Hey there. All right. press the gallery tent municipal building and the district website on January 12th, 2025. May I have a roll call, please? >> Mrs. Chester, >> here. >> Dr. Prime, >> here. >> Miss Lauria,
>> Mrs. Avery, >> here. >> Mr. Dace, >> here. >> Mr. Gentiel, >> here. >> Mrs. Terminal >> here, >> Dr. Basher Blouse >> here, >> and Mrs. Corman >> here. Can we all rise for a flag salute led by Mrs. Avery, please? Thank you.
We do have on the agenda this evening approval from the November 17, 2025 meeting. Can I have a motion to approve those minutes? >> So moved. >> All in favor? I. Any abstain? >> Thank you. Moving on to reading of
communications, please. >> So I just wanted to bring to the uh board's attention and to the public. There are a few uh communications this month. First, we have a note of appreciation that I've attached for your review from Miss Courtney Smith. Uh we will also be recognizing her uh this
evening. Uh in addition, we have a letter of gratitude from uh Miss B. Jenkins uh who we had recognized at the last board meeting and then also recently was um recognized uh in uh the GIF the joint insurance fund dinner for her uh actions here within the school
district. Many may not know, but we recognized Miss Jenkins because she actually um jumped into jumped into what needed to be done here in a cafeteria. A student who was choking um needed to have the Heimlick maneuver performed on
them. And uh like I told everyone at the GIF dinner, she was she was chosen to be recognized in in out of all of Atlantic and Kate May counties. um a recognition that she certainly deserves because as I shared that evening um this goes beyond money and claims and things like that um
but rather she saved uh one of our students lives. So uh it's important that we uh recognize her, but she also sent a letter of gratitude back to the board of ed. And then also a letter of appreciation from the Shirley May breast uh cancer fund. As many of you know, we
do uh raise money through Jeans Day collections with our staff as a credit to, you know, their cooperation and and hard work and and making sure that they also contribute to some of those donations. And um ultimately, they had also sent a letter of appreciation uh
recognizing our continued support of the Shirley May uh breast cancer awareness. So that concludes our communications. >> Thank you. At this time, we can move on to presentations, please. So, at this time, we'll start with our student council rep, Mr. Anthony Marmo. Welcome.
>> Welcome, Mr. Marmo. >> Hello. >> Do you have anything for us this evening? >> I do. Uh, good evening everybody. I am the president of the GTMS student council and I will be presenting uh the student council report for December. I
would first like to mention what we have done since uh our last uh report. Um so I would like to mention our roaring success with the Thanksgiving food drive. We were able to provide
Beacon Church with over 250 food items ranging from cans of corn and other vegetables into entire turkeys that were directly donated to the church. We have also installed a digital se suggestion
box that anybody could access. This will help us streamline our voting process as well as to make it easier to receive recommendations from non-counsel members for future endeavors. Uh starting tomorrow after school, a select few of our council members will be attending a
cooking class hosted by the cabinet. We will be making uh rice krispie treats and we will be selling them on Thursday. Uh on Wednesday we will be embarking on our annual field trip to the Constitution Center in Philadelphia. And
during December we are also hosting a winter clothing drive. And tonight after this meeting I will be meeting with the head of Sunnyside Meadows and I will be finding a date for a collection date for
a paper and hygiene product drive. And finally, on the last week of December before break, we will be hosting a winter themed spirit day for our students. And this will conclude my
student council report. >> That's a lot of stuff, Anthony. Thank you. >> Yeah. Do you need anything from us from this meeting? >> I don't believe so. >> Okay. Well, if you have any questions or
comments, get Mrs. Chester's attention and she'll get my attention. Okay. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Moving on with the rest of presentations, please. >> All right. I'm going to transfer uh down to the uh floor for a few presentations. I may go a little out of order. I think I'm going to cover the uh CUAC
presentation first and then complete some of our recognitions. testing. All right. So, last year, uh, we basically stood here and and we talked about our our New Jersey CUAC review. Um it's something that occurs every three years or so within uh
districts and this is basically an outcome report. Um it's taken a few months to get the final analysis from the state. However, part of our responsibility is to make sure we present the findings uh in public uh not just to the public but to the board uh in regards to those results. So, I'm
going to keep this brief, but I'm just going to give a little bit of background for those that that may not remember um in terms of what we presented previously, but there are five areas. Um if you think of QAC, um just so everybody's aware, just like in the business world, typically audits take
place. This is something that would happen within a school district and it's basically in a school district, it's our audit, and these are the areas that they are going to audit. um instruction and program, fiscal, operations, personnel and governance. Uh so they were here um
during the course of the year, variety of different times to complete all of those different reviews for the different areas. They physically do come on site. They will take a walk through the buildings. They take a look at classrooms, closets, you name it. They're going in and out of everything.
Uh in addition to that, just like any audit, they're also taking a look at personnel files and they're sitting and going through personnel files because we have certain rules and requirements that we have to adhere to. Same goes for policy operations, making sure the things that are mandated are actually in
place. And you can see the different process here from start to finish. You know, they do start with a training. So, the county office of education does provide background and basically kind of really just giving us the the playbyplay on how the year would look in terms of the things we can start to prepare as a
district. But in essence, every year for us as a QAC year, we try to make sure that we adhere to all the different things that need to be in place, not just the year that we're going to have the formal review. Back in 2425, this was the committee that was put uh into effect. Some of
these folks have retired or have moved on to other positions. Uh however, I thought it was important to make sure that we highlighted uh those people that have been involved from start to finish uh with this process. So here are the results. First, you do a
self assessment. And as a district, you can see on the left hand side in red, this was our self assessment. And if you recall last year, we talked about instruction and programming being 70%. Ultimately, it's 70% because the majority of the the data for instruction
and program comes from standardized test scores. So, in essence, it's things we can control, but not really, right? Like program, curriculum, instruction, those are all things we can control. The results of standardized testing is going to be at the hands of, let's say, the students on any particular day that they
end up testing during the year. So fiscal we anticipated 100 operations and as you can see all the way down we anticipated being 100%. 100% is obviously um a a pretty uh high standard to set for ourselves. But if you look on
the right hand side you can see how we performed as a district. Um we only lost out of all those points out of those additional 400 we only lost two points or two percentage points in personnel. And I'd also probably say that it was something that again was not able to be
um probably fixed but but it is now right. Um so those are things that that through an audit process uh I can tell you we're very proud of uh the things we can control as a district we are controlling making sure that we are meeting the certain uh criteria and
standards that the state has set forth um in all those different areas. One thing I did want to break down though was IMP for instruction and programming because being that that's the lowest area, I wanted to be able to point out how it breaks down and how it's
different. When I say things we can control versus things we can't control in terms of how IMP is actually rated for that 70% that we got out of the hundred if you look on the left hand side 60% of that score comes from standardized
test data in the state. So ultimately it's broken down for us for achievement for English language arts growth then math achievement math growth science achievement and then subgroup performance. The one thing I want to
point out here is a simple fact that when you take a look at achievement that's meeting the standards that the state has set for every grade level that tests for standardized testing. You can see our achievement data is low. Okay.
