##VIDEO ID:MdmsYyXxFYI## [Music] [Music] good evening folks it's Thursday January 23rd 2025 and we're at 6:32 p.m. Brian can we get roll call please Mr demeglio Mr grippo here Dr Hopkins here miss oeno Mr Jackson here miss Lort here miss Maris Mr Parker Miss sing here we have a quorum excellent so just for the record um Lori Maris will not be at the meeting tonight and Mr Parker will not be at confidential he will join us later um Brian can you also read the open public meeting Z please in accordance with the open public meeting ACT public law 1975 chapter 231 Sunshine Law copies of the public meeting notice were sent to The Courier News the home News Tribune The Star Ledger the Franklin reporter tap into Franklin Township Franklin Township Clerk manager district schools offices and associations PTO presidents and posted on the district website thank you very much can I get a motion to move into confidential session moved by Bill seconded by Dennis all in favor thank you so there is a motion to adjourn to confidential session for the purpose of discussing confidential matters including special education settlement agreement and a student matter minutes of the confidential session will be made public when the reason for confidentiality no longer exists we'll be back at 7:30 thank you good evening everyone it is still Thursday genan 23rd 2025 and we're at 7:33 we just returned from confidential session for the purpose of discussing confidential matters including special education settlement agreement and a student matter minutes of the confidential session will be made public when the reason for confidentiality no longer exists Jimmy can you lead us with the Pledge of Allegiance and those of you if you're able to please stand and join us a pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible and justice for all thank you Nick can you read the mission statement please Franklin Township Public Schools Embraces its diversity Fosters excellent educational Innovation and empowers all student to achieve their Highest Potential thank you can I get a motion to adopt the agenda please moved by Nancy can I get a second second by Bill all in favor I thank you and we will recognize our dear friend Mr Samy B former Board of Education member and also who served as our vice president for the Board of Education last years Samy I can see you hide behind your har hat so if you would like to please come up we would like to present you with a plaque [Applause] yeah so can you guys hear me yeah thanks so much for this uh the president asked me to read it so I'll say that present it to Sami Shaban in recognition and gratitude for his continued leadership dedication commitment and service to the children and staff of the Franklin Township Public Schools and the Franklin Township Board of Education as board member between January 2022 and December 2024 vice president of the Board of Education from 2024 to December and Franklin Township Board of Education so thank you so much everybody come on gather up folks I'm the student Le is on yeah I know so I just want to say Sammy before you head out it was wonderful three years with you and I know that you will be uh a big figure in town working for the food bank and ensuring that our children and our families in Franklin don't go hungry because Sammy has been a big advocate of making sure that our food bank thrives and Fisk was a great idea that Sammy brought to our Board of Education so I really want to ensure that we really give him another round of applause for all the work that he has done for us thanks so much and and the next Fisk meeting for anybody who's interested Fisk being the food andsecurity and say I know you're going to be there Dr tommen but food and security and safety Coalition is next Wednesday at the senior center and our mission statement is simple to permanently End Food insecurity in Franklin full stop and I'd like to announce that as of this morning I'm now on the food bank board so so they they they voted me on so I'll be moving from this board to that board so hopefully continuing to work in the food and security world but thank you so much everybody thank you Lu we got news that our student representative will not be here because her mom's car broke down so hopefully she can get that running up and about and with that we're moving on to Mary for a presentation okay so tonight's presentation is pretty easy for me since all I have to do is introduce Dr Daniel lran our assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction so we have a special um recognition we want to do that we frankly tried to squeeze it in in November around the election then December wasn't ideal and this was the moment and actually I think it's a perfect moment for this recognition so Dr Martin Luther King Jr said we shall overcome because the Arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward Justice Bruce Springsteen my hero recently added but that Arc doesn't bend on its own tonight we would like to honor two of our district leaders for their outstanding work in helping that Arc Bend toward Justice specifically these two leaders have made extraordinary efforts to deliver Civics education a crucial component of a moral Universe to our students one of whom will speak with us in just a moment and that student is our poet Laurette which is a an idea that was uh conceptualized last year she's on a number of occasions delivered a poem for the district on important occasions such as this one so princess dumbuya of Franklin Township is our poet Laurette and she has prepared an original poem for tonight's occasion princess good evening everyone it is a pleasure it's a pleasure to be here um I wrote this poem called the unity in our community it's a work in progress the title uh here we go Martin Luther King Jor once said there is power in unity and there is power in numbers and when I take a look at this community I see a number of people who have joined together to do powerful things I see the vision of light produced in their work words I see the Earth quaking steps taken in their works I see people take on responsibilities that weren't made by them but saw it as their duty to make a change by them and it all begins with one one drop for waves to fill Oceans One Step for a child to run one one word to fill one's heart with emotion one sliver of light to become the son no matter how big or small no impact is better than no impact at all how you decide to shift the place of this Collective is up to the respective perspective and a certain perspective ensured your voice didn't go unheard engaging Us in the Civics of this democracy reminding us the privilege of autonomy choosing each policy which will run our country whether it be left or right red or blue black or white the freedom of choice was emphasized to you reminding us where we are today is beautiful and where we will be tomorrow we'll be [Applause] together wow they chose the right person to be our first first poet Laurette that is wonderful princess thank you can we give another wow and she didn't have a lot of time to prepare that I think we told her like the day before uh winter break so wow well well well done um so tonight we honor um Mr Plumber Mr Darren plumber and Mr Justus Miller but before we get into that I I'm going to ask for help from a great friend of the district whom we've known for close to 5 years now uh who has done amazing things for us with civics engagement education and that is Doc Cunningham doc thank you very much Dan good evening everyone good evening to you Madame here all right how's that so I want to thank Dr lockran for the chance to have worked shoulder Tosh shoulder with him over the past 5 years on some of these Civic initiatives that he alluded to and more importantly I want to thank him for the chance to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you tonight to honor these two individuals who have meant the world to me and my journey and and hopefully you'll get a sense for that uh in a moment let me tell you a little bit about myself before I tell you a little bit about them and what they've done and how it has impacted me as some of you know uh back in 2019 or so I launched C America in color it's called saic for short it's a social Edge campaign and platform that brings a better picture of Civic and social issues for a higher level of citizenship and how I got on that Journey was I there were a series of national news stories that did not sit well with me I was confused frustrated ticked off fed up and he said a words that you're comfortable with and I got to a point where there was one week I felt like I started to understand the issues and then a week later I was back to feeling confused again so I decided I was not going to wait on someone to explain this stuff to me I was going to do uh some work to figure it out myself so I embarked on what I call a deep dive in American history the black to America story and Hometown strong comebacks and as you might imagine that took me back to the 60s and the period of the civil rights movement and what was happening in in the street in terms of uh Civil Disobedience but because of my tech background I also realized that something else was happening and it was the arrival of the color TV set and what it did for us at the time it allowed us to see what was happening in the streets in a much more up Clos and personal way I like to say it allowed us to see America in color and that was the point at which the concept first came to be and so I got excited with myself but realized I needed to have some other ways to explain it folks who lived in the 60s or experienced the 60s might be able to connect with the concept readily but if they didn't like a younger audience like my own kids I had to figure out how would I explain it to them and so as I mentioned I have a technology background and so I got to thinking about the difference between how a black and white TV works and how a color TV works just basic a black and white TV projects a stream of white light and it varies the intensity of that light such that you get different shades of black and white and gray a color TV on the other hand instead of projecting a stream of white light IT projects three streams of colored light and those streams three streams of color light is what gives us the beautiful picture we see on a color TV set and what what dawned on me was as I was doing this deep dive in American history the black to America story and Hometown strong comebacks I was actually combining the three and in the process it gave me such a better picture of Civic and social issues for a higher level of citizenship so that in a nutshell is is the basic behind C Amer and color it gives you a sense for my journey and what we try to do is deliver content programs and events across campus culture corporate and community so that folks have a better handle of hot button issues by how they see America in color and not just in black and white now let me shift gears and speak to the two individuals we want to honor tonight and first I'm going to start with uh Justin because back in 2019 when Justin connected me with these fine individuals connecting me with the district we sat down to discuss a Civic engagement essay contest and so after we met and you know you explain exchang your usual pleasantries because we're meeting for the first time never knew each other we sat down and got to work and exchanged ideas about how we would do this contest and as you might imagine weeks went by and then a few months went by and the pieces came together the students wrote their essays and long and short of it we were able to give out over $5,000 in scholarship Awards to the winners and Runners up so Justin played a significant role in that because we never met before but in the process of meeting and connecting with this group this organization these leaders I was able to develop CER and colon a way that I wasn't sure without his help I would have been able to do that and let me tell you a little bit more of what he has done Justin as many of you know serves in the role of supervisor for social studies so not only were we working on this essay contest but he was doing a number of other things behind the scenes including voter registration drives with students including other opportunities in terms of Civic engagement and he was instrumental last year last spring in helping us create and do the a major student forum for the younger students who were not quite eligible to vote