Good evening, everyone. 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. Mr. Greenbaum? Here, Ms. Manzano here. Ms. Palmer. Here, Ms. Stern here. Ms. Winters. Here, thank you. Public notice of this meeting pursuant to the Open Public Meetings Act has been given by the Board Secretary on May 20th, 2026, in the following manner. Posted notice on the school bulletin board at the Administration Building posted on the board's official website and transmitted to the Clerk of Cherry Hill Township. Please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and live streamed. Please rise and join me in saying 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 And we are starting with the best thing ever, which is recognition for our 2025-2026 Student Board of Education representatives. We got them balloons.
I promise you have a little bit more than balloons. Okay, well, this will be quick. We just want to say thank you on behalf of Cheryl Public Schools for your service this year. It was a busy year for you seniors. You're about to go graduate. So thank you so much for coming for every board of education meeting for being here on behalf of your student body. We really appreciate it So I'm going to call your names up if you can come up and get the certificate, that'd be great. We'll take a nice picture together All right, let's start. For Cherry Hill High School East, Landon Schuster
For Cherry Hill High School West, Lacey Abdela For Cherry Hill High School East, Max Kokafka. And for Cherry Hill High School, West Milano Orla
And in all seriousness, thank you guys so much for being our student representatives this year. We really appreciate you. And we look forward to your last report as seniors later in the meeting. We have more board recognition. This is now a community appreciation recognition for some amazing community members who always support the district. Okay, so I forgot to give them their cherry pens. Okay. Oh We will, tonight we'd like to make two recognitions of members of our community for their valuable feedback, collaboration, and support throughout the school year. First, we'd like to recognize Alana Yaris.
As Fair Funding Committee Chair, Alana has devoted hours of her time toward fair funding meetings and initiatives, in addition to organizing and running community fair funding meetings, Alana has helped in various ways to connect our stakeholders to our legislators and help tell Cherry Hill Public Schools a story as we navigated through this budget year Thank you to Alana, the Fair Funding Committee, and to the community for your tireless efforts supporting Cherry Hill Public Schools. And thank you to the family for all of your time.
We'll get a picture with you after I do this other one. Cool. And second, tonight, we'd like to recognize the Zone PTA and their executive board who some are with us tonight. I thought Great. Zone PTA continually serves as a voice for our community. On behalf of the district, we'd like to recognize Zone PTA for their continued support and collaboration. Thank you for all of the work you do to not only support our students, our staff, our families, and our community, but for working alongside the district and helping share valuable information Your partnership, your feedback, and for helping us celebrate the successes of our schools. Thank you to Zone PTA and the volunteers all across the district for your tireless efforts supporting Cherry Hill Public Schools
Thank you, everyone. We really appreciate everybody's efforts, especially in this budget year. So next on our agenda, we have training from NJSBA for the board on CSA evaluation, which for everybody out there doesn't know, that means superintendent Evaluation. So I'm going to invite Dr. Tihan up To help us out
Good evening, my name is Tim Teen. I'm from New Jersey School Boards, and we're going to do CSA Evaluation. It is that time of year It's a slight delay Nope, there it goes. Okay, so just so everyone remembers, if you have a relative that's working in the district, it could potentially create a confident And if it does, you're not able to participate in the evaluation, just check with your board attorney to make sure whether you are or not conflicted.
There we go. So what is the purpose of the evaluation? It is not a gotcha. It's really an opportunity for you to do your job as a board, which is oversight of the superintendent. That's number one job that you have to do in terms of the evaluation piece It's important because it also allows you to have communication with your superintendent, and your superintendent to communicate back with you. It's no different than what we do in other areas within the district. You have teachers that are doing their evaluations at the end of the year
And so you're doing the same thing with your superintendent. It is a requirement to do this evaluation. And part of those requirements, it comes out of statute 18A. And it is that you have to do an evaluation of your superintendent once a year. It has to be in writing, so you can't just walk by and say, good job, you know, it's actually got to be in writing. You have to have some kind of a meeting to discuss the evaluation with the superintendent So that you can provide your information to him, and he can provide his feedback to you. Your evaluation, whether you use our format or some other format, it has to be set up based upon the district goals, as well as the six leadership standards. So that's a requirement
Also, you have to do your evaluation as part of QSAC. You have to get it done by July 1 of every year. And there is a 12-month look back. So when you're being a QSAC year, they will look back 12 months to see whether you fulfilled that requirement or not. And it has to be done, like I said, by July 1. That is a statutory deadline. It is not in New Jersey school board's deadline, it is statutory. So the tool that we provide is optional. You do not need to use it. Most districts do use it, but it is not a requirement. But however, if you are using your own, once again, it has to be set up the same way. I know of a couple of districts that don't use it
But you're still required to do the same evaluation, which is the district goals, as well as those standards. So before, and this is more for the BA, before you do the evaluation, you want to make sure your census is up to date with the proper contact information for all your board members, that they're all in there, and that your superintendent, I mean, your board president is identified So that you can go in and look at the progress of the board members. And then there's a slide for a video for the business administrator. If you're not sure how to update the census, that's a handy video that you can click on, and it will show you how to do it. The rest of you as a board, you don't need to know how to do that. This picture is just a step-by-step
process, so to speak, of the process, which is you're going to start out with district goals, and from there, you're going to be given progress updates throughout the year. It doesn't have to be formal progress updates, but you're going to see updates in terms of the things that are in your agendas each meeting That's part of that progress update. And then you as a board will go in… the superintendent will go in first, finish their part of the evaluation, then you as board members are notified 48 hours later that he is finished, and you then can go in and do your part. Once that's finished
all that information gets compiled, it gets sent to the board president, and then from there, you're going to basically have two meetings. One, you'll have a meeting with the board and the non-conflicted board members to review what the final evaluation will be, so that you're in agreement, and then You're gonna have another meeting with the superintendent to go over the actual evaluation. When those two meetings happen, you have to have a race notice to the superintendent, and the board doesn't do that, but you just tell the BA to do that, and this way he knows that you're going to be talking about
his evaluation It also serves as a nice on your agenda, it serves as a nice piece of information for when you go through QSAC, you can say, yes, see, we did do it. Also part of, so I'm going to kind of go through the evaluation. The first part is though, are those district goals, however many you have set These are the areas that you decided as a district that you wanted the superintendent to focus on. When you do that, he will provide all his evidence, and this is what the platform will look like, where you see the top part, it's the superintendent's information that he added in
Which is the description of the goal, as well as any evidence to support, you know, achieving that goal, or whatever the rating is that he provided himself. If you look over on the right, there's three ratings. He will rate himself. And then you see the part underneath, which is you as a board member, will go in You'll be able to read everything that was entered by the superintendent, and then you can enter your analysis of and feedback to those goals, each individual goal. And then you'll also give a rating. When you do that, the compilation actually produces a nice little report where it will show how many people said the rating for each different level. So you'll see that's an example of the ratings there. The superintendent would have said maybe achieved
You had, in this case, 7 board members that had said achieved, one that said satisfactory, one said little or no progress. You are a Board of Education. You do not operate as individuals, you operate as a majority. So wherever the majority rating is, that's what the score is. Okay, the same thing is the associated comments that will be entered by each individual board member. It's only the comments that actually support That majority rating that go into the evaluation. So you are a majority, not an individual. There is a spot, though, for you to share those minority ratings or minority comments, and that's during the conference that you're having with the superintendent, where you can have that meeting and say, well, you know, even though this was a score
This is what I put in, and this is why. And you can kind of give the comments at that time. So that's how that district goal section will be. Once again, then you have the second section, which is the standard section. These are, once again, not made up by New Jersey school boards. These are the ISLIC standards Which are basically leadership standards. There's 6 of them. And when you look at those, those are the 6. I'm not going to read them to you, but within the tool it'll actually have them each laid out standard 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. It'll identify the name of them and give a short little description of what each standard is.
So, this looks a lot more complicated than it is, but this is what it will look like. The top part will have the standard. It delineates what that standard is, and then you have the ratings. There's different ratings in that section. And then in each standard, there's all these subcategories, and so you're basically rating all the subcategories within each one. So you could be all over the place, depending on what that subcategory you come up with when that's finished by all the board members, the compilation will look something like this, where you have each standard broken down like that, where it will say all the subcategories
How many board members said the rating here, here, here, here, and then it actually, at the very bottom, once again, gives you that majority. So in this case, one person said exemplary, five said proficient, two said areas for growth, and 0 unsatisfactory, and 0 not observed Your rating that will be on your final evaluation to the superintendent would be proficient. So it's always the majority. So that compilation is, once again, it's all the non-conflicted board members. It gets put together and it gets sent to your board president. Your annual performance report is that final evaluation. So sometimes people think that compilation is your final evaluation. It's not
You're basically pulling from that. And the easiest way I can explain it is it's copy and paste. You're looking… bless you, you're looking at the majority ratings, you're copying, pasting, you're looking at the majority comments that support that rating, copy, paste. So, it sounds like it doesn't take long, but it actually takes a long time Because you're reading through every single one of them. Any board president that has done it will tell you it's several hours of doing that. And when you get a lot of people in a room, it even becomes a lot longer than that. So, we're gonna talk about that. The conference, once again.
