Roll call, please. >> Miss Bose, >> here. >> Miss Clark. Mr. Clark. >> Miss Evans, >> here. >> Miss Kroger, >> here. >> Miss Kelly, >> here. >> Dr. King. >> Miss Martinez >> here. >> Miss Pasculi >> here. >> Mr. Vanheis
>> here. You have a quorum. >> Thank you. >> Sure. Um we're going to be going into executive session this evening um to meet to discuss matters involving anticipated or pending litigation including matters of attorney client
privilege and specifically this evening we'll be discussing a settlement. Formal action will not be taken. Executive session is expected to last approximately 20 minutes. Um may I have a motion to move into executive session? So moved. All in favor say I. Oh,
second. >> There you go. Got it. Now, thank you. >> It's just all in favor. >> I >> You have to call. >> Okay. Thank you. >> All in favor? I >> recorded. Uh, the New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of
and to attend to meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. As required under law, adequate notice of this meeting has provided has been provided via email and our facts to the Times, the Lawrence Ledger, the
Trentonian, the public library, and has been filed with the municipal clerk. This notice was provided prior to the 48 hours required by the open public meeting act. Board reserves the right to limit public discussion of personnel items and other matters as defined in
the law. Do our flag salute. To the flag of the United States of America and to the stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Great. Okay. Welcome everybody to our
first meeting of the new school year. And we'll start off with our student representative report from our peer leaders. Y boys, welcome. >> We missed you. >> Thank you. My name is uh Carter Edwards.
I'm a senior here at Lawrence High School. Uh so this past August, we had our uh annual freshman orientation where uh us peer leaders, we uh gave the freshman tours around the school. And then after that, they went to the cafeteria and they were able to sign up for different clubs that all came out to
try and you know, get as many freshmen they could to sign up. Um, and then next week we have our first freshman seminar of the year. Um, pretty much we're just asking them questions about the school, trying to get them like a warm welcome uh to the school. Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Uh, hello, my name is Nick Bonkevich. Uh, this Friday we have a football game at Florence Township. It's a great game if you want to come out and support. Next Friday we have another home game against Bourtown, which is a big rivalry game for us. And then October 3rd, we have our senior night, which is another big night for us. Also our pink out
breast cancer awareness against West Windsor North at 6 PM. And then the following Saturday, we have our homecoming game, which is another big event for us against Burlington City. So if you can come out and support, it's a great thing for our community. Thank you. >> Are you selling the pink long sleeve t-shirts again?
>> We Yes, we are. >> San >> Hi, my name is Safal Maharaj. I'm a senior in peer leadership and I'm gonna talk about the boys soccer. They're two and 0 right now. Um, tomorrow, >> bravo.
>> Tomorrow they have a game against Notre Dame and their senior night is against Princeton. >> Oh, >> yeah. Uh, thank you. >> Thank you. Good luck. >> Yeah. Oh, I know. >> Hi, I'm Aiden Burns. Uh, the peer leadership is hosting back to school
night on September 25th. It will start at 6:00 and it's used to get to know your children's teachers and what's going on in the high school. Peer leaders will be back will be at back to school night. It'll be there to help and give support to all the people there and it will end at 8. Thank you.
>> Thank you. [Applause] >> Hello, my name is Joshua and I'm a senior here at Lawrence High School. I want to take a moment to share some of the positive changes that have been implemented this school year. One major addition has been the school AI program which students explored during the first
two days of the school year. We had the opportunity to try out the platform, learn how it works, and discuss what responsible use of AI should look like in the classroom. These conversations encouraged us to think critically about how AI can both support and challenge the way we learn.
Another important change is the restructured phone policy, which gives teachers flexibility in managing phones in their classrooms. Some asked students to keep their phones in their backpacks while others use designated parking lots. Overall, the policy has proven to be effective in reducing distractions
and supporting focused learning. Together, these changes are already creating a stronger classroom environment at LHS. I would also like to recognize the hard work of the LHS marching band, a group of more than 50 students who rehearse three times a week in preparation for both football games
and competitions. This season, the band has already energized our school community by performing pep tunes to welcome teachers back on September 2nd and to greet students and staff on the first day of school, September 4th. They went on to perform their field show at the football game against Maple Shade
this past Friday, followed by the preview show at Raritton High School the next day. With additional performances ahead, including this Friday's game at Florence, the band continues to demonstrate its talent and spirit and is looking forward to an exciting and successful season. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Thank you so much, peer leaders. You're welcome to stay if you so desire, or you can get on out and do something that you're interested in. >> Thank you so much. >> Homework.
>> Okay. Recognitions and acknowledgements. >> No. >> None. Um, adoption of a minutes. Uh, can I have a motion to adopt the regular session minutes from the 8:13 2025 meeting? >> So moved. >> Second.
>> Tom, with a motion and a second. >> Mr. Clark, >> yes. >> All right. Miss Evans, >> yes. >> Miss Kroger, >> yes. >> Miss Kelly, >> yes. >> Miss Martinez, >> yes. >> Miss Pascouli, >> yes. >> Mr. Vanheis, >> yes.
>> Miss Bose, >> abstain. >> Motion carry. >> Thank you. uh reports to the board. Superintendent report. >> Okay. Tonight, I'd like to start with uh se ceremoniously swearing in um our lovely student representative to the
right of me, Redeema Pandy. [Applause] >> Come get pictures. >> I'm going to read the oath of office to you. I'm going to ask that you repeat it after me and I'm going to read the whole thing. And of course, you have it here.
Yes. >> I, Redeema Pandy, promise to uphold my duties as student representative on the Lawrence Township Board of Education as prescribed by New Jersey statute and Lawrence Township Board of Education policy, to attend meetings of the Board
of Education, to represent students, present concerns of proposals to the board for its consideration, and to keep students informed of business and activities of the board by providing a monthly report to the student council. I, Redeema Pandi, promise to uphold my
duties as the student representative on the Lawrence Township Board of Education as prescribed by New Jersey statute and Lawrence Township Board of Education policy, to attend meetings of the board of education, to represent students, to present concerns and proposals to the
board for its consideration, and to keep students informed of the business and activities of the board by providing a monthly report to the student council. >> Congratulations. >> Thank you. Welcome aboard. >> There you go.