yet but they were excited because of all that talk about elections and they wanted to figure out how can they can begin to get involved so Justin has been such a friend uh such a confidant and there are two things I want to mention about Justin on a personal level one was I mentioned already actually the fact that he connected me with the board and and the district but the second thing is this one meeting we were having and our understanding was Justin was going to be on vacation so the rest of us got together and we started exchanging our ideas and all of a sudden our screen kind of started getting fuzzy you know you ever seen those cartoons you see something's coming in the picture and sure enough while on vacation Justin joined us for our meeting now I appreciate that on a personal level because I know vacation is important to us but the fact that he took time away from his family to join us I definitely appreciate it and it said something to me about his approach to working with us as a team and so as we ask Justin to come forward I'm going to ask you to help me give Justin a big round of applause you guys have heard of NFL honors well today we're giving Justin the hometown honors Award Medal of service award so let's give Justin a big hand let's give him again all right now let me so that's that's buddy number one so let me tell you about Buddy number two all right so so I remember one of our initial meetings after I had a chance to meet with Dr locker and explain the concept what we're trying to do after Justin and I sat down and figured out how we going to make this essay contest happen I was introduced to Darren and a few of his colleagues in a meeting and as I did here I shared a similar introduction so that we'd be on the same page in terms of what we're trying to achieve and before I gave the explanation uh I could tell there was a sense that I I had to avoid going too long as I'm trying here as well and after I did my little Spiel I said to Darren so Darren how did I do did I land the plane and his response to me was yes you landed the plane and that was such a a reassuring feeling for me cuz he felt like air traffic control and I felt like I had this moment of bringing in something important to to others in the district and here it is Darren says yes doc you landed the plane so let me tell you a little bit about Darren in his role as supervisor of equity and inclusion he also has been involved in a number of Civic engagement initiatives separate from the work he and I do with respect to C America and color he's involved with forums with students to help them get a sense for and developing their voice and a sense for their agency the fact that they can make change in their lives and they can impact the broader Community but I think his baby these days is something he has created and coordinated over the past two years it's the annual diversity night and it brings together folks from across the community even public officials from uh Trenton and and I have said to jiren says when I grow up I want to be able to have the type of connections he has demonstrated in pulling the people uh that participated in in the in the diversity uh contest let me let me also say this on a personal level there was a meeting we were having i' like to share these little stories so you get a sense for what transpires so in a meeting we were having we were having a conversation and we were going back and forth on some ideas trying to fixure figure out how we going to make it work how is it going to benefit the students how is it going to get the support of parents and while we were doing that you could see the wheels turning in Darren's head you could see him trying to figure out how do we connect the dots you could see him trying to figure out how is it going to have value to students just not just the ones with whom he interacts but the broader student population and so ladies and gentlemen when I say to you it's a pleasure for me to be here to join Dr lochran to have the opportunity to acknowledge these two individuals for what they've done in my journey as we invite Darren up please also give Darren plumber supervis of equity and inclusion a big hand I know we're um we're greeting the board of Ved right now but I also want to acknowledge um princess's family is here and Darren's family is also here Justin was uh needed to he he couldn't bring the family tonight but he knows they're here in spirit so we have a lot of family members here for this moment too and I want to thank them for just what a great job you've done with the folks who I get to work with and uh we really appreciate your support report so thank you for being here tonight also princess come on up we want to give you a um a recognition for tonight's occasion as well yeah a little special of course always will [Applause] and just to just to put the cherry on top of the cake um things like like Friday night flights if you participated in that this is a sort of in the beginning of that that really challenging 2020 2021 school year we were able to have a virtual town hall with um doc hunningham being at the center that with Miss Keon Peters and a student Jada Betha who was a student leader all of this was and you know certainly in part pushed by doc Cunningham who really helped us just do things even after that beyond that we're just Civic engagement opportuni so thank you doc thank you Darren thank you Justin for helping our kids see the power and being civically engaged um so important thank you [Applause] all with that we're on to our superintendent's report thanks you uh first I'd like to call upon Mr Fred who will present the FY fiscal year 24 2024 audit Mr freed evening folks I promise I'll be quick according to statute um we have to read off the findings from the uh annual financial report so I will run through them comment number one the district properly maintain the general ledger and reconcile The Ledger monthly with other subsidiary records number two that the treasures report and Bank reconciliations be properly reconciled with the board secretary's records each month number three that all tax wage payments be properly remitted in a timely fashion number four that the payroll agency account be properly analyzed each month each month matching to the bank reconciliation and only funds owed to various payroll related agencies be maintained on account number five that the district improved controls over pension enrollments and number six that the district improve controls over the reconciliation of Student Activity bank accounts well thanks Mr freed I think what's important to mention too although you know there are six comments there uh it's a laborious process there's a it's a labor intensive process not only to prepare for the audit but when the Auditors are here they take a whole conference room they spend weeks in our conference room they're constantly calling for paperwork um The Challenge here obviously for and I want to take a moment to thank Mr freed Mr banano and uh Miss hofa who's our assistant business administrator because Mr Fred's our business business administrator because along with the entire ire business office I would consider it a successful audit we we've had lots of transition over the last couple of years um so finding records doing the things that are necessary to supply all of the paperwork in order to satisfy an audit of this size uh can be challenging especially when most of what was created wasn't created by you Andor anyone who currently is in the business office so uh nice job thank you guys uh for your hard work in supplying all of the necessary information um what I want the board to know before we open it up to questions from the board is I just want the board to know that there is a uh Improvement plan or corrective action plan on the agenda that addresses all six items um that will be filed once approved by the board as we do every year with the New Jersey Department of Education and once approved by them uh Mr freed will carry that out and then next year at one point uh that will be audited as well so we're feeling as if we're in a very good spot and again I just wanted to thank those folks who were involved been lots of transition upstairs in that business office in recent years but I think we're in a very good spot now so I guess Miss sing we open it up to the board members who might have questions for Mr free yes um I'll start with my right Jimmy do you have any questions no have no questions at this time Erica bill yeah uh what's your timeline now with these six items and how does it coincide with preparation for the budget because I know that we have two budget meetings coming up uh the big one in March before it goes to the state how how are you going to synchronize all that M I wouldn't say there's a connection between this fiscal year 24 audit and our prepwork for the 26 budget the only thing I think that is connected is the Surplus they give us the Surplus numbers and then we decide in our budget meetings how much we're going to use if any um in the fiscal year 26 budget um as far as you know these recommendations all but one have already been uh fixed uh these are things that I discovered self and was aware of over the course of the year that have been repaired through uh Personnel changes and just general repairs um and they've been fixed at this point but the Auditors they look at the entire year all the transaction history and they discovered some of the things that I did that had already transpired and had to make a comment on them good okay thanks that's great great clarification Nick so I'm the the new kit on the Block so I don't really have any questions now but as we get closer to the budget I'll um bother you then Nancy Walter's the chair so he'll come last I don't have any questions though thank you uh no questions thank you Dennis um I guess um the only question I have any takeaways any learning lessons or anything that you want to share with us uh from the audit on those particular aspects well what I would say a couple things I'd say that um my goal is always to have no comments um it's very hard to do in a district this size it's such so many people involved in the operation and it's hard to control everything that everyone does so you know I'd like to say they'll you know there'll be zero comments in the future but again it's very hard to do with a $230 million budget um yeah that that's all I'll say these things you know I discovered on my own um and like I said they've since been repaired so that makes me happy I think we're in a better place now than we were when I got here a year ago Walter anything else you'd like to add as the committee chair no the uh meeting uh this week went very well and um the Auditors did a great job explaining what was going on Steve did a great job explaining what we're going to do to rectify the situation so I'm good thank you thank you back to you Dr Ral all right Steve thank you appreciate your work uh number two on my list the PD day last Friday the district hosted its annual professional development day the day was a huge success I want to thank Dr logren and his PD team for organizing a productive meaningful day of learning for staff which was designed to address the individual needs with in each building also want to thank our principals supervisors directors and everybody else who helped to make that day go uh feedback was good school leader magazine I have a copy up here if anybody's interested and I'm going to circulate it I'll start with Jimmy and we'll work our way down um School leader magazine I want to take an opportunity report that today the winter 2025 edition of school leader magazine was issued in this year's addition Franklin Township Public Schools invention competition program is highlighted in the section of the magazine titled head of class uh I would like to thank the many who are involved in this wonderful program and thank them along with the sadani foundation um who supports this worthwhile stem effort so uh again you've heard about this program time and time again but it is uh really nice to gain recognition uh via this magazine and the award that we received from New Jersey school boards for the program uh and also nice to be able to share this work with other districts in hopes that they can too emulate some of it and uh get a similar kind of stem initiative going in their buildings as well so I'm GNA when I'm done share this I'll start down there with you Jimmy and you guys can pass it right