##VIDEO ID:AbaSBH4cp7k## I am calling the special Action meeting of January 30th 25 2025 order um at 7:30 p.m. at Thomas Edison Eugene Anda public meeting room 37-1 theine Avenue Farland New Jersey there are 10 members of the public in attendance can I have a roll call [Music] please Mr baldowski here Dr berini present Miss Brown present Mr Aaliyah present Miss fa valovich present Mr Santana present Miss Yurman present Mrs Mayhan present we have 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 the public bodies at which any business affecting their interests is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the faom board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date time and place thereof distrib distributed to the persons on the approved list posted in the Board of Education administrative office and sent to the Bergen Record and The Herald News the announcement posting for the special Action meeting along with the date place and time thereof was distributed on January 6th 2025 please join me in the flag salute I to flag of the United States of America and to the for it stands Nation indivisible I would like to call Anthony service to join us at the center um um in front of you will be a copy of the questions that were um provided on the agenda and provided to you all candidates earlier today um all questions will be read by our board secretary Ms manuso you will have about 15 minutes to answer the five questions thank you for joining us and considering U participating in our community's governance thanks for having me yeah good evening and welcome please tell us a little bit about yourself and why you are interested in filling the open School Board SE have you run for election for the school board why or why not so I'll start at the end I have run for the election for the school board in 2020 I did not win um I also applied for an empty seat earlier than that that year um was a lot different I was in the dark by myself with a mask on if we remember some of us might remember um a little bit about myself uh my name is Anthony um I'm a dad I'm a husband I have two kids in the school system my son is in seventh grade at TJ my daughter is in fourth grade at mils um I've been a lifelong educator I've worked in the same district for almost 20 years at a lot of different positions everything from substitute to paraprofessional I was the district school psychologist for about a decade I was the director of special services for a little over five years and now I'm in my third year as the high school vice principal um I while I was there as the school psychologist I coached um several different sports at Leonia both as the assistant and and the head coach of wrestling and softball football volleyball so I've always been very involved um in all facets of the educational system I think I know uh schools and how schools work very well from the back end to the front end uh academic Sports Arts uh I have had experience in a little bit of everything why I'm running um I do believe in community service I believe in giving back um I love absolutely love this community I moved here in 2017 um best decision that my family has ever made the town is fantastic the school district is fantastic um I don't see myself as running for this position because I need to be some sort of Savior or that I need some big agenda push uh I think everything is is really great I I really am very happy with the school system I'd like to be a part part of maintaining that and keeping keeping it running and keeping it going well what do you believe are the greatest challenges currently facing the school district what do you see as the board's role in addressing those challenges what do you see as the administration's role in addressing those challenges so I'm going to start with there are things that that I hear in the community because I am very involved I coach Recreation Sports in town as well um have a lot of friends I have friends who are have kids in all different elementary schools both middle schools even some high school students um so I'll start with thing again so I'm saying this in not having any inside information but I do hear that crowding in some of the schools is still an issue um I have a few friends at radburn that were complaining to me that you know certain classes art music were kind of moved you know those classes had to be taken over to make um room for General Ed classrooms um so I know that's still an issue um I'd like to know more about that and know the back end of that and try to be someone who can work towards solutions for that um I know that although we have a healthy budget and I believe we are doing well financially there are some things coming down the pike that are just unknown things we have um a new president we don't know how or if that will affect any of the federal federal or state funding uh in a year from now we're going to have a brand new governor these are also an unknown that we don't aren't really sure I think there's something like four or five% of our budget is attributed to federal and state um grants and funds so um that's just something that I think all school districts have to keep an eye on but especially one as large as fairon um what do I see as The Bull the board's role in addressing the challenges I think the board role is to create good policy and to make sure that um the policy is well first one that one exists for every given circumstance that may may come up and that it's solid policy and that it's policy that reflects the sort of culture of the community um what do I see as the administration's role in addressing those challenges um you know as as an administrator of a of a high school of a sort of Middle siiz High School in Burton County um I have to go back and say policy is so important um there are lot of things that come up um on a daily or weekly basis in a school system and whether you know you put a call out to the superintendent or the attorney and what do they always say they say what is your policy so I know you I know that the the the it's sort of top down right the the the board creates the good policy and then the administrators have to make sure that that policy is being enacted properly in the schools and that the staff is also following that policy as well what what do you see as the role of a school board member I think the role as as it is created what it's supposed to be is to create and um maintain the policy of the school district um I think another role is to evaluate and to hire the superintendent I think that's really the main function and and the two main functions of what a board is supposed to be now I know in modern times and in certain areas of the country that it it's more than that but I'm not a real big believer that the board should play a larger role there is one other area that I think board members can can play or or can take part in which is because we are in the community because we have you know whether either we have kids in the community or we had kids or we know people who do or we volunteer in other parts in other areas of the community we hear things and we hear whether it's complaints or we hear you know issues that are coming up and I think and I'm not talking about very specific issues like Little Johnny's you know math teacher gave him a bad grade and let's go talk to the superintendent about that um I'm talking about systematic issues within the district um and I I think as long as the the chain of command has been followed and the people who have issues with certain things have gone through that channel and talked to the building you know teacher administrator Etc uh I do think there is some role for the board to kind of voice that to to be a voice for the public when it comes up but policy um evaluating hiring superintendents um and then also just kind of being an ear to the community maybe bringing some things to the attention of the superintendent or other board members that are issues what issues or concerns do you have regarding the school district's operations um so as I said I I can't I don't I don't think that I have any spefic specific issues or concerns from Falon um but having been an educator my whole life and and being in it right now I know that there are some Global things that are going on in schools that are very concerning um we have been asked