>> Me, too. >> Wait, get us one more. >> Oh, I love it. a proud papa. >> Awesome. >> Now you can officially take your seat. >> Yes. Thank you. >> Welcome. >> Welcome.
>> So, I want to wish a warm welcome to our Cardinal, Miss Pandy, uh for being our new student representative for the 2526 school year. We're thrilled to have you. Um, we're glad and we look forward to hearing your voice at future meetings on all perspectives around the district. We
had a fantastic opening of schools this year. Our staff convocation was full of energy, inspiration, good vibes around the district, and I just look forward to a beautiful year together, celebrating with our educators and watching our students be successful. So, at this
time, I'm going to um head to the podium to deliver my superintendent goals officially to the board of education. Uh, Dr. Clim, I just wanted to make it clear to the public that we have been working on your goals for a long time now. And we had a board retreat over the
summer where your goals were presented to the board and we already had an opportunity to ask questions and dig into it. um just so that the public doesn't think this is the first time the board is hearing the goals, it's us finalizing and memorializing your goals
for the upcoming year. Great. Thank you. >> All right. So, um, when we establish goals, um, the board of education is aware that usually in September, we discuss, um, and sort of formalize like Miss Bose just alluded to, but we do spend a lot of time with the
administrative team over the summer really establishing our goals and making sure that things are ready to go for September. This is not the first pass. We talk with our leadership team following the board retreat to make sure that we are all sort of connected. Um, in January, you can expect that I will
be doing an update on a measurement of success. So, that'll sort of be your your first mid-year progress report from me. And then, of course, by May, I do anticipate a full achievement of these established goals. I know that they're lofty, but certainly, um, you know, something that our leadership team
believes in. So, one of the visions, um, that we talk consistently about, you know, along the leadership team is really just doing a landscape analysis. Um, we spent all of last year really looking at data, doing a comprehensive look on, you know, what
do we need to better align and to better set a platform of consistency. What that looked like for, you know, our leadership team is establishing and making sure that we are consistently providing universal in district screenings. Um, we never look at kids through one measure or one end ofear
assessment. We're absolutely looking to adjust instruction, you know, three times a year through universal screenings. So that is absolutely in place and ready to go for this year. What we're trying to achieve here is the just fit optimal learning experiences for all kids in our classrooms. That
really is the coherence and consistency in our practices. So in order to do so, we really needed to dive deep on what our framework for data analysis looks like. Really the most reliable predictor of success is looking at students through one common
language and data pathway. Um, you know, we're we're talking, you know, about metametrics and how to utilize Lexiles and quantiles and really what that means for the public's ears and for the board is reading levels and math levels to help us really truly understand how that
child is metriculating through our district. When I say common language, that means not only our internal assessments, but also the DOE is moving towards reporting out in the same fashion for their endofear assessments. So, we're really invested in learning,
not only about closing learning gaps, but looking at accelerating learning opportunities for students who are ready for that and really making sure that we have timely shifts and changes in our instruction throughout the year so that growth is monitored consistently.
And this lift really comes with establishing, you know, a pretty uniform, consistent way of talking about data and communicating effectively. the district data team will be you know working on protocols that we can then share with building level data teams.
It's not about understanding it from the district level. We really want to bring it down to the data teams. We want there to be vertical articulation for how you know if data is moving on, you know, in one grade level over another that we're sharing those scalable practices. We've
got some amazing educators in this district and a lot of that can be replicated pretty fairly um fairly easily and really what it takes is us understanding what it is that they're doing different in their classrooms. So the first goal proposed um really is
about establishing like I said that instructional framework and that really means that we're capturing data real time. We're making intentional adaptive pathways. We are making sure that we're sitting down and having conversations about flexible learning paths for
students. We're making sure that our educators have the resources available to them to adjust instruction. We look at small groupoup instruction. We talk about targeting instruction. That's really just about giving kids what they need when they need it. And actionable steps mean we really will sit down and
talk about kids. we really will disagregate this data and we'll make sure that we have continuous feedback loop not only to the board of education but to the public so that you can be assured that some of the measures that we're putting in place are absolutely going to be achieved
at the end game really what this is about is 100% of our students being monitored within the district through the tools that I just discussed the at the end of the day teachers are going to feel more confident in making sure they're delivering individual
individualized instruction. And when I use the word differentiation, that just means giving kids what they need. So if you have a range of learners in your classroom, it's making sure that we are adjusting on all ends and delivering the instruction and the materials in a way that that child understands. And that's
really the customization. And how do you customize? You monitor the targeted interventions you put in place. And then you take thoughtful time with your data teams to really monitor that progress and make sure that that child is is progressing along their own trajectory.
Building educator excellence kind of moves into goal two. But I just really want to set the stage for we have amazing educators. We opened up our keynote speakers um for convocation because you know it took us a long time. You know a lot of a lot of districts bring in some amazing speakers and
amazing leaders. We have them here. So, it's really just honoring um what we have existing and capitalizing on what's already working to translate that into other classrooms. Teachers have really great insights. They have really great
ideas um on how to present, you know, tools and multiensory ways of approaching the learning. Um and as our students grow and learn, they're growing and learning alongside. And really that's just about the collaboration and making sure that our professional development is succinct and that it's
planned out long term. And how we'll know we're doing well when I move into the uh second goal and present that is, you know, practice coherence. You know, we're talking about coherent, measurable action across all grade levels. How that equates to
student outcomes and then how are we aligning it to other district initiatives so that nobody is feeling siloed. This presentation tonight is really to tell the story about how the three goals connect. By midy year, this professional um development achievement is really going
to look like I should be coming to you in January and saying 75% of teacher-led sessions are already in place. We are leveraging our internal expertise. We already posted and have in place our um leaders in learning. What does that look like? a leaders in learning applied
because they know that they have good practices and great outcomes happening in their classrooms. We want them teaching our teachers on how to replicate these practices. Another thing that we're very proud of is three leadership cohorts that we launched very
successfully this year. This evening I got a chance to watch the aspiring leaders academy. That is all leaders in our district from our transportation department, teacher assistants, um leaders that are in doctoral programs and supervisory certificate programs.
