##VIDEO ID:68QoD6N1Ct0## the meeting is now called to order will Mr kosfeld please call the role Mr Cummings here miss guas here Mrs herck here Mr hung here Mrs LAX here we have a quarum please rise to salute the flag I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all the New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interests is discussed and acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the East Brunswick board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date time and place thereof posted at the Board of Education offices located at 760 Route 18 East Brunswick New Jersey written notice was also provided to The Sentinel the new New York Star Ledger the home News Tribune the alternative press of East Brunswick and the municipal clerk of East Brunswick all Board of Education meetings with the exception of executive session discussions are videotaped for later broadcast it is the policy of the Board of Education that videotape meetings are not edited for any purpose individuals who speak at the board's public meetings should be aware of these videotaping rules good evening everyone this is the reorganization meeting of the Board of Education um this is the meeting where uh newly elected board members will be sworn into office and then the officers will be selected and then there are other items on the agenda that are part of reorganization and then subsequently we'll continue with regular uh business of the board the first item on the agenda is the appointment of temporary chairperson may I have such a motion motion moved by Mrs herck second and second by Miss is there any discussion all those in favor hi any opposed abstentions motion carries the next order of business is the administering of the Oaths of office so we will do that front and center the first individual to be sworn in is Anna Brun Anna you have any family members that you'd like to join you up here you're more than welcome to please raise your right hand and repeat after me I an AB Bron do Solly affirm I an a bron do solemnly affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and this state and to the governments established in the United States and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do solemnly affirm and I do solemnly affirm that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of member of a board of education for the office member of a board of education and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all duties of that office all duties of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability congratulations very good thank you all right Jamie FAL you have timing was good okay raise your right hand repeat after me I Jamie Falco do solemnly swear I Jamie Falco do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Saint and to the governments established in the United States and this state and to the governments established in the United States and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do solemnly swear and I do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of member of board of education for the office of member of Board of Education and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all duties of that office all duties of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank you never get family pictures this is great here she's at pract game gain okay please raise your right hand and repeat after me I Lewis Figaroa do solemnly swear I Lewis Figaroa do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and this state and to the governments in the United States and this state and to the governments established in the United States and the state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do solemnly swear and I do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of member of Board of Education to the office of member of the Board of Education and that I will faithfully and that I will Faithfully impartially impartially and justly performed and justly performed all duties of that office all duties of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations you're all with your right hand up please repeat after me I Wilbur pan do solemnly swear I Wilbur pan do Solly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear a true faith and allegiance to the same and I will bear their true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and this state and to the governments established in these United States and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do solemnly swear and I do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of member of a board of education for the office of member of a board of education and that I will faithfully and I will Faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all duties of that office all duties of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank you [Music] now on to the nominations for board president so that everyone is aware of procedure um the temporary chair will accept nominations board president from board members and attendance every member has a right to make a nomination thus a second is not required pursuant to the board's own bylaws um upon uh closing the acceptance of nominations we will proceed to the vote the vote is done by ballot uh we will uh distribute a paper ballot for each board member to indicate who they are voting for or if they are staining from the vote you will then sign and print your name on the ballot for we have one board member that is not present physically they are here via teleconference and so when it's time to take the vote after I have collected all the ballots the board member who is not present will provide a Voice vote on who they are voting for and then the ballots will be read so then there is no influence one way or another regarding what the outcome is so having said that we have nominations from the floor I have a nomination Mrs LAX yes um it has been my honor to serve as president of this board and I'm incredibly proud of the work we've done together to serve the best interest of our student staff and famili I've had the privilege of working alongside an extraordinary individual someone who's demonstrated wavering dedication leadership and a deep commitment to our district Heather has brought her vision Clarity and collaborative style to this board she Champions diverse perspectives and most importantly she puts our students physical and mental well-being at the Forefront of every action as vice president hether has demonstrated not only exceptional leadership skills but also a remarkable ability to listen learn and grow she's actively worked to ensure that our goals align with the needs of our students and the everchanging world of Education Heather has shown a deep understanding of what it takes to lead with Integrity vision and heart I know that under her leadership we will continue to build upon the solid foundation we blate and tackle the challenges ahead with the same level of passion dedication and collaboration I am proud to