However, our growth data is high and for us that actually is a good thing. So, while we might not be meeting the standard that the state has set, you can see the work that we're doing here in Goway Township, we are our students are growing. So, year in and year out, that
is something that we're proud of and I continue to say and say and stand behind the fact that for me growth equals achievement. Subgroup performance is also something that we're proud of because this breaks down all the different subgroups. And you can see that the performance here of
our subgroups is also high. So again, the reason why that score is down at that 70% mark is mainly because of the standard standardized test scores and the results for achievement. If you look at 100% here in blue, just like our other categories, when you take a look
at everything here, that's curriculum driven. That's INRS. That's our multi-tered systems of support. Again, those are the things that we can control and I'm proud to report that the things we can control, you can see that we are hitting that mark at 100% according to
the county and the state. So, some of the things that we are going to focus on for next steps, some things that have already been put into place, mainly focusing on instruction and programming. I'm not going to read the list here, but we have gotten back to what I call this year getting back to
basics. You see right off up top the implementation of a phonics program. For years it had kind of gone by the wayside in terms of all the different philosophies and pedigogy behind what is best for English language arts and reading instruction. We're getting back
to basics and we have a strong focus back in phonics. The same thing goes for those math fluency routines. Right? So again philosophy being getting back to basics. You see also things here at GTMS for instance,
creation of a new schedule allows for really focused learning on the English language arts, but also now a class for writing because what do we notice? All our students, especially when they get to be digital learners and digital natives, they're really great with their
thumbs, right? When they want to send text messages and even sometimes write some, you know, essays that way. Um, but we want them to get focused and put all the devices aside and basically hunker down and start focusing on writing. Um,
so again, getting back to basics and that's what these next steps are. So that concludes my report and if anyone has any questions from the board, I'd be happy to answer. >> Is there any questions from the board? >> No. Thank you, Mr. Saintilly.
>> All right. Thank you very much. All right. So, we have a couple recognitions tonight. And the first recognition would be Miss Courtney Smith. Will you come on down and join me here, please? All right. So, some people may or may
not know this. I mean, I think if you didn't know this, they just don't follow us on social media, right? So, national on on national TV right here, Miss Courtney Smith. Um, but talk to us a little bit about Wheel
Fortune, where your passion lies, how you get I don't even like if I wanted to go on Wheel of Fortune, I don't even know how I'd get on Wheel of Fortune, right? So, tell us a little bit about your journey to get there. And then if it's all right, I want to show a little tiny clip. >> Absolutely. >> Okay. I'm not gonna show the full Well,
I'm not gonna show the full ending because to us, you're not a loser, right? You you won and you came out ahead. So, we're super proud of you. But I want to show that clip for a reason. But I want you to tell us about your journey. >> Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you everybody. I saw all the support on Facebook. So, I wanted to first say
thank you so much. That was very touching and it was a big surprise. I didn't expect that from this journey. If you want to apply, go to wheel of fortune.com and apply. Um, uh, I've been a lifelong learner my whole life and I loved solving puzzles when I was a kid and it was a dream come
true that I wanted to make realized and I just I really appreciate all the support. Thank you. >> So, let's see if we can get this clip working. I know not everybody had the opportunity to watch, but I just wanted to share
this one part. Of course, we're going to get an ad. Let's see. >> That's good. >> Very good. They have gotten so good at letting me know that they would like to solve the puzzle. Miss Smith. >> Well, so would we, Miss Smith? >> Thank you.
>> So, good luck. You've got $30,670. Before we spin the wheel, let's say hi to mom over there. I met her during the break. >> Hi, Mom. >> What's her name? >> This is my mom, Cindy, my best friend. >> I am so proud of you.
>> I love your relationship. So cool. >> All right. Now, we're not going to watch the end. All right. So the the reason why I wanted to show that though, your enthusiasm and just just watching you, not just your relationship with your mom, but also just how you were talking about your
students and how proud you are of of basically our school community and your kids. Like I just wanted to share that with everybody because that wasn't just here at the end. That was also in the beginning. And you know, it was a big part of the night. And you know, we're super proud that you're able to
represent our district and our school community. And basically the best thing that I can give you, I'd like to give you, you know, that that big prize. I'd love to be able to do that, but I can give you basically a letter accommodation, right? So, I think that I just want to share a little bit about
this Wheel of Fortune appearance. Uh, so dear Miss Smith, on behalf of the Galloway Township Public Schools Board of Education, I'm pleased to extend our congratulations and sincere commendation for your outstanding representation of our district during your performance of
the Wheel of Fortune game show on November 6, 2025. Achieving big winner status is an impressive accomplishment in itself. But what truly made the moment extraordinary was the enthusiasm and positivity with which you
represented both Smithville Elementary School and our entire district. Your joyful and spirit and professionalism shown through our on national television demonstrating the very qualities that make you such a val valued educator in
our community. So, thank you very much on behalf of the district. >> Thank you, Courtney. All right. So, we have some other recognitions and when it comes to uh GTMS athletics,
you know, I know there's a lot going on here um and a lot of really great things. And when they when they reached out and said, "Hey, by the way, we have some coaches that have have basically reached this threshold." Um, it was, you know, like, let's face it, 100 wins is a
big deal for middle school athletics. Uh, I think that, uh, our staff certainly deserve that recognition and I wanted to be able to celebrate, um, them tonight. So, uh, basically I'm going to go here in order. So, um, first up, Miss
Kiwi Ala, GTMS teacher, cross country track and field. Kiwi, will you come on down? Congratulations. Edward Log is not with us tonight. If you can just hang down here, we're going to grab a picture. um is not with us
here tonight. He uh he has certainly reached this accomplishment which is is huge, but he's retired. Um I believe he's actually in warmer weather right now in Florida, so lucky him. Um but also boys soccer, boys and girls basketball, and track and field.
