Do notice that this meeting has been provided to retrospect the current legal ads on January 8th, 2026. >> To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God,
indivisible, liberty and justice for all. Roll call. >> Mr. Cook >> here. >> Mr. Kendall >> here. >> Mr. Lex >> here. >> Miss Stouter >> here. Miss Williams >> here. Miss Hingle here. We have Mr.
Calves, Mrs. Desi, and Mr. Richie Orson. >> All right, moving into section three, our minutes. Can I get a motion to approve items 3.1 through 3.4? >> So, All in favor?
Section [clears throat] four, correspondence. >> Okay, moving into section five of public comments. So, this is our first public comment section of the evening. This is comments for members of the public for the board of education on items included on tonight's agenda.
you have a comment. Uh, please state your name, the street you live on, and leave your remarks to three minutes. >> Sure. My name is Brett Stein. I'm on 217 Avenue. And I I didn't see the agenda, but I read in the paper that tonight's agenda talking about the Van Sky field
um upgrading the Van Sky Sports field. Are we building? We're not voting on that. I am talking a little bit about that in my school. >> Okay. >> So, Fred, it might be better since we're not going to vote on anything to wait till the second public comment cuz then
you'll get the update first. Okay, let's do it. >> Okay, anyone else? Okay, moving to section, our superintendent report. >> Hey, welcome everyone. Hope everyone's having a great summer. We are having a very exciting summer here in the
district. There's a lot of really positive things happening. There's some challenges as well. Uh but the best thing about this summer so far has been we've been almost fully staff administratively. So we've already had a full administrative team meeting. We've
worked hard on board data. We've placed all of our returning student requests for return to their elementary school. We looked at school district boundaries. um we communicated with families. We uh
we're developing very uh in a deep way different programming for next year which I'll I'll talk about. Um so it it's been a great summer so far. Before I go any further with some things that you know from my end of the table here and so I'm going to present and Sylvie
from Win City. So we're just going to talk to the board a little bit about the state of the district has lines to services to work with Oh, good. There we go. What happens?
Good evening. My name is Sophia. I am the general manager at Haditaka School District for WIS and food services. Um I know a lot of you. Some of you I don't know. So it's a pleasure meeting you today. Uh this is a presentation that I
these are his talking points basically that I had with Jen at the end of the year just to tell her everything that we did this year with food services. Um I want to have more board involvement. Um I want your feedback. Uh I want to see if you talk to students and I want to
see what you do. So this is a little bit of what we did in the past school year. Um we successfully ex executed nine popup pop-up events. So popups are a special event that we hold in the
secondary schools where we have one of our corporate chefs come and basically set up an outdoor like an outside restaurant within our our cafeteria lines. So there special events. Uh there's a lot of hype around it. There's always like an announcement at the
school and there all different kinds of things. Um, we have ramen noodle bowls, so it's a soup. We don't often have soup, so it's a special event. Uh, baked potato bar, a yard bird, which is a special chicken sandwich. Um, Soul Taco,
which is our form of Korean tacos, and these are build your own stations. I'll have photos of them. Um, folded Chipotle, which is like an upgraded Chipotle line, basically. Um, and as I say this, I encourage you to come whenever we have a popup. I'll send out
a list a month in advance, and you're more than welcome to come and try the dishes. Um, so a lot of these are are done with our cooker chef, Brad, and he does an amazing job, and he is bald, and all the students are like, "Oh, the bull ties
here." So, it's a thing. Um, okay. So some things that we've done throughout the year is we have expanded our menus within the schools to have two hot items and four cold items every single day in
the elementary schools. So we have six different options for the kids that order at elementary schools. And every Thursday, one of those options is a student favorite breakfast for lunch. um waffles with sausage, pancakes with
bacon. Um I did this because the students love that meal and it it's in really high demand. So I have that every single t every single Thursday and every Tuesday I have pizza, our own pizza every single week. Um pizza is obviously
a student favorite. Um, and Fridays we have Pzarello's pizza, but on Tuesdays we have a whole grain personal pan pizza, which is actually going really well. It's really helps with our meals. Um, so the average increase has been
about 144 meals since we started these upgrades, which is great. Um, I've conducted multiple uh, taste tests with the high school students to gather feedback. My office is in the high school cafeteria, so I have a great rapport with the students. I'm always
asking them for feedback. And now I feel like we've developed relationships where if they don't like something on the menu, they'll just come right up to me and tell me. Or if they do, they'll be like, "We want this again. When will it be on the menu again?" And they want to know right then and there. Um, which is great. That way, student feedback. I'm