nominate he for president of the Board of Education I'm confident that her leadership will guide us through the welcoming of our new board members are navigating the year ahead and ensuring that our schools remain a place of opportunity growth and Excellence for every student and staff member thank you Mrs LAX any other nominations from the floor yes I would like to a good evening first of all to everyone and I hope everyone had a good New Year uh I would like to nominate Tim Cummings for president of the Board of Education Tim is a seasoned leader who is committed to empowering individuals and fostering healthy and resilient communities his strong calling to service is evidenced by his commitment to the Board of Education the work he's done in East Brunswick human relations Council and also abroad Tim has managed the construction of a new school and he's been instrumental in providing counseling and tutoring services to children in need skills that we need now on a personal level Tim is a father a husband a Community member who cares deeply about this community and what we need and he is about creating positive change in our community which is something that we need now uh Tim has also worked and to build teams and has worked to put people together focused on moving forward as a group that is what Tim is all about and I am very very proud to say that he is someone that I am nominating and have every confidence in thank you are there any other nominations from the floor seeing none the nominations for board president are closed we will proceed to the to the balloting after you've completed your ballot please fold it in half so it cannot be read and then pass them to the center of the deis we have eight paper ballots Mrs LAX how do you vote I vote for Heather gu a vote for Tim Cummings by Tim Cummings a vote for Heather guas by Lorie Herrick a vote for Tim Cummings by Anna brawn [Applause] a vote for Heather guas by Lee wuhong a vote for Heather guas by Jamie Falco a vote for Tim Cummings by Lu Figaroa a vote for Heather guas by Wilbur pan a vote for Heather guas by Heather guas Miss guas is the duy elected board President [Applause] congratulations we will proceed with the balloting for vice president and the procedures are the same and so without further delay uh are there any nominations for vice president no I have a nomination Mr Cummings thank you thanks everybody um and welcome to the new board members I would like to nominate Lou Figaroa for the role of Vice President over the past year and a half I've had the opportunity to get to know Lou primarily in this space and at various townwide uh activities and groups including our involvement in the bhrc the human relations Council there are three things that really stand out to me about Lou the first is and this takes precedent over all the others his commitment to his family uh without a doubt on every conversation that I have with Lou something comes up about his family whether it be his immediate family or extended and the care that he's providing for them or you know the work that they're doing together to do something for someone else his commitment to the community and his commitment to the district also stand out as incredibly valuable components of who he is as a person and I want to just touch on those real quickly I think we can all agree that there's a lot going on in this town and a lot to be taken into consideration to name a few we have four new members Dynamic new members of our group we have a bustling Town that's continues to grow and develop and then we have our own General evolution of who we are and how we interact with one another how we use technology to grow and learn there's lot of advancement occurring and I believe that Lou is very well poised to help lead us through uh all of the work that's going to be required to meet those needs and overcome them I think that his experience in this community and his dedication to the community are Beyond significant and I think that H 13 years as a member of this District uh give him a unique lens into the many needs and opportunities that that are ahead so I want to close by saying that sorry Lou I'm not really looking at you too much right now I should turn I've had a lot of conversations with Lou about and I want to really be sure that this is heard the amazing things that are going on in this District as parents of young children here we have both discussed and highlighted how grateful we are to be a part of East Brunswick and the great care that we feel our kids are receiving here in this community we celebrate that and honor that in those conversations we also recognize that there is room for improvement and that we have a lot to do to get things done that will even help us be in a better place Lou is a man of tremendous compassion who thrives on seeing others succeed and I think that he is the right person for this role thank you Mr Cummings are there any other nominations from the floor Miss gu I am honored to nominate Leu Hong for vice president Leu I only know through this setting this is where we met but now I see him everywhere in town he is a smart kind and well-respected man and what many don't know is he is also funny levu is a pleasure to serve with because he is self-facing he does not put himself in the spotlight when I think of him three words come to mind honorable committed and steadfast leeu has served on the board for eight years and has consistently been dedicated to our children our staff and our community I know having spent many along long meeting here his commitment to the board comes at a personal cost it interferes with his profession it takes away from his home life and his three boys and he has gone through difficult times in education on this board when we meet every single week and he has a steadfast steadfast commitment that I truly admire Leu comes with an incredibly diverse and strong background he has two Masters of Science degrees and one jurist doctor degree he is a scientist and now a well-respected lawyer his commitment to learning is visible everywhere in his own life and he brings this forward in his love for the curriculum committee which he chairs as well as his interest in the latest technology or programs Leu always wants the best for our children leeu has been here through covid his own personal health issues he doesn't miss a beat he doesn't miss meetings he doesn't miss committee meetings he serves where he has committed to serve and he does so with honor leadership is an obvious step for leeu a he is the board of education leaz on to the middle sex County School boards Association this is not an automatic part of boardsmith leadership but this is the year he wishes to serve this is his time and I am proud to nominate Lee wuhong for vice president thank you Miss was are there any other nominations okay seeing none I will close the nominations and now we will proceed to the balloting the procedures are the same as they were for president please complete your