All right. Good evening. I'd like to call this meeting to order. Could the secretary please call the role? Anna Braun here. Timothy Cummings. Jamie Falco here. Lewis Figureroa. Lorie Herrick here. Lee Wu Hong here. Wilbur Pan here. Heather Goss here. We
have a quorum. Please rise to salute the flag. I pledge algiance 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. All right. Good evening and happy summer. And to anyone who's a teacher, happy first Monday where you did not get up for an alarm and go to school. And congratulations to all of our graduates and their families. Uh the New Jersey
Open Public Meeting 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 interest 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 and posted at the Board of Education offices. Written notice was also provided to the Sentinel, the 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 videotaped meetings are not edited for any purpose. Individuals who speak at the board's public meetings should be aware of these videotaping rules. All right. Good
evening. We are going to begin with the interviews to fill the vacancy. We'll take a brief recess so we can rearrange. Ah, sorry. And we are going to take a brief recess to rearrange. In the past, just so you know, we have put a very long table right here, which none of us
felt was very friendly. Um, especially as you sit with your backs to the people behind you as you answer. And I don't, it wasn't very friendly. So, we're trying it a little differently tonight. So, just bear with us for a moment. We're in recess. Do I need to take a Okay, we're in recess.
Good evening and welcome. This meeting is for the interview of candidates to fill a vacancy on the board of education. The selected candidates seated before us are Denise Katrino, Tatiana Jordan, Neil
Shaw, and Maryanne Tananiels. Prior to the meeting, each candidate's name was placed in individual canisters, and those canisters were placed in a drawing box from which each name was drawn. The order in which each name was
drawn is the order in which candidates will initially be called upon and then rotated through to either make a statement or respond to questions. Each candidate will be called upon when it is his or her turn to respond
to the candidates. When you were invited to be interviewed, you were apprised of the interview format, that questions would be asked, and that you would be allotted two minutes to respond to each question. The questions were not shared with you in
advance. Before we begin with questions, I'll set my timer. And you each have one minute to make an opening statement describing why you are
interested in becoming a member of the board of education and discussing why the board should select you to fill the vacancy. We'll begin with Maryanne Tanos. Hi, good evening. Uh I'm Maryanne Tanos.
Um, I want to fulfill this role because I feel like it's a critical time in our district and uh, I am an alumni and I know the potential that this district has and I would like to see that in the next 10 years at least. Uh, we are able
to carry out the same level of education that I received for not just my children but all 8,100 students in this district. Um I uh you know I serve currently as a PTA president. I have been on a PTA
board for the last nine years. Um I'm able to see what the needs of our students are, what the needs of our faculty is, and I hope to be able to bring those forward and uh share my experiences and listen to what the community would like to see happen as well. Um I'm ready and willing to
collaborate with our current board. Thank you. Thank you. Denise Katrino. Thank you. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak this evening. Um, I'm here because the future of our schools, our students, and
our community is very important to me. I've lived in East Brunswick for over 25 years. I have volunteered for most of those 25 years from everything from PTA to neighborhood association to starting
the track and field booster club at the high school. I sat on town council for eight years and during that time I learned how being involved and having thoughtful discussions with the community was very valuable. Um, I think
that we need to have more communication with the community. Although we do have great communication right now, I think a little bit more would be helpful. And I'm always looking for ways to learn and to get the word out about what things
are going on in East Brunswick. Thank you. Next is Neil Shaw. Hi, my name is Neil Shaw. I have been a resident here in East Brunswick for the last 21 years. Um my children and my wife have moved here
for the reason because of the school school system. Uh for the first 15 20 years we really pushed our children to do better and it paid off. We owe a lot to the school district. We owe a lot to the school system. Uh my daughter who's
here in the audience today, she has graduated back in 2023 and she is on a successful career path at the University of Connecticut. We couldn't have done it without everybody that's in this room, everybody that's helped her along. So I think it's now my opportunity to give
back and be able to provide the same type of services, same opportunities that my children and and our families received. Thank you. Thank you. and Tatiana Jordan. Uh, first and
foremost, thank you so much for this opportunity, Mr. Juliana, board members, President Guas, and all the community members in the room. Um, we also, um, I'm a transplant from New York and knew nothing about Middle Sex County, but I did my homework and, um, we landed in
East Brunswick for the school district. I am an educator. I've just finished up my 16th year in the classroom and so every decision that I make in terms of the board of education would be with the students first. Um the students success is paramount and in order to do that we
need to be able to give a voice to the teachers, the support staff and the parents. They need to be valued, heard and respected and that is my main priority of being on this board. Thank you. Thank you.
