To the flag of the United States and to the stands one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> 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 of which any business affecting their interests is discussed or active. In accordance with the provisions of the act for the board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be published on January 10th, 2025 and posted on the district website at www.fle.com
published in the board's designated online media outlet newspapers the record of the star ledger file with the clerk of the burly and mailed to all persons of any who have requests a notice. Please be advised 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 meeting as any gathering in the tutorial 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 to the body present to discuss or act in a unit
upon the specific public business of that body. Roll call please. >> Mrs. Bas >> here >> Mrs. K >> here >> Mr. Knight >> here Mrs. Cot >> here. >> Mr. Lopez
>> here. M >> here. >> Mr. Rino >> here. >> Mrs. Rick >> here. >> The board will be convening to executive session to discuss the legal personnel and other confidential matters. The board will reconvene into public session
at approximately 7:30 p.m. May I have a motion to go into executive session? Second. Motion Rabbino. Second col. All in favor. >> Any opposed? Okay, we ask to the flag
of the stands. The New Jersey open public meetings law is 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 interests is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of the act before the board of education has
caused notice of this meeting to be published on January 10th, 2025 and posted on the district website at www.fle.com lb.com published in the board's designated online media outlet newspaper the record in the Star Ledger
filt led to all persons of any who have requested said notice please be advised 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 meeting as any gathering whether cororeial or by
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 the body present to discuss or act as a unit upon the specific public business of that body. Roll call please.
>> Mrs. Buyers kind >> here >> here. Mr. Knight here, >> Mr. Cotang >> here. >> Mr. Lopez here, Miss Morel >> here, >> Mr. Here, >> Mrs. Rick
>> here, >> the board convened executive session at 6:30 p.m. to discuss legal personnel and other confidential matters. Miss Claus will begin by sharing the superintendent report. Thank you, Mrs. Rtor. Good evening, everybody. Thank you to everyone joining us in person and on
Zoom tonight. I'm so happy to introduce two Fort Lee High School seniors who are with us. Taylor Sulis and Bella. They're both here to share highlights from their school. At Taylor Health,
>> Fort Lee High School was given the gold award by the Easy Ride nonprofit organization for their outstanding efforts and participation in various safe to school events last year. Students and staff worked in conjunction with the Fortley Police Department promoting safe walking and biking
schools. Key Club is hosting a food drive throughout October and November. They are accepting non-p perishable goods. Students can receive community service hours for donating. The current ratio is 1 hour for every four items. You can find the donation boxes outside and in
room 203. If you have any questions, please email Miss Ketchin or email setchinfl.com. The senior class will be selling chocolate for the next 3 weeks to help ease the cost for their prom. A reminder that students in grades 10
and 11 will be taking the PSAT/NMSQT on Wednesday, October 22nd. Once testing is complete, students will follow a delayed opening class schedule. Students in grades 9 and 12 will have a delayed opening on Wednesday, October
22nd and should report to the school by 9:45 a.m. The school counseling department will host FAFSA completion workshop on Wednesday, October 15th at 700 p.m. in the cafe. See the high school guidance
web page for registration information. Boys soccer team beat Fairmont in overtime. >> The girls soccer team beat Laura for the first time in many years. >> Orley football remains undefeated.
[Music] High School marching band placed third in the competition at Ramsey High School and have an upcoming competition this weekend at Burger High School. Trades building ribbon cutting took place today at the high school.
>> Yay. The Spanish club is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and has put new decorations in the hallways. Volleyball beat our neighboring rival Cliffside Park in a thrill in three sets. >> And at today's game
and at today's game against Dumont, varsity captain Bella Plow broke the school record and had high school wins environmental science award for the New Jersey Science League. board leader newspaper club begins
working on drafting a new publication and Portland High School's model UN won best large delegation in seven out of the eight conferences for the last three years. >> Thank you Taylor and Bella. Can I just say on No, there's been no
female athlete in Fort Le history that has ever achieved 1,000 in any of the categories in volleyball. So, this is really, really, really significant. >> Thank you.
>> Took our athletic chairs report away. >> Yeah, >> that's okay. That takes on the first couple of sentence of the rest of my superintendent report, so it'll be shorter. Okay. Um, thank you so much for all of those highlights. It's a lot to celebrate. Uh, to begin, all required
monthly security and fire drills for September were completed in full compliance with New Jersey State Code and there are three cases to report. All were unfounded. I'm excited to announce that prior to this meeting, as both Ta Taylor and and
Bella announced, that we held a beautiful ribbon cutting ceremony for our new trades program at Fort Lee High School. Uh thank you. This program, which is in partnership with Eastwick College, represents an important step forward for our district. It's um about
expanding hands-on learning opportunities and preparing our students for a wide range of f of future pathways, whether that be college, career, or technical professions. It's a wonderful addition to our high school offering, and I look forward to working with our students, staff, and community
to continue to expand this program in the future. In the area of school safety, I'm pleased to share that in collaboration with the Fort Lee Police Department, we will soon add a fourth special law enforcement officer or SLO to our district security department. We understand that security and safety
emerged as a top priority during our strategic planning process and we are proud to demonstrate that we are already taking concrete steps toward achieving this goal. In that same spirit, I'd like to remind everyone that there is a crossing guard posting on our district website. It's
such an important role in helping to keep our students safe as they travel to and from school each day. So, we encourage anyone interested to apply or to share the posting with others in the community um to please do so. I also would like to take a moment to recognize
um some incredible people who make our schools thrive every single day. On September 26th, we celebrated National PTO and National PTA appreciation day. Our PTAs are a cornerstone of our community um in Fort Lee. They help connect families. They support our
schools. They bring so much spirit and positivity to student life. So on behalf of the entire district, I want to extend my sincere appreciation to all of our PTA members um and the parents that work with them for their ongoing commitment and support. And last week on Thursday,
October 2nd was custodian appreciation day. Our custodial team plays a vital role in maintaining clean, safe, and welcoming learning environments for everyone and their dedication often happens behind the scenes, but their impact is truly felt every single day. So, we deeply appreciate all of the work
that they do for our school. So, thank you to our custodians. Um, also just I want to extend continued thanks to our students, our staff and parents and community for their continued partnership and support with our schools. Thank you, Mr. That concludes my superintendent report. Thank you,
girls. Thank you for joining us. Um, do we have committee reports? >> Yes. So, I think the committee report uh the communication to the public relations committee met on October 1st to review strategic planning goals and objectives. Uh, the goal is
communication and how do we enhance parent, staff and community involvement. Um the objectives improve uh communication channels uh enhance collaborative opportunity female stakeholders and strengthen relationships and partnership. Some of
the ideas that uh were uh discussed is taking a deep dive into our current communication methods email website social etc. the idea of launching a centralized parent portal um having hosting uh more regular town hall style
meetings uh sharing best practices among the schools um to create consistent a consistent family experience um and uh increased visibility of district leadership. So I look forward to continuing that discussion and and bringing these goals to life.
>> Well, thank you. >> Quick question. the tech part of our program. Are those edges donated by Leo buyer any of them? I know he reached out to me and I put them with crabs. I just want to know did we get anything from
Mr. Buyer, a former uh shopkeeper? >> Um, sorry, I don't No, I'm not. I think we purchased everything new from um from what I understand. >> He has some that he will donate to us for free if we want them. I I'll work
I'll get it done. I had it working with Kravis and then I don't know what happened. I I thought it was still in the works. >> So you can forward him my contact information and we can figure out if that'll work for for our program. >> Any other committee reports?
