board being to order um this meeting has been appropriately advertised roll call please miss colan Mrs Brown Mr Craig here Mrs dine here Mrs Maya here Mrs oh there she is Mrs molski here
Mrs Seltzer here Mrs Sherman here Mrs Z here Mr McMillan here Mr dois here Mr Chu here please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance okay there was no executive session tonight uh before we move to section
three for presentations I actually want us to enter into community of the whole uh to make it a little bit easier to ask questions but for our presentation tonight um Dr uh Lori bandow from the New Jersey school boards Association uh she's our field service representative
is here and she's actually going to present uh a training for the board members but before she starts I guess I want to enter into commit the whole make it a lot easier for us to just ask questions as uh we wish so um do I have a motion to enter commit of the H so and
a second second all in favor all right thank you uh Dr bow thank you Roger on behalf of New Jersey school boards Association we want to thank each and every one of you for your dedication and commitment to the children in the Collingswood School District just a little bit about myself I am your new field service
representative I cover Camden and Glouster counties I was a retired um I was in education for 38 plus years I am a retired school superintendent from both New York and New Jersey however I've worked in every single socioeconomic District that you could think of
um in addition to working with some really incredible boards like yourselves so I'm looking forward to going through the ethics presentation tonight this presentation will be sent to you by bethanne after the meeting probably on Monday or tomorrow whatever is convenient for Beth Anne and I promised you I'm not going to do Death by
PowerPoint there's a lot of information on the slides so don't panic many of the slides have links that you will be able to dig into on your own time so I'm going to give you a little bit of homework please make sure you take the time to dig into some of the cases we're going to talk about many of the cases
are things that happened in 2024 so it's really critical that you get familiar with the ethics act Dr B do you mind speaking a little bit more closely to mic or pulling it towards you absolutely is that better okay my apologies okay
all right sure I get this bethan it was the uh here we go okay so we always have our usual disclaimer at school boards we are not your board attorney only only your a board appointed attorney can give you legal advice our information that we're
giving you is best practices research that not only takes place across the state but across the country so um we're going to dig right into the ethics presentation now was having a little trouble with the clicker for some reason here we go so the school ethics Act was put into place
it's really kind of to to show each and every school official not just board members but School administrators what they need to do in order to be the best possible board member or best possible School administrator really it's kind of like the rules and regulations so we know what Lane that we
need to stay in as trustees on a board of education and yeah as you know you are appointed you are you know you are voted into your into office by your community you are held in high regard so there are certain standards that you need to make sure that you follow
yeah I'm sorry it's very very slow here we go oops now it goes too click is there another clicker I apologize yeah that'd be great yeah I think it's the distance so you just go
back thanks bethan that's it perfect so the school ethics Act was put into place for that particular reason to make sure that each and every school official admins and
trustees follow code and conduct that they need to as trustees and school officials so there's provisions of the act that apply to everyone so as you know there's a of Ethics that bethanne had you sign off on especially when you're sworn in do we have any new board
members here right now so nice to meet you and welcome I'm here to S support you don't hesitate to reach out my business card is in the folder as well anything you call me about is held in confidence so don't hesitate for any support so you've got the code of ethics which we're going to talk about tonight
mandatory training which we're going to talk about tonight prohibited acts and the those lovely Financial disclosure statements that you have to fill out every year and after you're sworn in so who enforces the ACT every Governor appoints a a for three years a board and
it is bipartisan there are five non-school officials on the SEC and it's and it's the school ethics commission not the Securities and Exchange Commission five School non-officials two school board members and two School administrators in the fall we did not
have enough people on the SEC there were some board members that were really taking an interest this is something that if you ever wanted to Aspire to you can do this and there is a website that you can go to to apply so the financial and personal relative disclosure statements you know
what they are I'm sure bethanne has brought you up to speed with that we'll we'll go past that one so the mandatory training is something that happens every year a lot of you don't know but our Premier event is not just the convention in the fall but it is the new school board
orientation for new members that happens on two weekends that is where you can get all of your first your training in and it's a great opportunity to meet other board members in small and large venues so year one you have governance one year two is gov two year three is
gov three and if you are appointed after another term the only mandatory training you have to have is gov four because there's always different legal updates if you want to become a board certified board member you can't do the self-paced online I always want to tell board
members that if you want to become a certified board member you have to do the inperson and the live virtual okay so an advisory opinion is something that is um you know clearly put anybody any school official can ask
for an advisory opinion and it can go to this SEC and if the advisory opinion is something that doesn't just hit save Collingswood and I know we're not going to have any ethics complaints in Collingswood that is not going to happen but if there there is an advisory
opinion that is given and it it has implications that could reach across the the the state names will be redacted and that advisory opinion will be shared by the SEC okay so an advisory opinion is really an opinion and it's something
that you know it you really should listen to Because if the SEC gives that opinion you really do not want to go against it it's something that you could be definitely brought on an Ethics complaint for and if you are ever brought up on an Ethics complaint there
is an appeal procedure there you can definitely go to um an administrator administrative law judge it'll go against to the commissioner for review so there is always an appeal process so different advisory opinions I'm not going to read all of them I'm
just going to read just one on this page A1 24 which is the third one down can a board member who works at the law firm represent and employees that are suing the district vote on a candidate to fill a board vacancy since it could give
privilege to the law firm and the summary of the SEC response was the board member has already recused thems from executive session conversations regarding the cases and the law firm already walled them out of everything any member may choose a candidate who
holds their views interests but boards must always be objective and exercise independent judgment so each of those those links those light blue links you can dig into if you want to learn a little bit more about any of the opinions we'll go to the next page just another one that I want to share and
these are real real things that happened a224 it's about the fourth one down can a board member who has a tenuous history with the superintendent including being fired as an employee participate in matters related to the
superintendent and the summary of the SEC response was due to the it of actions by the member filed the lawsuit civil suit circulated a petition to fire the superintendent and put up Bill boards in the community participation in matters related to the superintendent
would damage public trust and the foundation of the board as a fair and impartial tribunal so that was the opinion that was there so what are the penalties you know we we kind of talk about penalties when we're in high school we have you know detention we
have suspension so this is what an ethics Complaint Form would look like it has to happen within 180-day window you have to cite the section of the ACT okay so these are the different penalties that can happen that can come down if you are brought up
on an you know any type of a um ethics complaint the first is a reprimand that is simply just a slap on the wrist please don't do it again a censure is a formal disapproval by the commissioner and it must be publicized at a board
