copy of this. It's a like a progress report and then seems like Tom also made copy but I >> All right, welcome to our board meeting. Um, last board meeting of the year.
Tom, opening of the meeting. Cold order. >> Miss Bose >> here. >> Mr. Clark. >> Miss Evans >> here. >> Miss Kroger >> here. >> Miss Kelly >> here. >> Dr. King >> here. >> Miss Martinez >> here. >> Miss Pasculi >> here.
>> Mr. Vanheis >> here. >> You have a quum. >> Thank you, Tom. Um, we will go into executive session. Um, the open public meeting act authorizes the board of education to meet in executive session under certain circumstances um and requires the board to adopt a
resolution at public meetings to go into private session. Um, this evening it will be necessary to meet in executive session to discuss certain items involving uh matters which if publicly disclosed would constitute an unwanted invasion of individual privacy and
specifically this evening hib. Um formal action will not be taken. We uh plan to be in executive session for approximately 20 minutes. >> I have a motion to move into exact session. >> So second >> made by Miss Grover, seconded by Mr.
Vanise. >> Thank you favor. >> All in favor. >> Okay. >> Thank you. Just going to wait for the rest of our board members to come out. Welcome to our friends from Slackwood.
>> Thank you. Oh, yeah. >> Any parents, if you want to take pictures, feel free to fold in over here to get a better angle. >> Don't be Don't be shy. Come on. Come on up.
get some video of this. >> I'm gonna move out of the way. I promise. >> That's not the view they want. >> No, not the view anybody wants. >> I have a 22year-old and a 20-year-old and I still watch my videos from when
they were in kindergarten, first grade, second grade. So, All right. Good evening everyone. My name is Damian Barriexa. I'm the supervisor of uh math, science, and the arts here in Lawrence Township at the elementary grades. Also a part-time
amateur bingo caller. and and uh we are very proud in the arts department tonight to spotlight Slackwood Elementary School this evening. Uh in the foyer on the way in we have some paint and pastel works from some of our Slackwood second and third graders. So please take note of that on
your way out if you didn't notice it on the way in. It's up on the the boards over there. And Miss Damon is here with her students tonight to give us a preview of Slackwood's upcoming winter concert. So Slackwood friends, take it away. >> Good evening. We are Slackwood
I mean good evening. We are second grade students from Slackwood school. We are excited to sing one of our favorite winter songs for you. We hope you enjoy it. Please, please join us for our Jingle Bell Juice
Park concert next week. It is December 17th at 2:00. Hot hot hot chocolate. I can't get enough.
Hot hot hot chocolate. It's my favorite weathering. Hot hot hot chocolate. I can't get enough.
Hot hot hot chocolate. It's my favorite. The weather is freezing and you think you turn to ice and marshmallows on the top
of my cup. I'm going to drink Every hot hot chocolate hot hot chocolate. It's my favorite hot chocolate. Hot chocolate. Hot chocolate.
Turn up the heat. Make it steamy and sweet with marshmallows on the top. Fill me up to the top of my cup. I'm going to drink every
hot hot chocolate. >> I can't get enough hot hot chocolate. >> It's my favorite. >> I need a
makes hot chocolate. >> WOOHOO. >> Well done, friends. And you look so awesome. >> Thank you so much for that wonderful song about hot chocolate. Tonight's a good night for it. Dancing. Okay.
>> Okay. >> And thank you families for bringing them here tonight so we can enjoy them. They were so wonderful. >> Yes. Thank you. >> Okay. All right. We're ready to roll. Welcome everyone to our our last board meeting of 2025.
