're excited for their match against East today. West Girls basketball is holding onto their impressive record of 10-3 this season. with their most recent game ending in a win against Rancocas Valley last Thursday. In their win against Seneca, Junior Kirsten Gibson celebrated the incredible milestone of scoring 1,000 points in her basketball career at West.
Elijah Tresh and Supreme Stradford. Both jumped personal bests to make West Group 3 high jump relay state champions. At the same meet, the girls. Sprint medley relay team of Brooklyn, Sienna. Trinity and Reese broke our school record. 12 track athletes were sent to the Nike South Jersey Elite Meet at the University of Pennsylvania. With many setting personal bests and school records. Various spring sports are starting to hold interest meetings, and winter lifts in our weight room to prepare for their upcoming season.
Our arts department is doing amazing things. Firstly, Wavelength, our new combined acapella group, is competing at Bayonne High School, the Mid-Atlantic Quarterfinal. On January 31st. Rehearsals for West Productions of Softs are underway. We were able to bring over 100 cast, crew, and pit members to watch subs to be performed in Philadelphia on their national tour on January 9th. Hitting the stage before this production is inherit the wind. You can buy tickets online for show dates on January 30th. 31st and February 1st. The National Honor… the National Art Honor Society has created a display of their artist pieces right outside the broadcasting room to support their hard work.
A field day t-shirt design contest is being held where any West student can submit their school spirit-filled design. and be featured on the shirt. We hope everyone stays warm and safe. Thank you so much, that was wonderful. Now, students, you are welcome to stay and enjoy the rest of our exciting meeting, or, as always, you are welcome to head out if you have homework. Other activities, you want to avoid the ice, catch up on sleep, whatever it is. Get ready to go back to school tomorrow. It's been a long weekend.
Moving on, we are… now have our administrative presentations, and it's a project update from Mr. Shims. All right, thank you. So, um, a couple of exciting things to share, I think, this month. We've had, uh, some tremendous progress.
over the winter break. Um, and we have some exciting new projects about to come online. Uh, in the coming months here. If I can get this to work… Sorry. Try that again…
Alright. There we go. Alright. So, you'll notice we have a couple projects that are coming off of the… Uh, progress… progress update, so both, obviously, Kilmer and Malberg's preschool expansion. Uh, classrooms have come online. We had a very successful opening to that, which you all heard about.
Uh, at our meeting earlier in the month, so I'm gonna take that off of… of the update, so we're just gonna stick to Rosa Carusi, and then we're gonna talk about the upcoming projects. Also note on your agendas in the executive content, as these items are still. deliberative, I did put a little. Precursor to some of our site plans, uh, coming up, so take a peek at those. Some exciting things about East Parking Lot and, uh, some of the other site projects. Uh, coming up as well. So, Rosa, we continue to make progress over at ROSA.
Um… over winter break, uh, we were able to finalize, or construction was completed on the. Uh, main office renovation. Uh, area, so that is now online. We are just still waiting on some furniture for the administrative offices in there, but the. Um, the police officer's area is open and occupied, and we have our receptionist now in the main office area. So everything is good there. Uh, just waiting on the administrative furniture again so they can make that full move over to that new space.
The temporary wall in the media center over at ROSA, where the, uh… the temporary entrance was located was removed. Uh, things are being put back in place. We actually have some new media center furniture on order as well. Which we'll be getting into the space shortly. Um, progress continues on the cafeteria addition. As you can see here, some of the photos. Um… So the air moisture barrier application has been complete.
Uh, the masonry work continues on the facade. Unfortunately, with this weather, that will delay things a bit. You can also see here that the interior of the space is fully encapsulated. We have ductwork going in, and there's actually temporary heating. Uh, in place as well. So, just keep in mind, this… Uh, or I should say, all work, uh, is still on schedule to be completed this August, so ROSA will be completely wrapped up full. Uh, the remaining interior renovations will, again. pick up back in June when the students leave and will be completed by the end of the summer as well.
These are just some pictures of the… main office area, and the vestibule you can see in the top left, that's the police officer's office there, that's off the main. main entrance area. Uh, you can see on the bottom left, just a picture of where the temporary wall has come down. those carpet tiles will be replaced as well, that are stained from that wall. And then you can see here just the interior of the new security of Estabul. As well. also the lettering, we're just waiting on the final lettering. Uh, for the exterior of Rosa, that should also be in in the next couple weeks and installed as well, weather permitting.
Um, just an update, so obviously this is the phase, or the final phase of the work that you can see here in yellow. That, again, is scheduled to. pick up in June and be completed. by the end of August. So, right now, we have a remaining allowance of about $188,000. The original allowance was. about 287,000, so if things continue. Uh, as they have, we should be seeing a credit on this as well. Uh, jumping into Karusi… So, Carusi, uh, again, continues, work continues to progress, obviously over at Crusi, we have students that are.
temporary place in temporary classroom, so work can. Uh, continued during school time. Um, so you can see the… abatement and renovations of the B-Wing and the blue have been completed. We're now on the punch list. Uh, phase of that, and C-Wing in yellow. or, uh, major progress obviously has. has been made on that area. You can see here, um… or actually stood that back, excuse me, B-Wing is what's currently under C-Wing is in punch. Uh, just some pictures here, you can see the B-Wing corridor on the top left getting ready for paint.
Uh, you can actually see the paint progressing on the other photos there. Uh, you can see the book room, which is in the center, or… fourth picture on the second picture on the right. And then you can see a classroom there at the bottom where the flooring has actually been installed. So, major progress there. Again, just keep in mind with Karusi, we're only in Phase 2 of the interior renovations. There's still two full phases. Left on those projects, so we'll be picking up. Phase 3 beginning this summer when the students let out over at Carusi.
Uh, this is just showing you Phase 3 and Phase 4 again. This is just… this has been in the slide deck. Uh, from the beginning here, and there's still a remaining allowance on Carusi of $144,000. the original amount on that was $400,000. Uh, the good news is that that allowance balance is consistent with, you know, the project completion percentage, so… Again, on… on time so far, and on budget. So, future, these are some of the more exciting things we've touched on some of these, but I just wanted to elaborate a little more as we're nearing.
Uh, you know, ramping up some of these projects, so… As you know, the high school auditorium renovations were awarded on November 25th. Uh, to T.N. Ward. total contract for East and West Auditorium renovations is $13,740,000. Work is set to commence. on East's auditorium in April. And that will go through December of 2026. and West Auditorium is scheduled to begin their renovations in April 2027.
And that will be wrapped up by December of 2027. We also have some critical HVAC upgrades going on in the gymnasiums. The materials have actually. Uh, then placed on order. For the gymnasiums, West Gymnasium will be done first. Uh, that work will commence. In April of 2026, and that will also ramp, or wrap up in December. Same thing over East. Uh, we're just alternating the auditoriums and the gymnasiums to keep those major spaces open, so East Gymnasium.
HVAC will be ramping up April 2027. And going through December. So back interior renovations, that bid was also awarded on November 25th to DeAndrea. We've already begun our construction meetings on that, so that work is getting ready to ramp up as soon as students let out in June for Phase 1. of two phases over at Beck Interior Renovations. We also have 4 additional security vestibules, uh, planned for. Both Barton and Kingston, and Johnson and Sharp. So Barton and Kingston are being bid together. Those are currently on the street, and bids are due February 5th.
