test. Test. Okay. >> [music] >> Good evening everybody. Welcome to the regular meeting of our of the East Windsor Regional School District Board of Education. Written advanced notice of this meeting was provided at least 48 hours ago. Such notice provided the time, date, and location of this meeting
and included the agenda to the extent it was known at the time. Notice of this meeting has been given in accordance with law. Minutes of this meeting are being kept by the board secretary and will be made available promptly to any member of the public requesting them from the board secretary at 25A Lessen Lane, Heightstown, New Jersey. Minutes
will be provided at cost and in accordance with board policy. Are there any board members present who believe this meeting to be in violation of the Open Public Meeting Act? There being none, we may proceed. In compliance with the fire code of the state of New Jersey, I call your attention to the
emergency exits for this room which are located through those three doors. Um, please stand for the pledge of >> allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the standice
for all. >> [laughter] >> Little summertime humor. [laughter] Be it resolved that the East Windsor Regional School District may hold two closed sessions at this meeting. These closed sessions concern the admin uh administrative introduction, personnel, HIV, and EWEOA.
Minutes of these closed sessions will be made available to the public when the need for confidential confidentiality no longer exists. >> Second. >> Hold the board. >> Do we approve the agenda? Do we do C?
We skipped C, right? >> I'm sorry. We can always come back to that or you want to do say let's let's do it in order let's do say >> having read >> that's me right having read the materials received I move the agenda be approved as submitted second
>> pull the board please >> Miss Boli >> yes >> Mr. Falco >> yes >> Miss Drake >> yes >> Miss Laruso >> yes >> Mr. Mr. Ly. >> Yes. >> Miss Mahairi. >> Yes. >> Miss Patel. >> Yes. >> Yes.
>> Mr. Weeks. >> Yes. >> Item D. >> D. Right. We have to do D now. I was going to read it. Okay. Be it resolved that the East Windsor Regional School District may hold two close sessions at this meeting. These sessions concern
administrative introduction, personnel, HIV, EWA, MOA. Minutes of these closed sessions will be made available to the public when the need for confidentiality no longer exists. >> Second, >> pull the board, please.
[clears throat] >> Miss Polei, >> yes. >> Mr. Defalco, >> yes. >> Miss Drake, >> yes. >> Miss Laruso, >> yes. >> Mr. Ly, >> yes. >> Miss Maheri, >> yes. Miss Patel. >> Yes. >> Mr. Weeks. >> Yes.
>> Up next we have our superintendence report. >> Okay. Good evening everyone. Uh welcome to the summer. Um slightly different location tonight. This is based on the construction that that's taking place across the school district. Uh this
happened to be the the former meeting place uh for the board of education meeting. So, a little little nostalgia today. I I will just say there's a few different things happening. I'll address those shortly regarding uh facility uh upgrades. Some of those will explain kind of these silver tubes that you see
in this room as well. I'd like to begin this evening just by um just mentioning that on on the personnel agenda this evening, there's a recommendation for the board to approve the appointment of Mr. Thomas Anderson uh to serve as the assistant principal, one of the assistant principles at
Melvin H. Kreps Middle School. Uh Mr. Anderson has previously served as a middle school math teacher in the Elizabeth and Patterson public schools. Uh obviously we're excited about Mr. Anderson joining the school district and uh look forward to him being part of the district but also middle school
community summer facility projects. So uh during the week of June 29th uh summer construction kicked off across multiple schools. um within the school district. So, a couple things. I'll
start I guess I'll start here. I think the high school we've been having discussions connected to the Rod grant that the district uh acquired several years ago to embark upon a pretty significant HVAC project here at Heightstown High School. In addition to
that, there's some hallway upgrades, some locker removal, some some painting floor replacement happening. So the high school um is kind of our main hub of activity in terms of construction uh this year. Hence why we're meeting uh in
the admin wing tonight. Uh one of the uh upgrades also includes uh upgrading the air conditioning um unit that feeds this particular uh section of the building. hence some of the portable units you'll see throughout
um this space but also the office locations in this area. So things are underway. Uh in addition to that we have the athletic field upgrade that's happening at the high school. Uh transitioning over to Walter Cy Black. We're in a third phase I believe that is
um of an HVAC upgrade but also we've been trying to do a combination of infrastructure as well as aesthetic upgrades. So, we're going to be replacing um some HVAC at Walter C Black in addition to some case work floor and
lighting within several classroom spaces. Uh over to GNR across the street, we talked about this is our final phase of GNR. We've kind of gone top to bottom uh left to right at GNR. So, uh at the conclusion of this summer
that will represent really kind of upgrades to the entire interior of that school facility. This summer is more of an emphasis on hallway. We've we've addressed every uh classroom space at the school. So, I think that there's going to be a heavy emphasis uh on
upgrading um hallway spaces, lighting, ceiling, tile, uh painting. I think there's going to be some upgrades as well done to the the auditorium. So, that so we're excited. Uh that will conclude um the upgrades that we need to do for GNR. GNR has complete overhaul of
HBAC throughout the entire uh building. So, uh definitely excited about uh the work there. EMK, uh this summer, more of an external project. We're in the process of expanding the parking lot in addition to resurfacing the parking lot. So, that's underway as well.