meeting and adopted by a resolution so it's read at a board meeting and publicized and adopted a suspension is the next one and this can happen in any order depending upon the situation you would be barred from engaging in any activity for a designated period of time
depending on 30 60 days Etc and then the the um the most severe would be removal from the board and this can also happen as a as a school administrator this is for school officials too removal immediate termination from board membership or
employment so right now I just like to go around the table if we can start with Chris and if you don't want to read out loud you don't have to but I just want you to read what's in the gray area and I'm going to elaborate on some of them so Chris if you would mind starting I will uphold and enforce all
laws rules and regulations of the State Board of Education and court orders pertaining to schools desired changes shall be brought about only through legal and ethical procedures thank you Chris and that's pretty self-explanatory thank you Megan could you read B the next one I will make decisions in terms of
the educational welfare of children and will seek to develop and maintain public schools that meet the individual needs of all children regardless of their ability race Creed sex or social standing thank you Megan it's really important for every board member to remember that every baby that walks
through the doors in Collingswood Public School belong to you you are here to support every every child you are here to make sure that every child finds their path whether it's college career the military you need to make sure that you are there to support them on their
way C Sarah I will confine my board action to policymaking planning and appraisal and I will help to frame policies and plans only after the board has consulted those who will be affected by them thank you Sarah there's a great book called
leadership on the line by Ronald Heitz and Heitz talks about being up on the balcony and he talks about the dance floor as trustees as board members you are always on the balcony you are overseeing Collingswood you are look you
are looking at the big picture you are thinking about policy you were thinking of the what the board is the what your superintendent Dr MCD Dowell is the how so he will be up on the balcony with you he's a member of the board he's not a voting member of the board of education
but Dr McDow will be up on the balcony making decisions looking out making sure that you're doing all the things that you need to do in every aspect for the community and for the school community and then he will get back on the Dance Floor to make sure that his ba is doing her job is she working on that budget
really well he's going to be dancing on that dance floor with the director of your uh Food Services to make sure that they're supplying student everything that every single thing that your children need your superintendent is the one that does the day-to-day operations if if it doesn't work that way then you
cannot move the district forward you cannot serve your children okay okay next I will carry out my responsibility not to administer the schools but together with my fellow board members to see that they are well run perfect and we kind of talked about that already and
the chain of command is so important as a superintendent if I tried to answer if a parent came up to me and said you know Lori what is going on in that elementary school I don't understand we have a new math program if I tried to answer a teachers a situation that was happening
in a teacher's classroom I would answer it wrong so I would say have you spoken to that teacher have yes I've spoken to that teacher Lori have you spoken to the assistant principal you must honor the chain of command because if I tried to answer that question I would not answer it right and that teacher would have
been upset with me so please be sure that you if if you honor the chain of command th the most of the things are going to get taken care of if you some will percolate and get to you in executive session if you get involved
before it comes to you in executive session and hopefully it doesn't if the system's working great if you get involved then you will have to recuse yourself from the conversation because you've already been tainted in in the situation so chain of command is critical okay we're going to move to the
next one um I will recognize the authority that Authority rests with the board of tion and will make no personal promises nor take any private action that may compromise the board thank you i' like to say at school boards we like to say bethanne in her briefcase she comes to
every meeting with her super with the superhero capes every one of you have a superhero cape that's folded in that briefcase when you get to the meeting she passes out the superhero capes to each and every one of you when you are together in a legally publicized meeting
as a full board that is when you have your superpowers that is when you can do things for the children in callings wood after the meeting bethanne comes around she collects your capes she folds them nicely she puts them back into the briefcase she puts them away to the next
meeting you then can leave you are then a citizen of course people are going to to come up to you you're going to remember that chain of command but you can then have your own private life but the only Power you have as a school board is when you have your superhero capes on and you're at a superhero
meeting next I will refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special interest or partisan political groups or to use the schools for personal gain or for the gain of friends thank you Meredith I think that's pretty self-explanatory next doc could you would you mind doc
reading I will hold confidential all matters pertaining to the schools which if disclosed would needlessly injure individuals or the schools in all other matters I will provide accurate information and in concert with my fellow board members interpret to the staff the aspirations of the community for its school thank you so we like to
say at school boards what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas and we all know that what happens in executive session stays in executive session you are literally holding the lives of your teachers staff faculty students in your hands that is why there are numbers on
agendas so that people are not identified so it is really critically important that you keep confidential I'll give you one brief story during CO as you all know we had to you know be in our homes we had an outstanding school board board president they were an
executive session on their computers high school student walked by did not know it was executive session overheard them speaking about a teacher they were thinking about dismissing the child went to the high school the next day didn't know was innocent spoke about the situation and
it was all over the district so that was just a small example of things that can happen and of course the union it was just an awful for morale so just always be careful next I will vote to appoint the best qualified Personnel available after consideration of the recommendation of
the chief administrative officer thank you Roger as you know everybody who's recommended to you for any position has gone through a very careful vetting process by your administrative team not only your cabinet but your building level principal assistant principal
curriculum supervisors there are Google searches done there are reference checks they are recommending to you the best possible candidate for that position so always know that there's a very careful vetting process before your superintendent says this is who I'm
recommending thank you Kate I will support and protect School Personnel in proper performance of their duties perfect thank you Kate and I think that's I will refer all complaints to the chief administrative officer and
will act on the complaints at public meetings only after failure of an administrative solution perfect and thank you we talked about that already the chain of command and just you know allowing the system let allowing your the folks that are in the district to work things through who is your only
employee Board of Education the superintendent the superintendent is your only employee everyone that works in the district reports to the superintendent so that's one of your most important hires it's one of your most important people and
they have the knowledge the research background and the experience to serve you as best they can okay thank you we're going to keep moving and just tell me when I need to stop Roger too just to remind me all right so um just a couple of cases and I'm not going to read all of them I'm
just going to read this first one and you have time as I said to dig into any of the links that might Intrigue you or you want to know more about so the first one was a board member felt a staff member personally attacked him at a board meeting so he called her principal