Um the New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interests is discussed or acted upon as required under the law. Adequate notice
of this meeting 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 Meetings Act. The 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 the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with
liberty and justice for all. >> All right. Thank you. We have our student representative report from our peer leaders. >> Hello. >> Hey. >> All right. So, um my name is Wraio. I'm
going to be talking about a little bit about the arts at LHS. Uh the end of the Pride and Prejudice has come to a close and it was a successful play. Auditions for the Adams family at LHS are under starting and the first one was yesterday
and today concluded the auditions so we got something to look forward to. >> Great. >> Hi, my name is Callie. I'm a senior and a peer leader at the high school. So, I'm going to be talking about the winter pep rally, which we will be having on December 19th. Um, so basically in the pep rally, we're introducing winter
sports teams, playing class games, and having performances by the band and cheer team. Um, we're also starting our spirit week this Monday. Um, the students are very excited to end the year on a positive note. Thank you. >> Hello, I'm Bishaka. I'm also a senior at
Lawrence High School. Um, I want to be about winter sports since the season just started. Um, right now our ice hockey, wrestling, swimming, winter track, and cheerleading all have started. Oh, sorry, including basketball. The ice hockey team and basketball team have had a few great
scrimmages already. And the boys swim team has just defeated Hope Valley for the first time in over five years. Wow. >> Um the Oh, girls and boys basketball also have a few games this week and one at Friday at Notre Dame. And
cheerleading team is also going to nationals soon. So those are some things to look forward to. >> And you're not going to sing hot chocolate for us? >> So sweet. Hi, my name is Zayn Spencer. Um, Lawrence High School is looking forward to the holiday break and is currently hosting the annual door
decorating contest. Lawrence staff and students are working together for a chance to win a pizza party and other awards. Thank you guys. >> Thank you. >> Oh, they're sharing the same phone. I love it.
>> Oh, Zane, I lost my place. >> Oh, wait. No, I found it. Sorry. Hi, I'm a Ken. I'm also a senior at Lawrence High School. Um something to look forward to that we've been celebrating is our student and staff. So for our student of the month is what we've been doing and um to recognize on Wednesday.
And it was just announced that our teacher of the year is Mr. T. So um and our and our ESP is Miss Gonzalez. Um so we want to thank them for their hard work and dedication. It's greatly
appreciated um by all the student body and staff. um and from all of us. So, you know, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Great. Thank you so much. You >> guys brought a lot of energy today. We love it. >> Yes, you guys can go. You don't have to stay. But thank you so much for the
great report and we look forward to hearing how our winter sports are doing come January board meeting. Um recognitions and no recognitions and acknowledgements. Adoption of a minute of the minutes. Um, can I have a motion
to adopt the executive session? >> So moved session >> from 11:12 meeting Tom with a motion and a second. >> Got that. >> I just wanted to play. Sorry. >> It's okay. >> Mr. Clark, >> yes. >> Miss Evans, >> yes. >> Miss Troer,
>> yes. >> Miss Kelly, >> yes. >> Dr. King, >> yes. >> Miss Martinez, >> yes. >> Miss Pasculi, >> yes. >> Mr. Vanheis, >> yes. >> Miss Bose, >> yes. >> Motion carried. >> Thank you. You know, I'm all for a speedy meeting. So, good job. Uh, reports to the board. Superintendent's
report. >> All right. So, I want to say thank you to our music teacher this evening, um, our Slackwood, uh, Miss Damon. And Miss Vladimir is in the audience. I know she was beaming with some pride watching our second graders perform for the board. That was a lovely way to kind of kick off, um, our holiday season just before
break. I'm really looking forward to the winter concert, which is just a week from today. You're certainly um they were certainly well prepared and they looked beautiful. Um just want to uh note that we had a we have a groundbreaking photo scheduled for Friday. It'll be at 9:00. The board of
education is invited. This really embarks on our phase one of the referendum project. Dr. Mowski is also here and welcomed her final uh concert that will ever be hosted in the 75 year almost auditorium. Um so we are super
excited um to have celebrated uh this this sort of you know the last concert. Um so tonight um our board president Miss Bose and myself wanted to take a pause and recognize and celebrate the service of Dr. Michelle King as she concludes her term on the Lawrence
Township Board of Education. Dr. King has served 10 years on the board and her servitude is coming to an end. However, her impact will certainly be a lasting endeavor for all of us to reflect on. You will notice a pretty Christmas cactus set before you each year. It
blooms between Thanksgiving and New Year's. And it is our hope that you will remember your time serving on the board with all of us and look fondly upon this experience. >> So, you have to keep it alive. That's the most important thing. Don't ever give me a Christmas cactus because it won't survive my house. But I know
you'll do a good job. Um, Michelle, for the past 10 years, you have been an exceptional leader whose thoughtful voice and steady presence has strengthened our work in countless ways. Your expertise in curriculum and instruction has elevated our board's understanding of teaching and learning,