Patricia Palumbo, will you come on down? GTMS school counselor, field hockey, girls basketball and softball. Congratulations, Timothy Scotty, come on down. Retired
GTMS teacher, volleyball and baseball. Congratulations, sir. >> Congrats. and Tim Waldman, GTMS teacher and also our athletic coordinator, boys soccer, girls basketball,
volleyball, and track and field. And I want everybody to grab a quick picture and then Mr. Waldman, if you don't mind, I know you have some uh something to share as well. Okay. All right. uh as he stated, I am the athletic coordinator. Uh I've been very fortunate
enough to work with all these gentlemen and ladies. Uh they coached alongside them as a volleyball coach and I've gotten to see them interact with their athletes all these years. Not only are they great coaches, but more importantly, they're great people, and they've done a lot uh in dealing with
our athletes over the year. Um, I want to go over a real quick quote that is also present on a plaque that we're going to be hanging in the hallway outside the gymnasium. It's a quote from John Wooden. A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life.
All right, here are some of the great coaches who have coached many who have touched many lives and who have earned 100 plus victories. So congratulations coaches. >> Thank you >> and congratulations again to all of you. As a former student athlete, what I can
say is that, you know, the hundred wins is great. As a superintendent, 100 wins is is really great, especially when we get to hang banners in the gym. Um, but as a former student athlete, I can tell you those wins only come because students only want to play and will play
well and will continue to win for coaches that they love, respect, and admire. So, that accomplishment is because of that. And I lived it when I was a student athlete. So, moving on, our next recognition
at this time, Mrs. Carmen, if you will please join us down here. So, many of you may or may not know, but Mrs. Carmen um did not win re-election um this year. Um however, uh that would mean that this would be her last board meeting. However, she's had a long
tenure here uh and has really provided 15 years of service to the Goway Township public schools. So because of that, we felt it was certainly worthy to be able to recognize her for those years of service. I'd like to also have Dr. Alexa Basher Blau say a few words and
then we're going to share um the plaque that we're going to be providing to Mrs. Carmen. Take out my phone for this one. So, I do want to take a moment to recognize and thank you, Susette, for your dedicated service to this board of education and to our community. When I
joined the board in 2019, you were one of the very first people to welcome me. But you didn't just say hello. You helped guide me. You showed me the ropes and set the tone for what thoughtful, responsible leadership looks like. You're dedicated beyond belief. While we all put in time for this board, what
many people don't see are the countless hours that you put in behind the scenes. late night phone calls, weekend phone calls, research preparation, and careful conversations to make sure decisions are informed, responsible, and always in the best interest of our students and
taxpayers. You consistently show up, not just at meetings and events, but fully present and engaged in support of this district, this community, and public education. You lead with both your head and your heart, and you never lose sight of the people that we serve. I have
personally learned so much from you about leadership, integrity, and the quiet work that strengthens schools and communities. And I know I speak for all of us when I say thank you for your guidance, your support, and your tireless commitment. Your impact on this board and this district will continue
well beyond your time here. So, the uh plaque that the board of education has gotten for uh Mrs. Carmen says, "Your exemplary leadership enriched our students educational journey and set a lasting standard. We
honor your dedicated service as president and member of the Goway Township Public Schools Board of Education, Susette M. Carmen, 2010 through 2025. Thank you very much.
I Just want to take a moment to to thank everybody. Alexa, those that's probably the nicest things anybody's ever said to me. So, I I really appreciate that. Um, working with Steve, working with Amy, Dr. Gquinto, working with all of this board, working with previous board
members, it's been such an honor. Um, and although I'm I'm sad to go, I'm also happy to go. So, leaving it for the next generation and uh other people coming on and and just really want to wish everybody the
best of luck and and again say thank you so so very much. It's much appreciated. And at that with that being said, we will move on to the regular agenda. And at this time, I will open up for public comment on agenda items only. Is there
any public comment on agenda items only, please? The board values and welcomes comments and opinions from residents. This meeting will now be open to public comments. Three minutes per person on agenda items only. Public comments on non-aggenda items will be available at the end of the meeting. If your
questions pertain to litigation, student or personnel items, please see the superintendent after the meeting as the board does not discuss these matters in public. Depending on the nature and complexity of your questions, the board secretary may ask for your contact information so that someone can get back to you with a response. As a reminder,
this is a public meeting and all comments should be appropriate for a public setting and made in a respectful manner. If you could state your name and um there's a sign-in sheet there as well. If you could sign in, please. >> So, my my name is uh Sean Highland. I'm from the New Jersey Family Policy
Center. We're in Warren, New Jersey. I was in Trenton all day. just came back here to share with you this evening about your library material policy. On a side note, in Trenton today, they actually passed a bill in the assembly that if a 16-year-old child calls a suicide hopeline, the operator will be
prohibited from telling the parent that their child at a high risk of suicide. That's very troubling. Thank you. What? Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. I don't want Is this better? Right. So, my name is Sean Highland. I'm from the New Jersey Family Policy Center. We're in Warren, New Jersey. I
just came here tonight from Trenton where a whole bunch of parents all day at the state capital because of a bill the assembly passed uh this afternoon that if your 16-year-old child calls a suicide hopeline and expresses intent to take his life, that mental health operator will be prohibited from telling
the parent that their own child is at a high risk of suicide. That's very troubling. I'm here tonight about your library material policy. Wanted to encourage you to adopt age appropriate standards and criteria. And this is why uh the the freedom to read act requires a multi-step process for how library
materials may be challenged, but the actual standards of what's appropriate are left to the discretion of local school boards. The school board retains final and complete authority to establish its district's book challenge policy and determine which materials are suitable for the students served by the
school library. In the Freedom to Read Act, it does say, and it does it does reflect this in your policy as well, that restricting access to developmentally inappropriate books for certain students is not censorship. And restricting access to books because the
content is inappropriate for certain grade levels served by the school library is not discrimination. Therefore, school boards may restrict access to a book that is age inappropriate for students because it contains sexually explicit content, profanity, or other things are
inappropriate for the age group served by that library. At the same time, books may not be restricted because of the the identity of the author, the viewpoint expressed, even if those views are offensive to some people. Legally, that is called viewpoint discrimination. It's
prohibited in every state. So when Governor Murphy when he signed the bill last year, he said this in his press release. Boards of education and governing boards of public libraries are prevented from censoring library material based on a disagreement with the viewpoint, idea, or concept or
solely because an individual finds certain content offensive unless unless they are restricting access to developmentally inappropriate material for certain age groups. For this reason, we strongly recommend school boards
adopt age appropriate standards and criteria to avoid unnecessary conflict. I believe at the last meeting you were given some recommendations what that criteria should be based upon the family policy alliance schoolboard academy. Whether you adopt those standards or you edit them for your own use, the key
point is that there should be a set of objective written standards that the librarian, the review committee, and the school board can reference when evaluating book challenges. These standards provide a clear framework for determining whether material is suitable
for the age group served by the library. They ensure consistency and fairness in decision-making. Most critically, they protect the board from lawsuits or claims of viewpoint discrimination when restricting access to a book. By adopting and applying objective criteria
and standards, the board demonstrates that decisions are based on age appropriateness, not on the identity of an author or the viewpoint expressed. This safeguards both the integrity of the library and the legal standing of the district. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Highland.