when I say we Educators have been asked to do more and more and more as the years have gone on we are expected to be teachers to be babysitters adjudicators mental health professionals I mean you name it um it seems like every year they're from the top down they're they're they're putting more and more on Educators when you couple that with the fact that we are at least in New Jersey in a massive teacher shortage especially in certain areas Math and Science and certain parts of special education that poses a real problem um you know the district I work in right now we have three science openings we we cannot fill those positions um they are extremely hard to find if you are a science teacher in the state of New Jersey that's halfway decent you can basically pick what school district you want to work at so the concern is just that we continue to operate at a very high level and that we provide um a sort of experience for our teachers and our Educators and and it's a place that they want to work so that we can hire good people and retain them um I think the goal of a school district is to hire is to find and hire really good people people that could not then go work anywhere but then don't and want to stay in your District um and that's a challenge that's a very big challenge money is not the only piece of that money is a big part of it it will vary from person to person but people also want to feel respected valued heard um and those are things that the school district and and the administration all the way up to the superintendent and the board have to be aware of and have to make sure that that's happening and we we could play a hard line on that and say you know this is the job and this is the salary and this is the thing but we will find ourselves in two five 10 years in in a bad place if we're not careful um because it as I said it certain positions are very difficult to fill and there are very few people out there looking to fill those positions and the last question is what areas would you like to see strengthened in our district if I had to pick one thing that I wish was a little bit better a little bit more positive and a little awkward to say say this in front of everyone but it is what it is um I think there is sort of this um reputation there that the board of EDS sometimes doesn't always get along that they um are arguing in public they're they're they're not arguing in a in a respectful professional manner um and I hear that a lot I hear it often I sometimes see it when I watch meetings I just want to be someone that can help in that that can just be a positive force on the board that can be a professional that can be respectful um I don't mind disagreeing with people I like to disagree with people or I like to argue with people when I think it's valid but I think there's a way to do it a way to do it respectfully and it goes back to the answer to my previous question if people start to view the Board of Ed as unstable um as dysfunctional that's going to affect the district in a major way people aren't going to want to come and work for us people aren't going to want to live here so I think the reputation and and and that the board has is important um and so if I had one area to strength it would be that and I think I have a really good skill set to do that I know schools very well I work with some people on this board I've had relationships with I've known people you know I know a lot of people in town um I think that I have a good reputation one that's positive one that's professional and I'd like to bring that to the board Anthony thank you all candidates please know that you are welcome to stay However um you also this was you guys found out about this you know about a week ago so if you do have other um commitments or somewhere else to be you will be able to review and watch um on YouTube and then the candidate who is um voted for the vacancy tonight will be notified by myself and Dr Danio Miss Marin ganty please join us good evening um thank you Mar ganty yes hello thank you so much for joining us tonight and for showing your interest and um we appreciate your possible commitment to our community school governance thank you happy to be here miss manuso please tell us a little bit about yourself and why you are interested in filling the open school board seat have you run for election for the school board why or why not so I am a proud graduate of the Fon school system um I graduated in 2015 um and I was you know very heavily involved in the honors and advanced placement class I had you know all these extracurriculars lined up I was part of all these honor societies and um I and community service organizations um I volunteered at a at the public library which you know are libraries amazing and I helped found a charity organization my senior year that raised you know money for kids in need so you know I've I've always had a strong Foundation of you know High School wasn't just a place for class is and this town isn't just you know somewhere I live I just wanted to be involved in the community um and i' I've carried that with me when I went to Stevens's Institute of Technology where I uh majored in engineering um and I had you know because of the school system I had a strong knowledge of math and science and I had a well-rounded education where I was able to think critically about ethical issues and you know not just be someone who was good at cranking out numbers and I I really am thank for the uh Falon School District that was able to provide that foundation for me um and now you know I I've graduated I now work in the financial services industry but I always still say that graduating from Falon High School is my proudest achievement um because that has really established for me a foundation where I can that I can use to car like carry further my educational and professional Endeavors um and it's not just me my my family is also very heavily involved in the community my sister recently graduated from Falon high school as well um and she was I I think all of you probably know her most of you know her um so she you know she she was she's a huge inspiration to me and she was also very heavily involved and my mom also work is part of the rotary and works for um the the TJ as a as a before care Aid so like I said Falon is not just a place where we live but it's a place where we want to be involved and um we want to see it be better uh than than it is right now um and not to say that it's not that it's bad now it's fantastic um but I'm I'm feeling the seat because I want every other student to have the same experience if not a better experience that myself and my sister had I want everyone to uh you know have a robust educ like education and not just you know one one or two specific subjects but I want them to have a well-rounded education that'll teach them to think critically and like offer opportunities and extracurriculars that you may not find in many other um like many other high schools um and I will just end with saying um I never realized what a fantastic education and like what a strong Foundation Fon high school has given me until I went to college and I noticed that you know not a lot of people were were blessed with the same opportunities or the same um like Foundation that I was so again immensely thankful to Falon and I'm hoping that it's my turn to give back now what do you believe are the greatest challenges currently facing this school district what do you see as the board's role in addressing those challenges and what do you see as the administration's role in addressing those challenges sure so we live in a very quickly evolving world and I think we can all agree that technology is is permeating every career path that we that we're seeing um so I I think what our major goal should be to teach kids to survive in the real world so not just you know be good at be good at a class or be good in your career but to teach them to be well-rounded students and like um like wellestablished members of society um I know I actually participate in my company's recruiting program so I know the kinds of skills that um employers are looking for so I'm hoping that we can not only you know give kids Give Kids the opportunity to um develop these skills early on um but create someone who you know that we're really proud of uh that they came from