helping to guide our decisions that will positively impact both the board and our community for years to come. We're great deeply grateful for your time, your energy, and your heart that you have devoted to Lawrence Township Public Schools. You approach every decision
with integrity and care, never steering away from what is best for students, the staff, and the community. We all would like to thank you for your commitment to the board as a liaison to every child value and your valuable contributions to the referendum and the reconfiguration
plans that also will be felt by generations to come. On behalf of the entire district community, we want to thank you for your outstanding service and wish you the very best as you move forward. Though your official role may be concluding, you will always be part
of the Lawrence Township Public the Lawrence Township Public School family. Thank you so much, Michelle. Thank you both, Michelle and Robin and and the rest of you. Um it has been um a joyful experience to be here and very
gratifying. Uh so for someone who had some interest in trying to um impact the the nature of local public school district uh I I it
been fulfilled here very much so. Um what I will miss is certainly the discussions that have occurred um in smaller groups and larger groups. Uh when I have those discussions with people, I'm energized by um the
demonstration of your passion and commitment to to um achieving greater goods throughout the district. Um, I will miss interacting with teachers and staff along with uh seeing the students such
as the Slackwood Elementary students who are here tonight. And I'll also miss the camaraderie that um I've been able to share with you guys. Um I am confident, very very confident in uh our two newer members, McKenzie Kelly who was
replacing Amanda back in the spring but has been elected served a full term on the board. Um and for Paul Kaparati who seats there tonight who is also um through the uh November election begin
in January. Um and without a doubt uh they are both at a point in their lives and the lives of their family uh where they have much to bring and their their passion and commitment is already very very uhized.
So from the bottom of my heart, thank you all and um certainly I will do my darnest. >> That's all I ask. I try. >> I will. >> Great. Thank you so much. Um that concludes the board president
report as well. I've got nothing else to say. Um ad hoc uh and liaison, I'm sorry, board secretaries report. I should put my glasses on. I suppose that would be helpful.
>> So on the the agenda this evening, you'll find many items there that are in advance of when you typically see them. Uh so there's many many renewals on your agenda this evening. Um those things are happening in advance of when you typically have them because of what we're putting on the screen now. So,
we're making every effort that we can to open up capacity and time for attention to our auditorium and and middle school renovation project. So, on your cons for your consideration this evening for the business aspect of what's on the agenda, you're going to see renewals for all
sorts of things on there from waste management to asbestous uh time materials contracts. You're going to see fire alarms repair and inspection. You'll see all sorts of things there that you don't typically see sometime until April in most years or lawn
maintenance for for goodness sake. Can you imagine? We're talking about lawn maintenance and it's 16 degrees yesterday morning. >> So all of those things are anticipation of what you see on the screen. What you see on the screen is our primary focus right now outside of education. Um but
what we're doing is we're breaking ground. As Robin said on Friday we have a ceremony. We have a communications tool that we've talked about many times called a Gant chart. This is an abbreviated version of this. And what it is is a list of tasks. We're going to post something similar to this, if not
this very chart, on our website to keep people up to speed. Just about every committee has seen this at this point. And what we do is we do for the for the audience's sake and anyone who hasn't seen it, what we have is a list of activities down the left column. and we
have a beginning date of when we're going to begin those activities and an anticipated ending date. And then what we do is we go off to the right in a calendar form that reads left to right as opposed to your traditional calendar. For ease of reading, what we did was we broke this down into what we all talk
about in our common terminologies in terms of semesters. So in the 2526 school year, we have a fall semester and spring semester. In reality, of course, summer is a huge place for us and the breaks that happen, whether it's in spring or winter, of course, we'll take advantage of. But for ease of
readership, what we did was said something to the effect of if we look at this where it says design meeting with department reps. That means all sorts of representatives from the science people to the arts people to um the the custodial um or maintenance will begin
on this date which is of course passed after the referendum. We began immediately from March and we have no ending yet and we're going to carry that through. And so by this point in time in the spring, we should be done these beatings is what this says.
And so we do that for all the many things that are happening and what we can anticipate coming. So if you look down here somewhere, you'll see auditorium groundbreaking and construction begins. And you see that on 1212 or 1211 right in there on or about.
