public notice of this meeting pursuant to the Open Public Meetings Act has been given by the Board Secretary on January 6, 2026, in the following manner. posted notice on the school bulletin board at the administration building, transmitted to the Courier Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Clerk of Cherry Hill Township. Please rise and join me in saying the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag. United States of America. One Nation, under God. indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
Mr. Schimpf, can you please call the roll? Dr. Braddock. Here. Ms. Cherfane? Here. Ms. Cummings? Here. Dr. Drizin? Here. Ms. Manzano? Here. Ms. Palmer? Here. Ms. Stern? Here. Ms. Winters. Here, thank you. We're going to start with my absolute favorite thing, which is board recognition for one of our students, Ms. Baratti, can you please come up? Little odd setup tonight, but you'll see. In a second. We are thrilled to formally recognize Kwanyun Loo at tonight's Board of Education meeting. A 10th grader at Cherry Hill High School East, he was recently selected as a 2026 Young Arts Award winner in classical music.
This is one of the nation's most prestigious recognitions for young artists and musicians. Kwanyun and his fellow award winners are recognized as the most accomplished artists, grades 10 to 12 from across the country. Young Arts Award winners are selected through a highly competitive application process that included 13,000 applications across 10 categories this year. Kwanyun currently studies the cello at the Curtis Institute of Music, in addition to recognizing him tonight, we are excited to hear a preview of his incredible talent.
Hey everyone, my name is Kwanyun Loo. And today, I'll be playing box suite number 4, the Borece. So there's bore A1 and bore A2, and they have. They're both dance movements, and they have a contrasting character. So, I'm excited to play this for you guys. Hope you enjoy.
Okay.
That was just lovely. Thank you so much. It was such a treat to have you come play for us tonight. We really, really appreciate you being here. I don't… I think we should just end the meeting right now. There's no following that with anything that we're going to do. There's no following that. And I'm being told Ms. Baratti has something else to tell us. It won't be as good as that, though. No, you should come every meeting.
So, one more recognition we do have tonight. In New Jersey, January is the annual school board recognition month. It's a time we get to recognize the roles and responsibilities of local boards of education and their members. On behalf of the students, staff, and families of Cherry Hole Public Schools, we thank you for your time and effort for serving on our Board of Education. To mark this annual Recognition Month, as I call your name, please come, uh, I guess this way, to get your certificate, or I can come to you. Whatever's easier. We'll see what happens. Mrs. Gina Winters.
Mr. Adam Greenbaum was here today. Okay. Dr. Kurt Braddock? Mrs. Renee Chaffain? Mrs. Candy Cummings. Dr. Dean Dreisen.
Mrs. Melissa Manzano? Ms. Bridget Palmer? And Miss Miriam Stern. Thank you, Ms. Baratti. Thank you for that. It is an honor to serve the community. Especially the students. So, we have no presentations this evening, and no administrative reports.
are… Next item is correspondence. Do any board members have correspondence for tonight? Dr. Braddock, you're going to be thrown off because now you're on the other side of the room, and you're going to tell me where to start. I'm never thrown off. And we start on my side, none to report. I have a few things, um, right before winter break, I saw the West, um, winter concert, um, which was filled with joy and music, and obviously I love all of those things, so congratulations to Ms. Chambers and all of the West, uh, singers that were there.
I also got to attend the Carusi Course of Study with, um, Dr. Dreisen and Mrs. Palmer, which was great. I'll let one of them talk about that, and I'm excited to attend Malberg, um, Malberg Back to School Night tomorrow. This is your pain. Um, I was able to attend the ROSA course of study night, which was really nice, packed house. There wasn't a seat available by the end, or by the time they started the presentation. Um, thank you to Dr. Caffania for giving me a tour of the new vestibule and the new construction in the front that was really, um, exciting.
And got a little tour of the rest of the building, so it was nice. Very nice, along with Ms. Stern, I attended the sneak peeks at both of our. preschool editions at Kilmer and Mahlberg. It was really nice to see the families, and one highlight for me was that we have. recent alumni from both High School East and West working as educational assistants in our new preschool classrooms. And they were super excited to be part of… being there to teach the next generation of Cherry Hill students, so that was just really, really wonderful to see.
Dr. Dreisen? Sure, I think I, too, attended the high school information night. Um, and then I just wanted to give a heads up as part of correspondence to the board, that the Camden. um, county, um, school board association is having a virtual meeting, so that's, I mean, well, in-person's nice, at least for convenience, virtual's nice on Thursday, February 5th. So you can sign up for that online if you'd like to participate in the next virtual. Camden School Board Association meeting. So, um, uh, two things, uh, right before break, I got to, um.
As Mrs. Winters referenced. Uh, got to go to the, um, preschool sneak peek at the one I went to was at Malberg. Um, what really stood out for me, uh, two things. One was. be beautiful, amazing, brand new classrooms that we have there, um, thanks to, um. both state, um, funding and our, you know, our Cherry Hill, um. Uh, community members who supported that effort. It was just amazing to see all of these families.
Um, have access to high-quality public preschool. And the other thing was, of course, what we see at every transition level is. Um, excitement and anxiety, which, you know, we saw amongst the families and the kids, although I have to tell you, every kid I saw was having a ball. Um, and are playing in the new preschool rooms, which were beautiful, well done. The staff was amazing. It was… it was really fantastic, so… Um, and then the other thing I attended was… Um, just a really happy, feel-good at West. Uh, be, uh, Winter Wonderland, uh, which was…
just a really fun, um, uh, cookies and hot cocoa, wear your pajamas, and take fun photos. Um, it's just a happy, um. you know, a small little way, Mrs. Coffey and Mrs. Dollerton, um, just were so full of energy and exuberant, um, to just make. You know, just a fun little small way to make the students, um. help them ease into, um, the holidays along with, um, the staff. And, uh, you know, sometimes.
just always those kinds of things remind me that, you know, with the energy and enthusiasm that the staff are, um, and teachers are there, um, can really make a big difference. Um, you know, uh, to making sure that all students. have a positive experience and are included and. feel like they belong, so… It's great. Dr. Dreason, I forgot to mention that you were at Malberg with us. I am so sorry. I just wanted to echo everything, Mister Institute. I also had a chance to do the sneak peek.
And I just wanted to reiterate, really just gratitude to the staff. There was so much excitement, um, and they just… it was a wonderful day, so I just wanted to echo. And I'm sorry, I'm gonna blame my vacation brain for that. I completely just… I apologize. Miss Cummings, have you, how many things have you gone to since you've been sworn in as a board member last week? One! One! I've gotten one. Um, so along with Ms. Palmer last night, we attended the, um, high school course of study session at. Beck Middle School. Um, it was very well attended. Um, staffing did a great job delivering the entire presentation solo.
Um, and I have to say that. as I was watching students leave, they were all so super excited to hear about the. just the amazing amount of courses and… that they can take, and the control that they will start to have over their own schedule. So, it was really exciting. Both as a parent and as a board member. to be at that session. Hey, Ms. Palmer. Sorry, my mic did not want to turn on. Uh, so as a few people have mentioned, I had the opportunity to attend the Course of Study Nights at both Karusi and Beck.
As, uh, as my colleagues have noted, they were all really well attended. Thank you to Mrs. Staff and her team. the guidance teams at both the high school and middle school levels, it's a huge undertaking, and I speak as both a. board member and current 8th grade parent, it… if you haven't been there before, the high school course of study guide, the idea of scheduling, can be very overwhelming, not just for the students, but for us as parents, so… Thank you for all of the work that your teams have put into making sure that we have everything that we need, and it's as clear as could possibly be.
Um… that's all I'll say on that. I really appreciate all the work that went into it. I also just want to give a very quick plug for the, uh, first. Fair Funding Cherry Hill meeting of 2026, which is taking place, uh, this Thursday night at 7pm on Zoom. Uh, we have a new governor taking office next week with new budget priorities. And a lot of uncertainty, so for members of the community who are inclined to do so. Um, fair funding Cherry Hill is on Facebook, Instagram, the meeting link is there, but please tune in.
And make your voice heard. Thank you. A lot of good stuff, even though it's early in the year. We have made it to first public comment. There are two opportunities for public comment this evening. The first public comment section is for board action items only. Those are the items we're voting on tonight, 17 through 21 on the agenda. If you wish to speak on any topic other than what is appearing on the agenda, you may speak during second public comment. That's at the end of the meeting.
And speakers provide their name and municipality. If you are a student, you may speak at this public comment section. You may speak first. You can do that by coming to the microphone first. And stating that you're a student, or putting an S next to your name online, and I will call on you. We will alternate between speakers in the room and those wishing to comment online. Each speaker has 3 minutes to speak, and the timer on the screen will indicate the amount of time remaining. All statements, questions, or comments can be addressed to the chair. And your inquiry may or may not be addressed by administration at the close of the session.
So, by custom and practice, we always start in the room. Is there anyone who would like to make first public comment tonight on a board action item? I don't see any students in the room, unless… They're hiding behind the podium. Nope. First public comment. Rickshore Cherryhill. action item, uh, 18.2 has to do with Rutgers, uh.
Training… So, as it stands right now, and again, I'm no expert because I don't know all the details to the Rutgers. training coming in, but it's a big fat no, folks. So why is it a big fat no? Um… Again, I could be wrong. Maybe you can clarify this after I speak. Because I don't know. But under 18.2, 18.3, okay, 18.3. Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Short. Okay, yeah, 18.3, I'm sorry, Rutgers thing. Thank you. Okay, thanks. Uh, so, uh, it's a big fat no.
And, uh, the reason being is, is because right now, your ELA scores for, uh. First. 3rd through 9th graders is 64%. Um, so you have, you know, over 30% of. students failing, and I don't know if you've heard about the Mississippi Miracle yet. It has to do with phonics. Again, um, why aren't we… piggybacking off of… the Mississippi miracle.
I don't know what these Rutgers teachers. Or trainers are training, so… Why are we investing any money. in something… That doesn't work. Again. I could be, uh… I don't know what the Rutgers trainers are training, are they training phonics? If they're training phonics, then we're on the, uh… the right path. But if they're not training anything with phonics and reading. Then we're on the wrong path, and we're wasting our time. So, that's the question, and I don't always have all the answers.
But it's a big fact now. I hope they're teaching phonics, the Rutgers. People, and that's it. Thank you. Thank you for your comment. Let me look online, we do see one hand raised. It's a phone number ending in 788. Please unmute, it's your turn. You have 3 minutes. My name is Jeff Potowitz, Cherry Hill, New Jersey. 16.1 approval of attendance. conference and workshops for 2025-2026, Dr. Kwame Morton and Ms.