along as long as you promise to give it back to me President's Day just a quick reminder and I'll end on that that all schools uh before our next board meeting so I wanted to announce it will be closed just as a reminder all schools will be closed on February 17th in observance of President's Day and that's it for us thank you very much and I would also remind all the board members that we should be getting this Magazine on our addresses and if you do not get this magazine make sure you go to the school board's email and put in your home home address so you should be receiving them at your home addresses so we can all read them and share them widely that Franklin is being recognized it was a full page news that I was really proud of reading as well so on to the board president's report and we have some good news to share this just came in from college board congratulations your School Franklin High School has earned College boards AP Computer Science female diversity award for expanding young women's access to advanced placement computer science principles through these diversity Awards the AP program acknowledges 1,153 schools for their work towards improving female representation during the 2324 school year your school is one of only 847 schools to achieve this accomplish ment for apcsp through your leadership in diversifying Computer Science Education you're preparing your female students for the in demand jobs of the future and giving them the opportunity to help solve some of the society's most challenging problems congratulations to the Administration staff and the students of Franklin High School news from Franklin visual Performing Arts two noteworthy stories from our music department over winter break two of our guitar students Hala Jones and S nula auditioned and were selected for the New Jersey music educators Association honors guitar Ensemble they performed against some of the best guitar students in New Jersey and both students excelled and were accepted into the Ensemble the students elected for these prestig presious Ensemble will perform under the direction of Jason Martinez and will perform in several festivals including the esteemed Long Island Guitar Festival New Jersey City University and Cane University's annual guitar Fest two other Franklin High School students sain Decker and aaya Mosley Ailes recently participated in the Central Jersey music educators Association region band audition in this highly competitive event they performed against some of the best musicians in the central New Jersey area these students also excelled and were accepted into the region band as a result of these outstanding performances they both qualified to audition for the New Jersey music educators Association All State band in the second round audition they competed against top students from the North Central and South regions of New Jersey students selected for this prestigious band will perform under the direction of Faculty from leading University band programs we are thrilled to share that saurin and Isaiah have been accepted into the All State band these acceptances represent a tremendous honor for our Music students and a proud moment for our district congratulations to them on their achievements Middle School news on January 9th Frankin Middle School hosted an openhouse curriculum transition night and welcomed 200 plus students and families in grades 3 to8 the event provided an opportunity for all to learn about the amazing curriculum and programming available for students and families at both our middle school campuses supervisor of School counseling Keon Peters our FMS principls Alan and Solomon and their staff should be commended for their hard work in producing this successful event the Middle School Musical this year will be Shrek Jor performances will be held at the Samson G Smith campus on February 14th through 16th and 21st to 23rd some alumni news Franklin High School alumna Monique T tya is currently a firste doctoral student at fairlay Dickinson University focusing on understanding the lived experience of black students in meteorology undergraduate program she is also an Adjunct professor at Montclair State University and rgar University teaching meteorology related courses she has previously earned an Emmy nomination for her bro broadcast show Mo on the go featuring The Journey of women in stem Fields she is passionate about advocating for marginalized students in stem Fields especially meterology you can check her work work out on tedex Greensboro and the wedger Channel show Prime Suspect Earth Miss Tavia will be sharing her love of meteorology with the students of connly Road school at a special weather assembly it is wonderful to see our former students share their vocations with our Young Warriors finally our friend Dr Daniel lren our assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction and arguably the biggest Bruce Springsteen fan in Franklin recently had a scholarly peer review essay dialogic practice radical pedagogy for a runaway American Dream published in Boss the biannual online Journal of Springsteen studies this article explores ways in which we can engage in civil discourse in order to celebrate am American values I had the opportunity to read that article right on the night of Martin Luther K Jr Day congratulations Dr logran it was amazing and now we're on to comments from the public five minutes per speaker agenda items only can I get a motion to open moved by Dennis second second seconded by Walter all in favor I okay comments from the public 5 minutes per speaker agenda items only is now open anybody from the public please state your name address and you can address the board yes it has to be items on the agenda see no one coming forward Madame President I move to close the public session motion to close by Bill can I get a second second seconded by jimy all in favor I okay comments from the public is now closed we are on to committee and leison reports can we start with curriculum Nancy the curriculum committee met on January 13th president was myself Erica Lori Eman Dan Len John rali and Eric seagull um we discussed a dual enrollment partnership with Satan hall for C English 12 English composition new course proposals dark room photography one for students in grades 9 to 12 beginning September 2025 bilingual literacy history of art and culture for for students in grades 9 to 12 beginning in 2025 this course will expand bilingual education ESL electives offered for multilingual students uh bioethics for students in grades 11 to 12 beginning in September 2025 course name changes include changing multimedia digital application 7 for students in grade seven to exploring media and Technology 7 beginning in September 2025 changing multimedia digital applic a s 8 for students in grades 8 to technology and career Pathways to Innovation 8 beginning September 2025 and the fine visual performing arts and practical arts department application for the best communities for music education bcme national award with the National Association of Music Merchants Nam which recognizes districts for their outstanding commitment to music education the committee discussed the following item um January 23rd presentation did to District leaders um which you saw tonight for their work with Civics student Civics education and the meeting concluded at 6:27 p.m. thank you we'll move on to Communications Nick as [Music] chair the committee met at 7:17 p.m. via Zoom myself Dennis Hopkins Jimmy Parker artaman Singh Dr rali Mary Clark were present the committee welcomed new committee members myself and Mr Parker review the purpose of the committee to provide updates on upcoming events and communication platforms such as the website mobile app and newsletters the committee meets every other month unless additional meetings are required by District business the committee discussed reminders to student families to download the district mobile app Franklin TPS and discussed upcoming training on the website feature called live feed which allows District employees to post information and photos to the website and mobile app additional features and broader use at the school level is expected in the next few months the committee discussed recent school liaison assignments given to the board of ed members through which they will be invited to public events at their assigned School and will be able to report out to the full board on the happenings at the various schools the committee also discussed the township newsletter which has been delayed in publication and discussed plans for upcoming articles the district has also begun to use the use of online newsletters for student families these are sent via email and text message the committee discuss presentations at upcoming Board of Education meetings and upcoming events such as the MLK Community breakfast winter concerts the Franklin Middle School Musical Shrek Jr and a district fundraiser for Special Olympics the Polar Plunge finally the committee discussed the creation of a mechanism which might be accessible via the website for student families and other community members to ask questions and provide feedback Administration will be reviewing how this request might be implemented and will report back to the committee with ideas at their next meeting and this meeting ended at 8:04 p.m. thank you Walter can you do facilities and finance since Lori is not here yeah sure uh take care of the uh facilities report first in attendance were myself Lori meis the board member uh Aram manin president Dr John rali Mr Brian banano Mr Steven fried Mr Mark man MC mcnamer Mr Ryan Ellis and Mr Steven MC dormant um updates Zu fall project change order number three to be paid from the permit and testing allowance the amount of $500 this is to replenish the sewer escrow account with Franklin Township sewage Authority toilet room Renovations and alterations at FM FMS Hamilton Street campus project change order number three this is a credit to the allowance in the amount of $750 as a result of the contract missing cleanout fittings and shock arresters installed in alternate locations toilet room Renovations and alterations FMS Hamilton Street campus project ch order number four this is a credit of $2,474 for an unused allowance money that was built into the original contract contract sum is decreased by this amount Chiller replacement F FHS change order number two to be paid from the General Repair allowance in the amount of $2,482 7 this is to perform a pressure test for the existing underground piping to check for any leaks in the system so oh shoot one second zua project update Mr mcnamer update the committee of the zufall project the modular units were delivered on January 20th Mr mcnamer gave the committee project updates about the chiller replacement project at FHS and Franklin Park school facilities you use the committee discussed the fa facilities use request that will appear on the board agenda tonight Energy report Mr Ryan Ellis who always gives a great Energy report presented the committee with the status of the Claremont solar system the meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m. and let me do the finance finance committee met on Tuesday January 21st at 6:02 p.m. in attendance Lori meis myself Nancy Lor president ardaman Singh Dr John rali Mr Brian banano and Mr Steven friy financials and contracts the committee reviewed the supplement bills list for the month of January committee reviewed the board secretary's report treasury report and the transfer report for the month of December Charter School payment the district paid $1,614,000 ation year to date 1,46 993 Charter School payment adjustment Mr Fry discussed the revised payment schedules the district must pay to the Charter Schools each month for the balance of the school year the monthly payment decreased by the net amount of $285,500 from the supply Clooney and Company discussed the FH physical year 24 Financial audit and their findings uh which stepen talked about tonight and the last thing use of emergency Reserve Mr Fry discussed the use of the emergency Reserve in the amount of 301 $ 31,1 42 to pay to Thomas Edison energy smart charter school for the monthly payment amount that they did not receive in January 2021 the district issued them a check payment for that month but the charter school did not cash or lost the check and the district must repay this amount even though it is now four years later the doe allowed the district to use emergency Reserve