And we expect that we'll be done before this date right here. And so you see that in a in a graphical sense right here with the semesterers. This is to keep everyone up to speed on what's happening. You'll be able to see this on our website. We're going to change that. Perhaps we're going to insert some
things along the critical path here um that will happen in and around these dates that you see here. These dates for the most part are tentative dates. They're not locked in stone. Um they are subject to move. They're in a wide range. We may get done sooner. We may be
a little bit after. But the date that's most important, Joey, if you'll scroll down a little bit, and if you go off to the right, is this date right here. When we come out right here, Lawrence Middle School opens for school, grades 6 to 8 in the 2930 school year, whatever that
school calendar looks like. So, I took the date off of that right there. I think I know it. Um, but I'm not exactly sure what the calendar will say yet. Um, so here we are at this point. We have our green light to go and we have many things. There have been parents that have asked questions about so many
different things and you'll see the community conversations in here. The question of whether or not we're soliciting feedback or we're just um giving the information we have or we don't have a forum yet or a need for feedback because nothing's really being decided right now. All of those dates
are here and so those things are planned purposely for the to give information and get information. We have the studies in terms of for the reconfiguration of course here. Um but those dates are not uh established just yet but you can see where we anticipate beginning at the end
of the 26 27 and throughout the 2728 school year. That's our goal to be ready a whole year in advance of when we open up. So this is something that the committees have seen from reconfiguration to finance. It'll be on the website soon. And if this if it's your pleasure, we can use this uh for
this report once a month and just take any questions and I won't go over how to read it again. This will be it. Um just to say this is what's coming next and more than likely I'll say this is just what you're going to see in the next few weeks. >> So in the next few weeks, you're going
to see some pretty cool stuff. You're going to see the construction fences go up. And I'm sure that what's going to happen is I'm not going to steal Diana's thunder because I know she's excited. But there's so much more to that when you get into the other things. And so we're going to be moving and shaking.
And if there's questions, um, send them. If you have people that have questions, ask them to ask them. We're excited about it. We want you to be excited about it. Um, this was very, uh, heavily supported by the vote that we had in
March and we want to share it as much as we can. So with that, I'll defer anything else on the agenda to the finance committee. Thanks so much, Tom. You're welcome. I do love the Gant chart personally. It's super helpful. I It's how I learn best
is visually. So, it is very good. U Robin, I just thought of one question that I have. Um do we still have the question and answers up? So, are people still submitting questions about what's going on? if you want to just talk a little bit about that and just remind
the public if they do have questions, we have a way a mechanism for them to ask them. >> So, we have um just like any one of our formulas would be, it's info@ltps.org. Uh Miss Baldesari is the communications director. She sits in my office. Of
course, she's still collecting um questions. The community is absolutely welcome to submit. And from the last community conversation, since we didn't get to answer everybody's questions, she made sure to get those responses up um and they are posted on the website under
the referendum tab. >> Yeah, thank you. I know we've repeated that, but it bears worth repeating because people do have questions and I just want to keep reminding them that there's a way to get answers. Um, fantastic. Okay, now board president's
report. I do want to say one thing though. See, that delay made me think of something. >> Here we go. >> Yeah. So, I'm going to keep it really fast. I just want to say thank you um to everybody this year for doing such an amazing job to get this referendum passed for our community. Um it was a
big lift for the board, our administrators, our principles, and our community to step up um and do this. And personally, I feel like this is something that is going to make such a huge difference in the future of our
students as well as Lawrence Township. And I couldn't be more proud when I reflect over the past year. And I do this at the end of the year. I think about what what I did and what I didn't do and what I could do better. And I can't even tell you how grateful I
personally am to see that we all came together to get this done as a community. and I just know we can do great things together. We don't always agree. We don't need to always agree. Um but if we agree on the endgame, which is
doing what's best for students, uh we're going to do really well in the future. So, thank you to everybody um for a really amazing 2025. And I look forward to um a few more years of continued uh
work that we're all in for. We're we this board is in on it and we know what's going to be required. So, um thank you to the board as well. All right, our student board member report. Redeema Pandy, you're up.
>> Um okay, so this month and this last like these last few weeks have been pretty festive, pretty community- based throughout every single school. So at Lawrence High School, there were very high levels of satisfaction in terms of the community cultivated there. So activities extended beyond the school
itself that brought everyone together were highlighted, specifically in terms of these festive times and how everyone was coming together. And our student council welcomed new representatives, collected helpful goods for the community, and we decorated our school.
