Meeting call to order. Time now is 7:00. Public portion meeting begins. New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the rights of the public to have advanced notice of health and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions
of this act, business administrator board secretary has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date, time, and place thereof posted at the municipal building, communicated to Herald News, the record and file with the clerk of tomorrow for roll call, please. >> Joseph Carr
>> here. >> Alexo >> here. >> Michael Doyle >> here. >> Jennifer Artra >> here. >> Abigail G >> here. >> Erica Mo Coulson >> here. Anthony Paloo >> here. Jazelle Vega here. Marco Daro
>> here. Also present our superintendent Mr. Melli and Mrs. Vali. Please everybody rise for the flag for it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
>> Thank you. >> Meeting regulations. During each regular meeting, two opportunities are provided for citizens to ask questions and to make comments. During the first opportunity, early on the agenda, the meeting is open to public for the purpose of addressing items listed for approval on this agenda only. The second
opportunity occurs just prior to adjournment when citizens may address any subject matter that is current to andor directly related to the operation of the school district. Persons wishing to speak must upon being recognized rise, state their name, address, and subject matter. Comments and questions
shall be addressed to the board president or presiding officer and shall be limited to five minutes per person. The board may or may not respond to issues raised by members of the public at the time they are raised, but will will provide a response if and when appropriated. The board asked that members of public
be courteous and mindful of the rights of the individuals other individuals when speaking. Please note that the board will not respond to comments regarding students or board employees in light of the privacy rights held by those individuals. Moreover, the board discourages comments about such
individuals and will not be responsible for such comments. Members of the public who choose to speak during this public session should carefully consider their comments since they could be held personally liable for any statements they make. Finally, please note that in accordance with the district policy, the board will
not officially comment or respond to any matter mentioned until, excuse me, unless it can confirm that the matter has first been brought to the attention of the appropriate personnel and attempt to resolve the issue. Public be heard. Agenda items only.
Seeing none, moving on. Approval of the minutes. August 19th, 2025 work session and regular meeting public >> motion. Second >> discussion. >> Roll call, please.
>> Mr. Carr, >> yes. >> Mr. Cleo, >> yes. >> Mr. Doyle, >> yes. >> Miss Art, >> yes. >> Mrs. G, >> yes. >> Miss Moy Coulson, >> yes. >> Mr. Paloo, >> yes. >> Dr. Vega, >> yes.
>> Mr. Yes. Correspondence. Seeing none, we'll move on to reports. >> Tonight we have our student council representative report uh given by Mr. Jonathan Barbi. Am I saying that correctly? >> Yes. Welcome aboard.
>> Thank you. >> Good evening everybody. My name is Jonathan Barbaresi, the student council board of ed representative for the 2025 2026 school year. I am both a member of the Italian Honor Society and the vice president of the National Honor Society. I also to do fall and winter
cheerleading and spring track and field. Along with all that, I'm involved in a plethora of clubs around the school such as peer leaders, student and class council, Italian club, and many more. And now for my very first quart. The start of the 2025 2026 school year
has has been not only a positive one but also an exciting exciting but also exciting for students and staff alike with various events taking place and or planned for the future. Things such as the fall pep rally that took place September 5th created a sense of unity
and school spirit amongst all grade teachers and administr administrators in preparation for bear a month-long series of fall oriented events and traditions which approaching in the near future. Along with spirit, the new school year brings much opportunity for growth,
leaving the possibilities endless for the future year out HHS as a school. Sports. As we transition from summer practices to the fall sports season, the Bears are finding their groove throughout their first official games.
As of now, the Bears haven't attended any major tournaments, but plan on excelling through their overall season and set tournaments. While sports are only just beginning, the future is looking bright and we look forward to seeing how the Bears continue forward and thrive as a school collectively and individ as individual teams. Clubs
teachers with our annual club fair coming up September 26th. Clubs are similar to similarly to sports just are just starting up starting with interest and introductory meetings. The club fair will give students a chance to explore a
wide variety of extracurricular activities and sign up for the ones that inspire them most. Although each grade's class councils as well as the overall student council has hit the ground running this year with are quickly approaching homecoming week
which is October 6th to October 10th. um of class compet competitive events such as our hallway decorating and spirit dress up. As we know, student involvement here at HHS is an important aspect of not only
every student's day-to-day life, but also incorporated and considered when deciding things such as schoolwide events and decisions revolving around student council. Especially with our Beartober in mind, we look toward our student body for support, opinions, and ideas for not only how we can improve
their but also overall increase overall school spirit going forward. Starting with our block party coming up October 1st with plans to not only bring back this fun-filled night since it was last done in the 2022 2023 school year, but
also incorporate new ideas to both improve the block party for this year and raise the bar for years to come. With all that being said, I appreciate my presence being welcomed here today and look forward to our future meetings for the 2025 2026 school year. I look to
not only inform all of you, inform you all on the happenings around the school, but also form a connection with you all throughout this year as the successor of many amazing people who have held my position in the past. Finally, as I described, is proving to be an exciting start to the year for HHS and we are
looking forward continuing this positive momentum through the year to ending the 2025 2026 school year one turn. Thank you again. [Applause]
>> Good evening everyone. Uh before I begin, I want to thank Jonathan. and I had the opportunity to speak to him for a couple minutes and to get to know him a little bit a little bit more and I'll say he's an exceptional kid and he represents uh the type of student that we want in Hoffline. Appreciate you being part of this and we look forward
to working with you this year. So I'll keep my report brief tonight because we'll be be presenting our district goals for the 2526 school year a little later in this meeting. But I'll say that the beginning of the school year has been uh very successful. Our dedicated staff have been doing outstanding work
both in the classroom and on the athletic fields. It's been wonderful to see our student athletes in action representing Hawthorne with pride and energy. We're off to a great start and I am very much looking forward to the year ahead. I encourage everyone to look at our district newsletter and to follow us
on social media to keep up with all the great things happening across our schools. In addition, I also want to take a moment to invite everyone to Hawthorne Day this Saturday. The district will have tables set up alongside the board of education and PTO tables. Students and teachers will be
will be there highlighting our programs and showcasing the great work happening across our schools. I want to take a moment to highlight some of our student athletes. Dylan Mahia was named NJIC offensive player of the week for his week zero performance against MKA. Dylan
went eight for 16 for 140 yards, three touchdowns while also adding two rushing touchdowns. Uh, Camila Sancho was selected as the NJIC girls defensive player of the week by NJ.com. She anchored the Bears defense, helping secure three shutouts early in the
season. Olivia Pacero was nominated for the records athlete of the week after recording three goals and three assists during the Bears unbeaten streak. And Josie Armano advanced to the quarterfinals of the Pay County Tennis Tournament. A tremendous accomplishment.
So, congratulations to those student athletes. Um, in addition, I wanted to extend our thanks to Dr. Pooper, Mrs. Crawford, and the entire CPAC organization for their generous donation to our district. This contribution comes as a result of
their annual color run held each May. We are grateful for their support and will ensure that these funds are used to directly benefit students. Finally, I'm required to report on the SSDs. Each year, superintendent must report incidents of violence, vandalism,
substance abuse, weapons, offenses, and HIV to the board twice annually. Districts submit reports for two periods, September through December and January through June. Tonight, I will share the numbers from the spring 2025. 21 total incidents, eight incidents of
violence which were fights, zero incidents of vandalism, 12 incidents of substance abuse, primarily vape related, zero incidents involving weapons, and one confirmed HIV case. And while these are things that we don't necessarily want to talk about a board meeting in which we're going to be celebrating a
lot tonight, what I will say is I'm proud to say that these numbers are down from last year. And I believe this improvement is directly connected to the proactive supportive environment our staff is creating for students every single day. So the best part of tonight um this evening I want also want to take a
moment to recognize a very special group of people that are in our crowd. Our district employees who have reached a remarkable milestone of 20 year five years of service and education. 25 years of service in education is very special and we're still standing which I'm happy
to see. Still in the classroom, still being members of our staff to support our school system. A quarter of a century is an extraordinary commitment. Their dedication, perseverance, and care has shaped the lives of countless students and families in our community. It is an honor to celebrate them
publicly tonight and to thank them for their lasting contributions to the Hawthorne public schools. So, I'd like to ask our board president uh to present the gifts. I'm going to say a couple words and I would also ask um our administr administrators if you would
come up to shake a couple hands. I would appreciate that. Regardless of what school you come from, come on up. >> You can come right down here. They're they're going to walk right through and shake all the hands can be the screen in front of us.