Monies to pay this amount instead of operating funds the meeting ended at 6:25 p.m. thank you yes Jimmy can you do Personnel please the personnel and negotiations committee met on the 15th of January at 6:01 p.m. remotely uh the members of the committee president were myself as chair Miss Erica Neno Mr Walter Jackson president artman Singh Dr John revali and Mr Brian Bano the Personnel committee reviewed and discussed the following items item number one the Personnel report from the 23rd of January Ary uh number seven appointments included preschool teacher and a speech and language Specialists extracurricular styen appointments including additional sessions hourly positions title three positions as well leave of absences revisions and transfers were also discussed number two was for the good of the order and Dr rali provided an update to the committee on several Personnel issues thank you Bill can you do policy so uh policy met on January 13th myself Nick Erica Dr ravali adaman and Mary Clark I have to say Mary Clark creates a very interesting meeting she's you are good and um I didn't expect it to be as much fun as we had first we had to explain to Nick demeglio what his role is so that took a long time but uh he's he was the new kid on the Block the committee uh reviewed two interesting items one was that graduating students it's a new policy and their families must either submit an application for financial aid you know that's the one we all filled out when our kids went to college or submit a waiver form in order to receive a diploma so if you didn't have if you didn't want to go for the financial aid you still have to do the waiver form and the students were notified by that requirement by their school counselors who'll be working with students to make sure they fulfill that requirement remember that form you fill out when you want to go for financial aid if you don't want it now you have to opt out and then we refused uh reviewed a policy on student smoking remember that's song smoking in the boy room anyway uh there's additional language that was required by the uniform State memorandum between the Board of Education and law officials which speaks to school officials reporting to law enforcement the use or seizure of any electronic smoking device when the school official believes that the device May contol may contain a controll substance such as cannabis so now we have to report to the police if an administrators thinks that there might be a drug involved in smoking and we had discussed a few other random things but it was a very interesting meeting uh thank you Mary for the detail that you provided thank you Erica can you do Safety and Security please let me just open it hold on a second I was having technical difficulties with my make sure you put the yeah I got it yes okay so the Safety and Security committee meeting um can you hear me can you hear me okay so Safety and Security committee met virtually on Wednesday January 15th at 700 p.m. the meeting was attended by myself as chair uh Miss Nancy L report Mr Dennis Hopkins Miss emman Singh District staff president uh Dr Nicholas Solomon and uh Dr Valley items requiring Boe action December suspension and HIV reports the committee reviewed the December suspension and harassment intimidation and bullying reports Dr Solomon provided an update noting that he had met with building principles to review the suspension data he emphasized the importance of identifying patterns including recurring offenders and commonalities among subgroups overall the district is on track to see a reduction in both student suspensions and confirmed HIV cases compared to the same period last year key factors contributing to this Improvement include restorative practices ongoing implementation and staff training in restorative practices which help resolve conflicts and reduce behavioral issues PBIS framework framework continued focus on teaching and reinforcing behavioral expectations across all schools proactive interventions regular training for staff including teachers counselors and safety officers on conflict resolution and deescalation strategies 247 student support enhanced access to social emotional resources for students in need a comprehensive review of this D of this data will be presented to the board and the public During the period one student safety data system presentation typically scheduled for June items for review and discussion up updated restraint and seclusion form Dr Solomon presented the updated restraint and seclusion form which has been shared with building principles and relevant staff in the special education department for implementation Hib District update Dr Solomon provided a brief update on current HIV related matters with a continued focus on reducing incidents and enhancing support mechanisms for students District radio programming Dr Solomon discussed the upcoming plan to reprogram District radios which will be integrated with the Township's communication system to enhance safety and response times and finally Raptor System review Dr Solomon reviewed the Raptor system the district tool for screening visitors and parents entering the school buildings this system ensures enhanced security and streamlined visitor management the meeting adjourned at 7:43 p.m. thank you Dennis Do you have a report yes um the strategic planning committee met um virtually Tuesday January 21st 2025 those that was present was myself Erica incenso Jimmy Parker otman sing Dr John rali and Mary Clark the meeting began at 7:20 new members uh Erica and Jimmy was welcome and um uh the uh committee congratulating me for the appointment as chair of this committee um the I was also recognized that I was the chairperson of this committee when the current strategic plan was first drafted and accepted by the Board of Education in 2023 the committee discussed the process and creating the current plan and review the broad goal areas and the goal statements in the plan the broad areas align with the areas of the Board of Education goals health and safety curriculum and instructions Personnel green initiative and Community engagement the committee members ask for further updates and specific goal statements and strategies in the plan Administration will follow up with these requests and share them with the committee who will share the updates with the full Board of Education and the public at a later date that's all I have for the committee for that thank you anyone has any leason reports okay um met with um Somerset County uh ad Services Commission um vice president of their board they continue to grow in Services um they had though kids that have high needs and um Franklin participates with them uh and I have the best interest of our district in mind when we meet but um it's really a very good resource that we have Su County educational commission I'm also on huning County Educational commission but that's a virtual meeting but the one at the county is it's in person good they are good people that board members from all over the county thank you Bill anyone has questions about any of the committee or liazon reports Nick Walter Nancy Jimmy no questions Erica no questions I do want to add that it was Dr Solomon's first time um heading the committee uh and it was excellent excellent job Bill any questions um yeah but I don't want to take up a lot of time the the only thing I was going to say during Council comments but I might as well say it now because it has to do with committees there's a lot going on in this country that's for sure in the last few days and um also the Governor of New York and New Jersey have made quite a statement about cell phones and there a discussion that I would like the Committees and superintendent to schedule it would include policy safety and facilities and how we can handle this request mandate from the governor and from the governor of New York so it's a lot of things are coming into the radar that we need to be aware of on a national level that's a whole another conversation so anyway if we could follow up on that that would be appreciated thank you Dennis oh no comment no comment okay thank you we are on to new business now all right I would make U like to make a motion that we accept all one monthly reports And1 minutes of the board meetings a A1 travel related expense reimbursement A2 affirm harassment intimidation ability decisions A3 black history three month recognition a four board School Board recognition month a five [Music] appointments A6 Revis restraint and seclusion plan A7 ssds report submissions A8 donations A9 revised policy second reading and adoption a 10 revised policy policy first reading A1 facility use a12 how about this dental hygiene information and treatment application how about that a 13 special education settlement say again oh okay B1 warrants and payrolls B2 Financial reports B3 contract approval B4 change orders B5 transfer from emergency Reserve to general fund B6 motion to accept the NJ doe expanded access to computer science grant 8 B7 except in adoption of the annual comprehensive financial report and annual management report for the fiscal year ending June 30th 2024 B8 approval of corrective action plans for the finance containing the orderers management report for June 30th 2024 C1 out of District students 2024 2025 school year C2 field trip destination C3 field trip applications C4 dual enrollment partnership C5 new courses C6 course name change C7 application for best communities for music education p one Personnel report number seven dated January 23rd 2025 and that that completes the motion thank you so there is a motion on the agenda to move R1 M1 A1 through a12 B1 through B8 C1 to C7 and P1 can I get a second second seconded by NC seconded by Nancy Brian can we do roll call please Mr demo yes Mr grippo yes accept yes yes yes yes yes thank you so before we move on to comments from the public um I want to officially recognize Miss Christina cordoza as our new secondary supervisor for math Secondary School supervisor for math grades 6 through 12 where are you congratulations would you like to say a few words sure I'm ready I'm ready evening board members Dr rali Dr lran and Community I am honored to accept this position as secondary mathematics supervisor a mathematics class is not just about numbers it's about problem solving critical thinking and preparing our students for a future full of opportunities as a longtime educator in this District I've had the privilege of witnessing the dedication of our teachers and the potential of our students my goal is to continue fostering collaboration among our staff and to ensure that our curriculum meets the needs of every Learner in order to equip our students with the skills needed to succeed past their school years here I'm so excited for this opportunity and I look forward to making a meaningful impact thank [Applause] you I think as the board president I'll also take the prerogative um we've approved the Personnel report but I am sad to see that Mr G retiring why are you retiring I'm old you're not a day old so I'm really sad to see you retire but I wish you luck and I hope you enjoy your retirement life and um you know you have you go back with great memories of Franklin and think of us uh would you like to say a few words come on well Mr G has been very valuable to the high school with model un and you know a lot of our kids and I'm I'm proud to say both my kids you know had him in the high school so there's a little I have some people raising their hands saying our kids too or probably they themselves went had him so well you don't look a day old to retire still and now I would like to make a motion Madam president before we do that I I just want to mention that Christina started at McAfee Road school I hired her and look at how she's bloomed I mean it's just amazing but she was a phenomenal math teacher uh first she was classroom teacher I think and then a math coach and did a great job at mcafe and then I retired and she just went to higher places but she's going to be a real contribution to uh to the to the secondary schools so it's it's good that we're the way we're moving people with it that's great congratulations Christina and um oh I was going to say you owe me lunch but then I'll get arrested never mind yeah that's ethic violations so you can't you can't take lunch from her you'll have to pay for your own lunch you can go with lunch for her but you could buy her lunch bill so you can buy her lunch but you can't have