We'll move on to our first question. The board of education is a consensus seeking group. Respect is the driving force behind our process of discussion, consideration, debate, and conclusion. Please share your thoughts on how you
would partner with us throughout the consensus process. Denise Katrino goes first. I think it's important to have respectful dialogue. While not everyone is always going to agree, it's important
that we can agree to disagree and do it respectfully. I've been sad to see the amount of disrespect that has been shown to the board members and I think that it's really difficult to sit up here as
a volunteer and constantly be criticized. So a better understanding of what the board members go through will be developed
slowly and carefully so that I can understand the position that everyone is on and we can either agree or agree to disagree to come to a decision on any of the issues that come before us.
Okay, thank you. Next we go to Neil Shaw. This is a great question because for the last three years I have been part of the fast break board in that we have a motto. If you want to go fast you go
alone. If you want to go if you want to go to great lengths you go together. So consensus is actually a very important thing because you can't make decisions alone. You won't go very far. consensus
is worked on. And the way that we work on consensus is by respectful listening, collaborating, and being able to like being able to take the partners that we have up here and their expertise and be
able to share in their points of views. And I believe in consensus. We've done really well on the fast break board and I think I can bring that same experience to the board of education. Okay. Thank you.
And now we go to Tatiana Jordan. So part of my role as a teacher, I'm an ENL teacher, formerly known as ESL. The acronyms are always changing in education. Um I push in and I pull out students. So when I push in, I go into somebody else's domain, into their
kingdom. And if you're a teacher, you know, going into somebody else's classroom um is their home. And you have to work together and you have to collaborate. I prefer to use the word collaborate over consensus. And that's just my personal belief because I don't
want to blindly make a decision um for the sake of making the decision because I think we need to have open, respectful, honest dialogue. We need to ask critical questions and we need to work together. And I think my experiences working with other teachers who have different
teaching styles, classroom management, all that we have to come together and form a united front for the success of the students. Thank you. And next we go to Mary Tangers. So um while I agree that uh
consensus can be constructive, I think what's more important is having um dialogue with constructive criticism. I have a doctorate in pharmacy and I work in the pharmaceutical industry and I can tell you that uh no pharmaceutical
company would thrive without constructive criticism. Um the lack of that leads to complacency and complacency is basically a breeding ground for failure. I think it's important to be able to challenge each other to challenge our uh you know
thought process our decision- making abilities and um to come to an agreement based on actually hearing each other. Um there has to be some room and some leverage for uh you know it's not just about I win or you win. It's about how do we win together and is this really
the idea that we want to um present for our students and our community. And so, um, I think consensus should be viewed as a collaborative effort, taking all of those things into consideration, not just about let's just agree for the sake of agreeing.
Okay. Thank you. I ask the audience to please hold any applause. Thank you. Next question. During an interview, we are often asked, "What are your greatest strengths?"
What could you tell us in regard to something that would be a potential challenge for yourself in becoming part of a team? We start with Neil Shaw. I'm sorry. Can you repeat that question? Yes.
During an interview process, we are often asked, "What are your greatest strengths? What could you tell us in regard to something that would be a potential challenge for yourself in becoming part of a team?
I think that when you are interviewing, you try to put your best foot forward and sometimes you do get nervous. Um the thoughts that are in your head are are rattling around and uh you can't sometimes articulate what you want to say. However, that also becomes a
benefit because once you start to relax and you're able to create that thought train that you want to come out, um you're able to push your experiences and your real life, you know, again, I'm
sorry, uh experiences toward that. And I look at it as the challenge when you're interviewing because the thoughts that are in your head are kind of what you want to articulate, but you don't know what the questions that
are coming from. Uh I apologize. I I lost my train of thought. So do you want a moment to regroup? You have another minute. Yeah. So again, you know, I believe that in an interview process, it's really difficult to articulate what you want to say
because a lot of times uh there's so much that you want to say and there's so much that you want to do. Um but you're unable to process those words and I think this is the biggest challenge for me at this point. Okay, thank you.