>> Um I think that's it. That pretty good to go. Okay. Okay. So, so a lot happening. Um a lot happening in terms of just some other happenings. um PLD. No construction happening there
this summer, but we do have uh Rise Camp as well as the East Windsor uh recreational camp uh both housed there for the summer. In terms of summer learning, uh GNR, we do have our extended school year program for our students uh with IPS, our special
education population. Um and then at uh Melvin H. Kreps has become kind of become our summer learning hub this year. Uh so we have our K12 programs and and and we've got you know various programs connected to students who are on the cusp uh in terms of u cusp
learners who we want to kind of give a boost to during the summer. We've got some G&T activity happening that actually started today uh at the elementary level. Um we have our bilingual support for the elementary level and beyond occurring uh from July 6th through the 30th. [snorts] Um, and
throughout the summer that we've got some pockets of enrichment opportunities, whether it's for pre-alggebra, uh, we also had our music, uh, enrich, I call it enrichment. We had our music enrichment camp that started today that will run from the 13th through the 30th. Um, so we've got quite
a lot happening, uh, at Melvin H. Creps and really spanning uh, K12 in terms of grade grade band. One thing um that that's kind of relevant to some degree is the realization [clears throat] that you know within the state of New Jersey uh
there's I don't think anyone has missed sight of the fact that there's some legislation that's putting some restrictions on student um internet enabled devices you know commonly known as the cell phone ban. So that will take
effect um coming the school year. part of the um process is that districts are required to really revise their policy uh related to the student use of internet enabled devices. So a couple of things have been brewing I guess you
could say. So policy 5516 is the actual policy. Um you know we partner with a a group known as Strauss Esme who kind of puts together draft policies for districts. Uh we were a number of school districts who were awaiting uh Strauss SME to release u a draft of their policy
based on the guidance provided by the New Jersey Department of Education. That guidance was released in January, but then there was um some some rumblings that there would be a follow-up document, a frequently asked question
document coming from the DOE. Uh that was somewhat delayed. So that actually was released last week, I believe July 9th. did have an opportunity to review that, reviewed it with the policy committee this evening. So, we're in a position position right now where we'll
be convening uh a team administratively just to kind of review that uh develop a first draft of that policy and and just to give uh folks a sense of what that looks like. I mean this policy really will be speaking to a belltobell provision regarding um you know cell
phone but but devices that can connect to the internet uh that students will be bringing into the to the to the school environment. So uh as I've shared before um this is not a drastically different uh initiative for us. uh there's some
aspects that we need to refine. Um but you know, our main difference has been really the high school and you know what would that look like outside of our instructional spaces. So we we started that process during the 25 26 school year uh restricting student use of their
devices uh during instructional spaces, but they still had the flexibility to use those devices um when they were not in an instructional space, namely the hallway uh or the cafeteria. So that obviously will be a change for the upcoming school year. So the game plan
is to um meet with the policy committee um again on August 3rd uh with the um intent of sharing with them, reviewing with them a draft of of our revision to policy 5516 incorporating the provisions
of the uh guidance provided by the Department of Education. Uh and with that hopefully having a first read uh during the August 10th uh meeting and then um second read at the subsequent uh meeting in August to get us uh moving
forward into the to the school year. Obviously some of that you know once we have that initial draft there'll be some communication with families regarding where we're going or some of the provisions and also a frequently asked question document that we will also issue uh just so there's a clear understanding in terms of kind of where
we're going this year. But that that was a part of our conversation during the policy committee meeting tonight. But that is something administratively that we'll be diving into during the next week or two. And uh with that, that concludes my report. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Mark. Um at this time, uh we have our first opportunity for board member comments. Does anybody have anything they'd like to [snorts] Uh moving on. Uh first opportunity for public comments.