here for the students. So, I love getting student feedback. I've I've had a lot of different taste testing events. Um, I've sampled a lot of different pizza varieties. We make our own pizza. We stretch out the dough ourselves, but I've asked them if they like their own pizza [clears throat] better. They like
the personal pan pizza just as much as they like the other ones. So, I wouldn't know any of these if I didn't talk to students. Um, it's really great getting their feedback. Uh, I we participated in multiple catering events throughout the district. I'm sure some, if not all of
you have seen them. Um, I really enjoy doing catering events and we have held student meetings at Van Skyber that have I've I've done taste sampling with them. So, I've sampled different menu items like wings or like a pretzel bite and I
wanted the students to give me feedback if this is something that they would order on the menu. Um, again, everything we serve is whole grain. we follow the National School Lunch Program, but something fun like a wing. It's not really something that you would get in school lunch. So, to have them sample it
before I just threw it on the menu, I wanted them to know what it was going to look like. I had about 25 kids and they were all uh upper classmen, so fourth and fifth grade, and they loved the wings and they they told me, "I'm going to go home and I'm going to tell my my
younger sibling that this is so good." And then the next month when I incorporate it into the menu, it ends up going really well. Um, here are some photos. So, we got really creative with the high school breakfast this year. We had a huge participation spike, so we
were asking the kids what they wanted. A lot of them wanted build your own, anything customizable. These students love it. So, we did a build your own yogurt bar. That was our top selling product this year for breakfast. Um, every special occasion like holidays, we'll do whole grain bagels. Oh, whole
grain donuts. And we decorate them really fun ways, but again, this is a special occasion. It's not all the time. It does meet all of the requirements, but it's fun to have on the line. These are pictures of our popups. This is the ramen noodle bowl. So, over here we have
the broth, and then they have their choice of protein. They have the ramen, some eggs, and a slew of different vegetables. This is a really big really big success with the students. They love the ramen. Baked potato bar. Um they
have bacon, they have taco meat, they have cheese, Alfredo sauce, broccoli, golden chipotle. Again, it's like a rice bowl with all these different kinds of foods. And whenever I do a popup, we always try to incorporate a food that
they might not get to eat at home. Um, so here we had plantains and we encourage the students to try plantains. We had some tofu. If they don't want to try the tofu on their bowl, we'll put it on the side just to expand their pallets a little bit. And I always like the idea
of them going home and being like, "Oh, I ate a pickled onion at school." Like, it's not something you hear every day. Financials. Um, as of May 2026 when I made this presentation, the breakfast meals were over about 475 meals over the
previous year, um, breakfast has grown a lot, especially in the high school and middle school. Um, lunch meals have grown around 4,500 meals over the previous year. And as of May of 2026, Allark meals are
over $1,600. Um, so that is really great. And then, um, just with snacks, we had some, um, changes within the SNAP program. So that was only that was what we saw that made a difference in the snacks. But overall,
this year was great. Everything's going on an upward trend. And I just wanted to come here and show you guys what we do and encourage you to come stop by anytime. You send me an email. I would love to give you a little tour. Um, I will be popping into these board
meetings just to keep you updated throughout the year. I want you guys I want your feedback. If you have any ideas, I'm here. Any ideas truly, I'm open to them. Um, and yeah, I I love it here. The students are so great and so
are the parents. I get a lot of feedbacks, feedback from parents, good and bad, but everything I take with a grain of salt. Everything comes directly to me and I make all the changes that I can. So, thank you so much for your time and we'll see you soon.
>> Anybody have any questions? No. >> If you come down anytime of lunch, I will give you whatever you want. And if I may, we would love to do an event with all of you this coming fall that we call lunch with leadership where we do a special day. We have you folks committed
to be the servers that day. So you get to see the kids and be excited. So we'd love to be able to invite you to do that as well. >> That would be really nice. >> I really like that we incorporate the students. That's really nice of you. >> Well, the students are my they're my customers. you know, the parents can
like the parents can complain or say whatever they want, but the students are who I'm here for. So, I really really like talking to them and getting their feedback and they're comfortable with me, which is nice. So, >> question [clears throat] not not the answer to
this. They're all multrad, right? How often are those standards set up? It goes to me like that the I'll just use my kids as an example. I can't get enough protein in my house. If there was we're cooking chicken like there's no tomorrow, right? So, it's just all protein. Like how did those guidelines
go back and update what you make, right? Cuz it's it's I know you're kind of restricted to what you can and can't like add to that. But if there was more just proteins example, there's ways to add more protein. Are you allowed to do that or is it you're kind of stuck with what you have to?
