You're on. >> Okay. Good evening everyone and welcome to our board meeting. Um, roll call. Tom, >> Miss Bose >> here. >> Mr. Caparata >> here. >> Mr. Clark, Miss Evans >> here. >> Miss Groger >> here.
>> Miss Kelly. Miss Martinez. >> She's here. >> Is she here? >> Miss Pascouli >> here. Mr. Van His >> and Miss Pandy is not here. >> Hey, you have a quorum. >> Thank you, Tom. The Open Public Meeting
Act authorizes the board of ed to meet in exact session under certain circumstances. The Open Public Meeting Act requires the board adopt a resolution at a public meeting to go into private session. Um this evening it is necessary to meet in executive session to discuss certain items
involving this evening um if publicly disclosed would constitute an unwarranted invasion of individual privacy and specifically this evening hip formal action will not be taken and executive session is expected to last 25
minutes. Um can I have a motion to go into it exe? All in favor? I Okay, we'll go into executive session and be back by 7:00. Thank you. I'll show you after this if you want to
know. >> Okay. >> Okay. Okay. Great. >> Okay. Good evening everyone and welcome. 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 interest is discussed or acted upon as required under the law. Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided via email and or facts to the Times, the Lawrence Ledger, the Tronian, 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. The board reserves the right to limit public discussion of personnel items and other matters as defined in the law. Flute. >> I aliance to the flag of the United
States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Okay. Okay. Um, no student
uh representatives this evening. >> Okay. All right. >> Feels like summer. >> They're all very busy. AP exams and games. We'll get a big one next month. Oh, no. Next meeting on the 20th. Um, recognition and acknowledgements. Seeing
none, adoption of the minutes. Can I have a motion to adopt the executive session and regular session minutes from the >> second? >> Okay, Tom. They didn't even let me finish the 48 and the 415 sessions uh with Pepper and Kevin.
>> Ready? >> Ready. >> Mr. Caparada. >> Yes. >> Miss Evans. >> Yes. >> Mroer. >> Yes. >> Miss Martinez. >> Yes. >> Miss Pascoli. >> Yes. >> Mr. Vanheis. >> Yes. >> And Miss Bos. >> Yes. >> Motion carried.
>> Thank you. Yes. Nobody wanted to hear me talk. Um this evening we are very lucky. we will have our budget hearing um during our superintendent report. So, the floor is yours. Right. Well, first I just want to take a moment to recognize several important groups that have been
at the heart of our schools over the past couple of weeks. First, we're currently uh celebrating teacher appreciation week, which has been full of a lot of excitement. I want to personally thank the PTO's, the administrators, and the students and families for making things so warm and
beautiful in our schools to celebrate our educators. While this week also provides a special opportunity to celebrate them, the truth is that our teachers go above and beyond every day. So my simple message is just isn't enough. They deserve to be celebrated every day. Their dedication, their unwavering commitment to our students
and our schools makes us uh the beautiful place that we are here in Lawrence Township. I also want to recognize school nurse day. Our school nurses play a critical role, as everyone knows, supporting the health and well-being of all of our students and staff from managing daily care, responding to emergencies, always with
their calm expertise. They are steady and compassionate and present in our building every day. We want to thank them for their care and comfort to our school community. And just last week, we celebrated uh principal appreciation day. Our principles are the instructional leaders of our schools,
setting the tone for a positive school culture, supporting students and staff and families alike. Their leadership and dedication and tireless efforts often happen behind the scenes, but their impact is felt in every single classroom throughout every school in our
community. And to our so our teachers, our nurses, and our principles, thank you for everything that you do each and every day to strengthen our district. Your work never goes unnoticed and we are incredibly proud and fortunate to have such an outstanding team. So now I'd like to move to the podium with Mr.
Eldrich to present the the budget the final budget presentation. Great. Thank you. Oh, all right. He's giving me the floor first. Okay, here we go. Um, our strategic plan, as the community is aware, we are embarking on a new strategic plan. We are still working off
of the superintendent goals right now, which is extended to, of course, academic excellence. There's always a facilities goal and community. That plan um we're hoping to do some action planning over the summer with the leadership team will be rolled out through committee in August and then
adopted by the board of ed for September. So we are very excited. Um our second meeting is starting on May 27th. So some of the initiatives we've been working on the last couple of years, you know, our expansion of preschool, um we are excited to launch and it is in our
course of study the high school public service academy. even working with our local township officials. This is going to be awesome for our kids. We're starting small with a cohort, but that is something that we really want to embody here. It's career and and uh college experiences for our students.