identifying himself as a board member a member's action to silence the public and or encourage them not to attend future board meetings by calling their employers to get them in trouble in the workplace can compromise the Integrity of the board so in that particular case
the SEC it was a censure okay we'll go to the next slide thanks bethanne okay this one we're going to skip over this one I'll let you read this one on your own because there's several but we're going to read the next one uh c78 23 hold on a second okay a 15 plus
Year Board member took inappropriate action that was beyond the role of a board member the action of the board member usurp the authority of the superintendent who is resp responsible for making disciplinary recommendations the board member took it upon themselves to go to the employees home pick up a
letter presented on behalf of the employee directed the ba to not give a copy of the letter to the superintendent these are real stories and then insist instead of recusing herself from the matter in which she had a personal interest and personal involvement the
board member advocated on behalf of the employee and questioned the superintendent recommendation of an employee this by the SEC was a 60-day suspension just as an example okay now we're going to go on to the on next
slide you can go to the next one all right so we're going to talk about recusal vers exstension whenever you are in a situation and you're wondering do I need to recuse myself from this or do I need to abstain never be afraid to ask your board president whatever your procedure
is you probably let your board president know they'll let the superintendent know and check with the attorney do it make sure you ask that question because you want to protect yourself your family the board and the school district so in certain situations
you might want need to recuse yourself and we give you a couple of um just one situation bethanne thank you you can move to so if for example you're on the school board and your brother-in-law has the best Landscaping Company in the in
Camden County and was one of the companies that put in a bid to do the landscaping for the district so this would be something that there could be a personal business interest that you would probably need to recuse yourself but I'm not an attorney
you this would be something that you would need to ask your attorney so anytime you're in a situation like that do not be afraid to ask the question just an example yes Roger goad because I don't know that we've ever talked I know before I saw that um I
don't think we've ever talked about recusal as a sport because I think we always thought that it was just you would abstain from it and so um I guess my question is uh procedure wise is that just like a a statement you know when when say bethan asks us for a vote we
would say we recu ourselves or is that something that would happen before the the vote even happens before the voting would happen and you see the agenda and if one of the trustees is wondering do I need to abstain you could exstension could be for something very very simple um nothing that would be
legally you know so they would definitely want to let you know that I'm you know G Roger I think I might need to abstain from this I don't think recuse but abstain can you check with you know with our superintendent and also our board attorney and the recusal is we use
the word recusal more at school boards because we found that some school boards were in the same situation Roger they weren't quite sure which one to use so if there is any type of a legal you know benefit or personal you really have to check with your attorney because that
might be a case for recusal and we'll talk a little bit more about that and and would that would we register that recusal before the the board meeting started or during the vote of during during the vote oh and would say cues yes yep and you would follow whatever your solicitor would tell you to doood thank you you're welcome um here's an
example of a superintendent same kind of situation an acting superintendent's son was one of 100 60 individuals on a list of substitutes she recommended for board approval not recusing herself constitutes using her position to secure employment for her son due to the son's
Financial involvement it might reasonably be expected to impair her objectivity so the SEC this was a reprimand for this so that would just be one type of example okay so here is something that is a a conflict benefit kind of case
I'll get just read one other one for you a board member voted on two resolutions to name a school building in honor of her supervisor with whom she had a political and professional relationship for over 20 years that long-standing relationship could create a justifiable impression
that objectivity independent judgment could be impaired employer employee relationships are a conflict due to an indirect Financial invi involvement bestowing in honor may not only benefit her political allies but could also further the members political interests
so this was a recommended censure so a lot of this stuff is just common sense it really is so you got to just kind of really think you know is this something I really need to look into right so relationship definitions um I put in your folder like a little bit of a cheat sheet because they keep
expanding the different types of relationships so you have immediate family members relatives you'll get this PowerPoint so you can look at it carefully so I won't wait spend too much time on this but let's go to the next slide and talk a little bit about how this could you know impact some of the
things that we do so if you are on the board of education right now you cannot hire with superintendent and board cannot hire the relative of a board member or a chief School administrator now however if you were appointed to the board or hired as
a superintendent and your brother-in-law was already the Middle School principal then you just have to remove Move Yourself for example if Doc's brother-in-law was a middle school principal he could not be in the line of observe of evaluating that particular administrator he would have someone else
in his cabinet do that you would not be able to be an executive session if there was something that was going to be discussed about if you were a board member and it was your brother-in-law as a middle school principal you would need to probably recuse yourself Roger it would be something you'd have to check with the solicitor um but you would
definitely not be able to be a part of that or you also would not be able to be a part of the superintendent's evaluation because there's a conflict and that would be something betham would make sure that you know is we all know and your superintendent's aware and you wouldn't be able to get into that
superintendent evaluation or you would not be able to hire a superintendent Dr B so something you said there if if you end up having to recuse yourself from a vote that would also mean then that you couldn't be involved in any discussions about the vote too correct correct
correct and that would be definitely I'll always say this so forgive me for repeating check with your solicitor but I would say more than likely yes okay so where does this come into play so collective bargaining when you are working with your Teachers Association your administrators Association any of
your great collective bargaining groups in the district so if you have an immediate family member or relative that works in the district it can be very nuanced okay because you know they they could be a current member of the
Teachers Association or a Statewide member or representative or they might not be so this once again you need to check with your solicitor more than likely you won't be able to to be participate in negotiations and more than likely you
will not be able to vote to ratify the contract if your relative is in the district is part of the association but once again this is something you definitely have to check into um if you're immediate family member does not work in the district but they are part
of the collective bargaining group they're part of njaa um then can you participate in negotiations no but you can vote to ratify the contract but once again to protect the district always make sure that you clear things and then and the bottom one is no I don't have a relative
that works in the district no they're not part of a Statewide teachers union yes I can participate in negotiations and yes I can vote to ratify that that MOA that memorandum of agreement all right when you get to the point where you're starting to do your negotiations
I just want to let you know that we do have services at school boards they can come in virtually some of our legal team just to give you some prep and some some advice on working through negotiations to make it smooth for both parties all right so campaigns and collective bargaining so board members
who receive Union endorsements may be conflicted from collective bargaining if negotiations begin within the year of the election so if you were newly elected to the board just be very very careful and if collective bargaining is coming up in the in the event that you might have had some endorsements