Falon um and all of that starts early so we should we should really be starting that probably sooner than College what do you see as the role of a Schoolboard member so I went to chat GPT for this question um yeah right um so it told me that what is it school members should set achievable goals for a school district develop policies that are beneficial to the majority and advocate for public education um and I saw that and I thought okay great that's true but uh I think a common misinterpretation of this is that the board really just exists to be the mouthpiece and the executors of the administration's agenda items or that they're there to you know micromanage all of the teachers and students and you know build them into a certain mold and I but in reality I really think that the Schoolboard members are supposed to be here to listen to to listen to and help the students teachers and staff they really should be the bridge between the students and their goals and between the parents and the schools in order to improve and better our system CHP didn't say that that's all for me what issues or concerns do you have regarding the school district's operations yeah covid was a once in a-lifetime phenomenon um hopefully once in a lifetime we're going to walk on with um but and the school board did a great job of adapting to and helping our community recover from this event um but I it's but my concern or My Hope Is that we can learn from all of this and we can make sure that we're prepared for the next and Future challenges that will come our way not just politically but economically and financially uh we need to make sure that we're prepared to face the challenges of tomorrow uh with the lessons we learn today um you know things like what happens when our routine is disrupted again are we really capable of being able to operate in either a remote setting or you know whatever comes our way um are we prepared for like what technology will bring us in the future uh do we are we making sure that the teachers have what they need to do their jobs um I think Mr servis like said earlier that we expect Educators to be all of these things and that's a bit of an unfair expectation that we placed on them but how do we then mitigate that or at least spread out those responsibilities so that we make sure our kids are are well cared for what areas would you like to see strengthened in our school districts I think digital literacy um and I I believe that's a term I coin myself so please allow me to explain um we provide our high school students with laptops and styluses and and that's great but there's there's been an ever increasing gap of um a lack of literacy and simple things like Microsoft Excel like how to make sure you create a good like PowerPoint template I didn't even know about slidemaster until I started working actually um so it's things like this that are just going to help them utilize the tools that they have at their disposal proposal in order to come up with more Creative Solutions and in order to present themselves in the best way um I would also um like to strengthen the connection between the board and the community I think in every District there's always dissatisfied people or misunderstandings between board members or between the board and the community um and we actually have I actually see this as an opportunity for us to be able to bridge the gap and allow the community to better understand the processes and missions of the Board of Education there's so many parents who are unable to attend and remaining accessible to to them is important and it's amazing that we have all these YouTube sessions that that you know were able to put up I actually did my research for tonight by watching some of those meetings um but you know I I think get having our community get to know the Board of Education members as people and not just as these vague figureheads that sit there and like talk about things that are important to everyone I think it's important to develop that person connection and Foster that um understanding and and just social cohesion between the board members and and the community yes thank you sanki thank you so much for joining us tonight miss AA is it Dian or Diana Diana the floor is yours please join us Diana thank you for joining us this evening um Miss manuso is going to ask you those same five questions um and we appreciate your interest in our community's um board governance well thank you for inviting me for an interview please tell us a little bit about yourself and why you are interested in filling the open school board C have you run for election for the school board why or why not so I've been an educator for over 20 years um I've been a teacher I've been a supervisor um I am currently enrolled in the doctoral program at seen ho University um my major is education leadership management and policy which obviously this is exactly what this the board does um I love children I love faon I've been actually in the house that I'm in since 2007 so I've been here almost 20 years um I also rented prior to that as well um I've been thinking about running for the board of education for several years now however I've been on other boards like the association of mathematics teachers of New Jersey um for like 21 years and all positions including being president so Julie I can really sympathize with all the things that you go through um additionally I was bylaws chair and I'm very very familiar with bylaws and policy and um how a board of education operates um additionally I was also um the one of the national um Council of teacher mathematics board member um so I clearly didn't have time to run for the board until now because I'm no longer a board member um for either one of those two organizations I had planned on running in the fall um and then this position kind of came up so I thought I'd take the opportunity to apply for it so I love faon I love the community so thank you what do you believe are the greatest challenges currently facing this school district what do you see as the board's role in addressing those challenges what do you see as the administration's role in addressing those challenges so I think Mr service had kind of laid the foundation for some of this but one of the big uh things that Educators all over the country um are facing is the unknown we've already heard that the president originally wanted to get rid of the Department of Education we've heard you know we're going to have a new governor um this year is the first year school year that the school funding has been um fully funded for all the schools and we have a cap of 2% um so I think one of the challenges is to figure out how we can get the budget and yet plan for upcoming things that are going to happen uh we're going to have a new funding formula as well so we have um I think honestly the biggest challenge is going to be figuring out the whole funding aspect of it so um so I I I feel like that that's probably the biggest challenge um that fair laon will face um because you also have to plan for all of these events and like I said 2% I mean inflation's more than 2% all costs go up more than 2% so we're going to have to figure out how to manage the um finances and having a math background hoping that maybe I could put some suggestions in although that's not really necessarily the role of the board but thank you what do you see as the role of a School Board member so um the school board is supposed to be um writing the policies and uh passing the policies whereas Dr denisio and his administrative team would be implementing those policies sometimes I find that board members end up trying to implement policy um and kind of cross that that line that's not the role of a board member um although I have to say I don't know who put on Fair laon's um website you actually I love the first line about um what the role of a board member is I don't know who who's responsible for that but it's it's well put um and I think said something like despite what many people think um you know the board member does not run the school basically so and that unfortunately many people believe that that's the case but that's not the case it's the superintendent and the administrative well the superintendent mainly runs the school but he has his administrative team and his staff and teachers all Implement all