Johnson and Sharp are being bid together, and those bids are actually. Uh, due on the 29th. Uh, which is Thursday. So we'll have some numbers on those projects, and we'll be looking to award those. on February 10th. Hopefully numbers come in strong on those. Uh, east-west elevators, you'll probably notice on the agenda that we are. uh, going to reject all bids received on. The elevator work, which included modernization of both east and west of existing elevators and an additional elevator to be added.
at West. Those numbers came in significantly over budget, so we're currently working with our architect and design team. on some alternative options. More specifically to the additional elevator. at West, and ensuring that we have. Uh, full accessibility to the lower level. Uh, at West, which I'll get into now, so the… Design work has begun on the lower level at West, on the locker room, team room. And weight room areas, so we should have a bid schedule on that right now. Something of note that's come out is that lower level.
at West is currently inaccessible. Um… to, uh, to some students, so we're trying to, um, investigate how we can make sure that that area, which is the only weight room. at Cherry Hill West is accessible to all students. So, working on that, more to come on that shortly. Also have bleachers, um… actually already on order, so we're going through a co-op on that, but we'll be adding a bleacher system. at the East Gymnasium in the rear of the building, the one that has the new floor.
Uh, not to be confused with the auxiliary gym or the debar gym. Dance Jim, yes, thank you. So that will actually be done in the summer of 2026, and those will be powered. As well. Uh, site improvements… We currently have, um… two bundled projects on the street for bid, so, uh, bids were issued in this month, actually, for Johnson and Mann. Uh, these are the site plans that I included on the executive content. You can get a feel for what these parking lots.
Uh, we'll be looking at in some of the accessibility improvements we'll be undertaking. But Johnson and Mann have been bundled together, and the bids are… bids will be due on February 26th. For those two, and then we also have Kilmer and Knight. Uh, that are out to bid, and those bids are actually open on February 12th. So hopefully we get good numbers on those, and we'll be looking to award those in the coming meetings. The east, uh, parking lot, um, much more robust. Uh, as far as work that needs to be completed, and as we've discussed here, it's going to be done in several different phases.
Uh, due to the F-wing demolition and reconstruction, which, uh, hopefully will be. Uh, beginning in the summer of 2027. So what we're looking to do right now is, or this summer, is take care of the administrative parking lot. out front of the east and make some additional improvements to coincide with the, uh. county road work that's going to be done on Crescent, so they're actually going to be moving that traffic light, and we're going to realign. Um, as you'll see on the drawings, we're going to realign the one entrance. Uh, to that new traffic light. I think you'll see there's been, um… a lot of… Collaboration on the East, specifically the East lot.
Um, you'll see on that drawing that we're actually going to be taking that grass area in the center there. converting that to parking, as well as a dedicated area for our school buses, which you also may have noticed. Um, so this has been vetted through, uh. just about everyone, um… Between, you know, transportation buildings and grounds, township. Um, so our engineer right now is finalizing the plans on that. And hopefully we'll have that out on the street shortly, and we can take care of the administrative parking lot this summer.
like I said. So, um… a lot coming up, a lot's been completed. I think the good news here is that we remain. on schedule, we remain… on budget, with the projects in place right now. like I said, unfortunately, we've had some rough numbers on the elevator work, but we are working on some creative solutions there, so… That's where we stand, certainly. We'll entertain any questions. Thank you so much, board members. Any questions about the projects?
No questions, you must have done an excellent job. I'm really excited about the east parking lot, and thank you for all the collaboration. I know that was a lot that went into it, including. conversations with the county, because there's the current road work on Crescent, so we really appreciate. all the work that you and your team did. doing that, that's excellent. You make a lot of people very happy. We hope so, yes. Alright, seeing no, board member questions. We will move on. Our next agenda item is…
Yes, first public comment. I'm sorry, I had a moment, because I'm still looking for the old agenda. where Dr. Morton would be giving his report, and so my brain froze, so thank you all for cueing me that we are now at first public comment. I knew that was gonna happen, guys. There are two opportunities for public comment this evening, and this first public comment session is for board action items only, items 11 through 15. If you wish to speak on any other topic than what appears on this agenda, you may speak during second public comment. And speakers must provide their name and municipality. Students may comment on any topic during first public comment by identifying themselves as a student.
that's when you come to the microphone in the room, or online, you put an S after your name, and I will be sure to call on you first. We will alternate between speakers in the room and those wishing to comment online. Each speaker has 3 minutes to speak, and the timer on the screen will indicate the amount of time remaining. All statements, questions, or comments shall be addressed to the chair. An inquiry may or may not be addressed by administration at the close of the session. So I will now open first public comment. I'm going to the room first, as we do by custom. Is there anyone in the room who would like to give first public comment this evening?
I'm seeing no, from our brave people that came out in the ice. To attend our meeting. So now I'm looking online. The first person is a caller with a phone number ending 788, it's your turn. Please unmute and give us your comment. You will have 3 minutes. Okay, my name is Jeff Potowitz. I live in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Uh, 12 point to approval of attendance at conference and workshops, um, to this year. Um… 12.2. Is someone else going to, uh, the West Coast, LA?
$3,300. I mentioned there were 4 people, there were four. for 3 people, a total of four times going to the West Coast. This is another one for $3,000. It'd be nice if you could do it closer to home. But I don't know, the American Educational Research Association, you could look it up and you could see what the program of that is, but. It's nothing that I doubt could have been done here, and that association, I think, headquarters of Washington, so eventually it'll be here, but 3,000 bucks.
another one gone. We have A, B, C, and I would say vote no on that. I would say A, B, C, and D are interesting. The Northeast Conference, uh, and that's the annual New Jersey Women's Leadership Conference, New Jersey. That's really, really interesting. They're actually all giving some sort of presentation. We have elementary Danielle Edwards and Mariah Carroll. preschool, when it's a preschool teacher, one is a principal. I guess the Malberg School, and it's called Building a Culture of Care, Supporting Staff Wellness to Strengthen School Communities.
on the interactive session equipped student leaders with practical strategies to build a culture of care that strengthens staff wellness and school community health. Our participants will. examine how daily practices, shared leadership, unintentional wellness structures can reduce burnout, and if interesting, they're giving the lecture, what they say. Were there any issues with staff at Malberg last year, the year before? I know, I think people left. Why?
My question. That's where the kids with disabilities. a great program at one time. What's that program like now? The other one is by Heather Esposito, assistant principal. She's also giving a presentation. Leading with intention, building systems that empower innovative practice. This session highlights how school leaders can drive innovation through an intentional, data-informed, and human-centered leadership. So I know that's about, um… building systems for leadership and intentional and empower people. And so, why are you going to the West Coast?
as happened last year, when you have someone giving a lecture here, which talks about maintaining empathy and professional judgment, this session will share examples of building sustainable systems for innovation, from forming multi-stakeholder AI committees through using AI for personal and professional design. You didn't need to go to the West Coast. and we're spending $6,000 for people who are West Coast, innovation is here. Maybe they should have come here to Cherry Hill. So, uh, I vote yes for this.
Thank you, Dr. Badowitz. I'm sorry, Dr. Potowitz, your time is up. Thank you so much, though. going back to the room… Seeing no takers, I'm going… Back online. The next person is Laura Einhorn. Um, please unmute and give us your name, and you have 3 minutes. It's Ann, who are in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. A question about 14.10, the revised job description for the administrative intern. Can you tell me what has changed since your late fall, early winter discussions about this position?