Please state your name and sign the book. And Push the button. >> Push it. Push. Yeah, push the Let me turn my >> Oh, the person button. Sorry, I was hitting the other one. Sorry. Uh, good evening. My name is James Ain. I live at 15 Edward Drive. I'm here representing
the 137 people who signed a petition requesting the East Windsor Regional School District adopt a parent rights opt out of technology policy so that our children are not exposed to the harm of districtmandated internet connected devices. This past March in a precedent setting case KGM versus Meta Platforms
at L YouTube owned by Google and Instagram owned by Meta were found liable for the harm their addictive products caused young people. investigation showed internal documents was exposed how both companies plan to engage the captive audiences of students at school.
Both filed in 2025. MC versus Google and ZG versus Google are working through the federal court system. In both complaints, the minor victims alleged that Google quote has failed to warn schools, parents, and students about the dangers of its products posed to students and instead markets them as
safe. In the case of MC, the lawsuit describes how the child's schoolisssued Chromebook caused him to develop a debilitating addiction. For ZG, the lawsuit describes how a child used her schoolisssued Chromebook to connect to a social media platform, which exposed her to being targeted and victimized by an
anonymous user for weeks. In both cases, the plaintiffs contend that Google's dangerous design choices were intentional because they serve Google's data monetization business model and thus puts profits over student safety. Again, internal documents show the company deliberately places Chromebooks in schools to provide access to YouTube
and build a customer base while children are young. In the case of ZG, Google's legal team responded that the case should be dismissed because Google should not be liable for third party content and that Google is not responsible for providing the child's school district with the necessary technical tools to restrict students
access to objectionable content. Furthermore, the company's stance is, and I quote, "Google does not have the duty to warn of general known dangers such as the potential dangers on the internet." Therefore, Google's stance that it bears no accountability for its product when it comes to harming
children. Uh, while many legal questions are still being adjudicated, the factor remains that schoolisssued internet connected devices are not safe. The companies that provide the machines are not taking responsibility. As a parent, I was not consulted about handing my child an ungovernable internet connected
device. Therefore, I do not give the school district consent to allow my children access the internet or handle an internet connected device. I resend any prior authorization to do so. My children, as minors, cannot provide consent. >> 30 seconds, please. >> As it is summer, I'm going to offer some summer reading for everyone on the
board. Everything you need to know about the negative impact of edtech and onetoone devices is cataloged in this book. It's backed by peer-reviewed studies and should be read by anyone who cares about kids, anyone who cares about safety, and anyone who cares about learning. Thank you.
>> All right. So, Mr. Avalon, uh, thank you for sharing, um, your insights tonight and prior to tonight. What I'll share with you is just kind of a sentiment in terms of where the board is currently as it relates to the opt out provision. You want to wait till your handles out? I can wait for you.
No, I might fe >> No, I don't want to. I want to make sure that you know So, so what I'll share is that you know obviously you've made it clear that there's a a passion to provide a
parental optout out as it relates to the issuance of onetoone technology in the school district. Right now the board's position is that we are not um the board's not prepared to engage in that uh development of a policy currently. Uh and there's a couple reasons why. Uh
one, you know, uh technology >> [clears throat] >> um is is not all negative. There's aspects of technology that I think we have a responsibility to educate our children in terms of responsible use. You know, I don't want to get too caught up in the
the weeds here, but we do have provisions in place while students are in school as it relates to utilizing their technology and um platforms that they do not have access to when using a school issued device. You know, the the piece that I think is driving a lot of
the argument is obviously the harmful effects of social media and the accessibility to to a smartphone or the internet. you know in a school setting um you know we are in a place where teachers are responsible for the well-being and
education of those students. So uh we do view that as being slightly differently than a student um kind of uh operating technology independently absent any guidance or toutelage of a teacher and we do want to put some onus and trust in our teachers to do that responsibly.