>> I actually like that idea. >> So, the first is Mrs. Terry Adino. Uh she's a dedicated first grade teacher at Roosevelt School whose kind, positive, and loving nature makes her an ideal educator for our youngest learners. She excels in fostering collaboration,
always eager to work closely with her colleagues to support students and enhance instructional practices. Mrs. Adino is highly respected by her fellow staff members and the family she serves, reflecting the strong relationships she builds within the school community. Roosevelt School is fortunate to have
her warmth, professionalism, and commitment shaping the foundations of our students educational journey. Let's offer her a round of applause. [Applause] [Music] Thank you very much.
>> She survived. Congratulations. Next, we have Mr. Shawn Van Winkle, who I don't believe is here tonight, but I did want to honor him. He's a beloved veteran teacher in our English department, who's known for his thoughtful and engaging anecdotes during class discussions, encouraging students
to make connections from text to current events in their daily lives. His approachable and welcoming demeanor allows him to foster strong relationships with his students that extend far beyond graduation. Mr. Van Winkle is an empathetic and supportive teacher who has emotionally and
instructionally supported both his students and clinical interns throughout his tenure at HHS. Additionally, he has always expressed that despite being a longtime veteran educator here at Hawthorne, he always enjoys learning new strategies from new teachers and fellow
staff members, the variety of classes he teaches teaches allows his impact to reach a wide range of students, leading our journalism program and guiding the next generation of teachers through our careers and education classes. Thank you, Mr. Van Winkle, for all you have given to this community and our
students. The next is actually one of the first teachers that I had the opportunity to meet here. She's amazing at what she does. Mrs. Irene Yeder. Actually, I think she should stand and I as I call your name, stand up so you can uh take in the full
are given to you. Uh, Mrs. Irene Yetter serves as Roosevelt School's academic coordinator and plays an active role in a variety of committees including school improvement panel, school safety team, social media committee, INRS committee, cardiac crisis team, and RTI committee.
She also coordinates the district's BSI program at the elementary level, ensuring that students receive the support they need to succeed. Before joining Roosevelt, Mrs. Yedder was special education teacher at Jefferson School, where she was honored as teacher of the year. Know known for her
diligence, kindness, and funloving spirit, she continually brings fresh, innovative ideas to the educational process. Roosevelt School is fortunate to have her as a valued member of our community. [Applause]
Next, we have Mr. Sha Kaminsky. This evening, we're proud to honor Mr. Shan Kaminsky for 25 years of dedicated service to the Hawthorne Public School District. Mr. Mr. Kaminsky is a physical education teacher at Hawthorne High School, and it was clear how deeply committed he was to his students from
day one. He not only teaches the importance of physical fitness and healthy lifestyles, but he also works tirelessly to support the mental health and well-being of every child in his care. He's known for his compassion, his willingness to listen, and the way he makes each student feel valued. Among
his colleagues, he is admired as well. Year after year, he continues to be nominated by his peers for his the for our school's character recognition awards. Dependable, caring, and steadfast in his mission, Mr. Kaminsky and exemplifies what it means to be an
educator who truly makes a difference. We're proud to have him on our staff and grateful for his 25 years of service. [Applause] Congratulations. >> Next, we have Maryann Lopez.
>> Maryannne Lopez is proudly celebrating her 25th year of teaching in the Hawthorne School District. Her many years of service reflect both her deep commitment to education and her unwavering dedication to Hawthorne schools. Mrs. Lopez teaches Italian at the middle school and also provides
engaging language lessons to all fifth grade students across district's elementary schools. As veteran teacher, she continues to bring fresh ideas and innovative approaches to her classroom. She welcomes feedback and is always seeking new ways to create meaningful learning experiences for her students.
Beyond her excellence as an educator, Mrs. Lopez is known for her warmth and infectious laughter, which can often be heard in the hallways. Her positive spirit and optimistic outlook brighten the school environment and brings smiles to her colleagues and students alike.
Miss Lopez [Applause] Next we have Mr. John Leforge. Mr. Leforge continues to play an integral role in our district barricade program. Theresa's 25 years in the Hawthorne school district. Mr. Mr.
Leforge has served the students and staff of Hawthorne schools in multiple multiple capacities as a pair professional bus driver and coach. In each capacity, Mr. Leforge has maintained his caring and dedicated approach to ensuring the safety and well-being of our students. His
approach, demeanor, and personality remain a vital part of what make what makes the barricade such a unique and wonderful program. Mr. Leforge. [Music] [Applause]
Next we have Miss Julie Schmidberger. Miss Julie Schmidberger has been a dedicated pair professional in the district for 25 years, bringing her experience and commitment to students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels across a wide range of special education programs. Throughout her
career, she has consistently demonstrated a willingness to embrace new challenges while providing strong support for students with special needs. Her tremendous work ethic combined with her reliability and compassion makes her a valuable resource not only for students but also for colleagues and
administration. Roosevelt School is fortunate to benefit from her expertise, dedication, and unwavering commitment to student success. [Applause] Next, we have the first employee that I
ever met from Hawthorne. Uh, I met the board of ed members first, but then for the night that I was um being brought in as superintendent, I was trying to figure out how to get into the high school and a man by the name of Cheeto
greeted me and let me into the building. Um, so I have we have a couple words for him. This evening, we are proud to recognize a very special member of the Hawthorne public schools team. For 25 years, Cheeto has been a constant presence in our district, working tirelessly behind the scenes to make
sure our schools run smoothly and safely. As a resident of Hawthorne, he has shown true pride in ownership in his work. Whether it's clearing snow before the sun rises, repairing boilers in the middle of winter, or updating water fountain so our students have clean drinking water, Cheeto has always been
there to keep our schools running. He leads by example, serving as union president and always quick to support both his colleagues in the district. And no matter what the challenge, he does it all with a positive attitude and a smile. On behalf of the board of education, administration, staff, students, and families of Hawthorne, we
thank Cheetto for 25 years of service, dedication, and pride in our schools. We're fortunate to have him as part of the Hawthorne family. [Applause] Congratulations. Thank you. Congratulations.
Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> And last but not least, we have Tony Portoova, one of our high school custodians. We're proud to celebrate Tony Portova for his 25 years of service at Hawthorne High School. Tony has been
a devoted member of our custodial staff, always working tirelessly behind the scenes to keep our schools clean, welcoming, and ready for both the school day and evening events. He can always be counted on for the last minute changes, ensuring everything runs smoothly for student, staff, and families. We're deeply grateful for his dedication and
many contributions that have shaped the positive atmosphere of our school. Congratulations, Tony, on this milestone achievement, and thank you for 25 years of outstanding service. So, just one last time, please join me in giving all of our 25 year honores a
well-deserved round of applause. We're looking for the next We're looking forward to the next 25 years of [Applause]
do a picture. with uh everybody if we can get the board on this side too. We're going to take a picture and then a five minute break and then >> recal presentation that's coming right now.
Can you turn off the projector? Yes. >> Congratulations. down here. >> We're going down. It should be on now. >> Yeah. >> Check it.