endorsement of candidates by a local and or nation National Statewide union doesn't create a per se future conflict unless a financial contribution is given with the intent to influence so always you have to be very careful with campaigns and collective
bargaining all right and then um impact on committee assignments this is another place where you have to be careful for example the board president if they have if they have a child who is an instructional assistant they cannot choose the chair Committee of that
particular committee and you can dig into it a little bit more so they have to be very cautious same thing with a board member spouse who might work in the tech department you cannot be involved in any and all matters that are related to that okay you don't want to you know muddy the waters for for your
spouse and the board and then also at the bottom board members domestic partner is transportation specialist same type of thing air of caution just check with your solicitor okay and then um if you are brought up on an Ethics complaint nobody's going to be in cing
what I know it because you're a great board if you are brought up on an Ethics complaint if you follow your Sol solicitor's advice throughout the process it could mitigate the penalty it might not take the penalty away but following the advice of councel and you
see some of the things that are up there can help to mitigate what might happen Okay so volunteering in school first I want you to remember that you are doing the ultimate volunteering as board members sometimes you forget that the
public doesn't see all the work that you do behind the scenes you don't just come to board meetings there's so much work and you definitely do not earn a salary for this so you are doing the most ultimate volunteering for every single student so remember that however you do not give up your rights as a parent to
do the things that you want to do with your children in their school so if we you know it really is dependent upon the involvement that you have when you're volunteering with staff and students the level of interaction and what type of authority hopefully none when you're
working with the staff so we're going to go to the next part and you can see those all fall into the code of ethics so on the right hand side of that table we talk about all the great things we can still do as board members follow your protocol let Roger know he'll let the superintendent no there are no
secrets in school districts I have been in numerous school districts so right away the somebody's going to call up to the board office and say oh my goodness there's three board members over at the elementary school what's going on Roger's going to say they're just coming over for re Across America they're going to just be reading or they're coming
over to talk about you know career career week they're going to be talking about their careers so those are the kind of things you can you know chaperone field trips still you can help to put together props for the play at your house and deliver them okay those are the kinds of things you can still be
a Home Room parent but you know it's just that you're not it's more of a passive kind of situation what are the things that you really would be in violation for if you helped your spouse for example with the high school play auditioning characters you stayed there every day you you directed the play
can't do that can you coach the football and be a volunteer coach can't do that I'm sorry or the girls flag football team can't do that so can your spouse do it sure but you just can't do that because you are serving a really important uh role here in the district
we'll go to the next so social media our favorite thing I have avoided social media I have a a Believe It or Not 25-year old daughter that told me to get off of Facebook and don't go down that rabbit hole which I have not but I'm going to date myself because there was no social media when I was in high school or college I think the first
thing was mypace don't laugh but that was the first thing that came out when up back in the day but now because there's so much social media it's so difficult for board members so what the SEC is looking for is to see if there's a Nexus between what is being
posted or said on social media and what you're doing so we're going to just talk about that for a little bit so here's one example if you go back for minute bethan I'm sorry the an Nexus example was a member discussed without a disclaimer a policy she moved to abolish indicating it was reviewed by board
counsel and opposed by four board members there was a Nexus f found there that that was something that was talking about their role as a board member the example on the right was no Nexus was found in this situation was a board member shared a campaign image of three
candidates running for the board without any further comment on a personal social media page it was fine I want to give you an example of something that happened when I was in a district and it was it was something it's something that I can talk about because it was something that was out in the public we
had a trustee she did not give up her First Amendment right to post on social media she posted something that the board attorney said was absolutely fine it was right after the George Floyd situation however the content of it
totally upset the high school students totally upset the staff in the district the New York media descended upon Brewster New York where I was working as Superintendent at the time this poor woman she had her first amendment right she was a teacher in another District
her children were in the high school you have to I say this because you have to be careful you don't give up your rights but you have to be careful of the content and the message that you're putting out there because even though you might want not want it to be
interpreted that way people might interpret it and you will you possibly could cause problems for yourself for your children for the district Etc so I just say that just as an air of caution so the disclaimer that we've
always showed used to be a jet get out of jail free card but it's not anymore we give this disclaimer that as an example of something that we tell you to put on any social media pages that you have that says that you're acting as a private citizen not as a member of the
Collings with board of education but it really comes down to a lot of cases where the content was then looked at by the SEC so it doesn't always avoid it going to go a little bit further thanks Beth you're shaking it like I was doing
before I have to read these because these are really important if I use a disclaimer does that automatically protect me from being in violation of the ACT no but it does help clarify the capacity in which you are speaking so we suggest at school boards to use the
disclaimer what could cause me to be in violation with the disclaimer based on the content if a reasonable member of the public could perceive you are speaking in an official capacity or pursuant to official duties that could make the disclaimer inadequate and of No Force or effect and if I don't use a
disclaimer does that mean I am automatically in violation of the ACT no we're not forcing you no one's forcing you to use it regardless of a disclaim disclaimer was used or not capacity speaking from content and perception matter and then the last one is must I
use the exact disclaimer wording from the SEC the failure to parot the exact language recommended will not mean that you did not use an appropriate disclaimer so go on so again social media make sure your account you know
identifies you as a board member you can kind of dig into this a little bit more I won't spend too much time on this your transparency and communication is critical so any um social media account that inherently indicates your position as a board member cannot be used so if
you have those get take them away okay so you don't get yourself into a situation and then the liking or sharing of posts will not get you in trouble but again uh the SEC just airs a little bit of caution because you know that people are always watching you are VIPs people
are watching what you are doing so you want to just be careful because it you know people could misinterpret what you're doing and then if you administer a social media page many people do that once again you can continue to run your own social media page but again it comes
down to the content of and you know what is actually happening happening on that page in the Viewpoint so just you know for your protection be very careful okay and uh that is everything I have for you tonight I'm here for some questions I want to thank you again for serving your community and we appreciate
everything that you do at school boards and Roger I'll open it up to you and the board any questions from board members I just had one question uh I don't know if I zoned out for a minute but what does Nexus stand for Nexus is like is there a connection is there a you know between