>> Yeah. So the curriculum committee also met October 1st to discuss the strategic planning and goals um principally relating to curriculum. Um and one of the goals
highlighted by the consultant firm was to um enhance school climate and culture and foster a supportive nurturing environment for student and staff. There were three objective that uh objectives that were presented to us. First one,
integrate comprehensive program, enhance student achievement and access to opportunities, promote a cultural a culture of wellness and support. Um we also talked about our concerns. Um this is a
living document as we discuss in our committee that um Diane and um Miss Beg and her team will take our feedback um both um concerns and considerations as well as support back to our team and
tweak this. So it's it's not a done deal but it's it's a work in progress. >> Thank you. Any other committee reports? Okay. Um, do board members have questions or comments on tonight's agenda or any other topic? I
>> I just wanted to build on um Bell Cloud's record-breaking performance today. Um, with that when the girls volleyball team clinched the league title, so shout out to them. Um, today's boys soccer beat Cliffside today. Our
rival Cliffside also clinched the league title. So, shout out to them. girls and boys cross. Um, girls and boys cross country also claims league titles. So, shout out to that. And our last, but definitely not least,
our football program is uh a 5-0 start to their season. Uh, they built a lot of momentum going into the last two games of the season. I I believe they play tenny next away and then senior night is on the 17th here at home. Uh would love
to have a huge crowd for support that great season. Thank you. >> So I noticed uh that the calendar is on the agenda as for B. So I noticed that Dewali is not on there which is October 20th. Um, I understand that we cannot take the day off, but I'm hoping that we
can at least add it to the calendar just so that we can acknowledge it as holiday out of respect for those who are going to observe it. Also, I think it's a good time to uh to mention that it might not be a bad idea to to add the next year as they are. Thanks,
>> Miss Baker. and you talked about how um teachers and staff or if it's just a teacher who can apply for a translator position um under 6P and how does that work? It's a posting that goes out to the entire district. It's an internal
posting and they would apply the same way they would apply for any other posting because club or any other position. and they do it on front line and then from there the applications get routed to an administrator that's in charge of reviewing those um
applications and they could be more than one yes translator or language or language. Yes. >> Can non-teers also apply or just teachers? >> No par professionals. We've had par professionals serve also as translators. And what about staff? Um staff is one.
Thank you. You're welcome. Mark, could could you give us a little bit of an explanation on resolution 1F? That's the line item transfers. And I don't go through your entire worksheet, but if you could just walk us through
like the first line on regular programming, like money is being taken from that. Is that what's happening? and we can take up to 10% and we're at 6.7 or what what what is actually going on in that like the first line if you could
just explain that. >> Give me one second on federal sure I'm happy to give you my copy if you want. So you start left to right Paul. >> Yes. The original budgeted amount was 25 million and change.
>> So the third column repeats that number. >> Yes. and makes us aware that legally we're allowed the maximum we're legally allowed to transfer out of that item is 10%.
Or 205 2,592,718. That's an aggregate number for the entire school fiscal year. July 1, June 3rd. The year-to- date transfers are what we're looking to transfer into that account as this transfer list, which is
1,756,93, which takes you to the far right account balance, which is 26,180,867. But keep in mind, we've got two payrolls during the month. So what you're seeing is the original amount plus the transfer
of 1.756 million minus the two September payrolls take us to the account balance of 26. >> So where where are we transferring money that we budgeted for regular programming? Where where are we transferring it to? So, I believe that
when the budget was struck last year, the health benefits line uh was set at $18 million, which reflected the employee contributions, $3 million, but the purchase orders uh that
were in the business office didn't reflect them as well. So, we're what we're doing is transferring $2.9 million out of the health benefit plan and distributing it through the which is within the 10% and putting it
in those other bucket. Okay. >> Okay. Thank you. One other thing on 12P, we're creating a new position and and I I recall when we did the budget, we didn't budget for new positions, but could you um explain and
it seemed to me from reading it that this was shortterm, not like going to be recurring, but tutoring program coordinator. Could you just explain a little bit and go ahead? So, that's an ESCA funded position. So, we're looking to hire individuals within each school
to help coordinate the tutoring program. The ESCA funded, so title one, title three. So, it's grant funded and we didn't receive our funds until the end of August. So, the budget was already done by then, but this is grandfunded. It's not coming out of our regular
operational budget. >> And so, historically, we've received title one and title three, you know. So historically, how did we handle this? And right, >> it was handled, it was handled within the buildings by the building principles
um and to kind of provide some support this year. And we also are aware that there are certain individuals in our district that would like to have leadership opportunities. So we're trying to expand opportunities for some of our staff to have leadership experience. So, we're creating
coordinator position in each of the schools that will have a title one or title three um funded tutoring program >> and and what's the the the paperwork that was attached didn't list a salary or >> it's a it was a job description.
>> So, so what is the anticipated um compensation 6500? >> And are all of the schools eligible to have this position? >> No. No. only the schools that are eligible to receive ESDA funding. Title one funding. >> So is that school three or high school?
>> It's the high school um the IS and the MS school two and school three. >> Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. >> Is this transfer done on a monthly basis? >> Every month. So >> yes, every month we sent it to the county supertor.
>> So because it's dated September 22nd. So basically that's sended to um send sent forward for him for approval. >> Got it. Can you walk through that 2.9 again? I'm not sure I understand entirely what
>> sir we budgeted district budgeted $18 million overall for health benefits. 15 million of that is for your major medical and
your prescription. That's approximately $3.6 million for prescription. And with this new increase that we discussed earlier, >> bill for health benefits for the year come to about 11 million.
Now, when budget was struck, I don't believe that Mr. Steinets booked the $3 million of employee contributions on any particular loan. See them? And so what happens is
payroll after payroll at $3 million over the 10 month school year from September through June got $300,000 a month and then we transfer that in to the health benefits line. So what you're saying that 2.9 is representing is the $3 million going
into the health benefits line over the next >> accounting. There's no net transfer. It's from the employee coming from the employee contributions coming out of payroll month to month being put into that line. And the first line item um column five 1.75
million is that from previous month that were not spent would carry that forward. Is that what that >> I don't know why that line was under budgeted originally? Again, it was originally a $27 million line, >> right? >> So I I can't tell you right now the top
of my head what that >> 1.7 million is supplementing that with. >> Okay. >> Say you do that originally. Sure. >> Thank you. Thanks. Excellent. Any other questions? >> All right. Before we open the floor to
the public, uh we have an amendment to item 3B, the revised board calendar, board meeting calendar. We are removing the added October 13th date, which we were originally going to hold a special
meeting that is no longer needed. And we are moving meeting from the 20th because of the school board's convention as we had discussed to the 27th. Subsequently moving the November meetings back so that they do not fall immediately after that 27th of October meeting. Um and
then we have three walk-in resolutions. They will be labeled 15F, 16F, and 17F. And I will read them now. Resolution 15F. Therefore, be it resolved that the Fortley board of education upon the
recommendation of the superintendent of schools authorizes the business administrator to notify the school employees health benefits plan that the board of education will terminate participation in the health plans effective December 31st, 2025 at 11:59
p.m. 16F reads. Therefore, be it resolved that the fore board of education upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools accept the 12-month proposal for health benefits from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey as the health insurance
carrier effective January 1st, 2026 at 12 a.m. 17F reads, "Therefore be resolved that the Fortley Board of Education upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools appoints Brown and Brown benefit Adviserss as the district's broker of
record for health benefits effective January 1st, 2026 at 12:00 a.m. Those are the three walk-in resolutions, 15F, 16F, and 17F. Okay. May I have a motion to open the floor to the public?