the policies what issues or concerns do you have regarding the school district's operations um oh you know what I don't did I talk about the challenges or I guess okay um so one of the things that I feel like the operations um I live in the old section which is where Forest school is um as we all know Forest school is 100 years old um and that's probably true of a lot of the buildings in New Jersey they're older buildings so one of my concerns would be um more along the lines of like uh to see the the long range facilities plan and how we're keeping up with the buildings um obviously it's really important that um you know we maintain our buildings that um goes along with you know students having um you know a great education and making sure that you know they're they're feeling safe in our buildings so I I feel like that that's one of the things that you know although I have to honestly say over the summer Dr Dr denisio did a great job in um you know keeping up with some of the buildings with some of the his major projects so I do know that we've been already investing in some of that but we really do need to keep up with it I think that's going to be an important part of it and lastly what areas would you like to see strengthened in our district um um well I think a couple of things um one of the things is um I'd love to see that the grading the standards based grading is expanded um to the secondary I believe if I'm not mistaken from what I've been informed from members of the community um right now there's like a trial there's a u a pilot program going on and I think it's the fourth and fifth grade if I remember correctly on standard-based grading I'm not sure maybe I'm wrong maybe I was misinformed I'm not sure about that one um additionally what I would also like to see is um preparation for um Ai and I'm not saying it just because that's what my dissertation is on um Ai and education but I think it's it's real um I think there's and important part an important component that I think many people may not be aware of and that is uh data security um so we have to abide by like the furpa laws Copa laws um I I'm obviously really concerned about all of those so I'd like to see um the technology aspect of it and the fact that students um need to gain all of the technological knowledge for the future and AI is here to stay whether anybody likes it or not so I think we're going to have to address some of those issues um I also I'm not sure if there's a plan for say um let's say an Isis I ice agent comes in whether or not you know um if there's a plan in place for that I think there should be if there isn't um because that could be kind of scary so for students and I feel like as a board member um it's our responsibility to um protect students and uphold you know the laws and and the Supreme Court cases such as pler versus uh doe so um I just I I feel like we have to um protect our students as well so and these aren't necessarily targeting at fairlin I think many of those really reflect many of the schools throughout the United States I think Falin does an excellent job the board is phenomenal and of course we have an excellent superintendent so thank you thank you Amanda hello everyone Amanda thank you for being here tonight and for your time and effort and your commitment to um potentially supporting our community and school Community governance please please tell us a little bit about yourself and why you are interested in filling the open Schoolboard seat have you run for election for the school board why or why not thank you for this wonderful question my name is Manda Pasar I have um I have proudly lived in fairon for 23 years with a master's degree in chemistry I'm a dedicated mother of two children uh who are both thriving in fath laon schools my son graduated uh in 2020 and my daughter is on her way to graduation in class of 2025 as the Director of global regulatory CMC at a large pharmaceutical company I navigate the complexity of ethics and regulation daily by applying FDA European International rules diligent I contribute meaningfully to my company's policym having run for election three times I have gained profound insight into the vital role of the board and unique contribution of each member my experiences have highlighted the board's critical influence in shaping our school district's future igniting my passion to support the board when an open position arose I believe in giving back to this community and my election campaign pain have connected me with many parents grandparents and Community member who celebrate the strengths of our school district I am a champion of educational Excellence committed to ensure our district support all types of Learners from those in special education to the gifted and talented I Envision creating Equitable opportunity for all student including a career uh CTE program for those pursuing paths outside the traditional college education fostering diversity and inclusivity within our community inspire me to stand against hate in all its forms including anti-Semitism I will advocate for the sources resources and support for our faculty and staff deserve to succeed my non-educational background allows me to bring an unbiased perspective to the table and my understanding of marginalization foils my commitment to creating a positive change with a Rich Blend of life and work experience I am prepared to offer unique viewpoint on policym and its implementation as a member of board what do you believe are the greatest challenges currently facing this School District what do you see as the board's role in addressing those challenges what do you see as the administration's role in addressing those challenges thank you the most significant challenge we Face are overcrowding a concerning student to teacher ratio the urgent need to restrict cell phone and social media usage during the instructional time and unnecessary uh expend teacher in our budget these challenges create an inadequate environment for both student and teacher we must Foster collaboration among teachers and board of uh of Education members to allocate resources effectively and higher additional teacher for example my daughter who attends high school has reported numerous Mt classes this indicates a clear opportunity to utilize available spaces and employ more teacher thereby produces the CL uh College uh class sizes and enhancing the learning experiences board member plays a crucial role uh as policy maker and they have responsibility to bring Community concern to the public meeting of for comprehensive discussion and action Boe serve as a vital committee that evaluates recommendation from staff and administrator regarding District operation the development of budget for new facilities maintenance and curriculum Improvement after thorough deliberation they take watch and directly impact on our educational landscape it is essential to recognize that Boe is not merely an administrator body but a governing entity their primary function is to adopt policy in alignment with guideline established by the New Jersey Department of Education by effectively addressing these challenges we can create a fairer more productive educational environment for all student and staff what do you see as the role of a school board member board member play crucial role U as a policy maker and they have responsibility to bring Community concern to public meeting for comprehensive discussion and action board uh member serves on a vital Comm uh committees and evaluate recommendation from staff and administration uh and operation the development of budget and new facilities uh this is what our uh board policy written on the fair laon uh Board of Education website it is essential to recognize the bo is not merely an administrative body but a governing entity their primary function to adopt the policy and Alignment what issues or concerns do you have regarding the school district's operations I think this is a very unique uh timeline we are everyone is facing that there is a surge in a our student population because of the Town population is increasing significantly impacting the class sizes which can which could hinder the attention and learning outcomes we need to expand our offering uh into the advanced placement courses and emphasizing on the St education furthermore fostering the meaningful