Allison Staffen, $3,500 plus for Dr. Morton, $3,035. plus dollars for Allison staff. Asugsu Annual Summit 2026. Um, San Diego, California, 4, 12, 15. The mission of the summit is that all people. deserve equal access to the future. That means all people. For Cherry Hill School District, considering the numerous numbers of.
state complaints at U.S. Office of Civil Rights complaints. that have been filed in support of students with disabilities, it is obvious that in our district that all does not include students with disabilities. If the mission of this conference is grounded in the belief. All right, that scaled innovations across PK through grade union are critical to achieving this goal. then why must advocates, parents, and students. fight to receive basics when it comes to students with disabilities. Maybe.
If the school district leaders stop delaying and denying students with disabilities the basics that they really need, maybe. school board, in good conscience, you should vote. to spend close to $7,000 so the administration can go to San Diego. Let the administrators first provide. and start to provide the basics. for all these students and all our students. So I'm asking you, in good conscience, vote no.
they could go somewhere else for this. Or. or they can treat maybe kids with disabilities. a little bit better and teach the basics more. Thank you very much. But Bode, no, in good conscience. 7,000 bucks. No. Thank you for your comment. Going back to the room, is there anybody else you would like to speak in first public comment tonight? Seeing no-takers, I'm gonna look back online. I don't see anybody online, so I'm gonna close first public comment, and we're gonna move into our board work session.
So the first committee report is… Me, CNI committee. And Ms. Staffen, would you like to do a course of study first, or do you want me to talk about. The other things on the agenda first. I can go first. Okay. I'm gonna be brief, because this was actually the first item on our agenda, um, was something that was split jointly between CNI and P&L, so I don't want us to be repetitive. Um, but we did consider a proposal. to permit, um, additional time for collaborative work between teachers at the middle level. This was something that had existed previously.
in the middle school model, when there were teams. And now, with the transition to the junior high model. that time for collaboration no longer exists in the daily schedule. So they were looking for ways to include that. for the second half of this year, and the committee looked at it through the CNI lens, which had to do with, you know, what the professional development. time would look like. Um, we talked about the impact on students. One of the ideas was to do early dismissal half days. like, was done a few years ago at the high school level.
Um, we talked about how half-day dismissals can be challenging for families, especially now that we're talking about middle school families, and those students are. much younger, so I think when we talked about it for high schoolers a few years ago. Most high schoolers are able to come home, um, independently. Not all high schoolers, certainly. There are some with challenges, but at the middle school level, some of the 6th graders are very young. So we talked about that. We also talked about it through the lens of, um, chronic absenteeism, and we asked for some additional data. With respect to when we had done the half days in 2024, whether there were high rates of absenteeism among teachers and staff and among students on those Fridays, and what that looks like with respect to instructional time.
We talked about… also thinking about long-term solutions so that we can incorporate this much-needed time back into the schedule for our teachers, both at the middle school and high school. Any other CNI members have anything to add? Did I pretty much capture it? So that was where that conversation was. We discussed it, um, through that lens, and we were waiting, um, for some more information, especially with respect to the absentee rates on those days before we were to move forward with. any kind of recommendation from the committee. to go forward. The only other thing on our agenda was a policy. Um, it was 26-23, and all it was was updating.
from the words Common Core, which are no longer used in New Jersey to New Jersey student learning standards. And then, a big part of our meeting was the high school course of study, so I'm going to let Ms. Staffen take it away with that. Good evening, thank you, Mrs. Winters. Um, so, as you heard earlier in the meeting, we have finalized our course of study introduction nights. for our 9th… or 8th grade, transitioning into 9th grade next year. Um, so it has started the class of 2030 has begun their transition into high school. In addition to that, we've updated the course of study catalog for all of our high school students, and in doing that.
Um, we've added 7 new courses to the course of study. We have finished. our math pathways programming. So, again, we've added math pathways that have enabled. students who maybe not… are not looking for that traditional STEM pathway. to interact with mathematics in a way that might be. Um, helping them look toward a different kind of career using math. But not necessarily in your engineering fields or things like that. So we'll be adding advanced algebra and finance, which is an Algebra 2-based course.
It will also be offered at the AH MIX, just like our quantitative reasoning and our data science have been. We'll also add two new math electives, geometric Constructions and data visualization and manipulation. In addition to that, we'll be adding a social studies elective as a companion to a philosophy and ethics course. It's been really. popular since it's been added several years ago. We're adding a Philosophy and Life course, so… those courses will run on an every other year format. We also will be adding the final of the 3 courses in career exploration.
So, career exploration will be added. Um, as the third semesterized course that will help students finalize that preparation to go into. and experiential learning opportunity when they hit that senior year. So, throughout that. three-course sequence. They'll be looking at honing in on those soft skills. finalizing your resume, working on interview questions and opportunities, as well as starting to explore some of their career interests. in order to obtain a internship in their senior year. If a student is interested in experiential learning in their senior year and does not have room in their schedule.
to fit those career exploration courses, they will still have an opportunity to do so. They'll still be able to work with their counselors. They just won't have the time during the academic day. to be working to network and find those intern experiences. In addition to that, we'll be adding film appreciation through animation. 1 and 2, which allows students to continue to explore film appreciation. However they're going to do it through the lens of animation. And that will also run on an every other year. So when we talk about every other year, when you look at the course of study now, you're going to see certain electives.
That will have an O next to them, which means it's an odd year, so if a child is, um, looking at planning a schedule for next year, 26-27. That's the odd year, it's the graduation year. So 27 would mean those courses will run next year. The even ones are actually italicized, they look a little bit different, so students will recognize that they will only be offered in an even graduation year. in order to give the students the greatest experiences and the opportunity for these courses to run.
We found it really important with such a. an extensive course of study. We have 107 pages of opportunities for our children. We felt it was really, really important for them to be able to really narrow their focus. So when you look at the course of study highlights, you'll also see. that we've been able to carve out based on what we offer, 12 different. kind of, um, pathways. work to really help students figure out where their interests are and what we might offer to help them. really almost, um… major, for lack of a better word, in that particular area. So if a student has interest in culinary, or a student has interest.
in computer science or homeland security, instead of having to go through the whole booklet to see what would fit in that pathway. We tried to do that for them, where we could give them a three-course sequence, or 15 credits. of either required coursework or electives in order to help them do that. So hopefully, we'll see a more streamlined course of study. Helping students and parents really kind of. narrow in where those interests are, and see what they would like to experience. for high school, so that they can really. kind of hone in and figure out what doors they want to open up.
as they leave Terry Hill Public Schools and enter. you know, whichever direction they choose to go when they graduate from us. Um, and a lot of this is based on survey data that we do put out to the students. every year, grades 6 to 12. This year, we had 1,250 students respond, and so we tried to tailor things based on. what their voice was also telling us was necessary. Thank you. Thank you. And to echo Ms. Palmer, as an 8th grade parent, it's such a wonderful time. Ms. Cummings, too, an 8th grade parent, you've got 3 of us here. It's such a wonderful time to get ready for high school and to look at all the new offerings in the course of study, so thank you, you and your team, for all the work that you put in on that.
Does anybody else have any questions on… CNI? Alright, then we are going to move to BNF, and Mr. Greenbaum, I believe, sent some notes to Ms. Stern to read out for tonight. Yes, so, um, in our BNF committee meeting. Um, we, uh, discussed several policies which, um, we did talk about. Um, and, um, you all had a chance to look at.
Um… actually, um, loop back to, um… Uh, Mr. Schump about one of the policies, because he, he, in response to the discussion, this was, um, about our legal services. Um, that policy, um… We… we're changing some language and made some substantial changes. Um, but in, uh, I think there's some more that will be coming. There's one more updated piece that was in the original policy that's not in this policy, so… I think we'll have that for the next… when we actually vote in our next meeting, so…
Um, uh, we also talked a lot about, um, our upcoming budget. Um, and, uh, Mr. Schimf, um… you know, shared in great detail. Um, you know. the zero-based, uh, budgeting, that is his approach, which is, uh, new to Cherry Hill, but, um. seems to… people are, you know, all of our buildings seem to be adapting to it. And should really give us a good, fresh, re-look at, um.
really the priorities is my understanding that, you know, making sure that, um. I'm making sure, but giving everyone a chance to kind of re… kind of step back, reconsider priorities as they're budgeting. Um, we also talked about… just to make sure I get everything… Um… Let me just make sure… sorry. Um, the, uh, other piece about the budget, which I think is, is, you know. Every year, it's always a challenge. in terms of not the uncertainty, there could be even a delay with the budget presentation by the governor, since.
Um, it's her first term. Um, it will be her first term, um… But, you know, we have definitely facing some really significant. Um… challenges, um, we already know, um, some of the items in our budget are gonna go, you know, we are expecting to go up significantly, way, way over. Um, you know, I think, uh… you know, way more than even, you know, in some of them in previous years, so we have a… there's a lot of.
things that are, I guess, somewhat up in the air, but essentially the. ultimate conversation is that, you know. We have to really think very thoughtfully about, um… our expenditures, our budget, and, um, and also, you know. Um, what, um, we have available to us in the way of, um. Uh, taxing authority. Um… And, um… I think that was pretty much it. I don't know, Mrs. Cummings, you were there. I don't know if I missed anything from the meeting.
No, that was pretty spot on. Okay. Um… I think… I think there's it. Any board members have questions? Mrs. Cherpaint? This might be more for Mr. Schemf. I'm curious that, um, this process of meeting with all the principals, if you're seeing any significant. cost reductions from going through this. zero balance budgeting. Method. Um, I wouldn't say… not as of yet. I mean, the principals and the schools and departments still have until Friday.
to finalize all of their justifications and budget requests, so… Um, I anticipate being able to provide some more updates, you know, on the 27th. Awesome. And then, I only had one other question. As far as the prescription plans, and we're looking at, um, all of the stuff related to medical coverage, I think last year we did not see an increase, so we were. Or maybe 2 years. Was it 2 years ago or last year? Current year, there was definitely an increase. Okay, so maybe it was 2 years ago. So, I remember having the conversation of, like, don't expect that.
in the future kind of thing. Um, is there… is there leeway with that, or is that the kind of thing where they tell us a figure and that's kind of what we have to go with and manage? We have the ability to negotiate. The renewals with both our major medical and prescription providers, dental, vision as well. Um, but typically what happens, and we're in that process now. is our current carriers will review. Uh, claims and premium, so they'll come up with our loss ratios.
Uh, which I've been discussing with our broker. Um, and then they'll prepare. a renewal for the year that they believe is appropriate. Okay. And then with, um… in connection with our broker, we'll go back to both Horizon and. Uh, benefit services to negotiate those renewal rates. Uh, in this case, right now, this year, we've, um… Or I've given them to go ahead to market our coverage levels, just knowing that we're looking at a considerable increase on both. Um, so we'll see the results of that as well. The only thing with that is, unfortunately, it doesn't really coincide.
with our budget timeline, so, um… Even though we will market those coverages, we won't know necessarily what. competition there is until late in March. Knowing that we have to, you know, finalize our budget by the end of April, so… Um, but it's also a leverage tactic as well, so if our current carrier sees a number that's more competitive. They also have the ability to adjust theirs as well. Okay. Do we… is there any sort of… this might be more of a committee discussion. I don't know if there was any discussion on.
what that will look like. what we will be faced with making decisions about, because this, I mean, this figure is… Pretty rough, 12 million is… Yeah, so we, um, we do have taxing authority. to cover, um, for… specifically to cover, um, you know, high need… higher needs for, um, if there's a health insurance… significant health insurance, and I… I don't know as much about the specifics, but that's… We are granted that taxing authority, so normally our taxing authority is, like, generally 2%.