>> Motion. >> Motion moral second. All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed or abstensions? We will hear first from members of the public physically located in the cafeteria tonight. Then we will take questions and comments from those participating remotely. Participants are
limited to three minutes in which to make their statement. For remote participants, please select the raise hand button. District tech coordinator Mr. Roger will recognize each hand in the order of raised hands and please unmute your microphone. Everyone state
your name and address for the record and begin your comments. Again, you are limited to three minutes. Dylan, >> good evening, Superintendent Board President Recctor, and all members of the board. My name is Dylan Os and I live at 230 Born Avenue and I am
currently a sophomore in this high school. I come here this evening to speak about the club my friends and I are starting. The club name is Club America and is associated with Turning Point USA. Let's get this perfectly clear. The founder Charlie Kirk does not
spew hate speech among many other things said about him. Charlie at a young age was influenced by former President Ronald Reagan and not by Donald Trump or the Megan movement. Charlie was devout Christian, believed in family values, loved our country, and most importantly
believed in conservative values. This is not hate speech. These are basic principles by which he lived by. And for people to mischaracterize him as this evil person is simply false. My friends and I are not racist. We are not
homophobes nor do we hate. We are like-minded students of this school who wish to form this club with our club advisor who is a current and well respected teacher in this district. We wish to have opportunity to assemble this club under the equals access act of
1984 that you are all aware of. If there are any concerns, please reach out to our club advisor, Mr. Dela. I want to thank you personally for this opportunity to speak here this evening. Not only as a student but a resident of this great town. God bless you all.
Thank you. >> Raise it up. >> Raise it up a little bit. How about if I told you >> you can take it out too? >> What? >> Don't worry about it. >> I never the mic before I I'm doing it the way it is. >> Hello everyone. My name is Anastasio
Scotanis and I live on Palm Hunger Road. I just want to start by saying this. You cannot shut down someone's right to speak just because their views make you uncomfortable, whoever you are. That's not how free speech works in a country like the United States. I mean, and it's not how we should be raising our
children. The First Amendment doesn't exist to protect only the views that you agree with. It protects everyone's right to speak their mind, whether or not their opinions align with yours. You claim that Turning Point USA has no place in our school. That the same argument could be made about countless
other clubs and organizations that have existed for years. No one said anything. Groups that expose their own ideologies and political beliefs, often from the views I hold. Where was the out? Where was the outrage when those groups were established? We're also concerned about
divisiveness. The reality is you're not fighting for unity. You're fighting to suppress voices you don't agree with. And that's where you go wrong. And that's where you've been wrong. You've also criticized the Turning Point USA by associating it with Charlie Kirk, who you claim was a
whitewashed history and made derogatory statements about marginalized groups. Let's be clear. Just because every viewpoint you pull does not make them Just because every viewpoint you pull does not make them automatically sorry every viewpoint I have does not make
them automatically more harmful. It's one thing to disagree with someone's opinion. It's quite another to resort to character assassination in an attempt to justify silencing them. Disagreeing with cur Kirk's comments is one thing, but trying to equate those comments with all conservative viewpoints is a smug
campaign. Do you really want to open the door for silencing anyone whose ideas challenge your own? You do not. [Music] Conservatives have been hearing for sorry the ability for the entire student body to get along. This is just the
tired argument that conservatives have been hearing for years that simply holding different opinions will lead to division and hate. But let's face it, the problem with bullying and violence in schools isn't because of it is isn't because of the differentiating political opinions. It's because of intolerance on
both sides. And trying to silence a conservative viewpoint will only escalate the division. There is no point. It will not heal it. As for your claim about Charlie Kirk's views, let's not pretend that the history of radical ideologies on the left has been flawless. Distorting facts about slavery
and race are easy to throw around. But are we really in the business of rewriting history on both sides? We aren't. Maybe it's time we start teaching our students how to engage with ideas critically rather than trying to protect protect them from every uncomfortable thought. The sad news is
that's the world we live in. You're worried about division. What's truly divisive is trying to shut down a whole group of students from expressing their views. That's division. You're not fighting for unity. You're fighting for censorship. We have a responsibility to teach the next generation how to handle
different viewpoints. That's how we move forward as a society, not silencing. I believe in power of free speech and dialogue even when it's uncomfortable. If it's uncomfortable for me or if it's uncomfortable for you. If you truly want to teach your children love and acceptance, which you so constantly talk about, maybe it's time to start
practicing that acceptance, allowing others to have their say just as you want yours to be heard. Don't be a hypocrite. Thank you all for your consideration. Anyone [Music] else in public before we move on? Hi
Tom. So, I was going to come up and up to speak based on some chatter I saw online about some petitions that were circulating sign about Trump to stop this club USA from forming into the school. So, I wrote something down for
it. We've reached a point where disagreement is treated like defiance. One ideology believes that alone can speak and every other voice must be silenced and that ends tonight. Let's call this what it is. It's fear of open
dialogue disguised as moral outrage. Fear of ideas that challenge a narrative. Fear that these young kids might start thinking for themselves. The BOE's job isn't to take sides. It's to stay neutral and protect every student's right to speak and gather without fear.
When students meet every rule to form a club, the board doesn't get to play favorites. It votes yes. Anything else is censorship. Anything else turns this board into a kangaroo court. the kind Sultan described in the Gul Archipelago where outcomes are predetermined and
descending views are silenced and I recommend reading and once you strip away the noise the standard is simple and consistent. If students can form a chess club they can form this club. The board has no authority to decide which views are
acceptable and which are not. Students don't lose their rights because others dislike their beliefs. But here's what's even more concerning. Two board members sign petitions about this before it even reached your agenda. Completely unacceptable.
When board members act like activists before a vote, they've already taken a side and that destroys public trust and creates both the appear appearance and reality of bias. These members should resign immediately. There's no place on
this board for anyone like that. If people believe Turning Point USA, Club USA, or any club for that matter is divisive or offensive, it doesn't matter. We don't protect speech we like. We protect speech we don't. The board isn't a referee of opinions. And it it
sure as hell shouldn't be swayed by emotional campaigns or outside pressure. And this, by the way, isn't happening in a vacuum. The same mindset drives policy 5756. silencing parents who dare to disagree
with the self-appointed moral authority. First, they silence parents, now students. Both attacks come from the same impulse to control the conversation, to shut out dissent, and to intimidate anyone who doesn't go along. If this board continues down this
path of censorship, it isn't protecting children. It's enabling a culture of fear. Let's be crystal clear about your duty as a board. It's to lead with courage and not cave to pressure. Ignore the noise. Do your job. Stand for trust
and transparency. Repeal 5756. Let schools teach. Let families parent and protect every student's right to speak, to gather, and to think without fear, without judgment, without punishment. Because when one ideology claims a monopoly on truth, freedom dies. And we
don't let that happen. Not here, not now, and not on our watch. Thanks. >> Thank you very uh Mike 2:30 War Avenue 4. The other day I was at the hospital of my dad.
My dad's in rough shape. And I got this text that showed me a signing of a board member against a student club that we all know
will be led by a teacher. And I had to grasp it internally in my soul why this board member would do that. Because this board member
is a beautiful person. I know this board member personally mean this board member is a beautiful person. But to do this as a board member is a different completely different item.
What this board member did was shut down or to show the students of this club. No. And that's not the way the sport is supposed to work.
You took your own personal beliefs over your nected capacity as a board member. And that should never happen regardless of your personal beliefs getting involved in board event matters with
students forming clubs, especially student clubs led by teachers. That's common sense. So I asked myself, why would this board member do it?
when I just pick up the phone. And what I understand deep down is that this could be in a retaliation against my outspokeness using my son and his friends as
this is not the first time this has happened with my son from my outspokenenness in this school district. And I as a father first and foremost have to defend the
honor and integrity of my son. You will all parents and you will do the city especially this board member. This board member that I'm talking about would go through fire for their two children and would not stop.
So I ask you as a father, this has to end. We cannot continue down this path of personal beliefs trumping school matters. What is right is right.