Is there any other board com or any other comments to come before the board this evening? Again, if you can come to the microphone, state your name, sign in, and please keep your comments to three minutes. Hi, uh Kathy Hank, Galloway Township. I
just want to say that I read this policy. It's very extensive. I think it covers um all aspects that we need to consider when we look at our library materials and there's a really well-defined process for if you have a complaint. Um
I particularly like the individual with a vested interest which means that any teaching staff member, any parent of a student at the district um or any student can file to have a something reviewed. And I think that's important
because that's who we really need to hear from the people that these policies affect. We need to hear from parents, students, and staff. Um, some people will say the parents are too busy, but I reject that. If a parent is really
concerned and has a problem, they will find time, excuse me, frogging my throat, to make themselves heard. Um, when my children were little, there was a a problem with equity in this district. So, I found a way to start attending schoolboard
meetings. Sometimes I brought them with me. Sometimes I hired a babysitter. I eventually became a board member when I had two jobs, three children, and a husband on shift work. So, I think if parents have a problem, they will find a way to come here and other people do not
have to speak for them. >> Thank you, Mrs. Hank. Is there any other public comment this evening on board item on agenda item? Okay, if you could please state your name and keep your comments to three minutes, please. My name is Kelly Grace, taxpayer here in
Galloway. And sometimes I'll grandparents have to speak for the parents because there are situations that they can't be here. All I want to do is remind and repeat something that happened at the last meeting um because it wasn't able to be publicly viewed and
aired. I just want to reiterate the absolute need to have things as basic as possible for these parents. And what I had brought up was maybe a take-home document. It would be so appreciative that a take-home document. I have no idea what the librarian, you know, how
they um look at a child. Do they have an ID that they're looking at uh to to distinguish are they allowed to have this certain kind of book? I I as a as a concerned grandparent, I would like to know what age and what type of books. It
would be wonderful, absolutely wonderful if you put into play a document going home with the kids that would be like movies where it's, you know, PG. Give a little summary of what that book's about. You can't always know what's
going on in the home. What child is at what maturity level? What you know yourselves if you have your own children, two or three of them, they don't they don't always mature at the same level. There's emotional maturity that needs to happen, body maturity,
cognitive. So, if you could just make that happen that you send home a document before the kids start school to know what you know is they're going to be looking at what books are going to be required to be read. It would be absolutely amazingly wonderful and
respectful and I would appreciate that. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. Is there any other public comment this evening on agenda items? If you could please state your name and sign in and keep your comments to three
minutes, please. >> Hi guys. Can you hear me? >> No. >> Can you hear me now? >> Yeah. You have to just get real close to it. >> Oh, okay. And congratulations for your 15 years. That's awesome. And >> thank you very much. >> I thought that was pretty cool. The Wheel of Fortune. >> That was really fun and I think that's
nice that you um shared that tonight. Um Okay. So, my name is Liz Nicoleti. I'm from I'm on the school board at Ocean City. Um and my my I'm um >> you just have to speak really close to the mic. I'm sorry. Okay. Much better. Thank you.
>> I'm not representing Ocean City School Board. I'm sorry. I stand here as a mom um a citizen of the United States and a very concerned parent. Um so I know what um you guys are talking about. The policy under discussion is policy 109
library materials 2535. I see that you are moving forward with the approval of library material 2535 and this marks your second vote on the matter. I recall that during the last meeting there was a reference to age appropriate materials and restrictions which was suggested to
the policy committee by your member Ethel Herminal. Many of us attempted to view that meeting. However, there is no video available online leaving me uncertain about the proceedings since we could not revisit the topic and I was informed of te technical difficulties. I
wish to express that unlike Ocean City, Galloway may take a more proactive stance in advocating for their parents, children, and teachers rather than merely adopting the model policy from the state freedom to read act site. You would be taking greater steps to
safeguard the interests of parents, children, and teachers in the freedom to read model policy, library materials 2535. Librarians and m media specialists are already afforded protection. However, we must remain concerned that if someone voices disscent or challenges the school
or parent or a parent could face legal action as has occurred throughout this state. I sincerely hope that tonight I will hear positive news indicating that this board genuinely cares about the welfare of children and parents and teachers. I would like to conclude with
the following. Roxbury, New Jersey. Two moms from Roxbury, New Jersey, achieved a legal victory following a court battle that began in 23 after a public school librarian initiated a defamation lawsuit against them for merely expressing their
opposition to the librarian's support of controversial books made accessible to students at the local high school. After approximately two and a half years, state superior court judge Jonathan Ramico reached the clear conclusion regarding the lawfare in a ruling dated
October 3rd which granted summary judgement in favor of Coobo and Bellastrer while dismissing Cavier's lawsuit as she was attempting to utilize the legal system to suppress constitutionally protected speech. And I
can't highlight this enough before I end that these two young moms and teachers had to fund raise to pay for their court costs and had a young family to raise. John Coyle, the attorney representing the defendants in this case, released a statement following the court's victory,
emphasizing that vexacious litigation aimed at silencing concerned parents ultimately loses the proverbial battle when confronted with the truth. I just want to um give some kudos to Ethel and Jenny. I know them personally and I know
they're fighting for rights of parents and I do as well at Ocean City and I know there's a battle going on in the schools today and I just hope that um regardless of who who you're representing, I'm a mom and you know
preserving my rights as a mom and a parent very important to me. >> Thank you, Miss Nicoleti. Thank you. >> Is there any other public comment this evening? If you could come to the microphone, state your name, and please keep your comments to three minutes.
There's also a sign-in sheet. Susan Colgus, I'm uh Galloway, and I'm here to honor you. A thank you. In my work as a a public school teacher, disability advocate, and professor of art education, I've seen firsthand that
leadership is not defined by a title, but by the choices that leaders make, especially when those choices are hard, inconvenient, or require standing firm in one's values. Ethical leadership provides stability for students, clarity for families, and trust for educators.
It is the quiet foundation that allows real progress to happen. Tonight, I want to thank President Susette Carman for embodying that kind of leadership. Thank you, President Carmen. Your commitment to transparency, consistency, and doing
what is right even when it is not the easiest path has set a tone for this board and for our district. You model the four C's that guide effective, transformational leadership. Clarity, communication, commitment, and consistency.
These aren't just ideas. in a policy manual. They are actions you demonstrate in how you listen, how you problem solve, how you treat people, how you bring the focus back to what truly matters, our students.