ballots indicate who you are voting for or if you are abstaining sign the ballot print your name fold it in half and return it to the center of the Das for [Applause] [Music] okay we have eight ballots returned Mrs LAX how do you vote I vote for lean Lou Figaroa a vote for Lou Figaroa by Tim Cummings a vote for Lee wuhong by Lori harrick a vote for Lu Figaroa by Anna brawn a vote for Lee wuhong by Heather guas a vote for Lee wuhong by Lee wuhong a vote for Lee wuhong by Jamie Falco a vote for Lee wuhong by Wilbur pan a vote for Lou Figaroa by Lou Figaroa Leu Hong is the duly elected vice president congratulations Mr [Applause] Hong so at this time uh I will call for a literally one minute recess don't get up from your seats we will switch a couple places so that the president and vice president can take their appropriate places and we will reconvene momentarily thank you good evening again um it's a different vantage point from right here I am pleased and honored to be in this chair tonight we are moving on in our agenda to uh sorry the annual actions which would be items 9 through 15 can I have a motion for items 9 through 15 motion motion M herck second by Mr pan is there any discussion all right I believe this is a roll call Vote Yes ma'am anab braon hi Tim Cummings yes Jamie Falco yes Lis Figaroa yes Lori herck yes Lee wuhong yes Lori LAX yes Wilbur pan yes and Heather gu yes motion car motions carry moving on to close session no no we have training oh I'm so sorry ah board member wait what am I doing here just be mat yes okay we have board member prohibited acts and school ethics training Mr [Applause] Jobe I have to read or you can right as required by law all Board of Education members are required to annually receive training on prohibited acts and school ethics this training will be conducted by board attorney Matthew gcoe good evening everybody um we're pass ing around an outline that I have presented to you before we update it each and every year uh periodically throughout the year this is really for your uh edification I'm not going to go through it line by line because we'll be here for hours um I can summarize it for you um but importantly what it does is it lays out the school ethics act and within which is part of 18a and within the school of Ethics Act is is the code of conduct which you guys just passed number nine on the agenda so the code of conduct is within the act so why is this important so I've been practicing law now for uh 30 two years and I've been in the space of representing schools as a young associate starting back in the mid90s after my clerkship to the president and what I can tell you is is that for the first 25 years of my practice I really didn't even know what the school ethics Act was other than it was codified in 18a you read it you had the training that was it in the last five years and I represent a lot of insurance companies that insure school districts and and municipalities I would say that at least 50% of the cases that are assigned to us to defend are School ethics act violations there's been an absolute explosion in school ethics act cases now you'd say why would people do this well they do it for all variety of reasons literally anyone can file them residents can file them board members against other board members staff members against board members they can take all types of of um anyone can file them and is there like a financial penalty for a board member no there's not you can get if you're found of committed an Ethics violation you can be reprimanded censured which is more serious than a reprimand but it's still basically don't do it again you can be suspended and in some very very rare cases you can be removed I can tell you that the removal cases you could probably count them on two hands in in all of New Jersey it rarely rarely happens in two instances um I'm aware of of board members getting long-term suspensions and when does that happen it happens when board members a reveal confidential information or B they mistreat staff members those are the two where the school ethics commission has no tolerance and they tend to be long-term suspensions and I'll just get they're reported cases so I can tell you what happened in one case and I think that the bottom line is is I I like to kind of use analogies and I've used analogies that you guys are like the owners of an NFL team and you hire a coach and you have uh a general manager but you you're you're the you're the people that fund the whole operation the taxpayers fund it but you guys put together the budget and you make sure the district is all run the one thing that's very very unique about Board of EDS versus towns um and I can speak to you because I represent lots of towns as labor Council Towns at at their count Council meetings they very very very rarely talk about stuff rarely it once in a blue moon there'll be a discussion and close session about staff I represent a lot of towns where if we go into executive session it's like once or twice a year every board meeting literally every single board meeting that you guys attend you're in close session why because inevitably you're talking about students or staff you're dealing with people's lives and so staff members they have a right of privacy they have a right to be treated fairly you don't want to tarnish them so they can't get another job if they're if you're going to dismiss them and students have a right to privacy and you're dealing with very sensitive things you're dealing with student discipline you could be dealing with health issues mental crises all kinds of things so the school ethics commission which is made up of a variety of people appointed uh through the governor they serve on this and they they enforce the Act and the code and what I can tell you is in the instances where people have violated that trust because when you go into close session not only is an attorney client privileged but you are you are sacren in protecting the Privacy rights of the students and staff that you're dealing with each and every day because at the end of the day what are you you're a people business you're not making widgets you're not producing you're producing students and you're educating them so that they can become productive adults and so inevitably when you're dealing with that in the people business every meeting you're dealing with students and staff and some of them are you know tragic situations sad situations and it's very difficult as a board member because sometimes you you have to take action and people get up and yell at you how could you have done that to this kid or Etc you can't comment on it because you are bound by the privacy laws that they are infored so in one case a board member um this is in this decision um decided and and and I I was I still represent this board but this is what had happened they had a a an employee who uh had an alcohol problem and drove up to school one day and uh came into the classroom and was pretty clear that the person