And I just asked this board member, look deep down inside your soul. The identity of a board member is not who you are. Who you are is personal between you yourself,
your close friends and family, not this. Because when you do things like this emotionally, you start to lose your soul of who you are internally. And once you do that, you need to resign
because your scope has been polluted and your judgment has been clouded. As I said, I love this board member personally and I will do anything for this board member personally. Let's that
be perfectly clear. But as a board member, this needs to stop. This was the last straw. Peace. >> Hi, my name is Stephanie from Tom Hunter in Portland. I I had a
real problem with what was said about the curriculum tonight. Uh because I don't know who is working on the curriculum exactly, who you brought in, but our curriculum needs to go back to phonics immediately for kindergarten.
Full phonics stop to fourth grade and Singapore math. Bring it in kindergarten. It doesn't matter. The kids testing doesn't matter at that age. and see what happens like Mississippi did where they jumped 40 states from
being in the bottom to 40 states up. And I have a problem with the social emotional learning portion. As I stated many times, a lot of disassociation is taught in this learning. In fact, the school um wanted to bring in a curriculum, a
set curriculum for K through whatever grade. So my quote is this. Leading kids down a path of long-term dissociation is very harmful. Long-term dissociation impairs daily function in multiple ways.
It impairs emotional function, mental function, instinctual function. First, long-term dissociation gets in the way of emotional processing. It inhibits learning. It also exasperates mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.
Um, it's very very troubling that people want to use dissociative language with children like you might be a boy, you might be a girl. No, you are a male or you are a female. Those are facts,
scientific facts. So, we will believe the science there, I guess. Um, a state of dissociation keeps one from being able to be immediately responsive to their instincts. And so for me, when
we're talking about small children and when we're talking about the state pushing the idea that a child is born in the wrong body to a small child, when our job as adults are to tether small
children to the world that they are in, I have a problem with that. When I speak about the fact that we have people in this town who head up clubs for LGBTQIA
and then pass around partitions to take away clubs from other people, you're called a bigot. You're called racist. I am not. I believe that children in school should not be sexualized ever. Not heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual.
It's not a subject we need to function on. We need to focus on raw education, which is math, English, science. And that's my problem. And I do have a problem with this Glisten calendar going around for sexualizing every month of
our children's school calendar. It's a big problem. Thank you for your comment. Um just in response regarding phonics, phonics is explicitly taught in kindergarten, first, second, third grade. Um and has been for years, we implemented the
Wilson Foundations program years ago, which is grounded in Gordon Gillingham, an evidence-based um literacy intervention. Uh we also train our staff in Orton Gillingham approaches. Um on >> Sorry,
sorry. Uh also we've implemented a new HP the new HM um into reading program which is grounded in the science of reading. So that is what we are doing in K through five. K through five and moving forward with
math with any adoption with any new curriculum that we implement that goes um by a curriculum committee that involves teachers administrators and they lead the charge in identifying what is um best for our students and in
response to the social emotional learning. that came as a result of multiple community forums that were had in order to develop our plan. So the community, the parents um as well as the staff spoke for that and that is where
the goal came from. So I would address that. >> Go ahead. >> Hello. Um my name is Boris Stkim. Uh I live in uh one horizon road
apartment 615. My kids are going to uh intermediate and a middle school. So I was here about a year ago and the reason I was here I was talking to you guys because I
saw uh speakers of the organization that it is error. It's a lesson. It's a gay lesbian straight education network. And I was asking you guys, what do you know about this organization? And every single one
of you said, "We have no idea what it is." Then I was talking to a principal and she said, "I have no idea what it is." Then I was talking to a new principal that I met a few weeks ago and he has no idea what this organization is. which was surprised to me because
every other door in a middle school and intermediate school has this sticker. So I have nothing against gays, lesbians, transgender, though I have no idea what
transgender is. I only know about two genders, male and female. So, but this is indoctrination. This is not education. They lie to our children about boy can be a girl and a
girl can be a boy. And there is no value in this. This is pure sex. It's a sex education. I don't want to tell my kids what the fetish flag, also known as an rainbow flag, means because it means nothing. It means sexual prevalences.
Do I have to tell my 9-year-old about sexual preferences of adults? What adults do in their bedrooms? Their business. It's not going none of my business, but anybody else's business. So, my kids, I don't tell your children
what I do in my bedroom. Please don't tell my kids what you do in yours. It's very, very simple. And we're going to be very and we're going to have a good relationship if Every one of us keep our preferences
and fantasies away from other people's children. So I don't know who authorized what organization to be in our schools but I think if you just read the calendar
that this organization is suggesting we should celebrate embrace or whatever kind of the terms I have no idea what it means. So within media I need to know
and who authority this was placed in school doors because so far nobody gave me an answer everybody who is ignorant. Thank you. Anyone
else in public wish before we go online? >> Okay, Mr. H. Gra. I live at 1034 Cumber Road. Um I have uh three kids in the school district and I've lived in Portley for
the last 8 and a half years. Sorry, there. Um and uh I'm here because I don't believe Training Point USA should have one of their affiliated club uh club America at our high school. Many folks, be them
parents, students, other family members, or just um aligned citizens of Club America will tell you that it is the right, their right, and the kids' right to have the DPUSA club at the high school because of free speech and the equal access act allowing the kids the
right to have a club based on political, religious, or philosophical views. Turning Point is both political and religious at the same time. But there are limitations to the Equal Access Act. I'm not saying that I don't want an unaffiliated young Republicans club, nor
am I saying I don't want an unaffiliated Christian club at the high school. I'm saying I don't want an organization such as Turning Point or any affiliate at our high school because they are a danger to our students that do not fit TPUSA's
white Christian Republican ideas and will cause more division and bullying. It is dangerous to staff and teachers because of a watch list and it undermines the things taught within the high school such as critical thinking skills, biological science
and that higher education and learning is TPUSA is not a neutral club like the people/ adults pushing for the club would have you believe. Despite it presenting itself as a forum for free
speech and debate, TB USA's purpose of the club is for political recruitment to a person Christian agenda agenda, not civic education. TBUSA is pushing their own agenda through their own money and provided resources set aside for the
high school clubs, which is quote outside direction and it is stated as illegal by the EAA. Upon a deeper dive of the high school resources page, it became very clear that Teach USA's agenda was to sell recommended reading
to the kids about how college is a scam pushes only Republican and Christian ideas without quickly thinking about both sides or other people's line of thoughts. And they have materials such as the second amendment kit giving away stuff saying we should arm our schools
to protect our kids and the mahoga kit giving away stuff telling kids to drink raw milk and don't get. We should not be undermining the school's ability to teach and learn by allowing an organization to actively tell our kids that education is a scam,
deny biological health and science, and indoctrinate our kids with the idea that the only right way of thinking is TPUSA's brand of Republican Christian without being allowed to be presented with an opposing view with curiosity and humility. Speaking of protecting our
schools, CPUSA has professor and professors watch list where students can list teachers with low agendas which will not only undermine the teachers and staff from doing their jobs but leaves teachers and their families open to being docked and harassed both inside and outside the school. Many of the
teachers who have been had to endure harassment by students and other people who saw the list were just doing the required teaching of truthful and factual things such as science, history, and social science. Most of the woke ideology was based in history on
slavery, subjugation of and uh wiping out of minorities, racism, biological science, and general health and sexuality, as well as accepting things that fall aside outside of one. Oh, >> I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
>> Finish your sentence. That's it. >> I was waiting for a ringer. >> Is it okay? >> I I didn't realize it was so far past your time. I was waiting for a go. >> Okay. Oh, I just got a couple more seconds. Just finish this sentence. That's it.
>> Um, General's Christian religious purview as possibly valid or correct even if it doesn't. >> Right. I'm sorry I have to cut you off. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. >> And can the audience please remember that you're not the timeke keepers?
Thank you. you don't run the meeting. >> Hi, how are you guys? My name is Douglas Carabio, 281 Hunter Road. Um, I'd like to take a moment and just say I haven't prepared anything to congratulate you on your next work.