Ready? When you guys are >> All right. So, now on to the next segment of the night, which is the presentation of our district and board goals. I'm pleased to present the district and board goals for the 2526 school year. These goals represent the
collective commitment to expand opportunities for our students and for our parents that are uh logging in tonight and our parents that are present. Really happy that you're here to hear about some of the exciting things that we have planned for our students. Um and really at the center of it is strengthening com communication in
our community and ensuring rigorous learning for all of our learners. And this is also aligned. We have a strategic multi-year goal that was put together a couple years ago. So between the district and board goals, they are aligned to that district goal. The
overall narrative centers on increasing opportunities for our diverse student population. This includes expanding access to specialized programs and strengthening pathways to both college and career readiness. Um, I always say to my parents that what I want our
students to come back and tell us upon graduating from Hawthorne schools, whether they're in a career or in college, is to say that our school system set them up for success when they went on to that next step. And I think if we can do that as a district, we're really experiencing a high level of
success. Um, so we can get started with our first goal, which is expanding opportunities, pathways to college, career, and beyond. And this really focuses on preparing every student for success beyond high school. We're
creating pathways that ensure student success through rigorous instruction, strong assessment practices, and comprehensive support systems. Just as important, we are building strong school and family partnerships, which I think is at the center of it. any study that
you talk about what um ends with students being successful academically is a strong partnership between the school system and parents. So it's very important that you receive the information about all the opportunities that we offer in uh Hawthorne school system.
So how are we going to do this? The first step that falls underneath that goal is the elective expo. Um the research says that the earlier that students are exposed to different pathways, the better idea as to what interests them and what direction they
want to go upon going to high school. For many of us that went through high school many years ago, you could wait until your senior year to have an idea of what you wanted to major in in college. And nowadays, students are expected to have a better idea of what they want to go into earlier on. So, the
idea behind the expo is uh to really give an idea of the great electives that we offer in Hawthorne, which um being new to Hawthorne as a superintendent and seeing what other uh districts offer for electives, I'm very impressed with the variety of things that our students can
access while they're here. So, what that means is that we have a day in which we're going to have high school students and high school teachers come down to the middle school and present to our seventh and eighth grades about the high school elective programs with hands-on activities. Um, this provides middle
school students with valuable insight into courses that might interest them and the pathways they might choose once they get into high school. Because a lot of times in high school, what you're going to have is a TV production one, TV production two. So the earlier that you access that, the better you get in terms
of getting further along um in a pathway that will lead to something like that in college. In addition, a parent night will follow giving families the opportunity to learn more about the high school programs and how they can support their children in making informed choices. So it's a combination of your kids learning. It's going to be during
the school day. They're not going to have an option but to be exposed to it. And then we're actually going to offer it the night of the middle school PTO meeting. Prior to that, the elective expo will be going on. You're going to be able to walk around, see what's offered, meet with some of the teachers,
and most importantly, the students that are further along in the programs that can talk about their experiences in those classes. Okay. Next, we have dual enrollment and certificated programs. Um, so at present we have 18 dual
enrollment programs that uh span a wide variety of disciplines. So for those of you who don't know what dual enrollment is, it's a college course that's offered during their high school experience that counts towards their graduation requirements, but they're also getting
credits towards college for a reduced price for this upcoming school year. For some of our courses, they're actually free of cost. And I think the most important piece as to why they're not accessed to the level that they should be accessed is that the parent population needs to realize that this is
something that your students have the opportunity to take advantage of. These courses are made possible through partnerships with Ramipos, Cen Hall, William Patterson, Fairley Dickinson, and Pay County Community College. So even if your child takes a Sen Hall dual enrollment course, they don't have to go
to Sen Hall. they can potentially transfer those credits to other schools that they would go for uh college once they make their decision. Um the offerings range from criminal justice, AP physics, acting, broadcasting, and computer science. So, a wide variety.
Maybe the most compelling aspect of dual enrollment is the significant cost differential for families. Students can earn college credits at a fraction of the cost that they would later pay to a university. But I think the part that I love the most about is your kids are learning at a very early age as to what
the college experience is like and to go back to that statement of we want our kids to go to college prepared. They're taking a college course. Our teachers are actually considered to be adjunct college professors when they teach that course. So it's an early experience so that it's not overwhelming once they
they join a college or university. Um, next we have our gifted and talented program which is going to be the gifted and talented program is going to be isolated to the elementary grade levels. We currently have something in place, but the idea is to uh offer more robust
and developmentally appropriate program for the following school year that has challenging and enriching experiences for our youngest learners. which again what we want to build here is they're exiting elementary and they're even more wellprepared for the middle school
experience. So that's going to be a year-long process in which we're going to reboot that program. This is the lengthiest of our goals for this year, which is the middle school 1A accelerated program. And this program provides rigorous coursework for our
students that's aligned to pathways that leads to honors, advanced placements, dual enrollment, and specialized programs in high school. So, we have somewhat of a accelerated program on our middle school level right now, but it doesn't start in sixth grade. And the
idea is to start building some of the skills, some of the exposure to more rigorous coursework upon coming into the middle school experience. And we'll talk about some of the pathways that come from it. So there's three different pathways for
this accelerated program. The first is called STEM 1A, which is math and science. So we have some students that accelerate math and science. There's humanities 1A, which is ELA and social studies. And then lastly, we have Unity 1A, which is all four content areas.
I'll talk about the um requirements for being accepted into the program in a couple of moments. But uh the math and science have to be grouped together just based upon the pathway. ELA and social studies need to be um uh brought together also. And you potentially could
qualify for all four. But as a parent for your child that's coming into sixth, seventh or eighth because this isn't something in which like my child didn't get in in sixth grade, they'll have the opportunity to get in at later grades so that they can get on that accelerated track because we want to give kids the opportunity over and over. But if your
child got into six sixth grade 1A unity and you said it's going to be a lot for them, you have the opportunity to choose from just STEM or humanities. So for our fifth grade class right now for for any parent that's watching or is present here today, the way that it
would look is that um students would start taking a sequence of math courses that would allow them to reach algebra 1 by 8th grade, which we call option two because technically algebra 1 is a high school course. So they're accessing a high school course as an eighth grader.
Um so in sixth grade they take a combination of sixth and seventh grade math. In seventh grade, they take math seventh and eth, which is a pre-alggebra course. And then in eighth grade, they'll take algebra 1. But because we're rolling this out for
the young upcoming sixth graders, we want to make sure that the current sixth graders and seventh graders have the opportunity to take advantage of the program also. So current sixth graders will have the opportunity to enter the program in seventh grade. This approach ensures that students who are ready to
accelerate still have access to advanced pathways even if they were not part of the program in sixth grade. So they have the opportunity to get into pre-alggebra as a seventh grader and then they would jump into the the track that follows from there. And for our current seventh graders,
they will be able to some of them are already in pre-alggebra. We have that at the middle school. So, they would move into the eighth grade algebra program upon coming into their eighth grade year. But those that are currently not in the seventh grade pre-alggebra program will take a placement test this
year that would allow them to access it as an eighth grader. I know this is a lot to digest, but this presentation will also be posted on the website and we're always happy to field any questions that you might have. This is probably going to put it into the best um picture of what the progression would
look like. So, if I'm in the 1A course or track, I'll take algebra 1 as a freshman, geometry honors as a sophomore, algebra 2 or excuse me, geometry honors as a freshman, algebra 2 as a sophomore, as a junior pre-calc, and then as a senior because the
pre-calc program is intended to prepare our students for a calc or a calc BC course. Our students could potentially be in, which we've not had this in Hawthorne, a calculus BC course as a senior, which really prepares them for
the if they're going into engineering or anything math related or architecture. I know our student representative is going into architecture next year. You're taking some accelerated math courses right now because, you know, that's going to be a value. So, um, we want our students to have access to the highest
level courses if they are prepared to take those on. That's part of the pathways for math. So from the science pers perspective, nothing really changes. We have earth science in sixth, life science in seventh. In eighth grade we have
physical science, but the way that it's delivered changes a little bit. So students will engage in rigorous hands-on learning experiences, conduct complex investigations, integrate data analysis, modeling technology. the uh cover content at accelerated pace which
I think is the key to the science piece of it is it's much faster solve real world open-ended problems give them more enrichment opportunities and really develop their critical thinking problem solving and interdisciplinary uh application when they're in the
classroom. So the track for this would be 1A science as an eighth grade, physics honors as a freshman, chemistry honors as a sophomore, AP bio, and AP as a junior, and AP Chem as a senior. And all those courses that you're seeing that um
are start off are dual enrollment courses. So they could also take AP physics or AP environmental science as sophomores, juniors, or seniors. The idea is they're starting early on this track that's going to uh really prepare them for these rigorous courses upon
getting into high school. So, how are we determining who gets into the 1A program? Part of it is NJSLA scores, which is an assessment that we give on an annual basis. Um, we would look for the fifth graders at the standards um the standardbased
assessments to inter determine proficiency. Um, their I Ready, which is a new program that we're using this year. a percentile ranking on there. We have a rubric that's going to analyze critical thinking and academic behaviors, potentially a placement test.