Um, since it's really not available online. Thank you. Thank you so much for your comment. Looking back in the room… No takers. Going back online, the next person, it's a wider bridge. It's your turn, please unmute and give us your name, municipality, and you'll have 3 minutes. Alana Harris, Cherry Hill, um, I'm speaking to the point 1 of the action agenda items. I know that at the beginning of the meeting, you mentioned that it was a new.
layout or format for the agenda, but I noticed that point one of all of the action items is. the vote instead of the motion of everything and then the vote, um, as in previous agendas? Is there a reason. This was changed, will the vote still be accessible online in that. in that item of the agenda, or will it now no longer be accessible because it's at a different park?
Thank you for your comment. Going back to the room for one last chance on first public comment, no takers. Looking back online… no takers. I'm going to close first public comment. I am going to address the final comment, because it has to do with our new agenda, which is fancy. And thank you to Ms. Gilfilen, who helped us put it together and correct some things that we'd been doing. by custom in Cherry Hill for a very long time that have become ingrained, but were actually.
not 100% within… what's accepted practice in other districts. Not that we did anything incorrectly before. But we've realigned things to make it make more sense. Um, and to make sure that everything in our agenda conforms with the way that it should be. I think we had gotten into a couple of. habits that maybe weren't the greatest, so we're trying to revise it and work through it. Um, and we ask for everybody's patience with us as we switch to the new agenda. Patience for me especially. Moving on to our next item, it is correspondence, but correspondence is now going to be what it always probably should have been, Mr. Schimp, do you have any correspondence you have received on behalf of the Board of Education this week?
There's no correspondence to share this evening. Thank you, and that is the correspondence item. Moving on. Superintendent's report. We have quarterly goals. It is now time for Dr. Morton. Excellent, thank you so much, Ms. I appreciate it. Before I jump into, um, district quarterly goals, two update, I just want to share a few. two other items as well. Uh, first and foremost, today, uh, January 27th, is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Uh, it's absolutely an opportunity for the district to commemorate and honor the memory of the over 6 million Jews who lost their lives during the atrocities.
of the Holocaust. More importantly, I think for us, you know, it reaffirms this idea that we don't want to forget significant events such as that. And, uh, in the past, and it's this idea that we need to stand together as unified individuals against hate. And any type of acts that, uh, lend themselves, um, to allowing for something like that to occur, so… absolutely happy to commemorate. this, um, this day. Um, moving on, today obviously was, uh, uh, um… school closure today.
drew a blank for a second. School closure for today, and a school closure just yesterday. Um, on our district website, we actually have information about how. Closings are decided. And I just want… I want everyone to understand and know that these are not decisions that we come to easily. Uh, but there is much deliberation, much conversation, much collaboration that takes place. Throughout the course of these events to determine. a singular question. Are the schools safe. to open, right? So if any children are in jeopardy.
Any staff are in jeopardy of being injured, hurt, or anything along those lines, we're gonna err on the side of caution, and we're gonna do what… we believe is the prudent and responsible thing to do, and that's ensure that our buildings are safe. without… with absolute certainty to allow all children to return. But with that being said, part of the decision-making involves myself. Uh, conversations with the township, conversations with Mr. Schemf, ongoing conversations with Mr. Schiff, conversations with Ms. Barati. Um, members of the staff. Our custodial team was outside.
on the ground, and actually, um, treating the, you know, the storms and treating the inclement weather. You know, we take all of these. things into calculation, um… in addition, transportation, are we able to navigate streets accordingly? If there, again, are concerns, you know, we're going to err on the side of caution. We need to provide our custodial staff time to. sufficiently prepare our buildings, um… But just want everyone to know that, you know, a lot goes into the decision. That is made. With respect to today, I understand that.
It may appear that streets are clear and that things are fine, but. the nuances and specifics matter, um… And this… this particular situation. we were looking at across the township, a number of sidewalks not cleared, right? Uh, there was significant icing that occurred. So, in the past, what would take place is there… there is power equipment that our staff are able to use. Well, since… 7 a.m. Sunday morning, they've been chiseling away at ice.
and literally hand-removing ice from, you know, our walkways and our parking lots. Which basically rendered our power equipment. useless, thus delaying the time in terms of the progress that we're able to make. Um, couple that with the fact that there's calcium chloride shortages. In other words, no salt shortages that exist, uh, just made for a difficult time for us, but… I want to commend, um, and give kudos to our Building and grounds team.
They actually spent the night here over… throughout the storm, and they're in and out and in and out, in and out, attempting to get our buildings. back up to speed, and we're happy we'll be back up to speed and ready to go for tomorrow. Now, on to district goals and an update. Listen, we operate, and we've been operating by the central mantra. see if anybody can figure out what this means. W-Y-S-Y-W-T. Do what you say you will do. Our strategic goals themselves are ambitious. There's a lot that's included in there.
There's a lot within our district goals. Our administrative team from the central level all the way down to our buildings as well. are consistently monitoring our goals and putting actions in place to ensure that these tasks that need to take place and actions that need to take place. are occurring so that we remain on task, and that, um… We will be able to fulfill the goals that have been accomplished. Uh, just a few things that really stand out, I think, in this second quarter for me. And then I'll turn it over to any board questions. Um… Mr. Scheme mentioned, um, Malberg.
and Kilmer, but that, you know, that also interplays with bond construction, so… launching our preschool program, expanding accordingly, ensuring that our buying constructions are on track, and that all the pieces that needed to fall into place fell into place. To allow for over 200 students to start, you know, right after the new year, um. absolutely is a highlight for me in this second quarter. Um, we filmed a video, a discussion with Dr. Morton, uh. episode in our new classrooms, and classrooms are beautiful, our kids are doing great, all staff, all, um… things fell into place, you know, just through intentional effort, so definitely a highlight, something that we're proud about.
And then the overall construction as well that continues to take place. You know, our construction projects. It's a massive undertaking. Uh, you talk about $363 million bond referendum. The thing that excites me and that I love about Mr. Schump is that. He says, Dr. Morton, I love this stuff. I'm game for this, you know, this big effort where others would run away from that. He's embraced it. So, um, it's allowed for us to continue to make great progress and, you know, for all… project… projects to progress, uh, beautifully. So definitely excited about that. As we move forward into this third quarter.
Uh, huge thing for us will be… Uh, our enrollment… balancing recommendations and work that will take place as, as… the other stuff as well. Uh, so with that being said. I'll turn it back over to you, Ms. Winters. Thank you so much, and thank you for the detailed update you provided to board members over the weekend as well. It was really helpful. Any board members have questions about the goals update. No questions? And just one other thing to mention, uh, under our district, at our district's website.
If you click on strategic plan under our district. Ms. Barati's pulling this up for us now. Click on strategic plan. There we go. And you scroll down just about mid-page. passed the superintendent's message, you'll see district goals, quarterly updates, uh, quarterly update 2. memo has been provided there. That memo was provided to the board as well, and there is, um… an actual overarching document as well, that we'll continue to update as we move throughout this year.
Thank you, that's really helpful. And this is something that the board had asked for. last year when we had one of our NJSBA trainings, when we started pursuing our certification, was to talk about how to better understand there's so much going on in the district. how we're making progress to our goals throughout the year, so that when we get to the point. where we're looking back and looking ahead, we know what the rubric is to truly evaluate on. So, thank you for providing that information. I know it was a ton of work to put it together, but we find it very helpful, so thank you. Any other questions? comments?
Clicking along. We are now on old business. Does anyone have any old business this evening, Dr. Dreisen? This actually relates to the cancellation, so just going back to that constitutional business. Just a clarification question, if now's the right time. So, first of all, expression of gratitude. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard on chipping away at the ice, as you said, and the focus on safety first. So, totally get it. I think one of our four core responsibilities as a board is to serve as that bridge between the community.