uh where where we do agree with you is that I think we do need to be mindful of the over reliance of technology and um you know using technology as a babysitting tool uh as a busy uh activity tool. We want to make sure that
if there is some infusion or integration of technology within a classroom is utilized to enhance the educational experience. Not to supplant it, not to take the place of a teacher. Uh but but we're not in a position currently to indicate to families that we have no
responsibility to um recognize that technology is a part of our society and as we're responsible for educating children to post-secary opportunities. Uh technology may be a pathway for a student. uh it's a part of our society
and um I I think we have an obligation via the standards to educate students uh along those lines and um to to engage in having a student who does not have access to technology during the school day. We think at this point um the there
may not be the benefits there uh as it relates to the integration of technology within our curriculum. So um I'll leave it there. I, you know, I appreciate um keeping the the dialogue going, but I know that you're you're asking the board
to develop a policy to opt uh students out of uh being issued a device, and the board currently is not in that position to issue that policy at this time. >> Thank you, Mark. Are there any other members of the public that are looking
to make a public comment? If not, uh we will be moving into executive session. We should be about 20 minutes. Welcome back. Um, first up, uh, old business. We have, um,
our committee meeting dates. Uh, this evening, the policy committee met and we went over the, um, mandated policies for first reading. Uh some highlights we went over the superintendent duty policy which just
clarifies um uh role responsibility for a superintendent uh in the district. Uh policy 2260 for equity in school and classroom practices. Uh we also went over the policy 2411
career education and academic counseling which expands um and makes more detailed what students should be receiving regarding uh counseling for academic and workforce training and other um other
paths. Uh we also went over policy 5461 regarding high school diplomas uh changing some terminology around to um update not only the I believe it's now the New Jersey high school equivalency
assessment is the correct is the new term. Um it's providing frameworks for students to qualify for um a high school uh diploma at the state level uh using alternative assessment methods. Um we also discussed policy 5561
regarding physical restraints um um uh techniques for students with disabilities. And I think that's we also um scheduled a standalone policy committee meeting for August 1st.
>> August 3rd >> or August 3rd, sorry. um to continue reviewing the policy for um policy and regulation for um personal internet connected devices. >> 5516 >> 5516. So
um moving on to second opportunity for comments. Uh are there any board member uh board members present that have a comment? >> I have a question. um the school year seems to go the end
of the like the last week of June for like the last few years. Why is that? Whereas before it was like school was done before um much sooner. >> Uh so so a couple of things if you recall um
I guess several years ago we um have added some days where schools are closed. So, uh either way, you know, so from a state standpoint, schools need to be in session for 180 days. We do have three built-in emergency closing days, which
enables us to have a 183 uh day school year. A couple years [clears throat] ago, we we've based on some of the needs of the community, we've added um a few a few um dates or recognition of our
community. One would be Dwali, one would be Eid. Um in November we um opted to close schools on election day which is that Tuesday. Uh that's the same week where we already closed for the NJA uh
convention on the Thursday Friday. Due to the [clears throat] fragmented nature of that week, uh we opted to to have a fall break. So the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and really the week uh but those are those are three days uh that we've opted to close. So, I'll stop there. I mean, that that alone will add
about four days or five days to the to the calendar. I have taken a look at the calendar for the upcoming school year. Um, I think there's a few options we can explore and I'll come back to the board uh with some possible recommendations to maybe curtail that to some degree. It's
funny in the fall, everyone loves the the fall break in November, but I think people forget about the fall break in June. So, um there are some suggested ways in which we we could potentially um curtail
uh the the the the June days uh moving forward. So, so more to come on that, but look, the more that we, you know, acknowledge aspects of uh what we're doing to close school, the longer the school year plays out. I mean, that's just that's just the push and pull. So,
so um I definitely will take a look at ways in which we could potentially curtail that. All right. All right. Thank you. >> Can I I have a followup on that. Um I also I've heard I know a lot of people I know ours was late, but I think
a lot of school districts are also really late now with with Eid and Dwali and Junth and other things. Doesn't it also is um isn't there an issue too? I thought you had said it at another meeting about like graduation because we book high school graduation so far in
advance. Like if we were done on the 20th but graduation was the 24th that could be weird or difficult. >> That would be a little challenging. So So you know within a day or two I think you know um that wouldn't be too too problematic because we do have to
schedule and we you know we use Cure Arena u for the graduation ceremony. We do book a year in advance to to secure that. So that that's a factor. Um but I wouldn't want to uh I try to work within that to some degree. So um but it is a
point to to take into consideration there. Any other comments from the board? Uh there being none, we'll move on to second opportunity for public comments. Please sign in on the sheet and state your name and address for the uh for the record.