But the idea behind it is that, and I had this in my previous district, is that you're looking at the student holistically and not making the consideration based upon one data point. So moving on to humanities.
So the pathway remains the same that sixth, seventh, and eighth grade English. But the way that it's taught, the way that's assessed changes a little bit in that you're going to be offering more advanced text selections above grade level Lexile levels, complex topics, and again the accelerated pace
of it, increased exposure to literature. They're going to be reading more novels as part of it. Uh more non-fiction novels, supplementary text, and the idea for all of these courses there's is that it's heightened independence. the students upon coming into the program are expected to be able to do a lot of
the work independently. So that's our English 1A track and you can see the track that um they would follow from 8th grade 1A to English 9 honors to AP seminar, AP language and AP
literature. So, if you are a um a 1A student that's in all four content areas, the amount of AP courses that you can be accessing in the dual enrollment courses is a lot and it's rigorous and it's hard. Um, but again, like you have the opportunity to pick and choose what
parts of the program that you want to partake in. for social studies. Similar to English 1A, the curriculum emphasizes deep engagement in primary sources, vertically aligned DBQ writing preparation and the integration of
various media and historical language. Um the idea is to develop skills in terms of historical inquiry, evaluating multiple perspectives, sustained research opportunities and connections most importantly with the past, present and future. The pathway also offers, and
this is the most significant piece for a freshman student. So, we're gonna offer a dual enrollment uh opportunity for freshman students if they're part of the program. So, they take US1 honors as a freshman already earning credits towards college. AP US history as a sophomore,
AP World History as a junior, and AP Gov as a senior with the opportunities of taking these other history electives in their sophomore through senior year. So similar um in eligibility in terms of NJSLA scores, standards based
assessments, high ready percentile ranking, that rubric and then a placement test when appropriate. So the idea is to look at students holistically as part of this process. So that covers all of goal one, which is opportunities and pathways. These are a little bit
shorter in terms of goal two. hope that you're already experiencing this in terms of you're already we're doing a great job in terms of uh the schoolbased newsletters that were going out. We created the district level newsletter which the idea is that you're seeing all of the great things that are going um
across all of our schools in Hawthorne. So I encourage you to continue to access that. but even the dual enrollment night, the multicultural night and Hawthorne Day um this weekend. These are all ways for us as a community to come together to ensure that our students are
receiving the best possible education. Um I know I'm biased because I am the superintendent, but I I have to say this town offers a very robust, supportive educational experience that is like something I haven't seen before. when
you throw the community support in as part of it, it's something that's really special. So, I think it's important that we're promoting that and having conversations regularly. And then lastly, this is a goal that's been ongoing, which is um just rigorous learning for our students. And this is
another thing that we do really great in terms of a district is offering professional development that's offered within many times from our expert teachers. Um bringing our teachers together to collaborate about best practices. As I mentioned, we brought in I Ready, which is an adaptive um
assessment tool that is uh serves each student individually. We have data days where we're looking at students individually so that when teachers are going into the classroom, they're not just teaching the whole class, they're addressing the individual needs and strengths of our students. Um so, we're
going to continue this. We already know from the uh testing um report that we gave over the summer that our students are doing very well in terms of standardized assessments across the state. Um we're looking forward to giving the testing presentation next month which you'll see because of the
work that our staff are putting in. Our numbers are going up. Numbers are one thing. the fact that our students are um really doing well in the classroom, taking to the instruction that we're giving, and our teachers are adapting to their needs, I think it really goes a long way in terms of the success of our
district. So, this just kind of puts it all into perspective, and I'm going to be an advocate throughout my superintendency here, is that the way that we uh continue to develop our students is within with professional learning and collaboration and personalized learning that's going to lead to student success.
But again, I'm going to say this one more time. Students are as successful as the collaboration that exists between the community, the parents, the guardians, and the staff that exist here in Hawthor. So, that's our district goals for the year. I'd like to invite up our uh board
president to present on our board goals. All right. >> Thank you, Mr. McNelli. On July 29th, the Hormone Board of Education met with our field service representative, uh, Kelly Mitchell from the New Jersey School Boards of Ed Board of Educ,
excuse me, New Jersey schools board association to conduct a board self-evaluation workshop. Mrs. Mrs. Mitchell facil facilitated the retreat and based on the discussion and notes, the board developed and voted upon three goals for the 2025 2026 school year. For
those of you who are not aware, you may ask why do we uh have these board goals? Board goals provide the focus and direction for the board of education. They serve as the roadmap for the decision-making, ensuring that every action taken by the board supports student learning, reflects community
priorities, and advances the district's long-term success. By setting measurable goals, the board strengthens accountability, promotes transparency, and unites the community around shared objectives. You may then wonder uh how do we achieve
those goals? Well, we achieve them through careful planning, right? Inclusive with community input, right? having you guys come and attending these board meetings, right? Providing feedback and ongoing accountability. Each goal is supported by clear action steps, realistic timelines, and
opportunity for reflection. Progress will be measured and communicated publicly so that students, staff, and families and residents can see how the board works on behalf of the community. So, on that note, we'll go to goal number one.
Establish a new mission and vision through inclusive community engagement. The objectives The objective to collaboratively develop a new mission and vision statement that reflects the shared values, aspirations, and priorities of our diverse school community, ensuring
ensuring broad-based input and alignment with the district's long long-term strategic goals. some of the action steps which is uh launch community engagement session, conduct surveys and focus groups, draft and refine statements and board adoption and
launch. Goal number two, celebrate and elevate student and staff achievement across the district like what we have done here today by recognizing our teachers with 25 years of service. objective is to foster a culture of excellence by recognizing and celebrating high levels
of student academic achievement, positive character, and staff accomplishments. The board will explore and implement formal recognition programs to inspire pride, motivation, and continued success throughout the school community. Some of these steps are to establish and recognize, excuse
me, establish recognition framework, introduce character and achievement awards programs, highlight achievement at board meetings, and engage stakeholders and nominations. Board goal three, strengthen board governance through improved meeting
structure and strategic focus. The objectives is to advance effectiveness, transparency, and alignment with district priorities by refining governance practices, specifically through restructured comm community, excuse me, community committee
reporting, more purposeful agenda planning, and a renewed emphasis on student achievement and strategic issues during board meetings. Action steps: review and revise committee report structure. Prioritize committee reports early in the agenda. formalize president
superintendent agenda planning and embed strategic focus on student achievement. In summary, setting board goals allows us to focus on what matters most, student success, community trust, and strong governance through inclusive engagement, recognition of achievement,
and improved structures. The Horththorn Board of Education is committed to building a stronger future for our schools and community. Thank you. All right. With that, we will go on to committee and liaison reports.