Right? Just a flat 2%, which… As you can imagine, nowhere near covers our increases of, you know, in essentially the budgetary inflation that we face. Um, but we have additional taxing authority, we have banked cap. So that's additional taxing authority, which we did not use our full bank cap last year, because we wanted to be conservative about taxing authority. And then we have the additional taxing authority that, um, is. Um, to cover, uh. you know, significant increases in health premiums, so… you know, that's generally the way. There were some, um, there are discussions, and there are ongoing discussions about, um.
you know, ways to approach things. Um… so, you know… Uh, including marketing, going out to market, and basically, like. Bringing more competition in. Which may or may not benefit us, because if our loss ratios are so… you know, the, um, so high, I guess, in the, the… such a narrow window. We're not very. We might not… we might not be attractive to other health insurance carriers, but we'll see. So, I don't know if that helps answer… Yeah, I guess I'm just more so trying to get a… more of a better… better mental picture of what's going to be coming down.
Well, $12 million is an enormous, enormous increase. Sure, and I know that we have this. Obviously, have this discussion every year, budgets happen every year, and I'm… I'm hoping that we can find a way to be strategic, and maybe some of the other work that we're doing. I mean, a lot of the work that we do in our other committees that deal with budgetary things, so I'm hoping that. We can find better ways than increasing taxes again. Especially using the banked cap, um… Obviously.
There's a $12 million increase is significant and. Isn't easy to recover in other places, but… And I think just a point, too, like, in the private sector, when, you know, employees have the option to. substantially change health insurance coverage, right? You can go from a plan that's a copay plan to a $6,000 deductible plan. We are not in that situation in a school district. We have contractual obligations that we have to follow. So, it's a… I think the flexibility that other.
that in the private world has. We just… it's totally different. I mean, that's my understanding, and Mr. Shimp, you can correct it if I'm wrong. So, like, something like… and this is… this is, by the way, just… I think I may have said this in another committee I was in with you. literally, this is just the medical… This is not dental, this is a pharmacy, this is just the medical. Medical and pharmacy. Oh, it is? Okay, still just health insurance. It doesn't include increased transportation costs or salaries, or literally anything else in our bucket. Right, and we know that our salaries, you know, we know what those rates are, we know what, you know, where we came to, and those are public, and those are more than 2% our salary increases for.
You know, some of our bigger contracts. So it's… Yeah, it's a lot. Um, so I don't know, Mr. Schemf, if you want to say anything more that I did regarding the health insurance, like, the flexibility we have, which is such a… Big number. It was well said. I'll just… just to clarify, you know, keep in mind that the… projected increases are just those. I mean, they're estimates at this point in time. But they are based on… loss ratios as they currently exist through November, so… You know, we have a good idea as to what our carriers came back with at this time last year based on those loss ratios and knowing what they are now. These, you know, these are pretty.
we should be in the ballpark as far as those estimates go. Um, and then just a second piece to clarify what, uh, Ms. Stern said. One of the… one of the options that Boards of Ed have, as far as exceeding that 2% cap, and keep in mind that 2%. cap is on the tax levy itself, it's not on the total budget. That's also a misnomer a lot. Um, one of those, uh… options is we can exceed that 2% cap for extraordinary increases on major medical and prescription.
Um, it's also tied. that increase, or that ability to increase above is tied to the state health benefits plan. The state health benefits plan just had over a 30% increase that went into effect January 1 of this year. So, you can look at it one of two ways. That's certainly not a good thing for anyone, that those increases, but. Because the state plan increased so much, and we are anticipating. similar type increases. we'll have the ability to go up. higher, you know, if the board decides to increase the levy to cover that.
that increase. I appreciate that, and I think that this… the… main reason why I'm bringing this up is that we'll see later on in some of the other discussions we'll have in some of the other committees. I think knowing this and seeing that figure hopefully will be a reality for us when we're making other decisions in other committees that we have that can directly impact. hopefully some cost savings that will not require us, especially to go above the 2% we were lucky enough to not have to do that. last year, and I know a lot of districts went far beyond 2%.
Um, but I think it's just important for us as a board to really consider and keep in mind, because. We essentially increase taxes every single year, and it's… it's already kind of… unsustainable as a… a community member, and… I just want to make us all aware. not that you can't read it here on the paper, but I think that it's good that we're having… we're… the reality is there, and that. That is the foundation of a lot of the decisions that we make, knowing that this is in the background. Yeah, I just say that, I mean, I would agree. I think we… we have a responsibility to look at all options. So, you know, I think we've looked at, in previous years, do we cut programs?
We've looked at, do we cut staffing? Do we… like, I think, you know. I'm not suggesting we should do any of those things, I'm just saying, like, I think. we have looked at those things in the past, and I think if there's an appetite. To do that, I think we certainly can ask Mr. Trump to bring, you know. bring those options. You know, um, to do that, if that's, I think… I mean, I guess I'm just standing in for Mr. Greenbaum, but… you know, just taking a shot at that, but, um, you know, I think that's a…
you know, certainly something that can be considered, you know. What we might want to do. Dr. Dryson. Thank you. My question is just to clarify something which I think also will speak to the dire streets we're in. But you mentioned we didn't use all of the bank debt last year. I just wanted to clarify. But did we use all of the expiring bank cap last year? The expiring. So we… there was… Mr. Schump, you can probably… speak to the expiring… The point I bring this up is because I'm just saying that. each year in these dire straits, we're not building our bank cap, and so we have a near-term future where we won't have any bank-to-cap.
Available. That's… I just wanted to communicate that scenario, that we didn't use all of our. bank cap, and I think we used all of our expiring bank cap. Some did expire. Yeah, I mean, there was some… No, some didn't even expire. I see we didn't use it. So we did exceed the 2% levy this current year. Um, which utilized some bank cap, but… Some bank cap did expire. Some bank cap did expire. The bank cap that we were talking about in the… at the committee level is… Um… bank cap that was created 2 years ago, and if not utilized in 27…
26, 27, that will expire. And we're not building our bank cap right now. Correct. The only way we would… we would build, I mean. like I said, if we don't utilize the current bank cap in 26-27, that will expire. However, there would be the ability to generate additional bank cap. in 20… you know what I mean, for, like, for instance, if we choose not to utilize. that health benefits cap waiver to the full extent that we could.
that amount would then bank, although we're losing the existing, we're recreating new. Got it. Yeah. And then the other… I just wanted to express gratitude, because I think this year, you see it in this memo, we also see it separately as a board, I just think you're doing a great job laying out the timeline. And keeping us informed throughout the process, so I just wanted to say thank you. And may there be enough questions? Ms. Palmer. Yeah, I just want to quickly add, I mean, I appreciate certainly the situation that we anticipate we'll be in, especially once we get our state aid numbers. I do think, to Mr. Fain's point.
Um, I appreciate the zero-based budgeting approach that we've taken this year. I certainly hope that. you know, I'm confident that we're going into this budget year really looking at every dollar that we plan to spend. But I think we as a board have a responsibility to carry that mentality forward in everything that we consider. Um, the other thing I want to make sure that at least the public is clear on when we talk about things like banked cap. That is a banked taxing authority, that is not… they're not dollars that we have that are offering budget relief. It's just a mechanism to continue to raise. taxes year over year, which obviously none of us want to do.
Um, but certainly when we talk to some of our leaders at the state level, that is their expectation, is that. they kick the can back down to the local level, and it's. Have you text to the full extent that you can. So, when so many of our. those things are out of our control. Our medical… Prescription, state aid numbers. Um, I do just want to continue to say that I think we need to look for structural. changes that we can make. to hopefully save some… some dollars long-term, permanently, however you want to say it. I know it's not that easy, I don't know what those answers are.
I know that we have the right people in place to have those conversations, but let's… let's have them. Seeing no more takers for the dire budget conversation that nobody wants to have. Um, I'm actually gonna throw it right back to Mistern for HR committee. Um, so, as… everyone is aware, there's not really a whole lot that we can talk about, um, because it is confidential.
Um, but we, um, did talk about, um, there is a job description that is on the agenda tonight. Um, that was just a response to… we just had to correct. the phrasing, some of the language in the job description to make sure that it was. Um, accurate. Um, so, uh, and, um, I guess… you know, the way it needed to be worded, so, uh, you've seen that on the… see that on the agenda. Um, and, um… you know, we just talked a little bit about, um… Some other complementary personnel, general topics, not… not individuals, obviously, but just general topics, so… It's probably all I'm gonna say. So, but I thought we had a robust…
discussion, and uh… You know, um, you know, budget was part of that discussion. So… Any questions or comments? Anything to add from HR committee members, or any questions or comments from anybody else? And now in her inaugural… P&L report, Ms. Palmer. Okay, thank you. Um, so the P&L committee met, and we had a few things on the agenda. Um, as Mrs. Winters mentioned, there was a crossover conversation between CNI, not between CNI and P&L, but in both committees.
uh, considering a request to… Um, find ways to create more professional development collaboration time within the middle level schedules. Uh, similar conversation, I think, to what took place in CNI, although it. P&LR lens was more through the lens of the calendar, and what would the impact be specifically around the conversation about early dismissal half days. Uh, what that looks like in the context of what we already have on the calendar, impact, um… Especially on the 6th, 7th, the younger middle school age, uh, what kind of impact there might be on extracurricular activities.
Uh, things like that. Um, it was a pretty robust conversation, I appreciated that, uh, we had some leadership from CHEI in the room that could answer some questions. Uh, but we asked for some additional information as well around absenteeism. Um… between students and staff on our existing half days. what some of those challenges look like. Um… I'm left at… really left it there, but I thought it was a good conversation. Uh, Dr. Braddock, you were there, Mrs. Winters, you were there. Anything else you'd add on that particular item?
Um, and I think the agreement was similar to what you guys decided in CNI, is that. we need to look at. You know, long-term solutions. So, no resolution, no recommendation that came out of P&L on that one. Dr. Braddick, anything on that? No, nothing really additional than the fact that, um. We actually had a couple teachers there, and they appreciated that we're trying to. give them the resources they need to do their job properly while they appreciate. kind of the position we're in. So yeah, I thought it was a good conversation. Yeah, agreed. Uh, there were also 3 policies that we considered. One was a look at our waiver of student transportation policy.
That was really just a very minor language change, changing, um, in excess of, or changing more than to in excess of in three different references. Uh, so take that for what you will. And then, uh, two policies on second reading that I think will be on for board action at our next meeting. Uh, one is, uh, 2422 statutory curriculum requirements. That is a retitling of. Uh, I forget what the previous title was, I think it was Health and Physical Education Requirements. Um, we did go back to this… this has been back and forth between, uh, to the committee a few times.