And anywhere along the process with this evaluation, it is always the non-conflicted board members. So if you have a conflicted board member, they cannot be privy to any of the information that's in the evaluation. They will never see the evaluation. They cannot be in the conversations when you're having it with the superintendent or without the superintendent. So, you're always out of the flow on that There we go. So in that executive session, when you meet, because it's a personnel matter, it is only, like I said, the non-conflicted board members. And there's two ways of doing this. And I would say 95% of the boards do it this one way, which actually makes sense
There we go. 95% of it do it this way, which is you generally will have the board president do or vice president or the designee because some boards the president is conflicted and can't do it. So that person will put Based upon the compilation, they will copy and paste and populate that final document. That's the final document that they will bring to you as a full board, and you guys will look through it and see what's contained within that. Some boards will say, no, we're going to have everyone here to do it as a board. The problem with that is I'm going to tell you right now, it will take you. You better set aside at least 3 hours, because that's how long it will take, because people go through and they start to read through and nitpick different parts
And it just extends that timeframe. So the best process that most districts use, like I said, is that first part. You're also going to want to consult with your board attorney to make sure to see what they say and their recommendation on how to proceed with this. But like I said, most of the districts do it the way Unfortunately, the board president or designee is the one that has to do it. And then once again, like I said, it gets copied and pasted into that final annual summary evaluation that becomes the final evaluation.
So when you go through it, the district goals in that final evaluation document, which is now no longer the compilation, this is the final document. That's what this will look like, where each goal is identified and given a rating. And then you'll see it says supporting remarks, all the copying and pasting of the supporting comments goes into that section And then you have the standard section. Which looks like this where you have each one of the standards. Once again, you're going to click what the majority rating is and any of those supporting comments go underneath that and get pasted.
And then the final section, this is where you have a little more latitude. And as a team to say what you want to be. And this is where, you know, when you guys as a board come together, this is where a lot of the discussion takes place, even when the board president does it, this will take you a little while to get through On this one, the top part is where you feel the strengths of the superintendent are, and you can click as many of these as you want. It could be zero, it could be all six.
And then the bottom part is the area where you feel more professional growth would benefit the superintendent. Now, that anything that's checked in the bottom doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing, it just means this is an area where you could potentially grow. And if you think about it, we can all grow. We all should be growing. We all should be looking for ways to improve ourselves So this is your opportunity to look at those and put some of the things that are in there. You can also copy and paste some of the comments that were in that document to support your ratings for each one of those. So you may see the same comments in the upper part, and also appear here
And then when you look at the part where you think their professional growth is, this is where you may see some of those comments that are more of the, I'll say the minority comments that aren't necessarily supporting the major comments, the major ratings. But since it's an area for growth, some board members might feel That this is an area where you can grow. Let's say, for example, communication. You may be a great communicator, you may be getting all that information out there, but most districts find that communication is an area where we always need to improve because the pathways that people are using are changing all the time.
So that may be something that you throw in there within that section. And then the annual summary conference, like I said, you're going to do the rice notices, you're going to share the evaluation. Our recommendation is always to share it at least 48 hours in advance. And the reason for that is so that superintendent has an opportunity to read through it, develop any questions that they may have, and be prepared for anything that the board may Provide them when they're in that meeting. And once again, it's the minutes. When you look at your board minutes, they're not going to be extravagant. They're simply probably going to say
Superintendent evaluation and executive session. That's it. So who keeps a copy? And this is just a recommendation. We always say that the people that should keep a copy should be obviously the superintendent. It's their evaluation, so they should keep a copy. You can put it in the superintendent's personnel file. Most districts will recommend that you actually give it to your board attorney because that personnel file can be accessed by people that report to the superintendent. So that's our recommendation. Despite that recommendation, some boards and districts will still put it in the superintendent's personnel file
It's whatever your board attorney gives you as far as advice and direction on how to go with that. And also, just so you know, all that information that you guys put in because it is a personnel document, we actually purge our systems come December 31st. So don't call us on January 1st or January 2nd and say, hey, can you give me that compilation again? Because the answer will be no And unfortunately, not every district by the July 1 deadline. We have had districts that have reached out to us in November, December, January, February, looking for that information. So once it's past that date, we can not get it back. So you want to make sure you are on time.
These are just considerations. A lot of people think the evaluation process is a once a year process. It's not the evaluation itself is, but you're actually evaluating throughout the year. Every time you have a board agenda and you have items on there, that's part of that evaluation. When you have reports that are being provided to you as a board from your community or from your staff within the district, or from the superintendent, that's part of that evaluation. So these are all the things that may end up in the evidence that the superintendent puts in, and the things that you can think of. The review is also the performance of the full year
It's not just the most recent, so in other words, if something… the superintendent's doing a great job all year, and then all of a sudden something major happens right before evaluation time, you do not evaluate the superintendent based upon that one incident, okay? It's the full year. Not that you discount that one incident, but And that can be incorporated into the evaluation, but don't do it just based upon that. Also, realize that if you're a brand new board member and you just started in January, you cannot evaluate the superintendent on things that happened before January. You were not on the board. You were not privy to all the information. So just keep that in mind, because a lot of times brand new board members will say, Yeah, but I heard
It doesn't matter what you heard, it's what you… you're evaluating based upon the time that you were here. And that's why sometimes you might put NA, because it might not be applicable, because you might not know, okay? And then the rest of it is just, you know, it's… we always say it's the responsibility of all non-conflicted board members to participate. This is one of your major jobs of being a board member, is to evaluate the superintendent. So, don't shirk it, don't say, I'm not doing it, let somebody else do it Unfortunately, you know, in some districts, they don't all participate, so I highly recommend you all participate.
And any questions that you may have Thank you, Dr. Tehan. I just wanted to emphasize before we get going with questions, this really resonated with me. My first year when I was on the board, I filled out a lot of not observed for ratings for the superintendent because I had not observed a lot of it because I had just started in January. So I just wanted to emphasize that we do have some new members who have never done this before If you're going through the evaluation and you're reading it and you're saying, I have no idea what this is, I didn't… it's fine to click that. I definitely did that my first year. And as you're on the board more and you see more and you experience more, then, you know, we feel more comfortable being able to rate different things. But that's definitely… don't feel weird if you're going through it and you're, like, not observed, not observed. You just have to answer honestly.
Board member questions on CSA evaluation. Mr. Fain. Going back to the discussion on the compilation report, I definitely understand why it would be beneficial to not have all of us sit here and go back and forth. Have you ever seen, or is there any recommendation for After the board president comes up with the tentative you know, summary report that we would essentially discuss and submit is, have you seen any boards still see the whole thing? They just don't spend the time going back and forth on it. It really will depend. That's where you take guidance from your board attorney, but I know that there's some boards that have been divided
Let's put it that way. And so one… there's two ways that I've seen it handled. One is they will actually project it, like, in an executive session, so that no one actually has a copy, and they'll go through it. Any of the areas where somebody had a question on. And the other one would be If they really didn't want to do it that way, and they wanted to do paper copies, they could make paper copies. However, you can't keep them, can't take photos of it, because once again, it's a personnel document. So they would all have to go back to the board president or designee, and they would have to shred it at the end of that meeting
Usually when boards do that, it's really because as they're going through that master document, that's when they'll say, you know, hey, I have a question on this. Why wasn't this included? And now, you know, the verbiage you might you might remember you typed in something, something a certain way But maybe it wasn't that way, and that's why it didn't make it into that comment section. I have seen some boards where they will take some of the comments and kind of blend some of them together. Like, they've told me, oh, we've blended some of them together. There's nothing wrong with doing that. Just make sure that if you're doing that
You're catching the essence of what people wrote, because if somebody feels like their voice isn't heard, then, you know, you want to put that in there. I did have one board where it was a nine-member board, and I told your board president this, that there was, at a nine-member board, seven of them were conflicted, so there was two board members And so, it's the only one I know of in the state, and when it came to superintendent evaluation, one board member was on this end, the other board members on this end. There was no majority. And so and on every single standard, every single goal, there was no majority. They asked me what they were supposed to do
That is the only time I've said take that compilation, that becomes your final evaluation, because I know the two of you, and you're never going to come together on it. So that… and I said, but you need to explain that to your superintendent, that that's why your compilation looks very different than what your actual evaluation that they normally would have seen is So every district will operate differently based upon the circumstances that they're in, and that's where I say you're going to want to always consult with your board attorney and take that advice, because your board attorney is the one that's going to have to defend you regardless of whatever steps you take. Thank you.
Any other board member questions on CSA evaluation? We are in the thick of it. Yes. It's fun times. It is fun times. I've been exhorting everybody to begin early because it's more work than you think it is. Click through all the links, read through all the evidence And all of that Yeah, so thank you, Dr. Jehan. We do appreciate the training. Anytime. Thank you for coming all the way to Cherry Hill.
All right. It's time. Student representatives to the board. It's your final Final report to the board. And as is fitting, I have no idea which high school goes first. Adam says it's Wes, and I believe him. High school West. It's all you. Good afternoon. We are so thankful to have had such an amazing year with so many great school activities. For the last time, let's start with academics.