was under the influence of alcohol so they and and then they get went into medical distress ambulance had to be called Etc so the interim superintendent time writes a confidential email and it said right on it confidential highly confidential email just wanted to let you know this is happened by the way on a Friday morning wanted to let you know this occurred at school you sent it out to the board members in case somebody approaches you this is highly confidential we've taken things the person was transported to the hospital they're under medical observation etc etc this board member took the email and this is before really before we had uh you know Facebook Etc they took the email and at one time nj.com had its own blog where people would write on it he posted the email on the nj.com blog and it said highly confidential not to be and it had the person's name that case off the board they removed them from the board they said that was UN because you disclose all kinds of stuff the other one and I'm going to touch on this in a second get into the dangers of social media is a board member this happened more recently that the one I told you before was about 15 years ago this more recent one um is was a board president and the board president um was of a certain political ideology he was very opposed to unions and he really really really didn't like the union president didn't like her well guess what if you're the union president you're an employee of the board the end of the day you're an employee you may not like unions or whatever but when you guys are sitting up here you're the employer you're not just a board member you're the employer of well over a thousand staff members and so what he did is he said well I can use the dis disclaimer and you've heard me talk about this before that you you don't give up your First Amendment right you can you know go to town council meeting and let's say you're opposed to um you know in in a bond issuance there's a famous case at US Supreme Court dealing with Bond you can can do that you have but you have to say I'm speaking on my own behalf I'm not speaking as a board member you're not authorized to speak as a board member unless the board as a whole authorizes you to speak so what the school ethics commission has said is if you're going to write letters to the editor if you're going to make public statements you have to at first disclaim you have to say this is my own belief this is my own statement it's not attributable to that of the board it's my own so this this board president said well I'll just put that disclaimer on my blog he had a Blog and in the blog he put the disclaimer these are my own beliefs not that of the board and then he just bashed the the the the union president who is again a district employee bashed and bashed and bashed um what ended up happening was he ultimately the Scholastics commission said you can't the disclaimer is not to get out a free from jail card you're not allowed to use the disclaimer then bash your employee because you're still an employer so they removed him from the board they gave him a six-month suspension he had actually lost the election when the six-month suspension came down so if he ever ran again he starts off with a suspension so in those are two instances I tell you that because it's it's but people in those instances board members not treating the their employees again you're an employer with the level of respect and privacy that they're entitled to as employees of the district which is the the board um the one thing that I wanted to tell you guys where most of these ethics cases because I said in the last five years there's been an explosion and what I can tell you is the explosion is all probably tied to the internet if you look at the internet if you look at Facebook if you look at Snapchat it it's what people put up and say on the internet and it used to be when I first started practicing law um you'd have things would it very difficult to prove things because it was you know well he said it at the water cooler do you have proof of it did you record it do you have no I don't well we can't prove it now people they don't talk anymore they just write on the internet even kids if you go out to dinner with a group of kids I've done this with my kids and your friends and you look back for a little while at dinner they're all on their phones talking to each other and texting so everyone's used to talking and texting and saying things in writing well once you put it in writing it's there for good and so more and more board members post things that put them In Harm's Way or they post something and you might not even be In Harm's Way you might not have done anything in inappropriate but it upsets somebody and they file an Ethics case so why why are ethics cases problematic for boards you're not going to lose money you're not going to they're not going to come to your house and Levy your house there's no F there's not attorney's fees the problem is is that when a school ethics complaint gets filed the board under the law has to indentify its board members so you put your insurance carrier on notice and the insurance carrier then assigns legal councel and you have it deductible and your deductible generally is about $10,000 so the first $10,000 of Defending a board member in a school ethics act which will lead to a reprimand a censure maybe a suspension maybe a removal very so let's usually it's reprimand or censure $10,000 of it is spent by the board then it goes to your insurance carrier and if you have lots of them guess what happens your insurance rates goes up if have a lot of car accidents your rates go up if you have a lot of Ethics cases your rates go up so the real the real people that are harmed are your taxpayers and your citizens because you're spending taxpayer money money that you be much better spent on the kids and your staff than on a lawyer defending you in an Ethics case so what we try to do is help you avoid it and how do we help you avoid it you have a board attorney if you have an Ethics question you you you speak to Dr veski they will involve us we'll give you guidance on it we can and we'll put it in writing for you if they're really unique situations and you haven't taken any action yet we can actually write to the school ethics commission and ask for an advisory opinion takes about four weeks so if you know something's coming up and it's Unique and we can and there's lots of guidance and there's lots of decisions out there so we can give you guidance on virtually 99% of them one of the most unique ones happened here in East Brunswick and we got an advisor opinion I'll tell you about it you had a board member um who was not only a a a board member but she was a Collegiate athlete she was a gymnast I believe and like division one and she had a love for athletics and she was an njsa referee and she never ever officiated any East Brunswick meet she was part of it and she would be assigned to you know scoring the perfect 