what was said like is there yes or no that was a good question cuz I was wondering that too at some point yeah it was in capital letters on one and I was like that must all good I have a question yes and this is just a broad question with you working over at Camden in Gloucester County do you see a lot
with um family members since you have you know there's a lot of small tiny towns in these counties and you said you know vice versa how how what happens when you're in a tiny town and there's a lot of family members it is so so difficult and they you still have to follow the the rules I mean you might
have a really small negotiating team you might have two people in some really small districts just to make sure that everybody's following the law so yes good question yeah but what about like um being on the board and then being hired in the town do you know what I
mean like if it's a small town like runam belmare Brooklyn these are all tiny little towns still can't nobody else steps up to no still can't I know and I'm glad you and on a different topic it did I answer your question with that I wanted to mention that there are waivers like for School nurses like if
you want to hire someone that you know you can't find someone you can go to the county superintendent you know Roger could check not Roger I'm sorry um doc could check with the county superintendent to see if we could get a waiver because a lot of positions are hard to fill now any
other okay doesn't look like it uh thank you so much Dr B thank you everybody I'm looking forward to working with all of you all right don't hesitate to reach out thank you all right um so with that can I get a motion to
uh uh was it ajour the whole so moved and a second all those in favor okay moving on to section five future dates and miscellaneous information so there's a
large list here of uh future dates and miscellaneous information I do want to point out one of the dates April 10th is uh that evening from 6:30 p.m. to 7 45 p.m. is the
April Board of Education round table so that's a time for folks to come and have sort of more of a a back and forth discussion with board members that is at the kwood Library community room um but again that's on April 10th Thursday 630 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. at the con with
Library community room um and then I yeah there many other dates here uh lots of stuff going on in April okay so moving to section routine business there's one item here 6.01 approval of minutes so motion to approve
the minutes of the March 10th and March 18th 2025 special budget meetings is there a motion so move and a second um all those in favor okay now before we get to a public comment I actually do want to
we're going to test the pilot Shifting the uh order of the agenda a little bit so we're actually going to go ahead and and do section eight the super report first and then we'll go into public comments uh afterwards and so at this point I'll move to Section 8 uh and
to Dr M I have a I'm sorry is this going to be a permanent switch or just for this month let's try it let's try this month and and then we can make make it permanent yeah okay so good evening everyone thank you for being here uh section 8.01 is
the enrollment uh report uh February 2024 uh en rment was 2268 February of 2025 is 2220 that is attached uh section uh2 03 uh and 04 are
the attached uh safety drill suspension and anti-bullying report uh and I have just a few um just general announcements and so as a as a reminder um on March 10th the Board of Education
and the bureau Commissioners agreed upon a collaborative partn ship in order to avoid a budget crisis for the 2526 school year the plan uh was refined over the weekend of March 8th uh and will uh
hopefully eliminate the need for drastic reductions in programs and Staffing for the 2526 school year as a stop Gap measure currently the school district faces an 8.7 million State funding gap for the 2526 school year resulting in a
$3.6 million budget deficit if current Staffing and programming uh is to be maintained almost $5 million has already been removed from the District budget over the last three years uh and this critical partnership uh seeks to avoid
uh future uh reductions and so the plan U which was uh sent out to the community uh summarizes the bureau's contribution a joint budget review and deficit coverage utilization of tax cap flexibility shared usage of recreational
facilities and bonding in order to release funds to support and close the remaining deficit and then a joint advisory for long-term uh facilities and Equity planning discussions uh in addition to uh a future referendum for
sustainable long-term funding post 2526 and so the plan uh addresses Community needs while also aligning with our shared goals prioritizing tax neutral and cost-saving measures uh and then creates uh uh opportunities for future collaboration and then supports
Capital Improvements and equity and So currently uh the district and the buau are actively working through the details of the agreement in order to ensure first that the funding is received and that the budget deficit is closed for the 2526 school year uh we will continue to update the public to provide updates
and transparency around this partnership um March 17th through the 21st last week all of our schools participated in neurodiversity celebration week and so this is our third annual uh celebration of brain differences it was an opportunity to
present engaging content to students in a strength based and inclusive way and so like last year's event School guides were developed to outline daily themes and classroom activities uh and then the activities were designed to uh take uh 10 to to 20 minutes uh each day and so
ultimately the goals for neurodiversity celebration week are to increase awareness Ness around brain differences in our schools and our community share information about neurot types such as autism ADHD OCD and dyslexia in a strength-based way learn how we support
and accommodate students with brain differences in our community and then ultimately celebrate being part of a world that values all kinds of different minds and so it was a really awesome opportunity to see how each school um participated and celebrated um and we
sent out the guides with additional resources to the community and we will resend those out and so we would just like to thank again our colleag wood in Oakland cpeg as well as the special services team uh for their tremendous support uh of this major uh annual in
initiative uh we'd like to give a uh a shout a shout out to uh the phenomenal and talented uh cast and crew of the latest musical Little Shop of Horrors um they went above and beyond in order to present this cult classic
musical which followed Seymour krelborn a Meek floral assistant who discovers an unusual plant with an unusual craving and so as his Fame grows so does his appetite and so with catchy Tunes dark humor and a dash of romance uh it was a
ride to be enjoyed by all and so we'd also like to give uh an additional uh special thanks to our Performing Arts coordinator Mr Haron um Mark newbie and the district are partnering in order to support family literacy night on March uh 27th at the
Collingswood Public Library from 5:30 to 7:30 uh this is an opportunity for us as a community to collectively learn about how we as caretakers support all of our children as readers some of the topics include Dibbles 101 one-on-one support and additional take- home resources and
and fun activities uh please be sure to check out student read alouds in the children's section every 30 minutes and you can also register your child for a library card at the front desk and that is Thursday March 27th at the Collingswood Public Library um this evening up for uh
approval is the 2526 academic calendar uh this academic calendar was developed by a cross departmental team um and uh will be up for approval this evening with the Board of Education the new proposed calendar honors our values it
prioritizes academics and minimizes disruptions to families professional development days have been aligned to testing Windows to ensure that faculty and staff have dedicated time to review data and plan future instruction we'd also like to point your
attention to um uh Instagram uh one of the few times you're going to hear me uh give a plug to social media uh but we would like for our community to uh log in and follow calls counseling um and
follow our our phenomenal uh counseling team this is the time of year where they acknowledge and they celebrate seniors on their post-secondary uh college acceptances and so it's called roll calls and so every single week uh they release uh students and their
achievements and so far uh the class of 2025 um is making significant progress and so we would just like to publicly congratulate all of our seniors for their acceptances some of the post secondary institutions include colleges like the University of Colorado Drew
University Rowan Temple Drexel Lee High Villanova Mount hoo uh cstown Northeastern Ryder Stockton Cheney Cen State West Virginia University UMass Boston UMass Dartmouth UMass Amherst