We actually finished that today. So the windows and everything at Lawrence High School are completely decked out. And so the sense of connection, the festive spirit and shared purpose at LHS is definitely growing stronger. At LIS, the school held its annual Thanksgiving food
drive. Um they were able to collect a lot of food, so thank you to the community. Um the school closed November with its very spirited spirit week and it had days like pajama day, wacky hair day. They ended with wearing purple to
raise awareness for epilepsy and overall they built community. Students felt like they were participating and were able to promote important causes. Some students didn't know about these causes before. So it was bringing a lot of awareness. Eldidge Park had an all school meeting
that recognized Mr. France who was a school c who is a school custodian and celebrated the many ways that their community appreciates his work. The PTO had several events at Elders Park such as their book fair, their annual Thanksgiving basket drive and they
started a new initiative there called the thrift and thrive shop and this is launching this month. I think it already did and all of the proceeds support Eldidge Park and the holiday drive is also underway which is going to help families in need thanks to the strong
community generosity and they are trying to emphasize the character trait of responsibility. Their winter concert is scheduled for the end of this week, I think. Um, I'm pretty sure. Yeah. And okay, at Slackwood, as you saw today, the second graders are preparing for
their winter concert. They're obviously doing a very good job. The staff are featuring featured with their boom whackers, and the steam center is heavily used with small group instructional rotations running across all grade levels at Sackwood. Before
Thanksgiving, Ben Franklin had its spirit assembly for the month and it be began with a third grade balloon creation parade that was inspired by balloons over Broadway that emphasized hands-on learning. They also reviewed self-control and using good manners and
the students discussed examples of polite interactions and talked about previous lessons and tried to connect it to their community. So overall, the past month has showcased how our students and staff are valuing community service and
celebrating in this festive time and I look forward to seeing this momentum continue as we go on in December and into the new year. >> Thank you. >> Thank you so much. >> Wonderful. A lot of good things happening. Um LTE,
>> okay, we love that. >> And school boards, >> we can do them together. >> Thanks. Um, LTE, we uh both Neil Desai and I met with the board of trustees on December 5th, 8 am at the tech center. Um, we both continue to thank them because they they really did an amazing
job with all of the grants that were given out. Um, we look forward to seeing the outcomes of these grants through the school year. Handbag Bingo, if you were there, the uh caller was amazing. He left already. He really did a great job.
It was a 67. That was the fun one for the night. Um, it was a huge success. Lots of exciting happy faces when people were exiting the building. The volunteers set the levels really high for success. A footnote, this was the first year they had Ryder University
sorority sisters that volunteered. Their contributions were well appreciated by all. FYI, February 6, the spring grants are due for the next round. There we're celebrating the ones that just happened. And here comes another one. Uh, New Jersey school boards. I attended the
delegates assembly. If you remember, I read you some of the resolutions. One of the three passed. The one that passed had uh new policy language supporting the belief that there should be universal free school meals for all students prek through 12 in New Jersey.
This past Saturday, I attended the legislative committee meeting. It was Zoom, so I got to sit in my dining room, which was lovely. The guest speaker was Senator Vin Gopal. He spoke about charter schools, ensuring that their recordkeeping has some uh
regulations that we're held to that they have to do the same. He's exploring the use of regionalization for special education throughout the counties to help with rising costs for districts. He's looking at school bund bill funding
um for fair share ensuring transparency as to why the increases are happening at such a high rate. He is looking at the board of elections board of education elections and is trying to push it back away from the political elections hoping
that that will change some of the rhetoric and put it back with the schools instead of uh politics. talked about the pilot programs discussed um about schools getting their fair share because enrollments increase when new developments are built. Uh bills that
were signed into law, Latino, Hispanic American history instruction, TPAF, there was district uh consolidation discuss discussion. Um, and the it was the interesting topic was that consolidation doesn't help all districts
and they're trying to push people into it, which I thought was great that he understood that it it isn't for every district. Uh, and then reminder for Capitol Watch and schoolboard notes for any upcoming changes as the lame duck
period comes to an end. Last Mercer County meeting, Gerald Truheart was phenomenal at our county meeting. Um he and his team did an amazing job in preparing and presenting and wowed the audiences in in person and online and
many thanks to all the three presenters. Next county meeting will be January 22nd. Stay tuned for more information. >> Yes my >> thank you so much and we do know Gerald is extraordinary so you should have seen him at this presentation.