Next we go to Tatiana Jordan. So one of my greatest strengths is that I have been in education for so long. So I know the intricacies of a classroom and what teachers and support staff need and what students need. However, one of the challenges of that is I would have to
come to the board of education and understand the intricacies of the board of education where we're working as a district and I would have to learn about policies and laws um and budgets and it seems overwhelming and daunting um
especially when you Mr. Juliana, sit here and do your buzzer presentation and I'm trying to follow you as best as I can. Um, but I think that given my experience in education, I'm better able to navigate that and I'm willing and dedicated to navigating that. Um, and
again, it's not just one classroom we're talking about. We're talking about 8,000 students that we need to um make sure that we are doing right by every step of the way in addition to the faculty and staff that support them. Thank you. Thank you,
Marian Tangos. Yeah. So, um I my one of my greatest strengths is that uh you know, I'm I'm the head of a global team. Uh I'm also like I said, a PTA president. I've sat on a PTA board for the last nine years. Um and you know,
you deal with all different kinds of people and at the end of the day, you have to say to yourself, this isn't about me. This isn't about them. This is about what is the objective or the goal or the mission of this team as a whole. Um it's it takes a a great deal of
discipline to be able to um put aside like your viewpoints and to say how do we move forward as a whole. Um and then at the same time those are the potential challenges in becoming a part of a team because uh especially when it's a new team such as this um you you are
learning everybody's personality. you're trying to adapt. You're trying to understand what their thought process is, where they're coming from, what their experiences have been to get them to this point. Um, but I think that, uh, you know, the good thing about a board
is that it's hopefully a reflection of the coho cohort that this town is. Uh, it's a reflection of what what does everybody here need? So, um, it it's it's a challenge in learning that and it's a challenge in convincing everyone
of, you know, we're all in this together. Um, but that's that's part of the strength of that I I would hope to bring forward is that I've done this so many times in my professional career, in my personal life. Um, and again, as a as
already a member of this community. So, um, I would hope to bring that forward to this role as well. Okay. Thank you. and Denise Canrino. Thank you. I'm sorry. Could I ask you to repeat the question one more time? Absolutely.
During an interview, we are often asked, "What are your greatest strengths? What could you tell us in regard to something that would be a potential challenge for yourself in becoming part of a team?" So stepping onto a team where um members
obviously have more knowledge than you do because they've been on for a longer period of time. Um especially in an educational setting where I don't have experience. However, I do come with many years of volunteer experience. I also sat on town council for eight years
which was an immensely rewarding learning experience. And while the two entities are separate, I think that a lot of it is also the same. Um, and while I will have a large learning curve, I take that as a challenge
so that I can learn new things from the people that are on the board by asking questions. And when we don't know the answer to something, that's when we turn to the professionals who who know better than we do and we rely on them for the information. So basically I think the
learning curve would probably be the biggest challenge but I don't take that as a setback. Thank you. Thank you. Next question. We have all heard the saying the board of education doesn't run the district.