discussion about career pathway and providing more internship opportunity for high school student are critical for their future success it's essential that we prioritize Community engagement and transparency to build and ensure our student receive the best possible education and lastly what areas would you like to see strengthened in our school districts I'm going to be broken record today and I I would just say again that there are several areas I would like uh to see strengthen uh in our district uh one is uh managing class sizes uh it is important to reduce the overcrowding in the classroom to ensure better individual attention for our student again the advanced placement opportunity for our high schooler we could offer more a courses uh at a high school level uh to challenge our student to prepare them for college and thirdly I would say that career discussion it is essential to provide career counseling that reflects the diverse background of our student additionally we need to focus delivering improved outcome in both academic and athletic recognition managing diversity effectively should also involve providing the target academic support Amanda thank you so much for being here tonight thank you for having me Julie kasoy Caso Cy I apologize um Julie Caso casoy I just got it wrong again go with Julie I know how to say that one well that work um I'm pretty fluent on that one thank you so much for being here and for um considering participation in our school Community governance Miss manuso please tell us a little bit about yourself and why you are interested in filling the open school board seat have you run for election for the school board why or why not sure thanks for having me tonight um my name is Julie casoy um the second Julie here I am a resident of Fon for almost 16 years now um we came here in 2009 um proud mom of three kids two of whom are here tonight learning the process there you go two who have graduated already from the school system one who gradu here from Falon another one who graduated from bermies and my son is currently in the Fon high school so I am an active parent of the fairon community um I came here right away engaged in the PTA I was served as the PTA president of Bradburn for a few years involved in committees and events and various um councils and things and I've always had a great experience um um what else background about myself um I have a degree in finance so my background is in finance and budget Administration and Grant Administration um I am currently a grants manager at Ramapo College so it's been a an interesting week for us in in higher education so I have about 16 years of experience in higher ed which um I I think brings an interesting perspective to the board um what else about me um a bilingual Russian English speaker so which is a which is a fun thing in this community kind of travel incognito because I don't have accent but it was kind of fun to move here to Falon and find all these Russian speakers that I didn't know were here so that was great um I haven't run for the board in the past my personal professional commitment sort of did not allow me to do that but I'm happy to say that I have the time and when this came open I was excited to jump at the opportunity what do you believe are the greatest challenges currently facing this school district what do you see as the board's role in addressing those challenges and what do you see has the administration's role in addressing those challenges sure I am going to steal a quote from somebody else who who said the role of the board is not to run the schools but the role is to make sure the schools are run well so that is something that um I think everybody here is already echoed tonight um the idea to set policies and procedures and and that is something that I do every day in Grants Administration is making sure that we have rules that we have our um plans in place that we that are that people can refer to that can fall back on that can lean on when they need to make decisions um the greatest challenges I think facing the school district are the same that facing many other districts which is well-being of the students mental health um the the pressures that the students are facing really at this point from the youngest who um didn't start school during covid time and are catching up now to the high schoolers who in all different varieties are experiencing pressures from having having to excel academically while balancing all kinds of responsibilities the those who are going to college and going other places so it's really helping all of the students in all of the different um levels of school maintain that good social emotional health and wellness and be able to support each other um in a diverse Community like we have here what do you see as the role of a school board member well I think I answered that question last time but I'll I'll back up a little bit because I didn't answer the role of the administration again it's um I think it really is a collaborative it has to be a collaborative environment for um the Board of Ed to help set those policies the procedures to look at what the needs are of the community um to be the eyes and ears where the administration are really the boots on the ground they the ones who are in the schools who have that FaceTime with the students with the faculty with the staff and understanding what those needs are and then working together to make sure that both the needs of the students both the needs of the families who live here um again as a as a child of an immigrant family I have personally you know experienced those who I was lucky enough to be able to make it through the school system without any issues but there are parents who don't know how to Advocate don't know when they should Advocate don't know what Avenues they have so that's really um I think a job of the Board of Ed is to to help make sure that all of those voices are heard to make sure that all of the students across the board in our district um their needs are met and then so that the administration can then carry those out and again that will look differently in an elementary school than it will in the high school so using those policies and things in place to best Implement um for the best uh the good of all the students what issues or concerns do you have reg regarding the school district's operations operations is a very all-encompassing term so that could mean a lot of things um me personally again I have a background in budget and finance um I think as many people have echoed here we don't know what the future holds we have as right now this week has been very challenging with grant funding suddenly disappearing and still you know being able to um fill the needs for the students in higher ed I'm sure the same exists here we don't know what's coming down the pike next week next month next year five years from now so I think that's one of the challenges really um to the operations to make sure that funding is secure to make sure that we're looking outside the box thinking creatively that if we do lose some streams of funding from the government how else can we continue to provide the great education that that we are already providing and how can we pivot or or act differently or just be prepared to um think creatively to continue to provide the services that we are both to the students who need special help or to the students who are again taking those AP classes and reaching for those highest caliber schools we really do need to make sure we're addressing all of their needs in the most creative and functional way possible I think and lastly what areas would you like to see strengthened in our district um I think our district is great first of all I think it's terrific it's really been wonderful since we moved here I I'll Echo what everyone has said it's it's a community it's a really well-knit Community we my kids grew up in the radburn school and um one of the great things is the um it's almost like a 1950s Style where everyone shows up to drop off and pick up and it's a very organic sort of feeling of um play dates just happen kids go home with each other afterwards so it's um to continue to Foster The Melting Pot that is our community so we have again kids from a lot of different backgrounds families even more so from a lot of different backgrounds