As for academics, AP tests have finally concluded for students being tested on their advanced placement classes. Good job to everyone who took an exam. Finals will take place from June 9th to June 12th, and DECA moved on to the National Conference on April 25th World Language Cook-Off Seniors was held on Tuesday, May 19th. We had French, Italian, and Spanish classes represent their cultures through their dishes in tables that were judged by our teachers. Field day was on Wednesday, May 20th. All grades got to participate in outside fun, and Mr. Softi was there
On May 6th, our biliterate students were recognized in Spanish, Italian, French, Russian, and Portuguese, and received medals for graduating along with receiving their seal of approval on their transcript At the same ceremony, we inducted students into Spanish, French, and Italian honor societies. Congratulations to all. On May 6th, for Teacher Appreciation Week, our Class of 2027 and 2028 governments came together with their funds to cover popsicles for all of our teachers. Thank you, teachers.
Our annual Night of Stars was held on April 29th where faculty recognized outstanding students with a star award. Great job to everyone recognized. May 1st was National Commitment Day, where seniors represented their plans after high school with t-shirts. We wish you all luck. Wes has had a great time hosting East activities such as Mr. East, One Acts, and their spring concert tonight used renovation. Good luck to all. Junior prom was on May 14th, taking place in the Collingswood Ballroom. It was such a fun and enchanting night. ROTC held their annual military ball at the JCC Center this past Saturday.
Everyone dressed to impress, and congratulations to everyone who won awards. As for athletics, congratulations to boys volleyball on a 3-1 win against Pensawken in their last regular season game. They will play in the first playoff game tomorrow. Our girls lacrosse team will have the first playoff game To be decided. Congratulations to Kylie Vieri and Rex Tahaki on being named Chero West Olympic Conference Athletes for the Class of 2026. Boys baseball is seated second in our conference with an upcoming playoff game against Triton on May 27th. Our boys tennis team made it to the first round
of the group, NJSI boys tennis tournament. Congrats on a great season. West Softball made it to playoffs and had their first game against Ocean City Very soon. Congratulations to our girls and wish track team as four of our relay teams advance to states As for arts, on Friday, May 29th, West is holding its annual art show, displaying all of the hardworking students' work. Additionally, the National Art Honor Society is holding its inductions on May 29th. Congratulations to all inductees.
The spring concert was held on Wednesday, May 21st. It was such a beautiful choral ending to the school year. We performed the most challenging songs we've ever gotten and we are thankful for the experience Our annual one-act play festival occurred this past Saturday. Great job to every great that participated. We also hosted the Asian American Pacific Islander Festival this past Sunday. It was filled with beautiful performances. As for extracurriculars, due to our spring pet rally being canceled, SGO held a squishy fundraiser and sold out in two days. Thank you to all of our students who purchased something. All of the money will be going to charity. NHS held our Teacher Appreciation Breakfast on May 4th, creating a Star Wars theme
The turnout was great, so thank you to all of our volunteers and students for helping out. On May 7th, we held a meeting for senior parents to inform everyone on senior events and graduation requirements. Thank you to all the parents who came. Congratulations to our six students, Moana Orlov, Sama Mitwali, Elena Kote, Oliver Mathias, Lily Legato, and Essence Bishop, who are recognized at the Camden County level and awarded for representing the most athletic, best leadership, best overall, and more. We are so grateful to have been a part of the board this year. Thank you again for this amazing opportunity, and we can't wait to see how the district grows after we leave. See you all at graduation.
High School West, would you like to tell us what your plans are post-graduation, other than maybe relaxing and taking a break? I will be going to Rutgers, New Brunswick, majoring in genetics to eventually go on to an MD-PhD program to hopefully be a physician scientist. I'll be attending Northeastern University and doing a combined major in political science and business.
Congratulations, we are so very proud of you. Moving on to High School East. For the final time, starting with academics, East administered the May SAT on Saturday, May 2nd Students completed seal biliteracy testing this past week. We're proud of the many students who continue to embrace multilingualism and celebrate the wide range of languages and cultures represented throughout East Students survive the stressful two weeks of AP testing from Monday, May 4th through Friday, May 15th. We wish all students the best of luck with finals approaching on Tuesday, June 9th.
Moving on to activities, Eats Mime Company, the only one in the state of New Jersey, hosted its annual ice cream social on May 14th. Guests of all ages were welcome to enjoy the performance and eat real tangible ice cream. Inductions That went over well. Inductions for the Cum Laude Society were held on May 20th. The top 10% of the junior class and the top 20% of the senior class were recognized for their academic achievement. Inductions for the English National Honor Society were after school today. Students were similarly recognized for their excellence in studying English.
Members of the senior class are eagerly awaiting senior prom this Thursday the 28th at Lucians Manor. We remind all students to remain safe and responsible during this exciting time. East Student Government is excited to be running Field Day this Friday, the 29th. Students are excited for a day of fun with games, activities, and food. We are proud of Juniors Elias Tang, Stella Kim, and Chloe Wren, and sophomore Grace Lee for all being named to the All State Journalism Team for their excellent work in Eastside, the student newspaper. Throughout the month, the student government ran elections for next year's officers and representatives. Congratulations to school-wide president-elect Stella Kim and school-wide vice president Zen Rizzby, Logan Friedman, Talia Miller, and Jake Chan, as well as all the grade-level officers and reps.
The class of 2028 is accepting food donations up until this Friday, when they will be preparing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for Unforgotten Haven, a local food and necessities assistance organization. If you find yourself at east, be sure to bring in food to donate. This month included both National School Principals Day and National Teacher Appreciation Week. On behalf of all the students at East, we want to recognize and thank all of our incredible and committed teachers and administrators for everything they do. Moving on to athletics, congrats to Alvin Lin and Maya Pasternak on being named East Olympic Conference Academic Athletes of the Year
Tyler Whitney represented East Golf in the Tournament of Champions, shooting a three under 69 to tie for first overall. Whitney shot a school record and won group four with eight birdies in his round Softball senior Kirsten Costello earned her 100th career hit against Francocas Valley last week, and Sarah Harrison pitched a complete game while collecting her 200th career strikeout. East baseball team is heating up with a three-game win streak, and will travel to Vineland tomorrow for the first round of the sectional playoffs. But the girls and boys lacrosse teams dedicated their previous games to Morgan's message, raising awareness for student-athlete mental health and promoting open conversations surrounding mental wellness.
These boys tennis team swept Eastern by a score of 5-0 today, and is moving on to the sectional semifinals against Cherokee on Thursday. Esports volleyball team won a dominant 19-3 and sits atop the Olympic Conference. They're on a 7-match winning streak and will begin round one of the sectional playoffs tomorrow. The boys track team finished third at the Group 4 sectional championship meet with 11 athletes advancing to the state championship meet. The girls track team competed at the Camden County meet, where the team finished 4th overall, and sophomore Addison Weiss won the 1600. Varsity Valorant and varsity Valkyrie Valorant teams, which comprise East Esports teams, qualified for the state championship at the Georgian Court University
The Varsity Valorant team brought back the Group 4 conference belt. Overall, we wish all of our spring sports teams good luck as they continue advancing in the playoffs. And finally, with arts, East is again grateful to be using West facilities as our construction is ongoing. The annual coffeehouse performance was held in the evening of May 1st. Congratulations to all the performers, and thank you to everyone who came and watched to support Sorry, to support the charity puzzle pieces squared, an autism support organization, and this year's partner charity. On May 8th, East Theater hosted One Acts, the final production of the year. All of the many plays were entirely student-acted, directed, and managed, and everyone did an incredible job.
The Spring Vocal concert was held last week on May 21st. Congratulations to the four large choirs and three small groups for their incredible performance. And just as a quick reflection before we hand it back over, I remember a year ago was my first meeting live sitting in the audience at this time, May, and there was a public commenter who Talked about how her son was, I think, at Rosa and had just finally solidified like their sense of belonging in the school and was about to potentially be transferred to a different school. And I saw firsthand how the board was able to remedy that problem right in that moment, and it was in that moment when I realized
how powerful the Board of Education really could be. And I just wanted to say I've been really grateful and honored to be part of it, even though a role at times was kind of nebulous, and And thank you so much. I'm not going to say that also. I just want to thank you all again for this incredible opportunity, see everything work firsthand and contribute however I was able to. Thank you. I'll take this with me wherever it may go in the future
And welcome and congratulations to Chloe and Elias sitting in the audience. This is a good introduction for next year, and good luck to all of you for having them in the future. Thank you. And that is the last one from us. High School East, what are your plans beyond going to the beach? I'll be going to Cornell University to study government and hopefully attend law school.