It ensures it is wellrun. Another way to look at this is that a board member is an ambassador for their school district. What would make you a viable ambassador for our diverse group of residents? We
begin with Neil Shaw. This is a great question actually. Um being an ambassador in town is a privilege. Uh being part of many different organizations like the youth sports in basketball, baseball, and soccer as well as uh being on the board of educ um
sorry being on the board of trustees for fast break. We are always ambassadors. we meet different diverse groups of people out there. Um, we need to understand what they're looking for in the group that you're working with. Therefore, being an ambassador is more
of a privilege and it is more of an informative position than a title. Thank you. Next, we go to Denise Katrino. Thank you. I agree that being a board member is also being an ambassador to
our community. Um, you need to be someone who listens, someone who um represents the whole community and someone who builds trust within the community by listening to them and responding to them. Uh, one of the
biggest things that residents I think are concerned about is the lack of answers to things. At least when I was on town council, they wanted an answer to things right away. And sometimes that's not always possible. So following up and getting back to residents when they have a question or a
concern in a relatively timely manner, I think is important because as an ambassador, you are their go-to person. You are, especially when they know you, they want to be able to speak to you. They want to be able to talk to you. They want to be able to understand what's going on. So you have to be able
to represent the board in a respectful manner and educate the community about the things that they may not understand for the board. Thank you. Thank you, Tatiana Jordan. Um the diversity in this
school district is amazing and it's one of the best things about this school district where your children are exposed to so many different cultures, religions, languages and being an ESL teacher. Um I also get that privilege every day of seeing the different um
students that come into my room and seeing their firsts like their first snowfall and their first Halloween or their first pep rally. Um, and I really feel like I'm an ambassador in within my own school for my children, um, for my students. And I would extend that role
here as well. For a lot of our families, this is the first time they're navigating an American school system and they need help and they need somebody to help guide and support them. And so I would really like to reach out to families um and be that tool for them because I think it's can be very
overwhelming and daunting and as our demographics are changing um some of these families do need a little bit more guidance and support and having the background that I have um even my own husband who's not from this country I have to explain to him why it was so disappointing that field day was
postponed two times because he didn't understand the concept of field day and why it was such a big deal for the students. um but also being approachable for these families because you need to be able to connect to these families to engage with them and to have them um
trust you. Thank you. Thank you. And Maryanne Tany. So, um I as I said, I grew up here, so I you know, I moved my family here because I know the value of East Brunswick. I know the value of our diversity. I know what the the town's
needs are. Um, I also, uh, serve the high school youth group at St. Mary's Church here in town, so I know, um, what that encompasses. Um, I, you know, I think it's important when you represent your town, uh, you take it all the way.
I have been to Trenton. Um, I am a member of the NJPTA legislative committee, so um, we're there to represent our schools as well. And I think it's um it's critical to be able to know what happens here. Um and I
think it's important with that being said, as an ambassador, it's important that you know eventually this leads to an election process. You should represent even the people who you know didn't vote for you. Um because you're you're here to represent every member of
this town. um whether you are aligned with their views, whether their experiences are the same as you or not, you're you're here to represent everyone and I would hope to be able to fulfill that in that in this role. That will be um a great deal of effort on my part to
do that. Thank you. Okay, moving on to the next question. What role do you feel the district should play in the East Brunswick community? And please identify an opportunity for improvement. And we'll begin with Mary Antaniel.
Uh so I think that the uh and I'm not an educator, but I um I agree with a lot of what uh was said that the school environment has obviously changed since I was even in school. um people rely on
schools as their um social aspect for their children. I think we saw a lot of that during COVID when there were no schools. Um and so the the the schools definitely need to be the information disseminator and the the an actual
community feel. Um I think that for improvement there needs to be a lot more communication. uh we used to many years ago have a communication committee where this information was freely and openly shared. Uh you know there were now a lot
of the times we're getting our information from WhatsApp groups. Um there's a WhatsApp group for every graduating class. Um, so there should be something officially coming in because parents are talking to each other and
there's no formal source of information and that would be so great to have um an area of improvement with that is as I just said that there needs to be an actual formal communication and I think when um concerns are voiced they should
be heard and validated. Um just because you know even as if as a board member if I you know my experience hasn't been what someone else's has um that doesn't mean that it's it's not real and it's not happening and um there should be a greater deal of effort to make sure that
you know the issues are addressed. Thank you Denise Katrino. Thank you. I think the board of ed plays a vital role in the heart of the community. Um, families with children,