Emerson Fisher Chestnut Hill Bennington uh the College of New Jersey the University of College of Dublin Ireland Kane Pace ruter Sunni Buffalo Sean Hall Montclair East Carolina Widner um Yukon
University of Delaware University of Hawaii University of Vermont just to name a few uh and so uh for additional updates please follow the counseling team at calls counseling on Instagram and then and then finally um we would just
like to uh continue to elevate and bring attention uh to a phenomenal program that exists uh within our Middle School the colinwood uh Panther pantry and so the mission of the food pantry is to provide individual students and families of the Collingswood School District with
supplemental nutritional support uh diapers feminine hygiene supplies in a cheerful welcoming confidential and non-judgmental Manner and so we support this Mission through generous donations from staff from faculty from community members like you
uh you can donate non- perishable items and hygiene products either at your child's school at the local uh uh police department uh throughout the school year or uh in the very back of every board meeting um by uh one of our our staff um
and we would just like to uh commend the coordinator of this phenomenal program Miss nner uh this has been one of her um pet projects and we're extremely appreciative for her leadership thank you [Applause]
okay thank you Dr McDow at this point we're going to move on to section seven public comment I do want to take a quick moment just to talk about public comments because it's something that we've been I think working on and and trying to troubleshoot or or you know figure out
how to meet the needs of the public here so really quickly public comments we know aren't really a question answer section uh that's more of a a round table a board Roundtable type of situation where if you want to have a question answer you want to talk um to
and and uh discuss something with board members you know I really encourage folks to come out to the the round tables that we try to hold monthly and so again next one is April 10th on Thursday um but one of the things that I think the struggles that we have is that the the public comment section is a is a
time for the public to comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing you know members of public to express themselves on school matters and of community interest but we've heard over the years that that it's also really um difficult to ask questions of the board and not not get responses as well uh and so you know I
think starting with the previous board president um uh the board tried to respond to questions or or comments uh at the end of public comments and then more recently I've tried to respond to uh questions or comments kind of as they
come up but I think that's led to some some confusion and maybe some Interruption of the flow of public comments um one of the I think the struggles is that we don't want to respond to questions during the in the midst of someone's comment because folks have a time limit which is three minutes and it
becomes really messy or confusing well is if I'm responding to someone during their their public comment section is that part of the three minutes or is that not part of the three minutes who knows and so what we're going to try to go back to just kind of seeing that um folks do want answers but also we don't
want to be interrupting folks is uh the vice president and I are going to try our best to uh take a note of of maybe the questions and comments that come up and then at the end of public comments do our best to to address those those questions or comments as best as we can and granted sometimes that would might
be we have to point you in someone else's Direction because we don't know um and so wanted to take a moment to kind of let folks in behind the curtain to understand the process that we've been trying to go through to find a a public comment format that works well uh that again allows people to speak their
mind but also allows us to to re you know answer some questions as best as possible without interrupting folks so uh with that um we'll move on to the first section of public comment so the purpose of this public comment section is to discuss items that are on the agenda there's a second more General
comment to uh public sections comment section uh later in the meeting um and the public is reminded that attempts to resolve all concerns and complaints should first go through appropriate staff members and administrators the tent of public comment is to give the committee opportunity to provide feedback to theard we'll be actively listening and taking notes so that we
can take all that being said into consideration um so then In fairness to all who wishes to speak uh there is a strict three minute time limit per person during public comment uh and Mrs Coleman will uh assist me by keeping time um please remember to state your
name and address for record and thank you Miss molski okay well uh I as I see no public comments um I guess we'll move on to the next section of the agenda all right so moving on now to section nine
student reports uh there there are no student board members at at this time um so we'll move on to section 10 the business administrator board secretary report good evening item 10.01 um tonight is your February uh monthly budget transfer report
10.02 is your uh board secretary Treasures report 10.03 is a listing of Student Activity cash reports 10.04 is your food service financial statement 10.05 is a listing of the purchase orders that have been issued during the month of March
10.06 um is uh just want IAD the March 2025 warrants that'll be paid tomorrow morning and I just want to draw everybody attention to item 11.10 I know I said earlier probably in December and January I said we would be submitting um a 10% transfer
request County office for transportation so just wanted to let everybody know that sure enough it's in there um and if you guys wanted to open up and take a look at it um it's there and that's it thank you m colen section 11 buildings ground and uh grounds and finance committee Mr Craig the
chairperson will present uh the finance buildings and grounds committee reviews all financial statements purchase ers and warrants on a monthly basis the committee also reviews and approves all contracts with outside service providers and oversees all maintenance and capital Improvement projects districtwide uh tonight we're seeking approval for the following items
uh 112 to 119 is the board secretary's report as was presented 1110 is that 10% transfer request that was mentioned by the board secretary uh which requires board approval 1111 and 1112 um are accepting of year two mental health
screening Grant funds and year three uh School bed Health Grant funds uh 1113 is moving for approval to buy performance tiles from a national Co-op uh paid in part from the local Recreation grant that we got a couple years back uh I know these parts say pickle ball but
they will actually go to fix the basketball court behind the high school um provide a level playing surface uh they can also be reused in the future for different ports Service uh 1114 uh branching mines ntss program paid for by
Wellness grant funding 1115 r for Professional Services for the district uh 1116 and 1117 are County Education Services um uh on as basis and service 1118 also
County Special Services as basis 1119 is uh prek secretarial services in oakn at prek Grant budget uh 1120 is accepting an agreement with pen sain for tuition and transportation for a student 1121
and 1122 are both donations first is, from Kyle Chang to M gizo classroom and the second is an alto saxs from Mr Lewis casone to Mark n school so thank you to both of them for their
generosity and then 1123 is a use of facility request for the colinwood Youth Theater uh seeking approval on items 112 to 1123 do we have a motion and a second questions and comments from board members I have a quick question for
requests for proposals are there any or I guess if there's a chance on any of those being able to be like a shared service with the burrow as you guys are working through things would I guess how could that change the usually annual contracts but
most most of them have either a 3060 day okay you know like so if something came around in the future we would just have to abide by the um like what the Clause yeah it's like usually I think the the longest I've seen is 60 days okay I mean a lot of these are education but there's a couple that I mean I don't know maybe
thank you you're welcome any other questions or comments from board members roll call please Mrs Brown yes Mr Craig yes Mrs dine yes Mrs Maya yes Mrs molski yes Mrs
Seltzer yes Mr Sherman yes Mrs z Mr McMillan yes Mr dilus yes Mr CH yes moving on to section 12 curriculum committee Miss Sherman the chairperson will
present the curriculum committee oversees and approves the district curriculum and assessment programs as well as field trips home instruction co-curricular programs and the school calendar um so seeking approval for following items um 12.02 through 12.04 are various field