>> Uh, no. it well we follow recipes um but right now the dietary guidelines of America change so um every year they do change and the national school lunch program adapts with the changes um there hasn't been any changes on the protein but as far as the whole grain it does
keep going the requirement does keep growing so right now it's 80 8020 we are 100% whole grain besides the Friday pizzas um but that the whole grain keeps growing um as far as protein It's uh it's 3 oz of protein for the secondary,
right? 3 oz of protein and 2 oz for the elementary schools, but um overall we just do the 3 oz cuz if we're serving the chicken the same um if there I have at this at the high school, I have students that want more protein, especially athletes. They're like, "How
do I get more chicken?" And we just give them an extra bowl of the chicken and we we serve it for a low cost. So like they could always we especially at secondary schools where we have a lot of make your own stations. We have like a build your own taco line every single day at the high school. They come and they get
chicken and then they'll add it to any food that they have. Just especially those athletes, >> so a lot of it's customizable, but some of it we do have strict recipes. >> I don't know how to feel about whole grains, but that's just >> honestly
trying. They look great. >> They're they're amazing. They don't even taste whole grains. So a lot of a lot of it is me like standing on the lines just try it. Just try it. Yes. You don't taste the whole grain. And they don't it does I don't specify a whole grain donut.
They just say donut. >> I have a question. Is there a way to get like a better like I know you guys have the F meal plan site but I find that's kind of hard to
read and so my daughter this is what she said about lunch on what the menu is for that day and I remember once um I think I emailed somehow maybe it was you because the middle school menu wasn't updating and they sent me this really
nice formatted PDF with a menu with all month and I was like, "This is beautiful." Like, could that be posted like on the website somewhere or something? >> I can probably have that posted monthly on the website. FD Meal Planner, it
alters our original menu. I s I I send that menu to every elementary school and the high school, but not the middle school. So, I'll have it I'll make sure that I have it in whatever newsletter they send at the middle school monthly just like I do at the high school. So,
you guys have that that nice PDF form cuz unfortunately I can uh change FD meal planner. It's automatic. But I can definitely find a way to have that posted online. Um, I can work with it or I can work with the school secretary and just make sure that it's included in
either a weekly basis on the newsletter or a monthly basis like I do for the high school. >> And if you want, I can send it to you personally. >> It's really, really simple. >> It's just, you know, if it was like in a better format, maybe more kids would
know what's >> I so I I so agree. It's not the greatest, but I'll I'll make sure that we have that nice [clears throat] form. Um, we just got new uh signage for the middle school. So, they'll have an actual sign of that PDF form on the wall
outside of where we serve lunch every every month. So, it'll be the whole week, the whole month posted right outside so they can see the whole week. >> So, thank you for that. That was good to be back. >> Thank you, Sophie. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you all so much for having us. >> Thank you.
>> Thank you. So, before you go, I just have two other pieces of information, right? So I'm going [clears throat] to first one is October 1st we're having New Jersey school boards association dinner. We're hosting it on board
leadership from all C County school board is going to continue to compensate closely on that evening. I think it's a good opportunity for us to draw our new space to engage with local school board members but also
service will bring the extra chefs in that night [laughter] as well always come in for these. >> All right, the second option, the second thing I have to tell you. So, I cannot have board members pop into school. So, I'm going to correct the record
there. Contact the superintendent. He will arrange a time where I can escort them to the cafeteria to try to try the lunch. How do we feel along the lines of when she does these popups? She sent you an invite that you can
>> appreciate that. Awesome. Thank you so much. Enjoy the rest of [laughter] your summer. >> Thank you so much. Have a good evening. >> Bye. >> All right. So some of the some of the things that are happening here uh in in administrator. So one of the things that
we're working on administration is reducing screen time in specifically elementary grades and middle school grades. Um it's obvious that kids are spending too much time on screens both in school and out of school. And we're
working um we're working on plans to make sure when kids are on a screen especially independently that is purposeful and useful and it's not too long or too much. Um at the same time we know that it is now important for us
to start working with our teachers on how to implement artificial values in the classroom and create more specific and appropriate ways. This is a lot of work. They really thought we'll deliver about
it. Mike man is our technology director. He's something for Jimmy Heckers tonight who's in the leader in this work. But we're all kind of developing it together. On the bond front, we are moving forward as expected with what I talked about
last meeting and we're going to [clears throat] back away from widening the front entrance at the high school due to the high cost of that. starting the 111 funds because we want other projects that run the budget. So, we are
going to leave the high school front entrance as is and we're going to make sure that those bond funds are able to be utilized specifically for the emerging technology lab uh and the remaining parts of the educational space
that they need to be uh the second part of that we're also backing away from the intended uh improvements at lower. We are going to continue with putting the asphalt down there for uh better foot stability and
accessibility purposes, but we are not going to be able to continue with the field the recontouring. There's just too many concerns from DP storm water drainage the the intended plans are very
expensive, very complicated and we're not even sure that they're going to be successful. So not going through that project and instead we are going to improve the the fields that we have without the help of architecture and engineers and the fields that we have at
Van Sky. It's neglected um to work with the turf management company to make that more playable and expand the field. Right now there's a swing set that's very old. Uh we're going to remove that swing set from the PTA sky where we're
going to have different swing set somewhere else. We're going to take that area where the swing set is and make that part of the field. Uh and also probably this is still a work in progress but eliminate some of that
black top. So we could have a better soccer field uh a shorter smallsided field for younger students uh to play and It's it's not what we wanted from out of lower keynote, but we promised [cough and clears throat] community field improvements.