Starting with legislative. Mr. Car. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Uh on August 21st, 2025, Governor Murphy signed the following bill into law. School counselor Certification Bill S84A 3424. Uh this establishes several requirements related to school counselor
certification and employment. The law defines the role of a school counselor as someone who recognizes and responds to the need for mental health services that promote social and emotional wellness and development for all students and is tasked with designing and delivering a comprehensive program for school counseling that promotes the
achievement of students. The law will require each school counselor employed by a district to provide certain school counseling services including but not limited to specific services enumerated in the legislation. school counselors to complete professional development in relevant areas such as the promotion of mental
health awareness and trauma informed counseling school counseling certification programs at institutions of higher education to incorporate the American school counselor association's national model for comprehensive school counseling uh programs or a state approved model the commissioner of
education to appoint a state school counselor liaison to work with school districts to facilitate best practices and serve as a resource expert for school counselors on September 3rd Governor Murphy also signed the following multaw labor movement
instruction A1682 S1054. This requires boards of education to include instructions on the United States and New Jersey labor history and the contributions of the labor movement. This instruction must be provided in an appropriate place in the curriculum for students in grades 6 through 12 as part of a district's implementation of the
New Jersey student learning standards in social studies. Specifically, instruction must include at minimum the history of organized labor, notable strikes throughout history, unionization drives, and the collective party process and existing legal protections in the workplace. That concludes our report.
>> Thank you, Vice President Kavo, Finance Administration. >> Thank you, Mr. President. The committee met um the bulk of the conversation revolved around the uh challenges that uh the collection of the additional tax that he has created. Uh it's a unique
situation that we we were in um and other districts like us are in. Uh it seems like the mechanism is going to be implemented for that collection to be uh uh done thanks
to the collaboration between the burrow and the work that's been put in by our business. Thank you, >> Mr. Doyle. Buildings, grounds, and policy, please. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Buildings and
Grounds did meet on September 16th. Um, we were informed by our buildings and ground supervisor that him and uh Mr. Minionelli are continuing to walk through the schools and evaluate all of our referendum projects and checking them for sufficiency, make sure they've all been completed. There couple loose
ends that still need to be tied up, so that's being addressed. Um steps outside our auditorium were uh repaired recently. Um some things we can look forward to at the high school on the uh second and third floor. We're going to be adding some bottle filler
water stations. Uh actually I believe they actually been installed already if if I'm correct. Um we're looking into rehabbing some of our bathrooms and lockers in the near future. Um, also looking at potential projects uh throughout the district, some other
bathrooms and other other buildings and converting some of our storage areas into more usable space, maybe classroom activity. Um, the roller hockey rink construction is complete. Uh, buildings and ground supervisors performing a basic
inspection on that to ensure the project was completed uh to the submitted specifications. Mr. also will be meeting with the borrow to discuss specific aspects of that MOA. Um, and that's it on the buildings and grounds
level. Policy did meet very briefly. Um, we're still discussing our previous policy regulations audit. We did receive some new policies that we're still working through in vetting. We are having a first reading on some of those policies tonight. Uh, one policy that that seems to be brand new and of
interest is policy 5339.01 which is student sun protection. >> Uh basically in a nutshell it discusses the option of the school having on hand in providing sunscreen to students. Uh we're obviously going to have some further discussion on that. Strauss
estimate which is our policy development has provided a a a template and uh we'll look at that moving on to the future and that's all I have to report. Thank you council leazison and personnel. Thank you, Mr. President. Aside from Hawthorne
Day coming up this Saturday, there are a few events that have been mentioned by the mayor and the council, October 4th will be Hispanic Heritage Day at the Burough Band Shell. October 7th there's the Taste of Hawthorne event um
sponsored by the Hawthorne Rotary Club. Also, uh last week, which was mentioned at the council meeting and the mayor's letters, Mayor ordered the burrow flags to be lowered to have staff for three
esteemed members of the burrow family or the community. So, Mrs. Bennett um Councilman Bennett's wife, Ken Sylvestri, who is a 70y year fire 70-year member of our fire department, and Norman Kowalsski who is a former
planning board member and burrow employee. So, just to remember them, that was noted. And the next council meeting is Wednesday, October 1st at 7 PM. Regarding personnel, I will defer that to Mrs. Goff.
>> Mrs. G. Personnel CNI. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Um, so I did sit in for Miss Aaron Trial on the personnel committee and took the notes. We reviewed um the job descriptions for three um jobs, the director of facilities, the assistant facility supervisor, and the academic study
coordinator, which I will Um, under the curriculum instruction piece, uh, the director of facilities and assistance facilities supervisor position, while they are new titles, it doesn't necessarily mean they are additional positions. The, uh, administration is looking at current personnel to
capitalize on that department. Um, for CNI, the bulk of our meeting was spent on reviewing the goals, uh, namely the initiatives that fall under that goal one, which are all amazing things that we were really happy to see, and we couldn't I couldn't wait to type them up and share them out with the rest of the
board. Um, the second part of the meeting, we did talk about the position of academic study coordinator. So, this would be someone um who it's a new position that would be at the high school and it would replace uh a daily sub. They would be covering classes um
in the in one central location and teachers would have to submit their sub plan submit the plans to the students the night before or the morning of um and the students would get notification to report to the central location. Um this is in fact a money saver. We do
spend quite a lot on substitutes, daily substitutes, but in addition to that teacher coverages. Teachers are covering during their prep times when we can't substitutes because as I'm sure you can imagine that is not a very high demand position at this time. Um so it is
difficult to find daily subs still. Students can work collaboratively. Uh Mr. Melli shared a story about how he envisions them buying maybe cookies and and and having hot cocoa or coffee in there and working in collaborative coffee shop style environment uh under
the supervision of this new person. There will be a maximum of around 60 students. um multiple classes would be able to go to one location if multiple areas needed to be covered. Mr. Fister and the administration um this will
lessen their need for the um I guess behavioral parts of the substitute duties because that does those do arise. Um we're looking for an October one start. Mr. Fister did share about this briefly at back to school
night. Um and it does seem to be really widely accepted and anticipated that this would be a good option to have in light of the challenges faced with the subject. So that's what we talked about for the second half of the meeting.
>> Thank you. >> This is Moy Coulson NJSBA and PCSBA. So for NJSBA, obviously October 20th to 24th, I think I said this at every meeting thus far. Um we have our annual
workshop in Atlantic City. Um and then for P County Schoolboard Association, we have a hybrid meeting, our first one of the school year on September 30th. Um the inperson option starts at six o'clock at Mario's and Clifton. Um and
then the online option is starts at 6:45. Um, and the topic is navigating New Jersey school finance a dialogue with the state county legislators.