her pay for your lunch can't afford that on the [Laughter] penion I think we should respect everyone's time here so I would like to have someone make a motion for comments from the public 5 minutes per speaker any topic Nancy made a motion can I have a second second seconded by Jimmy all in favor okay comments from the public is now open please state your name and address and you can address the board uh Public Service Announcement first there is a black or brown Volvo with the license plate l81 your lights are on and the car is not running there you gok you that's an important announcement please take care of that car Hi how are you uh Wendy Ria one marham road Somerset New Jersey um also president for President Council uh and co-president at the high school and I just wanted to uh share our event on February 1st um Franklin High School and um ptso in conjunction with Project Graduation is hosting a designer bag Bingo and basket raffle um it starts doors open at 4:00 this supports Project Graduation as you know uh takes a lot of money to um host Project Graduation so we are trying to raise money it'll be our biggest fundraiser of the year so um I have some flyers here shamelessly if uh we would love to see everybody please come we're working so hard to make it successful um so thank you so much and please if you're interested come you can scan this and um please we'll be happy to see you right Nick Nick will be working that night so thank you just going to thank you and if there are any school connected events um you can please send them to Mary and I will be happy to add them to my board president's report and share them out as well hi good evening everyone M Anderson um J AJ Court I am the President over at Franklin Park Elementary and also the president's Council liaison um I'm going to be acting as the president's Council Lees on today since this topic is more related to The District as a whole if there's a concern in regards to all school classroom doors being locked um from the outside I guess and just hang on to the butt all right so as I was saying in regards to the security this is more safety but um the school doors being locked from the outside well from the outside for I guess security purposes I'm told that that is a new policy or required policy in the state of New Jersey from the um education department if if it is is there a way that you can share this policy so parents are aware of the change that is taking place to have more of a transparent conversation with their children because children are now coming home sharing with their parents that they do not have access to get to their class quickly one of some of the parents concerns are what if something does happen in the building and their child is running from the bathroom into their classroom and cannot access their classroom what does that look like um so if this is the new policy are we planning on updating the School doors to have automatic locks should there be a security concern where we have to shut you know go into um lockdown mode so that's just another one of the things that I wanted to bring to the Forefront the other thing is in regards to um going back real quick accessibility for buildings since we had did our updates with all of the man traps for all of the schools now are we looking into possibly making the front doors accessible for those that cannot access the door or pull the door in example those in wheelchairs um I am aware that at some schools there are some staff that are in wheelchairs and as of right now there are members opening the doors for these particular staff so are we going to be looking in the future at how we can make our buildings more accessible for those with disabilities um that is all my comments for this evening have a great night thank you Christina Duncan at Wexford way I'm here today to stand up for my daughter Kayla Duncan a victim of abuse I'm here today to stand up for all the girls and women that are past victims of abuse I'm here today to stand up to prevent the future abuse victims I am here today so that we do not have to bury one of our daughters it is in your hands Franklin Township Board of Education to Save Our Girls present past and future and prevent a tragedy that is almost guaranteed with a Serial abuser continuing to prey on young girls it's sad that in 2025 Franklin Township has allowed a Serial abuser to continue to thrive on our girls for over 6 years on December 23rd 2024 I have sent an email to understand why a medical emergency was never reported to a Minor's parent this is believed at the time was a simple request that is now totally changed my life and the life of my daughter Kayla I never expected a month later to be in the middle of a corruption ring I never expected my life to be turned upside down this has been emotional for all of us it has also been an eye- openening experience that adults parents Educators turn a blind eye while multiple reports are filed against the same coach for over six years during this time the coach is promoted to this day I still do not comprehend how this tragedy has occurred I continue to speak with parents and hear the same stories over and over and over again conversations with Mr margolin conversations with Dr Solomon go on deaf ears Dr rali is well aware of what is happening and chooses to turn a blind eye instead of saving and protecting our girls the deeper I dig the more corruption I find there is no logical reason to protect a coach that belittles and demeans women I have sent in multiple examples including the scolding text message he sent me on September 28th of 2023 he not only berates his players but his assistant coaches too on 1222 2023 coach Lex texted the group chat I'm going to be 100 with you all I basically just got off the phone with bro trying to quit he asked me to spend the weekend thinking about it and he planned to talk to Daryl about all the things going on I will not be at practice today or tomorrow I love you all you are the reason I've stayed this long but my mental health is way more important right now as I'm trying to have a baby end quote next text message he really is a narcissist and doesn't care about anyone but him I told brdo he's on a power trip and that none of you are happy happy these words come directly from an assistant coach that has been trying to be the buffer between the girls and Daryl's abusive behaviors she is also a victim of abuse according to Mr marglin is his professional opinion he does not see any abuse you may want to reconsider educating Mr margolin since the abuse has been reported to him multiple times by multiple victims including me personally in our meeting in October of 2023 and March of 2024 the major issue that addressed both in October and March was how he demeaned women during the game at Hillsboro he referred to the referee as a c n in front of the girls also in practice he told the girls when they bend over out of breath that they look like they're twerking this is clear as day as discrimination against women and sexual harassment I am pleading with every parent here today please stand with me and stand up for our girls that are continuing to be abused every day just this past Friday Daryl forced another girl to the point of years and not wanting to continue to play basketball this needs to stop you have the power to save our girls and remove this serial abuser if you watch the game on December 22nd and 26 you cannot deny what is happening the whole team is affected parents are scared to say anything because of the retaliation that has and continues to occur my daughter was forced off the team please stand up for Franklin Township girls do not they do not deserve to be abused their rights should be equal or greater than a criminal please stop teaching our girls that abuse is expected and normal we need to teach our girls to be strong independent women that are not afraid of abusive man I beg you to help me achieve this for our girls thank you thank you wow okay okay holding it down um Kimberly gray 18 Nina Court Somerset New Jersey and um wow okay so I just want to give a little a different perspective um I have four children that went to Franklin High School graduated from Franklin High School uh they all played various Sports cross country track swim basketball football they all played aaou two played in college so I understand and know um what it is the hard work that it takes the dedication that it takes and I have had many different relationships with many different coaches and I know that that could be difficult and when you want your child to be successful when you hoping that they can play in college and even get a scholarship in college as one of mine did I understand the stress and the frustration but to take it out on a young coach that is doing superb with the girls who has taken a lot of time he and his coaching staff to plan for them to uh create opportunities for them to play against challenging teams to build a program uh for them it it it just doesn't seem it doesn't seem right so I just want to give a little different perspective um and let you know a little bit more about the background the Duncan have worked with the uh the current coach fhh coach for the past five years starting back in 2020 the Duncan's child was a freshman at union Catholic but she expressed that she was frustrated with the head coach and felt that he they that she wasn't doing a good job to help her child um and to help get her child recruited she became frustrated over the child being removed from her aou team United in the week before that was the week before the Nationals live period this same Franklin High School coach used his Network and got her child try out in a spot on the New Jersey gyms aeou team for the same tournament and she was given an opportunity to play at the Nike National Tournament the weekend before which if you're a basketball fan knows that that's a big deal fast forward to 2023 a season her child was now transferred into Franklin High School as a student in the fall of 2023 the start of the Season everything was good the child was starting playing good minutes but the team record was not so good the child shut herself down and the remainder of the season for injuries since playing on her on on the injury hurt and um it could cost her her entire AE season after the child's month away the team's record went to 12 to 11 and two and they made the playoffs the child the was cleared by the doctor to come back but since she uh was still limping and had only been to one practice she hadn't played in the game just this last week um the according to Mrs Duncan's social media her child had surgery to rectify that injury that was noted in 20123 so she can get to back to playing basketball as she said after the school season ended during the AE season the team the gyms did not ask the child to come back and so the m mom sent her back to the United Team what I want to point out is this is not the first and only time the Miss Duncan's actions have left her child either quitting or leaving the team so that should be noted whenever things get tough she wants to blame the coach United Catholic head coach uh the gy head okay so this [Music] season it's out it's on now okay so this season the child played intricate part of the first seven games and the season um as the season progressed serving as a starting point guard and playing Major minutes in the game 25 to 32 minutes uh per game and as the team record was um one and six there were changes made by the coaches as would any coach do in any sport and then the complaint started coming this led to um analysis and changing things this is when the mom filed the harassment bullying C uh claims against the coach and their staff e even while this was going on the coach still gave the uh the child the college letters just two weeks ago she's come before the be be uh Board of Education um in the past to to discuss the lack of pling time for her child which is not the place to do that if you I I'm sure you would all agree so then when that didn't work she filed the Hib charges while she has the right to defend her child and her position this has been done in an unprofessional way it's been malicious he she's uh this would be defamation of character all the work that the coaches have put in and this is the think they get why is she pushing this so hard why wouldn't she go through the proper channels having conversations with the coaches and trying to work it out again excuse me ma'am your time is