>> Congratulations, Bridgemand. I went to Tennifly High School, so I can't cheer up this week, but um I just like to take a moment and say what I think everyone in this room is aware of, which is that social media has
affected us beyond recognition and block students from organizing a club outside of the parameters of this world is against what the board is against the board's responsibilities. I think that
you guys should really consider uh you know your the weight that you have and make the right decision and allowing this organization to move forward. Um, I don't think that you guys should be swaying the public's opinion. And I do think that despite controversy, despite
differences of opinion, we all agree that freedom of speech has allowed us to reach the point in America that we are at with more and more freedoms, more and more people represented. And um, I think that that would be a tragedy to shut down. And I want to commend that young
man, you know, spoke earlier and everybody who spoke for exercising your right to speak. Thank you. >> Okay, last chance for people in the audience because I'm going to the Zoom people. >> Good evening. My name is Robert Santel.
one time on the road. Um, I just want to keep what I'm saying here short. People trying to silence anyone's voice from any agreement, any sort of sign that they're taking is constitutionally incorrect. The petition that was created
online to block the turning point creation was absolutely incorrect. It is constitutionally against our right as Americans. No matter your age, where you're from, your beliefs, anything about that, we live in America and this is our country. We are allowed to
express our voices no matter what. Um, the logic that was sorry, anybody who thinks that Club America or Turning Point USA is hateful or wrong in
any sort of way, I would like to challenge your belief and ask you this question. By using your same logic, am I allowed to believe what you say is hateful and wronged? Am I allowed to take offense to it? And am I allowed to act and be hateful? No, I'm not.
I just believe anybody to come up here and say that Charlie Kirk was a hateful man and that he represented hate is just it's beyond me. The man was Christian. He was a core American. He respected
American values. He had a family. He was the least hateful man you could possibly think of. And it's it honestly makes me a little bit upset that a lot of people, especially my age, are starting to believe that fact that he was hateful and that people from the right are
hateful and things like that. People that are conservative are hateful when we're not. In reality, we are more recept I believe that I'm more receptive to anyone else's opinion because I don't let myself be um sorry, I don't let myself
be um biased or influenced by anything. I believe what? So I believe that anybody coming up here and claiming that the youth are spreading hate through
this group are wrong as well. And um that's really it. God bless you all. Have a great night. 458 rescue place. It's going to be very very quick. I'm not Christian. I'm Jewish. I just came
here to show my support for the German board uh USA and uh to show that I'm going to stand up to the opposition. Thank you. Hello, good evening. My name is Martino Boulevard.
I'm just here to finish what the lady said. She fine. Uh so she got to somewhere where many of the teachers who had had to endure a harassment by students and other people who saw the list were just doing their the required teaching of
truthful and factual things such as science, history and social science. Most of the walk ideology was based in the history of slavery, subjugation, and providing out of minorities, racism, biological science, and the general
health and sexuality, as well as just accepting things that fall outside of the Christian religious perview as possibly valid or correct, even if it doesn't line up with their own rank of biblical liberalism. In some areas, the
harassment is so strong, it has caused teachers to quit, families to move, and ruined several lives lives. Do you want that for our teachers and school staff? Um, so I just came to see what everybody
thinks about that here tonight. I know there's a lot of opinions pro and con and I'm just going to say that I am not against this club but I am pro science. I am pro education. The founder of this
club did not believe in these things. So that is all I'm going to say. Thank you. >> Thank you. [Music] be very spina. I live on Avenue in Portland.
I came here tonight because when I saw this petition filled with such vitrial and hate, I felt important that I come before you for one simple reason. It is my firm belief that if the assass had
the opportunity to see turning point chapter in his school and see that the things that he believed were not perhaps that they were just fed him he would not have killed a child with her. So I believe it is important that young
children if they choose if they choose this is not mandatory they should have the opportunity to be exposed to the traditional values that this chapter provides. Thank you. >> Last call before moving to Zoom.
Okay. Mr. Roger >> Eith Goslin, 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. >> Keith Glin. Okay, we're going to move to
the next person. Andrew, 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. Andrew, good evening everybody. Um Andrew
Goodman 326 Bridge Northley, New Jersey. Um I have two things. First is a question regarding an update on the bus tracking system. Um, I have a daughter that currently uses the bus and we have not received any notification regarding the bus tracker system actually. So, I'm
just inquiring about that. Also, I'm going to talk about my favorite subject which is the CPAC. So, on behalf of CPAC leadership leadership team, I'm excited to announce our very first parents only meeting. It's going to be October 15th
at 7 pm. It's going to be at the uh middle school in the media center. Last year, many many parents suggested having a decade place we could come together with our administrators to share thoughts, ideas on how to support our district. We're proud to make this
happen this happen this year. Thanks to wonderful support of our superintendent, Miss Clauso, and also our director of special services, Mrs. Hines. The meeting is open only to parents with children currently in the district. Free child care will be provided at the
venue. We'll have coloring and other activities available for the children. But if your child needs something specific to stay comfortable or engaged, please feel free to bring it along. Thank you and please keep an eye out for an email from Miss Hines with more details regarding the upcoming meeting.
In addition, this will also be posted on the Fort Lee website in the next few days. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Goodman. Regarding your question around bus tracking, we are working with the tracking system. We are testing it actively this week. I will
touch base with our transportation coordinator um Mr. George Sako said this week to find out where we are with that. But for the buses that have the capacity to have the tracking system, we are testing that this week to make sure the system works um appropriately.
Mike, 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. >> Mike. >> Hey, how's it going? Mel Kesco, can you guys hear me? Also, Mike. >> Yes.
>> Cool. So, got a question about school number one. When can we have the fence replaced? It's been like that for I think at least a month and it kind of looks bad after the accident. U another question that I have it's on the items
from today's that 16F policy walk-in and then the line item. So, if I remember hearing it right, it seems like on 16F, somebody's losing their health insurance and on the line item, it seemed like there's money getting transferred from
the health fund to other expenses. So, I would like some more clarifications on that. Uh, lastly, all I want to say is that with all the conversations about the club, I got reminded by a lesson from seventh grade from my civics teacher. He used to say
that policy is not uh politics is not a line. It's actually a circle and somewhere at the extremes both the left and the right become the same thing which is total extremist and total dictatorship.