10 on the balance beams or whatever well she came to to me and said um through Dr veski it wasn't even dreski I think it was Dr magistro and said I have this situation they've asked me to be available to be at County meets and at State meets what happens if there's an East brunzel kid in that meet is that an Ethics violation well I can assure you that there's no ethics opinion on that one so we wrote advise your opinion and the school ethics commission said no that's not that's just happen stance the kids there you have a duty to referee in accordance to the njs guidelines it's not an Ethics violation so we have the ability to get that for you if it's a really unique situation and it's better what I always say is there's nothing that you're going to be voting on that you're not going to have plenty of notice of if it's really an issue we will tell you to recuse yourself and not involve yourself and just to talk about recusals and not involving yourself if I say you have I think you need to recuse yourself recusal means you can't talk about it you can't be involved in it you can't give your opinion and say well I'm going tostain now because I have a conflict because if you've involved yourself then you haven't abstained so if you're going to abstain from something because you believe you have a conflict or I've given you guidance then you need to recuse yourself and not discuss it and in some instances if it you know deals financially I may even say you'd be better off just stepping off the de just so that there's no appearance where anyone can ever come after you and say you try to influence that vote um you you have to understand the the school ethics commission too just one last thing under the school ethics act remember I said there's the school ethics act that's caught offi in 18a and within the ACT is the code of conduct that you guys just talk talked about if the code of conduct if the charge is filed against a board member contains violations of the ACT not just code of conduct but violations of the ACT if the school ethics commission finds that yes there was a violation potential violation of the act it goes for a hearing before an administrative law judge do you know who prosecutes if the violation of the ACT not the individual who filed them it's the Attorney General's office they assign a Deputy attorney general to prosecute the case so the so when I tell you these cases can become quite expensive they can and it can go on for quite a long time there's Discovery there's motions so the best thing to do is to try to avoid getting yourself into a situation where uh somebody can file ethics charges against you again if they do you're indemnified the board by law has to provide you with defense and you have insurance to do that what we're I'm going to do um and I started doing this uh this year because it's become very very complicated in terms of family members who's related to possible NGA members Etc we're going to send out a questionnaire uh tomorrow for each of you guys to fill out and then we'll give you each and individual opinion as to whether or not you have conflicts and or uh whether you should reue yourself in this uh handout we've given you and I just want to alert you to it there's um it's on page four and page five this is dealing with um when you have to recuse yourself based on uh whether you your spouse dependent children um are members of a Statewide Union that's one and then the school ethics Commission on page five defined as what is a familial relationship there was no guidance on this and so what we've done here is we've given you um you know whether this is considered a relative so School officials Brothers spouse no but there's ones in here that that if you look at it you'll you'll say school officials nephew yes school officials grandparents yes so you just want to be cognizant that these are all uh relationships that you have that you may not have a conflict but it might be that your spouse or a child of yours is a member of the NG in another district is a member of the of the NGA here is a member of a supervisory unit and so what we'll do is we'll give you a written opinion to give you guidance on what you can vote on and can't vote on just to give you an example there are certain districts that have um uh conflicts because there's nepotism there's a nepotism policy nepotism law and then you guys also have a policy what it says is that board members can't hire their family members but what the law doesn't provide is you could have family members that are working for a board and then you decide to run for the board you're allowed to do that so you could have situations where you have a board member who gets elected by District by a town and they already have family members work for the board well if they work for the board there's all types of prohibitions about what they can vote on what they can't vote on who they can evaluate who they can't evaluate um and so we'll give you that guidance too I don't I don't believe any one of you okay well you don't have to but I just want you guys to understand it's it's it's very very complicated and we want to make sure that you're you're not putting yourselves In Harm's Way when you're voting on something and again you get the agenda ahead of time if you have a question on it talk to Dr veski you'll get me involved we'll give you guidance because our goal is to try to avoid you guys having any ethics problems and frankly having to spend any money defending these cases um so that you guys can put th those those monies towards the students and staff all right thank you very much thank you so the schedule is a little different this evening uh we are moving to close session whereas the Board of Education must discuss matters which are not appropriate for discussion in a public meeting and whereas these subjects are within the exception to the open public meeting act and permitted to be discussed inclose session pursuant to njsa 10 a 12b and whereas the Board of Education intends to discuss matters as follows security and Personnel whereas the close session is estimated to be 30 minutes after which the public meeting of the board shall reconvene and action will be taken have a motion motion motion by Mr her second by Mr pan all in favor I I Against exension all right we're enclosed we will be back in 30 minutes all right good evening and welcome back uh we are starting a more familiar looking part of the evening with Dr veski and the superintendence report thank you president gu good evening everyone and I'm gonna say it happy New Year although I've been told earlier today some people have heard that too much already so welcome to 2025 and congrat congratulations to the four new board members who took their oath tonight the annual senior alumni Day event took place on Friday December 20th at the high school in a redesign format this year over 60 graduates from the class of 2024 attended various College colleges who attended various colleges and career paths