They have an interest in learning and growing and understanding what it takes to move from the classroom into a leadership position. The fact that they had an interest, they're in the room. I think we have about 50 participating that's led by Mr. Desai and Dr. Williams um and Sean Fry from HR. So that's the
first leadership cohort. The second leadership cohort is going to be an assistant principal cohort. Um, we feel like sometimes, you know, they have a different lens on what's happening in their buildings and really giving them some connected care time to sit down as colleagues and work through some of the
nuances across the district because they don't often get a chance to really kind of articulate up and down about um what they might need some support on. And then the third cohort that we have that we'll be launching soon is building our teacher assistant pipeline. I feel very
proud when I walk into a classroom and I see a teacher assistant, you know, running a small group, um, rotating stations with students, supporting that instructional leader. We've got some amazing people in this district and we'd like to create alternative pathways for them to begin to think about teaching
and building out that teaching certification for their future. So, that's the three things that we have going. So on to oops I think I skipped. Um so so the professional learning was that again that connected care piece.
The third goal was about family engagement. Um we have some great training set up for the year. We want to work with families on you know how to interpret data when it comes home from an NJSLA assessment. What does your child's I Ready report card score look
like? um practical tools that our families can really take away and understand what technology integration looks like. What is the district's policy on AI? I know that's another hot topic. Um really just building out a good communication pathway so that the
the families are feeling like they're getting what they need. Last night was an exemplar for us here in the district. Um you know, it was our first what we're going to consider an inaugural event. Um, we had 150 family
members attend. We provided child care. We had our food service vendor there providing some dinner for us and it was called welcome to the neighborhood. The the feedback we got was thank you for inviting us into your home. And we did just that. We made sure the windows were clean and we tidied up and the front
office looked good and we were ready for them. We fed them. We gave them information and they walked away meeting I think 15 to 20 different vendors at the high school and they got to visit tables and really understand what it is that's available as resources to them in
the community. So that was just one of the many workshops you can see coming down the pike. I have the October 15th uh date up here as a reminder for our next community conversation. just to like to call out, you know, I know that we're moving from referendum pass to
reconfiguration and we want to be very transparent with the phasing and how things are going very successfully in the district. So, you can anticipate hearing another update on October 15th at 7 o'clock at LMS. Oops, my slide is not advancing. Oh,
there we go. And now we're ready for a formal uh thumbs up from the board of education. Um again that connected goal is about data. It's about building a framework. It's about providing teachers the professional development necessary to do this lift of differentiating
instruction, building small groups out, giving kids what they need. And then the third goal, of course, we can't do anything without our families. So it's that expanded care concept of coherence. >> Thank you. >> Great. Thank you. Yeah, I think um I just would wanted to
make one quick comment for the for the board and for the public to understand. Um you know, you have brought a new perspective to our district around how to um address student achievement. Um we always thought about the whole child
perspective here in within this district, but your perspective is beyond the whole child. It is the whole community. So, we're looking at uh academic achievement through the data of what they're doing in the classrooms, what teachers are doing, what the board is doing, what parents can do, how we
can help support parents to support our kids. And I think, um, it's a lot for the board to even take in sometimes. Uh, but that's what we expect from you. Um, and we have to keep up with you. Um, and it does seem like a lot, but I know
that, um, we are ready for it. I know CIPD uh continually, you know, addresses the data and we're going to look at that further and um you know, it is a lot of work. I mean, I I don't I hope that people look at this. I mean, you've done
a very high level overview, but there's going to be a lot that's going to go into these results for us as a district. And um you know, I know you're going to achieve them, but uh you're going to work hard because we're doing a lot here. So, um I just hope the board can acknowledge that as well.
>> I just want to say, you know, just for the record, um I have an incredible leadership team. I could not do this on my own. Um they are all in. Uh we've got a team that's, you know, ready to kind of drive forward in a way that we we haven't driven before. We have a
district of excellence, but they're ready to to look at things from more of a co cohesive level, a consistent level across schools. Um we have great buyin. You know the full leadership team is engaging in a professional development plan so that we are learning and growing
alongside our teachers. This is not about you know top down. It is really yeah it's about us learning together. Listen there was coursework I took over the summer to really dive in and understand how we're going to look at data you know longitudinally speaking
all the way from preschool to 12th grade. What those assessments are going to look like and then I want to know what the outcomes are going to be. It's great to get the the education and the learning and we've got a great data warehouse now and but the outcome is really giving the teachers the tools to be able to do what they need to do. The
our best resources are educators in the classroom and we know that and I think that there's a great investment here. So, it's exciting. >> I'd love to add that I'm so happy that we're using the talent that we have with these excellent educators. They're turning it around and sharing their
expertise. And for a superintendent to realize that and to show that you have faith in them and the guidance in the administration to have them share the excellence that they have that's such a great buyin for the community for the board members. Thank you for letting
them shine. >> Thank you. Thank you. Great. >> All right. So, we do have another presentation. I'm not done yet. I'm gonna step away. But no, I'd like to call up our lead architect. Uh Steve Shrier is here tonight. He'll be talking alongside uh Vanessa McCarthy, our
assistant superintendent for student services. You know, we often talk about this project. Um I really it felt we were pretty passionate about the community and the board hearing about a lot of the capital projects that go above and beyond just things that were
passed in the referendum. That's really tonight we're prioritizing accessibility. So, I'm going to turn it over to you guys. That's the clicker. the clicker. You have the power literally. >> Good evening everybody. Thank you for
having me. So, a very important topic uh to all of us prioritizing accessibility and we're going to focus on a few projects that are in the works up and coming uh throughout the district at various buildings.