this is like their first segue, I guess, into the community is when they where their children go to school and their children make friends and the parents become friends with the children's parents friends. Um, so the board of ed really is the
heart of the community and um it's where relationships are built, values are shared um and it I really is the heart of the community. One of the ways that I think
we could do better as Maryanne Tano said is community I mean communication. One of the ideas that I had shared previously was having a podcast with the superintendent, with different employees, different uh principles, even
the students to come on to share what their learning experience has been, maybe a project that they're working on. So that the town and the students and the teachers and everyone, even people who aren't involved with the school district, like seniors and people who
don't have children yet, can really get a grasp of what is going on with the schools in our town and how valuable it is to our children. Thank you. you'll sh
so I think the school system should be a safe space that's first and foremost the schools are a place to learn it's a place to express oneself it's a place to grow where we can improve is to keep
encouraging that you can't stay still that safe space has to be continuously communicated to our students we have a lot of different diverse children out there we have a lot of children that are out there not knowing, you know, may not have a safe home. Um, we got to continue
to make the schools a safe place. We got to continue to encourage diversity. We got to continue to encourage just the differences that makes up in uh East Brunswick as a whole. Thank you. Thank
you, Tatiana Jordan. Um, I think the school district and the community are intertwined and it should be that way. Um, because we come to this community because of the school district. It's a
it's a it's a relationship that needs to always be uh intertwined. And one of the things that I love about this school district and I started with my children at the ELA program and now we just finished kindergarten and first grade um
is the school community and how that school community has fostered a love of learning for my children and I hope that goes across the district and not just my elementary school. Um and that's what I would hope that going forward we build that towards. Um, one of the areas of
improvement that I think um, we can do better and that is family and parent engagement. Um, I think that it's really hard sometimes for parents to come out at events. Um, I think the parent universities are great, but the turnout hasn't always been great. And we need to
find ways um, as a board to figure out how we can help these parents come out. Um because if you have more parents coming out, you have more parents engaged, the students will be more successful. And one of the things that I planned in my school district, we do parent engagement nights where we have
the high school students um who need community service hours to graduate come and offer babysitting services for parents so that the parents can attend the meeting and then the they can bring their children because a lot of time child care is an issue for some parents that they can you know then bring their
children and they can attend the meeting and have their children in a safe place. Um, small little things like that I think go a long way, especially when you're trying to foster a really um, healthy relationship between the school district and the families.
Thank you. We're almost at the end. As we end the interview session, you each have one minute to make a closing statement. And we begin with Denise Katrino. Well, thank you for having me here this
evening. I know this is a nerve-wracking experience, at least for me. Um, public speaking has never been one of my strong points, but it's uh something that is required in a lot of the roles that we have today. Um, while I don't have an educational background, um, I do bring a
fresh perspective to the board. Um, I have strong communication skills. I have leadership skills. I have very good listening skills. And I hope that I will have the opportunity to serve for the few months that this position I believe
is for. Um, one of the things that I am not is political. Although I sat on town council for eight years, I was an elected official. I was not a politician. I was a member for all residents in East Brunswick. not just
the ones that voted for me, but also for the ones that didn't. So, I hope that I will have an opportunity to learn from the board of ed while I sit on it. Thank you. Thank you, Neil Shaw.
Great things in business can't be cannot be done by one person. Great things happen because a good a great team comes together. I'm really excited to be a part of this board because I feel that collaborating has been a part of what I've been doing
for the last 15 years in this town. I also believe that my experience with the different communities and the different uh organizations that I've taken part in uh will give me a little bit of an edge. I know today, like Denise said, public
speaking is definitely not one of my strong suits. Um, my strong suits is budgeting and finance. And I believe that this this group can benefit from my ability to do research, my ability to
take in numbers, um, be able to curb spend where it needs to be, and also uh, be able to respect everybody else's expertise on the group. Thank you,
Tatiana Jordan. Um, thank you again for this opportunity. I think um, my biggest takeaway of all of this is that I want to be able to mend the relationship that's been fractured um, among the community members and all the stakeholders, community members,
faculty, staff, um, parents. And I I feel like I have that ability to do that because I am an education and I am a parent with a long way to go in this district. And um I really want to be a voice for the faculty and staff because if they're successful then the students
are successful and we need to value their expertise. They are the experts and we need to in include their input in every decision-making process that we go through. Um, so I really hope that um, you know, we move forward and we mend these fractured relationships. Thank
you. Thank you. So, thank you to the candidates for participating. Oh, I'm sorry. I Thank you for keeping me on task. Mary Tanganger, my apologies. No, it's