With that in mind, in order for us to have a healthy uh middle of the road society that it's empathic to all sides, we kind of have to have discourse for all of them and make room for everyone to speak their mind. Uh so looking with that in mind on
the clubs list, it seem to me that you have at least four progressive leaning clubs but none conservative. It would be nice if you know it would allow this club to form just to balance out the discourse in the school. And I
would like to add another point on that. So back when we had the policy 5756 talk uh there was a lot of ruckus about moms of liberty and hate speech and violence and extremist and so on. And after the policy what happened? Well, whoever
spoke against the policy got attacked. There were articles in the media condemning people. that spoke against. They were threat maids at employment. They were threat maids at home on email, you know. So then with that in mind, I would like the board to keep an eye on
for the kids that propose the TPUSA club cuz there's high, you know, there's a high chance that they're going to be harassed and intimidated after this. So that's it. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Kes. Could I answer your question first? I understand um that
with the school one fence. We're moving as fast as possible. It requires some work with the insurance company. We have already reached out to Fox Fence. They've come out. They've assessed the area. We've entered a purchase order to repair the fence. Um so hopefully within the next couple of weeks that will be
repaired. As far as health insurance, no one is losing their health insurance. The district is just voting to leave the state health employee benefits plan um due to the rise in insurance premiums. But that doesn't mean that anybody is losing their health insurance. They are
we are going to be moving um to Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield uh privately. Um but if any employees don't want to go in that direction, there's still the New Jersey um educators plan. So there are options. um school um your question your
third question regarding the club the clubs list resolution that is a resolution that only reflects renewals um not any new clubs so I know that there are a number of new clubs on Miss Glenn's desk right now that she is in the process of reviewing
um and that that is for your questions regarding um your concern about the students uh we hold the safety and security of our students and our staff to be our primary responsibility. So, um we will do our due diligence to ensure
that all of our students are safe and also should any parent be concerned about that, they may reach out to the school directly um for for support. Thank you. >> Aaron Ramos, 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. Hello, my name is Aaron Ramos. I live on Lynwood AV in Fort Le, New Jersey. And I'm here tonight because I believe that the USA club should have a place
here at this school. Right now, there's a group that started a petition trying to shut this down simply because they don't like what young conservative students might say. But let's be honest for a second. The school already allows very progressive and liberalleaning clubs and rightfully
so. Those clubs give people the inclusivity that they want. So why is it that when conservative students want that same opportunity, it's suddenly it's labeled as hateful? If we're going to preach inclusivity, then it has to go both ways. I'm sure
that conservative students are a minority here, too, and they deserve the same respect, the same freedom, and the same platform. This is supposed to be a place where kids go to get education and grow their minds and consider different perspectives. I believe that by
censoring these kids free speech rights and not censoring others, you are effectively inciting hate between the two sides. Because I can guarantee that if the club in question today was one with liberal ideology, it would be approved right away with no meeting. And
though I believe some of those ideologies are very harmful to children with impressionable minds. So when you silence people, you don't create unity. You're breeding divisiveness and hate towards the other side. You stop conversations before they start. You
turn classmates into enemies because only one side never gets to explain why they believe what they believe. So people will naturally fill in the blanks themselves and jump to conclusions about people. That's not education. That's indoctrination. This is still the United States of
America. Freedom of speech is not conditional. It's not optional. It's not something we hand out only to people that we agree with. So don't silence these students. Let them speak. Let them organize. Let them be heard. Because if you never allow someone to explain the
reasoning for their beliefs, the other side will dehumanize them and jump to conclusions that they must be these horrible, hateful people when that's almost never the case. You will never have the hope that two sides can disagree while simultaneously respecting
each other as human beings. And this is how you will create an entire next generation of people who will think the same exact way as the young man who assassinated Charlie Kirk and thought he was doing a good thing for the world. And whether you realize it or not, that is what you are effectively advocating
for by not allowing the USA club. And it's sad to say that I know there are some people here that believe he deserved to die. And let me just say from the bottom of my heart, if you are one of the ones that feels that way, you are you are the hateful one, not him.
you have lost your soul, not him. It is in all of our best interests for society to get to a place where people don't have to agree on a topic, but still have enough understanding to not wish death on the other side. And by silencing the people with opposing views, you are not
moving any closer to that type of society. You're making it so that we'll never even have the hope that we can see it as a reality one day. Thank you. Demi K, 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 3 minutes. >> Hello, my name is Demetria and I live on Tom Hunter. Today, I asked the board to repeal policy 5756, a policy that allows students to have private conversations with staff about
their sexuality without parental consent or knowledge. You are creepily relentless in your pursuit of teaching children about sex. This policy invites predatory behavior into our schools. It is grooming and it starts with children as young as 6 years old. This was truly
about protecting older students. Then why do you want to force sexual topics onto our elementary schools? Why do you want to approve lessons on identity for little kids and then allow teachers to keep secret records about children's sexuality hidden from the parents that love and raise them? That is not
protection. That is manipulation. We've already seen misconduct here in our district. Teachers sexually harassing, stalking, and admitting themselves into mental institutions for sexual thoughts about students and even distributing hard drugs on elementary school grounds. It is not that all teachers are bad, but
teachers are not saints. They are human and capable of wrongdoing. Does not take a genius to receive a degree in education. So parents, ask yourselves, would you trust a man two blocks away to talk to your child about their sexuality in private? If the answer is no, then
why do we put hold teachers to that standard? If a child is struggling, the parent must be the first person contacted, not behind closed doors. Assuming parents don't care is wrong. Assume assuming parents might be abusive and your only solution is to hold secret conversations with children instead of
properly addressing serious accusations is deeply concerning. If a six-year-old repeats what a teacher had spoken to them about, will you deny parents access to those recorded documents? This is not about safety. It is about shifting a child's trust from the family and to the state. Public schools have no right to
impose ideologies on children. They have no right to decide whose beliefs are important and whose are not. I will fight to expose who benefits from these policies, who gets access from these to these records, where our money goes, and what your end goal is, and I will not
stop. Board members, will you stop targeting our babies? How far will you go? Where do you draw the line? Would you be okay with a stranger taking your child into a private room and having them discuss their feelings about their body? Would
you let them document it? Would you let them share those documents with more strangers? If you found out, would you sue? Once again, I will ask for this board to repeal policy 5756. Thank you. >> Justin J. Rivera, 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. Good evening. My name is Justin Rivera. I'm at 2185 Le Moy Avenue. I'm here
tonight because I strongly oppose the proposal to allow a Turning Point USA club at our high school. This isn't about silencing students opinions or limiting free speech. It's about ensuring our schools remain places of learning, not political recruitment. Turning Point USA is not a neutral civic
education group. It is a national political advocacy organization with clear partisan goals and financial ties to major political donors. Their stated mission is to identify, educate, and organize students to advance one specific ideology that goes well beyond
what our district's policies allow for student clubs, which must remain nonpartisan and inclusive. This group also has a documented history of targeting teachers and students who disagree with them with their professor watch list campaign that led to
educators across the country being harassed and threatened simply for teaching topics like racial justice or climate science. Bringing that kind of organization into our schools risks creating a hostile and intimidating atmosphere, one that directly conflicts
with our district's commitment to a safe and respectful learning environment. Moreover, Turning Point USA's events and social media have repeatedly featured speakers who promote racist, anti-LGBTQ, and extremist rhetoric. Allowing an
official school club tied to that organization would send a dangerous message that we tolerate exclusion and hate under the guise of political discussion. At the end of the day, this isn't about politics. It's about protecting our schools from outside
influence and ensuring they remain safe, inclusive spaces for every student, no matter their background or beliefs. So therefore, I urge the board to deny the request for a Turning Point USA club and instead promote civic education that
brings students together rather than divides them. Thank you. Arena's phone, 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.