Ultimately, we've… I think the. committee's recommendation is that we simplify that policy. there had been a very long, like, 26 or 27-point list of. statutorily required courses that. we… that are in the curriculum. Um, but there were, like, 10 or 11 missing. It was kind of an arbitrary list. We felt for simplicity's sake. eliminate the list, and there will be, uh, there's some recommended language that kind of captures that.
Our curriculum incorporates everything that is required by statute or administrative code. covers everything and removes the requirement that we go back every time something else is required and update the policy. Um, the second policy that we looked at was our, uh, first generative AI policy. This is a board-driven. Uh, brand new policy to the district. Uh, I think it's in a good place. Again, we had some. I'd say robust conversation around this one. There are two minor edits made from the last iteration. They were very.
Uh, very small, I think adding sound instead of music. And adding code as… into the definition of generative AI. Um… the idea here, if you look at the policy itself. It feels very broad. it will work in concert with an AI plan that the district will be developing internally. The idea is that because AI changes so rapidly, so often. We wanted a broad policy that kind of sets the guardrails and the expectation, and then the district's AI plan.
We'll, you know, look at the operations, the actual operational piece of it. Um, I think that is… that is a good way to go. It gives, you know, the administration what it needs to enforce. but also the leeway to kind of update. a little bit more timely, um, based on how quickly the technology. changes. Um… Dr. Morton, I… there were a couple questions this week from other board members around that AI policy, or the AI plan that the district will be developing. I don't know if there's anything that you want to add. Um, on that piece. I don't know if there's a ton to add at this particular time. I think you summarized it well, in the sense that the, uh… policy itself sets the framework for the development of a plan.
And moving forward, our CNI department has, um, been off and running. To be quite frank, as it relates to all things AI, and we'll be heavily involved in development of that plan. The plan itself will be public-facing, you know, we did discuss that at the meeting itself. You know, we want to put that up. And put it out there, and be as transparent as possible. Um, there are many wrinkles and nuances as it relates to AI, and. in particular, um… access… the access to information, and, you know, we… for us, it's… You want to protect student information, so, you know, how we go about doing that, um… We'll need to be very mindful, ultimately, about how we go about doing it. Yeah, and those… those are some… I appreciate the… your input on that. I mean, those are some of the broad pieces that the policy looks at.
Um, you know, parental notification at the start of each year. Um, the plan itself, I think, will speak to what's appropriate use of AI at each age level, but. Our policy says your plan shall include. So it's, it's… that's kind of the… cooperation between the policy and the plan itself. Um, are there any questions on either of those policies, or any other input from other committee members? Okay. Uh, then I guess that's it.
Thank you. Moving on to our action agenda. For the action is. Superintendent recommends, and I move the following, 17.1, approval of attendance at conference and workshops for the 25-26 school year. Oh, Renee, I'm sorry, I skipped you. There was nothing for governance tonight, right? No, we have not had our first meeting. Okay, I just wanted to double check. So, motion on the floor for 17.1. Is there a second? Ms. Palmer, any questions about agenda Item 17.1? Mr. Sim, can you please open the voting?
Motion carries. Now I'm going to ask Ms. Stern to move the BNF agenda. Superintendent recommends that I move the following, 18.1, approval of bill lists. 18.2, resolutions. 18.3, resolution for the award of competitive contracts. Do I have a second? Mr. Pain, are there any questions? Seeing none, Mr. Schump, can you please call the vote? Mr. Schimp. Mr. Jump, I'm sorry. I am a yes, but I need to abstain on the payments to Bancroft on Bill list number 4.
Mr. Schiff, I too have to abstain from the fourth bill list for any payments to Bayotta. Mr. Schump, I'm going to abstain, um, from, uh, Jewish Federation of South. Southern New Jersey on bill list number 4 as well. And I need to abstain from agenda item 18.3 due to conflict of interest. Yes, to the others. Motion carries. Thank you.
Moving on to HR, that will also be Ms. Dunn. Superintendent recommends, and I move the following, 19.1, termination of employment certificated. 19.2, termination of employment non-certificated. 19.3 appointment certificated. 19.4 appointments non-certificated. 19.5 assignment salary change certificated, 19.6, assignment salary change non-certificated. 19.7 other compensation certificated. Do I have a second? Dr. Braddock, are there any questions? Seeing none, Mr. Schump, can you please call the vote?
Motion carries. Ms. Palmer, can you please move the P&L agenda? The superintendent recommends, and I move the following, uh, number 20.1, approval of harassment, intimidation, and bullying hearing decisions. And those are the, uh… decisions we reviewed in executive session on, uh, December 16th. 20.2, approval of waiver of policy 2340 field trips. And that is to allow the robotics team. Uh, Cherry Hill High School East.
to attend an event out of state. And, uh, can I have a second? Ms. Surefain, are there any questions? Okay, uh, Mr. Shimp, can you open the vote? Mr. Scheme, I have to abstain from item 20.1, as I was not in attendance. For the HIVs. But a yes on 20.2.
Motion carries. Thank you. Mr. Fink, can you please move the governance agenda? Sure, I would like to make a motion to approve. 21.1, which is the approval of. standing committees for 2026. Do I have a second? Ms. Winters, any questions, comments? Concerns… great. Uh, Mr. Shimp, can you please open voting? Seeing no questions or comments, please open voting.
Motion carries. Thank you. Next on our agenda is new business. Do any board members have new business this evening? Ms. Stern? Um, it's actually… I made an error, so I want to apologize. This should have been after, um, the Human Resources, um. vote. I just want to thank, um, Mr. Greg Louie for his service. Um, you know, he's someone I've seen. Um, during my time on the board, he's very active, he attends, he's very engaged in, um, many.
Um, activities beyond his… Uh, regular job duties, and I just want to congratulate him on his retirement, so I… A little late to say it, but I wanted to acknowledge. Thank you. Any other board members with new business this evening? Does anyone have any old business, Mr. Pain? Yes, um, I would like to give just a brief. Um… report out on our elementary rebalancing. work. Um, we did not meet in December, but we did meet yesterday for a very… productive, um, conversation with the committee, um, which I gave myself a segue earlier when I was speaking about budget into this conversation.
Um, the focus of our committee meeting yesterday was really around the expectations of the board with the work with rebalancing. And we just made… we wanted to make sure that the expectations were set and understood, so Dr. Morton and the committee. Um, that's working on this within the district can… have clear expectations when they move forward with their proposal, so… We highlighted, again, the necessity to follow those guardrails that we put in place for, um, Dr. Morton and his team.
Which is looking at transportation, um, specifically how we can optimize transportation. to hopefully set Mr. Schump up for a much easier budget. process. Um… the special education programming throughout the district, and how we can optimize that for the students, for. Again, for transportation, for transitioning from different levels of schooling. And to make sure that. they're accounted for when, um… you know, when… with decisions in where they're being placed, and what programs exist where. So that was part… That was one of our guardrails, and then obviously balancing enrollment, which is the whole premise for this.
this discussion and this committee, so… Um, we can anticipate a, um, potential proposal in the beginning of. February. We did also look through some of the maps that Dr. Gripp drew in reference to. the lines that are drawn, these… the infamous lines that are drawn in the district, um, and we clarified for Dr. Morton and Mr. Guy that. the board is open and willing to consider any recommendation, as long as it's hitting all 3 of those guardrails, and it makes sense not only for the 27-28 school year when it will go live, but.
for years to come, so… As far as, like, from a board's perspective, and I please, I welcome anybody else's input on this. From the board's perspective, we're not expecting. a certain action, we're just expecting that those 3 things are addressed with the final proposal. Um, so, open, obviously, to any proposal that makes sense, but we just wanted to make sure that it made sense for the students, for… the special ed programming and, um, transportation and budgeting for that. So…
anticipate a little bit more information in the beginning of February. We also looked at the data from the surveys that were collected from the community members, which was. I… essentially identical to what we heard in our community sensing sessions that we had, and the open, um, the town halls. Um, so every, you know, everybody's perspective and voices, both community and staff, are being considered in this decision, but… Um, but I think that pretty much covers what we discussed. yesterday. Uh, so yes, hopefully I'll have more to talk about in February.
About the direction we're moving. Yeah. Um, Mr. Vin. Can you just speak a little bit to. why we're doing this now? Why… what's driving the conversation to even look at our. Like, what… why rebalance, so to speak? Sure, yeah. So, the whole premise, the whole reason why we started the discussion is because there's certain schools, certain elementary schools in the district that are experiencing. at capacity, or will be at capacity, or beyond in the upcoming school years.
Um, we also… that's another thing that we discussed. There is a lot of housing developments in the township that. We're not… right now, we're not even experiencing the influx of those students, but that is… on the horizon, and that's coming down the lane. So this… the purpose behind this is to make sure that the schools are balanced and, um. As well as some of the other things, like transportation makes sense and things like that, but it's ultimately to ensure that we're maintaining. the level of, um, of resources, academic excellence, and all of those things that we're providing as is when our numbers increase.
Specifically, Barton is one of the schools that we're. very specifically speaking about. Man is another one. Sorry, but I don't remember the other three off the top of my head, but there are schools in the district that are already experiencing those. almost at capacity levels, and there's schools in the district that have plenty of space to offer more students. So the intention behind this is to ensure that. Schools that could take more students on have… could potentially have more students, and the schools that are already at capacity are being, um, that is being taken care of.
To add another level to that as well, this also affects the middle school. So right now, ROSA. is at capacity and beyond. Karusi is at their capacity. There's room at back. So, this is a… the onion is… has many layers to it, so the… essentially, the intention is to ensure that. no school is beyond capacity, while others are under capacity. But there's so many other layers. Yes, uh, yes, Dr. Dreisen. Also, with that tee-up, I just wanted to give your committee and Dr. Morton credit for that question. The community can go to the video that you put together.
And that was actually addressed square on. in the start of the video, is, you know, why we're doing this. So, this is a reminder. Thank you. you know, want to review that, that's a good source of information. Yes, I appreciate that, and that also our third town hall, which was virtual, is recorded and online as well. Ms. Barati has spent a lot of time ensuring that all of the information over the last couple of months is on there, so thank you for that, um… People don't actually have to watch our meetings to get all the information. Yes, it's out there.
Any other questions? Yes, Ms. Palmer. So I want to… underscore your point that the onion has many layers, right? And I think I'm going to wildly butcher this quote that I think I got from Mrs. Winters, but. you know, for us as a board, and it didn't… it didn't originate with you, if you have a choice to stay the course or be bold. Be bold. And I think we have a unique opportunity right now, this year, in this moment, to.
make a decision that is right for our district today, and for years, and boards, and students, and families. for years to come. And I don't want that to be misinterpreted as me wanting to blow things up and inconvenience people and displace people, displace students, and disrupt lives. I do not want to do that at all. But I think we need to very thoughtfully look at all of the options in front of us, considering the guardrails that we as a board of 9 have very clearly outlined. Um, and make some real choices that may be difficult, may not always be popular, but.
will be right for our district. our financial considerations, the best interest of our students, all of our students, including our special education populations. Again, for now, for 2 years from now, for 10 years from now, I don't want to… be scared of making an unpopular choice. and end up right where we are, so that this becomes somebody else's problem, and our schools don't get any relief, and… we're right back here, even though it probably will not be the nine of us having that conversation. Somebody in our seats will be having that conversation.