>> Yeah. Thank you. Um, student services, >> student services heads meeting on December 8th. In attendance was Vanessa Caria and myself, Arandel Clark. Items to highlight, uh, CPAC held a information session on December 7th
about executive function. Thanks to Tracy Drunken Broad whom presented for the evening. The sess the session um was changed to a virtual setting due to the weather. The level of engagement from families has led to the need of an
additional session. The day of the next session to be determined, but is currently planned for February of next year. This past Sunday, Lawrence students, faculty, friends, and families participated as a team in the Special Olympics Jingle All the Way 3K Run
fundraiser. Lawrence raised $3,335 for Special Olympics. Thank you to all those who participated and we hope to see you and many more again next year. >> Please save the date for March 7th of next year. A resource fair is currently
being planned inviting students of all ages and their families. There will be returning vendors from the transition fair that took place earlier in 2025 as well as a series of new organizations and agencies. This a welcoming atmosphere where families can connect
with educators and service providers, ask questions, and gather helpful materials such as essential services for your child's development and well-being. More information will be made available as today's programs take shape. >> Thank you so much.
uh reconfiguration ad hoc stolen I it's worth it bar it's worth repeating it's not important >> no it's all all wonderful so uh exciting the group our ad hoc group did meet uh
quickly and touch base on Monday Joanne Olga Michelle Bose and I met with Dr. them Tom Eldridge and Jen Baldesari just to pull all these different pieces that you're seeing together and understand the general updates. So, it's been great to see uh the communication continue and
be so robust and we know that all of the answers are online to the questions we've gotten so far. But we also heard a lot in the community the fall community meeting about how that should be delivered. So the district is clearly taking to heart both the questions and
the kind of mo like what's the best way to get the information to people when they need it and how they need it. So but that's a process. So I think that's been um really kudos to everyone and and part of the discussion was also the letter that went out about the start and
the um changes at at for the asbestous construction starting and I think what's been great is Dr. Dr. Mask has been leading the the way of just making sure all the middle school parents understand what's happening and when it's happening and why. Uh but then those district
communications also lend a little bit of insight for folks who aren't as connected to the middle school yet. Um and I got to be in the last I got to be in the concert. No one wants me to be in a chorus concert, trust me. But I got to be at the chorus concert last night and
the band and the jazz band really did an amazing job ending um the tenure of that 75year-old auditorium. And so it's beautiful and I was just looking at the Gant chart which is exceptional and we will always look at our Gant chart and that if you look at it ironically the
the not the eighth grade that is now sacrificing their spring of the a time in the auditorium um which is a great sacrifice for a greater good. Um that class will be graduating when the year they'll be seniors when it'll open up. So, I think that's kind of cool and look
forward to >> So, maybe we'll do something special that year, bring them back to the middle school >> auditorium or >> So, it's and and again, the district's doing a great job. We'll know more about the schedule um for for spring events in
the in January, which is perfect for planning. Um and just again wanted to give kudos to the district for being especially, you know, Dr. and Jen for putting out such transparent, clear information and and we'll keep working
on it. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you. Um, review of communications. There are none. It's our first opportunity for public input. Okay. If you can you can come up just state your name and you can write your address down on the paper there. And
then just please limit your comment to three minutes. Welcome. >> I'll do my best. Hi, my name is Joltha. I have two children in the school district. Um, one is nine and one is 17. One's in the fourth grade at LIS and one
is a junior at the high school. And I have been having some severe issues at LIS with the administration and how they've been handling issues surrounding race.