>> I will be there. Sounds interesting. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Blues. Have CPAC PTO. >> Thank you, Mr. President. I have u a lot to say. Hopefully, I can get through it. not forget what I was
supposed to be doing here. But um we'll start with everyone is in need. Uh all the PTO's um the Ed Foundation CPAC, everyone's always in need of volunteers. So if um you can do it in any capacity,
just volunteer for your uh local PTO F or CPAC. It would be greatly appreciated. Um we'll start tomorrow night with Washington school PTO is um having a give back a tasty pizza. Um if
you can stop in have dinner help out Washington school. It would be appreciated as well. Um most of this information I'll repeat a few times is is on Facebook pages. You can you know look up there's flyers. I print them. It's really hard for you to see here. Uh but you can get this information on each
one of their Facebook pages. Roosevelt School. Um, next month, October 14th through the 27th, we'll be selling Spooky Pizza Kit. It's a DYI DIY, uh, build your own pizza. Um, again, that's not coming out to next week, but next
month, October 14th through the 27th. So, keep an eye out for that. Um, LMS this Friday night from 6 PM to 900 pm for uh, for all ages. They're having their fall festival. There's going to be a lot of activities for um young young
children and there'll also be um a 50/50 equal split for first place and second prize will be an Amazon gift card. Uh Erica, if you want to jump in when I'm done and just maybe elaborate because I know you know a little bit more about what's in need, but they are in need of
donations, especially soda. So, if anybody has an opportunity to drop off some donations at Lincoln School, it would be appreciated. and Jefferson School. Uh, also October, it's October 1st, that's a Wednesday night, 7 to 10 p.m. They're doing a U
DIY wood project. It's a parents night out. It's uh, again, all details are are on this Facebook page, but it's at Bordon Brush and Ramsay. Uh, choose from a large selection of projects uh, and customized paint and wood stain colors,
including all material. The $73 per seat. It's for ages 16 and up. It's limited space, so um pre-register early. Again, you can find this out on the Facebook page, but it is a u opportunity
to get a night out and create a a nice wood project. It's bring your own food and beverages. It's at 119 East Main Street in Ramsey. And you can email if you have any questions at jeffersonmail.com. And
my favorite, we get to start announcing the um 8th annual 5K color run walk for uh Hawthorne and CPAC. That is going to be on May 3rd, 2026. I will be repeating it every meeting
because that's what I like to do. Um, but again, I want people to put on their their uh their calendar in advance because it's a great event. Um, again, it's May 3 and there will be a lot of uh
opportunities. Uh, $200 will be awarded to the Hawthorne District School, which has the most um registered staff. So, we are reaching out to the community as well as staff to get involved. Um, again, that's May 3rd, 2026. the eighth
annual 5k color run and walk and then I will conclude kind of conclude with um with uh all PTO's and heft will be collaborating at Hawthorne day which is coming up this Saturday. Um
there will be selling, you know, obviously they'll be selling things from their own PTO's and um I don't know if you noticed, but there's like a bunch of big hes around town, magnets, and um they'll be selling those magnets. There'll be stadium seat
cushions, car air fresheners, uh all with the H on it for Hawthorne. So again, stop by the PTO and HEF collaborated um stations at Hawthorne Day and uh Heft will also the Egg Found
Foundation will also be starting their gift card raffle. I don't know if you recall over the past couple years, they have a big basket that they raffle off with various different uh gift cards that add up to $1,500. So again, that's a, you know, a good opportunity to win some holiday gift
cards for your friends and family or yourself, whatever you want to do. Um, and I'm going to do a shameless plug because since we mentioned Hawthorne Day, uh, hopefully everybody gets to attend and see the Nitro Blues Band who was headlining right before the fireworks and they happen to have my two
kids here. So I have to do that. That concludes my report and lesson. Erica, you have add anything? >> Uh, no. You did a great job. just to say that all these events you mentioned are open to the whole community. You don't it's not so fall fest on Friday. It's not just for Lincoln students and
families. It's anyone can go as well as Jefferson's events and even the DIY pizzas. So, >> Erica, I'm not sure. >> I'm not sure, but there's a link where you can can you buy the tickets? I mean the 50/50 tickets.
>> Uh I don't know about the 5050. We're going to do that in person that night, so bring cash. But you can buy tickets to get in. Um they have like wristbands for the kids to just to make life easy so you don't have to keep handing them money and they're set. They can do all the activities
>> um on their Facebook page. And then there's I actually posted on the Hawthorne page, community page today, too, as well as a donation page. >> So thank you. >> And thank you. That concludes our report. >> Perfect. >> Moving on to action items. Uh CNI, Mrs.
Thank you, Mr. President. Pursuant to the recommendation of the superintendent, the the committee on curriculum instruction recommend the following resolutions. CI1 through CI8 on page 4, CI 9 through CI20 on page five,
CI 21 through CI27 on page six. On behalf of the committee, I so second. Second by >> discussion. >> Mr. President, I have a question. >> Yes. >> Um, it's probably for Miss Vitali. So,
for CI15, sorry, delay in here. My old eyes don't work out. Um, when it says a tuition contract with Ridgewood, that means we're paying Ridgewood. >> Uh, yes. Okay. So, then the two beneath it, we're accepting money.
Yes. >> Okay. Um, CI 18 and 19, >> what exactly is the payment schedule for? >> So, we're sending two students over there. >> Okay. I just didn't see student um numbers listed. So, I didn't know if
there were service or um and I do want to make a comment about CI21 on page six. My son last year was part of the inaugural group of students who participated in the Hackinack University Medical Center uh explorer program and I
cannot speak highly enough about the program. Um he started a little bit later because it did take them several months to get off the ground but he literally went into the emergency room at Hackinack and interned with the head of emergency medicine and anywhere she
went he went. Um it was incredible for him. It is an incredible experience. They work with They were so amazing students who wanted to do all different facets of medical, anything, mental health, any type of medicine. They were really, really wonderful and I'm really
appreciative for the program and that we're doing it again. Um, I do know that a lot of the community doesn't know about it. It was a little bit of a startup mid year last year. So, these are the types of things that I love to talk about and and praise because it doesn't really, you know, it's not out
there yet. I did bring it up to a senior and I and she was like, I don't think my kid knows about that. So, I love that we we offer these things and we, you know, we just have to promote our our own thing that we're doing. Um, but super happy to see it on here again because it
was tremendous experience from question >> on CI 20 question about our awesome barricade program. The question the two questions are what's the uh you know how many students do we have this year and uh tuition for this year how does it
compare to last year's tuition? >> So we currently have four students. Um and Miss Vitali if you want to talk a little bit about the determination of the tuition. So we uh our tuition back
in June, but then we reassessed the tuition based on the other students in the program and also trying to make ourselves more marketable for to uh attract other students to come and attend our program. So that's why we're
approving this new tuition. >> And you remind me did it go up? Did it go down? I don't It went down. >> Went down. And this is just basic tuition. So if you needed extra services and aid supports of that nature would be in addition to this is basic.
>> Thank you. >> So just to piggy back on that um when I guess I've never asked this question before. When we have a student come to us for example CI 16 and 17 are
we then running like I meetings yearly and and supplying and a power professional because now they're coming to our district or is their hometown still doing taking care of those things? >> I can answer that as someone who does that. Um the hometown writes the IEP
typically and the so the sending district is involved in the IEP process but we as the receiving district would implement the so they're paying allocart if they need physical therapy they're paying for that extra but it is our physical therapist >> but they're running the IEP meeting with
their case managers but we're teaching them and modifying and putting all I >> the case manager comes to Hawthorne so I came here and sat in on the IP meeting here >> with our teachers >> with the team here. >> Okay, that makes more sense. >> Yeah, because the teacher's here, the service provider's here, a case manager
here, and a case manager from the center. Sorry. I'm not saying that's always how it's done, but the student that I sent here, that's what we did. >> Okay. So, I like how you said that makes sense. So, let's say a student has needs a behavior behavior plan or or needs to
collect that whatever that allocart would be added on to their tuition, but we don't know that student, right? So, is that tuition then Um, is it like going to be like forever changing or is that set? Right. So, I see one student
is not paying what the tuition rate is, they're paying a little more, >> right? So, can that change down the road or once it's once the board approved that's it? Does that make sense? >> No, the ch they've changed tuition amounts. >> They change yearly,
>> right? I guess what I'm saying we don't know, right? Let's we don't know this student in particular. That's coming. You're saying mid year they need an aid that wasn't projected. >> Well, even the first day of school. >> Yeah. >> We don't know. And then they and it's transition is hard and now there's behavioral issues and we have to use our
resources again to help the student and it's going to they need something that we didn't intend on. Are we then able to charge for that >> if because you're saying all of >> right >> I don't think the contract can change
but initially >> um I think all those discussions would happen before uh yeah the sending districts you know because they're sending it here because we have services otherwise you wouldn't send your student here >> right well
>> typically someone who's going out of district has an extensive they they have everything they're going to need. >> I would see why you could >> Well, sometimes it's harder than the >> Well, originally that's in every case. That's every school, not just that
district. I'm just asking out of curiosity. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Is there Sorry, one more thing. For 18 and 19, are there supposed to be file numbers on those? >> So, those are um
general student. So it's it's like state aid numbers. >> They're not it's not a typical >> So that's why it looks different as every single other one. Okay. All right. Thank you. >> Okay. >> Roll call, please.
>> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. Doyle. >> Yes. >> Miss Art. >> Yes. >> Mrs. D. >> Yes. >> Miss Mson. >> Yes. Mr. Paloo. >> Yes. >> Dr. Vega, >> yes. >> Mr. Carr, >> yes. >> Mr. Taro,
>> yes. >> Personnel. >> Thank you, Mr. President. The following resolutions are pursuant to the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools. P1 through P7 on page seven. P8
through P13 on page E. P14 through P19 on page 9. P20 through P31 on page 10. P32 through P38 on page 11, which continues on to
page 12. P39 through P42 also on page 12. And P43 through P46 on page 13. On behalf of the committee, I so move second.