You have to say pretty please. [Music] >> Got it. Okay. All right. So, a few topics uh for tonight. We're going to be looking at the Lawrence Middle School auditorium renovations, Slackwood Elementary School stair and ramp renovations, Lawrence Intermediate
School toilet renovations, and other projects at the middle school and high school campus. Looking at Lawrence Middle School, let's just get our bearings first. So, the bottom of the screen is Princeton
Pike and the main entrance uh to the building is in that same area. Uh, I do have a laser pointer. So, main main entrance right here, Princeton Pike along the bottom of the screen, Gainesboro Road out out toward the west side of the screen. Our focus
area for this project, the auditorium. Uh, so that's what we'll be looking at right now. Kind of a high level view. Uh, so circulation in and around the auditorium. What does that mean? We have a few existing entrances to the auditorium at the rear of the auditorium
as well as from the corridor to the side going towards the stage. The stage being at the bottom of the screen. Uh the rest of the area being the seating areas. So this project consists of a full interior alteration. Um we're going to be removing the
seating. We're going to be removing finishes. All the MEP systems are getting looked at. the theatrical systems, lighting, and on the accessibility side, we're going to be creating spaces that don't currently exist in the current space. So, I've
highlighted some areas. These are designated seating areas. Um, there's going to be plenty of clearances here for someone that may be in a wheelchair or require additional clearances. Uh, alongside the each se uh seating area is a companion
seat. We have existing an existing slope floor. You can see the aisles coming down towards the pit. Another area in the back that's highlighted. Uh but one thing is the transition to the stage. And what we're doing in this project is we've created a concourse. So alongside
of the corridor wall, we have this continuous flat surface that will be at the same elevation as the back of the house as well as the stage. And this is this allows a great uh path of travel uh for anyone that's coming up maybe that's
going to be doing a performance or receiving an award. Uh and that's just one of the many uh improvements in this space. This is in lie of having a lift of some sort. Uh the idea is to build independence for visitors and occupants
of the space and by having this concourse that goes alongside the auditorium provides that access to the stage area. I do want to touch upon some of the other seating provisions. We have designated aisle seats. About 5% of the overall seating will have a um an
armrest that's able to be lifted to allow occupants to be seated if they choose to uh be seated in in this area. Uh I did forget to mention about an additional seating area in the pit. uh one of those designated se seating
areas, access to stage and technical production areas. So, we're creating a sound and lighting booth in the back of house. And there's actually going to be a ramp that goes up to this area. Um this is going to have the lighting and uh sound
control boards as well as follow spots and some other equipment. The stage is going to remain accessible from the corridor and from in front of the precinium wall. Uh, and I just want to touch upon some of the other devices, assisted list listening devices that will be included with this project. And
the the system is set up for future expansion. Switching gears a little bit, at Slackwood Elementary School, we have a project that's in planning stage right now, and it's a stair replacement project as well as a new ramp. And so,
uh, just to get our bearings, Princeton Pike once again at the bottom of the screen, uh, Carr Avenue up the west side of the screen, we have our auditorium, our main large group assembly space within the building. And we know that the parking area is just off the screen,
north of the uh, the screen. So, what we're proposing um, if if you visited the building before, you can see even a lot of other doors and entrances to the building. you have to transition a change in elevation. Uh we're proposing
a framed structure which will act as a concourse outside of doors 5, six, and to seven. Seven, a heavily used door in the back of the building as it's one of the main doors from the parking area that's off the screen. And alongside
that concourse, we're going to have a continuous ramp with an intermediate landing in the middle that's going to allow um a lot of occupants to and from the school and that'll be utilizing that door. Number seven, we have some other improvements at the building. U there is
an adjacent area. Well, we're going to be adding some guard rails um to this area and handrails for access. And don't forget about our main entrance at the front of the building. We will be replacing those steps as well. So, I
talked about access to the auditorium, our new ADA compliant ramp and guardrails and handrails that will all meet those accessibility requirements. Moving on to Lawrence Intermediate School. So, we have uh the main parking area
that's out to the west of the screen and that leads out to Edgar's Crossing Road. We have when you enter the main entrance of the building, you have the main office. You'll travel down the corridor and an area of the building that we're looking at is in the fourth grade hall
um right here, this box. And you can see the current arrangement that's right here. It's a multiple occupant toilet room. And it's a it's a great spot because adjacent to that, we have some storage that can be utilized to expand that footprint of the toilet room.
And what are we proposing? We're proposing four singleuse ADA compliant all in yellow here toilet rooms. One that's a a little bit larger. It has increased maneuver and clearances and access to all four of these single-use
toilet rooms will be from the main corridor. There's going to be some alteration, some demolition work of the existing corridor wall, but as you walk up, uh, each room is is nearly the same. Uh, some of them are just mirrored. In terms of the accessories that are included in them, we're going to have
all ADA compliant toilet fixtures. They'll be mounted accordingly. uh the lavatories, also known ha hand sinks. They'll be at an appropriate height to allow uh users of the space as well as the water closet itself or or toilet.
It's there's going to be grab bars on the rear and sidewalls. And then all these dashed lines that are indicated in each space, those represent fixture clearances that we have to maintain for an ADA compliant toilet room. this larger room in in towards the rear. Um,
it has expanded maneuvering clearances as I stated, but we're going to build in provisions uh for future expansion in the event that there needs to be a transfer swing or or apparatus of of some sort. Uh, we'll have provisions above the ceiling for that. We also have
at the end of this new passage that we're creating off the corridor a laundry closet. And this is going to have a closed washer and dryer um which will be used for for life skills. >> So I just wanted to add for the um
addition for the LIS for these four additional toilets. Um this really is now um going to provide a a continuum here um for our intermediate school onto our middle school in terms of our programming that we can provide for students. Um the the four single-use
toilets provides us with a lot of flexibility um and that we are able to you know adapt each year as the needs of our students change. Um so with this this is just a wonderful addition for all of our students. Um I know a lot of this is geared certainly towards special
education but I want to note that this is really for all students and also staff can benefit from this. >> Thank you. I just want to comment um these toilet rooms are following a a similar model to the improvements at
Lawrence Middle School. Uh part of the referendum project at that building consists of toilet room renovations. So you you're going to be seeing very similar upgrades to those facilities as well. Other projects at Lawrence Middle School
and Lawrence High School. So this is an aerial image uh just to get everybody's bearings. We have Princeton Pike down towards the bottom, Gainesboro up the side. This is Lawrence Middle School and the high school.