And the district. And so, one thing that. You're hearing a lot of right now is more about a calendar issue, so looking ahead. We talk about, and we're really focused on chronic absenteeism as a board, and now we're talking about, um. going back to school the first day of what was spring break. So, can we just comment to the community about… well, first of all, since there's questions, is there any flexibility on what day that is? There's a flex day later in May. Can… is that, like, what's the process for determining the days that.
Um, are then shifted when there's a snow day. And how are… do we think that's going to impact our chronic absenteeism data for this calendar year? And, you know, all of those types of questions. Thank you, Dr. Drysen. Excellent questions. Really, really good questions, and we have received quite a bit. of, uh, inquiry back and forth. on social media about. everything you mentioned and other questions as well. Uh, so it's important to understand the calendars, the district calendars themselves.
are approved, uh, multiple years. Concurrently, right? So they're approved multiple years in advance. Uh, the 2526 calendar was approved May 9th. 2023. Um, it typically goes through a process where our P&L committee. Policy and legislation Committee goes through discussions and works to establish. calendar dates. Um… The dates that are listed. have included collaboration with our labor management collaborative steering committee as well.
Um… I can't tell you how many. calendar discussions there have been. Literally, I can't count. There's probably been. more than a dozen in the last, uh, the last year or so. Uh, but the days that are identified as inclement weather days are established. Early on, when the calendar itself. is approved. Conceivably, I guess the P&L committee could. review that information, and, you know, make. revisions and moving forward. Um… yeah, I do believe that there'll be impacts on attendance on the first day of a winter recess.
individuals have already established plans and vacation plans and things along those lines. I'd be lying to you if I said I didn't think that there would be impacts. There absolutely will be impacts. Is there a better day? I'm not sure if there's a better day. I'm not sure at this point. Uh, particularly. being at calendars haven't been established, and family schedules have been built around. what previously existed, so… I guess, you know, as we move forward, there's some considerations for us to make, and, you know, thinking about chronic absenteeism and how we, um, align.
our inclement weather days. the big things, we don't necessarily want to have to add days on to the end of the year. It's possible if we can avoid that, so… Thank you. I just wanted to add a little bit to that, that, you know. from the family perspective, they see the student days off, but from. the teacher and staff perspective, not all of those are teacher and staff days off, because they have all the PD days. So some of the days that people are throwing out there, like, well, why can't you do it this day instead? The answer is because it's not… it's a day off for students, but it's planned PD that's already been.
set and established for staff, so I think that's part of the disconnect in the communication. for example, I had a lot of feedback about why President's Day, but not the Tuesday after. Well, it's because that day is a planned PD day. So, but I do think that there's a conversation to be had going forward, and I'm sure Ms. Palmer and her committee. will be leading the calendar discussion, which, as you know, is my favorite discussion. this comment, do you have a comment? I do, and it is quickly becoming my favorite. Um, I do, just for full transparency for my colleagues on the board, I do think it's a conversation that we need to revisit at the committee level.
Dr. Morton, I'm hoping… one of the comments that I keep hearing and seeing is, why doesn't. our calendar build in snow days, and I'm hoping that you can give. some historical context on kind of how we got there and what. What plays into that consideration. Absolutely. I guess that was part of the collaborative work that took place as well. Um, so several years ago. I think 2 years ago, um… through the CNI committee and through recommendations that it come forward to support the schools better.
Board had identified opportunities for, uh, early release days for students that afforded teachers. with monthly professional. time, or professional community time. at that point, uh, there were 5? in-service days, and there were 182 student days. 180 days are required by administrative code. Um, as we went through. how we could, um, structurally. institutionalized PD opportunities. The decision was made, and. um, calendar was adjusted to include 2 full days of additional PD.
for staff. Um, so if you think about… I think we have 4 days at the time, there were. early dismissal about half days. We figured the. Before early dismissal days would constitute two full days. So we shifted our calendar for the first time from 182. student days to 180. days. We included the two additional PD days and for in-service for staff. We don't have wiggle room at this point, so we've basically essentially eliminated the wiggle room. to provide in-service professional learning opportunities for staff members. Uh, so when we.
identify inclement weather days, they have to be days that the board has the discretion to. to constitute that… constitute that as a full… School there. Hopefully that explains. Yeah, it does, thank you. Any other old business? Mr. Fain. Um, I just wanted to make a comment about a… I believe it was probably in our last meeting when we discussed our HR. Um, committee agenda and everything that we talked about in the committee, and I just wanted to address the item that's on our.
action agenda items tonight about the job description, and just clarify that the… it was simply just the wording on… responsibility or lack thereof, of administrative duties, and that's the only thing that changed about that job description. We still have that position, and it's still operating as expected. Thank you for the clarification. any other old business this evening? Seeing no old business, we're gonna move to the action agenda.
Bear with me while I get all my notes in order. I'd like to make a motion to move Action Agenda 11. As presented. Do I have a second? Dr. Braddock, all those in favor of moving the approval of minutes 11.1, 11.2, 11.3. Any opposed? Mrs. Winters, I need to abstain from this vote, as I wasn't at the meetings.
So we have majority in favor, and one abstention. The motion carries. See how easy that was, guys? And now moving on to our committees. Superintendent recommends, and I move the following agenda items… 12.2 and 12.3 as presented. Do I have a second? Ms. Monsano, was there any discussion? Mr. Shim, can you please open the vote?
Motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Greenbaum, can you please move the BNF agenda? Thank you, and bear with me, hopefully I get this right. The superintendent recommends, and I move the following agenda items 13.2 through 13.9. Do… I have a second? Thank you, Ms. Winters. Um… All in favor? So, in a moment? Uh, any opposed?
Uh, I'm gonna raise one opposition. I would like to consider item 13.9 separately, so donations can be read aloud. Any other items to be considered separately? Okay, seeing none… Um, Mr. Schimp. Do I need to open this for discussion first? Okay, we will open items 13.2 through 13.8. For discussion? Are there any questions?
Okay, seeing none, Mr. Schimp, please open the voting for items 13.2 through 13.8. Mr. Schemf on 13.2, I just need to abstain from the third build list. Due to a conflict of interest with Beata. Mr. Schimf, I need to abstain from the same bill as, uh, on payments to Bancroft.
Motion carries. Okay, uh, the Superintendent recommends I move the following. Item 13.9, acceptance of donations. Do I have a second? Ms. Stern. Um… Just wanted to take a moment to read through these. Do I need to do anything else here? Good, okay. It's a lot of work just to be able to read these out loud, but I always think it's important to say thank you for generous donations.
Uh, we had a donation from the Sharp PTA to be used for field trips at Sharp. and a donation from Cherry Hill Education Foundation. to purchase a new Wesley the Lion costume at High School West. Mr. Schimm, please open the voting for item 13.9. We're gonna have to do that one the old-fashioned way. Dr. Braddock? Yes, Mr. Fain? Yes. Ms. Cummings? Yes. Dr. Dryson? Yes. Mr. Greenbaum? Yes.