Also continuing with community workshops. We feel very proud. We've launched several um community quorums this year, um forums this year, I meant to say, um centered around curriculum. We did an AI night. We did a student security and safety evening, educating
families. But of course, our eye is always on equity and access. So, we're making sure that, you know, with our director of um curriculum and equity that we're always making sure that our programs, our resources, and our staff really reflect the needs of our current students. Um we launched building and
school level building level teams and district level data teams this year. We've gone through a full leadership professional development journey. um making sure that our common assessments, so these are universal screenings aligned to metametrics are really talking to the end ofear assessments. So
we're looking at kids through one lens through a data that is going to be our data set is going to be longitudinal. We're educating our teachers and our staff how to look at the data, interpret the data, and then bring that down to the classroom level to differentiate for our learners. Um and then of course our
goal is to always maintain safety and security. We do have our our police officers very present in our schools and that's going to continue for next year. Some economic influences. Is this you Mr. Eldidge? You want me to keep going? All right. Economic influences. Um so
obviously many things impact the development of a budget. This is something that Mr. Eldridge, myself and the central office team alongside our administrators, we start this very early. By October, we're already having conversations about budgets for the following year. when you have a collective bargaining agreement that's
settling well over the 4% and you've got, you know, the the tax levy at 2%, we're always looking at the economic influences. So, we're looking at those salary increases. The budget, uh, you know, is developed around obviously the personnel, so benefits go along with
that package, right? We're looking at pension cost inflation, tuition rising for some of our out of district students, um contracted services, nursing care, consultants, you know, registered behavioral technicians. Every time we go out for an RFQ, those prices inflate. So, we're always competing
around the rising cost of developing a budget. >> Okay. So, piggybacking on uh what Dr. Clim had said um these figures that you see in front of you are presented in two different forms both of which show the inflation that um Dr. Clint was
discussing. So let's see oh okay it works great. So on the left we have the program budget and what this means is what are we supporting in terms of which program um as opposed to the um the object budget which is what are we purchasing for a dollar. uh to give you
an idea for example you can look and say to yourself okay supplies supplies are an object that we purchase but they run through all of these so we give it to you in two different formats of course they both total 88 million 626 in the
current year 92 531504 and you'll see that here but we present it this way so that you can take it and consume it with either concept that you prefer. So in the proposed budget, we see that special education costs are uh a little
higher than our general education costs. That is not always the case. Um it is the case in this budget. Um but there's not an outlier there that I care to talk about. There's nothing driving that other than the cost of education. As Dr. Clement said, when we have out of district placements, um those two are
subject to inflation. um as is all the services for those students whether they be OTPT speech all of those things that we're out to bid for now that you'll be awarding uh or will be before you on the 20th of this month. The driver though
above all bar none is this number. It's employee benefits. And what component of employee benefits is driving that? Because employee benefits spans social security, medical insurance, prescription, dental, vision, pension costs, and I think that you're going to
see what really moves in this number and you have it in a detail I sent to you is our medical and prescription. Our composite number for the increase there is roughly 19%. That is not much different than you see for the other school districts around us save that we
were less than the state health benefits uh program. We were remarkably less than than them and so that saved us some. So that's what's happening in uh education uh with respect to our proposed year by the area in terms of the subject. For
the objects you'll see the same numbers repeated. So benefits happens to occupy two different spaces. Um one here and one there. Um but as we look we see that salaries are second to benefits. Services next services also um is
something that grows with inflation. It's all those things that we talked about. It's also any costs for maintaining our buildings. So wrapped up in services will be things from maintenance uh on our buildings to legal fees. anything that we pay someone else
to do. So, we'll move here. This is what we call our advertised budget. The Department of Education has an advertised budget as part of their uh their template. I take that and I adapt it into this form in Excel. It's essentially the same budget. What this
is is still a summary of our overall budget as you see all the items listed here. And of course we show you the proposed year and then the variances here so that you can question the outliers as you see them. So the budget is comprised of these.
This is no different than it ever is with respect to salaries and benefits uh making up between 70 and 80% of our budget. It has always been about that case. Um these percentages of what comprises our budget that's not changing much. um benefits is a little bit more
than it typically is um for the reasons I just described. Um but other than that, these stay in proportion as they always have. And if you're asking about benefits and wanted to know more, we say what are our cost drivers. This pie here represents this total increase right
here and change and what's it comprised of? Mainly employee benefits there. Um and so here are the all those categories that I said are part of employee benefits. We have a small group. Does anyone have any questions on any of that? That just
quickly I can answer if it's in depth. I'll I'll I'll uh I'll defer that. >> Shattering. >> Earth shattering. >> The dashes before budget is comprised of. Those are not negatives. >> Those are not negatives. They're just that they could be bullet points. Um >> okay. So, moving >> I like this format.