okay. Um, so my main thing is the the EB students, right? There's 8,100s of them. 8,100 of them. Um, as I said, I'm an alumni. I know the what what this district can offer. I got accepted right out of high school into a doctorate program. The dean of my school lives in
town. Um, that's that's the caliber that the East Brunswick student can operate at. Uh, I I want to continue that for us. And I know that um we have some challenges along the way. Some of them are outside of our control like the state budget issues, but a lot of the things we can take care of on our own
internally here when we work together and collaborate. Um, I think it's uh it's it's it's a very critical time, especially as we look for a new superintendent. Um, you know, this is our leader and essentially this is going to be as I was walking into this
building, I noticed that it said John Copco administration building who was the superintendent for 11 years. Um, and great things came out of those 11 years. Um, this is what we're trying to do. So, we're we're trying to
state establish that for for future generations. Thank you. [Applause] My apologies for missing you on that last one. And now, thank you to the candidates for participating in this
process. Uh following this public session, the board will recess into close session to discuss each of the candidates. The board will not decide until the formal nomination process takes place in a public meeting which is scheduled to occur this evening. All
candidates will be informed after that occurs. So at this time, we're going to take a brief recess so that we can rearrange and proceed with the meeting. All right, we're back and I can see everyone again, which is very nice. Um,
I think we would like to take a moment to just explain the procedure a little bit before we go to the good of the cost for the public. Mr. J Kobe. Oh, sure. Um, under New Jersey law, the board can deliberate in closed session about the candidates and have a discussion. And
the reason that the discussion or the deliberation takes place in close session is to protect your privacy rights. Uh we do close session for staff, students, and you're permitted to have that discussion in close session about the the board's discussion relative to the candidates. The board
cannot vote. They can't take a straw poll. All voting for the candidates must occur in public. and it's set forth in a board policy 0143 that requires a nomination and a second and there can be several of them. Once all the nominations and seconds are
closed, uh the board members will get written ballots. They will write down who they select. They get one vote uh and then the uh board secretary will count the numbers. In order to be appointed to a board of education, it
requires the majority of the full membership of the board. So what does that mean? This is a nine member board. There has to be f it's a nine member board. Okay? You have nine seated members. So you need five affirmative votes. It's the majority of the full membership of the
board. So right now you have eight because you have a vacancy. You still require to have a majority of five. So right now you see we have one, two, three, six. We have six. If four two nobody can, nobody can be
appointed. It require five affirmative votes. So I just wanted to explain that that's the legal process that's required under New Jersey law. Uh the vote takes place in public and we'll need five affirmative votes. All right. Thank you. We had some inquiries today about it. I thought it would be better to just explain it here
to everyone than just answer one or two individual emails. All right, moving on to the good of the cause for the public. Uh, the board of education recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the 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 uh administrative staff. In order to permit the fair and orderly expression of such comment, the board
shall provide a period of public comment at each meeting of the board. Each person who steps up to speak will be given three minutes. The board secretary keeps the time. when you step up, if you could give your name and address, unless you're a student and then just your name
in school, we would appreciate that. Is there anyone here tonight wishing to address the board? Come on up. Thank you. You stay in here. Okay. Uh, good evening everyone. My name is Anushka Sha. Um, I guess I'm not a student anymore, so I live at one
Jennifer Court. Um, and I'm proud to be here tonight, not just as a former East Brunswick school system student, but as the daughter of someone I look up to. Thank you for allowing me a few minutes to share why I believe my dad, Neil Shaw, is the right person for this important role. Growing up with my dad,
I've seen firsthand how much he cares, not just about me, but about every kid's future. For example, while I was younger, I played as a part of East Brunswick's recreation soccer team. And I remember our team was left in a hard situation with not having a coach to guide our practices. Coach Dad then
volunteered and he went on to play an unforgettable couple of seasons. He's the kind of person who takes the time to listen and who shows up and who believes that every child deserves to be heard, have fun, and be supported. He didn't stop there, though. He also went on to coach my brother's baseball and fast
break team. and is an active participant in buddy ball, showing how he not only is there for me and my brother, but also several several other children in East Brunswick. He's always been someone who isn't afraid to speak up for what he believes in, whether it was helping with my extracurricular events or the East
Brunswick community. He's always been there to show me the importance of character and responsibility, skills that have shaped me to be the person I am today. What makes him different is that he doesn't just talk about change, he puts in the work. He believes in strong schools, open communication, and
making sure that every voice from students to parents to teachers is heard and respected. During my time at East Brunswick High School, I served as student council president, and I had the pleasure of seeing firsthand how the school system works with administration. From this experience, I have witnessed
what it takes to be someone who can fulfill this role. And I can confidently say that if he is elected to be on the board, he will work tirelessly to make our schools better, not just for me, but for every future and current student in East Brunswick. And as a soon-to-be