So with the passing of the referendum, we have a few site work projects that are going to be increasing access to the buildings as well as to the playing fields and other amenities. Um drop off and pickup lanes. So, at Lawrence Middle
School, our we have a two-story addition that's proposed. It's going to have a new accessible main entrance that faces the high school. We're going to have a new drop off and pickup lane in front of the building. On the similar uh side at
the high school, we're going to have a altered drop off and pickup lane. And with these drop off and pick up pickup lanes, there's going to be depressed curbs u with detectable warning strips. There's going to be barrierfree routes
from the main entrances of the buildings to the designated parking areas. Um parking we're expanding. We have some alterations to our main lot between the buildings, but with the middle school, we're going to be expanding the lot
behind the gymnasium down towards our new gymnasium addition. And then in the rear next to the uh tennis courts, we have a new proposed parking lot that will be paved. It'll also have designated parking areas as well that are accessible. Uh right now, it's a
gravel lot. We have a new parking lot that's proposed behind the high school. And with this expansion uh to parking, we're going to be able to create a route to the stadium that's going to meet the
um the required cross pitches and cross slopes for an ADA compliant route to the stadium. We have a proposed uh playing field that's next to the existing turf field. And in the same way, we'll be
providing new pathways u to the visitor or home side of this new playing field uh to follow the uh the same type of work. >> These projects really are aiming to ensure that our community feels welcome
and are able to access our buildings, our fields, our our stadium, our football games. We want our community to feel that they can come and enjoy uh Lawrence and everything it has to offer. Thank you. Anybody everybody um any questions?
>> Do you anticipate running into any asbestous when you're doing some of these projects in our old building? >> Um due to the age of the buildings, there is there is u a possibility of that. I know that the various buildings do have uh good reporting in place
already uh which we do use for references. Uh we're also working with a environmental uh consultant. Um especially at the middle school which we are starting uh design work at already uh with the auditorium renovations. These other projects will follow a
similar suit um due to the history of or the age of the buildings. We always u that's part of our due diligence process. >> Thank you. I have a question about the auditorium. I don't know if you have the answer. Are we losing seating or are we
maintaining what we currently have with the modifications? >> There will be a decrease in total seating count uh mostly due to the new altered areas in the in the back of house. Um in fact those areas it's sloped currently. We're going to be
removing the concrete slab in that area and building it up. And because of that footprint that's required for maneuvering clearances, we're going to be losing uh some seats as well as the new accessible lighting and sound booth. >> Thank you.
>> Great. Thank you so much. >> Thank you everybody. Good evening. >> Thanks for coming. >> We look forward to more presentations. Steve, >> thank you. We know you love it. Uh, okay. Um, thank you Vanessa and
Steve. That was great. And I do think it's really important that um we understand how much we're really doing to serve all students. Um, and what a big what a big uh job it is. Um, so thank you. Um, board secretary report.
>> Uh, our the report tonight is mainly focused on uh where we are with the referendum in terms of what we're doing. Um, but I don't want um the the question that you asked. Um, and I have the benefit of sitting here while Steve's sitting there. Um, so I'm going to bring
you something that's a little bit different. Um, and what I mean by that is while we are losing some seats in the auditorium, we are able to take the entire school in the gymnasium. So we have a place where we can assemble all grade levels uh once the grade
levels are increased, seat them and um perhaps not as sophisticated in the light show and the the auditory um experience but close to it will be what occurs in the gymnasium. Um and so we focused on accessibility in the
auditorium. We focused on renovating the auditorium. there was not a chance that we were going to get the entire school in the auditorium ever. And so what we thought was let's make sure that we have a gymnasium that accommodates the entire
school. And so that's what we did. So many people often think I want to be able to accommodate the entire school in in an assembly. We we can absolutely do that. Um so forgive me. I know that's not what you asked, but I wanted that information out there. >> No, I know the house relays. That's when
it really is important and that's where it happens in the gym. So, >> yep. And we made sure one of the walls was extra sticky because that's where they tape Mindy to, you know. So, we've seen the pictures of those too over the years. So, the um we're moving ahead with the referendum on the agenda this
evening for you and your consideration. Your collective decision is to award bids for the renovation of the auditorium that which Mr. Shrier just spoke on. Um, so we have we've brought it to reality now. Um, the bids were
taken. We had quite a bit of interest in our project. Um, we've had them reviewed by legal counsel. We brought them before you this evening. U, we've evaluated those bids with respect to where we are in our budget and where we will be in our anticipated future budget. And so we
are we are where we need to be. Um, we are bringing the idea of an award of a base bid to you. And what that means is we're not selecting the alternate bids that we took. One of the bids was a screen that we have uh on the stage, a large screen. U we're not giving up on
that in any regard. What we decided to do is we'll come back and revisit that after we do the other bits before we take the uh the alternate bids. In addition to that, we have on the agenda this evening for your consideration the award of the construction management
firm. Um and so uh like our other um our award for construction, this too has been looked at from the perspective of our budget and also looked at uh from the perspective of our legal counsel. Um and uh we are ready to make that
recommendation to you. We've passed all of our clearances and uh also the the common sense questions have been asked as well. Uh um uh Steve and George from Freight, Vice Hopkins, and Duthy have
looked at the general uh contractor that we are proposing the award to. We have done our due diligence with respect to the construction manager and check their references, um who we're recommending to recommending to you tonight. We actually use that outfit to do some work for us
currently. So, we have firsthand experience. Um outside of that, um we are on course And uh that's all I'm going to bring to you this evening. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Um and yes, uh we did
anticipate asbestous u and we awarded that contract. Um but since it was under the bid threshold, we didn't have to bring it to you. Um uh and so that's why you were as familiar with that, but we took care of that uh I'm going to say three four weeks ago. >> Okay,
>> great. Thank you so much. >> Board President report. Um, first I wanted to welcome Redeema to the board. We look forward to your perspective and your energy. We love our student board members. Um, and congratulations. So,
thank you. We're excited to have you. Um, I also wanted to just take a moment to acknowledge um, Ignita Partardo and Neil Desai for a tremendous uh, thing that they did this summer which
was opening our Lawrence Day School uh, preschool. Sorry, I lost my train of thought. I didn't write anything down today. um on CIAD. We did take a visit there and and Pepper's going to report out on it, but I just wanted to let them know the hard work that you both have
done and the PE and everybody on your team uh to get Lawrence Day School up and running was monumental. Um we have four classes there with over 60 students uh which makes us halfway to full capacity of our prek universe. Um it is
something that I personally um hold in such a high regard for our community. I am so proud of all of the work that has been done. Um and I know that it took a lot to get those classes um up to the Lawrence standard. Um they look like
they are part of our school in terms of the the decor. everything in it is is beautiful and new and seeing all of those little three and four year olds um was really amazing for me because I look forward to seeing them grow through the
Lawrence Township public schools and I know their future is very bright. Um so thank you for all of the hard work that you did. Um and the only other thing I want to say is I want to just introduce the co-presidents for the Lawrence Middle School, Lawrence High School PTO.