up okay like I said I've experienced coaches relationships and you can work it out a different way thank you you can come and finish up if once everybody's gone through and then you can come back again to finish the comments hello oh okay thank you hello my name is Karen Pella and I live at 340 South midle Bish Road I'm going to start by saying shame shame shame on all of you 145 pages of documentation 145 Mr Bonino please do not look away I called you directly I've spoken with you regarding issues exactly with what Christina spoke about Dr rali same with you all of you shame shame shame on you if you listen to me the last two years Kayla would not have to go through this none of those kids would have had to go through this none of them it would have stopped with my girls it would would to stop with me Mr Solomon shame shame shame on you you not only did what you did you retaliated against me personally backed Ken marglin with suspending me for being assaulted and Reporting the assault at a basketball game I have every constitutional right to report to the police and assault that was made on me and I should not have been suspended for it Dr rali same with you shame shame on you for defending that for not sticking up for a person getting assaulted for children that cry out for adults to stick up and defend them I am left speechless because this could ended two years ago thank you thank you hi I'm Jamie Williams uh 122 Sydney place in Somerset I'm actually new to the community um I'm here tonight my daughter's on the basketball team also and to hear some of the things that people are saying is crazy I have children in college when you play at the next level you have to be pushed everybody who has children know they push their children you push your children some kind of way cleaning your room brushing your teeth getting good grades you're going to push Daryl is a young coach is he inexperienced yes I'll give him that he's inexperienced but he's got time to grow with the things that are being said about this young man who's attempting to grow let's let be real everybody let's be real if your child produces your child will stay on the court my daughter is a freshman who now starts varson so people may be upset about that she's a point guard she's a guard and she's small but Jamila gives 110% every time she touches that Court does Daryl yell at her absolutely does Daryl scream at her absolutely but guess what so does her mother because when you Lac those sneakers up you are to represent me you are to represent yourself you love this C you work at this craft she does play aaou she plays a lot of basketball I have a defensive player back there Rowan University Shippensburg University I push all my children I'm a single mom and I'm going to push my children until the good Lord calls me home cuz that's what a parent does I'm not going to make excuses is somebody hard on my child yes cuz this world is cruel very Cru and they're going to push everybody when they go to college you're going to be pushed your college coach is not going to take make it easy on you no way shape or form and anything that comes easy in this world you better question why that's crazy to me that anybody would come up here Daryl is trying does he drive us crazy absolutely can he watch his mouth absolutely but as a parent we all can watch our mouth we all can make adjustments but if you have a problem this is not it we all were going to come together and have a conversation with Daryl to get this problem resolved but to do this unacceptable unacceptable and ways to go about this and if somebody needed help on the team or if somebody felt this bad we can talk about I do not feel that this here this right now is the right way to definitely disrespect Daryl the program and to bring back past people who were here I wasn't in Franklin but I heard the stories of how a legend a legend was let go a legend is not here you are raising NBA players Diamond Miller is in the NBA due to Audrey Taylor let's talk about it that woman's name is biggest day on that wall in Franklin and she's not here did anybody ask their self why nobody nobody that woman is great and she was here for our children but she's not here so we had to take what we can get I don't see nobody else coming up here to step in Daryl's shoes so before you disrespect him try being him if it's a problem with your child you need to address where the problem came from it's not just on Daryl it's on everybody so before people get up here and start pointing the finger that Daryl is this and narrow as that in the basketball program look at your child look at your child my child is getting minutes but my child is going to hear my mouth when she does wrong that's my job as her mother and I'm not going to play on nobody's mental health because before people start talking panic attack anxiety know what you talking about because every kid will play on a mental oh my mental oh I was upset just because they want to be lazy cuz you want to pass the buck stand on business and if you want to play on a level your child is going to be pushed unbearably and when you get to College you cannot have this meeting with a university cuz I would love to go to Rowan and speak for my child I would love to go to Shippensburg and speak for my child but that's a grown man he cannot I cannot speak for him so I had to raise him right so everybody you better grab hold of your kid and tell them how to speak to an adult how to address somebody cuz to ever come up here and tell somebody shame shame shame on you you is no one's mother up here no one's mother so for you to say that unacceptable unacceptable so before you come up here pointing fingers ask did my child give 110% every time they stepped on that Court ask what did my child do cuz everybody thinks their child is a saint absolutely not absolutely not what did your child say to get her minutes taken what did your child do ask those questions before you definitely come up here and point Shame Shame Shame on any adult cuz you're no one's mother that's all I'm going to say [Applause] thank you uh before the next speaker comes I just want to make a statement um anybody who comes to the podium you're required to address to the board um we are your unpaid volunteers who will take everyone and listen to everyone please don't address each other because this is not a forum to have a conversation uh this is a board meeting please address to the board we'll take your abuse but we won't say anything because it's a Personnel matter it's a child's matter and we will not make a statement but we're happy to hear Madame President see no one else coming forward is there one more Bill oh okay sorry you can sign it I'll hold it for you okay for thank you so much good evening my name is Toriano Duncan I'm kayis Duncan's father at the end of the day no matter how you chop it up that man has no right for Dr my daughter to way he did no right at the end of the day as a father for my daughter that Sayes me as he told him no matter what I do you make me feel like like I'm worthless like I'm not good enough his response was go back to union Catholic that was his response when everything happened in the gym that day my daughter told me no one was there to protect her she was scared I wasn't there to protect her that's what she said as a father that is my goal in life to protect my kids especially my daughters as I stand up here this is about everybody's daughter no matter how you look at it we all know yes college coaches will push your kids absolutely we understand that but there's a difference of pushing your kids for greatness and pushing your kid to step away from the game she loves the way he talks to them girls how he treat them girls is unacceptable no matter how you looked at it whether that's your friend your son's a coach over there all that goes to the side there's plenty of parents in here that know what Daryl says to them girls and they might not want to say it but at the end of the day truth is the truth Kayla was playing this have nothing to do with minutes this is about how he treated her in that gym Nick Solomon showed me a video that he clipped on his own showing kayb coming down the court crying upset I asked him what happened I didn't clip that part was he crying tears or joy for being there in the court no obviously something happened Kayla said he forced her to do push-up he was up in her face screaming yelling cursing at her that is totally unacceptable I get it being a coach is a tough job dealing with kids is a tough job I'm a parent I've been my kids since day one I'm a parent so I know raising kids is tough but at the end of the day you don't treat them girls like that these are young females trying to figure out life and who they are and what direction they going you supposed to uplift them protect them educate them and guide them not to humiliate them and once again like I said this had nothing to do with playing time and the people going to talk get your facts straight Daryl didn't help her get to the gyms he had nothing to do with that he can't even keep a job at Team sharp he got fired from there he got fired from Miller because of his action so he had nothing to do with that Kayla has a great relationship with the Colt from Union cathic we could call her on tway there is no wrongdoing that union Catholic we left on our own to come here because he wanted to play here because we live here and we thought it was a great opportunity that's all I have to say thank you anyone else before I can have Miss Pella go again is there any new my name is H Stewart 23 IIM store 23 Alton Drive Somerset New Jersey um I'm not new to the community but my kids grew up in Franklin I have us sir can you please speak closer to the mic I'm kind of new to the community of Franklin I grew up in Elizabeth New Jersey um this is all new to me but my daughter is a sophomore on a basketball team um like I'm going to say the way I grew up Urban City Elizabeth New Jersey uh P homes projects I'm a division one athlete former athlete I understand about being pushed I understand about um being cursed out understand about the things that get you to the next level what I'm going to say is this I don't the young ladies that's involved in this these young ladies be at my house they're friends with my daughter they're in my pool and uh they're all great kids my experience with Coach Robinson in my upbringing and my background I'm going to be honest with you if I felt like Olivia Stewart my daughter was being physically abused mentally abused I'll be the one up here getting judged in a different way but we be at sunet court I'm a protector it ain't going to happen I'm going let you know that right now my daughter is still on the basketball team I'm not sitting here to advocate for him I'm going advocate for the Weare of my kid and all the girls on the team the young lady that we're talking about the parents is here she's at my house all the time if I felt like if I witness anything happening with Coach Robertson and her I will check him whoever know me know that's exactly who I am but what I'm going to say is this playing sports it's a gift it's a beautiful thing you're going to have bad days you're going to have good days you're going to be pushed um it's competitive it's not about pointing fingers at what this person did that person I can't experience I can't say say because I wasn't there when a lot of people have allegations about what happened with the young ladies but all I could say is I could vouch for my daughter Olivia Stewart never came home and told me that she was abused by this man because it would have been a different situation I ain't com in front of the board I'm let you know that right now I'm going handle him as a man um all I can say is like I said I'm not advocating for him I I do like the way he coach but I come from a different background I like the way he hold the kids accountable I do um and I think it builds strong character in in kids I think tough love is the best thing for kids now mental abuse some kids are stronger than others some kids we all grew up in different households cursing in my household normal a coach screaming at me normal long as it's with love and I think that uh Daryl been training my daughter for years he trained pretty much all our daughters I'm pretty sure that um outside of basketball before he got this job I honestly didn't witness him do anything to hurt any of the kids I think he's a young man I have spoken to him um about a