>> You like that format? >> Easy to use. It's different from what we've seen in the past. >> It's it's it's an extended format of what you've seen. >> Yeah. Is there any one element of the employee benefits that's a contributor for the overall increase or is it just a little bit of everything? >> Well, it's going to be these two here,
prescription and medical. >> More so prescription than medical this year. Prescription's been driving for the last couple of years. >> Um there was a time when it was the pension costs um that were uh when they were phasing New Jersey was phasing in. Um but over the past couple of years,
it's been these two right here and that's why I listed them there. Um, and I didn't know what the renewal rates were when I originally made the slider or I had to have put prescription first. >> Um, but medical is the largest portion of all these, but in terms of growth, it's prescription that's driving. >> Correct.
>> And this is all in our plan that we've joined. It's not the state plan. >> That's correct. We're part of a joint insurance fund. Um, for medical and prescription, dental, we're self-insured. Uh, we pay the claims dollar for dollar as they come in.
vision. Um, we have an insurance plan on that. And social security, of course, is just the employer share. >> Okay. >> Y, >> workers comp, we're doing fairly well. So, that's been uh a saving grace for us, which is usually not the case.
>> Uh, we put this slide up here. This is a summary of everything you already know about the school district because you're in all of the committee meetings. And what we do is if you'd look at this online and it by the way everything here um this PowerPoint is online as is the
um all of the schedules that I sent to you. They're all on our budget and after tonight a revised version of the user friendly budget will be up there but the user friendly is up there now also. Um that's a state of New Jersey DOE uh format. I like that you put the purchasing up there because a lot of
people don't realize who we work together with to reduce costs and to piggyback together. >> I thought everything came from Amazon. >> That's where they get it from. >> So, we do all sorts of of things that
are that are innovative um with a a calculated risk of course. Um, so when we opened up our preschools, um, all through our budget, you'll see the benefit of preschools. If I were to just take a step back and I find, uh, let's
see, where did I see administration? So, look at the administration number. This is administration, technology, legal, insurance, those types of things. It's only growing by $5,992. There's a reason for that. It's because
we're able to push some of those existing costs out to the preschool expansion program >> and so they're picking those up. So this is probably not an actual representation of the growth of our budget because preschool is helping us to the tune of
over $800,000. Okay. >> So I think that when you look at this particular schedule, this shows it um a little better than the other schedules. This will call it out for you. So, um, we school administration here at
$119,000. Well, you know, we have all of our principles and assistant principles and our main office staff is still there. So, with increases somewhere between 3.5 and 4%, how is it that we have a decrease? It's because we're sending
these costs over to preschool in proportion to the number of preschoolers in the building. And I think that's exciting that it's innovative, but it's also going to benefit our children. So provide absolutely free school for sure.
>> It's the whole reason we're here >> will have long-term impact. >> That's right. So there are other things that we do in terms of mutual support. U there's always an interest of the public of where do we share with the recreation department, the police department and public works. As you know, if you go to
our schools and you see the police presence in our schools, whether it's an SRO or a class three, we have an agreement with township where we pay some portion of that and they pay some portion of that and that's existed since its inception. And so that's been a lovely partnership and I know that the board had taken a lot of questions on
that in the beginning and there was skepticism but these folks have been wonderful with us and they're part of the school district where we come to recreation department we share with those folks as well and public works when when need be there other things that are out there we take advantage of
Steven is here so when you see your universal service fund charge in the bottom of your utility bills we get that back um uh in the form of incentives for the purchase. Uh we also have grants in the way of debt service. Um if you call
it state aid, that's assistance for us. And we've had many different PSCG grants and competitive grants. Right? Now you know the artificial intelligence grant. You heard that >> from Dr. Clim and Dr. Foster now, right? >> Okay. So there's other things we do with
transportation and we do the obvious, but we also do the innovative. This is our revenue slide and tax impact. And again, this is online. Um Lee Khan had asked me a moment ago, where do I find state aid? Well, you find it right here on the screen, but
you can also see it online. Um and so you'll see that we've contributed a little bit more out of our fund balance. A little fewer dollars with respect to miscellaneous in terms of tuition coming in, um is what that really is. And then we have state aid that has an increase
right here. And so for the ledger and for everyone else, you can consume that here and see the increases of those three aids. And you'll see that transportation was the driver at this time, >> no pun intended, getting transportation on. >> All right.