Um Laura No, I don't know. >> Tribaltoff. >> Okay. Thanks. And and Kea West. >> Um if you wanted to I don't know if you want to say something, feel free to. Um
these are two new uh co-presidents this year. I hope that the PTO comes to our board meetings because you can see how great they are and how much information you get. Um and uh thank you so much for your service to our district, our school, and our students. Um
>> if we can just introduce the rest of the board. Sure. Martinez. Um and we are just really looking high school and you guys are all of our events. right now. Any questions? LMS LHS.org.
[Laughter] >> It's a normal confusion we all have. Um, can you just say your last name for me, please? And I apologize. I should know how to say it. >> It's okay. >> Shriber. Okay. Well, thank you so much for your service and um we look forward
to all the great things the PTO's do for us. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Okay, now we're going to our liaison. >> A request of the PTO. >> Yes, a request for the PTO. >> Yes. Next time, can they be Philly's tickets?
>> It's on the list. >> Thank you. >> I don't know if you know this, but this is Philly's town. >> No, I know. I know. Um, okay. Uh, this evening, normally we would have our student board member report. As it's her first night, we'll let her go with no
report, but next month. Um, LTE. All right. LTE. We had the pleasure of the fun run last Saturday. Um, it was really an amazing event. We had a good time. Um, we had Dr. Clem and we had uh
Neil Dai number one and number two bib numbers. No pressure on how they uh ended the race, but no, they were awesome. It was such a fun community event. Families were there. Millions of staff member administrators
um not millions, but it felt like it because it was a hot, humid day. I walked. I'm telling you right, I walked. I didn't run. Um just LTE provided a fun experience for the community to get together. Um they wanted me to thank all
of the administrators that came um the participants and our officer who was there um representing. He did the 100yard dash with the bulletproof vest and all of in that heat. Officer George,
I couldn't. It was amazing. So, LTF wanted me to be sure to thank everyone that was there. Also, keeping in mind that the fall grants are due by October 3rd. And a crowd-pleaser, mark your calendars, November 14th. Handbag bingo,
please. And if you want to keep on in touch with what's going on with LTE, just go to their website. Um, look at upcoming events. And if you want to donate, you see the impact that it has on our school community here. So, it's a worthwhile um event to or a community
event to to get involved with. Would you like me to keep going for New Jersey school boards? >> Sure. >> All right. >> Thursday, September 18th, we are having an AI panel discussion right here in the library center. And I just got an email on my
way here. It looks like our district supervisor Sarah Foster is taking on a larger role than she was supposed to. She we were gonna have a panel discussion because she's so fantastic. She's going to focus on how to integrate
AI tools effectively and ethically in K to2 education. She'll share experiences, insights, strategies to ensure AI is used responsibly and with meaningful impact on schools. And hearing our student representatives talk about that,
they did a workshop in AI, we're really all taking this very seriously. So, this is an opportunity for board members to jump on board, get yourself acclimated, so you know, when decisions are made, you have a little bit of education in
and what goes into it. Um, let's see. There are se we're having that county meeting. So, it's here. As I said, you can attend virtually or in person. You have to register. You can walk into if you want to. Um, I'd love to see as many of you that can make it there. Um, let's
see. The 20th November, there are some online courses that you can jump into. School finance pressure points, the cost of health care, state aid shifts and pilots will be discussed at a roundt discussion. There also is regionalformational programs for
schoolboard candidates and you can do those online or register to go in person and I highly recommend any the two actually if you already know what you're jumping into but Paul if you can get him involved that would be great. So he knows >> he's coming on the 18th. I invited.
>> Perfect. I like it. Um, let's see what else. And schoolboard members needing mandated training for governance sessions. You can do those at workshop or they have them online. They also have a self-paced one that you can do. Start,
stop, do what you want. Please make sure you get that training if you are up for it. We've uh felt the ramifications. >> Yes, we did. >> Yes. And as me, I felt the ramifications. So, please make sure you take it seriously. And that's my report. Great. Thank you.
Uh, student services. >> Student services didn't meet this month. Currently, there's no new information to provide. We'll reconvene next month. >> Great. Thank you. Uh, reconfiguration ad hoc meeting. Well, you can hear that there's lots going on, which is
exciting. Uh, we met in August, a few of us. So, Olga and Joanne and Michelle and I met with Dr. Clim, Dr. Mowski, Miss Baldesari, and Mr. Eldridge. And we had a great conversation talking about some of the accessibility features that are
going into place, the bond, and the next steps um with construction. And we really focused a lot on thinking about our goals for the community meeting. So, and as you can hear, it was it's connected to our community goals in general. We're building hopefully we're
we're aiming to build on the success of prior community meetings where we've been um engaging with different groups and really hearing from folks. So, uh we'll talk a little bit more in October, but we really tried to take the time to make sure that those community meetings
on October 15th uh will be meaningful for all of you. And we um know that we'll learn a lot uh from the community at that time as well. So, uh we're just focused on that. And our next um if you read to the bottom of my minutes, uh the
next meeting uh will be in two weeks. And um if you remember, we're doing a kind of rotating committee to make sure that everyone's getting the information they need. Uh so there's one spot uh open. Uh it's a hot ticket at our next meeting on September
>> that's a good one. >> I mean >> um could you just repeat that October 15th meeting where it is and what time it is? It's >> at LMS at 7. That's October 15th. >> Yeah, October 15th uh at the middle school. >> Great.
>> Thank you. >> Uh review of communications. Nothing. Um this is our first opportunity for public input. Hello. Can you please state your name and write your address down and just limit your comments to three minutes?