5 or 10 years from now. So, take that for what you will, but since you asked for. our feedback, that's where I stand as one of nine. Yes, thank you, and that was kind of the whole basis of the discussion that we had yesterday, was. we're not coming in saying, yes, redraw lines, that's what we want. We're coming in saying, give us any and every option that we can look at, because. this decision will affect us. for generations, no matter what. So we want to make sure that we have any and all information.
Um, because one of the dis… with the… the new maps, some of the new maps that were drawn, the discussion was. maybe this doesn't make sense at all, and this is actually causing more problems than anything else, and. that is obviously… well, hopefully it's obvious that not the direction that we're gonna go as a board, but it's important that we're looking at that and considering everything, because whatever decision we will make. these 3 guardrails will be the ultimate foundation to that decision that we're making, so… Um, again, any and all possibility, I'm hoping that it's… as painless as possible, but… It's here, and we're ready to do it, yes, Ms. Winters.
The originator of that quote is Andy McElvain. Who is board president in the 1990s, um, and that was his advice to me. As, you know, when I got elected to a boardroom, when I became board president, but I just wanted to amplify, too, in light of the budget discussion, the reality is that. the cost that we face every year. are larger than 2%. So, for us, the answer to the question then becomes, in an ever-tightening cycle. of budgets, how do we keep ourselves afloat? And the answer cannot be to constantly go back to the community for more and more taxes.
Not after we just asked them to pass the largest bond referendum in state history. It cannot be. So… The answer has to be, how do we find. efficiencies that are sustainable year over year, so that we can continue to provide the education that our children deserve. And another layer on top of that is the vast majority of our budget. is personnel. It's people. And our people are what make my… our school district run. The amount of things in our budget that are actually, like, we looked at it like a pie chart. The piece of the budget that we actually have a lot of control over, like the discretionary piece is so small.
So much of it has to do with, you know. the teachers that we rely on, the contracts that we negotiate with them with all these different things, we can't control. inflation on the buses that we need to transport our children to school, we can't control. The prescription drug costs. So, what we can control. Is… moving forward, can we structure things? To make it make sense, so that… we can get our hands around things like transportation that do keep increasing year over year. and making our numbers go up, because eventually. And I think eventually is now, we're gonna have to make some really hard choices that nobody wants to make.
I mean, nobody wants to be on the board that. has to do these things, right? But that's why we volunteered for this position. And I think we… we have to be the ones to be just really clear-eyed that. you know, undertaking this project as something that previous boards. shied away from, because it's challenging. a lot of us on this board have elementary schoolers, we know how that feels, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't do it, or that we shouldn't. in Mr. Fain's words, consider all options. To move forward. So, thank you for your leadership. I really appreciate it.
One more point, too, that I forgot, in consideration of all options. Um, something that was discussed as well is what does alternative spaces look like? Like, the issue is that we don't have enough. classrooms at certain schools. So, in an event to… prevent a disruption to the entire district, what would it look like to potentially. add classrooms or things like that. So, literally every option is being looked at. I want everyone to understand that. We, as a board, have not said this is what we're looking for, go forward with this.
We're just asking for every possibility so that we can weigh all options. Yes, mister. Um, is the option of increasing, um, class cap sizes? Is that being considered? Because… Although that doesn't… It doesn't necessarily, like, change, like, the. kind of sense of maybe, like, a lot of bodies in the building. Um, you know. Our class sizes in elementary are under the state cap, so I don't know if that's being looked at, or is that something that, like.
as a value decision, our community and our board is not really… has said, like, that's not where we want to go. I think it would be valuable to know if that was the direction that people wanted to go. That wasn't an intentional conversation that we had. that we have had thus far. There has been discussion about what class sizes look like in reference to. special programs that limit class sizes and how optimizing placement of those could help. essentially balance all of this. Um, that's really the only real discussion we had, because another… which kind of goes to that, I guess.
Um, indirectly, as we talked about the needs for other people outside… if we have too many students at a school. That's going to increase administrators, it's gonna increase teachers, things like that. So… We haven't spoken about that specifically as being an option. I would say that that falls under the category of all options to consider… to definitely consider, but… very specifically, no, I would say. We haven't really talked about that as… a plausible option, but I think it's fair to say that is a option that.
could potentially be recommended. Thank you. Any other old business, Ms. Stern? Um, so, um, the Special Education Committee met last week as well, and kind of. Um, taking up where you left off, um, one of the topics we did discuss was the, um. intersectionality and inclusion of special education in these conversations, um, in the committee discussions.
Uh, the board committee and the administrative, um, discussions, so definitely, you know, an important topic, um, special education is absolutely. Um, that, you know, the guardrail is there for a reason, and it's definitely included. Um, and then, you know, part of that discussion has been. Um, you know, for many months, and since we started meeting, um, really, um. You know, speaking of layers of onions, you know, when you… you know, I… my understanding has increased significantly. Of, um, you know, many, many of the layers.
when there's many I don't know about, um, regarding… the decisions, um, and the intentionality of the decisions regarding class placement, special class placement. I think, um, you know. student, um, needs, student experiences, um, are always, you know, the driving force, and part of that also has to do with. ensuring that our, um. teachers are not working, um, in… in complete silos on islands.
Um, that they have colleagues, that they're. Um, in environments where they have shared resources, shared collegial experiences. Um, and that has a lot to do with the plate… not a lot, it has some to do with the placement of the classes. Um, so there's a lot of considerations, but that was part of our discussion, and I know. Um, Mrs. Trafain and I had some conversation as well, um, just as the chairs of these two different committees. Um, to just kind of ensure that we're closing loops on, on, um, you know, the importance of.
Special education's voice at the table, um, during these conversations, um, these meetings, these decisions. Um, so we talked about that. We also talked about a topic that. comes up probably every single meeting, and that, you know, inevitably in almost every single meeting, there are family members who come to our podiums and talk about their students, their own family's experiences, their own students' experiences. Um, I did that when I was a parent in the audience. I did the same thing. Um, and, you know. some… one thing that, you know, we're… we're… you know, highly, highly attuned to is student privacy, right? So, we have… Um, not only is it a personal, uh, value, I think, for everybody who sits at these tables.
Um, to protect our students, to keep their privacy, but also, um, it is a legal requirement. Um, that we must protect student, um, information privacy, um, that falls under the. Um, the laws of FERPA. Which I am just gonna use the acronym, because. I don't know that I can well say what they… all the letters stand for. But, um, it's basically the privacy of student information. Um, and I always, since healthcare is my jam, I always, um, parallel it to HIPAA. You know, I think most of us know what HIPAA is, and we.
are really glad our doctors don't go out in public and talk about us and talk about our healthcare issues. And in the same way, we don't talk about students. So, um… you know, um, I just want to kind of reiterate, um, and this is, we talked about in our, in our meeting, you know, it's, it's really important for us to always uphold that, so we will never. We will never talk about a student or a student's situations in any public situation. We will not even acknowledge. Um, you know, we have no right to even say, oh yes, that student has.
special needs and is getting services in any public forum, we're not even allowed to acknowledge that. So, um… You know, there, um, is just some, you know, we just wanted to kind of put that out there, reminder, not just to us, but to the public, why we don't. comment or respond to, um, you know, some… some very real, um, topics that families bring forward regarding their students. Um, and then the only… another, uh, probably the last piece, um, is we also talked a lot about some of the feedback we have been getting, um, from, um, from CPAG.
About, kind of, the ask of improved communication. Um, and so, um, uh, Mrs. Mallory is… Ms. Mallory's really working on. Um, kind of re-looking that with Dr. Morton, like, restructuring how we communicate with our stakeholders. to ensure that we are, um… having, um, productive, helpful. Um, ways of communicating and disseminating information. Um, and along those lines, we had a really. for a CPAG put out there first. I'm gonna say it wrong, what they call… what it's called, um, a snapshot.
Um, uh, that they sent out, I believe, to their members, and I think is, is, is going out more broadly, so… Um, it's nice to see, um, they're putting in the members of that, um. the special education, um… parent advisory group is putting out, um… Yeah, just a lot of time and effort into continuing to build the resources that they're providing. Um, to families, um. That's pretty much it. I don't know any… other committee members?
Questions? That's it, thank you. Okay, any more old business? Being no old business, we are going to move on to second public comment. Second public comment section. This is for any topic. Public comment is an opportunity for members of the community to provide input to the Board of Education on educational issues. The board welcomes diverse opinions on relevant matters. However, statements that are abusive, obscene, or which demeanor are defamatory to any individual or 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 operations may communicate directly with the superintendent and the board president via email or other alternative means. by custom, we start in the room. When you come up to the microphone, please give us your name. and the municipality where you live, you will have 3 minutes, the clock on the timer will show you when your time is up.
Harvey Vasquez. Good evening, my name is Harvey Vasquez. I'm here tonight speaking on behalf of Special Education families in this district. I want to be clear about my role. I'm not here to debate personalities or revisit past meetings. I'm here because families continue to raise the same concerns. And those concerns are not being addressed in a transparent or consistent way. Over the past year, thousands of Cherry Hill voters made it clear they want strong accountability and better outcomes. Especially for students with disabilities. I take that responsibility seriously, even without a seat on this board.
Here's what families are telling me. First. Many parents report that special education decisions are being made without meaningful collaboration. They describe IEP meetings where outcomes appear predetermined. Where concerns are acknowledged verbally, but not reflected in services. And where written documents do not align with what was discussed. That undermines trust and the purpose of the IEP process. Second, families are raising concerns about discipline practices. Particularly for younger students with disabilities.
Repeated removals from instruction without appropriate behavioral support. And required safeguards, harmed students, and placed the district at unnecessary risk. And this leads to a broader governance concern. When the same special education issues surfaced repeatedly over multiple years across different families, schools, and circumstances. It raises an important question about capacity and systems. Not individual intent. At that point, it is appropriate for this board. To assess whether the current structure, training, and leadership within the special education department.
are adequately equipped to meet the district obligations and the needs of students. This is not about assigning blame. It is about ensuring the district has the expertise, oversight, and internal accountability necessary to prevent. These issues from continuing. Finally, families are concerned about transparency and oversight. We have been told that a special education committee exists tonight, you just confirmed that, thank you. To address systemic issues. Yet parents have no clear visibility into this work.
its scope, or how concerns are brought before it and resolved. If such committee is intended to provide oversight and improvement. Families need clarity on how it operates, what issues it reviews, and how its findings are communicated to the board and to the public. families are not asking for conflict. They are asking for clarity, accountability, and confidence that the children's access to education is being protected. Tonight, I respectfully ask the board to clarify how special education concerns are addressed. through the Special Education Committee to commit to transparency around his work.
and to affirm on the record that supporting students with disabilities is a district priority. I will continue to show up and speak on behalf of families who depend on this system to work. I also have a written statement for the record that I would like to hand in. Thank you. Thank you for your comment. You can give your statement to Ms. Barati, the Public Information Officer. She'll accept it on behalf of the board. looking online, the caller is Kim Gallagher. Please unmute, give us your name, municipality, and you have 3 minutes.