In moments when the community needed reassurance, you communicated thoughtfully and calmly. When difficult issues arose, you responded with professionalism and care that matters. People may not always remember every decision a board makes, but they do remember how that board made them feel.
And your leadership has made people feel respected, supported, and seen. As a parent, educator, and community member, I want to express my sincere appreciation for the example that you have set. You remind us that public service is not about power. It is about responsibility,
integrity, and an unwavering belief in the potential of every student in this district, including including those with the most complex needs. Thank you for being the model of equity, transparency, and strength. For upholding high ethical standards, and for demonstrating every
day what it looks like to lead with heart as well as skill. Our district is better because of your work, and so are the families that you serve. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. I appreciate that. Thank you. Is there any other public
comment? if you could just state your name and please keep your comments to three minutes. >> Hi, Patrick O'Keefe, uh, Galloway Township. Just very, uh, quickly, while I recognize that it's, um, everyone's right to come speak at the board
meetings, including Mr. Highland. On behalf of the New Jersey Family Policy Center, I would remind the board um as been brought up previously uh of the New Jersey Code of Ethics for School Board members um specifically letter F, which states, "I will refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special interest
or partisan political groups. Um censorship, whether it's books or otherwise, is um not beneficial to anyone's education. Um and so on behalf of the policy that seems to be contended here tonight, um it's of course my
position that we remain um inclusive and accessible for all students. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. O'Keefe. Is there any other public comment this evening? If you could please state your name, sign in, and keep your comments to three
minutes, please. Hello, my name is Gary Hermano. I'm a citizen of Galloway, New Jersey. I would just like to point out that making sure that literary content that is age appropriate is not censorship.
We don't put Playboy magazines in our schools because they're not age appropriate. Now, I'm sure you would never do that, but that's the point. We need to make sure that whatever material a student is reading that it is
age appropriate. And it's really just that simple. Recently, in another school district, my 10-year-old daughter, who has two autistic brothers, my not my daughter, my granddaughter who has two autistic brothers, was given a book to read in
which a young autistic boy who was sad that he was autistic killed himself. My daughter was summoned to the school as my granddaughter was sobbing uncontrollably. A 10-year-old should have never have
been given this book. Plain and simple. End of story. We have a right. As far as I know, a school board, its primary function is to provide citizen control and oversight of the district's
public education system and acting as a link between the community and the school administration. That means we just do not take everything the state gives us and pass it through without oversight. If someone wishes to discuss a particular ruling
that comes down from the state, it should be looked at and given thought and consideration with always with the parents in mind. Some parents may agree with whatever the state provides, others may not, but it
is their right to disagree. We have the right and making sure that materials are age appropriate is only common sense. Thank you. >> Thank you. Just as a point of clarification, Mr. Herman, >> the book that was given to your grandor,
that was not Galloway Township, correct? >> No, I did say that. >> I just want to make sure. Okay. Thank you. That's that was all I really wanted. >> I'm sorry. >> My point is that things can happen. >> No, I just wanted to clarify that that did not happen in Galloway. So that's >> Yes, I did state. >> Thank you. Thank you. Is there any other
public comment this evening? Come to the microphone, state your name, uh, and sign in on the signing sheet, and please keep your comments to three minutes. >> Uh, Teresa Capido, I am a member of Galloway Township for a long time. >> You just might have to get closer or
speak louder. We can barely hear you. I'm sorry. You could take that off of the >> Yeah, >> just pull it off. Thank you. Teresa Capido. I've been a member of the Galloway Township for a long time and I don't really appreciate
the fact that my tax dollars are supporting what the state is trying to make the school board accept. 60% of our tax dollars goes to the school. 60
more than 60% actually. And we talked about transparency tonight and I think it's um a lot of the parents probably most of the parents of Galloway Township school children
are unaware of what's going on here. They care about their children, but they are unaware of what you're trying to pass to put basically pornographic
material into the library. That's what it comes down to. >> And I think there should be some type of forum that is given to the parents, be it Facebook or whatever or letters going
home to the parents asking if they would approve of all this. Do the parents really know? Are they aware? This building should be filled tonight with the parents of the children that
attend Galloway Township School Systems. And I can't believe that you as adults are going to accept this policy, that you're going to pass this policy. Is that true? Are you going to vote on it again tonight
and approve it? You are going to, aren't you? >> It is on the agenda this evening. >> I know it is. >> Are you all going to approve of it is my question. >> I I just want to say I think everyone needs to take a hard look at what this policy is and quite honestly I'm
offended um at the interpretation of the policy. We are not approving pornographic materials for the elementary schools. I want to be very clear. >> That is it. You have material that is inappropriate. You have material in books that is inappropriate
for these young children. >> Have you contacted the superintendent about that book that you're referencing? >> No, I have not. Do I have to do it to him personally? I'm here for I want the public I want the parents to know of what's going on. I'm wondering whether
or not there's going to be tech. I guess my question to you is do you have a book in mind that you could tell us this evening what book has been distributed in gallery? >> Do you have one? >> No. That is why >> that's the point. >> That's the point. >> You don't. >> And if there is one on the shelf, are
you going to know about it? >> I have children in the district and yes. >> Yeah. >> Is there any other public comment this evening? >> If you can come to the microphone. Sure. Me, I know the feeling. If you could
state your name uh and keep your comments to three minutes, please. >> All right. I have a lot of comments. Um I am a social worker in the area. Um, >> I've been in social work for 16 years. >> You just have to get real close to What is your name? I'm sorry I didn't
>> Okay, sure. My name is Allison Maxfield and I'm a social worker um in the area of Atlantic County. I've been working for 16 years. I have worked with youth. Um, I just want to state that I really appreciate the board and I really trust your judgment.
>> Thank you. >> Okay. And I just want to go over just a few things that I'm hearing um that I feel that need some clarification. I do believe that um if people have problems with specific things. Um they need to know what those specific things are. I
do not believe that you're promoting porn uh pornography. I do not believe that. Um I'd like to say that there are a lot of really great parents in here who really care about the education of their children. However, a lot of parents nowadays are working two and three jobs to make ends meet. And a lot
of the kids are exposed to television and there's a lot of misinformation out there which could cause potential issues with the children of parents who really care. Nobody wants a child who doesn't who follows the ideas the ideas and
guidance of rap music and all these different things. I don't really think people would want to not have proper education in a school district about how to be respectful of their bodies and themselves. And I'd like to say that the
you know the goal of the school district is respect, hard work, kindness, trust, and equity. Equity means that everyone should be respected. And I truly don't believe in any way, shape, or form that you are teaching the children to disrespect their bodies, which our
culture teaches every day. So, I believe that you're doing the right thing. Um especially because I don't know um the person in charge of the board, but also what you just said. Um ma'am, you know what? What's your name? >> Me.
