I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all the
together. The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In
accordance with the provision of the act, the Fortly Board of Education has courts notice of this meeting to be published on February 18th, 2026. Published on the district website, www.fle.com,
lb.com published in the board's designated online media outlet newspaper, the record and the star ledger filed with the clerk of the burrow of portly and mailed to all
persons if any who have requested said notice. Please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and may be broadcasted on local TV and online at a future date. The open public meeting act allows for remote participation at board
meetings and defines meetings as any gathering whether caporeal or means of communication equipment which is attended by or open to all of the members of a public body held with the intent on the part of the members of
that public presence to discuss or act as a unit upon the specific public business of that body. >> Miss Curry >> here. >> Mr. Gler >> here. >> Miss Coten >> here.
>> Mr. Lopez. >> Mr. Mcan >> here. >> Miss Perez >> here. >> Miss Recctor >> here. Morell >> here. >> The board will be convening to executive session to discuss legal personnel and
other confidential matters. The board will reconvene into public session at approximately 7:30. May I have a motion to go into executive >> motion. Motion Curry. >> Second. >> Second.
>> Second for all in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? Any abstensions? We are now in >> executive pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under
God indivisibley and justice for all. The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice and to attend the meetings of the public bodies at which any business affecting their
interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provision of the act, the Portland Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be published on February 18th, 2026, posted on the district's website at
www.fllee.com. published in the board's designated online media outlet newspaper the record and the store ledger filed with the clerk of the burough court leaks and mailed to all persons if any who have
requested said notice. Please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and may be broadcasted on local TV and on online at future dates. The open public meeting act allows for remote
participation at board meetings and defines meetings as any gathering whether pictorial or by means of communication equipment which is attended by or open to all of the members of the public body held with the
intent on the part of the members of the body present to discuss or act as a unit upon the specific public business of that body. Roll call, please. >> Miss fire >> here. >> Miss Curry
>> here. >> Mr. Goslin >> here. >> Miss Cotang >> here. >> Mr. Lopez >> here. >> Mr. Varian >> here. >> Miss Perez >> here. >> Miss Rector >> here. Mr. Roy >> here. The board convened executive
session at 6:30 today to discuss legal personnel and other confidential matters. Miss Bato, will you begin sharing the superintendent report? Thank you, President Moral. Good evening to everyone joining us in person and on
Zoom tonight. We have Fort Lee High School student representatives with us, Nasha Chitima and Lu Chaitima, who are going to share highlights from their school. So, go ahead. Good evening everyone. My name is Luisa and I a
senior. My name is Masha Tatima and I'm a junior. And today we will be representing the portly student council and we will be reporting some of the great and exciting things that are happening at Fort Le High School. Get ready to dominate the court. The
Fort Le Regional Chamber of Commerce is hosting its high energy annual threeon-ree basketball tournament on Saturday, March 7th. Team registration is closing very soon, so please come support this great annual event. Think you can sing. Prison is hosting a
karaoke night on March 12th from 6:00 to 8 for students, staff, and the whole of the Fort Le community. Tickets are $5 in advance and 7 at 4. Sign up using the QR code on the flyer. See you there. The freshman class is excited to announce
our custom ink fundraiser. links have been posted on your class pages and you will also see posters around the building with QR codes that take you directly to the shop. You can also support the class of 2029 by purchasing
for the upper or by making a donation. No purchases required. All proceeds will also help fund an amazing prom and activities throughout the school year. Orders are due by March 4th, so don't wait. Show your school
spirit and support the freshman and reply High School. The Harlem Wizards are also coming back to Fortley High School on Wednesday, March 4th. Please come out to support the Forly High School junior class for an exciting and great time. Tickets can
be purchased through the link on foe.com. A big congratulations to the girls and boys basketball team who both made it to the state tournament and have their first round of games on Friday. I'm also on the team, so come support. Also talking about basketball,
congratulations to all the following girls basketball players who received all league honors. James, first team all week. Jaclyn Martini, second team all week. Olivia Tes, second team all
league. LMR, honorable mention. Zara Harry, honorable mention. And congratulations to the girls basketball program for being selected as the elite sportsmanship award. There are also so many amazing athletes on the winter track team. Congratulations to the
following track athletes who secure medals at the prestigious Bergen County League meet of champions. Seniors Frankie Bizernto, Asel Orta, and John Walsh. And juniors Daniel Boga and Bobby Ponte. Additionally, Daniel Bogda and
Sha Lee, Christian Bourne, Frankie Bizerto, and John Wish competed in the NSA group three championships with Frankie Bzero advancing to the NJC league of championships in the high. In bowling, the girls won their fifth consecutive