Kim Gallagher, Cherry Hill. I am here to emphasize the importance of reading remediation that addresses. dyslexia. I am the mother of 2 dyslexic children. I urge the board to read alphabet soup. We know how to help kids with dyslexia, but often fail to. Why, in the December 29th edition of The New Yorker. Dyslexia is not a lack of intelligence or effort. It is a neurobiological difference in how the brain processes written language. Without appropriate evidence-based instruction, students with dyslexia often fall farther behind each year despite trying harder than their peers.
Research consistently shows that structured literacy approaches, like Wilson or Orton-Gillingham, explicit systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. are essential for students with dyslexia. General reading interventions or increased exposure to books are not enough. Our current ELA curriculum, CKLA, is inadequate for struggling readers. It's over a reliance on content rather than decoding leaves struggling readers further behind and requires more intervention.
When remediation is not targeted, students may appear to be receiving support, but the underlying reading difficulty remains unaddressed. I understand that resources are always an issue, but it doesn't change the fact that our district is required to adequately educate all students. While it is about money, it is also about targeting the money. A structured literacy program helps all students, regardless of ability. When students with dyslexia receive proper remediation, they gain not only reading skills, but confidence, independence, and access to the full curriculum.
When they do not, the consequences are significant. Increased academic frustration, behavioral challenges, higher rates of anxiety and depression, and long-term academic gaps that are far more costly to address later. In the article, it states the correlation of literacy with the school-to-prison pipeline, that about 10-15% of the population has dyslexia, but that it is estimated that up to 40% of the prison population is dyslexic. Investment in dyslexia-informed reading remediation is not a special accommodation. It is an equity issue.
It ensures that all students have access to literacy, which is the foundation of learning in every subject. Our district always discusses graduation rates, but what about the dropout rates? Are we ever asking why students drop out? If it is an inability to meet the needs of these students, specifically in literacy. then the district is not doing its job. Even a minimum wage job requires the ability to read. I urge the board to prioritize evidence-based reading remediation, professional development, and early screening so that students with dyslexia are identified and supported before they fall behind.
With redistricting, I believe a lower and upper elementary school is key to being able to group similar ability students together. This allows for targeting curriculum to students and more efficient and effective teaching. Thank you for your comment. going back to the room, is there anyone else who would like to make second public comment this evening? Hi, good evening. Give us your name and municipality.
Um, here tonight to speak about IDEA and the ADA, and about a failure that has gone on for too long. These laws are not new, confusing, or optional requirements. They are federal civil rights laws, and compliance is mandatory. Yet students with disabilities continue to be denied legally required services. IEPs are ignored or delayed. Accommodations are inconsistently applied. Families are forced to repeatedly advocate for what the law already guarantees.
This is not a misunderstanding of the law. It is a failure to follow it. When districts do not comply with IDEA and ADA. The consequences are real. Students fall behind academically. Behavioral issues escalate because needs are unmet. Families lose trust in the system. And educators are placed in an impossible position. Without the support or authority to do what they know is right. Let's be clear. Lack of staffing. funding challenges or administrative inconvenience do not excuse.
Non-compliance. The responsibility rests squarely with the board. and the administrators. These laws exist precisely to protect students when systems fail to prioritize them. For over 30-year school systems have had time to build compliant practices, train staff properly. and establish accountability. Continued failure is not accidental. It reflects the choices about your priorities. like, pre-K. So tonight, I'm asking for more than reassurance, I'm asking for action.
Immediate and consistent implementation of IEPs and 504 plans. Adequate training for all staff, not just special education. Transparent accountability when violations occur. Meaningful collaboration with families. not resistance or retaliation. Students with disabilities should not have to fight for their rights. Families should not have to threaten due process to be heard. And districts should not wait for complaints or lawsuits before complying with the law.
If you were not part of the solution, you are part of this problem. You are complicit. Following IDEA and ADA is not optional, and it's long overdue. Thank you. Thank you for your comment. going back to the line, the next caller, it simply says iPhone. If that's you, please unmute, give us your name and municipality. Hi, Laurie Neary, Cherry Hill. I'm speaking as myself this evening regarding the budget.
Um, I want to thank you, Ms. Winters, for your statements regarding the taxes. I've long been echoing the sentiment, um, probably for a year or more now, and the concerns in the coming budget crisis. So, I'm gravely concerned at the impact to our taxes in the community, understanding the funding crisis that we face. Um, I'm concerned when our legislators indicate that. they're pushing it back to the communities to further tax. Um, we're a community that has been oppressively taxed for decades to make up for our funding shortfalls as a result.
Of our lack of funding from the state. Um… So, I'm just… echoing the sentiment that we have to be incredibly mindful. about further taxing the community to make up for the shortfalls that we will face. Um, and that as we look at the budget. And as we look at positions that we look to, uh, our administrative positions before we look to cut. any positions supporting our students in the buildings. Um, I never like to see cuts of any positions, period, but I want to be really mindful at this time, and that the board be very thoughtful and deliberate.
And any options that are brought forward that the community see them and understand them. before we get a budget presentation in March, when the budget is done, and we're just expected to bear the brunt of that. I think that would go a long way, um, with the community and be quite helpful. So, thank you, and I appreciate all the work that you're doing with the budget. Thank you for your comment. Going back to the room, is there anyone else who would like to make second public comment this evening?
Please approach the microphone. Hi, I'm Paula Solomon. I live in Cherry Hill. I'd love to see you all smile. I'd like to tell you that my daughter graduated. from, uh, deaf schools. a number of years ago. And since the time that she… she's also handicapped. And since she has, um… Moves back, lives at home.
I have asked repeatedly. That the school district provide interpreters. for, um… your shows, your performances, public events. Cherry Hill is a public school district. And with that comes a legal and moral responsibility. to ensure equal access for all members of our community. For deaf and hard of hearing students. parents and family members. access does not simply mean. and being present in the room.
It means being able to fully understand. and participate in what's happening. School concerts, plays, assemblies. graduations and ceremonies are not. optional extras. They are meaningful parts. of a student life and family engagement. When interpreters are not provided. Deaf individuals are effectively excluded. from these experiences. Not by choice, but by lack of action. Providing interpreters is not special treatment.
It is a civil right required under the Americans with Disability Act. and Section 504. More importantly, it reflects our shared values of. Equity, and respect. When Cherry Hill plans. For accessibility in advance. It sends a powerful message. That every student, every family. Every community member belongs. It also models empathy. and inclusion for all students watching.
and learning. I respectfully urge. the district to adopt. A consistent, proactive practice of providing sign language interpreters. at school-sponsored shows and events. without placing the burden on families. to repeatedly request. I'm actually requesting, right now, a sign language. interpreter for your upcoming performance of Footloose. This must be done in a timely manner.
For an interpreter needs to learn the script. The show is this coming March. So immediate attention to this. matter is really necessary. I look forward to seeing an interpreter. At the next performance of Footloose. Thank you for your time, and for your commitment to serving all members of the Cherry Hill community. Thank you for your comment. going back to the line, the next person is a wider bridge. It's your turn, please unmute and give us your name and municipality.
Alana Garris, Cherry Hill, I'm calling as the chair of the Fair Funding Committee, um, a branch of the Zone PTA. Uh, we are having a meeting on Thursday, Zoom only, at 7pm, virtual, for anyone to attend to discuss OPHA results that the FAIR Funding Committee. submitted to the township about pilot programs that decreased tax, um, impact for. the school district based on how the township does pilot programs. So, uh, as a committee, we will be discussing.
the results of that, Oprah, and what our next steps will be, and we look forward to sharing with the board and the district how we can help, because it's concerning to hear that the state is pushing back. to the local municipalities and districts to fund the state… the funding crisis for the district when. the township did not provide. adequate funding as it should have, and the state did not either, um, so if anyone wants to attend, you could check out our Facebook page, Fairfunding Cherry Hill.
our Instagram page, or you can email fairfundingchps at gmail.com. Thank you for your comment. Going back to the room, is there anyone else who would like to make second public comment this evening? And I'm in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. So, I… Mr. Vasquez really said it. Very eloquently tonight about the situation in Cherry Hill and our special ed department.
I am really tired of hearing parents. come to this mic and explain the situation. And what I don't understand, as a previous board member. It's not the first time it's happened. The most telling was when that young mother came and told us their child had been suspended 30 times. Before second grade. That would have been a red flag to me as a board member. So, understanding, I do not believe that any of you have broken. you know, HIPAA, if that's… I'm going to use it, because that's my world.
Okay? But my problem is, as a community member and a previous board member is, what are you doing behind the scenes? Are you having an exec session? With Dr. Morton, Special Ed, are you finding out both sides of the story to protect our children? I do take exception to remarks made earlier, though. If you really want to protect the child. of your… or the privacy of your special ed parent, of your special ed students. Then why are the parents being forced to come to this mic?
To plead their child's case. I don't know that any of you know how hard it was for that person that evening. to stand here, okay. with her situation and expose her, not only her child, but herself. to the rigors of having an extremely exceptional special ed student. But what are you doing to help that parent? Okay, and more importantly, since the charge of you all.
is to provide an adequate education. That child's not getting an adequate education. They're getting nothing. So, we have a problem. I believe it's systemic. I believe it's ongoing. my board years were many years ago. I think it's a hundredfold worse now, only because of the classifications that have developed. over the years, and I don't know what the solution is, but you need to find a solution. Um, I think we're terribly failing the students of Cherry Hoo, New Jersey.
And since it's 2% of your population. We need to fix it. I'm sorry, 20% of the population. Thank you for the correction. Um… I'm running out of time. But I will say, Ms. Stern, that when you ran in September of 2018, I'm going to paraphrase some of your comments. That you said directly to the board. That you need to challenge what is being told to special ed community. And if you don't do it, who is going to do it for these families?
And you need to stand up for these families and challenge what is going on. And I sincerely hope that you're doing that. Otherwise, we are failing. Thank you. Thank you for your comment. Going back to the line, the next person is Michael. It's your turn. Please give us your full name and municipality. Michael Nussbaum, uh, Cherry Hill. Um, I just wanted to echo everyone before me. Thank you so much for speaking up.