Now, everybody has the right to be racist if that's what you want to be. That's that's your prerogative. But when your child decides to come out their face and call
my son a and when him and his friends take it to the principal, the assistant principal and nothing gets done about it and I have to hear about it from my 9-year-old at 5:30 in the evening when I pick him up from after
school, it's a problem for me. It's a problem for me when I get a phone call about something, another issue that happened and I brought up the the race issue and the assistant principal that
was that I was talking to about it decided that he wanted to have a a words of word of m of word match with me. That's not what I'm here for. Everybody loves their kids and I love
mine to the moon and back. I will fight for mine. There's nothing that I will not do for my kids. What I will not accept and tolerate is for somebody to come out their face and disrespect him in that manner and for
school officials to do nothing about it. And he's not the only one that's been dealing with this. I am not the only parent in the school district that's been dealing with this with LIS. It's come to us that this is
the culture at LIS. Again, I'm not the only one. There's several other parents that would have loved to have been here, but they had other commitments. I had other commitments, but for me to come here and say my piece about this was more important to me. And I would really like
to start seeing some I would really like to start seeing this issue being resolved. I would like for the school officials to have whatever training that they need to have to help protect these babies. Cuz when my kid leaves my house,
he's in your hands. Your hands. You're responsible for him. I'm still responsible as his parent, but once he walks out my door and gets on your public transportation and gets into your school, it's your responsibility. And it's not fair that he should have to
deal with this. Thank you. Okay. I'm sorry that that has been your experience and um we will follow up. >> Okay. Okay. >> Can I personally assure you, ma'am, that
I'll get back to you? I'll personally assure McKenzie will get back to you and I it's very important to me that I at least connect with you. Thank you so much for sharing. >> Anybody else? >> Sorry that you had to. >> Any other public comment?
Okay, >> seeing none, we'll move on. Uh personnel committee report and personnel action item. >> Okay. Personnel met December 3rd 8:15 a.m. in attendance. Dr. Robin Clim, Sean
Fry, Kevin Vanheis, Arendelle Clark, Olga Martinez, and me. We reviewed vacancies and are in the process of conducting interviews for elementary position at Ben Franklin Elementary School. We finished our first round of staffing meetings for this month and are
reviewing staffing for next school year. Um, we'll be posting for a techn or technical position at the start of the year and we re reviewed personnel budgeting and pea. And just a small
language change was made to policy 1620 to to match our our district needs. On tonight's agenda, you'll see approvals for resignation, appointments, unpaid leaves, student lifeguards, substitutes,
uh, subteers, student texts for our district media center. Yay, media center, extension for an end ofate mentors, staff pending background checks, a subcustodian. You'll also see a few corrections and adjustments for
appointments for EDPs and mentors. And with all of that, I'd like to move P1 through P22, please. >> Second, >> Tom, with a motion and a second. >> Mr. Clark, >> yes. >> Miss Evans, >> yes. >> Miss Groger, >> yes.
>> Miss Kelly, >> yes. >> Dr. King, >> yes. >> Miss Martinez, >> yes. >> Miss Pasculi, >> yes. >> Mr. Vanheis, >> yes. >> Dispose, >> yes. >> Motion carried. >> Thank you. CIAD report and OIS student
service action items. >> CIAPD met on December 2nd at 8 o'clock in the district board office. Joining me were Michelle Bose, Dr. Michelle King, Kenzie Kelly, Dr. Allison Fischer, Dr. Robin Clim, and Neil Desai. The meeting
focused on deepening the CIAD committee's understanding of the addiction and substance abuse curriculum. Dr. Allison Fischer provided an over view of how the district is assisting students and families through education in school resources and
community- based services. He also outlined updates to the high school's option two and independent studies programs, highlighting upcoming changes designed to expand inclusivity and enhance student opportunities.
Participants reviewed several policies slated for a second reading, including the section 504 plan policy and its accompanying regulations. Looking ahead, the district will continue strengthening community engagement through initiatives such as reconfiguration and referendum
conversation and the artificial intelligence family workshop scheduled for January 14th, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. at the high school. No items were referred from other committees. Uh I wanted to interject here that
Michelle, you have been on the ballot with me several times. We've run together names on signs and uh I can remember early in the game someone saying to me, "How could how could you vote for her? She doesn't have kids in our schools." And I thought, "Well,
number one, you're a taxpayer. You live here and you pay taxes and you live up there in the high rent districts. The the King Clan is up there in North Lawrence. And so, um, that was one thing. And then, not only are you an educator, an accomplished educator with
advanced degrees, but you're educating future educators. So, I felt you had your finger on the pulse of what was going on in schools more so than maybe any of us around the table. And I have appreciated learning from you. Your friendship, your wisdom has meant a lot to me.