Big North American title and finishing the regular season eight and all. The boys won their third consecutive big run to American title and also finished the season with an eight and over record. The girls team has advanced to the championship run of the North One group
B MJ state championship this Friday. Come support them. Seven high school students participated in the 2026 Peters Valley High School student exhibition at Peters Valley School of Craft in Leon, New Jersey. The students who submitted
work for the exhibition were Ava Lind, Lauren Park, Isabelle Silva, Marvin Estrada, Manori, Selia Jeang, and Alison King. And lastly, EMTT Lee, freshman, and Ena
King Jr. have both been elected as lieutenant governors for the New Jersey District of Tro International with Emtt serving as an at large representative and Ena overseeing all of Bergen County. In their roles, they will support and
guide local key chapters, coordinate district initiatives, and serve as leaders between the state board and club members. This achievement exceed extends our longstanding tradition of having state level officers
within this international organization and highlights the significant impact and leadership presence of our key club community. We're extremely thankful for all the support we get from the poly community. Thank you. and you had me at karaoke so I may just
be making appearance at no time. Thank you for coming. Have a good night. >> You too. Thank you. >> You're very welcome. >> Regards for our harass and intimidation and bullying report. We had five reported cases. None were founded. Tonight, I would like to take a moment
to sincerely to sincerely thank our buildings and grounds department, our supervisor David Cabrera, our custodians and maintenance workers for their exceptional and tireless efforts following the recent blizzard. This immense undertaking um
and their dedication ensured that our schools and facilities were ready and safe for students and staff today. I also want to thank the DPW for their assistance also when we needed it, when those trucks got stuck. Um, we're extremely fortunate to have um such a dedicated and professional team. So, I'm
just going to ask everybody to join me in formally recognizing the hard work of the back. Um, I also want to inform the community the community about an update to our school calendar. So, our district calendar includes two built-in snow days
and with the recent storms, we have now used a third. So, unfortunately, we will have to make up that day by adjusting our spring break. So, school will now be in session on Monday, April 6th. So, and then spring break will continue from Tuesday, April 7th through Friday, April
10th. And that's as per our district calendar on the website. Um, and I know there are some questions out there about our 2026 2027 school calendar and that will be presented to the board for approval at our March 9th agenda. And that's all I have for my superintendent report.
>> Thank you for your superintendent report. Thank you to the students for their lovely report. Um, the next thing that we have is for board members comments on tonight's agenda. But before I do that, uh, I'd like
Vice President Rico to say a few words. Um, Miss Colo, we just wanted to let you know all these people are not here for us. So, I know when I spoke to before, you were a little surprised when I said people are coming and now you see. So, um, but thank you to everyone who came
out and those of you who are here from, you know, the schools, but also the burrow. We don't do our promotions like the police department or the fire department. There's no swearing in where Miss Palaza is going to stand up there. So, the fact that you all came to support her and show your excitement
just like we are excited. Um, I know that we are thankful and I'm sure she's going to say something later. She's thankful as well. So, >> do any board members have any comments on tonight's agenda?
committee reports. >> Yeah. Do we have any committee reports? >> Yes. The policy committee met on February 10th and everyone who should be in attendance was present. We discussed
policies obviously and many of those policies we discussed are on tonight's agenda. The ones that aren't might be on a future agenda. Thank you. Any other leazison or community support?
Okay. May I have a motion to open the floor to the public? >> Motion. Second. >> Motion. Victor. Second. All in favor? I. >> Any opposed? Any abstensions?
We will hear comments first from many members of the public that are physically located at the cafeterium tonight. Then we will take comments from those participating remotely. Participation participants are limited to three minutes in which to make their
statements. For remote public participation, please select the raise hand button. District Technology Coordinator, Mr. Rogerio, will recognize each community member in the order of the raised hands by lowering the hand.
Please unmute your microphone, then state your name and your home address for the record and begin your comments. Please limit your comments to three minutes. Do we have any members of the public here in the captorium tonight who wish to make a public space public
comment? If so, please come to the public. >> Hello. Good evening. Brian Drum and Lane um here on behalf of government. I know a lot of them wanted to be here but um and they may pop in a little while but on behalf of Wallace and government
congratulations Diane. You know we brag a lot about the school system unfortunately and that doesn't u we don't take that for granted. Okay. And that starts with the board of education members who the residents entrust to lead and then they entrust you. So know that government will always be there for
you. We are super super excited. We're very very proud of the Fort Le school system. We're proud that you're going to be a part of it. So on behalf of Mayor Sakovich, my colleagues on the council and the 40,000 plus residents at Fort Le, congratulations and look forward to working with you.