trips we have Elementary field trips including Mr trotty's 3 to5 MD class trips in a park even Citizens Bank Park um we also have some uh middle school and high school trips including the Great Adventure there's a biology trip to the Franklin Institute um 12.05 to
12.07 are out of District placements all medical related um and then uh 12.08 is uh seeking approval for the 2025 to 2026 uh academic calendar um Dr McDow already touched on this a bit and
Roger if um wanted to invite U Miss Hal Turner to speak on it do I need to exit yeah first well let's do the motion first okay so seeking a motion for approval of items 12.02 to 12.08 sove and a second and why don't we turn uh the
floor over to miss S Turner to discuss the upcoming School Year's academic calendar uh thank you very much good evening everyone I just want to say a few words um as you consider voting on the calendar that you have on the agenda tonight uh worked with a wonderful
committee a couple of whom are here tonight um the uh Collingswood and Oakland board uh uh requested that we form a unified uh 2526 school calendar um and bless you um and uh so I formed a
working group um of Collingswood and Oakland staff tried to get a really diverse representation of individuals across both districts many different roles responsibilities backgrounds and experiences to bring a lot of different perspectives to forming the calendar um
great crew so I'm going to just publicly thank the following individuals for serving on our calendar committee from Oakland we had Jim Balden and Todd weisenstein uh we have Robin Hogan Mike sessie Meredith Wells Kim halenbeck Jim Floyd Dave Oliver and myself um on the
committee and again that was oea and CA representation cpsa um buildings and grounds teacher represent Representatives at the elementary and secondary levels um counseling I'm sure I'm Miss missing some some area but as you can see we tried to get a really um
a wide array of backgrounds and experiences so thank you to those that were involved um a few things that I want to note on the calendar draft that you have here um the first is as Dr mcdal said a few moments ago um we tried to be very strategic with um professional development days for staff
of course we know that anytime that kids are home and staff are here that that is a um an ask and a burden that we put on families and I have elementary kids myself so I am acutely aware of PD days um but we try to be very strategic with where we place them in the calendar um
to do them in a limited fashion but to try to be very um targeted with where we put them um in the flow of the year so that they're um intentionally placed pause points for teachers and leaders in the district to analyze data plan collaborate Etc so you'll see those
peppered through Al and there is a a rhyme and a reason to where they fall on the calendar um the other thing that you see on this calendar that we hope is something that we'll be able to do going forward is that on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend is an early dismissal half day for all students and
staff the original intent with that day was actually to um have that half day fall on the Friday of teacher appreciation week so typically the first week of May in New Jersey or maybe everywhere is teacher appreciation week and so so the committee originally
thought as a thank you to teachers that we would have a um a half day on that Friday um but as it also turns out the first week of May is also the first week of State standardized testing in New Jersey AP testing and jsla Etc and so
the committee said well wait hold on let's not lose this idea what if we just slide the Friday thank you for teacher appreciation to the Friday before Memorial Day weekend and we don't think anyone one maybe will mind an early start to the beginning of our summer um
Memorial Day so that's why you see that day there it is a um just a delayed thank you to Teacher Appreciation Week um and we hope everyone will enjoy that um let's see uh two last things sorry trying to be quick here um this idea comes to us courtesy of Jimmy thank you
Mr McMillan um if if you are like me um in Prior years you probably print this out and then by hand go through and add it to your own calendar but apparently because it is 2025 there is a way to do that electronically um and so when we
share this out um with the community there will be an IAL sync option um that will automatically um populate it into people's Google Calendar so you can do it the old fashioned way or you can do it the high-tech way either either one
thank you Jimmy for the idea and to Melissa and Patrick for telling me how to do that um and then last but not least Oakland um already approved this calendar at Oakland's um March board meeting I guess two two weeks or so ago um and really
lastly the supplemental calendar is to come that always accompanies this later on that includes things like uh State standardized testing dates um uh delayed starts for secondary testing and things of that nature so that will get worked on later this spring and early in the
summer so um I'm happy to take any questions on any of those topics for for clarity sake do do you anticipate any more early dismissals being added in the supplemental calendar like in in previous years no okay thank
you I just wanted to say thank you thank you for being Mindful and for bringing the whole group together and being mindful of empties so thank you for all your hard work with us a couple more things I think I would mention from um having talked about this
calendar also that there are no built-in snow days this calendar and so something for for folks uh at home or parents to keep in mind is that if there are any snow day closures uh the makeup days will be June 19th uh or 22nd 23rd and
24th and so any closures the the um the decision was to add additional dates at that point instead of taking away the the spring spring break and I know one other one thing that maybe is worth touching on is the fact that uh we will not be closed according to this calendar
on indigenous people's day which is October 13 2025 um and I think one of the pieces there is that the the tradeoff to make this calendar work um the trade-off is then that actually because January 1 is
on a Thursday instead of coming back on a one day on a Friday uh we're going to be closed on January 2nd as well so that uh winter break can go from you know the the 24th through basically the 4th of January and so
that's one of the big trade-offs which I think was was a inventive way for for the uh committee to to put get that in there and so once again I also want to um uh say thank you for the committee for all all your hard work any other questions comments okay uh roll call please Mrs is
brown yes Mr Craig yes Mrs Divine yes Mrs Maya yes Mrs molski yes Mrs Seltzer yes Mrs Sherman yes Mrs Z yes Mr McMillan yes Mr doas yes Mr CH yes
section 13 Personnel committee Dr Selzer will present good evening everyone the Personnel committee reviews all recommendations for teaching and staff employment considers co-curricular employment and considers all professional development opportunities for staff members um tonight I'm
presenting the following items for um VI 13.02 is a retirement 13.03 is a resignation 13.04 is the correction and revision of a contract for a members of our buildings and grounds crew um 13.05
to 13.09 are leaves FM uh FMLA and jfla and medical um 13.10 and 11 are new hires 13.12 to 13.16 are long long-term Subs across the
district um 13.17 um are the hiring of some Elementary permanent Subs um 13.18 to 1330 uh 22 are a number of stips for clubs uh supervisors
athletic and nonathletic stiens um 13.23 are student teacher observations only one at Tatum uh 13.24 are a number of psychology interns uh that are also across the
district 13.25 are some new substitutes and tutors 13.26 is our travel expense form there are number of conferences and trainings up for review um so I am seeking approval for items 13.02 to
13.26 is there a motion no mo and a second second questions or comments board members okay a roll call M colan Mrs Brown yes Mr Craig yes Mrs dine yes Mrs
Maya yes Mrs molski yes Mrs Seltzer yes Sherman Yes except I'll recuse myself from 13.26 because that includes the diversity job fair at RV that I'll be at Mrs Z yes M Mr McMillan yes Mr doas Yes
except the required to abstain Mr CH yes uh moving on to section 14 the culture climate and policy committees Miss Maya will present this section thank you the policy and regulations committee reviews all
updates and changes of District policies and regulations tonight we have um a bunch of policies up for our first read 5111 eligibility of Resident non-resident students uh 571 academic integrity 710 student grievance 8500
Food Services and 9163 spectator code of conduct for interest Classic Events and then up for a second read tonight we have uh policy 5460 High School graduation policy 5516 use of electronic communication devices and uh following
uh the regulations which requires uh the first reading of use of electronic devices um 5516 so we're seeking approval for items 14.02 through 14 04 is there a motion and is there a second okay okay