Um, I… this is probably about the 9th board meeting I've attended, um, and I… yeah, I'm a parent of a child with disabilities in. Uh, in Cherry Hill, and yeah, I don't really want to share my kids' personal information with everybody. Like, I just want. you know, an equitable… Um, you know, education for my child. Um, so, let me bring up some more aspects to, you know, to things that I think that the public should really know, that our community should know.
So, a central issue I'm going to raise tonight is not isolated mistakes, but a pattern of evading compliance. Skirting legal and ethical obligations rather than engaging in transparent collaborative problem solving. I've seen this pattern repeatedly. I've come to two concrete… I have two concrete examples. One is OPRA compliance, and one is Special Ed Inclusion and Collaboration. Let's talk about the Oprah first. I recently submitted a records request related to special ed agreements and expenditures. A large volume of documents was produced.
And I want to say this publicly, I appreciate the staff who work to compile them. I know it took them a long time, and I really do appreciate it. However, many records were over-redacted. Key information was missing. Entire categories of documents. were excluded, and some responsive records were not. produced at all. When I raise these concerns, the district. Council simply closed the conversation, but OPRA compliance is not discretionary. If. Records are improperly withheld or over-redacted, that is non-compliance. Plain and simple.
Transparency should not require escalation. The same pattern shows up in special education. In my son's case. Cooperation only began after mediation. That is not how a system is supposed to work. Parents should not need legal pressure to obtain basic compliance. with the IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Responsiveness should follow the law in ethical practice, not leverage. A clear example is inclusion. After extensive advocacy and mediation, my son currently is included in Jim, or now as people call phys ed, I have long requested inclusion in foreign language, art, and music.
Yet those requests had been… had not been meaningfully addressed. Um, and… and when they are addressed, they never give me a reason. I've been told by specials teachers that my son will not be a good candidate. Now, as an educator myself, I teach foreign language, and I teach. you know, class with students, um, with, uh, with autism. I find it deeply troubling. Um, if I can make the fore… if I can help them learn the foreign language and adapt it for them, then the art teacher and music teacher should be able to adapt that as well.
What makes things more concerning is that the knowledge and training already exists. The NJDOE-funded professional development through partners like Rohns University's. Mr. Nussbaum, I'm really sorry, but your time is up. If you have more that you would like to bring to the board, please feel free to send us an email to extend your comments. going back to the room, please approach the microphone and give us your name and municipality. Rick Short, Cherry Hill. Um, tonight… tonight I have a 3-part speech. Uh, one is under security, safety and security, and the mental wellness.
of our children. And the second part is, uh, has to do with the, uh, budget. And the third part follows up with, uh… Uh, special ed. So, I've been misled by the district for several years now about security. I can't really go into it. But it is concerning that I've been misled. about who's… who does what, and who decides what, and this also. I mean, I hope you can… I hope you, like. can, like, actually think sometime about what happens to children in school, you know what I mean?
Do you guys actually ever, as a board member, think of, like. What happens mentally under security? I'll cover that at a different night. Uh, the second part has to do with the budget. Board member, uh, Chaffain, um, just, just be aware, um, this transportation obsession with the word transportation cost here, you know, there is a school buddy. Um, it was a program used about 3 years ago. I still think they have it. Um, it really shouldn't be too hard to run different scenarios on a school bus cost.
I don't think school bus costs are going to be $800,000 or a million more, uh, changing a few routes, so… Uh, don't be scammed with that. Um, to the, um… Madam President, um, you know, maybe, uh, cut the, uh, cut the cost for the, uh. Um, uh, preschool stuff. Uh, preschool stuff costs a lot of money, and somehow or another, it always gets… bundle in, you know, uh, maybe, maybe take a year or two off. I, I don't think, uh… were required by the state to have a certain amount by a certain year.
Um, and then just going into the, uh, section about, uh. Special Ed. Uh, you know what's funny, um, I get to travel to different businesses, and um… Actually, it's weird, I was just out of business, uh… Uh, the other day, and it was… everything was just… it was amazing. It was the most positive. um, facility ever. that I've ever been with. I mean, everybody was, like, happy. I was just like. I was overwhelmed! And to hear some of the stories from all these parents come out, I mean, they must be true, I mean, these special ed parents don't come up and just, like.
make up a story, or just, you know. complain for the good of them. So… Our district has a bad moral compass. And it starts right at the top, and it started right on the first day of employment with Dr. Morton. And what happened? What he allowed technically on the first day of his. of his job, to allow a school board member to attack. Uh, the community. And then… to pay the lawyers 24 pages. To… to make it okay. You know what I mean? And then it just goes down the line.
to the next topic would be, like, um… you know, the anti-racist policy that is racist, that everybody keeps telling you. So it just carries along. It's a bad vibe. Thank you for your comment. Going back to the line, the next person is a caller with the phone number ending 788. It's your turn, please unmute and give us your name and municipality. My name is Jeffrey Potowitz, and I live in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Dr. Morton and Mr. Guy, or Dr. Guy are going to the League of Innovative Schools Spring Conference. It's not a conference, it's called a convening. That's what it really is. And what is, it's all the way out in Seattle.
And what a convenient is they're going to provide superintendents and their guests with opportunities to observe and experience innovative educational. practices across the Seattle area, and one is the Kent School District, the other is Issaquah School District. By the way, both of them have OCR complaints against them. Isn't that great? Yeah. Okay, just so you know that, um, we have lots of innovative schools. Remember, that's going to cost about $7,000 between the both of them. We have lots of motivated schools in New Jersey and Pennsylvania area. Um, why don't you save a couple of thousand dollars and go to the innovative schools there.
We don't need to go, you don't need to go there, but you all voted for it, and that's okay. You're just spending money on that. Preschool expansion, you guys love it, the state loves it. we're not getting the money we should, and it's spending a lot of money on preschool expansion. Plus, the state of New Jersey says. Hey, guess what? We don't give you a cent extra for it. And by the way, because of preschool expansion and other things, and because the state thinks that we are. aren't paying enough money in taxes because we are by new figures that they've changed, below our.
our local fair share after years. At one time we were like $30, $35 million above our local fair share. But now, because of changes. We're not, they could raise our taxes how much ever they want. That is the law. And for preschool expansion, they could raise our taxes as much. as they want, as they cut our preschool aid. Remember, the first year, we only got about $1.2 million. As for kids with disabilities, I totally understand. My kid had it. For those with reading problems, do you get assistive technology.
evaluations want to know that. My kid still uses a screen reader. What do they provide screen readers? Do they provide digitalized text? So a kid can read efficiently. Um, I don't know, please say something. Does anyone know that? I don't know that. My kid did get one, and he still uses one today. This is years later, so I'd like to know, do you do that? Do you have things that voice to. writing. I want to know that. A lot of things when it comes to reading. Yes, you need phonics. We paid for phonics privately in school. He has phonics, but he still reads very, very inefficiently. That's not his main problem, though. He has a sensory processing problem, one that's diagnosed by a.
neurologists and also a language problem. All right, and diagnosed by a speech pathologist, not speech language problem, and sometimes that happens where people have language problems, but they're called speech problems, and they get a speech IEP in preschool or whatever, then all of a sudden. Thank you, Dr. Potowitz. I'm sorry your time is up. Thank you for calling in. Going back to the room, is there anyone else who would like to comment for second public comment?
My name is Samantha Carlisle, and I am a Cherry Hill resident. I have 4 children in the school district, 3 of which receive special education services in 3 different schools. This has given me an opportunity to speak with many other parents whose children also require services. One of the significant struggles Cherry Hill has in special education is creating a meaningful, collaborative IEP process. In the slide from the Dr. Morton discussion with Ms. Mallory. There were 3 primary members of the child study team that she claimed made the decisions that couldn't be overruled.
School psychologist, school social worker, and learning disabilities teacher consultant. Often, all three of these roles in an IEP meeting. are fulfilled by one person. the case manager. So for… and in a self-contained classroom, sometimes the role of general education teacher is filled by an encore teacher, like art. Or Jim. So… this… the teachers are considered part of the child study team.
But they aren't allowed to speak their true opinions. I can't tell you how many parents have told me. My child's teacher thinks he needs this. But they can't recommend it. Either the teachers are actually muzzled, or the atmosphere makes them feel like they're being muzzled. Either way, it's a big problem. The parents are considered part of the child study team. But so often it feels like they're battling just to get access to the most basic services. No parent wants to battle for their child to go to an out-of-district school.
They want them here. what they want is for their child to get a free, appropriate public education. A fundamental right under U.S. Law. They want their child to learn how to read. And right. They want their child to not come home with new bruises or scratches from the school day. This does not seem like too much to ask for. Thank you. Thank you for your comment.
Going back to the line, the next person's name is Nancy. It's your turn, please unmute and give us your name and municipality. Hi, my name is Nancy Hartwick. I'm from Cherry Hill. I am respectfully requesting that the Board prioritize adherence to the general ADA accessibility. Guidelines as a matter of school safety, not solely compliance.
Accessibility impacts not only students who require accommodations, but also parents, guardians, visitors. and current or prospective employees with disabilities when ADA guidelines are not followed. barriers can become serious safety hazards. Particularly during emergencies. For example, if an individual cannot safely access curb cuts. exits or evacuation routes during a fire drill, lockdown.
or active shooter situation. They may be unable to escape danger. In these moments, inaccessible design is not a minor oversight. It is a risk to life and safety. Emergency preparedness must account for all members of this school community. ADA guidelines exist to ensure that everyone can move safely and efficiently. During both routine operations and crisis situations. Failure to address these issues.
places individuals at risk and exposes the district to preventable. Safety and liability concerns. I respectfully request that the Board treat ADA accessibility. as an integral part of school safety planning and facilities oversight. Including proactive assessments. and timely remediation where barriers exist. Thank you for your time and your commitment to the safety and well-being of the entire school community.
Thank you for your comment. Going back to the room, is there anybody who would like to make second public comment this evening? Eileen Doran, uh, Cherry Hill. And, um, I really didn't prepare anything ahead. Um, moved to say something because. I put 4 students with special needs through the school district. And it just… saddens me so deeply.
to hear parents fighting the same battles. I was fighting 20 years ago. And fought for 20 years. Um, this should not still be continuing. And I know some of my fellow advocates were fighting the same battles even longer than I have been. Which does go to this being a problem that is systemic. and ongoing. Ms. Gallagher. called in and talked about, you know. you know, requesting those dyslexia services. I remember 17 years ago, I started my fight for those services.
We should not have to do this. We should not have to come to this podium. Parents should not have to be filing for due process, and I mean, that should be a last, last, last resort. remediation and things like that. We should have a system where. these things are happening more regularly. Without all of that. They shouldn't have to fight so hard for just the basics. Uh, so I, I, you know, really encourage you to take a hard look at what's happening in special education. talk to the parents, talk, you know, talk to the teachers.
Give them permission to speak, because yes, they are afraid of retaliation. I can tell you from my own experience, teachers, speech therapists, people like that, were coming up to me when I was involved in due process and lawsuits and mediation, and saying to me, I can't say this at the. table. But, I agree with you, please keep fighting for your kids, you're right. I had teachers buy equipment for my child. when my child is denied it by the school. purchased it, secreted it to me, and said, here, please. Please, your son deserves it, your daughter deserves it.