>> Thank you so much. Good evening, Mrs. Colazo and all members of the board of education. My name is Dylan Oaso and I live at 230 Avenue for New Jersey. I'm here to inform you tonight that our Club America has raised $2,500 in donations.
This will pay for the stipen for our club advisor for the fourth market period in this year and the rest of next year. It also respectfully ask that our club application be placed on the next board agenda for approval.
Thank you for your time and God bless you all. I have to check right here if you guys want. I approve it first. >> Thank you. >> Good evening, Justin Rivera 2185. First off, Miss Colazo, congratulations
to you. Was deserved and I'm very happy for you. I would like to I would like to address an incident in back of that that occurred at the last meeting because I think it's important we don't just let language uh like we heard last meeting
hang in here. During that meeting our superintendent was accused of being a liar which is a serious accusation that warrants a serious response. The situation surrounding the proposed Turning Point USA club was never about suppressing anyone's political views. It
was about applying the same policies and standards that govern every student organization in Fort League schools. Public school administrators are not allowed to make decisions based on ideology or personal preference. They are legally required to remain viewpoint
neutral. That neutrality isn't optional. It's a constitutional obligation. Schools cannot approve or deny clubs based on whether they agree with the politics involved. Instead, proposals are evaluated using contentneutral criteria. Things like student interest,
faculty sponsorship, and compliance with district guidelines. Those rules exist to ensure fairness and consistency for every student. Explaining that process is not dishonesty. It is transparency. It is exactly how leadership in a public school is supposed to function. And
while the first amendment protects student expression, it also permits schools to enforce mutual policies that apply equally to everyone. That balance isn't bias. It's the law. Disagreement is perfectly reasonable. Debate is healthy, but disagreement does not
justify labeling a procedural explanation as deception. While polic while professional policy based decisions are casually called lies, we risk undermining trust in institutions that are legally obligated to serve all students fairly. Schools are not
political backgrounds. They are environments governed by policy precedent and constitutional responsibility and our superintendent explanation merely reflected those responsibilities. We can have strong opinions. We can advocate passionately, but we should not
confuse disagreement with dishonesty. If we want productive conversations, they must be grounded in facts, policy, and law because those are the principles that ultimately protect students, educators, and the integrity of our
schools. Thank you. Good evening, Mike 2:30 a.m. First off, hats off to everybody getting these schools open and all the custodians and everybody getting these schools open. Hats off to next. Congratulations.
Wish nothing but the best. Let's talk about facts. Everybody thinks I'm cold out in my life. Not. But I see things and I'll tell you, I've been the first one to tell you when you're doing something great, but I'll also tell you when you're doing
something shitty. There are emails to my son that states the end of October, by the end of November meeting, his club will be on the agenda. Obviously the last November meeting was
cancelled for whatever reason. Then it was mentioned again that the fully education association was reviewing it in January just a title. Okay. February comes with some gets third
email that specifically states we have to look at it for budgetary reasons. So everything stops. Now, there's also other clubs supposedly
in the process, and it feels like we're holding the other clubs hostage for my son's club. Maybe, maybe not. But I also spoke to you in person, right? I'm a straight up guy
>> and we talked about this and you said there, no problem. You never mentioned anything about budgetary reasons. He never mentioned anything. So now if the if the obstacle
is budgetary, my son went out and raised as of this moment $2,500. That will cover the fourth marking period of this year and all of next year.
Don't do that to my son. Don't do that to any of the clubs. That's it. Don't play games with these guys. They're not. They want to form a club. All of them want to form clubs.
You can't just tell them that all of a sudden it's budget. Meanwhile, you just spent 8600 three. Take this into consideration. He has money. Bring it on to the agenda.
Approve it. The donations will go in the club will be formed 128 kick, New Jersey. kind of weird. I want to congratulate the board of education on the decision you made to appoint the schoolhouse superintendent.
Think you did a great job there and I know she'll do great. Good luck. Anybody else want to come to the podium? If not, Mr. area. Are there any members of the public participating remotely who wish to comment?