returned to the high school to share with this year's senior class their college experiences school counselors Connor Cortina Lisa Nelson started the event in a panel discussion format seniors were then able to choose a breakout session according to their plan major where they were able to engage in question and answer session with our alumni this past December all elementary and Churchill students participated in a districtwide collection to benefit the live like a unicorn organization which was facilitated by our student assistant specialist this organization provides supports to children with pediatric cancer one of the ways live like unicorn helps is by providing unicorn boxes the boxes are filled with age appropriate items and toys to occupy children during their long clinic visits or extended hospital stays they also send birthday cards and packages for things like start of summer Halloween and Valentine's Day some of the schools collected items for the boxes such as cozy socks and fidgets While others held a denim day or a bake sale to make a monetary donation many of our students also made cards of encouragement for children in the hospitals and finally on Monday January 13th the district will host an Ila parent University the event will follow an ed Camp format parents of students in grades K to6 are encouraged to attend three sessions of their choice each focused on strategies to support their children's University development at home and all sessions will be facilitated by our district teachers thank you right excellent all right our first action this evening will be no oh I'm sorry the student representative he's not here all right so at this point we would have the student Representatives report he texted his regrets that he is unable to join us this evening now do I move on y we move on now we are moving on to the good of the cause for the public the Board of Education recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the important of allow importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on school matters of community interest to protect the privacy of all students and staff concerns regarding individual students and staff members should generally be addressed by first meeting with the appropriate administrative staff in order to permit the fair and orderly expression of such comment bless you the board shall provide a period for public comment at every meeting of the board residents are welcome to speak to up to 3 minutes in duration the timing will be kept by our board secretary uh we do request that when you step up to the podium if you could State your full name and address for the record is there anyone wishing to address the board tonight hello hello good evening Dom scani to Morgan fle I would first like to congratulate the winners of the election Dr pan Dr Figaroa Dr Falco and Dr Braun uh as well as the new board president and vice president miss squ and uh Mr hung um I have no doubt you will bring positive change to the board I wish you all the best of luck next I just want to say this is what happens when you don't listen to your constituents an entire Community came to support Dr figa petition went out that came back with overwhelming support from the community members former students current staff the list goes on yet you still chose to ignore your constituents I want to thank the community and the voters for helping to create change oh and thanks for giving me something to do on Thursday nights um this has been one hell of a journey I met some great people and made some new friends finally to the teachers and staff who are afraid to speak up I hope you can finally take a sigh of relief knowing that change is coming thank you hope you had a happy New Year and happy holidays thank you thanks St is there anyone else hi Michelle Bethy five watch Young Road your last name again Bethy thank you I'm very proud and involved parent of two fourth grade boys I'm here to tell you about my concerns with the language arts curriculum and materials our journey began in kindergarten um while working with my children to write their stories I was instructed by their teacher not to sound out the words um because according to her they weren't there yet um while my cons my concerns continued to grow I asked the teacher to add them to her intervention schedule and that request was initially denied the intervention that ended up taking place was only about 5 to 10 minutes per child very ineffective um fast forward to first grade the reading specialist used reading recovery and expected both my children to memorize site words which is not research-based intervention um they so desperately needed explicit instruction in second and third grade they finally received a teacher who understand how to properly teach them how to read and write currently they are receiving the same type of support but here are my concerns one the resource setting continues to use level literacy Intervention which has been proven to be ineffective for struggling readers two there's no access to grade level text only leveled text according to the fontas and panel Running Records three during this time struggling readers are left to read on their own for 20 to 30 minutes while the teacher is meeting with small groups three a universal dyslexia screener was never administered k to2 um which would have flagged them right from the start four special education teachers are not Orton Gillingham certified which means most are following the imse manual which means there's no individualized instruction sometimes the teacher moves at a slow pace which continues to widen the Gap due to a lack of exposure this is led to low self-esteem which I've worked very hard to build at home um a student actually made fun of one of my sons who had a struggle in reading and science class um very very disgusting um as a parent I'm upset that the district is not properly identify struggling readers does not provide research-based interventions to help get them where they need to be the Gap continues to widen with the lack of training and lack of evidence-based interventions thank you Michelle do you want to leave your information with the ladies back there yeah is there anyone else yes algra Sidler 12 South Woodland Avenue uh you just heard a firsthand account from a parent of children whose academic success has been stifled by East Brunswick's literacy curriculum there are many similarities to the stories I previously presented during the last two meetings these are parents of children in different grades their parents of children in different schools and they've all had different teachers this is not an individual issue these are not problems relegated to only these students these are not problems caused by a teacher these are problems built into the flawed methodology of this curriculum one driving force behind the national and international removal of these curricula is their poor ability to promote the appropriate And Timely identification of struggling