We have teachers who care and are invested. And I believe that you all care. I do believe that. But there's some kind of. you know, block that's going on in the way things are done. It's not changing this problem. And right now, I'm working with adults with disabilities. We need to help our children before they get out of school, get as far as they possibly, possibly can, because this is where the services are, this is where the help is. please take a really hard look at that and commit.
to doing everything you can to change the way things are being done. for children today and in the future, so 10 years from now, there's not. another mom up here saying the same thing. Thank you for your comment. Going back to the line… the next caller is… Natalie, I'm gonna try to get your last name right. Natalie Malin. Thank you, everybody. Natalie Malin, I don't know you, but other people seem to, and we're delighted you've called. It's your turn, you have 3 minutes.
Thank you. Thank you. Um, Natalie Malin, Cherry Hill. Um, I am calling to, uh, support my fellow, uh, parents from special education community and advocates that have spoken. I feel that there has been some very strong and thorough comments that the board should review. Um, uh, I have gone through. mediation last year, um, so I deeply feel these parents, um.
And their frustration and their thoughts, um… One thing I wanted to point out that we are now going through, that. I feel the board should be aware of is lack of consistency, to piggyback onto special education, um, the lack of consistency when it comes to reasonable accommodations for certain medical conditions. I am a parent of 3 children with severe allergies. Two of which are in the regular elementary school level and are thankfully at the same school. Um, and then one in the preschool.
I have in place, under my one child, um, through his IEP and a 504. To have his EpiPen on a bus if needed. He does not take one at the moment, but he did last year and does during the summer every year, and that is required per his. Needs, and was considered a reasonable accommodation with the medical documentation I provided, which was from our pediatrician and from his allergist. Um, I provided the same documentation for my other child, who just entered the district, and that is not considered reasonable.
She has had a severe reaction within minutes and, you know, the doctors. strongly recommended. I have 4 letters that say she can. you know, delay of epinephrine can cause a fatal reaction for her, and I am met with all we can do is provide a clean seat, and um. you know, ensure that there's no food on the bus. Um, any parent that has had a child go on the bus, especially the younger ones, know that kids are slamming food in their mouth before they hop on that bus. Kids are pulling out.
things prior to getting, or have snack time before they get back on the bus. Um… you know, and I… it just brings a concern for me. I… As a clinical dietician for what I do, I am. I have a strong issue with. people who are not physicians, not following. Or taking what a doctor says and making decisions that. the doctor, you know, trying to make their own medical decisions, um, and it's very dangerous. I am not going to put my child in a. Dangerous situation, nor should any parent. And I do think this brings a concern as we move forward with younger and younger children, more of them coming into the district, and food allergies being extremely prevalent.
on children that are not able to vocalize. Um, vocalize their allergies. And I just wanted to bring that concern up because I don't think a lot of people are aware of it. Thank you. Thank you for your comment. Going back to the room, is there anybody else who would like to make second public comment tonight? No, one per customer, sorry. You can always email us, though, if you…
Let me finish second public comment, and then we'll… okay? Because I do have some more callers on the line. And I see Meredith Levin. Meredith Levin, it's your turn. Please unmute and give us your name and municipality. Hi, my name is Meredith Levin. Um, I live in Jerry Hill. And I am one of the leaders of the. Cherry Hill, um, special education parent advisory group. Uh, but tonight, I'm calling in as a parent, um… I want… I have two children with disabilities. I'm gonna ramble. I didn't prepare anything.
I'm just kind of listening. To our district, um, to the parents who I respect their feelings and their situations and. Um, I talk to parents all the time who have, you know, issues. Um, and give them advice. I am a special educator myself. I have been in this field for 20 years. I have been working with this district. And the admin, um, to make positive changes for the last 9 years. Um, I have a child who's in high school who went through the BES program, and I have a son who's at Mann who is a level 3 severe.
Child with autism. And I… have basically anything reasonable I have ever asked, I have been given. Um, I… it comes with learning, understanding, I'm listening to all of these situations where. Parents are being told the child study team doesn't listen, the teachers don't have any say. I… two years ago, I sat in a meeting from my older student. My older son, who… where they told me they were gonna eliminate his IEP due to his reaval. And the teacher sat up and said, I disagree, here are the reasons that this isn't gonna happen. I said, I disagree too, and he kept his IEP. Um… My younger son with autism, severely autistic, is legally blind, um, struggles with communication.
And it has 40 hours of BCBA and RBT hours at home through my personal insurance. And he has included about 40% of the school day, and any time. I say, hey, let's try this class. They say, okay, let's give it a shot. I have not. been met with any no's, um, this is not going to happen, anything, and I have had my issues in the past. Um, with the district where we did not see eye to eye, and we settled it and moved on.
I've never felt like anybody held anything against me or my children. I am grateful to the district. I believe. that over the last several years, we have put. major strides moving forward in our special education community. Furthermore, things I've noticed, part of the reason I am one of the leadership members of the CPAC. is because I want to give back to my community, and I want to give back to working with my administration, so… I… I ask any parent who is, um.
Who wants kind of more of an understanding to please come to our next meeting, please look at our snapshot. be part of us, and I ask that, um, we understand that I know administrators as a public school teacher, a lot of people think. Ms. Levin, I'm sorry, your time is up, but thank you so much for your comment, we appreciate it. Is there anybody else in the room who would like to make second public comment? Going once, going twice. Yeah. No, you already… I'm sorry, you already made second public comment tonight.
Sorry, I'm… no double dippin'. Looking back on the line. I don't see anybody on the line, so I'm gonna close second public comment. I do want to thank everybody who came out and spoke tonight, both in the room and online. I just want to acknowledge that. While we can't speak to individual student concerns, we do appreciate your voices and that you're here, and the board is listening. That is the purpose of public comment. So I hope you saw us all up here taking notes.
Um… We do appreciate it. There was a question… about our committees, if you look. on our agenda tonight, we did approve the standing committees of the board. Um, CNI stands for Curriculum and Instruction Committee, that's the committee that I chair. BNF is the Business and Facilities Committee, chaired by Mr. Greenbaum, who's not here tonight. HR is Human Resources Committee. P&L is the Policy and Legislation Committee, which is chaired by Ms. Palmer, and then our final standing committee is governance, which is chaired by Ms. Surefain. So those are the standing committees of the board.
For 2026. And with that, I will turn it over to Dr. Morton for superintendent comments. Thank you very much, Ms. Stern. I also echo your comments as well. Thank you to all who came out this evening. I always encourage those who have concerns to reach out directly to our director. of special education, our Director of Special Education makes a concerted effort to talk to. Anyone who has concerns and wants to reach out to her, all 2200. families that we have who receive special education services.
And the host of others that have 504s as well, so she's… she's always available and willing to talk and willing to work with families as well. As we follow, uh, we follow the law and follow policy. Uh, just a couple things. Um, sign language interpreters are available. Uh, they are available by request, so requests definitely understanding the comments, but just to clarify that, there… They have been provided in the past. for some of our other productions when it's been requested, and the, uh, production team recognizes that there's, there's definitely a need.
But thank you for your comment. This… this… this evening. Uh, in reference to dyslexia, dyslexia is definitely. Um, a challenging topic, challenging for many families, you know, undoubtedly. Uh, the state mandates training for the staff to go through. Our staff. Um, going through the training, and we'll continue to go through the training. We've also, um… Uh, recently accepted a focus grant, and this Focus grant has allowed us to conduct universal screenings in all of our elementary schools. Uh, you may have heard the conversation, or the.
assessment dibbles, um, your child's. have been dibbled, as they call it, but uh… that's… that's… that screening is used to help us. To identify needs that students have, and as we also look to shore up our MTSS strategies, we implement strategies. Um, throughout. We have greater and wider interventionists, we have. talked a heck of a lot about those lately, uh, but just yesterday, our interventionists had training, and they're working. And they're working with our kids across the board. Uh, across the district. Um… We heard conversation this evening about the course of study.
Uh, thank you to Ms. Staff and her team, uh, Dr. Birdie, all of our middle school staff for helping to put those together and make them successful. But just wanted to mention as well, for awareness. Uh, our high school open house dates, High School West, scheduled for January 22nd. High School East will be a week after January 29th. Uh, each of those begin at 7pm. These evenings provide our families with an opportunity to go out and to learn all they can about our schools. about our high schools. One of the things that's great about our district is that we have open enrollment, our families have an opportunity to choose.
Any one of the schools, or either of the schools, um, based upon their needs and based upon their aspirations for their children and moving forward. We excitedly welcomed. I think Ms. Stern referenced, we excitedly welcomed. Over 200 new preschoolers. to, uh, both Kilmer and to, uh, Malberg, the Malberg facilities. Um… it truly was outstanding to see all the families, the excitement, the enthusiasm, the anticipation. From our families, uh, in the first days of school as a.
Had an opportunity to walk through and visit. and see our kids. Our preschool staff did a phenomenal job. and helping to familiarize and to help our children become comfortable with these new environments. You would have thought, or one would have thought. That our kids have been in school for weeks. Based upon just how well they were settled, and how well they were acclimated. literally within the first few days to routine, so truly phenomenal. Uh, tomorrow. They'll have their back-to-school night in January. Um, and then there is, um, next week, on the 21st of January at 6.30 p.m. At High School West, a preschool information session. So if you're curious to learn more.
About the preschool program, application process in and of itself. Please be sure to come out to that. Uh, and just a couple more things. In New Jersey, I believe in January 2024, a governor has deemed. Um, the month of January is Muslim Heritage Month. So we like to recognize our, uh… contributions, rather, of Muslim students and community members, and thank them for their contributions to, um, our district, to our town. And to the state, uh, overall. Also, there's a big sign hanging out here. Thank you to Ms. Barati for recognizing our board members, but I would be remiss if I did not give my personal gratitude.
To each of you. Um… It's a lot. I recognize it, it's a lot. I don't think there's been a time that I reached out to board members and asked them to come and show up and have a meeting, to engage in discussions. I know every time I reach out and call, whether it's picking a child up on a Friday at school and standing in the line. To pick a child up, you know, definitely always, um, are always there to support, so… There is no greater sacrifice than one's time. We cannot get the time and our lives back, so to give up your time, to volunteer your time is, um… is, to me, the greatest service, and I appreciate each of you for that, so thank you.
on behalf of myself, the administrative team, and the entire district for, uh, for what you do. Um, Monday? district will be closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day in observance of that, as we think about Martin Luther King. You know, his life focused on, uh, unity. equity and inclusivity for all people, and service. So I challenge everyone to think about how they can. Carry those 3 things forward, um, in recognition of that… of that day. Uh, Happy New Year to everyone. Uh, have a great night. Thank you so much. I'd like to make a motion to adjourn the meeting. Is there a second?