>> Tom, is there a line for the interest income for the money that's deposited for our >> Yeah. So interest income is going to be in the miscellaneous area here, but what we show you on this presentation is the general fund. It's not the debt service fund. uh and it's not the capital
projects fund. The reason we do that is because this is the budget that gets approved every year once you approved and and the town's people approved the referendum. >> That budget is done. It's set. It never has to be approved again. So, it's a separate set of books. It's its own
budget. There are actually two different budgets. One is debt service that is part of this um where we pay back our mortgage. And the other one that's a little bit more exciting is our capital projects fund. And you do get that in your board secretar's report every month, but we don't cover that in the
budget hearing. So, we are earning uh interest of course on the funds that were borrowed for the construction project that's centered on this campus, specifically the middle school, and we will find ways to use that interest in the best uh interest of Lawrence
Township. This gives you uh a little bit of information in a relative sense. I like to say and I had a conversation with our security outfront today that the information in isolation doesn't provide you much information. It's all relative.
So looking at Lawrence, our school district in comparison with others this year we were quite favorable in terms of our increase in our general fund. Um I don't show this to the detriment of the other folks here. Um, what I do know,
however, is that what's driving this number for all of us is health benefits. >> And you can probably take a good guess who's in the state health benefits plan and who's not >> um by looking at this. So, transparency. This is our website. We have our budget
posted here. Um, we have all of our budgets going back to, I believe, 2008 are all here so that you can see them. All of our interimm financial reports are attached to our agendas and they're for anyone to see. Um the public gets
the same information you get. What's our next step? We'll submit our budget to the Mercer County Department of Education. Uh with that, uh we will have some minor changes. Um not the overall amount of the budget. That will stay the same. There will be no changes
in anything you saw tonight, but within the preschool expansion budget. Uh we will change some line accounts, but overall it will remain the same. Uh materially, the um the only difference uh in dollars aside from changing
account numbers is $13,000 fewer in supplies and more in uh social worker salary. That's it there. So this is our official budget hearing and there are some things that we have to do ministerially to accommodate all the uh requirements
of the budget hearing. Would you like me to walk through those? They are on the agenda. I can do that. >> Okay. With your permission, I'd open it up to the board for question. >> Yes, please. >> Do we want to do questions first? >> Any question? >> Questions first. >> Maybe we don't need to go over it.
>> Okay. >> Okay. >> The board is good. We're good then. >> All right then. And at this point in time, uh, with your permission, I'd open it up to the public to ask any questions. Um, and as we do with all things in public input, I'd ask that you come up and print your name with your street address, uh, introduce yourself,
and ask your question if you have any. >> Nope. >> Okay. >> All right. We're Okay. >> Job well done. >> So, we completed our assignment. So, tomorrow, what we'll do is we will send our budget into the county. We will uh on the 20th we will approve our request
for taxes to the township and uh away we go. Thank you. >> Thank you so much, Tom. That was fantastic. Do you have anything you want to say? >> No. Okay. All right. Um
so board secretaries report. >> That was it. >> Nothing else to add? Any any other things? Okay. Um, board president report. Um, first I just wanted to thank extend my sincere thanks to Tom Eldridge and Dr.
Robin Clim for the uh, budget report. Um, the work managing our district's finance, especially during what is a extremely challenging time for our schools and our community, is truly inspiring and greatly appreciated by the board as well as our district. Um the
report that you gave tonight was clear, concise, easy to understand. Um and the transparency transparency is meaningful to us all. Um I do I can remember times when I sat in the audience before I was
on the board for uh budget meetings and I never knew anything that was going on. Um and I can honestly say I understand it all. It only took me 15 years, but you've streamlined it beautifully and made it very accessible. Um, and I think
it's great that you do all the hard work, but what's more important is that everybody understands it, too. Um, and I I speak for the board um as well as our large crowd here today. Um, it was very understandable and I do think if people
go on to the website now, they can find any piece of information that they need. Um, so thank you so much for that. Um, and thank you for your dedication to our district. >> I also want to remind everybody about a very important day coming up, Wednesday,
March 27th, sorry, May 27th. Mark your calendars. It will be our um next strategic planning meeting. Um, if anybody is listening, they do not they did not have to attend the first one in order to come to the
second one. We had a tremendous uh response from our community and our school and the board. We're doing some great work um and planning for our future. And so I welcome and encourage everyone in the community and the school to come and join us. Um there are flyers
at the door with a QR code as well as you can look on our website um for information about RSVPing. In addition, we will be having uh if needed translation services for those whose first language is not English. Um, and
we really want to encourage all members of our community, come and join us and be a voice of the future for our district. Um, and that's it. Uh, okay. Leaison committee reports. Um,
our, uh, student representative board member is not here. She's taking her AP exam tonight. Good luck, Redeema. And to all the students out there taking their AP exams this week. Um, Lawrence Township Education Foundation. >> I have a Solga.