I'll be going to Washington University in St. Louis for poli sci and history dual major, also to attend law school eventually. Go Bears. Thank you guys for that. And thank you for sharing your time with us, all four of you throughout this year. I know senior year is just an amazing, crazy, busy time, transformative on the threshold of something new, saying goodbye to things. And you came and you did your responsibility and you sat here and you listened and you contributed and student voice, although sometimes nebulous, is also really important to the board. There have been pivotal moments in my time on the board since 2022 that things came before the board, and it was the student rep's voice who made a difference
And you guys have made a difference this year. It makes a difference that you sit with us, not only as a reminder of why we do what we do, but that student voice is really important in all the decisions that we make, and the decisions we make affect you guys, and the way that you experience schools, and ultimately your trajectory for the future. So thank you for sharing your time with us in this very important year for all of you, and we wish you the absolute best And we will see you at graduation. It's going to be here before we know it.
into our incoming reps, we promise we're not that scary. Are there any administrative presentations this evening? There are not. So we are going to move to first public comment. And I see some students in the room and there may be students online. So I'm just going to say that At public comment, first public comment is for board action items only. Those are items we're voting on tonight, but the exception is that if you are a student, you may comment on any topic at first public comment. So if you are a student online, please put an S after your name, that way I know to call on you first. If you're a student in the room, you may approach the microphone when we start
and speak on any topic that you would like, because we know you all have to get moving, and you have homework and whatever else you're doing tonight, enjoying the beautiful weather outside. And we appreciate and respect your time being here, because we know you're very busy So the Tonight, the action items are items 13 through 22. Is that correct, Mr. Greenbaum? Because I have been screwing this up. I'm correct tonight. It is items 13 through 22. All you need to do when you come up is provide your name and municipality, and you'll have 3 min to speak. I alternate between speakers in the room and those wishing to comment online.
Each speaker has three minutes, and the timer on the screen will indicate the amount of time remaining. All statements, questions, and comments are addressed to the chair. That's me, and your inquiry may or may not be addressed by administration. That's him at the close of the session. So that's how public comment works. Because there are students here, I also want to explain Public comment is not a back and forth between the board and the commenters. It's your opportunity to comment for up to 3 minutes on a topic. And then at the end of public comments, if there's a response that will come from district administration, which is superintendent and his staff. But the board does take notes, and we listen to everything you say, and we're happy that you're here.
Okay, so let's start public comment. I'm going to start in the room as we do by custom. You can go first, approach the microphone. Mr. Schimp is going to put the timer on the screen, and you'll have 3 minutes. Just your name, your municipality, and then you can begin your comment. Is it possible to make this a little bit lower, or does it just stay here? Actually, I think it's okay, because it works. Okay. Good afternoon, Board of Education members. My name is Habibatu Samura. I am part of the African American Culture Club at Choi Hill High School East. Here to express our concerns about maintaining African American studies as a graduation requirement
During my sophomore year of high school, I took both AP US History and AP African American Studies, and a common pattern that I noticed while taking both courses was that in my US history class, although African American study was mentioned The course did not fully expand the depth of how integrated Black Americans were in U.S. history. In my AA studies class, I was able to grasp truly how much African Americans contributed to the identity of our country.
Keeping that in mind, I believe that the Board of Education should keep this course as a graduation requirement because it allows students to see a large view of US history, and it ultimately helps future leaders of the world. To begin, African American studies should remain a requirement at EAST because it shows how entrenched African American history is in the country. In my AP, African American Studies class, we learned that US history didn't just start with the colonies, but with Esteban de Durrentes
The first non-native Black man to explore the U.S. We didn't just learn about the brutalities of slavery, but we also learned about resistance, both big and small. We didn't just learn about desegregation and how, but most importantly, how inequality still grew through systematic and social implications, and we learned that the impact of the civil rights movement was not only in the U.S, but through Afro-Caribbean and African liberations movement that followed After
African American Studies allowed me to see the full scope of Black Americans' contributions, struggles, triumphs, and how much they are deeply integrated in our country's identity This course exemplifies that African American history is U.S. history, and to remove it as a requirement would be saying otherwise. Lastly, AA studies helps the leaders of the world with the hundreds of future leaders of the world, for example, that we have right here, in the halls of our high schools, we as a district are pushing them forward by showing the full scope of who we are as a country
We allow future presidents, doctors, lawyers, politicians to understand the challenges faced by one of the largest minorities in the US. We allow them to not only understand the struggle, but to be acting as a bridge between the divide and the disparities in the US, pushing them to have a larger advantage in their field. I know I'm over time, so I'll just stop right here, but please consider this, and thank you for your time.
Thank you so much for your comment. And I know three minutes is short, so if you would like to email us your comment, that way we have a copy of it, that would be really great. You can either email it to the full board if you email it to me, I'll make sure to forward it out to them so everybody can see what you had to say. All right, thank you for coming tonight. I'm looking online. I don't see any students, so I'm going to continue with students in the room. Are there any students who would like to make public comment this evening?
My name is Vincent Stern. I'm also a member of AACC at Cherry Hill Lease. is… I'm just waiting for y'all to… I just don't want to start before the timer To add on to what Habibusu had previously said, I believe that we should keep African American studies as a graduation requirement, because not only does it provide students with the information needed to fully grasp the concept of African American culture, African American history
Because at the end of the day, it is US history. It also allows students to make connections to overwhelming systemic issues for Black people in America, which ultimately serves to undermine certain prejudices, biases and stereotypes against this community And that allows students to reconsider certain bosses that they had learned outside of the classroom. And overall, it makes the community of Cherry Hill East and of the district in general
safer, more inclusive, and just overall more culturally diverse For students who are of every race and ethnicity. That's all I wanted to say. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your comment. There is someone online with a hand raise. It says Skyler. Skyler, I'm not sure if you're a student. Skyler, if you're a student, if you could unmute and just let us know.
Hello, I'm a student, yes. All right, Skyler, then it's your turn. Thank you. You've got 3 min. Okay. Good evening, my name is Skyler Adams, and I'm a student at Cherry Hill High School East, graduating a year early. I'm also a member at large of the Cherry Hill East African American Culture Club, and in a few months, I will be attending a historically Black College and University. Reading about the proposal to reconsider African American studies as a graduation requirement deeply affected me as a Black student attending a predominantly white school district. In the world we live in today, where the rights and voices of African Americans
They're constantly being challenged and minimized. Now is not the time to make our history seem less important. Throughout my experience in this district, I have personally experienced moments where I felt overlooked because of the color of my skin I have been ignored by staff after speaking, notice unfair treatment between myself and white students, heard stereotypes about black students in school hallways, and seen situations involving racist behavior that many students felt were not handled strongly enough. Because of these experiences, hearing the African American studies was one of the first requirements considered for removal due to budget cuts due to budget concerns was upsetting
African American Studies is not just a placeholder course. It teaches students that could be said, of all backgrounds about the history, struggles, achievements, and lasting impact of African Americans in this country, and how that history still affects society today. Making this course an elective instead of a requirement sends a message that learning about Black history is optional and not important enough for every student to understand. I understand that the district is facing budget challenges. However, using budget concerns to specifically target a course centered around African American history sends a damaging message to Black students like myself about what this district truly values. Although I am a graduating student and moving on to college, I'm speaking tonight because I care about the students who remain here after me.
I want to leave behind a district that continues to educate students honestly, fairly, and inclusively. The children of today are our future, and the standards set by this board matter greatly. Please take what I said into consideration. Thank you. Thank you, Skyler, for your comment. Is there another student in the room who would like to make public comment this evening? Any other students? All right, then I'm going to move on to the grown-ups. Is there any adult who would like to make first public comment? If you're a grown-up, then it's on action items only.
So those are items we are voting on tonight. There was a second public comment section at the end of the meeting for any other comments. Is there anybody here who would like to make first public comment? Okay, going on to the line, there was one hands raised. The phone number ending in 788. It's your turn. Please unmute and give us your name and municipality and the action item on which you are speaking. My name is Jeff Podowitz. I live in Cherry Hill, and you know I know the numbers. 20.9 appointment of food service management company, vote no. October, November of 2019, we made national news about a debt
All right, for a lunch of our less than $20,000. Let's just go to look the first, the two to fish First, the tuna fish First, first the tuna fish Badge of shame, next ban from the prom, right? This, the cost of this is going to be over $3 million. That is a… that is a lot of money. A heck of a lot of money. That's all I have to say. Alright?
Over $3 million is a lot of money, alright? Something's on. What are we doing? Are we paying for, for preschool breakfast and lunch, like the… like the school that, like the, that's it, or out of district? That's what the state wants. Are we doing that? And for snacks, what about the students that should be getting, qualified for free and reduced lunch What about then? Something's wrong with that $3 million figure. It's way too much. Agenda item, agenda item 21.9. We have a district transition coach. Vote no. What's the transition from? Is it from
From junior high… from middle school to high school, from junior high school to high school, is it from preschool? What is this coach? We don't need to know. We need another teacher. All right. Just don't create this position, alright? 19.5, just look at this, professional service agreements. Just look at this. It's under special education. Why do we need healthcare consultants, newborn nurses? Why do we need to provide newborn nurses for kids in Cherry Hill? I mean, that should be a state, if the state wants to do that, fine, but we are paying for new nurses of newborns.
That's ridiculous, but that's Cherry Hill, all right? We're also paying for the Labor Diverse Collaborative. The purpose of a labor management collaborative is for people to be over the summer, is to really uplift the district, to make it better. Well, I will tell you, grades have dropped Since the time that we've instituted the Labor Management Collaborative. It's not helping education in this district. Drop that, save some summer money. We have all these people with speech and language, all these All these people coming in for ESY. What is that ESY? Is that our students? Is that our… is it… for summer programs, we have kind of 30 teachers for… this is all for kids with disabilities. Is it not for kids with disabilities? What exactly is this for?