readers you have heard stories from parents who have been pursuing help for literacy problems through the district help that the district either denied ex denied a need existed for were not deemed severe enough to require assistance and or were given inadequate assistance what good does it do to say we have tutoring programs when the issues requiring tutoring go unrecognized due to the standards set forth within the curriculum and the district policy what would these students outcomes be if their Guardians did not defy or push back on the district's recommendations parents should not need a background in education to ensure their child's success it should also be noted that it is much easier to point out curricular deficiencies resulting in below grade level performance than it is to show the hindrance of a well or high- performing child's optimal achievement that is where a well-designed and implemented gifted and talented program could come into play specifically for K through 4 which is another issue I just do not have the time to address today while I'm here to draw on Michelle's point I did want to add that yes the district provided some Educators limited Orton Gillingham training there is a distinct difference between the received training and certification I am unaware as to how many Educators have pursued certification on their own my point is that saying Orton Gillingham trained sounds a lot better than it is similarly saying we use foundations sounds good but it's not actually taught with Fidelity these are adjuncts to address the innate deficiencies of units of study and Fest and panel and they are not even being implemented in a manner that could potentially optimize success our kids deserve better thank you thank you alra right is there anyone else all right seeing none I'm going to close the public portion which leads us to under facilities can I have a motion for facilities item one uh motion M her second Miss Falco Dr FAL sorry any discussion okay all in favor I against abstentions motion carries under student services oh I'm sorry that's under Human Resources can I have a motion for human resources just item one right just item one just item one motion go move Mrs herck and Miss locks any discussion all in favor oh sorry this is a roll call vote I apologize Anna brw I Tim Cummings yes Jamie Falco yes L Figaroa Lori herck yes the wuhong yes Lori LAX yes Wilber pan yes and Heather gu yes motion motion carries all right I apologize for missing them on under student services am I in the right place now excellent this is so much easier when you're not sitting here can I have a motion for student services item one through four Mrs LAX and Mrs herck any discussion I believe this is a roll call vote sorry sorry yes abut question on item uh number three um is this person the only um speech language um provider for the district or there just for my this is for compliance to make sure that compliant so this is additional resource okay anyone else okay all right this is a roll call H yes Anna Brun yes Tim Cummings yes Jamie Falco yes L Figaroa yes Lorie herck yes Le wuhong yes Lorie LAX yes wolver pan yes and he yes motion carries bringing us to happy thanks committee reports information items and for the good of the cause for the board document that we going to ask people to give their suggestions for what they like to be placed now no you can just tell them about it say now good all right to start with um for the board members we will be Distributing I will be Distributing uh a list of potential committees to find out what you are interested in before we begin to form up the Committees so an interest survey yes all right also leading I would like to start for the good of the cause for the board I would just like to welcome all of our new and familiar faces I don't think anybody actually feels that new at this point but I am really looking forward to us all working together I think that there is a vast knowledge base that has been collected up here which can only work for the good of our community and the students and I'm just really excited about the upcoming year so welcome anyone else Mr so again if too many I want to say happy New Year and second I want to welcome four new doctors to this board you know it's amazing that this board how many doctors four or five five or six is a lot so which is the base for us to provide good education to our uh school district and uh I just want to share my own experience getting elected is just give you the privilege to serve our students there's many way to improve I took more than 100 credits from njsba or other Educational Institute so that's why now just help me get my certified board member Master board member but it did give me all kind of knowledge help me to understand how the school district is running and how to cost your own vote so I hope you guys you know take all opportunities to learn to improve yourself to be fair honest I don't want to be the board vice president if you guys can prove you can lead a good board member I can switch S with you okay that's easy that's that's no issue and I want being a vice president I feel tremendous honor and tremendous pressure you know this school district we need to do a lot for the for our students for the township you know I always support the ideas that we work with the township because we're only one e we need work together and I want people keep having the ideas they move to East Bron simp solely for the good education nothing else this depend on our group effort nine of us we need work together you know at least before next election we need to work very hard we need devote our time which we choose to do so so let's work together push the school district forward increase our academic performance which is most parents are looking for how the school district dealing with the F budget problem help the school dist the entire Community for the the high school issues we need to work together we need work with our community members we need work with the township that's why I first so much pressure you know I will work very hard extremely hard to do my own part but I hope eight of you guys will work together please to help our student and thank you very much M thank you uh I'd also like to welcome the new board members uh look forward to working with all of you I'm going to take a second to touch on um school funding reform so let everybody know that the New Jersey Department of Education will hold public hearings on January 8th 14th and January 16th you must register to speak if you are not able to attend you can submit written comments by January 17th if you go to the New Jersey Department of education homepage I'm sure you can find a lot of information about the different locations they're situated throughout the state um for those hearings and since it is a public hearing I will be speaking as a parent Community member while also acknowledging that while I serve on the board I don't speak for the board since I'm not in a