>> Hi, Ireina Kesh. uh 2:30 Treemont. I'm calling because um whose responsibility are this um crossing guards? My my kids go to middle school and intermediate school and we've been struggling with the crossing guard at center. That is a
really really busy intersection, especially in the morning when all the cars are trying to get to the bridge zooming at 40 miles an hour. there. If there's no crossing guard, can the school organize the police to cover that block? I find it dangerous to cross that
without a crossing guard. My son today said that one car stopped for him on the way home from school, but the other car kept going and the car that stopped started to honk at him. He's a 10-year-old child. He's scared to death crossing the street. What are you guys
doing? Whose responsibility is this? I don't understand. How can you leave an intersection that busy without without anyone helping? Also, um I did see on the agenda that the intermediate school is getting
another half day. Do they really need four in a row before Thanksgiving? Isn't that a little extreme? >> Okay, I'm good now. >> Thank you for your questions. Um, first the responsibility of the crossing guards lies with the Fort Le police
department. Um, and the intermediate school is getting them another half day because each teacher has about 70 plus students and they need the additional half day to be able to have more time to meet with parents for parent teacher conferences. >> Daniel Martino, 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. >> Hello, my name is Daniel Martino. I live in um Medort in Fort Le. I just wanted to take some time to provide some
current news as of several hours ago. Uh Dr. Mark Bray, a Rucker's history professor, notified his students that he was fleeing to Europe for a year due to receiving credible death threats. This professor who has two small children was
a target of a petition made by the Rucker's 20 Turn turning point chapter calling for his removal. Uh Turning Point is well known for having a professor watch list. This watch list indirectly spurs supporters to harass educators with threats of harm, sexual
assault, and murder and is partly the reason why the Southern Poverty Law Center considers Turning Point to be a hate group. Dr. Bray received messages containing his address and threats to his life. Again, all I'm doing here is
providing current news. People can support what they please, but any person who believes that this specific group is appropriate for Fort Lee should never again speak on the issue of teacher and superintendent retention. Any club known
for weaponizing esoteric terrorism against educators will make it impossible to maintain talent within our schools. Frankly, I am of the opinion that teachers unions should negotiate contracts that do not allow groups that
jeopardize their physical safety onto school campuses. The Fort Lee community wants the town students learning in a safe, effective, and competent environment. Good luck recruiting competence in the relentless pu uh
pursuit for destruction. Thank you. >> Alex Wool, 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. >> Hi, this is Alex. I live at uh on Second
Street in Fort Lee and um I've been listening very with with a lot of interest to this discussion. Uh but I've noticed that it's been somewhat contentfree. In other words, there's been a lot of talk about Turning
Point USA and Charlie Kirk without really talking about what the guy believed. So, I would like to give you a little uh top 10 list, if you will, of the things that Charlie Kirk has said. If I
see a black pilot, I'm going to be like, "Boy, I hope he's qualified." Happening all the time in urban America. Prowling blacks go around for fun to target white people. That's a fact. It's happening more and more. If I'm dealing with somebody in customer
service who's a moronic black woman, I wonder is she there because of her uh excellence or is she there because of affirmative action? Talking about Michelle Obama, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Katanji Brown, all highly respected, educated,
uh, acclimated or achieved black women. He says, "You do not have to have a brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. you had to go and steal a white person's slot to be taken somewhat seriously.
He said uh to Taylor Swift when she uh announced her engagement, "Taylor, reject feminism. Submit to your husband. You're not in charge." When asked about whether he would support his 10-year-old daughter aborting a pregnancy conceived
because of rape, he said the answer is yes. The baby would be delivered. on immigration. He said the America was at its peak when we halted immigration for 40 years and we dropped our foreign born percentage to its lowest level
ever. We should be unafraid to do that. He said the great replacement strategy, which is a racist uh uh ideology that suggests that uh there's an attempt to replace all of the white, you know, population of the United States with immigrants. Uh he he has supported the
great replacement strategy. He uh has said that America has freedom of religion of course but we should be frank large dedicated Islamic areas are a threat to America. He said we've been warning about the rise of Islam on the show to great
amount of backlash. We don't care. That's what we do here. And we said that Islam is not compatible with Western civilization. So this is Charlie Kirk. This is Turning Point USA. So, you know, let's not be um let's not pretend like there's no
content here. This man was a racist. He was a sexist. Turning Point is a racist sexist organization. And I, for one, support any effort to stem the tide of racism and sexism and
anti-immigrant terror that is washing over this country. and whatever we can do to keep it out of Fort Lee, I am 100% in favor of. Thank you. >> Early, 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. >> Hi, this is Ply um 332 Lincoln Avenue. I just have a question about the um line
item 5P on the agenda with uh Miss Cohan as the um I guess the replacement counselor. It seems that the effective date is until end of this year. So my question is is she just a temporary hire
or um what is the plan for the counselor replacement? Because my understanding is that um this headcount is replace Mrs. A Costa who retired and now I have two high school kids and we have Miss Cohan as a counselor. So I just want to know
you know um moving forward what what is the plan with guidance counselors because they're supposed to have the same counselor for the four years of their high school life. >> Do you have any other questions? Um, no. And um, I just wanted to point out that the gentleman in blue was I'm sorry it's
he seemed a little disruptive um, when you were talking and I'm sorry that you were interrupted, but that was rather rude in my opinion. That's all. >> Okay. Um, so 5 is just to amend her start date because her where she is currently working, she's being released
early. So we amended her start date or she was released early >> and the plan Unbelievable. >> The plan is for her to continue. >> Ola >> Sarapin, 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 3 minutes. >> Hi, good evening. I'm Paula Sarapin. I live at Fort Horizon Road in Fort Le. I am the parent of a Fort Le high school junior. I'm speaking tonight because I'm
deeply troubled by recent events that affected my child personally and that is affecting our schools. Over the past week, my 16-year-old son has repeatedly been named and discussed on a Facebook
page that calls itself a hyper localized Facebook group of 15,000 engaged Fortly residents managed by one single person, a sitting board member, Mr. Casey Knight, an adult in this town and in that room
has used this page to post very personal comments about my son, his identity, something that should never be allowed. I reported these comments, but only one was removed. This is unacceptable. This is more than difference of
opinions. It's about protecting minors and their personal information. No adult and certainly no board member should be allowed to target students on a platform that they control. It's unethical and harmful. Students need to feel safe in
their own community, especially from those entrusted with their education and well-being. These online posts came obviously from posts and conversations around Club America, which I understand it needed and people have different opinions.
Every student does have the right to their own political and religious beliefs. I think that's something that everyone on no matter what your opinion is can agree with that. But this is not a typical political club. It's not a religious club. It's not a debate club,
right? It's not a young Republicans club. It's the youth arm of a national far-right organization known for anti-LGBTQ, anti-lack, misogynistic, and anti-immigration rhetoric. Despite claims that they promote free
speech, Turning Point's goal is political recruitment, not civic learning. It supplies high school clubs with prepackaged activism kits, presentations, meeting themes, and it gets provided assistance from Turning Point USA field reps, clear outside
influence. Even more concerning, and I heard it from a couple other parents or guardians that spoke before me, they have professor and school board watch lists which publicly target teachers and administrators labeled anti-conservative or woke, encouraging students to report
teachers who discuss tics like race, gender, or public health. This further undermines the trusted school safety and puts our stu our our teachers and administration in danger. for high school must remain a place for respectful dialogue, not political
recruitment. We should teach our students to think critically and engage respectfully in a safe environment, not one shaped by national political campaigns built on division. I urge the board to set clear standards for member conduct online. Ensure that all school clubs truly serve our students and not
outside agendas. Thank you. >> No, not right now. I think I >> I board members did comment later just when we're going in a back and forth. >> Zoom Zoom user, 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. >> Hi, my name is Eldrich Etra. I live at 2100 Lynwood Avenue in Fort Le, New Jersey. I was an afterchool educator for Fort Lee for 4 years. Um, this is my
last year not in Fort Le. Um, and it really does sadden me because I taught kids how to twirl flags and I taught kids how to feel things on stage and sing, you know, musical numbers. You know, school is a place I I feel at least for me growing up, and I'm not
even going to mention my identity or any of the students identities because it didn't matter. When I was in school, there was this idea that clubs were theater and improv and chess and sports. It wasn't all politicized. We see so much of it on our phones. The kids are
glued to them. I mean, they're saying some crazy stuff, disrupting classrooms. I mean, I have a whole family of educators. I know how it is. Um, and I'm really saddened to hear that Turning Point USA is even being mentioned. I mean, we tried to have an improv club
yet at Fort Le High School for, you know, 10 years and it never happened. And the fact that this has gone so far, it's making board meetings. I mean, we never got to do that. It's just so troublesome that we feel like we need to politicize our education system. And let me be
super clear, the Prism Club, the LGBTQ plus club, it's not a political club. Yes, it's a club where kids um that either share the identity or just allies of LGBTQ youth and people, they go and they chill. We ate pizza. I think we
watched a couple movies. We talked about pride. Um but it wasn't political and there's nothing in there that's a political club. This is a political club. You're bringing politics into the classroom and not just politics,
poignant politics that are pointed at specific groups of individuals. And I know we don't like to, you know, care about our LGBTQ students, but they do exist. This is not about politics. This is about students existing and feeling safe within their school. You're not
hearing that the other group doesn't feel safe, but you have reports and stories every single day of queer children feeling unsafe. And I just don't really see how this is important. But I miss you all. I love you all. And I hope that we can all find a good resol
resolution to I think this is this problem. So, thank you very much. >> Deep Goslin, 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.