We're spending so much money. People look at these figures, whether it's 19.5 or there was, I told you, this is where all our money's going. We have so much money. We need dollars. No, vote no with a lot of Thank you, Dr. Podowitz. Dr. Podowitz, thank you for your comments. We appreciate them. Going back to the room. Is there anyone else in the room who would like to make first public comment this evening? I don't see any takers going back to the line. Anybody for first public comment? I don't see anybody in the room. I don't see anybody online, so I'm going to close first public comment this evening.
And move on to correspondence. Mr. Schimp, is there any correspondence for the Board tonight that you have received? There is not. And moving on to superintendent's report, Dr. Morton, do you have any report tonight? Yes, absolutely. Thank you, Ms. Thank you, Ms. Winters. Just a few things for me. Kudos, first and foremost to our Board of Education reps. You guys have done a fantastic job this year. Definitely appreciate your preparation that you've taken
And the way that you've approached these meetings with diligence and seriousness, and just totally, totally prepared in the moment. I have absolutely no doubts in the world that you guys have a very, very bright future, and I'm certain that you will continue to do great things as you move forward. So thank you. Thank you so much for your time and your diligence. And nothing is nebulous. There's learning that takes place in every experience, each and every moment of every day, so that's the way I look at it.
Yes. Also, I want to say thank you to our community for the continued advocacy. I did put a note out elevate that thought, but just thank you to the community for continued advocacy. Thank you to all of those who spoke This evening, all of our students who spoke, all of the emails that we received thus far about African American studies and that course is a graduation requirement. Makes me proud to hear our kids come forward and to advocate for what they believe
I just want to be clear, the board is not at this point taking action on any recommendation to eliminate that course. That's not what's happening. There are discussions that take place at the board table, but that doesn't mean that there are recommendations that have come forward to act on any of those discussions. Should there be any actions that take place? You would hear it from me, and you would hear the recommendation amplified throughout the community. So, thank you for your advocacy, though
around the importance of that course, and what it's meant to students across the district. So the final, we are in the final week of May. doesn't feel like Memorial Day, right? It doesn't feel like it during this past few days, but June is right around the corner, and we're approaching the final weeks of school, and as we approach the final weeks of school, we think of all the wonderful activities that tend to take place
It's just so many great things that happen throughout the district as we lead into graduation. One such thing I just I would like to bring attention to, it's actually the 20th year of this fundraiser. It's Alex's Lemonade Stand Actually took place today at Joyce Kilmer Elementary School. Denise Rosky is the individual who has facilitated this over the years, and as Ms. Rossky reached out and said that this is the 20th year, it's like hard for me to believe that, you know it's been taking place that
that long, but it's just one example of the service-oriented attitude that our staff and our schools and community take. As you think about, you know, fighting against childhood cancer, there's also a component of this where individuals donate the hair to those who are undergoing treatment and, you know, need, need hair as well But it's just beautiful to be out there today and to see the energy, the enthusiasm. Mr. Sweeney was in the dunk tank today, so I'm getting dunked a couple times as well. But all four great event, and truly is reflective of who we are as a district, so
With that, I'll say thank you. Thank you. Moving on to old business, I have a little bit of old business tonight, which is an update on our fair funding advocacy efforts. As Dr. Morton referenced, he did put a letter out to the community today. It was on district social media and also on the district website. Thank you to Ms. Baradi for her tireless efforts to get information out there where it's needed So we met with Commissioner Locks, the New Jersey Department of Education Commissioner. When I say we, the team was Mr. Schimp as business administrator, Mr. Greenbaum and I from the board, and Dr. Morton, along with our
District 6 representatives, so that was majority leader Greenwald, Assemblywoman Kane and Senator Beach. The commissioner was there, also members of her staff and members of Governor's Council, which are high-level governor's staff and other aides and people who are in the know about the funding formula. It was a really, really productive meeting, and I just want to emphasize that these meetings would not be happening if it wasn't for the community's advocacy efforts. The reasons that we are getting these meetings and getting the attention of high-level people in Trenton is because the community has consistently and forcefully advocated for itself to tell them that
The budget impacts on Cherry Hill are real, that we're at a breaking point this year, and that we need help in order to move forward so that we're not cutting things that matter to us. We're not impacting the education of our students. So the advocacy efforts continue. The conclusion of that meeting was twofold First of all, the Commissioner asked if she could come to Cherry Hill and see what we're talking about. So we will be hosting the commissioner for a meeting in Cherry Hill and a walkthrough of our buildings to see the amazing work that we do here, and what our budget supports.
Which is the excellent education that Cherry Hill is known for, and why that matters to the people in our community and our students and our teachers and our staff. So that will be happening coming up, and I think that's really important. I know that when Ms. Stern was prior to being a board member, I believe, and an advocate The Commissioner of Education came here at that point as well to see what Cherry Hill is all about. I think there is a mistaken impression out there that Cherry Hill is a district that has the ability to pay these extraordinarily high taxes, and that it doesn't impact the people in this community. People have no idea what Cherry Hill is all about. They don't understand who we are, economic diversity
all the things that go on in this district, and so we need to show them who we are as a district. So we're going to be talking to them about the reality of what it is like here in Cherry Hill, how our community has stepped forward again and again to support our schools, including with the bond referendum which the community voluntarily took on additional tax burden to fix our buildings after years and years of neglect caused by, you got it, underfunding from the State, which is what's happening again. So I think that's going to be a really important piece of the puzzle. A second piece of the puzzle is that
We are so loud, along with other districts along around the state, that they know that this cannot go on So there will be talks beginning this summer. They said July, which is right around the corner, to talk about a new funding formula with the goal of enacting a funding formula prior to next year's budget cycle. This is an extremely aggressive timeline. As somebody who worked in Trenton, I can tell you that I find this to be Surprising. But as always, I am cautiously optimistic that this is going to happen because they don't want to hear from us again next year. And I think they're realizing from hearing from districts around the state that this really is the breaking point for many districts who are at this point selling buildings just to keep the lights on
Eliminating all sports at different levels, eliminating transport. I mean, the things that people are eliminating, even local districts in our area are eliminating because they simply cannot afford to do this anymore without proper support from the state. I don't ever want us to get there, and that's why this is the year when we've got their attention, we have to keep pushing. We cannot let up. So, if you have called, I ask you to call again. If you have emailed, I ask you to email again. And I know that we're all busy and it's Maysember and everybody's got 10,000 things with their kids
every moment of every day right now. But I'm asking you, if you have a minute, keep the pressure on, because the pressure is what's working. Boards of education Around the state are complaining But if it's just the nine of us, they're not going to listen. It's when you have an entire community united saying, this is not sustainable for us, that they are actually paying attention. So I think the moment is now this is the inflection point And I'm just going to really encourage the community to keep going Because we're almost there And I remain hopeful that there will be real significant change so that we can support the education that the community expects of us, that the community aspires to, because that is why we are here as a board.
So that is my little speech. Do any board members have anything else they want to add on fair funding? Mr. Fain. I just had a question about that. Will they be touring the actual district or the build inside the buildings and the school system? Like, do they actually get into the community and see the different like What's going on? Yeah, we're still putting that together, but we're thinking to tour a few of our school buildings. Gotcha.
I'm just asking because I'm clearly not as in the know as Dr. Morton. Mayor Fleischer is also in support. I neglected to mention, and I do apologize, Mayor Fleischer, if you're out there, he was also in the meeting in support of us and in support of the community and the work that we're doing. And he is also part of the commissioner's visit. So it really is one Cherry Hill United Which is what we need it to be. It's… it's the CHEA and Zone PTA, and the board and the administration, and the township, and everybody saying the same thing, and I really think that's why we're making progress, because we're united in our voice
Don't forget that we are the largest school district in South Jersey by far now. We are over double the size of Camden when it comes to student population. And so our voice matters and we can use our size, which everybody always says Cherry Hill is so big, as if it's a negative, and in some aspects, I guess it can be, but in this moment, it is a positive. Because we have the numbers to make ourselves heard, and it's making a real difference. There are other smaller districts around South Jersey who are in dire straits But they're not able to mobilize the way to… and on the scale and the scope that we are. So right now, we are really able to advocate effectively
for ourselves, but also for other school districts in South Jersey and lend our voice that the entire system is unsustainable going forward. Dr. Braddock. I echo what Mr. Fain said. I think it's going to be really critical to show them economic diversity in Cherry Hill. So if you can strategically go down some streets and other streets, go to some neighborhoods and other neighborhoods as you go to the schools, I think that's going to drive the point home, not just the schools themselves. So this is really And I don't want to speak for the board, obviously, but this is really heartening to hear that there's actually movement in some direction, and I think you're absolutely right, Ms. Winters, that it's strike while the iron's hot now.