>> Thank you. Hi, I'm Ka King Green. You want me to do my address and everything? >> Thank you. >> Am I being timed? No, not yet. >> Thank you. >> You're fine. >> Okay. Oh my gosh, I'm so nervous, but
I'm so happy to be here. Do not be nervous. >> Okay. >> So, hi board. I'm Kaia King Green. I am the executive director of Every Child Valued. And there's just a couple of things I want to quickly go through. I just want to introduce myself for you
just get to know me a little bit more. um but also thank you and um talk about the way that I'm looking forward to collaborating and having this cohesive culture around um student engagement in the coming year.
So, and I hate these things. Can you hear me like this? Like, do I not need to do this? Okay. Just use your big strong teacher voice. >> Okay. All right. So, I'm Kaia King Green and um I am a former educator. I worked with the Trenton public schools for
about maybe 13 14 years before resigning and homeschooling my youngest two children. Um I homeschooled them, this is crazy, maybe like eight years. This was it started before the pandemic. And during that time I transformed my
basement into a classroom. I welcomed maybe like six or seven students that were local and they, you know, their parents were looking for alternative um solution to their education needs. And I also worked with students across the
country, maybe like 60 students that were already, you know, like their parents had already chosen to homeschool them, but their parents wanted a more structured um way to yeah um to educate them. And I worked with instructors
internationally during that time, too. Um, oh, my my time is running out. So, um, all right. So, I did all that and now I want to thank you. I really want to thank you for the support at ECV and
definitely to extending our contract to cover K through 8. Um, we have an amazing team at ECV and I look forward to working alongside them as not just the educator but also an instructional leader. Um, and some of the ways that I
look to do that, I'm really excited about learning about the Lexile and the Quantile data systems because we will be engaging in that way. I really want their out of school setting to pattern the best practices of during the day. um you know obviously parent engagement is
at the top um increasing student enrollment um and um closing some closing learning gaps. So I thought I had more time obviously I didn't I was talking about all that but thank you thank you all and
I look forward to continuing our partnership in a really um strategic and um impactful way. Thank you so much and we also look forward to that and we will talk to you many more times. Okay. >> I just want to say thank you Miss Green.
Uh Mr. Desai and I got a chance to go to Miss Green's faculty meeting and we presented sort of the data framework and lens that we're going to be looking through and utilizing with our team here. Um and she asked for more training. Um we want to engage and and
look at you know student achievement a little bit differently with this afterchool program. and Miss Green's putting in place, you know, some more rich ideas around some baseline assessments for our kiddos to make sure that the investment is there and that our students growth outcomes are are are
actually coming to fruition. And I want to say thank you because she had in mind a great student learning portfolio. I think we're starting to see some shifts in staffing um and the idea of kind of having thematic cycles at ECV to really
bring the parent and the students in with a little bit more excitement around learning after school. We all know after school you want to kind of eat, you want to check out, you want to get on a device. And Miss Green's passion is really for kind of extending that learning. And I've enjoyed watching her
and Mr. decide really get together to kind of look at that framework. Something that we've wanted and I know that the board's wanted to re-evaluate for quite a number of years. So, I want to thank you for your leadership and partnership around all of this. We're excited. >> Thank you as well. >> Thank you.
>> Thank you so much. >> Any other public input? >> Okay. Uh we have no board discussion or work session items this evening. So, uh, we'll go to our first board discussion and action items, personnel committee report, and personnel action items.
>> All righty. Personnel met September 3rd, 8:15. In attendance, Sean Fry, Kevin Vanheis, Aaron Del Clark, Olga Martinez, and myself. We reviewed recommendations for preK at leis.
We discussed possible future calendar revisions. Neil and Amy are helping to explore ways for pathways for our assistants to explore various educational certifications. We talked a little bit about that earlier. Dr. Clim and Michelle D'Angelo,
LTA president, provided some wonderful training to new staff on legal complexities of education and provided strategies to support our new staff in their new in this profession. We reviews reviewed and revised updates for the
secretary to the assistant superintendent for student services and there were no changes for policies 3351 and 4351. On tonight's agenda, you'll find approvals for resignations, EDPs,
mentors, salary adjustments, substitute teachers, substitute assistance, trainings, and the job revised description that we talked about, and unpaid leaves, appointments for staff members, and a lead night custodian, a
correction, confirmation appointments due to background clearances, amending a start date, and transfers. There is one retirement that was announced and it's for Gerald Alima. Al I'm going to say his name. Put the accent on the wrong.
Alima I think is how you pronounce his last name. Who was head custodian at Ben Franklin Elementary School. His career has been a great one with our district for 14 and a half years and we're grateful for his time and dedication and we wish him well on his retirement. With
all of that, I would like to move P1 through P32, please. >> Before there's a second, can uh we pull P2 and just move that one separately? >> Sure. >> So, with that, >> I'll second the It's P1 through 32, less.
>> All right. Is that okay to say it that way? Do you want me to do P1 through 3 to 32? I'll have you. >> Okay. >> Uh Tom with a motion and a second from Kevin. And then I Well, we have to vote first. Sorry. Yeah, >> I was skipping that.
>> Okay, so Mr. Clark, >> yes. >> Miss Evans, >> yes. >> Miss Kroger, >> yes. >> Miss Kelly, >> yes. >> Miss Martinez, >> yes. >> Miss Pasculi, >> yes. >> Uh, Mr. Vanheis, >> yes. >> And Miss Post, >> yes.
>> Motion carry. >> Motion for P2. Now I'd like to move P2. Second >> with a motion and a second, Tom. >> And second was Miss Evans. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> And Mr. Clark. >> Yes. >> Miss Evans? >> Yes. >> Miss Kroger?
>> Yes. >> Miss Kelly? >> Yes. >> M. Martinez? >> Yes. >> Mr. Vanise? >> Abstain. >> Miss Pascouli? >> Yes. >> And Miss Bose? >> Yes. >> Motion carried. >> Okay. CIAD report and student services.