Ms. Manzano. Yes. Ms. Palmer? Yes. Ms. Stern? Definitely. Ms. Winters. Yes to the lion. Motion carries. Just to clarify, the way that, um, Mr. Greenbaum did it was absolutely correct. The other way to do that would be. you can read those, um, items out during board member comments. That's another way that you can highlight something. If you don't want to go through the… the motions of that, but I also thought it was kind of instructive to see how that would work on something that wasn't super controversial, when we all don't have our dander up, and we're.
feeling worked up, that was kind of a nice way to introduce how you would pull something out for discussion. If you wanted to remove it from consent. All right. Hr. The stern. You can do it. It's me. What was the language you used, Ms. Winter? It's the same thing that you've always done, the superintendent recommends, and I move the following. That's not what you did in the beginning. Because the first one was different, so the one for the approval of minutes, the superintendent doesn't recommend, that's just an internal board.
One, Kate, stop me if I'm getting this wrong. Once we move into the… that is pulled out now, that… I think it used to be under the BNF agenda. So, I guess Adam could actually do it if he wanted to. Right. Yeah. So, but that one's different. Once we get to the committees, it's still upon the superintendent's recommendation that we act. Right. So the phrasing is the same, the only difference is that you're only reading out… you're reading out, like. the numbers, the first one to the last one, inclusive, as opposed to reading each individual item. And then if people want to discuss any of them, they have to pull them out the way that Mr. Greenbaum did.
Thank you. We got it. I hope. Okay, Kate will tell us if we do it wrong. Okay, superintendent recommends, and I move the following. 14.1 through 14… 0.10. do I have a second? surfing… are there any… Nope. Are there any questions? Ms. Kilfelan? So if any board member wishes to consider any of those separately and have discussion on them.
At this point, you would say, I'd like to consider. that number separately. So I don't have to ask that question, that just… I just didn't, you did. Going forward, do I ask that question? Okay. I think I got it, thank you. Seeing none, Mr. Shimp, could you call the vote?
Motion carries. I promise this is going to be faster eventually. Ms. Palmer, show us how it's done with P&L. The superintendent recommends, and I move the following Agenda items 15.2 through 15.5. Uh… as presented. Perfect. Uh… can I have a second, Mr. Fain? Are there any… items that a member wishes to… Dr. Driesen. I'm sorry to complicate this. That's okay. I'd like to consider 15.4.
Do we need a second on that? never have any other items. Does any other member have another item that they'd like to consider separately? Seeing none. So, Mr. Shimp may call the roll. on 15 point… 2, 3, and 5. Okay. For Mr. Shimp is getting a workout tonight. Okay, Mr. Shimp.
Voting's open. Mr. Schemf, I need to abstain from 15.2, as I was not present for those discussions. Motion carries. Okay, uh, so Dr. Dryzen, the floor is yours on item 15.4. Thank you. This is really just in the spirit of transparency.
Um, for those who are tracking in our working group session. in our last meeting, there were two policies that are not being presented today, and second read, Policy 242 and 2365. Can we just explain for the community what the plan is for those policies moving forward? Yes, yeah, so after the last board work session, both of those policies had been referred out of committee on second reading. There were some amendments, changes to those policies requested that upon consultation with Ms. Gilfilen. Uh, we agreed were more substantive in nature than I originally thought they were as the chair.
Uh, and so the recommendation, those policies both need to go back on first reading, so they'll be heard. in the P&L committee meeting, uh, the first week in February. And then my anticipation is they'll be on for board action on first reading at the 1st February meeting. Barring any additional substantive changes, they would be, uh, for board action on second reading in our second February meeting. Thank you. I just wanted to clarify they didn't disappear. Yes, yeah, and I… in the spirit of transparency, there was also policy.
0174, Legal Services. that, um, there were changes referred out of the BNF committee, so they will also be on the February committee agenda. And it would be the same process first, and then second. Um, and again, importantly, I know that this was a question of yours, referring those back to committee will not prohibit administration. It won't slow down any official administrative or board action. So, I appreciate that. Are there any other questions, Doctor? Uh, Dr. Braddock. Uh, no question about the policies, but just maybe a question for Ms. Kofillan or Mr. Schimp. I noticed that in 15.4, second reading of policies, the language.
It says, be it resolved, the policy listed be approved for first reading as submitted. Do we need to change that to make this official? Thank you. It's just, it's a clerical mistake on the agenda. I was grading papers all day, so I saw it just now. And I was proofreading everything except. the agenda language, so… Thank you. I can make that change for… 15.4 is being considered separately, just to be clear.
Um, the motion would be to, um, approve the sec… the. reading of those policies. Um, on second reading. Yes, certainly we can… and if the board is amenable to that, we can go ahead and vote that motion. You would need a motion, and a second, and then a vote. Yes. Can I make the motion, or do I need to call for a motion? You can make a motion. Okay, I move that we consider 15.4, uh, approval and second reading of policies on the recommendation of the superintendent. Upon the recommendation of the superintendent, I promise I will get that right someday.
Can I have a second, Mr. Greenbaum? Any other additional questions? Okay. Mr. Shimp, can you open the vote? We're gonna go old school, yeah. Dr. Braddock? Absolutely. Miss Chapain? Yes. Ms. Cummings? Yes. Dr. Dryson? Yes. Mr. Greenbaum? Yes. Ms. Manzano? Yes. Ms. Palmer? Yes. Ms. Stern? Certainly. Ms. Winter. Yes. Motion carries. Not a yes.
Alright, we gave Ms. Palmer a workout. Nothing under governance this evening. So… Dr. Braddock wins the gold star for finding something that no one else found on the agenda. It's good. Um, moving on to new business. is there any new business that board members would like to raise tonight? This is something that you're bringing has never before been discussed.
brand new business. I'm looking around. New business? No takers. No new business this evening. We're moving on to second public comment. Got excited. This is the second public comment section for any topic. If you would like to speak, please identify… oops, that is not the correct paragraph. Wait. It's like an anchorman when they give you the script and you just read what's on the script, rather than… The first public comment language got stuck there. Okay, ready?
Public comment is an opportunity for members of the community to provide input to the Board of Education on educational issues. The board welcomes diverse opinions on relevant matters. However, statements that are abusive, obscene, or which demeanor are defamatory to any. individual or any group of individuals will not be tolerated, as such comments are disruptive to the orderly operation of this meeting. Speakers wishing to provide the board with information which is not relevant to the district operations, may communicate directly with the superintendent and the board president via email or other alternative means.
You will have 3 minutes. I will start in the room. Is there anyone who would like to provide second public comment this evening, please approach the microphone. Okay. Hello, good evening. My name is Jamie Marchese, and I live here in Cherry Hill. Tonight, I am speaking on behalf of the Cherry Hill Zone PTA. Uh, for those of you here tonight, or listening online who may not be familiar with the Cherry Hill Zone PTA.
It is made up of representatives from all 19 PTAs in Cherry Hill. along with several committee chairs, all dedicated to supporting the students of our public schools. The work that our PTAs do is incredibly meaningful, and we encourage everyone to get involved with their school PTA and or the Cherry Hill Special Education PTA. January is School Board Recognition Month in New Jersey, and Zone PTA would like to take this opportunity to recognize the community members.
Who dedicate so much of their time to serve in this essential role. Many people do not realize that our board members are volunteers who receive no payer benefits for their service. These 9 board members, along with those who have served before them, and those who will serve in the future, are our neighbors. They have full-time jobs, some own businesses, some have served in the military or have family members who do. They have children involved in sports. Music, theater, scouts, and countless other activities.