Yeah, and I think when we were in the meeting, Dr. Morton turned it over to me and I just sort of went for it as best as I could. I talked about the fact that 25% of our kids are now on free and reduced lunch. I talked about the fact that we have eight title one schools. I talked about the fact that averaging out Income and wealth does not give you an accurate picture, and that property taxes are regressive and impact the people in the community the most who can afford to pay at the least. And that almost 90% of our school budget is now funded by local property taxes, which is nobody's definition of a fair share. I really went for it and I said all the things that we say at this table
And I sent it directly to them. As strongly as I could, and I do think they heard us. I did. I wasn't shy, at all, and I won't be, because I, like I said, I… having had… having worked in Trenton for years I do think that when When these conversations are happening and when you have the moment where you have their attention, you have to use that attention effectively and focus it on what matters in order to propel change forward. So we can't take our foot off the gas is what I'm saying.
And I am. I am truly, and I am not just saying this just to say at the board table, I am truly optimistic that something is going to happen here. Because if you look at the statewide press, any of the reporting coming out of nj.com, which is the Star Ledger, you're seeing that it's not just us, it's districts around the state. And these legislators don't want to hear it from us year after year after year. And there are legislators all across the state who have districts that are screaming Districts are completely shutting their doors. That's how bad it is closing schools. So I think the moment is now. And I remain hopeful. Majority Leader stated that there's a working group and I'm in it
And I plan to be in it and really push for some kind of solution that benefits Cherry Hill and the almost 11,000 kids that we're here to advocate for. Because if we're not doing that, then why are we even up here as the board? Any other board member questions about fair funding? Dr. Morton, did I capture it? Captured it. All right, so stay tuned. I will continue to communicate as best as I can by reporting out at these meetings. I know that Ms. Bharati and the administration also have lots of communication channels they can use to get information out there, and if there is any movement, including any legislation
bills that are dropped in Trenton That may be worth pushing or advocating for specifically. I will have that communicated out so that people know where to direct their advocacy to make it the most effective that it can be. Awesome. Is there any other old business tonight? Seeing no other old business, I'm going to move on to our organization agenda. So this is the action agenda part of the meeting where we start voting for those of us in the audience who maybe have not attended millions of these board meetings
Tonight we have our My organization And the superintendent recommends, and I move the following agenda items 13 through 17 inclusive. These are all the organization items. Is there a second? Ms. Palmer, are there any questions on these items? It is a long list Seeing no questions, Mr. Schiff, can you please open the voting?
Mr. Schimp, I'd like to abstain from 13.33, but yes to everything else. Say that one more time. Just 13.33 absent. The rest is yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Now I'd like to make a motion to move agenda item 18.1 and 18.2. Those are the minutes. Do I have a second? Dr. Braddock, are there any questions on the minutes?
Seeing no questions, Mr. Shinff, please open the vote. Mr. Shimp I need to recuse myself from the HIV appeals on 18.1 and 18.2.
Thank you. And one more from me, the superintendent recommends and I move the following, the CNI agenda, agenda items 19.1. Through 19.12 inclusive. Is there a second on the Cni agenda? Mr. Fain? Are there any questions for Cni tonight? Seeing no questions, Mr. Schiff, please open the vote. Mr. Schimp, I have to recuse myself from all of the items related to Cooper Health Systems and the rest is yes.
I'm sorry, Mr. Shimp, I apologize. I need to, on the record, recuse myself from previous 18.2. I was not in the meeting on April 28th Sorry little behind. And I'm going to recuse myself on 19.7 to avoid a conflict of interest, but yes to the rest. Motion carries.
Thank you, Mr. Greenbaum. Can you please move the B and F agenda? Thank you The superintendent recommends and I move the following action agenda items 20.2 through 20.15 as presented. Do I have a second? Dr. Braddock. Are there any questions or comments? I have one one thing to bring up in 20.15, acceptance of donations when we vote on accepting these, I always like to read through them
show our appreciation. We have a donation from Robert Strauss to be used for assisting families in need for the senior trip at High School West from the Dan Melby Foundation to be used for DECA competition at High School West. from Cherry Hill Education Foundation to be used for character education at man from West's swim team booster to be used for assisting families in need for the senior trip at High School West, from Alan and Harrison Miller to be used for assisting families in need for senior trip at High School West
from the Manders family to continue funding the Jacob Manders Scholarship at High School East, and from Longwood Gardens to be used for buses for the field trip to Longwood Gardens at High School West. As always, thank you very much for your generosity. It is greatly appreciated Okay, any other discussion, comments, questions? Seeing none, Mr. Schimp, please open the voting. Mr. Schimp
I need to abstain on the payments to Bancroft on bill list number 4 on agenda item, I'm sorry, 20.2. Let me ask on everything else. Mr. Schimp, I'm going to abstain on 20.4 and a yes to everything else. Mr. Shimp, I'm going to recuse on 21. I'm sorry. I'm already ahead of myself, 20.12, I'm sorry, to avoid
a perceived conflict of interest. Motion carries. Thank you, Ms. Stern. Can you please move the HR agenda? I think I was already moving in that direction was the problem. Superintendent recommends I move the following action items 21. through 21.13 As presented, do I have a second? Mrs. Amenzano, are there any questions or comments?
Mrs. Turfing. So I know we discussed it last time, but I was hoping you can just give us a quick reminder of what the job description was in 21.9. I think you must have read my mind, so thank you. Thank you for raising that. So, yeah, so this is a position that we discussed both in HR and in the special education committee meetings. This was brought forward by our Director of Special Education
to provide more support for some of our students who are remaining in district to ensure that they have the proper And really supports that we're required to provide to them for as they make transitions both from middle school to high school and from high school and beyond. And to support them and their families through those transitions. It specifically a
kind of a an area that we have not previously really needed to fill, but as we are increasing inclusivity in our programs that we're offering as they're growing, which is the, you know, larger kind of district-wide long-term goal is more and more and more inclusivity rather than Sending students out of district, students that we can serve in their home school district of Cherry Hill Public Schools, we want to do that having this coach position will help provide the supports that they really need. It's something that we're aware, we've become aware that is a gap that we want to fill, if that makes sense. Does that answer
Yep. Any other questions or comments? Seeing none, Mr. Trump, can you call the vote, please? Motion carries. Thank you, Ms. Palmer, can you move the P&L agenda, please? I can. The superintendent recommends and I move the following agenda items 22.1 through 22.4 as presented, and for the sake of clarity, the items in 22.3 are from the discussion in executive session
On May 12th. Do I have a second? Any board member questions, comments, discussion? Okay. Seeing none, Mr. Shim, can you open the vote? Mr. Schempf, I need to recuse from 22.4. Mr. Schimp, I also need to recuse from 22.4 And Mr. Schimp, I need to abstain on 22.3 because I was not here on the 12th.
Mr. Schimp I hope… maybe I'm the last one. I have to recuse on 22.4, because I was not here on 428. You were not the last one. Mr. Schemp, if I need to recuse from 22.3 due to my not being here on the 12th. Yeah. Yes. Motion carries.
If Mr. Schimp says the motion carries, then I believe him, as we're all attempting to count to 5 up here. I was just asked, I moved all the organization items together. 13 through 17, and then we did the minutes separately. Is that okay? All right. Then I did it. I'm going to blame the piece of paper that told me to do it
Like that movie Anchorman, whatever it says on a piece of paper, I read it. There is nothing for governance this evening. Is there any new business before the Board of Education this evening that anybody would like to raise? Mr. Fain. So I don't really know if this is the best place to discuss it, but I think, I was going to wait till board member activity, but I feel like it's something that should be actually discussed, maybe? in one of the events that I attended last week, something was brought up that I thought was a really good idea, so I'd like to just present it in new business. It goes with our efforts of communication and all the things that we were doing, and something that was suggested was seeing if there is a way to tie our district calendar to a Google
Calendar for easier access for those people who use their electronic devices and such. We had a robust discussion on how great things have been updated and communication has improved, and that was just a suggestion that was brought through From the community, and I thought that was a great idea. I'm going to second that one. We were at the same event. It was the pain PTA. And I don't even know if this is possible. I know that I have Google calendars individually for some of my kids' activities that just populate into my Google Calendar. Like I can add the Cherry Hill East Marching Band calendar
to my Google Calendar, and then I know where my kid is when he's at practice. So I don't know if that's something that we even could do, but people seem to struggle. I struggle coordinating Mr. Pulvinsky is looking at us like maybe Yeah, I don't know if that's possible, but I think as we're striving to communicate better and better and people tend to use everything on their phone, sometimes it's challenging. Or one thing that we found in the past is there are older versions of the calendar that continue to float around and people are referencing previous versions
and maybe don't have the most updated version. So, I thought it was a good idea from a community member. Any other thank you. Any other new business? This evening All right, seeing no new business, we are now in second public comment. So second public comment is the public comment section where you can speak about anything that is relevant to the operations of Charter Hill Public Schools. Similar to first public comment, though, if you're a student, you get to go first. So if you're a student listening online and you'd like to comment now, or if you're a student in the room Please identify yourself
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 demean are defamatory to any individual or any group of individuals will not be tolerated 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's operations may communicate directly with the superintendent and board president via email or other alternative means. Similar to first public comment, you will have three minutes. You just have to say your name and your municipality. By custom, we start in the room. Is there anyone who would like to make second public comment this evening?