>> There are no raised hands. Oh, I just got a raise hand. I Oh, and it went I I apologize. There are no raised hands. >> Okay. May I have a motion to close? >> What? >> Whoever is doing it, they keep raising
up and down. So, somebody hand raised. So, she's has it raised again. >> Jason, are they raising it up and down? The hand is raised now. Um, I can promote them. >> Kim Graham, you've been promoted to panelist. Please unmute your microphone
and feel free to share your video. Please state your name and address for the record. You have three minutes. Can you hear me? >> Yes. >> Yes. Okay, great. Um
Um I would um like to uh >> please state your name and address for the record, please. Your name and address. >> Okay. Uh my name is Kim Graham. I um live on the corner of uh Bluff and Cumberme
um here in Fort Le. Um uh for the people um uh saying Turning Point USA uh club at our high school would have you believe the organization itself doesn't encourage and foster hate. Uh, when I looked at the school resources page and
pulled up some of the videos, I didn't see anything hateful until I looked at an innocuously titled section called America the Champions. In this section, I saw videos of athletes championing not supporting Black Lives Matter publicly in the name of standing up for Christian values.
Um, or being a jerk to female trans athlete in the same name of standing up for Christian values. So, uh, saying it was because you were standing up for Christian values. um makes it okay to be a jerk. Um yeah, I don't think so. Uh TPU USA is
divisive and going to make things harder in our population in other populations at school. This is just my exp uh this uh and I and I one as one don't want to hand down to my kids to have um a more
divisive experience at school for my kids who happen to be among the uh uh queer population as well as other people. Um I have said some stuff in the past before. I I am the person who has
um put out a uh um a uh sorry uh I have put out um uh a uh uh sorry uh uh signing signatures for it to not be a
part of the school. And I have over 600 signatures uh from local people um that I would love to uh provide you a guide at uh a certain point in time. Unfortunately, I'm at home right now, but I can do that through other means. Um, I uh I have said in the past that I
I do not believe Turning Point USA should have a club at the school because it is um bad for our learning. It's bad for our uh teachers and faculty members and it's bad for all the all of the people at the school that do not um that
are queer or are not um are not Christian and are also are are not white and cisgender. Um and uh that's all I have to say on that one. Oh, I did in less than three minutes. Nice. Um,
so thank you for your time. >> There are no more raised hands. >> May I have a motion to close the floor to the public? >> Curry and the second was >> Amy made a motion. >> Amy motion. Sorry, Mission.
Made a second. All in favor? I >> any opposed? Any extensions? Okay, moving on to resolutions. The way we're going to do this here, everybody winging with baited breath. We're going
to separate and Mr. Riz Connect is going to read one B by itself and then we will go on to the rest. >> On behalf of the board, it's pleasure and honor to read motion 1B. Whereas on
July 1st, 2025 with position, the board's superintendent of schools became vacant. And whereas as a result of the vacancy, the board undertook an extensive and thorough search for a new superintendent of schools. And whereas
following its diligent search for a new superintendent of schools and after careful deliberation, the board is pleased to announce that it is appointing the best candidate to lead the port public school district. Miss Diane Kazo. And whereas Miss Colazo's
professional commitment to the district spanning 20 years, her institutional knowledge of the district, including that of the district's history, values, operations, and aspirations for excellence in all aspects of teaching
and learning, ensures the district's long-term success, sustainability, and resilience. And whereas Bergen County Executive Superintendent of Schools has reviewed and approved Miss Kaza's employment agreement as the
board's next superintendent of schools. Now therefore, the board hereby resolves as follows. One, Miss Palazo shall become the district superintendent of schools from July 1st, 2026 until June 30th, 2031.
Two, the board shall compensate Miss Clauso for the 2026.7 school year at a salary of $258,000 with a 3% increase in each subsequent year of her 5-year agreement. The board
authorizes the board president to take any and all actions necessary to finalize the board's employment agreement with Miss Colossa. Roll call, please. >> A motion. >> Motion. Motion. Coke.
>> Second. >> Second. Victor. Roll call. >> Miss Fires. Pen. >> Yes. >> Miss. Curry. >> Yes. >> Miss. Mr. Goslin. >> Yes. >> Miss Coten. >> 1,000%. Yes.
>> Mr. Lopez. >> Yes. >> Mr. McTurn. Yes, >> Miss Perez. >> Absolutely. Yes, >> Miss Recctor. >> Yes, >> Miss Morell. >> Absolutely. >> Congratulations.
You can you can say something now. Go ahead. You're the superintendent. >> Thank you everybody. I um I was speaking people um in the audience. Um so, thank
you everybody who's here. Um whether you're here for me or not, thank you. Um especially coming out in this in this climate. Um I'm deeply honored to accept this appointment.