empty neester, with me being an upcoming junior in college, and with my brother graduating next year, I admire how he still wants to make a difference in other children's lives, just as he did while I was in the school system. So, from one student to a room full of voters, I ask you to please support my
dad for this role, and I promise he will make you proud. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] Is there anyone else? Hi, my name is Bobby Lame and I'm at 249
Brmley Place. I'm actually speaking on behalf of Howie Alexander who cannot be here today because he's under the weather. I fully support Neil Shaw for the board of education. Working closely with Neil over the last few years. He is passionate about doing anything he can for the entire betterment of children
and students. He has worked tirelessly to make Fastreak a total inclusive environment, one where kids can grow, express themselves, and feel like they matter. Having a son presently in the EB school system and a daughter who went through the system, he is thoroughly in
touch with the needs of students. Neil will be a tremendous asset for the board, community, and children of East Brunswick. Thank you, Howie Alexander. Thank you, Bobby. Anyone else? Adam Alman, 3 Burlington Lane. The past month's conversations have circled
around curriculum issues or the high level of anxiety and depression within the school. However, no one talks about what resources we use to potentially fill the gaps. And no one talks about what is possibly causing anxiety and depression within the school system. The elephant in the room are the
district's finances and the constant budget restraints taking away from the resources to improve the curriculum and to counseling services and potential tone of negative negativity that permeates throughout the system. I admire many of the board administrators as well as many of the
board members, the people on the board for their expertise, the commitment to the community. However, I do feel the current board could improve on monitoring and evaluating potential waste, misappropriation of funds, and the effects of potentially a negative culture. Out of all the candidates
you've heard today, I have two candidates, one I'm not sure why, was not able to speak today. Out of the two candidates, both Neil Shaw and Jack Levit have both had their background in finance and have been successful in their own careers, leading companies through successful team building and
building a positive culture. I think the district is aware of the accomplishments Jack has achieved with the EBEF and his commitment to making schools a better place. Again, I'm not sure of the contractal restrictions or anything that came up. Um, but I think he should have been given a chance. Perhaps though
Neil's accomplishments are less well known to the school. Neil has been a dedicated volunteer and leader to the Fastreak basketball community. I've been fortunate as a volunteer to see his dedication, his commitment to this system. He turned around a program that was doing well, but was missing the
community aspect and the team approach and quite frankly had some potential issu issues with misappropriation of funds as well. Neil along with the new board has focused on positive culture and building the community organization that continues to give back to the
community through both buddy ball and fast break. Near's Neil's career in counseling, accounting, organizational behavior allows him to bring a unique perspective to running a business and seeing various perspectives to come to a shared level of success not just for
himself but for everyone and the community. This is why I feel the board should strongly consider either Jack, which again I'm not sure why that's not the case, or Neil Shaw to fill the current vacancy and meet the responsibility and expectations that we all feel that you guys will take
seriously. Thank you. Thank you, Adam. Anyone else? Jack Levit for Springfield Road. Um, first before I start, a couple of housekeeping things. First, condolences to Dr. Figureroa and Jen and loss of Jen's father. Want to wish all the
candidates good luck tonight. And finally, uh, apologies. My apologies to President Guas. I broke a cardinal rule of mine that is not to shoot the messenger and I shot the messenger. I realize I could have handled our conversation in a much better manner and
I hope you can accept my apology. Thank you. Conversation I refer to is when President Guas had the unenviable task of telling me I couldn't interview tonight. Came to our attention by another board member that I have a contract with the board. I have a fence that protruded into Warren Dorfer's
woods and in 2014 the board issued my family a license to keep it there until we either sell our home or we move the fence. We have since moved it but the contract was not avoided. So technically the bylaws don't allow me to apply for a board position right now. Measures are
being taken to complete that process and I appreciate Mr. Juliana helping me with that this afternoon. Just makes me wonder though how I was able to interview and run last year with this contract in place. Why
why didn't the board take action then? It seems to me that someone or someone's up there specifically didn't want me to interview. Was it the intention to reduce the competition for their candidate or did they not believe enough in their own choice that they that person wouldn't rise to the top on their
own? to most of the board members. You know, I'm not talking to you, but I want you all to know and I want the community to know that there's someone in our midst who clearly doesn't take the oath seriously to do what's best for the district. And clearly that isn't listening for the best candidate
tonight, but rather one who suits their personal needs. As a community, we'll be watching to see how the vote goes and who may reveal themselves as this supposed dog dooter who helped keep me from running because my fence would cloud my judgment. Also kudos to the
board for deciding not to humiliate the candidates by discussing their qualifications in public. Leaders compliment in public and criticize in private. Most importantly, they don't quit. Thank you. Thank you, Jack.