couple of things that I didn't like and I would tell you what I told him I like I don't like social media what he does I told him don't put your don't you can't put your feelings on social media you're a ro model you can't do that he said I understand that I said as a a a middle-aged man a young black man man you shouldn't do that period because the kids read into that and they lose respect for you but if I do I think he has the best interest of the kids yes he does cuz if he didn't my daughter wouldn't be on the team and I'll be sitting here and I'll be pushing for him to be removed anyway but um the young ladies that's involved in all this situation I have love for all like I said they all at my house all the time my house is the house where every all the kids go they're swimming in the summer they're playing they having sleep and things like that and you know it's a sad situation honestly that we're here dealing with this um cuz I think this is a great town I think everybody's doing a great time a great job I really don't me personally I don't have any complaints I don't have any complaints with the school district I don't have any complaints with the basketball team um I don't know I just I just think just had a big turnaround with Audrey teller who we all pretty much could say was probably the best girls top five basketball coaches in the state of New Jersey and the township lost to we can't keep changing coaches I come from a winning program that's all we do in Elizabeth's win I mean if the kids being abused y'all address it but my personal thing my kid ain't being abused because if she was being abused I would handle that situation as a man first and then I will deal with the consequences thank you thank you excuse me sir your name and your address down thank [Music] you hi just wanted to say that I'm I played D1 in college I might not look it I did though I played D1 I know all about what it takes to get from one level to the next and trust me it's not easy I know how to raise my children and how to raise them respectfully I didn't disclose here anything that went on between my girls and the coaches that's for the committee they know that but I will say that Daryl is not for My Girls He did not treat them right he did not treat me right so take that for whatever you want the committee has all the documentation and it's a lot so I don't want anyone here here to imply it was anything to do with minutes because it wasn't it had everything to do with abuse and what was done to my kids and myself thank you thank you Madame President since no one else is step into the mic I make a oh you don't touch it it should be okay okay um so I just wanted to I did speak to everybody here at last meeting but I'm just going to reiterate what has occurred um in terms of timeline I know everybody here got my four and a half page letter of the documented abuse and I understand every girl has an experience because some girls are raised differently I raised my daughter to be what we call coachable today and what I'm learning is coachable means vulnerable and therefore she's going to do whatever it takes to make that coach happy even when that coach confuses her and she doesn't know what to do she blames herself and she internalizes it if we all know psychology we all know that there are people that are extroverts and introverts my daughter is an introvert so she takes everything in there's many girls on the team that are extroverts also we also know that there are many girls that quit the team there is at least six that I'm aware of since Daryl has been hired due to this reason I've spoken to parents and it is due to the mental abuse there's one student who quit the team last year she had constant panic attacks the panic attacks have stopped another senior there are seniors that graduated too that won't even talk to the coaching staff which tells you something there seniors that chose not to play last year because of all of the abuse from the coach and the way that he talks and demeans the girls there's a difference between tough coaching my daughters have tons of tough coaches and that's great I love a tough coach there's a difference between a tough coach that's going to teach you something and raise you up versus someone who is going to continue to belittle you and make you feel like dirt you say oh I have a question and he talks to you like you're dumb that's not acceptable that's not coaching that's abuse and there is not a fine line it's a very black and white line and this is not coaching if you look at the game on December 22nd I encourage you to watch that game half the team was in tears that's not coaching you don't tell the girls pass the ball 20 times before you shoot if you shoot the ball you're benched what kind of coaching is that I've never seen that before not on College not in high school you don't do that that's control abuse is about power abuse is about control he wants to control the girls because he is a Serial abuser and that's what we're hiding behind this goes back to Middle School there's girls that didn't play in high school because the seniors and juniors of people that transferred had a district that I spoke to that signed my petition that I sent to you they're now playing in college successfully but they left Franklin Township because of the abuse so I encourage you to just research it talk to people there are people in this room they may not speak up there are people watching there are many private messages I received text messages I received Everybody's scared of retaliation because that's what happens in this District all the time it's corruption and retaliation so at this point research it have somebody look into it my HIV has been denied even though I have proof of everything and I have watched a video of my daughter being screamed at three different times and that's just the part that wasn't cut my daughter's at the point she won't even look at the coaching staff she looks through them she can't even handle it that she won't even acknowledge their existence anymore that is a sign of an abused person and also for the record we have not have we changed aou teams so has half the girls out there maybe three qus of the girls I don't know any girl that's here and stage with an A Team forever we have never had a runin with a coach this is the first time ever he tried to accuse us he actually ruined the relationship for a little bit with a union Catholic coach because what he did he decided to post on social media because he recruited my daughter and then on top of that he posted it before we even transferred and then she saw it and confronted me so yeah that kind of spoiled the relationship a little bit but that had nothing to do with me that had to do with darl so at the end of the day this is not a playing time cuz as you guys know in the documentation I sent this didn't start her playing time didn't get cut until after I file the HIV the day after that's when her planing time got cut she didn't want to tell me about the panic attack because she was scared of retaliation which is exactly what happened that's why she didn't tell us we found out from another parents because the parents were upset on December 23rd from the game that happened on December 22nd that's how we found out about the panic attack cuz they were worried about her thank you thank you okay at the end if you're oh I'm not under 18 as as you touch button you should be hi my name is Da dumbar I live at 13 tanel um road so I've coached about 75% of these girls on the basketball team um I have very close relationships with them I worked for the Franklin Township um Recreation apartment with my mother for over 10 10 years or so so I've known these girls since they were in third grade I know what they can do I know their potential I personally know Kayla Duncan um I coached her since she was in third grade she is now in 11th grader um and at no point should any coach make somebody want to quit basketball that loves it last year when when Daryl started coaching I actually had multiple ation with the girls that I used to coach and they were very confused and and with his communication and I took it upon myself to kind of explain certain things for it for them to break it down cuz he's a new coach he's maturing into his role I'm going to help out because I know these girls but at the end of the day when somebody's having a panic attack and then you consistently parade them while they're having the panic attack and it takes another coach to pull them aside and say stop let me take her to the bathroom and you still continuously are talking and yelling at them while they're in a medical emergency that's not okay and she's not the only one as Christina said this happened just recently another girl whose mother's in this room right now had a panic attack she might not be aware of the fact that her daughter wanted to quit basketball a couple days ago because she was being bered by the coach but that happened and who talked to her Christina's daughter Kayla Duncan to help her not quit the game because she knew that she didn't want anybody else to go through what she's been going through so what the parents are doing and most a lot of parents are here that I actually coach their daughters in what they're trying to do is be supportive but they also do not want to tear down a black man so I get it I get it in regards to the fact that he's a new coach he has some growing to do but at the same time you can't you cannot support somebody that is berating young women and shaping them to be in the new into the world to be adults in the world if they're going to go to college great I used I worked under Dawn Staley at Temple University so I know what a good coach is this is not it you need to be able to talk to your players each coach you should be able to identify how to address each player that's what a a coach's job is it's a hard job you need to be able to get the best out of each player and if you see that one person a player is an introvert and call yelling at them is making them cry maybe you should try a different way of of coaching a different way of addressing that player not everybody's going to be able to receive the information that you're providing in a constructive way if you're yelling at them in their face my son who doesn't go to Franklin Township Schools but he's one of those kids that you cannot yell at he's going to shut down so as a coach as a good coach you need to be able to identify that with the players that you're coaching I think you guys need to really look at the fact that there's been multiple complaints addressed about this coach and really if you're not going to remove him at least have a sit a a uh sit down with him to explain to him or support him in a way where he can do a better job than what he's doing right now because it's not okay it's not working look at the girls record it's not working they have all the potential in the world it's not working something needs to change and it's on everybody in this room including parents to make to help him with that change if you're not going to remove him everybody needs to everybody needs to come together and start there needs to be a change because this is not working right now and I wasn't supposed to speak but I'm I I had to say something so if you're here to support I encourage you to speak up because your voice matters everybody's voices matter and I I appreciate everybody's truth because everybody has a different truth but I I encourage everybody to speak up and tell your own truth thank you thank you so seeing no one else this is your last chance I move to close the public session motion to close by Bill can I get a second seconded by Dennis all in favor I I okay public comment is now closed [Music] um I'll make one response again to the um ptso um we will if you need flyers uh encourage the parents to take the Flyers and as I mentioned uh please share any school connected organization events with Mary and she can forward them to my board president's reports in the Futures and I would be happy to share those out with the community at the board meetings so and encourage all the other board members to attend as many school connected events as you can as your time permits um you know that's that's how our school connected organizations um get funds together for the events and it's for our children so share it wide and um attend as many events as you can you want the policy so Dr will address the policy question uh the the was it Mrs