>> Second by Dr. >> Discussion. >> I have three comments. Um, one, first, as always, welcome to all the new hires. Um, it's that time of year where the personnel several pages
as you can just hear. Um, also second, it was nice to see P33, so Mrs. Yedder, who was just honored earlier in the meeting for 25 years of service, uh, continuing their academic training. So,
that's always nice to see amongst our staff. And also regarding P38, I know we talked about substitute teachers. Um it's nice to see our former student council rep I think from two years ago u
coming back as a college student um Paul Derer and now being approved as a substitute teacher. So nice to have our own um community members coming back. That concludes my comments.
>> Mr. President, I have one comment for P39. This is the most robust number of student teachers I've seen in quite some time. Um it's very reassuring. I I'm very appreciative. It seems like we have a very healthy relationship with Ramipo. Um but there are two other
schools listed here that are sending us students, but this is seriously the largest number of student teachers I've seen in many many years. So I'm I'm grateful for that. >> And I think first for having a student teacher in Mrs. Borch So that's great.
>> Um I have a question about it says adjust from long-term substit but that's what they're adjusting to. >> So they're they were previously a parah and they're going to be serving as a long-term substitute teacher.
>> Okay. It doesn't say that. Um and then it says their salary when the other person comes off payroll. So there that person's out >> this the the person's out out on maternity leave, >> right?
When that person is out, this person starts at that rate. >> They'll start at the BA one, not the rate of the current teacher. So for a long-term sub or a long-term replacement substitutes, they start at bottom of the
teacher salary >> because it has a per day rate, >> which It's the way that we typically put it as part of the agenda. >> Okay. I thought it was it says PA1. And then um
>> the other question I had was P23 and 24 the head teacher and school um for the SAC program. >> Um so that used Did the person who used to do it resign?
>> No. My understanding was prior to me is that um the individual that runs the program last year we agreed to put in head teachers to oversee the programs at the school because she couldn't be in multiple locations all the time just for
better structure and management. >> So this is one person for the district not for school though. >> I believe there's one at each school and I'll get you more information on that. Can I see that then there's substitutes
for that person and we have two listed. >> So they're substitute teachers in the in the program in the case that we need them. >> Okay. Substitute teachers period. Not I'm thinking substitutes for the head person. You're saying just substitute >> substitutes in general makes more sense.
Okay. >> As needed. >> Okay. And then um just um for R31, Miss uh Leitz is retiring and I just wanted to say thank you for
um for everybody really and to enjoy retirement. Thank you. >> Roll call, please. >> Mr. Doyle, >> yes. >> Miss, >> yes. >> Mrs. G, >> yes. >> Miss Mson, >> yes. >> Mr. Mr.
>> Yes. >> Dr. Vega. >> Yes. >> Mr. Carr. >> Yes. >> Mr. Cleo. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Abain on P35. Yes. To all of them. >> Finance administration. Mr. Be. >> Thank you, Mr. President. On page 14, we
have a donation a we have an acceptance of a donation of $1,000 to the district special education program and CEK. attendance are the full presidents of the organization Dr. Hooper and Robin Crawford along with Mark Hooper who has
volunteered over the years with the color. So thank you for the fin not just for the financial contribution but what you add to the uh culture and community feel that Dr. Mr. Mi was speaking of he
presented. So thank you for that. Thank you everybody. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you so much. >> Action item. Pursuit to the recommendation of superintendent of schools. Committee on Finance and Administration recommends the following
resolutions again on page 14 F1 and A1 on behalf of the committee. I so move >> second by Mr. >> Discussion. >> Yes, I do Mr. President. Um the Title 1 A funds that are displayed on the
agenda, they're the approved Title 1 A 1A funds for this following year. Um I think it's worth noting that there's only a 5% reduction in what we received last year. There was a lot of fear that
maybe that those title funds were going to be severely impacted and uh you know for this coming year there's only a 5% reduction. So it's good to see that. Uh just to comment on the other two items below that for the non-public allocations just for the sake of the uh
the benefit of the public we are just a pass through entity and those funds don't stay with us. We just hand them off to those organizations. >> Roll call please. >> Mr. >> Yes. Mrs. >> Yes.
>> Multi. >> Yes. >> Mr. Yes, >> Dr. Vega. >> Yes, >> Mr. Carr. >> Yes, >> Mr. Eagle. >> Yes, >> Mr. Doyle. >> Yes, >> Mr. >> Yes. Claims, Mr. Doyle.
>> Thank you, Mr. President. In accordance with NJAC 6A, col23-2 uh col 11 B, C3, and C4, uh I have the pleasure of going over the bills for the month of September. Everything appears
to be in order. So it's recommended that the board approve the bill list for the month of September 2025. >> Second car. >> Discussion. >> Roll call, please. >> Mrs. G.
>> Yes. >> Miss. >> Yes. >> Mr. Paloo. >> Yes. >> Dr. Vega. >> Yes. >> Mr. Carr. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. Doyle. >> Yes. >> Mr. Art. >> Yes. >> Mr. Petaro. Yes.
>> All right. Back to you. Building and ground. >> Certainly. Pursuant to the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the committee on buildings and grounds recommends the following resolutions. Page 15, we have BG1. Page 16. We have BG2 through BG6 at the
bottom. Carries over to page 17 with BG7. On behalf of the committee, I so move >> second. seconded by Dr. >> discussion Mr. President
tonight um for BG1 I'm just wondering because we did just discuss this if it would be possible to add for those facility permits if we are taking in a fee because I know I'm assuming like the
boys and some of these are I know that there's a criteria fee base and what is waved. It would be really great to see because we did air condition this space in the hopes that we would eventually be in a in a place where we would get some feebased usage. So like are any of these
are we seeing a profit on any of these applications is really my question. Not that I'm putting you on the spot now, but in the future can we just put on here like fee waved fee and then just so we know as a board while we're approving what if we're approving one that is
going to be fee based or not. Does that make sense? Am I being clear? Okay. Because I know on the application because I've seen it and I've filled one out as a lacrosse board member. It's extensive. There are the criteria for what is to wave the fee. So like this this first one looks like maybe there's
a fee we're getting. >> I would think. So if we could just see what the fee >> if that if that's okay. Okay. And I have a second question. relative to busing on BG4. Uh, Miss Art
and I just had up these numbers, just so everyone's aware, it's a $338,000 price tag on PCCI busing in addition to the $2 million PCI tuition. Um the question is logistically so just so the community knows if we have a student that goes to
a private school and we don't have a bus that goes there we we offer something called Aiden Lou which is a fee and I it's like $888 a year or twice a year um if we are offering these buses are any of these
families entitled to au if they opt out of the busing >> that's a good question and something >> okay because I would hate to see because from my understanding there's no attendance being taken on these buses so someone could say my child's not on that bus get the aid in L and still send
their child on the bus every day because quite frankly there's too many students for them to keep track of >> and we approved aiden last year on >> we we do every year because we do have students that go to the store >> because we don't we're not going to hire a bus for three children but my question
is if we are providing the bus >> we should not also be giving them aloo because the transportation exists. So I just want to make sure we have a we are checking that we're not doing that. Just to add some context to that from just from previous prior experience at
some point we did ask if it was possible for us as a district to pay provide a loo rather than transportation uh specifically for uh PCTI and the answer was not no you have to provide
>> yeah because we were only over by a handful of students and it was during co when we couldn't find another bus so it was literally three students and we asked if we could offer all of them if if they wanted um and we were told no that we couldn't do it but I just wanted
to make sure we have an internal mechanism or if you know I don't know the logistical but it just occurred to me that this is a lot of students this is a big price tag if you don't want to be double >> I'll be fine >> um for BG7 this is a bus
uh I'm sorry I This is the bus support of four students that are going from two schools for a month and a half to Northern Regional Education
>> for BG7. >> Yeah. >> Page 17. >> Um, so it's a school Lincoln Middle School. Oh, actually three schools in Roosevelt contractor's east school bus for students. But it's only um it's odd
dates. Uh September 11th to 10:31. >> It's for a temporary amount of time. >> Okay. >> A family. So they're four siblings. >> Okay. >> That's why I'm like why are they all over the place? So we're transporting them out >> or they're coming in.