Um, and at this point, just to clarify on that, you mentioned we're working on a turf management company, but there's no artificial turf. >> No artificial turf. It's a turf mans. >> I just didn't want any wonder about that. Yeah, it's the same
group that helped us uh [clears throat] trans our elementary leadership principal team. We are doing a districtwide book study that was launched right here for next year on reasonable hospitality. Um you know we pride ourselves on having
excellent reason uh engagement. Um and uh principles on their own uh decided to do a districtwide look like five elementary schools uh join them. So sure
that's been done for that initiative. Oh the that's right foundation paper the books. I got that good catch. Uh on not such a good news front, we did not have a successful beginning with uh
our summer rec program. Uh that has been outsourced to the right school company a higher level than expected amount of parent concerns, staff concerns, electric former staff was hired. Um they were all
promised to be employed. Not all of them were all automatically that roll over was a little bit clunky. Uh but more concerning the first few days, that's it. The first few weeks are concerned to our parents regarding drop
off and pick up some other programmatic concerns. Uh however, things aren't improving. Uh our staff uh that previously worked before us has been kind of redeployed. they've been now um
provided with a little bit of uh I think they've been empowered a little bit some of the same stations and activities that were in the past and so we're hoping that it's right size we have not um been successful in uh
securing a Chinese commander future high school so we're looking at um what opportunities they be out there for continuing Chinese minor education uh without a content certified Chinese
teacher and what other opportunities to the district for not only doing foreign language communication but does this vacancy provide us with maybe some some um we can feel to improve other areas such as the potential for math
acceleration in eighth grade. So you are contemplating allowing some of our math students in E3 uh that have proven mastery over um pre-alggebra the opportunity to not take a foreign
language uh in ninth grade uh but instead not take a foreign language in eighth grade but instead to double up their math. this by no means is uh something that's ready for uh a formal presentation
but you know together with the administrative team I think we're first or second base so to speak with developing this opportunity for the potential to have kids double up their map geometry as a way to celebrate that more
to come on that um we will begin very soon placing our kindergarten teachers I'm sorry, our kindergarten students that have registered and all of the returning elementary school students
with school specific school requests have already been placed and all of the parents request has been honored for uh I was able to successfully place all of the uh students into the schools that
they requested exception. So parents are are required to request every year if they to attend a elementary school that's outside of their zone. Um that request comes to me I'm going to recommend that for residual
requests you probably go to the principles from now on because there's a lot of a lot of a lot of requests takes a great deal of time. The principles know the circumstances better than I do. So we move forward once the students are in school probably going to make that
switch that they have a policy change that goes along with it but for now that's where things stand one more thing right um on the agenda is permission to hire staff this is usually
August these are the choosing the August agenda goes because we may get those children that really late resignation from a teacher that we may not have a candidate ready for the August meeting
and you could ask for permission to hire so that person can start the school year. I'm asking you for permission for that tonight, but not for a teaching permission because we still have to go this week. There are two vacancies [clears throat] in the board office. As
you're aware, you know, we have had significant reductions in staff in the board office. We're currently without the district registar. Okay. and assisting the business right now is assisting myself and this is
lacking the registure is completing all the registrations registration right now I can't in the office I slept here last night she's shortanded get on our registration.