Anderson where did she Mrs Anderson that is not an NJ doe policy actually that was a recommendation we had made through our security office and that was based on the appalache high school shooting in Georgia I'm not so certain if you recognize what happened there but that child went to the bathroom algebra one student went to the bathroom retrieved a gun came back that door was locked the classroom he came back to knocked on the door student saw the gun wouldn't allow the child in but the classroom next door the door was open and that's the classroom that lost the lives um so we had shared shortly after that in September actually when Mr Wilson was still here we visited with all of our principles and uh you know one of the things the Fire Marshals also want his classroom door shut and I know that's difficult sometimes for teachers because they like to have their doors open open but uh the whole intention of door shut in a school and how schools are built the walls go all the way up to the deck the ceiling so that goer bit of fire breaks out in one classroom it's contained in that classroom um and the corridors stay open so that students can get out of the building uh but anyway that's why classroom doors are supposed to be shut um and that really was a recommendation that we made to the principles based on what we learned in the app Le High School Georgia shooting and uh not only us but a lot of other school districts made that same recommendation but it's not an NJ Department of Education policy thank you um and as I mentioned during public comment we will not be uh making any comments on the children and the HIV issue because it's a Personnel matter and it's you know something that we cannot address and with that we'll move on to good of the order Nick would you like to say anything first one tonight huh so first of all I want to thank Dr ravali and Dennis and Lori for my orientation last week I learned a lot um very nice I appreciate lunch very good Lou I want to thank you very much for all the years of help that you gave me at the high school enjoy your retirement uh Christine I don't know how Mr grippo remembered your name because he has a habit of forgetting the staff's names but congratulations and I want to thank and um applaud I moved up to the Board of Ed and I left all my committees behind um so Wendy took over president's councel we montis is uh liais on U Maxine is running uh the sessions for Project Graduation I left and they've made a complete change and they're doing wonders with the commities that I left behind so I'm very proud of you and thank you very much for keeping those up and going and also I wanted to um thank Samy Shaban for his years on the board and encouraging me to run I actually wanted to do it several years before um but I waited till my kids graduated from school before I decided to run for the board and Sammy was very instrumental in supporting that and then just um Janu 24th there's a dance uh showcase at the Hamilton Street campus and then on February 8th Project Graduation is having their clothing drive thank you thank you very much so you mentored your teams well and they've taken over onwards and upwards um first off I would like to thank you L for your service and your years of help for the children um I'm sure you won't be forgotten at least from what I hear um Christine congratulations again uh you'll be a tremendous asset Mr Plumber and Mr Miller thank you so much for all of your efforts and all your work um I will second what Miss uh what president um said about uh the uh supporting uh the schools and their Arts uh last night I was at Franklin Middle School at their band Winter concert uh they had a Wind Ensemble a jazz band and a sixth seventh and eighth grade band they all did a tremendous job so if you have an opportunity to go out and support the Arts please do thank you I'll move back here Walter uh I don't have one that actually uh Lou has been a pleasure I've worked with you on a few uh negotiations that we've had um so best of luck to you on your retirement um Mr Miller Mr Plumber congratulations um continue to do the great work that you guys are doing uh Christine congratulations um I know you're excited about this position and we're excited to have you um and my last thing I just want to mention um just my thoughts and prayers for um Antioch School in in Nashville um apparently there was a school shooting yesterday so it's just January and we're still at it again so uh my thoughts and prayers to those families and friends and those those kids who are once again dealing with something that we continue to deal with in this world so my thoughts and prayers are um to all those in Nashville and that's it for me tonight thank you Erica um yes a lot has already um been said so um congratulations to the honores tonight um and uh congratulations to Christina very proud of you and um I also want to um thank Kalia Wallace um she uh is the coach of the Franklin High School dance team and competition dance team um they've done a great job they're uh raising money for the competitions that they have that they'll be attending um this year and uh one of the things that they uh did to raise money was open up to uh Franklin students um elementary and middle school students to participate in Franklin Jr dance team so they are offering classes they do it in a couple of week bunches and uh my girls have participated and had a blast doing it um they got to it's their claim of Fame at this point they got to perform with the Franklin High School competition dance team during halftime at the boys basketball game and it was a very big deal to these young kids and I just want to point out what they're doing the dance team is doing a great job and hopefully uh we can all support them in their efforts and that's all I have thank you Nancy well since Walter doesn't have quote I had to quickly look for a quote and mine is on gratitude so this is basically to you Lou to um for like your gazillion years of of service and to you Darren for all that you've done and to Justin for all that he's done and Dan Your Love of of Bruce um so as we express our gratitude we must never forget the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them and that's by JFK um so other than that I going to piggy back on what you've been saying probably what yall have been saying so I'm making it brief thank you thank you we'll go to Bill I think Nick's going to be a talker so you better watch out you thought you had a problem with me you didn't shut up geez anyway uh Dan if you could send me an email with princess's information I'm on the board of directors of the M foundation and I think she'd be a great asset for next year's breakfast this year's breakfast was fantastic I encourage all the administrators all the uh Board of Education members to attend the breakfast it's a day off you should be there this is the One Singular event in Franklin Township that speaks directly to the message of Dr M Luther King Jr and you need to be there you need to put it on your calendar and be there many of you were there that I'm looking at um it was fantastic many of our teachers and our students participate just reflecting for a moment I've had five kids go through these schools from K to 12 they're all super successful all I could say is nothing changes but everything changes everything I heard tonight nothing changes but everything changes it's how you come out of it as a human being respecting one another lifting up one another is is the message we we have to be very careful and now you know now that I'm the senior member of the board and and I will be talking a lot this year until I retire so the board better get used to it but it'll be peaceful and I'll let you know what I think we're going to have a good year the board works well together but there are issues that we're going to have to confront because we cannot duck what's going on on the national level that's it okay Dennis um Mr G Christina um uh like you said I'm not g to say uh congratulation on your retirement because you still have some time to go so keep doing what you doing Christina congratulation on your uh promotion you you'll be a fine um tool for the students to use so congratulations um it seemed like every every other month Darren we saying you know patting you on the back so you you just keep you and Justin just continue that role of um uh having those students look up to you and um other than that uh bill um uh rightfully um uh stated with MLK and his dream and the dream that um is instilled in uh uh here in the United States and the next time we meet we will be in the midst of black history month so um Embrace and um uh go out and uh uh uh go to those events that uh that you can make but um have a good rest of the month thank you so I wanted to be brief but I guess I need to add a little extra to my comments tonight um our board was recognized as a certified board in 2023 and I know we have some new board members and some board members um who are working towards you know getting some um credits through the New Jersey school boards um which is a great uh accomplishment and um you know County School Board Association meetings and School New Jersey school board Association meetings are the only way that we get professional development credits and um Bill had mentioned at Martin Luther King breakfast that aaaj who passed away had become a certified board member our Master board member our certified board leader we have our very own Nancy who has all those three credentials here sitting on the board and uh Round of Applause of course and um Yours Truly self has two of those three certifications as well and um I think we should all um you know get some of those webinar series because all of those things don't have to be in person we can attend them virtually as well and maybe try and strive to become a certified board again in 20124 and I know with Nick you coming on the board you'll have some um mandatory trainings and Dennis and Jimmy and Erica you know the three hours roles resources responsibilities um mastering School Finance policy development annual goal setting for the district the board's appraisal responsibilities um role in the annual budget these are all webinars available on the website so whenever you're like eating lunch just turn it on and listen to it you know and you'll get a credit for just listening to that so that's my take you know about that and um I want to end with something on a positive note um at Dr Martin Luther King's breakfast we have a booklet that is printed and they asked the board president to put a message in and um they asked me to write a message in and usually I get Mary's help to help me write that message in and I was surprised I wrote something in and Mary said there no changes need to be made you did a good job so I don't know if this message would go out to the community so I wanted to say it out so that it gets recorded and maybe some people will hear it so I it's two short paragraphs I wanted to end tonight with that the message said and we're going into Black History Month as Dennis said and I think this message is very timely we come together as a community to honor The Life and Legacy of do Dr Martin Luther King Jr a leader whose vision of Justice equality and unity continues to inspire us his powerful message reminds us that change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability but comes through continuous struggle this year's theme is change continues with us reflects a profound Truth The Journey towards Justice and Equity is ongoing Dr King called each of us to be active participants in shaping a better more compassionate World As We reflect on his legacy let us remember that progress is built through Collective action courage and an unwavering commitment to fairness for all in our schools we strive to create an environment where every student feels valued heard and empowered Dr King's dream challenges us to continue fostering inclusivity respect and kindness in every classroom and hallway I encourage each one of you students staff families and community members to honor his memory not just today but every day through acts of service empathy and Leadership let us recommit ourselves to being agents of positive change together we can ensure that Dr King's vision of a just and Equitable Society continues to guide our steps thank you for being part of our shared commitment to learning growth and Justice with this our meetings adjourned [Music] [Music] for