They have busy schedules, just like the rest of us. Yet they choose to dedicate countless hours to ensuring our schools are the best that they can be. And then our district is held accountable to the public. As a token of our gratitude, and in honor of our school board members, the Zone PTA made a donation to the Cherry Hill Education Foundation. Which raises and distributes funds for innovative programs in Cherry Hill. I'm sure I don't need to tell the 9 of you that this volunteer role is often a thankless one.
from one group of volunteers to another, we want you to know that we see you. We understand the time and energy that you give. And we truly appreciate you. On behalf of Zone PTA, I want to thank each and every one of you. for your important public service. Thank you, guys. Thanks, Jamie. That was so sweet and unexpected. Going back, um… I'm all… worked out. I'm off a clumped. Going back to the line, a phone number ending in 788, it's your turn, please unmute, give us your name, um, and municipality, and you have 3 minutes.
My name is Jeff Potteritz, I live in Cherry Hill. I didn't want to be the first one to speak. Hopefully, I'm not the only one. Anyway, NJ Spotlight news discussed lessons from January 26, 2020, January 26, 2026, Lessons from the Lone Star Estate, New Jersey's New Schools Chief. could revamp reading, and it's very, very interesting, worthwhile for you to read it. She's not from Texas, but she was in Texas before. I believe she's in Massachusetts. This is a little bit from her PhD thesis.
To be honest with you, done in 2016, Teach Texas, race, disability, and the history of the school to prison. pipeline by Lily Lacks, L-A-U-X, PhD. I'm going to read from it, probably you'll stop me. Eventually, this is a. Page 10, special education students disproportionate presence in jails and correctional facilities constitute part of the school-to-prison pipeline. Several studies demonstrate the increased prevalence of incarcerated youth receiving special education services, estimating the percentage of incarcerated students with disabilities from 30 to 70%. The unequal treatment.
for students labeled disabled has been well documented by organizations such as the ACLU, which also found that students with disabilities disproportionately receive. punishment, a practice that further physically disables disabilities. disabled students. Okay, it goes into discussion. In addition to the story of Cedric Napoleon, a Texas Tribune article, but I'm skipping. images of student injuries and a chart breaking down the percentage of restraints by type of disability, citing data from U.S. Government accountability studies, which find restraints used by untrained teachers and non-physically aggressive students.
Ramsha's review on the Texas incidents. It goes on to talk about more. It happens if you have a dual problem, which is. racial and disabilities. the combination increases even more. Studies with education, criminal justice, sociology. highlight the excessive over-representation of Afro-American students and students with disabilities in all segments of the pipeline, being either a student of color or a student with a disability increases a student's likelihood of being subject to such discretionary discipline.
Um, yeah. I'm looking for something else that I highlighted, but I guess I didn't find it. But she goes on, and both race and if your disability, there are reasons to be concerned, uh, that happens in. Cherry Hill also, um. about restraint. I read something about that a couple of years ago, and I. re-read it now, and it's something to people looking into. But anyway, it's a 320-page dissertation. It is by our now chief.
of education, and her name is Olivia Lacks. Professor Lily Lacks, a doctoral. Thank you, Dr. Potowitz. Thank you, Dr. Pato, for bringing that to our attention. We appreciate it. Going back to the room, is there anybody in the room who would like to make second public comment? We do have a taker. Uh, Rick Short, Cherry Hill. Uh, and remembrance to National Holocaust Day, Dr. Morton just mentioned, uh, to speak out.
Uh, against hate. Uh, you guys have a serious ethical. Problem in this district right now. Very serious. Because on the first. day, technically, on the first day of Dr. Morton's. He allowed a fellow school board member. to publicly call out. somebody as a white nationalist. A white supremacist. And in modern-day neo-Nazi. And… Dr. Morton fought this.
There was an ethics file… there was an ethics complaint filed, not by me. by 4 other people. And it was very fascinating, because one of the people that was in the room. ask for the immediate resignation of that school board member, and that never happened. So, after months and months and months, the final. report comes out. And it did not denounce. what the school board member said. They didn't announce it. The Cherry Hill Public Schools lawyer wrote a 24-page.
reply, defending. This school board members. freedom of speech. So, your freedom of speech, from a school board sitting right there. The gentleman sat right there and called. People in the community, white supremacists. white nationalist and modern-day neo-Nazis. And that's okay. So, what's gonna happen with an HIV? what's gonna happen with an HIV in our community? If a child. Here's this, and says, you know what?
You're a white nationalist kid, you're a white supremacist and a modern-day Nazi, and that's exactly what's happening. It just happened in a church. In Minnesota. Where protesters came in and said, your parents are Nazis. Mr. Short, please make sure that we're staying on certain public schools and not… Madam President, what is the process to fire your superintendent. for promoting hate speech. That's the question for you, Madam President. We need to start the process to fire our superintendent.
For promoting hate speech. That's the question. How do we do it? This is not… acceptable to allow hate speech to occur in. Our school boardroom? in our classroom. And right now… There could be an HIV that comes up. Where a kid says. White supremacists, white nationalists, and modern-day Nazi, and that's acceptable. It's not acceptable in my book.
Thank you. Thank you for your comment. Going back to the line, the next caller says Rosen, it's your turn, please unmute and give us your name and municipality. Hi, Mindy Rosen, Cherry Hill. I have 4 brief things to say. One is, I think it was a really good call to close school today. Safety should always be first, so… Thank you for that. Number two, I saw on the agenda. that… about the books that you're disposing of? And I was one… and I just reached out to Larry Abrams at Book Smiles.
Um, who said that if you bring them to Pensauken, he would be glad to. repurpose them for Book Smiles. So, I hope before you throw them in a landfill, maybe you could consider. reaching out, I can send you his information, you can look up Book Smiles, Larry Abrams. As an alternative to. the landfill. Uh, number… third thing about the Cherry Hill East parking lot, I'm glad that it's finally being addressed.
As you know, the buses block the handicapped parking. spaces, so that is really good. I just hope that when you're. Taking away the grassy part and making more… more spaces that you. also make more accessible spaces. in relation to how many spaces you're putting in. Um, and the fourth thing is, I'm glad that you realized that the weight room has to be accessible. So those are my four items, thank you. stay warm. Have a good night.
Thank you for your comment. I don't see anyone else in the room. So I'm gonna stick with the online callers. The next person is a wider bridge. It's your turn. Please unmute and give us your name and municipality. Alana Yarris, Cherry Hill. Um, the board has been just having ongoing discussions about chronic absenteeism. I just want to let you know that there have been 13 school days in the month of January. And I have 6 children currently enrolled in the district, and I think combined, all of them have been in attendance.
For 13 days for June… the month of January, because someone chose to send their sick child to school. And got one of my kids sick, and that child stayed home for 4 days. And got almost everyone else in the house sick, and two of my children ended up in the hospital and the emergency room, and one cannot go back to school because he does not have full mobility and cannot. walk fully, and we'll be missing more school because some parent in the district chose not to put.
their sick… keep their sick child home, and instead. sent them to school to infect everyone else in our class and then infect my family and my immunocompromised children. And I'd like to know what the board and district will do about policies, about sending their kids… sending… sick kids to school. And because it's not enough to just send… call a parent and have them come pick up their sick child, because they've now infected everyone else. And it causes a problem for others, because people are being selfish and not keeping their sick kids home.