Domani, uh, six Fairfield Road. Um, I I wasn't planning on speaking tonight, but then I I heard what Jack just said. Um, that that that just, lack of a better word, stupid. Um,
everyone should get an interview. It shouldn't matter if there's contracts or whatever. everyone should get an interview and you discuss that after the fact. You know, you you he said that you're working on um fixing that or whatever. Like, okay, if it was fixed
after the interview, then everything would be fine. But yeah, that that's just unacceptable, stupid, whatever. Thank you. Thank you, Dom. Anyone else? All right, I'm going to close the public
portion. All right, close second or close session resolution. 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 are permitted to be discussed in closed
session pursuant to NJSA 104-12B. And whereas the board of education intends to discuss matters as listed on tonight's agenda. Sorry. Whereas the length of the closed session is estimated to be two hours after which the public of the media and
the board shall reconvene and action will be taken. Um uh therefore let it be resolved the East Brunswick Board of Education will recess into close session for the afor said subjects.
Uh let's see. And be it further resolved that the East Brunswick Board of Education hereby declares that it that its discussion of the afor subjects will be made public at a time when the public's interest in disclosure is greater than any privacy or governmental interest being protected from disclosure in accordance with the open public's
meeting act. Can I have a motion, please? Second. All right. Longer than Jamie. Discussion. Right. All in favor? I opposed. Abstensions. Actions be Oh, thank you. Action. We said that already. Action will be taken.
Action will be taken after two hours when we return. And we are enclosed. Thank you very much. All right. Welcome back. It was like 105 degrees in the back room. We are all lighter. Um but we are up to nominations to
appoint a board member for the vacancy. Right. The nominations to fill the board member vacancy will be received from board members in attendance. A second is required on the nomination pursuant to bylaw 143 board member election and
appointment. Do you go from here or do I go from here? Okay. So um this point the floor is open for nominations. I'd like to um nominate Maryanne Tannius as second. Are there any other nominations?
I would like to nominate Denise Kentrina. I'll second. Okay. Um, are there any other nominations? I would like to nominate Neil Shaw. I'll second. Second. Yeah.
Any other nominations? Okay. So seeing none nominations are closed. Um so the process is these are ballots. The ballots are blank. Um you
will insert the name of the individual you were voting for. Check off that box. Insert the name. Sign it. Print your name. Fold it. And then they get returned here. And then I'll count the ballots.
So, two this way. Four this way. You may only vote for one of the nominees. Okay. So the process from here is that I will read aloud each ballot and who
voted for the individual. We vote for Maryanne Tangos by Wilbur Pan. I vote for Maryan Tangos by Jamie Falco. A vote for Marian Tangos by Lee Wuhong. A vote for Mary Antangos by Anna Braraw.
Vote for Mary Antangos by Lorie Herrick. A vote for Denise Krino by Heather Guass. Maryan Tangos is the duly elected individual. So, uh, Miss Tangos, um, we'll have a
conversation after the board meeting. There are some things you will need to do before you can be seated on the board and take the oath of office. Okay. Congratulations. Congratulations. This is amazing. The meeting is still in order. So,
please keep your seats. All right. At this point, I need a motion to adjurnn. Move. Second. Albert Jamie. Discussion. All in favor? I I
opposed. Abstensions. All right, we are adjourned. I will see you all tomorrow. Okay.