>> Alexa. Alexa, I really appreciate your comment because you seem like a mom who really cares, just like the other parents in here really care. I'd also like to speak to um what the one gentleman said about suicidal um thoughts and ideiation. The truth is school boards do um they do their best
as counselors to uh create safety plans and work with the children if they're having these kind of issues. But the bottom line is this. counselors by the state of New Jersey must report suicide, serious suicidal ideiation and thoughts
of suicide to the proper, you know, to the parents. So, I've never heard of anything like that. Um, you know, and usually most parents know what's going on. Unfortunately, parents who are working two and three jobs to make ends meet might not know what's going on and
they might not be contacted and they might not get the messages. Counselors still do the right thing anyway. Um, the other thing I'd like to say is what is developmentally appropriate, um, materials. As far as I'm concerned, um,
there's this whole idea that teachers don't do a good job and they don't know what they're doing and they shouldn't be trusted. And the truth is a lot of parents don't have the ability and time to do what's necessary. That's why it's so important to have trusted officials
who are doing the right things. Um, so Oh, I'm sorry. Am I done? Okay. >> Thank you so much. >> Is there any other public comment this evening? >> Seeing none, we'll move on with the rest of the agenda, please. Superintendent's report.
>> So, at this time, we have our attorney's report from Miss Hal Elco. >> Good evening, everybody. Since the last time we met, we had the opportunity to review some student matters and personnel matters with the district. Thank you. >> Thank you. Moving on to student enrollment. At this time,
there'sformational items for student enrollment report out of district suspension report and harassment, intimidation, and bullying reports. No action is needed at this time. >> Curriculum and instruction, please. >> So, we're looking to move items 7.1 through 7.4 as listed and attached.
>> Thank you. Can I have a motion to approve items 7.1 through 7.4, please? >> So, moved. Second. >> Is there any board comment? May I have a roll call? >> Mrs. Chester? >> Yes. Yes. Dr. Permentor. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Avery. >> Yes. >> Mr. D.
>> Yes. >> Mr. Gentiel. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Hermanau. >> Yes. >> Vice President Basher Blau. >> Yes. >> And President Carmen? >> Yes. Moving on to finance and facilities, please. Was there a finance meeting this evening? >> Uh, yes. We met prior to the board uh meeting this evening. Um, as attached,
we reviewed numerous items, including the agenda, the bills list, items on the agenda. And one thing I do want to point out is that we had been waiting on federal guidance for the audit. It did come out around Thanksgiving and due to the delay in the guidance, the actual audit report is currently being worked
on and we do anticipate that coming um before the board in January. >> Thank you. Is there any questions for Dr. Basher Blau? Seeing none, we'll move on with the rest of the agenda, please. >> Thank you. Finance and Facilities items 8.2 through 8.18 are up for your
approval. Can I motion approve items 8.2 through 8.18, please? >> So moved. Second. >> Is there any board comment? >> May I have a roll call? >> Mrs. Chester? >> Yes. >> Dr. Permentor? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Avery? >> Yes. >> Mr. Dace?
>> Yes. >> Mr. Jensil? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Hermanau? >> Yes. >> Vice President Basher Blau? >> Yes. >> And President Corman? >> Yes. Moving on to personnel, please. So at this time we have uh retirements under uh section 9.1.
Excuse me. So please accept this resolution with regret the letter of intent to retire from the Goway Township public school for the following staff members. Sandra Lewis Galushka Roland Rogers classroom assistant years in the district has been 18 years. Elizabeth
Ato, Roland Rogers School, part-time food service worker, has been in the district for 25 years. And Jerry Ro, Smithville, classroom assistant, has been in the district for 14 years. >> Thank you. Can I have a motion to approve item 9.1, please? >> So moved. Second.
>> Is there any board comment? >> May I have a roll call? >> Yes. >> Dr. Permentor? >> Yes. Mrs. Avery, >> yes. >> Mr. Dace, >> yes. >> Mr. Gentiel, >> yes. >> Mrs. Hermanau, >> yes. >> Vice President Basher Blau, >> yes.
>> And President Carman, >> yes. >> Moving on with the agenda, please. >> At this time, we're looking to move items 9.3 through 9.8 as listed and attached. >> Can I have a motion to approve items 9.3 through 9.8? >> So move. Second.
>> Is there any board comment? May I have roll call? Mrs. Chester, >> yes. >> Dr. Permener, >> yes. >> Mrs. Avery, >> yes. >> Mr. Dace, >> yes. >> Mr. Jentiel, >> yes. >> Mrs. Hermanau, >> yes.
>> Vice President Basher Blau, >> yes. >> And President Corman, >> yes. And at this time, we'll pause to introduce new hires. >> Uh, yes. I believe we have uh one of our new hires. Um, first, after an extensive search for the next um, assistant principal of the Arthur Ran Elementary
School, I'd like to for the first time introduce uh, a proud and warm welcome to Alexandra Marcini, the new assistant principal of Arthur Ran Elementary School. Congratulations. >> Welcome, Miss Marcini.
>> And Miss Marcini knows that she has some big shoes to fill um, from Terry Terry O' Conor. So, um, welcome >> welcome to the district. >> Is that all for new hires? >> That is all for new hires, I believe. Yes. >> Thank you. Moving on to policy. Do we
have a policy committee report, Mrs. Chester? >> Yes, we do. Um, the policy committee met on December 4th for approximately 3 hours to review and discuss the new policies as well as one policy being recommended for a second reading that is the library policy. Um, there are six
new policies that the policy committee reviewed and discussed that are being presented to the board of education for a first reading. These new policies do not have any new language in them. There's no strikeouts or no uh bold language um uh that's being removed. In addition, there is one policy which is
policy 2535 library materials being recommended for a second and final reading. The committee spent the majority of our policy committee meeting discussing this particular policy. Um and uh we uh we considered recommendations from the board members
and once again reviewing the actual statute in an effort to present final recommendations to the board. As sent to the board of education within our weekly bulletin update on Friday, the board had the opportunity to review the edits um to policy 2535 that the policy committee
is recommending. There will be two action items within the policy section to take action on. Um, one is the first reading and then the library policy second reading. >> Thank you. Is there any questions for Mrs. Chester from the board? >> I have one question about the policy we're going to supposed to approve for
second reading tonight. Is it possible to include in that a parent committee for each school to look at the books or go over it with the librarian? Is that that legal or is it >> So in terms of the I think what you're
asking is like to have a parent committee if I understand your question to have a parent committee to go through the thousands of books that would be in the library already. um >> just the ones that >> the as part of the statute and the law the the actual recommendation is that
the committee would be formed and and basically the committee would be formed in reference to a book that would be in question not not proactively taking a look at the thousands of books ahead of time and so on. >> So the book will come >> there's a process within a policy for
that to occur. Essentially, somebody will say that there's a questionable book. The policy will the policy committee that is made up of different stakeholders. Correct. >> Correct. >> We'll review that and make a determination and that is in the policy
that is up for approval this evening. >> Okay. >> There's see a well- definfined um list of people who would be included in that committee. >> Is there any other questions for Mrs. Chester? Um yes. Um so Belinda, thank
you for the policy committee looking at some of the things they suggested which were age appropriate restrictions. Um however I was disappointed to see that none of that was added to this policy and yet I know it by face by
looking at it looks like a pretty you know um reasonable policy. However, when you read under the library material recommendations of the selection process, the school library staff member in each school building will accept the
written request of teacher staff members for new and revised library material. Each request shall include and one of the things it includes is an explanation of age appropriateness of the requested
material. So if a staff member has to give age appropriate uh guideline, why don't we have a guideline in this policy for parents, for teachers, for librarians also? >> May I respond? >> That's my first question. Yes.