So, um, I'd like to say thank you for your years of dedicated service to the district and your long-standing commitment to our curriculum and programs. Your thoughtful questions, steady guidance, and meaningful contributions to the CIAPD committee have left a lasting impact and you will
be truly missed. Thank you and good luck with all you do. >> Thank you, Pepper. And I will say that yes, while there was some concern among the community members at the time that uh you know I was running initially um I was met with many open minds on the
board um who looked to to to to see what >> we saw your value right away. >> Thank you. >> You want to move? Oh, I'd like to move uh here uh OIS1 and two which is uh PD and
travel law field trip and OSS1 and two which is tuition and HIV. >> Second Tom with a motion and a second. >> Mr. Clark, >> yes. >> Miss Evans, >> yes. >> Miss Grover, >> yes.
>> Miss Kelly, >> yes. >> Dr. King, >> yes. M. Martinez, >> yes. >> Miss Pasculi, >> yes. >> Mr. Vanis, >> yes. Miss Bose, >> yes. >> Motion carry. >> Thank you, Tom. >> Uh, finance committee report and school
business management action items. >> I will give the minutes since I subbed in for Kevin. Finance met on Friday, December 5th at 8 a.m. Joining me were Tom Eldridge, Michelle Bose, Diana Pasculi, and Olga Martinez.
Uh we discussed middle school expansion and we're which we're saying middle school expansion now we're not calling it referendum anymore. Those days are over. Right? >> Right. >> Right. Uh we discussed the middle school expansion and were informed of the change orders listed on the agenda including those for abatement and the
best use of resources for the ADA compliant ramp to the stage or concourse. We break ground on December 11th. Tom prepared a Gant chart. I think you're all probably tired of hearing about this Gant chart for the visual learners that showed a timeline of where we were in the process of completing 50
of the items on Tom's to-do list and what's next. Timeline begins begins on uh June 12th, 2024 and goes through LMS first day of school on 9429. It was recommended to the
reconfiguration meeting with the suggestion that we share the chart with the public but limit the contents to future items instead of the full timeline. Tom updated us on custodial contracts as we supplant vacancies with agency custodians. No LTPS staff will be
affected and it sets us up for the future. We will need to solicit for new contract in the coming school year. We've written the Department of Community Affairs to seek permission to use the competitive contracting model of procurement, pointsbased instead of low
bid, to secure a custodial service contract. Tom offered us a lesson on using budgeted fund balance as a revenue in the budget. Don't budget more than you can generate. Don't rely on fund balances as a revenue source and don't budget on unreliable
revenue as a revenue source. Uh I'm going to make one addition to the minutes that I passed around and say that uh the committee suggested that the district could could pay for uh criminal background checks and onboarding of new
board members. And with that I would like to move SPM 1 through 20. I'll second >> with a motion and a second. Tom. >> Mr. Clark.
>> Yes. >> Miss Evans. >> Yes. >> Miss Kroger. >> Yes. >> Miss. Kelly. >> Yes. >> Dr. King. >> Yes. >> M. Martinez. >> Yes. >> Miss. Pasculi. >> Yes. >> Mr. Vanheis. >> Yes. >> Miss Fos. >> Yes. >> Motion carried.
>> Thank you. >> I'll just note that if I had been giving that, we'd still be going for another 10 minutes. So, well done, Pepper. noted. >> Okay. >> Yeah. 1 through 20 in that short of time. >> Uh this is our uh next opportunity for
public input. >> Seeing none, move on. Uh new business, Miss Martinez. >> For new business, we have leave replacements and substitutes, eagles and destinations, leaves of absence, and
PDP resignation and a sidebar with the LTEA for summer uh professional development. >> With that, I would like to move NB1 to NB24. >> Second. >> Tom with a motion and a second.
>> Mr. Clark, >> yes. >> Miss Evans, >> yes. >> Miss Groer, >> yes. >> Kelly, >> yes. >> Dr. King, >> yes. >> Martinez, >> yes. Miss Pasco, >> yes. >> Mr. Vanheis, >> yes. >> Miss Bose, >> yes.
>> Motion passed. >> Thank you. Um, now we will have a motion to close out our meeting. >> So move. >> All in favor? I >> thank you very much for coming. Thank
you, Dr. King. We wish you continued uh success and joy in retirement from Lawrence Township Public School and you can always come back and visit.