>> Is that better? Misty Avalone, East Windsor. Um, I'm one of the many concerned parents asking for an opt out policy regarding the onetoone devices for the K to5 students or really
on all levels if possible. I've been shocked by how much time we've repeatedly been told to expect our young children to spend on these devices, which has too which was too much in my opinion to begin with. But only later to
find out from my children, from their classmates, from the parents of my uh students classmates that it was actually much more time than we were told. My second grader was handed a device in
both prek and kindergarten. My husband and I immediately began asking questions and requesting less screen time, especially when less device use was required for one of our children. Then when our next child entered kindergarten, I was again
surprised not just by how often the devices were used, but by how much time was actually spent on them. Even more concerning is the quality of what they're doing on these devices. Much of it could be taught more
effectively by a qualified, experienced, caring, and passionate teacher through hands-on face-to-face instruction. And we know this district has wonderful teachers. So that begs the question, why
the overuse of these devices? Parents were never given the opportunity to review or discuss how much time our children would spend on these grants, what they would be doing, or whether we consented to this level of technology
use despite growing concerns about its effect on the education of our children and on their social development and their mental health. At home in my house, we actually practice what we
preach. We don't use tapping games or apps for the kids on a regular basis. If our children are on an app at home, it is typically minimal time, maybe 5 to 15 minutes,
because they're in a long car ride, for instance. It's also on my phone or my husband's phone, so we know what they're doing. We know that they don't have access to the entire internet and we know what they're doing is actually educational to some extent.
So imagine my surprise when I opened Seesaw with my daughter to watch a classroom video of her reading. Less than 90 seconds later, she had found and started playing a Cat in the Hat game through the Seessaw app. When I asked
her how she knew it was there, she said, "We play it in time, please. >> It was indeed a game and not an educational app." Thank you. >> Thank you. Are there any other public comments? Uh there being none, uh we'll move over
to uh approval items. Sorry. Um, regulations to be abolished. Regulation 2411, guidance counseling. B, regulation 2460.30,
additional compens compensatory special education and related services. Second >> pull the board, please. >> Moli, >> I'm so sorry. And I'm sure I know the
answer, but I can't remember right now. When we abolish it, does that mean that there's another one coming? because for B to abolish the um compensation for special education and related services. Is there another one that we're going to
vote on to to pass? So specific to um regulation 2460.30 30. That was a provision um that was enacted via Governor Murphy during COVID
and that uh provided students uh with with disabilities with IEPs if necessary and if determined by the team with their parent um agreement for an additional year of being in school based on uh learning loss related issues. That
provision uh sunseted uh I believe at the end of the 23 24 school year. So code is kind of catching up to that. That's why that's being abolished. >> All right. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. >> Miss Polei. >> Yes. >> Mr. Falco. >> Yes.