coming in so I think um for faculty for staff for students to really gain a better understanding of each other everyone in the different backgrounds they come from um and the different um resources that we have in place make sure everyone is aware of um things that the school can do for their students that opportunities that they can do for their families um and I think that would be it's already strong but I think we can only continue to um to make that make that stronger and frankly the kids that are are starting in in kindergarten and and leaving um the high school they're all following different paths it's not just everyone's going to college so we're just focusing on the kids and getting into the best school so some will go to work some will pivot and and go to other things some will go to different colleges and there's no one right or wrong way to do it so we want to make sure that we are building good citizens of the world that we are giving all the kids the opportunities that they need to succeed in whatever their future holds for them after they leave the Falon school system Julie thank you thank you Stella Stella Lamberg thank you so much for joining us this evening and uh considering participation in our school communities governance well first of all I'd like to say thank you to the board for the consideration and the opportunity I really am grateful to be a part of this process uh before we start with the questions I just want to say thank you very much I'm grateful to be here please tell us a little bit about yourself and why you are interested in filling the open school board seat have you run for election for the school board why or why not okay it's a great question and I have notes with me because a scout is always prepared um I have lived in Fon for over 14 years I have a bachelor bachelor's degree in finance from the state of Connecticut Western Connecticut State University and I have three children in different stages of Education my youngest daughter attends Mill Elementary my middle daughter is at Thomas Jefferson School and my oldest son he's currently at rwood monory school and he is transitioning to fairon high school in September so he's very excited to be a part of Falone schools as a parent I have firsthand experienced navigating the educational system and challenges facing families today I have children of all different educational backgrounds so it's I I see that each child is an individual professionally I serve as a partner and insurance producer at AB Insurance Agency a division of Pinnacle rest solution my role requires strategic planning resource management and collaboration which are directly did I do something I'm sorry okay which are directly uh applicable to the responsibilities of the board of uh that is currently here you know Financial stability of the of the education system is important and I have that background I've also LED Community Focus initiatives many of you know that I'm the president of the fairon Chamber of Commerce and I help run many community events which take a lot of organization Financial ability reading bylaws and understanding how to run um an organization like the Chamber of Commerce I'm also a trustee on the Fone Arts Council an assistant scout master for a Boy Scout troop in Falon and of course a very proud rotarian um those are some of the organizations that I'm a part of I ran for Board of Education in 2021 because I wanted to advocate for Mental Health Resources academic programs and parent engagement which is really important to me as a parent myself although I was not elected the experience deepened my understanding of District priorities and reinforced my commitment to ensuring every stud student in fairon has access to Opportunities For Success I'm eager to join the strong team of board members if I'm lucky to do so working together to bring me meaningful and collaborative solutions to our schools what do you believe are the greatest challenges currently facing this school district what do you see as the board's role in addressing those challenges and what do you see as the administration's role in addressing those challenges one of the district's main uh challenges is expanding after school programming it's something that has been discussed in uh the board meetings in the past improving access to stem opportunities introducing more career oriented and Vocational Pathways to meet the diverse needs of students these programs are essential to Preparing students for future success and addressing gaps and opportunities outside the traditional academic settings another ongoing challenge is ensuring that the district continues to build on its recent improvements in Mental Health Services as the district has made progress in this area it is important to maintain and expand programs that address the social and emotional well-being of students budget budget constraints and resource allocations further add complexity to this issue the board's role is to provide strategic oversight by setting policies and allocating resources that prioritize these needs while allowing the administration to implement the necessary changes the ad the ad administration's role in involves developing and managing programs collaborating with Educators and staff and regularly updating the board on progress collaboration is key to overcoming these uh challenges and I hope to be a team player and helping the district achieve these goals what do you see as the role of a school board member that's definitely a great question and and I'm so happy to answer it a school Bo board member's role is to act as a steward of the community's educ ational system by governing not managing the district's daily operations through policy development strategic planning and budget approval board members help guide the district towards academic excellence and overall success again collaboration is key members are members serve on committees to review recommendations on curriculum budget allocation facilities management and more these committees ensure decisions are well informed and reflect the needs of students St staff and families additionally a board member acts as liaison represents the interest of parents and students while respecting the chain of command they must understand that operational concerns are handled by staff and administrators with board members providing oversight and interv intervening only as a last resort above all a school board member must prioritize students wellbeing act with integrity and ensure the district remain transparent and accountable to the community I look forward to working collabora collaboratively with board members administrators and families to achieve our shared Vision what issues or concerns do you have regarding the school district's operations I'm concerned about the consistency of Afterschool programming and ensuring that students across all grades have access to engaging and enriching activities after school programs provide important academic support and social interaction and expanding options would be better serve students and families another area of concern is the development of stem stem programs at all levels early exposure to science Technology and Engineering and math is critical we must ensure that all students have access to Hands-On learning opportunities I also believe we should strengthen career oriented as I mentioned before career oriented and Vocational programs so students gr that that graduate with practical skills regardless of their post-graduation plans not everyone plans to go to college and it's important that we provide the opportunities for these students transparency with parents is an ongoing concern families should feel informed and engaged with District decisions affecting their children lastly I'm committed to ensuring that the district's mental health initiatives continue to develop and grow building on the foundation laid by former board member Mark spendel by working as a Me by working as a team I'm confident that we can address the these concerns in supporting District growth and Improvement and lastly what areas would you like to see strengthened in our school district as a parent with children in Farland schools I understand the wide range of needs and challenges the students and families face um my family included my youngest daughter who currently has