So, if there is no policy, I think the board should look at a policy for what should be done if a parent sends a sick child to school. on a regular basis, or in general, it's one thing if a child gets sick in the middle of the day, but if you know that your child is sick, you give them medicine so that they don't have a fever when they get to school, and 4 hours later, the nurse has to call you to tell you to come pick up your kid. It's too late already for every other student in that class, and maybe even the teachers. It's really… it's unacceptable for the district, and chronic absenteeism is a problem because.
kids are sending… parents are sending their sick kids to school and getting other kids sick. Thank you for your comment. I don't see anyone else in the room, so I'm going to stick online, and the next person, it says, Laura Einhorn, it's your turn. and Einhorn, Cherry Hill, New Jersey. I would like to thank Mr. Chair Fain for her comments about the revised job description. But I would like to know why these revised job descriptions are not posted on the agenda for the.
community to read. Um, I quite frankly am glad to see some public showing of voting. Because we've had issues in the past, um… about votes not being counted properly, and I think you should go back to public showing of voting, or at least by voicemail. I would like to know why outside community members are not allowed to attend the pre-K open houses. As our taxes paid to keep the buildings open, and I would like to see for myself. How these presentations, or any presentations, are being delivered. I'd like to talk about special ed.
I really feel that the entire IEP504 process needs to stop feeling chaotic. And that parents need to receive clear, specific documentation. They should also know the exact rule or requirement that applies, because facts matter. And there should be a direct connection between the rules and the child's needs. Thank you for your comment. One more time to look at the room.
seeing heads saying no. Looking back online, I don't see any other hands raised. So I'm gonna close second public comment. Now we are moving on to a new section called Board Member Comments. So this is the part where. the things we used to incorrectly do in correspondence. have been moved to Board Member comment. Similar to the community's comments will be limited to 3 minutes each. Mr. Schimp, I'm going to ask that you run the timer for us, just like you do for community members. But this is your moment, board members, to talk about wonderful things you did in the community over the past two weeks.
Um… the way that we did it in the past was we went around the room. Do you guys want to stick with that process? I'm seeing nods, yes. Dr. Braddock, since you're the keeper of these things, which side of them should I start on? Ms. Palmer, do you have anything in board member comments this evening? Uh, I just want to congratulate the instrumental music students at Carusi. I had the pleasure of attending their winter concert earlier this month. As always, they did a phenomenal job. Congratulations to the teachers and the many, many, many students, um.
that comment was made that it's the largest 6th grade orchestra. That they've seen in a number of years, so that was really impressive to see, and they did… they did a great job. Um, also, kudos again to, uh, Ms. Stefan and her team. Uh, on a successful course of study night at Beck. And congratulations to, uh, and thank you to the staff and students at West. Uh, who hosted their 8th grade visitation night. uh, what was it, a week ago? Just about a week ago, last Thursday. Um, as always, I mean, we know, because we see it all the time, how impressive the offerings are at High School West, but.
Especially as a incoming freshman parent. Um, it was just nice to see all of those offerings in one place, hear more at the… of… how we talk to our students about what our course offerings are, things like that. So, job well done, I appreciate it very much. Um, and thank you to Zone PTI, even though I know that this is not a. typically a place to respond to public. It's just a thank you acknowledgement of the donation that someone is making to, uh… To the Education Foundation.
Good job, Ms. Cummings. I had a bit of a busy week. So, on Thursday the 15th, I attended our, um, monthly fair funding call. There was, um, a robust discussion about, uh, the township pilot program, and. tax distribution, and after that, on the 16th, I went with Ms. Stern. to the 5th grade explorer's extravaganza at Stockton, where we were regaled, yes?
with tails and board games, and reenactments of all different sorts of European explorers by the students. So that was really a fun, a fun time. It was… it was a great interaction. Then, I attended the Garden State Coalition of Schools monthly call, which was all about, um, advocating for state funding. And I'll be putting together a little brief for you, Mrs. Winters, that you can share with the rest of the board on that, because. The information was fantastic. Um, then I attended the Beck Middle School Orchestra.
And jazz band, um… concert, so if there's a jazz band concert, I'm always gonna be there, just saying, it's my thing. Um, and then, finally, lastly, this per- last weekend, I did my Gov1 training for NJSBA. So that was… it was supposed to be 3 days, but they packed us all in on 2, so they released us early for the storm, so that was enlightening. Dr. Dryson, like you said, the, uh… the people you meet and the connections you make, invaluable, 100%. So that was really great.
And that's it. Ms. Stern. Uh, Ms. Cummings referred to the one, uh. one of the activities I attended, and then I'm sure someone else will talk about SUFFs. So, I will not be talking about that. Someone else will probably miss Mozano, so… Um, I'll leave that to you. Those are the two things I participated in. Dr. Dreisen. Thanks, no comments tonight. You just won. Mr. Greenbaum.
Thank you. Uh, over the weekend, I attended the South Jersey Muslim Heritage Month Festival. Uh, it was a wonderful celebration of culture, with speakers discussing various topics in a marketplace with some really delicious food. I got to spend some time with our neighbors from GCLEA and Cherry Hill Muslims, and had an opportunity to speak with several families from Cherry Hale. Thank you very much for the invitation. Uh, I also wanted to echo Dr. Morton's sentiments on Holocaust Remembrance Day. Uh, it's important now more than ever that we never forget and commit to learning from the past and stand up to hate in all of its forms. In that spirit, schools across the district will have educational materials available in libraries and classrooms to support student learning.
Thank you. Thank you. We did a few things over the past week. I attended the ROSA Orchestra and Chorus Concert. Which was super fun in the. brand new swanky Rosa Jim, but I can't wait for next year when it's on the brand new Swanky Rosa stage, so stay tuned, that'll be exciting. I also went to the… preschool information session with Ms. Monsano. to a West auditorium that was packed full of really excited preschool families, so it was really neat to see that and hear about it.
We actually got a spontaneous round of applause for the preschool editions, the new classroom, so that was kind of neat. And then I went back to West the night after that to be at the 8th grade open house with Ms. Palmer, so it was really cool to do those two events back-to-back. Our incoming preschool families. and our future high schoolers to really see the… scope and breadth of the district and what we do. And I ended my night at West in the West shop. Buying my kiddo some really cool purple West swag. So thank you to the West staff who was there to allow incoming freshmen to purchase all kinds of neat things to get excited for high school next year.
Oh, and the other thing I did was I did go to a Muslim Heritage Month activity at the Cherry Hill Public Library with my son over the weekend. it was really neat, there were stories, we made a couple of crafts, it was good to get out before the snow came in, and even better just to spend some time with members of our community. And learn about different cultures. So thank you to the community groups who supported that and celebrated Muslim Heritage Month. Mr. Fain. So, I don't have any community engagement events since the last meeting, however, because I had. not anticipated forgetting about this in old business, and was going to do it now. I just wanted to make very brief comment about our governance meeting that we had.
earlier, or last week, um, in substitution of our board retreat, we met for governance instead. Um, very quickly, we discussed the goals for… the board goals for the upcoming year, um, specifically the calendar. We decided on going off of the NJSBA recommended calendar as its low-hanging fruit, and it's the easiest way to. To ensure that we're meeting all of our deadlines, at least for this year. Uh, we discussed our goal around policy creation and. We are formally delegating this to P&L to prioritize, um, at least 3.
policies that we can review through governance this year. We discussed the CSL eval with, um, the intention, and we'll talk about this broader, I guess, next month. The intention on. Um, giving a deadline at the end of April for the self-eval, so that we have plenty of time to review and discuss as a board. And, um, subsequently, we decided as a governance committee to do the same with our self-eval as a board. to give the same deadline to us as we would Dr. Morton for his evaluation, so that we are staying on track. on track ourselves. The last thing that we discussed was our goal around community engagement, and because the.
ultimate end of that discussion relates the same way as our. cell phone policy adherence, I'm gonna lump them both together. Um, I'd like to put on record that I recommended public shaming around this, and… and the… not only the adherence to that policy. Um, but the fact that, um, we had committed to community engagement, I was shot down and a 2-1 vote. And it was recommended that we keep that as an internal discussion, and keep ourselves accountable through much less harsh means, like emailing each other.