>> Yes. >> The LTE celebrates teachers and staff all year long, but we're especially grateful for all the LTPS teachers and staff during teachers appreciation week. We still have apples for sale for
families to give a gift to their teachers. Visit the LTEF website to purchase apples. And as we get ready to end of the 2526 school year, we want to thank every donor and sponsor that has helped with the LTF fund 52 grants and
over 120,000 in teachers grants in all seven schools. Please save the date for second annual fund run on Saturday, September 5th. >> Great. Thank you so much. So the fund run is Saturday >> September the 5th.
>> The 5th. Okay. Get your sneakers on. >> Get your sneakers on. >> Robin will be running >> as will Jen >> and uh Mr. Desai >> and Mr. Desai. Wow. >> What about Dr. Molowski? Does she do a
run? Do you do a run out there? >> How about >> Oh, and Dr. Fiser, too. Oh, >> got some peer pressure. >> That's great. The more the better. Um, >> uh, New Jersey School Board Association.
Okay. Um, I attended resolution subcommittee on April 14th, 6:00 in the evening. We discussed three resolutions. First one, South Orange and Maplewood. Uh, it was about ranked choice voting for school boards. New Jersey school
board advocates all boards of education should have the option to use rank choice voting if they choose. I didn't even know what that was until this resolution. >> I'm so happy we do it easily for all of us because we understand what we do. Um, Essex County School Board was about
immigration and uh, New Jersey school boards believe the boards have the responsibility to ensure that their school buildings are safe havens for all students regardless of their immigration status and are not to be used in venues for immigration enforcement. abs um
absent judicial authority. Third one, a harbor township using pilot and long-term taxes. Um, New Jersey school boards believe circumstances where direct allocations of pilot revenues to school districts is not provided,
municipalities and school districts should consider um negotiating with the community benefit agreements or other legally permissible for fiscally amendments to offset educational court costs attributed to the development. So,
we're really looking into the pilot programs to making sure everybody gets their fair share to support the changes that these new places, which we're going to be feeling in the near future. uh West Milford Board of Education was
about funding formula and they want to have an equitable distribution of education aid and related support payments which ensure that all school districts have an opportunity to benefit from government government financial assistance and which consider school
districts unique circumstances including but not limited to circumstances that impact school districts capacity to raise revenues. use locally. Glenrock um transparency and cooperative purchasing,
which we kind of already do as demonstrated tonight, but they're looking more for purchasing textbooks and other curricular materials, should be provided with an array of consumer information on available programs and products to assist them making informed
selections. And the last one was the C caucus. It was uh modernizing governance in votech schools. New Jersey school boards believes that governance and advisory structures for county vocational
technical school districts should reflect the shared financial and education responsibility between counties and local sending school districts. The association supports statutory and regulatory changes that promote greater transparency, fiscal
accountability, and collaboration in decisions related to tuition rates, planning, enrollment capacities, and program expansion. Doesn't mean that we have a voting right, but we would like to have some input because we're the
ones, as we see, with tuition rates. Um, all of the above resolutions will be presented at the delegates assembly. I just want to take a second to thank Jill. This is the manual. I'm going to give it to Paul because he's going to go with me the next one. So, thank you, Paul. >> Wonderful.