an IEP entered the school system in first grade she did not even know her letters due to her um issue and the reason that she has the I but now with the help of the resource room and the fairon school she's thriving and reading to me um so I'm really grateful for that for my youngest daughter my middle daughter is loving her opportunities to uh learn in the middle school and she's thriving there as well on a different level than my youngest daughter my oldest son is so excited for stem opport opportunities that may be there at the high school level and potentially vocational studies he had an opportunity to apply to other schools for high school but he said that he wants to give Falon an opportunity because he feels they have the programs and the opportunities that that can grow in the school and he wants to be in Falon and grow with Falon with these varied experiences I can see different perspective of parents in our community and hope to continue learning from them I would like to see the district expand its career-oriented programs and Vocational electives ensuring that students who may not follow traditional academic Pathways still have access to valuable Hands-On learning experiences strengthening stem programs at every level is equally important to students develop and critical thinking and problem problem solving skills they need in the future careers additionally not to harp on this issue um after school programming should be expanded to Bright students at all schools with a broader range of enrichment academic support and extracurricular options these programs benefit both students and working families having something for the children to do after school can uh lift a burden a financial burden for families and it will increase the opportunities for learning for the students and lastly mental health initiatives should continue to grow and adapt to meet evolving student needs a lot has happened and we're still um we're still trying to fix what happen with Co within mental health it's going to take time and um we need to continue to work on that it is vital these programs remain a priority to support students overall well-being improving communication and transparency between the district and parents will help Foster that trust and collaboration ensuring that families remain active parents and partners in their children's education working together is essential to creating the environment where every student can Thrive and that is how I feel that we can strengthen the school district Stella thank you thank you again for the opportunity I'm so grateful to be here and um wish all the candidates all the best thanks so much last but not least Nicholas Noom I know waiting Nick thank you for being here and for considering participation in our community school governance good evening please tell us a little bit about yourself and why you are interested in filling the open school board seat have you run for election for the school board why or why not okay good evening thank you everyone for having me here tonight appreciate it uh so I've been in Falon for about 30 years almost my whole life I came here when I was in first grade uh my parents sought out uh a town with a good school district right so they picked fairon naturally fast forward that sentence you know 30 years later and that's still the case now you know we talk to people wait why do you like fairon why do you want to be here and a main a main reason is because of this educational system and that's a um a real uh kudos to to the board members of the past and the present right that you guys are maintaining a district for this many years um I started Mill I went in Mill school after that I was in Thomas Jefferson a proud graduate from Fon High School class of 2009 U from there I pursued my lifelong dream uh entered into the law enforcement profession that was my care it's my career I bought a house in fairon I got married started a family I have a daughter's two and a half I became a small business owner uh in fairon because I didn't have enough on my plate at the time so let's add another thing um I've been a volunteer for the Emergency Services here in town for almost 20 years during my time there I was a president of the association for six years where I uh budgeted and dealt with the member issues and made sure that the building and everything was up to par I'm sorry which Association Fon Rescue Squad okay uh in my uh union now i' I've been on the executive board for 10 years where in those 10 years I've held the position of president for two years so uh I've had leadership roles several organizations throughout my career I have a bachelor's degree in administrative studies from Fairy Dickenson University um I have been and always will be committed to fair laan and I have no plans of leaving this is my home and I want it for that I want that for my daughter as well um I'm filling this vac attempting to fill this vacancy because I believe my uh experience with leadership and budgeting um understanding collective bargaining agreements policies and how they affect uh the entire or organization or the board of vet as a whole whether it's good or bad policy right I never ran before uh obviously timing is very hard sometimes in life to balance a family a job a business right um when this vacancy open it actually was the perfect timing you know I sat down with my wife we spoke about it and she said yeah you know go for it 100% you have my support and I think that was uh the green light to to go ahead and give us a shot um like I said before the the community and the Board of Ed is is phenomenal it's it's topnotch and uh I would love to give back to the school system that allowed me the success that I have today what do you believe are the greatest challenges currently facing this school district what do you see as the board's role in addressing those challenges what do you see as the administration's role in addressing those challenges so there's uh obviously many challenges that were spoken about tonight um two things I want to touch on uh importantly mental health and wellness right that's a two-part thing it's not just mental health it's mental health and wellness um I know fairon has a phenomenal mental health program um so the board's role is to continue to advocate for resources right approve policies promote student well-being and support programs of mental health um so the the administration's role is very important right so the administration and the Board of Ed work synergistically together um the administration is the the boots on the ground they are the lifeline and the communication to the board obviously you guys are in the schools the counselors are in the in the classrooms the guidance office communicates directly to you guys and you guys can pass that information to the board um that will allow us allow the board to make decisions whether things should go uh certain ways right for the positive or for the negative for the better for the worse um obviously sitting behind a table here it's hard to make a decision without the information from the administ so without both of them together obviously it won't work um the second part is I believe it's been touched on several times is is financial budget right it's it's critical uh it's hard to plan for a building 20 years from now not knowing what the rate of material labor you know inflation going up and down those are important things so as a board you you know budgeting is is crucial and um and uh the administration letting us letting the board know hey in 20 years in 10 years five years new air condition new this those are all important things it may not seem like a lot of a new air condition school right but it could be thousands and thousands of dollars I'm sure everybody knows so having that money there without burdening the taxpayer or or taking from capital capital grants and federal and state funding is is uh important what do you see as the role of a Schoolboard member yeah so uh the role of a school board members is is critical right so anything voted on today or voted on uh any meeting this uh next month the month after that could that could really affect the the board's Route 10 15 years from now and uh I hope and I I know that all board members understand that right so your decisions that you vote on and you make impact long-term