And being a lot kinder than public humiliation. That was an excellent committee report. I just wanna… I just wanna note for both you and Ms. Cummings that next time when we do our board work session, there's going to be a whole section. for both committee and delegate report out, so don't feel like you need to be constrained to 3 minutes if you feel like you have more to say. Especially with your enthusiasm for our community engagement goal. we can have a more robust discussion. If you want to report out next time, if you want.
You know what I mean? If you want a longer conversation about that, since I see that you're very invested. Ms. Monsano. Uh, like Mrs. Cummings, I feel like I've done 100 things between our last meeting, and I don't remember if this was… I did have the opportunity to attend, um, the Malberg Back to School Night. Wasn't that after the other meeting? I don't remember, but it was wonderful. Ms. Edwards was wonderful. The new family's coming into Malberg, the classrooms are beautiful. so excited to have their preschoolers into our Cherry Hill school system, um, already. The teachers and aides were wonderful, um, so that was very fun. Uh, following that, um, I attended the Pre-K info session with.
Mrs. Winters at West, Dr. Mahan, and Ms. Ketzikas did a wonderful job explaining to our incoming families. And it was so cool. Um, I have been in that position twice, so, uh, very interesting, um, to see it from the board perspective. Um, I didn't get a chance to go, but I did want to commend Ms. Lousey and Mrs. Lockhart and all of the East students on an amazing winter choral concert that I watched on YouTube with my four kids, very excited, they're always excited to watch. another, um, choir concert, not just my own. So, uh, they did a wonderful job, the voices were beautiful. I can't wait to see them again in person.
Um, we did have the opportunity, some of the members of the board, to see Sufs in Philadelphia. Um, it's a close show to my heart to, uh. friend of mine that I grew up with, um, was in the original cast, uh, and then someone else that I was in shows with when I was younger was in the original cast, so very cool to make that connection with my board colleagues, and also that West. is able to do this show, um, in the spring, so can't wait for that. Dr. Braddock. For my part, I'd like to say to Ms. Trafein, private humiliation also works among the board members, so we can use that if we want to. We can shame people.
Um, I actually, last week, I attended as a graduate of Rancocas Valley Regional High School. I attended the Cherry Hill West RV basketball game last week, um… I hope both teams had fun, so I'm not gonna share one side of the other, but, um, I did attend that game, and it was… it's… it's… it's great to get back in the gym and see and watch some high school sports. Um, more informally, um, I… I had mentioned before, sometimes I'll take one of my daughters around town. And it was… I… we're right around the corner from Rosa, so I took her over to Rosa before everything froze.
And, um, as someone who likes to climb on everything, approaching two. years old, uh, it's very cool. for her to see what's going on there. It's just a way to connect to the way the bond referendum is being used, and it's cool to see. Um, can we also use this time to make, like, suggestions for future things, or is this just what we've done in the community? Suggestions for future things would usually be new business. What kind of a future thing? So, although they were confused by it, the East representatives talked about. winning a helicopter competition among, like, on our robotics team, like, let's bring them in for board recognition, because I want to see some… You want a helicopter in the boardroom? 100%. If we can do that, let's ask the lawyer.
Can we ask the lawyer? Oh, okay. Can they go outside, outside the windows and do it? Because, oh man, okay, I tried, guys. It seemed pretty neat. It is pretty cool. When I was a brand new baby board member, I actually went over to East, and the principal showed us. Um, the robotics competition, I think… were you there with me, Ms. Turn? And I had never seen… it was like watching BattleBots, it was amazing. That's what's in my mind. Super cool. So… Put it on your list for next year, Dr. Braddus. East Robotics, okay. East Robotics. Um, Mr. Payne is giving me the… sign, so I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Morton for Superintendent comments.
Thank you, Ms. Winters. Just a few comments. Uh, first and foremost, I'm proud of all of the staff members. I'm thankful to the board for approving staff members that attend various conferences. Our staff members who were listed on the conferences. Uh, this evening, uh, all will be presenting the great work that's taking place within the district at conferences. Dr. Kizzy, for instance, who's going to the West Coast, is presenting at a large national conference. The great work taking place right here in Cherry Hill Public Schools. at, uh, Clara Barton Elementary. So, you know, we, um… are very proud, very proud of the work that we're doing, and, um, seeing that it's being recognized as well out in the greater circle.
Um, I'd be remiss if I didn't speak to it. It's ironic on this day where we are unified in our stand against hate. that we continue to have, uh, individual community member come. and share, uh, comments about hate that truly amount to gaslighting. Uh, to be quite frank. Um… There's the gross misinformation and the confusing information that's being presented. Uh, in a manner, um… in the manner that it is, is really… it really just truly makes no sense.
Mr. Short and I have never had any negative interactions, personally. We don't have a relationship, we don't do anything together. I'm not sure what that's all about. And with that continued approach is all about. Um, but I do know it's alarming, and it's concerning, the obsession. And the negative obsession that exists. Um, when we… when I speak about hate. I speak about children being referred to as crazed bullies. children being, uh, called mindless sea turtles, as he has. the board being called fools, the administration being referred as fools, myself being referred to as a grifter.
A fool and an individual who's stupid. No one deserves that. Like, that's… that's… inappropriate. That is not the way that we interact with one another. I believe in dignity, respect. Treat people with kindness and, you know, that's… that's the signature. You can talk to anybody that I've interacted with for over 30 years. And that's who they'll tell you Kwame Morton is. I love my 10 children dearly. I love my two grandchildren dearly. I love almost the full 11,000 kids in this district. dearly, as if they're my own children. That's who I am, and that's what I'm all about.
And speaking… speaking of… Uh, just that… I had an opportunity to speak to Kelly Harris. today. Uh, Kelly Harris is the teacher whose house was, um… crashed into, and there was a fatality at a house. She was home on a… Weekend, individual crafts into our home. She's there with her 2-year-old child and husband. And thank goodness she was able to escape without any calamity or any harm. But nonetheless, the family's been displaced. But she wanted me to relay to the community. just how thankful and how grateful she is to the… to the Beck community for the tremendous support that she's received.
but also to the greater Cherry Hill community. She said, you know, her husband. herself, they just can't thank the community enough, and she… she wanted to share this information, so… we'll share something out more formally, but I wanted to mention that as well. And just, again, you know, for me, that touched my heart to read that message from her earlier today. And that is a reminder of. Cherry Hill Public Schools, Cherry Hill Township is, and what we're all about. All right, so let that be the standard for who we are.
Thank you. Thank you. With all that is, um… going on in the world is important. I think that we model the behavior that we want to see. And we continue to choose kindness, and I think we model it well here at this board table, so I'm thankful to all of you. Um, I sent a message about board member recognition. month. I really mean it, this is such a meaningful volunteer opportunity, and I think we have. the chance to be leaders in the community, and… choose to model kindness and love and acceptance and.
togetherness, and I really do appreciate all of you and the work we do. We don't always agree with each other. And that's real. Um, but we all work together for the greater good, and I really value that, so thank you all. And with that, I'd like to make a motion to adjourn. Is there a second? Ms. Palmer, all those in favor? meeting to be adjourned.