Keith Goslin. I think we lost Keith. There are no more raised hands. >> Thank you. >> I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Someone just raised their hand. Margarita Begner. Um, >> you've been promoted to panelists.
Please unmute your microphone and feel free to share your video. Please state your name and address for the record. You have three minutes. >> Um, thank you so much. Uh, I'm not feeling well, so I'm not sharing my video today. Um, few points. Uh, first
of all, I'm against the >> Yes. Margarita Vner. The audience needs to please stop commenting about how I run board meetings. Everyone has stated their address.
Stephanie, next Stephanie, next time you comment back to me, you're leaving the room. Vinnie, next time she comments back to me, she's leaving the room. Margarita, I apologize for interrupting you. Please go ahead. >> Yes. Uh, can we please restart? Okay,
great. Uh, can we restart my plan? Okay, it's starting. Okay, thank you. Uh, few points. Uh, first of all, um, you know, uh, I'm not Christian. I'm not Jewish. I'm not um, you know, I'm reproductive biology. I'm Jewish. I'm not Christian.
I'm Jewish. Uh, I'm a reproductive biologist. So, I'm pro-choice. uh but I can I know that for example uh this is a basically uh very po popular Christian beliefs like to be for example against abortion or you know some family values
and um Charlie Kirk had a right to believe in what he believed um and so I really support uh having different opinion in school if this club would be supervised um by teacher um you Uh I'm
sure there will be any hate speech or any uh you know um racist comments on something like that. Personally I saw many Charles Kirk's video over the last week or two. I never
seen any hate speech. Um and I'm Jewish again. Uh and some people say he was anti-semitic and I saw many videos he was not. He had certain beliefs and some of the his beliefs I actually support. Uh second uh Justin Riviera who was
talking about the inclusivity and threat of turning point um you know to to the high school actually had a post on his Facebook um after the attempt of assassination of uh Donald Trump. Maria
>> I'm so I'm so I'm sorry he missed. So when people talk about uh you know inclusivity they probably have to look into the mirror. Um third uh third point um I'm against you know somebody was
talking oh some faculty members in colleges were put you know were putting on the watch list you know some of the faculty member have to be put uh to put on the watch list and probably had to be fired long time ago. Some of them support Hamas, some of them support
Marxism, some of them celebrate at October 7. Uh, in fact, we have uh, you know, several celebrations on college campuses tomorrow on October 7 in support of Hamas. And I'm against discrimination of any students in our
high school, but I never heard of discrimination of LGBTQ students in for the high school. We have Prisma Club. We have celebration by Prisma Club several times a year and again I'm against any discrimination but Jewish students were discriminated against in Fort Le high
school. H some some teachers uh supported Hamas during their lessons at our Fort High School and so yes some teachers may need to be put on the watch list. Thank you >> D. 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. >> Unmute. Can you hear me? >> Yes. >> Hi. Um I wasn't going to say anything. I honestly was just listening in. >> Can you please state your name and address for the record?
>> Oh, sorry. This is Candace and um Candace Hoe. I'm at um Westview Place. Um, my kids are at school three. Um, I wasn't going to say anything because honestly I am just listening in to make sure that my afterchool program building
request comes through, but I'm glad I listened in because after that last comment, it's just I I think we've lost the plot a little bit. Um, the board of education is here for a reason. their elected officials
that we as a town elect. And it is not the job of Turning Point USA or any any kind of other group to put pressure on teachers and staff
um to leave to the point where I think um Daniel had said a family had fle to um Europe. um there's processes for a reason. And if you don't think that high schoolers are
experiencing or listening or understanding that there's racism, that um that there is sexism, that there is, you know, so many, what's the word that I'm looking for? um
that it's hard to figure out who you are and grow up and understand who you are and that you can't trust that your school isn't safe because we're all here busy, you know, arguing about what sounds to me like how to make the school less safe
for these kids. Um, I didn't prepare anything to say and so that's why I'm a little bit all over the place because I just feel really upset hearing um, a lot of these people speak. Um, whatever it may be, I do not think that
that authority should be given to Turning Point USA as to how we maintain talent in Fort Lee. That is not their job. And um yeah, I'm very against
I I I didn't even know there was a petition, but I'm very against having this set at our school. That's all. And I hope the uh the thing the um approval goes through. Thanks. >> There are no more raised hands. >> Thank you. I have a motion to close the
floor to the public. >> Motion Moral, second Rino. All in favor? >> Any oppose or abstensions? Okay, moving on to resolutions. May I have a motion to approve items 1B through 5B with 3B as amended earlier in
the night? >> Motion >> second. >> Motion morale second. >> This is Byus Kang. >> Yes. >> Yes. Thank you. >> Mrs. Curry. >> Yes.
>> Tonight. >> Yes. Mrs. Coten, >> yes. >> Mr. Lopez, >> yes. >> Miss Mor, >> yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rick, >> yes. May I have a motion to approve items one
cur and two cur? >> Motion. >> Motion. Morell. Second. Urbina. Roll call please. >> This is Bers K. >> Yes. Call that. Yes,
>> Mrs. Carter. >> Yes, >> Mr. Knight. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Coen. >> Yes, >> Mr. Lopez. >> Yes, >> Miss Moral. >> Yes, >> Mr. Rubino. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Rick. >> Yes. May I have a motion to approve items 1 F through 17F?
>> Motion. >> Second. Motion. Curry. Second. Morell. Roll call, please. This is Bias K. >> Yes. >> Yes. Curry. >> Yes. >> Mr. Knight.
>> Yes. And I'm five to have go Eagles. >> Mrs. Coten. >> Yes. And uh thank you to all the PTAs who donated the items under five. >> I'm sorry. No. >> Mence. >> Yes. >> Miss. Morell.
>> Yes. >> Mr. Rubino. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rick. >> Yes. May I have a motion to approve items 1 P through 14 beated? Second >> motion moral second. Roll call, please.
>> Mrs. Buyers K. >> Yes. >> M. Col. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Curry. >> Yes. >> Mr. Knight. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Coten. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lopez. >> Yes. >> M. Morell.
>> Yes. >> Mr. Rabino. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Yes. We have a motion to approve item 1 P. >> Motion second. Motion Kob second roll please. >> Mrs. Bias K.
>> Yes. >> M. Holdback. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Curry. >> Yes. >> Mr. Knight. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Cotang. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lopez. >> Yes. >> M. Moral. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rick. >> Yes.
Is there any old business? New business. Mrs. Colos, I know you wanted to address somebody. >> Yes. For new business, it was reported to me that the school one fence is fixed as of today. Any other new business? >> All right. Okay. I just want to
encourage um staff and teachers in the district who speaks a second language to please apply for the translator role. Um as a medical translator, the the any virtual or online translation or even just voice
translation cannot replace a human translator. The presence is is very comforting for parents or second language speaker. Um, as a PTA parent, I have often gone into the school to translate for parents. So,
I want to continue to encourage staff to please consider submit your application and and be a bridge uh and support to parents. Um, and second order of business, um, I just wanted to share how
shaken I am, um, when one of the community member call in and said it's okay to have a watch list. It's not okay. I am sitting here open. My comments should not be listed as a
target. It's not okay to have any type of watch list. If I do not agree with a community member, I take it as a form for them to express. But I don't expect any staff, any volunteer in the
community to be on any sort of watch list. >> I have a motion to adjurnn. >> Second. >> Motion second. Knight. All in favor? >> Any opposed? Thank you.
>> Yeah.