Students, grownups, anybody who would like to approach the microphone. Come on up and just state your name and municipality. The timer will show three minutes. Hi, Corrin Elmore Stratton, Cherry Hill. I'm out here to speak on with all of those students spoke on earlier. First of all, to my former colleagues, good to see everyone Glad that we are still working together nicely. And as someone that is, still a resident, as I said, still a parent, as I said, a former Cherry Hill West alumni, and the person that was on the team that laid the groundwork for the African American course to become a
requirement, I had to be present today to say I completely agree with the students that there is so much relevance and necessity for that course, and if for the board member that did bring it to the table, to the group, I would love to hear the the more defined reason that that is specifically in this time of our culture where, I know we are a bipartisan school district and bipartisan Board of Education. However, outside of these walls where our students are roaming the community
They are already being torn down by our administration as a whole. And I can say that personally as an African American woman. So where we are already having spaces and places where our students are being erased, torn down. misunderstood, no longer heard, and DEI has become such a dirty word. It really is disheartening to hear that that would even be a thought for anyone on this Board of Education to think of to do at such a time, especially when our representation in this community, if you go back to the 19 hundreds early 1900s
We were at 2%, 4% of the community. Now we are way beyond, but not as beyond as we should be. And part of that is because of the economics that you brought up here. Part of that is because of the societal things that happen here in Cherry Hill that the students brought up Everything that they had… they voiced that they experienced, I experienced as a high school student here. I experienced as someone working in the district here, and I experienced it sitting in the seats that you're sitting in right now on the Board of Education. That should be a reason enough for you to not bring up something so casually
But to take time to go back and find out the history and the process that it took to make the rigor of that curriculum and to bring the community together the way it did on such a topic. So I know Mr. Fain, you brought it up, so I hope that you would go back and sit down with those folks, because we're still here in the community, the ones that laid the groundwork and the foundation for that, and we're going to continue to come here should it be brought up again, we will continue to come here and stand in the gap for any other parents of color
that aren't able to make these meetings or are not in the know, because we are one community together, and we're not going anywhere, and the record has shown it's just increasing. So if anything you'd like to discuss, you should be talking about what is the next step instead of just using our diversity economically When it's fiscally relevant for you in terms of need, okay? Thank you, everyone. Thank you for your comment. Going online, the 1st caller is Ms. Alani Yaris. Alana, please unmute, give us your name and municipality.
Alana Yarris, Cherry Hill. I just want to thank the board and district for the recognition tonight, but I also wanted to say that it's not just my voice, it's the community that has reached out and made themselves heard and fair funding will continue to work year round not taking a break in the summer the way we have in the past because We know that it's important to be heard at the state level, and I'm glad that the large community of Cherry Hill had their voices heard by the state and that there's more action and movement forward so that we can get our fair share and that when the governor says she's fully funded
education. It's not at the detriment of Cherry Hill, but at the benefit for Cherry Hill. So thank you to the community for having their voices heard loudly by government and legislative officials, so that Cherry Hill can get its true fair share that it's been denied for so long Thank you for your comment. Going back to the room, is there anyone who would like to make second public comment tonight? Please approach the microphone. Good evening, Carol Raskov, regular Cherry Hill citizen.
I'm going to First of all, I want to acknowledge that some of the donations to Mr. Greebaum, Mr. Strauss and the Millers have been making donations to Cherry Hill West. Mr. Strauss for 15 years, the Miller family for over 20 years for students to go and senior trip the Miller family's son, Jeff, was a graduate of 05-06. I can never remember what year passed away this summer between graduation and going away to college. And so
They always said Jeff's favorite thing was senior trip, and so they make sure that all students have that opportunity with that donation every year. So I just wanted to make sure that that was recognized. I am also here tonight, really, to talk about the idea of eliminating the African American history course as a required subject for graduation. I was perplexed when I saw that and heard it at the last meeting as to why that would even be a consideration.
And the current political environment that we are living in, it doesn't make sense to me that we would want to take away something that would allow our students to learn about each other, learn about themselves, and become a part of the community that we always bring out and talk about and are proud of our diversity and our tolerance and our inclusivity, and the one thing that really makes that true, there's a conversation about taking it away. Mr. Fain, what alarmed me the most was that when one of your colleagues asked you why that course, you couldn't answer that
And as someone who has been sitting in that seat before you brought that up, you should have been able to answer that question. I want to remind everyone in our community that if you value the things that I hope we all value, there is an election in November and three seats on the board will be up for election This is not a big election year. We're not voting for governor or president or even mayor and council is going to be very important that you go out and you vote for the people who you think represent you. A few meetings ago, Mrs. Chafane said to us
You continue to elect people who don't represent your best interest. So now I am putting that back out there. Do we want to continue to elect Board of Ed members who may not represent our best interest? Going back to the line, the next person is a caller with a phone number ending in 788. Please unmute and give us your name and municipality.
My name is Jeff Podowitz. I live in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Okay, let's start out with there was something quickly written and but basically what we found out is that if we look at the fiscal year And 22, and compare it, our taxes, our tax levy to fiscal year 2027, which is next year, the difference is $50 million. $50 million, based on 11,000 students
That's an increase of 4,550-plus dollars a student That's how much our tax levy has increased in a 5-year period. That's a number that you can… you can tell them. That's a huge amount of number, and our taxes were high high before that. There's an article that maybe everyone would want to read, and it's entitled, S2 Students Behind How New Jersey… New Jersey's Amended Public Schools Fund Legal Legislation Failed to Provide All Students with a thorough and efficient public education 2024 and in one of the footnotes on page 18 or 19, if you go that it's by the students
Who wrote it's name is Robert Aronson. He was a law student at Seton Hall. If you look at it carefully, what you're going to find out is that we're in it We're mentioned in one of the footnotes how much we were We were one of the cheated districts, and how it matters that we have 25% free and reduced lunch And it matters, and it doesn't make a difference And that's something we can… we have to be careful, but it's a very, very good article that specifically mentions… in fact, even with approximately 25% free and reduced lunch, even with at least 20% of our students, meaning the definition of being disabled, even with a relatively larger decrease in proportion of our students being English
As a second language, this is the way I feel. The state is determined that we are a wealthy community that can self-pay for everything through our property taxes. The city's basically shifting the cost of social services onto our rich community. But let's add to that When they keep on saying that our community is majority white That may or may not be technically true throughout this amount. And I remember reading an article on NJ Spotlight News In 2017, comparing our district and the black families in our district who were wealthy
Comparative. Every other family at that time in 2017, according to the article, to Black families in Camden And using that to attack our community. And I remember that article, it was 2017, A.J. Potlight News, and I took offense at that. Thank you, Dr. Podowicz. Dr. Podowitz, thank you for your comments tonight. Going back to the room, is there anyone else who would like to make second public comment?
Please approach the microphone. Good evening. Hi, my name is Jennifer Lashore and I'm a social studies teacher at High School East, and I'm speaking this evening in response to the recent board discussion regarding African American studies as a graduation requirement I would like to share my perspective as someone who was involved in the development of the course, has taught the course since its implementation, and currently serves as a co-advisor to the African American Culture Club at EAST.
It is important to remember that the effort to make African American studies a graduation requirement began with student voice. Student leaders identified what they believed was a gap in their educational experience and advocated for the course Their efforts were supported by families, educators, community members, and district leaders. I also had the opportunity to serve on the curriculum committee that helped develop the course.
Since its implementation, I have taught the course each year, and have seen students engage deeply with the content and develop a greater understanding of the many individuals, events and experiences that have shaped our nation's history In many cases, these are topics that receive limited attention in traditional US history courses, yet they are essential to understanding the broader story of American history. Based on my experience as a teacher, curriculum committee member, and advisor.
I strongly support maintaining African American studies as a graduation requirement for future students. Thank you. Thank you for your comment. I don't see anyone else online. Is there anyone else in the room who would like to speak tonight? Please approach the microphone. Cool shirt. Thanks. My name is Alan. I'm from Cherry Hill. I was motivated to speak tonight by the brave
students who came up here and gave their testimony and their story. I was here several years ago, I guess it was just over five years ago when my son was a student at Cherry Hill East And marched for this course to be part of the curriculum. I remember the How the students activated and how the community came together and marched with those students to get this course added on. And so it's heartening to hear the voices in this room today reminding everybody of that process. I worry about the message that it sends to the students
that something as important as history can be taken away. We see it all over, but it's scary to see it happen right here in the community that we live in So I just wanted to say that. I don't want to take up too much time, but I just want to thank everybody for listening. Thank everybody for their voices, and I hope that this conversation Well The message will be received that this is important to continue. Thank you.