>> May I respond to that? >> So we did look at the uh the guidelines which I understand actually were provided through the New Jersey policy center. Uh, I took that by in your uh, December 2 letter, you referred to the schoolboard academy, which I understand
is an arm of the family policy center, which according to my research is a lobbying group. Uh, they were just in Trenton today lobbying. I kept track of the first version of this bill where they served as lobbyists and the second uh, portion of the bill. But that
doesn't mean that lobbyists don't come up with good ideas. They don't necessarily come up with ideas that serve a community, but it doesn't mean that they're bad ideas. So, we fully reviewed those and I fully reviewed those. And the first thing I did was I took a look at the 1982 Supreme Court decision, Island Trees Union versus PICA
or PICO rather, uh, where the Supreme Court determined 40ome years ago that students have a first amendment right to have access to books in the libraries to see if anything in that policy or that proposed policy uh, perhaps was contrary to that. The first problem I had with the
proposal that was submitted was that it talked about high school books and materials. And as we all know, we are not a high school district. So, we basically excluded that one for relevancy purposes. And with all due respect to Mr. Highland in stating that these policies are objective. My
analysis of them particularly in light of the Supreme Court decision, particularly in light of statutory construction, particularly in light of statutes that govern statutory uh construction, I saw I think at least three, if not four
uses of the word implied. Now implied is about as subjective as one can get. It is not an objective standard. It is a subjective standard. And that is the purpose behind this policy is if a book comes up
there is a process and that process includes is the material age appropriate. We added that phrase that is not in the policy. We added that indirect response to Miss Hermano's questions. Yes, it's a legitimate question. It absolutely is a legitimate
question. And the thought is that if the request is made uh and it indicates that there's age appropriateness, should that book ever be challenged, the committee that would be looking at that challenge would know from the get-go where the
developmental appropriateness was deemed to be so that there is a criteria to be applied so that when we are going to apply a standard, we know where we're going from. We start at base one. This is the reason this book was put into our library. Again, that's not in the
statute. Again, that's not in the policy that was given to us. That is our hard work. I spent the weekend, the weekend before this policy committee waiting through this, waiting through other state statutes, waiting through other state policies. This is the result of
that. We are from the get-go establishing an evidentiary basis upon which we can do a further analysis. The committee that is going to be charged with looking at a challenge cannot be handcuffed by vague
non-objective standards. They have to be able to look at the book aggressively. They have to be able to look at the book based on where it came from. They have to be able to make evidentiary determinations to ensure that its determination is an appropriate one. If a book is going to be taken from our
libraries, it will be stated clearly why. so that the person who is objecting to the removal can then take this to the next step if we choose not to remove a book. Likewise, the reasons will clearly be set forth from the day that that book
was put into the library so that the determination made by the school board can be subjective to subjected to a scrutiny by the the next level of review. That's the reason that's in there. It was a legitimate concern. It's in there
in response to that. It's just not in there in a vague fashion. These books are going to be reviewed on a casebycase basis. And they're going to be reviewed when an interested party, that is, as defined by the statute, as defined by
our regulation, excuse me, our policy, which simply absorbs those definitions. This policy, as we wrote it, as we rewrote it, presents a rigorous, a vigorous, a transparent means of review.
And with all due respect to to other groups coming in and trying to tell us how to run our school district, the answer is this is our community. These are our schools. These are our kids. These are our families. We can
take care of ourselves. And we are doing that. And we intend to do that. I spend every day right now in my career defending families against parent against state intervention. I understand what the state can do. With all due respect, probably better than anybody in
this room. I see it every single day. The best way to protect families is not to have some vague uh standard that can be set aside by a court. The way to protect families is to engage in a aggressive, transparent, thoughtful,
deliberative process. This policy is better than what was submitted to us. This policy is better than this the procedure set forth in the statute. This policy was written for no one other than our community. And I urge this board to
pass this policy today. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. If I could say one thing. I I read the original policy, but then I also saw the new policy that was policy committee changed verbiage and and added
a little bit and I think this their version is 10 times better than the original version. So, >> thank you. >> Can I also add something please? Um, first of all, can I ask Amy the attorney, is this being recorded and will this be available after this
meeting or do we still have technical difficulties? I wouldn't know if you were having technical difficulties. >> You wouldn't know if it's being recorded. >> Point of order. Point of order. We are debating a motion. How is that relevant to the >> I just asked a question. Let me ask. >> No, you asked a question. You asked an irrelevant question. We are debating
>> I'm sorry. Am I in court? Like I feel like I'm in court. >> Well, maybe you simply apparent I'd like to bring the meeting back back to >> Let me finish my comment, please. Apparently, Jim, you've taken a lot of time to re-evaluate this and redo this because you're the one that's put all
the time into it, which is great. You know, you're an attorney, you know, but let me say this. Um, if you don't want things to be vague, then set standards. Number one. Number two, if you want
parents to be able to argue that this book is not correct, yes, there's a removal policy. It's pretty ambiguous, but it's worse than that. Do they even know about the removal policy? And they have this policy makes them go to the principal first to fill out the form and
then so some of them may be intimidated by that or they might not have the time to do that. And the HIV, which is the harassment, intimidation, bullying policy, you could go right online and easily just hit something and make a
complaint. so easy for the HIV if you're a parent and you can do it anonymously and you can go after somebody and they immediately have to investigate. Let me let me continue. We were getting back. I'm I'm coming around. I'm coming around. >> I'm coming around. >> Well, please bring it around.