We're going to lose alone the payroll and J payroll and benefits management. She's going back to the classroom. I can't wait. Her last name is she's got
some vacation coming up. I can't wait. or just maybe somebody and then we might not have somebody until someone interviewing but we're not very [cough and clears throat] that's what
that's all I have for you any questions for me comments questions about All right, we already did section seven presentation. So, we'll move to section 8, finance and facilities. Can I get a motion to approve items 8.1 through
8.17? >> Move. Second. Any questions? >> Mr. Cook, >> yes. >> Mr. Lex, >> yes. Miss Stout, >> yes. >> M Williams, >> yes. >> Yes.
>> No, Mr. P. >> All right. Moving to section 9, instruction program. They get a motion to approve item 9.1. >> Second. >> Any questions? >> Mr. Hook. >> Yes.
>> Mr. Kendall. >> Yes. >> Mr. L. >> Yes. >> M. Yes. >> Yes. Moving to section 10, personnel. Can I get a motion to approve items 10.1
through second 10.21? >> Any questions? >> Yes, section 10. rolloff. >> Mr. Cook, >> yes. >> Mr. Hendle, >> yes. >> Mr. Lex, >> yes. >> Mer, >> yes. >> Miss Williams,
>> yes. Moving to section 11, student services and activities. Make a motion to approve items 11.1 through 11.9. >> Any questions? Welcome. Mr. Cook, >> yes. >> Mr. Kendall, >> yes. >> Mr. Les,
>> yes. >> Mr. Ser, >> yes. >> Miss Williams, >> yes. Moving to section 12. I get a motion to approve item 12.2. >> Any questions? >> Mr. Cook, >> yes.
>> Mr. >> Yes. Yes. >> Yes. All right. Moving to section 13, our final public comment section of the evening. Uh this is for comments to the public for the board on any topic. Uh if you have a comment, please state your
name and limit your remarks to Fredd. Uh thank you for the update on Sky. Can you um would there do you envision any encroachment of the improvements that sky work into Savage Woods at all?
>> No, I don't I don't think there's any encroachment that direction. Um there's going to be encroachment towards say there's encroachment there's going to be towards the school in the black complex. That's the area. Before we uh progress too far into that,
I guess I guess there's a process where it's staked out. You know, we think that we would probably stick it out, have it come out and walk it, see the sack, but there's a swing set there that
grass, >> right? And a lot of the other uh areas is just grass that we have. So not as low spots. Um the actual fuel based on trying to make it safe
wasn't flood as much as you know. So a great job maintaining it that area. Is there any specific things that you think that we possibly can forward? >> I I think Well, I think that will you
have your engineer look at the drainage cuz it'll probably go to Now, I don't I you know what? It's probably in the drain right just cuz there's going to be more grass and surface area between the field and the gully, right? And that's probably where the runoff would go, which is where it should go. We don't
think we need an engineer for this project. It's a sense of just going to the top floor, not changing the slope or anything. Do that. >> It sounds like you're Oh, you you you think there'll be a a reduction in curvous surface when you pull the
asphalt up and and move the field. Would that be I mean that could be a benefit that could be a a bonus to the >> I'm happy to show. We have a few different estimates right now. And happy again
out there and show show you what you think that this is going to look like. If you have recommendations for specific type of contouring and things like this, you know, essentially the sports landscape is soccer.
>> Yeah. I mean, I don't want to because I'm not an expert in that field either. So, >> but if you if you can have other people come out to look at it, I I would join Okay. But I don't think I don't think it's any proven any I think where the
swing set is is all it's the um it's sawdust type surface surface. So I think if if they could shift it over they would probably just make that area for the fields and then push all the play stuff over the other side. That's a
guest, right? I'm going to I'm meeting with the main Scott PTA about those swings, right? There are a lot of injuries on the swings bar. So, we have to go through this in terms of where they're going to go. We're going to have swings
conversations. >> Well, if it's if it's okay with you, I I could try and attend that same take you out of place. >> Okay, that'd be great. >> All right, that' be great. Thanks. Hi, I'm Julie Zel and I live in Hadach on Emerald Avenue. I'm also employed at
the summer program for right at school and I just came tonight because I wasn't sure if any parents would pop in and share some concerns and I thought it might be nice to have somebody who's working the program and assure them we are on the right path. We're writing our ship and we're going to be awesome for the rest of the summer. That's all I got.
>> You're welcome. All right. Any uh comments or additional questions or thoughts from the administrative team or board? >> I'm glad to hear that. >> All right. Can I get a motion to adjurnn? >> So move.
Second. >> All in favor? >> Thanks all. Happy. >> All right. Take care, guys.