and so at this time I'd actually also like to ask for a motion to table um uh policy 5111 the first one listed under 14.02 it's still going through our lawyers review and we still need just a little bit more time to make sure that
that the language there aligns with with uh our our poliy and practice here at uh the district so is there a motion to table 5111 um for for today okay and is there a second is this a roll call
vote uh yeah I'm G do that way are there any questions or comments just thank you because I was wondering about that thinking the last I read it it hadn't changed the the attorney was unavailable he called me at four o'clock um and so I
called him as soon as I got off the phone with the attorney all right uh roll call please on the table on the table Mrs Brown yes Mr Craig yes Mrs Divine yes Mrs Maya yes Mrs molski yes Mrs Seltzer yes Mrs
Sherman yes Mrs Z yes Mr Millan yes Mr dulus yes Mr Chu yes okay so now we're back to the the main motion which is to pass um items 14.02 14.03 and 14.04 forceus 5111 are there any uh questions
or comments on on the main motion okay roll call please uh Miss Coleman Mrs Brown yes Mr Craig yes Mrs dine yes Mrs Maya yes Mrs mulski yes Mrs Seltzer yes Mrs Sherman yes Mrs Z yes Mr
McMillan yes Mr dilus yes Mr chill yes moving on to section 15 miscellaneous uh 15.01 is the H report for the previous month of uh February and so I'm that's the only item there so I'm seeking approval for items for item
15.01 is is there a motion is there a second second questions or comments from board members okay roll call please Mrs Brown yes Mr Craig yes Mrs dine yes Mrs Maya
yes Mrs mulski yes Mrs Seltzer yes Mrs Sherman yes Mrs Z yes Mr McAn yes Mr dilus yes Mr Chu yes moving on to our second uh section so section 16 second section for uh public
participation um I think everyone here I think was was here when I went over the the information earlier but basically this second uh public participation section is for more General comments so it doesn't have to be on the agenda um
you know as reminded uh attempts to resolve all concerns complaints should first go through the appropriate staff member and administrators um we'll do our best to keep note of any questions or comments that that might need addressing and and address them at the end of the public comments section um in all fairness to all who wish to speak there's a strict three minute time limit
per person during public comment and Miss Coleman will assist by keeping time uh please remember to state your name and address for the record public comment section open good evening my name is Mr Goldberg music teacher at Garfield and Tatum elementary schools here in Collingswood
I am here today speaking on behalf of the district music teachers Miss Carlson Mr gross Mr hardung miss incasso miss lwig and myself it is the of Collingswood Public School District's music department to provide every Collingswood student the opportunity to
grow through a highquality ability appropriate universally accessible music education that inspires the continuing study of Music the Arts have the power to change the world by helping students see the profound impact of Music in modern day
and historical settings students are empowered to use this Dynamic tool to shape the future for the better women suffer Jets fought for equal rights from the 19th to early 20th centuries singing songs like Daughters of Freedom laborers of the 1930s and 40s
from various Industries including West Virginia coal mines Southern textile mills and General Motors fought for fair walking conditions singing songs like we shall not be moved civil rights protesters of the 1960s marched singing songs like we shall overcome and the
list goes on and on music changes Minds because it brings people together and speaks directly to the heart we the music teachers at Collingswood teach that there is value in the music of all diverse cultures and peoples so that the Next Generation cannot see the other
without seeing themselves we teach the music that has transformed the world bringing equity and Justice to the marginalized we teach that music can and should include everyone from all Races ethnicities religions differing
abilities sexual orientations gender identities and expressions family configurations socioeconomic statuses and immigration status we teach that music is inherently diversity equity and inclusion or Dei despite the professional risk of today's polarized
divisions because repeating the mistakes of our past is a far greater risk at last month's board meeting you the board published your values stating that learning unities should incorporate and mirror the diversity of the 21st century
equity and and inclusion are fundamental inclusive excellence and social justice are an are an essential investment well it's about time the music team welcomes you aboard the ship we've been sailing for decades we look forward to the journey of continuing
this important work together [Applause] okay here we go hello Rebecca Mueller 509 Dwight Avenue and uh mdss coach at the secondary campus um tonight was
definitely a different vibe from um the last few me meetings um and the same way that we don't always see what you do there's a lot that you don't see that the staff does um to Simply say yes after a long days day's work means so
much so for example the mtss program that you approved tonight was a two and a half year battle and I feel so grateful that we finally got there because it is going to make a difference um we are working so hard to try to work
smarter and not hard harder we're constantly in giving less and yet we try to find ways to do more so while it's not the same Vibe it's still the same message please let's settle the contract and get our schools back let's get the
staff together so that we can finally focus on the Stu students um and thank [Applause] you Beth Rogers 584 Washington Terrace
just wanted to let you all know that the cea is sponsoring the CMS Capelli crew for a free community breakfast this Saturday March 29th at the American Legion um there's going to be pancakes sausage eggs lots of pastries and we're asking just if people want to give
donations um the ca paid for everything and the kids are doing all the work so come on out between 9 and [Applause] 11:30 I'm Karina 607 eldra jav um I was just coming up I've heard a lot of the different things that are going on and I
was um wanted to speak regarding the trauma informed care Grant and its programs um I feel that it's vital and success to the success and sustainability of our Wellness Center and the me mental health initiatives the TIC Grant was enabled and the expansion
of after school Counseling Services free of charge to our parents through the first CH Children's Service in addition in school social workers man educ case load of over about 150 general education students as well as the special education population to support the
holistic educational needs including tutoring attendance support and collaboration between School counseling Administration and outside Services the TIC Grant was awarded December 31st of 2022 and the Wellness Center opened March 21st of
2023 however in the past two years the wellness center has seen significant changes um there's been three different supervisors several revisions to the program and most notably the Grant's end date was shortened from December to September of 2026 the total funding though was
increased by 50% from 1.94 million to 2.91 million while the funding increased might suggest expended opportunities it raises concerns about how these funds are being allocated and how the shortened timeline will impact the long-term sustainability of the program
despite the increased funding we've seen critical support like the secretary of the coach removed from the Grant in January the Wellness Center Director left no Replacements been hired this leaves the remaining staff over bured and disrupts the progress that has been
made decisions about fund allocation are rising doubts about whether the objectives of the grant are being fully prioritized for example administration of salaries um including one for $165,000 of an annual salary that comes out of the tiic grant as we move forward
we need greater transparency and accountability regarding how Grant monies are being used what is the sustainability plan for these essential Services once the grant period ends what is the plan to maintain staff and programs beyond the availability of
temporary funds bringing in outside provisions and providers may help in the short term but it does not build the trust that is so important for students and Mental Health Services in conclusion I urge that we carefully consider these concerns and ensure long-term success and sustainability of the wellness
center for the benefit of all students and staff which was promised during our kids protesting the school thank you all right uh seeing as there are no more public comments uh we will move on to
section uh 17 the adjournment um have a motion to adjourn the meeting and a second second all those in favor