>> Thank you. So, you can easily do that. However, on this policy, you have to go see the principal first and then he has to submit something and then it takes like five days and then the superintendent has to put a committee together which is it's it's pretty
there's a lot to it. So, yeah, there should be guidelines, Mr. Gentiel, there should be age appropriate guidelines for parents to know and um but thank you for everything you're doing. And if if I could just comment just briefly on that,
the difference is that this policy impacts a constitutionally protected right that our kids have and that is why there is this policy. Kids have a constitutionally protected right to books in the library >> and so do parents
>> and that kids have a constitutionally protected right to ideas and to books. This process is the process that we are choosing to implement because we are balancing that constitutional right that kids have. >> They're kids. They're underage
>> that children have against the parents potry authority of the state. This is a balancing process. Thank you. >> Thank you. Moving on, we have some policy items to for approval, please. >> So, at this time, we're looking to move
items 10.2 through 10.7. And these are first reading as listed and attached. >> Can I have a motion to approve items 10.3 through 10.2 through 10.7 first reading? >> So moved. Second. >> Is there any board comment on those? Seeing none, can I have a roll call,
please? >> Mrs. Chester, >> yes. >> Dr. Permener, >> yes. >> Mrs. Avery, >> yes. >> Mr. D, >> yes. >> Mr. Gentiel, >> yes. >> Mrs. Herman, >> this is through 10.7 10.8. >> Correct. >> Okay.
>> Yes. Vice President Basher Blau. >> Yes. >> And President Corman. >> Yes. Then we have policy 10.9 up for approval. Can I have a motion? And that is a second reading, please. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Is there any other comment that has not been made? Seeing none, may I have a
roll call, please? >> Mrs. Chester, >> yes. >> Dr. Permentor, >> yes. >> Mrs. Avery, >> yes. >> Mr. Dase, >> yes. >> Mr. Gentiel, >> yes. >> Mrs. Hermanale, >> no. >> Vice President Basher Blau, >> yes. Yes. And President Carman. >> Yes.
>> Moving on to old business, please. >> Old business 11.1, affirm HIP determination reports as listed and attached. >> Can I have a motion to approve item 11.1, which is the affirmation of the HIP determination reports, please? >> So moved. Second. >> Is there any board comment? May I have a
roll call? >> Mrs. Chester? >> Yes. >> Dr. Permentor? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Avery? >> Yes. >> Mr. D? >> Yes. >> Mr. Gentiel? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Termino. >> Yes. >> Vice President Basher Blau. >> Yes. >> And President Carmen.
>> Yes. Moving on toformational items, please. >> So item 12.1 is our B board calendar as attached. And also there are some special events listed. And I'd certainly encourage uh the board and public to join us for our remaining winter concerts. Uh we have Roland Rogers GTMS
Reeds Road in Smithville. Uh still remaining. if you uh didn't get a chance last week, Arthur Ran uh packed the house here um for their winter concert. So, congratulations to uh to them during that time. Thank you. At this time, we'll open up
the board meeting to public comments on non-aggenda items. Mr. Dr. Highland, if you can just sign in again and just please keep your comments to three minutes. >> Let me just speak first and I'll sign in. Again, I won't be very long. Just to kind of clarify my comments earlier. I don't want you to think that I'm saying
your policy is a bad policy. Much of it is mandated by the state and you did do some great work up front to make sure that if you order new books, at least someone looked at the book ahead of time and they thought it was age appropriate. We're just trying to help school boards understand that if you have certain standards, whether you make them up yourselves, you take the ones that we give you as a template, that to have
them in place will just help the committees and really yourself, right, to decide if this book is challenged, you have to vote on it, does it meet those standards? Because what we don't want around the state, what we have for the past four or five years where there's, you know, school boards filled with angry parents and other people yelling and screaming about a book when
there's been a book challenge review policy set up in Trenton to help, you know, deal with that situation and try to get the the temperature down in our schoolboard meetings so we can make real decisions based upon criteria. So that was our our, you know, desire in sharing those standards wasn't to, you know,
tell your community how to run your school board. We're trying to educate school boards to have these standards to make better decisions. But again, it's up to you how you want to handle that. At the end of the day, you're going to vote in the book and then people are going to take excerpts from it and pictures from it and go in the community and it's going to be ugly and we don't want that. We want this thing to be solved. We're tired of all the debate
and the conflict and the anger. We want people to have a criteria to look at and to make it in intellectual honest decision what's appropriate for children. That was why we're here and that's why we're doing that across the state. Just wanted to clarify that. So, thank you so much. I'll sign in right now. >> Thank you. Is there any other board
comment or public comment this evening? This is Nicoleti. Miss Nicoleti, if you could sign in again and just please keep your cup. Yep. Afterwards is fine. >> Okay. I just um thank you for letting me come and observe your board um
meeting tonight. I just wanted to say that I I I just came to listen. I'm a I'm a concerned parent. I don't know if you guys do social media, but um there are a lot of questionable books that you see the comments and people a lot of
people don't like the graphic pictures and then a lot of people love them for their kids. So, there is a debate going on there and I just want to point out that I appreciate all that hard work that you did. I don't know your names. I'm sorry. Um but the conversation between Ethel and you and I feel like as
the president you interrupted Ethel And I think that's important because I was interested in the back and forth. I think it's really important and I didn't see you do that with him and that's just >> we're not discussing HIP this evening. We're discussing the policy at hand.
>> I'm discussing the way I'm discussing the way you conducted the business. >> You're certainly entitled to your opinion. >> So that's all I Okay. >> I wanted to say just I I just would have liked to have heard the back and forth. It would have it was really helpful to me. >> Thank you. And I appreciate all of your
um this gentleman on the right too, what you shared tonight. Thank you. Thank you. Is there any other comment this evening? >> If you could state your name and just sign in again when you're done. >> Sure. Um my name is Allison Maxfield. Um I personally know Jim Gentiel. He is one
of the most ethical lawyers fighting for the rights of children of Atlantic County that I've ever met. Um I worked in a crisis unit in Atlantic City. Um at that time he defended um children with dus. um if there's anyone that I would
trust um as a person who's really knowledgeable about um decent parenting and what is appropriate and what is not appropriate. I trust him and I also feel um um I don't know what to call you uh
the board president. I also feel that I got to really understand the different viewpoints and I heard that there were some valid viewpoints and I thank you very much for your execution of letting people talk but also taking back control. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Is there any other
public comment this evening? Seeing none, we do not have executive session this evening. So can I have a motion to adjurnn, please? >> So moved. >> All in favor? >> Thank you. Meeting adjourned.