um issues for the Board of Ed um we are a direct link with the superintendent right the Board of Education and the superintendent must work together to uh make policy enforce policy and make sure the policy is good policy right I think the Board of Ed is uh responsible right for the budgeting like I spoke about before facilities school safety Paramount we we want school safety uh number one protect the kids ethical legal responsibilities and uh I hope that the board continues to provide the highest quality of Education that they have in the past what issues or concerns do you have regard regarding the school district's operations so I would say one thing that's uh important to to a mission any mission is the the transparency right you you need to have transparency between the board Administration um parents teachers students um that goes for almost everything in in in life really you know if you're transparent with people and you're honest with them I think that is the best policy um I've learned a long time ago in life you can't make everybody happy right so um but if you listen to Somebody it really goes a long way so if somebody comes up here and somebody comes to you you just listen to them right and as a board collectively you guys make a decision you stand by your decision you really can't beat that right no matter how much somebody can complain so that that's important to to have a United board and and stick together and and give people answers that they want because all they want to do sometimes just be listened to and lastly what areas would you like to see strengthened in our school districts so this was a this is a good question I think that we've we've got away from the stem programs uh I think uh they touched a couple candidates had touched on it but stem is is critical and crucial to to Future After High School right um we all know that not everybody goes to college right so there there's different routes I remember in high school I took wood shop I had the the late great Mr Newsome right one of the legends of Falon High School uh I took wood two years and he L he taught me more than just Carpenter I instilled uh life lessons on that I still carry to this day like uh those shops are are just so important I I've seen I was reading an article in another District in Bergen County they had a stem program they had a uh like a patient bed with a patient in it that was controlled by a teacher and the student got Hands-On with the patient and it's literally incredible so somebody thinking about going to the doctor to be a doctor to be a nurse to get that feeling up front like hey maybe they make the patient bleed and student doesn't like blood okay right there we can change our minds let's let's change career track but that's just something to know up front uh before you go into that next step of life thank you all Nick thank you do we have any I'm going to open this portion of our board meeting is specifically for comments on any matter when speaking please state your name in mun Municipality of res limit your remarks to 3 minutes law state law prohibits board members and administrators from discussing Personnel matters student discipline or other confidential issues please not this is not a dialogue or Q&A session between speakers and the board we may not respond immediately or to every comment made tonight all input is carefully considered and helps inform our decisions please responses may come through emails reports board statements website updates are after the comment period closes thank you for partic participation in our school communities governance the floor is open is there anything on the Google Doc yes there is Miss Mayan uh only one comment this evening from the public uh on the Google Doc it's from Miss Ginsburg Miss Ginsburg writes below are some questions for the Boe candidates being interviewed tonight January 30th meeting number one what differentiate you from other candidates Andor board members what unique qualities would you bring to this role are there aspects of your education and experience that you feel would be especially helpful in this position describe your specific experience in working with parents and community members number two if selected tonight what Boe committees would you be most excited to join and why what ideas and suggestions will you bring to those committee meetings number three how does a school board balance the need to provide a quality education with the need to respond to the local taxpayer burden and number four as an individual School Board member how would you handle a situation where the board takes a position which you do not agree with thank you and good luck to all of you okay the floor is closed um I will now open up the floor to board member comments um Miss hman thank you um I would just like to say thank you to um everyone that has uh placed themselves in as a Boe candidate whether it be um the people that had interviews and the people that um did not um have interviews this evening and I would um recommend that everybody you know run for office in nove in November to try to there might be some seats open there might just have the opportunity to try again if you're not selected on this go round thank you the floor is closed oh sorry I didn't see your hand Mr Santana good evening I too would like to uh thank everyone who uh submitted the resume and the letter of interest to serve the community uh and congratulations to all of you who made it to this round um being on the school board is serving the public it's a public service um it's a commitment and we are grateful that you you make that step it's about our children our children in Furlong are unique they are uh each each of them have unique talents they're wonderful and we have a very diverse Community with high expectations for all of our children and our staff and just like our fellow board member stated uh you are encouraged uh to run for office and it's about the children and it's about the children the floor is closed can I get a motion to recess into close session second um we will be recessing into close session for the purpose of deliberation of the vacant seat can I get all in favor uh thank you guys so much we B we will be returning into Open Session um and board business will be conducted I'm just going to ask you guys to excuse yourselves for now um after deliberations you are welcome to come back if you are still here e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e it's who Miss Mano well I can't mine's broken probably are these off they're all Daisy CH that's why it's just gonna probably a it's still they're have loud voice I'm kind of happy that it was for me that still and you broke them 10:15 p.m. and you broke the microphone I believe Dr de you there my fault thanks is on now it's working working working got it one one okay uh the floor is open for nominations Miss yman I would like to make a motion for Julie casoy to be um nominated for the position of a board member on the fair board of education is there a second yes I second the motion to nominate uh Miss Julie kosoy for the position of poor member are there any other nominations on the floor okay roll call please Mr baldowski yes Dr bertolini yes Miss Brown yes Mr aliyyah yes Miss felich can you come back to me please sure Mr Santana yes Miss Yurman yes Mrs Mayhan yes Miss felich yes motion passes be it resolved that the Falon Board of Education hereby appoints Julie casoy as a member of the fairon Board of Education to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Michael Rosenberg affect upon successful completion of the required criminal background check and continuing until the board's next organization meeting in January of 2026 our upcoming meetings include February 27th 2025 our regular monthly board meeting um and education uh of the whole committee which will take place beginning at 7 pm um uh in the Eugene and Banta public meeting room room 19 at Edison school um on March 13th we have our work session for our budget presentation at 7:30 p.m. Edis in School Eugene M Banta public meeting room room 19 with our preliminary budget adoption on March 18th 2025 at 7:30 p.m. here in Edison school at the Eugene M Banta public meeting room room 19 can I get a motion to adjourn so moved second all in favor I thank you all for coming have a great night