>> Miss Drake. >> Yes. >> Miss Laruso. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lydi. >> Yes. >> Miss Mheri. >> Yes. >> Miss Patel. >> Yes. >> Mr. Weeks. >> Yes. >> Item eight. Mandated policies for first reading. A policy 1230 superintendent
duties. B. Policy 2260 equity and school and classroom practices. C. Policy 2411 career education and academic counseling. D policy 5461 high school diplomas. And E policy 5561 use of
physical restraint and seclusion techniques for students with disabilities. Second. Pull the board, please. Miss Polei, >> I'm so sorry. I have more questions. Is
that Is that okay? I wanted to know for um uh the superintendent duties under authority. Um it took off may not delegate, but so does that and it scratched out may not delegate. So does that mean now
you can delegate and if so who? What? What was that specific >> 12:30? >> No, no. What? Where are you in the policy? I'm sorry. >> The second paragraph. >> The second paragraph. >> It says
may not delegate was scratched out. So, does that mean that now you can delegate the responsibilities? Well, it says it says the superintendent may delegate to an appropriate school official any duty not reserved to the
superintendent by law. That's the only provision there. So, so the superintendent can delegate. Superintendent can't do this job if he doesn't delegate. However, there are some things that I that you know, if there's a a legal component, then I'm
unable to delegate that. All right. >> All right. Thank you. >> Pull the board, please. >> Miss Polei, >> yes. >> Mr. Falco, >> yes. >> Miss Drake, >> yes. >> Miss Laruso, >> yes. >> Mr. Ly, >> yes. >> Miss Murray,
>> yes. >> Miss Patel, >> yes. >> Mr. Weeks, >> yes. Nine. Motion to approve routine items by exception. Having read the materials received, I move the board approve the routine agenda items submitted. A.
Staffing July 13, 2026. B. Ewa MOA 2026 through 2030. C. Ewa sidebar volleyball girls MHK. D. HIV report from June 15, 2026. E. Out of district placement. F.
professional services for students. G. Approve travel and related expenses. H. Approve MHK surplus library books for disposal donation. I. Surplus surplus property disposal Sander. J. Approve district field trip locations for the
2026 27th school year. K. Approve HHS overnight field trip Blairestown, New Jersey, August 2026. L. Technology and recycling batch number 73. M. Tuition rates for non-resident students. N use of allowance. Number two, EMK parking
lot. O, transportation jointers. P, transportation bid results. Q, transportation. R, report of the board secretary and financial report May 2026. S, expense and transfer reports of school monies report for May 2026. And
T, bill list July 13, 2026. Second. questions. >> Yes. Uh Paul Paul explained to me earlier in an email in the monthly transfer report on page two um there's a
whole line in red but I think I'm understanding that it's um it's facilities acquisition construction services and I think it's because of the withdrawal of 1.2 2 million from that
account. That makes that line item red. At first, I thought it was like a $8 million withdrawal, but it's it's not. >> Yeah, the the red does kind of jump out and scare some people. So, basically,
the way the report's set up is anytime that you come out of certain parameters, it pops up in red and you have to submit it to the county for approval. for most accounts that that variance is 10% of that category.
Facilities is one of those categories where it's you transfer $1 out, you have to answer to the county and explain what that is. So, we were very fortunate this year where we had, you know, we have like seven different projects going on. Many of them came in below budget and we
were able to do more with those savings. So, the example that I gave Mr. in the email was that um you know right outside our door here we're doing a lovely high school hallway renovation. So that mostly funded that where instead of being like a a purchase service with
a contractor we're doing it inhouse. So we moved you know quite a bit of money over into purchase supplies and those kind of things. So, um, you know, there was some abatement that had to go on with that purchasing of ceiling, tile, grid, floors, some lockers, uh, mostly
doors. You'd be surprised how much a classroom door is. I mean, we're not buying a a $300, um, you know, hollow door from Home Depot. Doors cost about $10,000 plus for a classroom door because number one, they're fire rated
by code. They have to have glass to look into that. That has to be shatterproof glass. So that that adds up all new hardware. Um and then the other big transfer that we took out of that, we were very fortunate. Um early in the
year, we were notified by our Chromebook sellers that there was being a a pretty decent run on technology and that if we didn't put our orders in extremely early, we probably wouldn't see them for the start of school. That happened around February. So we needed about
$600,000 earlier than we had planned because we usually would do that with a new budget. So we were fortunate that we had that kind of breakage to to support that. But anyway, that those transfers are really a collection that happen throughout the
year that come on our normal transfer report that individually the the board members have approved. >> Okay. Thank you. Any other questions? Pull the board, please. Miss Pulli, >> yes.
>> Mr. Falco, >> yes. >> Miss Drake, >> yes. >> Miss Laruso, >> yes. >> Mr. Ly, >> yes. >> Miss Mhuri, >> yes. >> Miss Patel, >> yes. >> Mr. Weeks, >> yes. Uh, there being no need for a second
executive session, uh, you're now adjourned.