Thank you for your comment. Going online, there's a caller. The name is Laura Einhorn. Please unmute and give us your name and municipality. It's Laura. It's Anne Einhorn, Cherry Hill, New Jersey. So I am all for student voice, but I have to tell you, the last school board meeting, a student spoke act directly to the board about their concerns about what was going on to them at their prospective high school
And quite frankly, I felt it was inappropriate at the end when the comment was made that there's a chain of command. I believe that this family has followed the chain of command starting in middle school. So, if anything, if we're there for all the students, then we have to make sure all the students are protected mentally, physically, and academically. I'd like to discuss this responses to others who are worried about the African-American mandated course This was not the first time it's been brought up. It has been brought up in C&I in past committee meetings. I don't know the notes necessarily always reflect everything that's said. So let's keep that in mind as we're moving forward. I also felt that one specific
board member was targeting another board member at that meeting, which I found inappropriate at the time, and I still do. Secondly It was resolution, I thought, that this was going to move forward, not just for the African American Study course, but also for all the courses As the board prepares itself to look at all budgetary items. And I think that's important to remember as a whole, not just simply targeting
one course, even though it wasn't dean mentioned by a board member. I also don't think it's fair that a former district employee Comes before the public and says, we are watching you, we know that some of you are rerunning for election. I think that's really inappropriate. I think the public at large is an astute And a knowledgeable public, and they can make their own decisions without being swayed by a former employee of administration. I'm really sorry, but it's just inappropriate in my eyes.
All in all, we need to protect all of our kids. We need to protect the courses, we need to figure out what courses are running at full power and also keep in mind that when you mandate any course, as we know that we have Not just the African American course. There are state mandates that require certain courses, that it doesn't disallow a child from having to choose not by right But by policy or commitment that they have a chance to choose another course that they may indeed want
And before everybody wants to come after me on social media I support any kid in any course, but if it's going to come down to a sense of economies of scale, for some courses, not necessarily the African American one, it's important the board approach it. Thank you. Thank you for your comment. Going back to the room, is there anyone else who would like to make second public comment tonight? I see no takers. Looking back online. Is there anyone who would like to make second public comment?
You see nobody in the room. Last chance, I see nobody online, so I'm going to close second public comment. We are going to move on to board member activity. Similar to the public, we get three minutes or less to discuss our activity in the community. And I am going to start with Dr. Braddock. None to report and globetrotting. Thank you. Mr. Fain. I think the only thing that I attended since the last meeting was the pain PTA meeting, which there was a few PTA meetings that were open to us last week that we were able to sign up for and attend and we were welcomed. Ms. Winters and I were welcome with open arms. The library was filled with
parents, which I thought was amazing, because the last time I attended a Pta meeting at Payne as a mom there, I would think I was one of six, so it was really exciting to see how that PTA has grown, and the advocacy that everybody in that room had for the students and the teachers, and Ms. Gleason We had a really good discussion, and I think that, I'm hopeful that we created some more advocates for everything. They seem to appreciate more insight into the process of how everything works. And I'm sure Ms. Mentors will tell you some more from her perspective, but
Yeah, I think that was the only thing I attended Thank you. Ms. Spencano. I also had the opportunity to attend two different PTA meetings. I went with some of my board colleagues to the Cooper PTA meeting and then to Woodcrest where Mr. Guy was there, Dr. Morton was there. I think it was a nice discussion. I also had the opportunity to attend the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Festival with Miss Winters and Ms. Cummings And I got to bring my 8-year-old, who had a great time. We actually had to go back in and get more snacks and watch more performances. So that was great. He was very interested in moving, grooving around in the background of West, so a great opportunity to see
some of the wonderful things our community is doing. Thank you. I attended a whole bunch of things that I'm going to summarize. I attended the NJSBA Delegate Assembly, not as a voting member, but just to observe. I attended online. It was really cool. Boards of education bring forward different proposals. The first one was ranked choice voting for board members It failed sadly, but it was a really interesting and relevant discussion about when you have an entire slate of board candidates rather than just picking three, being able to rank the candidates. That one did not pass. There were two other ones that I thought were interesting. One was about school security
But it turned into a conversation about federal civil immigration enforcement in school buildings and on school grounds. And it was a very spirited debate from board members around the state on both sides of that question. It passed overwhelmingly, and there was another one about, and this will interest anybody in the room who's interested in fair funding, about pilot payments. And sharing a portion of that with the school district. So that was also a hot topic. Again, a lot of debate, a lot of school districts in the same position we are of trying to figure out how we can possibly continue to fund our schools when our costs are increasing out of control.
So it was really neat. And when I finished it, I have completed my second level board member certification So I'm now a certified board member. Very exciting for me. Thank you, Miriam. Got a couple claps there, guys. It's pretty lame. It was all right, though. But if I get master board member next year, then I expect like a full round of applause. That'll be pretty cool. I did AAPI Festival as well. The Pain PTA meeting was super cool. A lot of questions. I got a lot of email feedback that they appreciated us being there and explaining things, especially with the way
the funding works when you talk about the bond referendum money, the preschool money, the K-12 budget, I think they think that's just a giant pile of money somehow that we have, but it's not. It's all allocated for different things. So I think that was really interesting to them to know about, and also further advocacy on behalf of the pain community I went to the East Cum Laude induction, which was really neat. It was the top 10% of the juniors and the top 20% of the senior class. It was a really great night to celebrate the academic achievement, and also the service commitment and the commitment to tutoring other students over at East. It was a really special night for the kids, and there was a giant reception
In the East Calf one, I will know for next year absolutely not to eat before I go to that because the amount of food was incredible. I saw somebody walking by with like three slices of pizza and a pile of Chick-fil-A on top of it or something. It was amazing. So whoever put the food together, that was great. I think it was the student committee that put the food together. I'm getting a yes. I went to the Student Leadership event with Ms. Palmer, but she's going to talk about that. And then the World Language cook-off with Ms. Cummings, another place where you should definitely not eat before going, because the food was incredible. So thank you to all the students of High School West. And those were all the places I was in the last two weeks
Mr. Greenbaum. Thank you. I also attended several PTA meetings at Cooper and at Woodcrest along with several colleagues. Thank you to both schools and the others for the invitations and for having us. Please continue inviting the board to your PTA meetings. It really is a great opportunity to be able to respond to Questions from families more directly. And I just want to say thank you very much to community members who came out tonight, especially our students. Your voices matter.
This section is not supposed to be for replying, but I didn't want to let it go unsaid Thank you. Ms. Stern. I attended the Woodcrest PTA meeting along with Mr. Greenbaum Ms. Manzano. And Dr. Dreisen, I'm looking around the room, I'm like, there was somebody else there with us. He's not here tonight, along with Mr. Guy was there. And Dr. Morton was there in the beginning and was able to, you know, was always helpful to
hear from our community members, and I think we tried to answer some questions the best we can I think some of those answers were dissatisfying because a lot of times we don't go into great detail, but That doesn't mean we're not listening. It doesn't mean that these topics aren't important. Yeah, that was it. Thank you. Ms. Palmer. So I do want to quickly highlight at the beginning of the month, prior to last meeting, but since I wasn't here, I had the opportunity to attend the Zone PTA breakfast at High School West. It was just a nice opportunity to kind of acknowledge and thank representatives from our various school PTAs for their work
They are also volunteers. They do a lot for our individual school communities, and of course Zone does a lot to kind of bring bring those groups together. So thank you, the executive board for organizing that event, and of course thank you to the West Catering students for the refreshments, which I will never say no to And then last Thursday, as Mrs. Winters alluded to, she and I attended the district's first ever student leadership day, which took place here at Lewis. It was a really impressive event. I think Dr. Morton said there were over 120 students who attended
What was really impressive, so the superintendents Student Advisory Council is a joint group of students, about two dozen from both high schools east and west. They come together to come up with different ideas, initiatives. One of the things Dr. Morton challenged them with this year was putting together A Student Leadership Day for kind of our upper elementary and middle school students. So they did that. And we walked in, and keep in mind, you know, so this was about 120 kids in grades 5 through 8, and then the
Student Advisory high schoolers. But these were kids that had never met each other for the most part before they walked into this building that morning. And by the time we got here in the afternoon, I mean, the conversation was buzzing. It was seamless. I mean, their ideas, the energy was just really, really impressive. I love seeing any time that all of our students from… we know how different our individual school communities are, and so to see all of those kids kind of come together and unite around these ideas, they put on skits, they listen to guest speakers throughout the day, and to see the way that our high school students facilitated those conversations
I said it once, I'll say it again. It was really, truly impressive. So I'm glad I had the opportunity. Thank you to the students who plan the event. I know they're already talking about next year's event, so I'm happy to hear that it's not just a one-time occurrence. And to the kids who came and participated in grades 5 through 8, I mean, you guys knocked it out of the park, so thank you for allowing us to be a part of the day. Ms. Cummings.
So like some of my colleagues, I attended the Cooper PTA meeting, the AAPI Heritage Festival and the World Language Cookoff at West. But I also attended the fair funding meeting that happened on 5/2 Where we decided we were going, you know, full court press, all summer long with our legislators. And much like Mrs. Winters, I've very recently completed my NJSBA New Board Member Boardmanship certification, so
That's all I have. Thanks, everyone. Congratulations. I will turn it over to Dr. Morton for Superintendent comments. Thank you. Just one quick message. I just want to say, thank you as well to Senator Beach. Senator Beach has been… Senator Beach and I have been text buddies and telephone buddies over the last several weeks. No, absolutely, it's true And, he's really been very supportive in terms of helping us to advocate for our fair share, helping to organize meetings as well. So definitely want to just send a shout out to Senator Beach and say thank you for all the advocacy
Have a good night, everyone That is wonderful. I'd like to make a motion to adjourn. Is there a second? Ms. Manzano, all board members in favor? The meeting is adjourned