CIAD met yesterday morning at 8 am. In attendance were Miss Michelle Bose, Dr. King, McKenzie Kelly, Dr. Clim, Ignita Partardo,
uh later Dr. Damen Barrya, Moren Hayes, and Mr. Neil Desai. The committee began its visit at Lawrence Day Preschool. Yay! field trip, which now houses four newly prepared preschool classrooms serving 60 little students. They were
welcomed by Miss Anneita Partardo, our incredible preschool supervisor, and had the opportunity to greet teachers, meet families, and engage with students. We also saw the inside of a school bus complete with child safety seats and bus aids. We saw parents walking their
children to school from Lawrence Square Village with some families taking younger siblings to the daycare next door. The classrooms were fully prepared, look wonderful, and were filled with energy and learning. The Cardinal kids were amazing, and the overall environment was warm, positive,
and inviting. The committee went back to the board office and received a presentation from Dr. Barex and Miss Hayes regarding minor updates to the K5 report card. These revisions developed by the report card
committee over the summer reflect recent adjustments to math and English language arts standards and includes input from teachers across multiple grade levels. Key revisions include kindergarten and grade one added indicators for
identifying currency and equivalent money amounts. Language updates, adjusted wording for greater clarity for families, early literacy, more explicit identification of skills such as phonics and comprehension.
With reading separate reporting of fiction and non-fiction texts, writing expanded indicators to highlight grammar, vocabulary, and the development of independent writing across a variety of purposes. Families will be notified
of these changes in the coming weeks. Next, the committee received an update on every child valued. The committee learned that ECV will utilize Lexile and Quantile data to better support students in the program. This is similar to the
data driven driven instructional goals of all our students. Additionally, the program will prioritize increasing student enrollment and attendance while also strengthening the partnership between staff, families, and the program. We did not have any
policies to move forward. Uh on your agenda you will see uh professional development settlement and out of district placements. And I would like to move together OIS1 and OSS1 and two.
>> Second >> Tom with a motion and a second from Kevin. >> Mr. Clark. >> Yes. >> Miss Evans. >> Yes. >> Miss Kroger. >> Yes. >> Miss Kelly. Yes, >> Miss Martinez. >> Yes, >> Miss Pasculi. >> Yes,
>> Mr. Vanheis. >> Yes, >> Miss Bose. >> Yes. >> Motion carried. >> Thank you. Finance committee report and school business management. >> Good. Motors of my predecessor Tom Patrick. Mr. Eldridge has stolen all of my thunder with his uh report. Uh but uh
finance did meet last uh Friday uh with Michelle Bose, Pepper Evans, Diana Pasculi, uh Dr. Clim, Mr. Eldridge, and Miss Puzznney. Um uh first and foremost, just uh Tom reiterates and certainly for the benefit of of all board members and and even members of the public, um if
you have questions, concerns, our business administration office um is a phenomenal resource and encourage you first to check the website and then always pick up the phone and call and uh as they uh look to really um deliver on the customer service orientation that
that our administration is bringing to things. So, and that was stressed. Um, we talked about our uh referendum scheduling update and got a preview of the uh extensive Gant chart that Tom uh continues to maintain. Um, we talked about the uh auditorium award that is on
this uh agenda as SPM uh 12. We also talked about the construction manager contract. Again, that's going to be SPM 13. Tom alluded to it earlier. U and just to stress on that one, that one actually comes in under budget with a perfect score. Um, so that one was
actually an award based on a scoring metric and they achieved a perfect score and under budget. So that's going to be a fantastic and phenomenal resources and as Tom had indicated, we actually have a pre-existing working relationship with them. So we already know the quality of work. So um, which is fantastic. Um,
other uh, topics that we uh, talked about is our annual um, re-registration and sampling program. So that we have just for verification of items. We talked about updating um our bid threshold so that to match the state
that's going to be on the agenda as SBM14. And uh in another predecessor we did talk about our change orders and we always hearken back to a former board member Mr. Brindle. Yes. Uh who uh just on a matter of principle would always vote no on change orders. But we have um
vested our business administration administrator um with the ability to do change orders for efficiency uh in order that we can continue to have contracts moving forward and performed uh up to the bid threshold and those all do come to the board and so we are always uh up
to date and have those approved. So with that uh we >> ask Mike Brindle to rest easy. >> Yes. So uh he continues to live on. >> Yes, he does. He's not resting easy. He's being >> not with that. >> So, with that, uh, we have, uh, our
normal, uh, business action items, fire drills, policies, uh, the talked about, uh, items for the contracts and transportation routes. So, with that, I will move SPM 1 through 21. >> Second, Tom, with a motion, a second from Joanne.
>> Mr. Clark, >> yes. >> Miss Evans, >> yes. >> Miss Groger, >> yes. >> Miss Kelly, >> yes. >> Miss Martinez, >> yes. Miss Pasculi, >> yes. >> Mr. Vanheis, >> yes. >> Miss Bose, >> yes. >> Motion carry. >> Thank you. That's our next opportunity
for public input. >> Ka, you're welcome to come up again. >> More minutes. >> So, you don't have to. We're just saying if you wanted to. >> If you wanted to. >> Yeah. Okay. Um, no, you're good.
Thank you. Um, seeing none, we move on. I forgot to acknowledge the fact that we lost an aid from LEES, Harriet Gilligan. Um, if you knew her, she was a gem. Always can do. Um, her children, they
lived around the corner from me, too. Um, were our beautiful people, and I just want to acknowledge that we lost a great woman. So, >> sending sympathy and prayers to her family. >> Yes. Thank you. Um,
new business. Olga, floor is yours. >> For new business, um, we have substitute approvals, EDP appointments, appointment clearances, resignations, vacations paid out, hours adjustments,
and with that, I would like to move NB1 to NV19. >> Second. Um, >> with a motion and a second. Mr. Clark, >> yes. >> Miss Evans, >> yes. >> Miss Groger, >> yes. >> Miss Kelly, >> yes. >> Miss Martinez, >> yes.
>> Miss Pascouli, >> yes. >> Mr. Vanheis, >> yes. >> Miss Bose, >> yes. >> Motion car. >> Thank you, Michelle. I'm sorry. Just is it possible either next meeting or now to get a little overview of a writing task force >> of what? In the new business, it was the
writing task force. We got a neat overview of the leaders and learning, but there's a writing task force that looked exciting at LIS and part of the new business. So, didn't want to putting you on this spot. Can we talk about it next time if >> Yes. >> Yeah, of course. Of course. Absolutely.
>> Okay. Um, well, thank you everybody for coming. Um, can I have a motion to adjourn? >> So moved. >> All in favor? Hi. I don't know.