>> They're coming in. >> They fall. I want to know. >> They fall under Mckin Bank. >> Yeah. Yep. Perfect. Thank you. Northern Region Ed Services is a consortium, a bidding consortium. So, it's the the company that we go to to ask for busing.
>> Yep. Thank you. >> One more. Just wanted to piggyback on what uh Miss B mentioned. Um one of the facilities, one of the advocates for the facilities is New Jersey Gamer Symphony Orchestra. And I also would assume that
that's a fee based. So, it's good to see that fac are being utilized. >> Roll call, please. >> Missy Coulson, >> yes. >> Mr. Paloo, >> yes. >> Dr. Vega, >> yes. >> Mr. Tar,
>> yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. Doyle. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mrs. G. >> Yes. >> Mr. Taro. >> Yes. >> Mr. Doyle. Busy month. Policy. >> The job is never done. Pursuant
to the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the committee on policy recommends the following resolutions. Bottom of page 17, we have PL1. It's the first reading of these policies. Carries over to page 18.
And behalf of the committee, I move >> second by discussion. >> Yes. >> Um, this is the first reading. So then we information for before the second reading on these policies.
>> We have this available for you already. I think it's in the folder. >> It is the uh the board folder under committee and you can access each of them >> where I didn't see it. Okay. Thank you. That's [Music]
>> Mr. >> Dr. Vega. >> Yes. >> Mr. Carr. >> Yes. >> Mr. Fligo. Yes, >> Mr. Doyle. >> Yes, >> Miss Art. >> Yes, >> Mrs. G. >> Yes, >> Miss Multiolson. >> Yes, >> Mr. Petaro.
>> Yes. >> All right. At this time, public be heard. Members of the public may ask questions or make comments on educational issues or school matters. >> Seeing none, we will move on to general comments and questions from the board related to school the school district.
uh we'll go around uh state which one it is new business old business or general comments starting with Mr. Just general comments for uh congratulations to everyone who is here tonight being recognized for 25 years. Thank you for your your service.
>> Good for me. >> Um general comment and new business. So general comment, welcome again, Jonathan. You did a great job your first meeting and we're happy to have you. Um if you need anything from us, ask us whatever questions you want. We're glad
to help. Um, next new business. I have some donations from the American Labor Museum. They provided books. They received a grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission um to publish
these books regarding labor history. I don't think they're for fourth graders. They're being distributed to fourth grade classrooms throughout the state. I think they have like 30,000 copies published. Uh, I brought some for our fourth graders. I know Mr. Carr
mentioned about the new um order that was signed regarding labor history. I don't know how maybe this could help, but I know it should go to the fourth grade classes. Um the museum is the first of its kind in the country and it's right here in Hen. So maybe our
students will make it there one day. So that concludes my comments. >> I just want to really a moment to thank our new administrative team, Mr. Melli, Mr. Kelly, and man, I only >> as I was saying, I was like, uh oh. Um I
mean, they really have hit the ground running, and I think one of the most amazing things is that they are always listening and willing to to do things. For example, I walked in the front door of the high school the other day and was just so pleasantly takenback by the mulch. I mean, it sounds so silly, but I
was like, I love this mulch. Um, and just little things like that, agenda changes that have been made, uh, the honoring of the quarter century club, the 25 year employees, uh, things that have been brought up, but but really just really embracing all these things
with open arms and your willingness to listen is really really greatly appreciated. So, we're very, very grateful. general comments. C condolences to the family members lost the community members that were lost during this past week. Also want to wish our teachers,
staff, and full teams a great year. Uh we want to wish Bear Cave good luck on their first bear cafe coming up this Friday. So good luck to them out there. >> Thank you. >> How's it going?
>> I'm good. Dr. >> H just some general comments. Um I want to say welcome to Jonathan. You did an amazing job today and I'm looking forward to the rest of this year working with you. Um congratulations again to
the teachers um and staff who were um given awards for 25 years. I know it it was said before, but I it has I feel like it's something that should be said over and over again. 25 years is amazing to, you know, dedicate your life to to
children and helping them grow and become productive members of society. I think it's it's honorable. Um, and then lastly, I am so excited about the elementary school um opportunities. As a
parent of a fifth grader, I am looking forward to see the possibilities that she is going to have. um in middle school and seeing what has been offered in the past and what is being offered in the high school only pushes my
expectations even higher for what can be given to the elementary uh to middle school students. So, you know, thank you to everyone who put in so much work to, you know, put that together because it's I'm I'm at a loss for words for how excited and happy I am for that. So, thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Car. How do I follow that up? >> Uh, Jonathan, welcome and congratulations to all of our 25 year teacher recipients tonight. >> Um, I can follow that up. >> Um, I also am really impressed with
what's happened in such July two and a half months these presentation tonight. Um, you know, and Dr. Traona, everyone involved, I'm very appreciative. you are obviously listening to our parents um
and so we are all excited to see um you know where our kids are going to go and what the changes will create down the line um and I wanted to say congratulations to everyone who was honored tonight 25 years a lot of those teachers started right before I got to
high school made me feel old but um I want to give a special shout out to Mr. Leforge. John Leforge. Um, he's been in the high school as a one-on-one par. He's been in the middle school as a shared par. Now he's in the barricade in the transition program. He's, like you
said earlier, he's a coach. He is a bowling coach. He's a track coach. He even drives the bus. He went and got a bus license years ago so he could drive his athletes to, you know, be able to partake. So I just think that's and he is a graduate of Hawthorne, right? So
that's what we talk about when we say the portrait of a bear. Um so it's really nice to see. So that's it. Thank you. >> Thank you. Continuing on with general comments. Uh again, welcome aboard Jonathan. Pleasure to meet you and
looking forward to working with you. Um condolences to those we've lost in the community. And uh you know just on a on a positive note you know being at Jefferson back to school night I know tomorrow I believe is LMS Mark we saw
Mark at Jefferson uh supporting CPAC and and great to see you there and everything that you're doing to support and and still continuing on right for the school district and same thing applies uh you know seeing on the agenda with Paul Durr you know a previous uh
student rep who's now going to be working for us amazing things, right? Two years ago, you're sitting next to us. And um a reminder for Horththornne High School Athletic Hall of Fame, I believe that closes for nominations on
September 30th if I'm not mistaken. So, we have a couple more days, a week rather, uh to make sure you get your nominations in. And um echoing some of the other comments, you know, um having firsthand knowledge and communicating with the administration, um you know, if
you didn't recognize it, the school board, excuse me, the district board and board goals, how they've already been implemented. You probably don't even realize some of the things that happened tonight have already been implemented from the district and board goals. And
if that doesn't show you how action is being taken already, I don't know what does. But it just gives me so much hope for what's yet to come. Right? This is happening so quickly uh in the start of start of the school year. You know what's to come for this school district uh and just have amazing uh expectations
ahead of us. So I really appreciate everything that's being done so far. And reminder uh a lot of us hopefully will be there on Saturday for Hawthorne Day, rain or shine. So hoping to see everyone then. >> On that note, take a motion to adjurnn.
>> Motion second. >> We've been here since five. Sorry if that was overly eager. >> Roll call, please. >> Dr. Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. Club. >> Yes. >> Mr. Doyle. >> Yes.
>> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mrs. G. >> Yes. >> Miss Coulson. >> Yes. >> Mr. Koo. >> Yes. Yes. >> Thank you everybody. Good >> evening.