leadership role but issues that I will touch on may include ensuring that every student receives the funding necessary to meet the cost of providing a thorough and efficient education stabil izing the funding process to allow districts to plan effectively allowing for cap in reductions by limiting the amount of that state aid could fall each year a comprehensive review of the local fair share calculation which determines the amount of revenues that should be contributed locally increase transparency of the formula and its calculations so that it can be viewed by Administration and the community in a userfriendly manner increase in predictability as we try to balance and finalize our budget in the tight State timeline provided and an increase in state funding for Extraordinary special education Aid if you need more information or you're not clear as to how you can go about speaking please feel free to reach out I know probably Dr veski um has the information I'd also like to let everybody know that the special education parent advisory group will hold its next meeting virtually on January 13th and um the top go beyond understanding perform care and New Jersey uh children system of care and to kind of circle back to where I was sitting a year ago one of my first meetings there were some young ladies who came and talked about the creation of a varsity dance team and throughout this past year those young ladies have worked very hard with District administration and um the athletic director to make that become a reality and I'm proud to say that although I missed it I was sent a video but they performed for the first time tonight as a varsity dance team at um the varsity basketball game at the high school so it was really great to see um it come fully to fruition so congratulations to them that's it thank you Mr com that's awesome right thank you um I want to welcome just as everybody else did our newest board members it's really exciting and to president gu's Point there's a lot of expertise uh at this table and it that's really important uh and invigorating at the same time and I I think beyond that there's there's a tremendous amount of commitment and desire to see the community Thrive amongst everyone up here so that's really wonderful um and and welcome to leadership uh I I'm really excited for both of you to to serve in these roles and to help guide us forward so I would congratulate both of you and and welcome you into that role and look forward to working collaboratively with you towards our Collective goals that's really great I want to do a quick kind of just thank you to the people who come to these meetings uh and come and speak you know it that's it's really important for us to hear what's going on and to touch base um you know and and it takes some courage to a certain extent too it can't be easy to get up there at the microphone so you know I just think it it means a lot I know personally to me and I think for other people to hear from you uh always love hearing you know the great things that are going on here too because this is a tremendous Community as everybody has shared and there are a lot of wonderful things that are happening on a daily basis here and and I just really thank the people who come and share that voice and those who share the concerns uh that are happening as well because we do you know there's always room to improve we're human and uh you know we acknowledge that and and look forward to working to to Mr Hong Point as a community uh towards the betterment of the of the greater H so thank you all you're welcome okay anyone else Mr Pam yeah Dr P sorry so so I'd like to um just express my thanks and appreciation first of all to the residents of this town who uh gave me the priv uh who generously gave me the privilege of being able to um help our school districts for the next next few years um but I also just wanted to call out a few people in particular um uh that were with me all the way back in the beginning when I was wondering if this was even a feasible uh thing to do um first would be Alex youu um second is Deborah cornavaca third and fourth are Michael and Jenny Goldstein but most of all um to my family especially my wife Mary um because um I remember talking to people about this crazy idea I had for running for the bard of bed uh several months ago uh now um and I the question I kept asking was is this even possible and the consistent answer I got was of course it's possible you have Mary and that's been proven true time and time and time again over the summer in the fall all the way up to uh to election day and um sweetie I I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you I want everyone to know that so thanks anyone else Dr well I was gonna say ditto when Dr pan started off thanking the community and then I'd like to thank Mary because she inspired my campaign a bit seeing her around town the dedication she had to Dr Pan's campaign it it made me realize why Community special we care so much about our schools we're the 28th largest District out of over 500 in the state it's a big place and we're very diverse and we're very unique and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else and I'm so proud to serve this community thank you for this opportunity I look forward to collaborating with all of you and the wonderful members of the board our wonderful Central Administration and uh Excellence is always in our future is there anyone else yes Dr just want to yes just wanted to uh just reiterate uh for a moment what uh Mr Cummings had mentioned before there are a tremendous amount of wonderful things happening in the district um and so and we definitely want to continue to hear about those we appreciate those people who come up with with issues and concerns because there are issues and concerns out there and so they need to be addressed so we do appre appreciate that um but I'm also looking forward to working with the board members here um we have a phenomenal group here and I think that everyone will um do what they need to do to help uh create positive change where it's needed and to continue doing the wonderful things that we're doing already thank you thank you anyone else are we sure all right I would like to close with thanking my fellow board members for this honor uh this definitely has the feeling of have seems like just recently I was considering running for the board for the first time and yet this is just going to be an exciting year and I am proud and honored to be here and I thank you for your faith and I Echo what you say I do appreciate when the community comes out to talk good bad questions it's all good and also I very much appreciate when people who come out to talk follow up uh give the information so that they can find help or information or ideas so very grateful to the lovely ladies there all right final thing can I have a motion to adjourn no move Dr pan and Miss locks all in favor I I hi opposed abstentions motion carries welcome have a happy New Year