I'm truly touched um to see so many of you here um from government 15. So staff members um I know that I am here sitting in this seat because of
many of you um who at some point um supported me, guided me or believed in me and that I'm I'm very grateful. Um I actually never imagined being a superintendent ever. Um, I was quite
happy being a second grade teacher in Brooklyn, New York. Uh, but life brought me here to Fort Lee and and I started out as a substitute teacher for those of you that don't know. And over the years in different roles, um, I've grown to really learn that through leadership, I
could support more teachers and and students that I care deeply about. So for me this was not just about a title but it's also about service to a community um that I have spent almost half my life um importantly I want you
all to know that Fort Lee is a very special place to me because of its people because of the families who value education the staff who truly take pride in their work and the community leaders
who support our schools and our students who deserve the very best from all of us, not just from me. So, to the staff, to the administrators I've worked with over the years, thank you so much for your partnership. To our families, thank you for your trust and to the board, I'm
truly grateful um for your confidence in me and I look forward to working alongside of you um to make our community and most importantly our students really proud. And finally, when I looked up there, I saw that my sister
was called in. So, I just want to say thank you to my family, um, my big sisters, my nephews, and especially my mom. And you all know how important my mom is to me for their love and encouragement. So, thank you. Thank you everybody. Yeah. Now, we're gonna keep going. So,
the board attorney is going to read two walk-ins. >> These resolutions will be uh they're called walk-ins because they're not uh listed um on the agenda right now. One is there therefore be it resolved that the Fortle board of education hereby
permits uh the following non resident student to continue enrollment at the portly public schools for the remainder of the 2025 2026 school year at the advertised pr-rated tuition rate and
that is both um proposal number 5B and for another student 6B which is the exact same language for that resolution. >> Great. Thank you. >> Sure. >> So, can I have a motion?
Can I have a motion to approve items 2B through 60? >> Motion. Second. >> Motion. Victor. Second. Curry. Roll call. >> Miss fires. Pan. >> Yes. >> Miss Curry. >> Yes.
>> Mr. Goslin. Yes, >> Miss Cotang. >> Yes, >> Mr. Lopez. >> Yes, >> Mr. Mcierney. >> Yes, >> Miss Perez. >> Yes, >> Miss Richtor. >> Yes, >> Miss Morell. >> Yes. >> May I have a motion to approve items 1
CUR and two CUR? >> Motion second. >> Motion contain second K. Miss Bers, >> yes. >> Miss Curry, >> yes. >> Mr. Goslin, >> yes. >> Miss Cotang,
>> yes. >> Mr. Lopez, >> yes. >> Mr. McN, >> yes. >> Miss Perez, >> yes. >> Miss Rtor, >> yes. >> Miss Morell, >> yes. >> And I have a motion to approve items 1 F through 14. Motion
>> motion Victor second curry roll call >> Miss Buyers pen >> yes >> Miss Curry >> yes >> Mr. Gasselin >> yes >> Miss Coten >> yes >> Miss Mr. Lopez >> yes >> Mr. Mc Tierney.
>> Yes. >> Miss Perez, >> yes. >> Miss Richtor, >> yes. >> Miss Morell, >> yes. >> Then I have a motion to approve items 1 P through 5P. >> Motion. >> Motion.
Second by K. Roll call. >> Miss P. >> Yes. >> Miss. Curry. >> Yes. >> Mr. Goslin. Yes, >> Miss Coten.
>> Yes, >> Mr. Lopez. >> Yes, >> Mr. McTin. >> Yes, >> Miss Perez. >> Yes, >> Miss Richtor. >> Yes, >> Miss Mor. >> Yes. >> Can I have a motion to approve item one,
P? >> Motion. >> Second. >> Motion by Kang. Second Perez. Great. Well, >> Miss Fires Pen, >> yes. >> Miss Curry,
>> yes. >> Mr. Goslin, >> yes. >> Miss Coten, >> yes. >> Mr. Lopez, >> yes. >> Mr. McTurn, >> yes. >> Miss Perez, >> yes. >> Miss Rtor, >> yes. >> Miss Morell, >> yes.
>> Moving on to new business and old business. I have new business. Please be advised, effective as of March 1st, the Portland Board of Education will no longer have participating Zoom.
We will be moving forward with streaming and viewing only. As always, we welcome everyone and anyone to the captorium for public participation. We s we sincerely
we sincerely thank you for your cooperation and continued involvement in the portly school district. Anybody else have new business? As far as new business, just we're going to note that uh there's a new calendar out for the budget approval process for
2026 27 and we are going to be changing our March 18th uh board meeting date to Wednesday, March 25th. It'll be advertised on our board uh website and in the legal advertisements as well.
>> Is there any old business? Can I have a motion to adjurnn? Motion. Motion. >> Victor, second Lopez. All in favor? >> Any opposed? Any abstension? Thank you for coming out everyone.