>> This will give you copies of everything. >> JOAN. >> OH, HE GOT HIS OWN. Did you print? Did you print your own? >> No, but I also know >> I love this man. We are in good hands in the future. Thank you, Paul. So, I'm
looking forward to that. If anybody else would like to join in the fun with Paul and I, I'll buy the coffee. Um, going back to our county meetings, our last meeting for the school year will be held at Crockett Middle School in Hamilton Township. We'll be
celebrating our county teacher of the year. Um, we'll also be awarding certifications and milestones at this meeting. Um, we have people here, Lawrence, I skipped over you, Michelle, you're also receiving a certification for 10 years of service. So, forgive me
for missing you >> until I read the agenda. I went >> okay with it. Don't worry. >> So, and Kevin and I both will. So, come. It's our last one. It'll be fun. We'll have a good time. Um, dates have been set for next year, September 17th, which uh we're going to set I'll let you know
exactly when we're doing everything, but September 17th, usually here at our school if that works for our school calendar. Um, November 19th, January 21st, March 18th. the May 13th will be our unsung heroes. So, principles, start
thinking about that. And uh your inputs so valuable. We're going to meet over the summer to pick the topics for our meetings. So, if you don't come because you don't like the topic, it's your fault because now's time we want your input because we really want to get you
there. And thank you all. That's my New Jersey school. >> Great. >> Write that one down. >> Thank you so much, Joe. um >> Lawrence Township Growth and Redevelopment. >> Uh they met uh relevant to us. They had a job fair which was well attended and
they're to grow that uh into following years including a student component. Uh there are actually two students that are on the growth and redevelopment committee. One from the high school, one from Notre Dame, and they are currently in the search for replacements as the end of the year is rapidly approaching.
So >> fantastic. All right. Uh no reconfiguration and student services will report in our next meeting. Um for review of any communications? No. Okay. Um public
comments from the floor. Okay. Seeing none, uh board discussion and work session. Uh Dr. Fischer will be joining us. We'll be doing some board of ed hip training.
>> Thank you. Thanks for doing that. Yes. Hi everyone. So um I am Oh, thank you. Um so we are required to do um training for any new board members. We just felt that it was a good opportunity to just
refresh um everyone's uh you know background on HIB and specifically the board of education's role um in HIB. So I'll be doing a short presentation around that. So to just take a step back um when we talk about HIB right we are
talking about harassment intimidation and bullying the anti-bullying um bill of rights and we want to make sure that our students are protected and supported and that they feel like they're belong. So when we look at what that means there's a three-prong legal test where we determine whether or not something
would fall under that um bill of rights. Right? So the act we're looking at a situation that happens and we would look at the motivation the disruption and the impact that that situation has on a school building and on our students. So the motivation we look at the act it has
to be reasonably perceived as motivated by an actual or perceived characteristic. So we're really looking for that identified characteristic race, color, religion, origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc. or any other distinguishing characteristic.
We're looking for it to did it disrupt the day, the school, the students. So, it must substantially disrupt or interfere with the orderly operation of the school or rights of other students. And then we're also looking for the impact. Was there an impact on this um situation? So, the behavior is serious
enough uh to cause physical or emotional harm, instill fear, or create a hostile learning environment that infringes upon a student's rights. So when we're talking about HIP, this is what we're looking at in terms of when that that would qualify for HIP. So we often look
at we right we're we have students that are learning to navigate the world around them. And we know that we have student conflict. So something that our specialists in each building look for is whether or not this is a student conflict or whether this would qualify under HIP, right? So something we're
looking these are and this is not all that we look at, but these are just some examples, right? So we look at for instance power balance which is an important part of this. So if there's a conflict often and this isn't always right but this is just generally speaking. So we're looking at was there equal power between parties or was it an
imbalance of power and we look at that and we ask questions um around you know whether it's the students involved or anyone who witnessed the situation or other adults or staff members um whether or not there was an imbalance of power that existed in the situation. Um
intent, right? Was there an intent to hurt? Um, was it spontaneous? Was it planned? Um, we look for that for student conflict. Was it purposeful? Was there an intent to harm someone? If there is, often it would fall under HIB and a resolution. Right? So often in
student conflict, we're looking to seek a solution together. And often in HIB, we are there's a look for control or dominance in that situation, whether that was purposeful or not. So these are just some things that we look at. But we have student conflict. is it is is, you know, something that we navigate every
day in our schools. Um, we do a great job with our character education program to make sure that we um teach students how to navigate that, but we're really under this specific HIP law, we're looking at things that might take a step further and need we need to do additional interventions to make sure
that the students understand how that is and and how to prevent it from happening again. So when we look at how do we handle what what's different between how a school handles conflict versus hib every case is different right again every single situation the questions we ask we take
it step by step individual case by individual case but often we're looking for if there's a conflict we're looking for mediation we're looking for restorative justice right in fact many of our students in the intermediate school and up are actually trained in how to do peer mediation we have a
circleke keepers program we work at the Mercer um county sheriff sheriff's office, we have trained students that are able to actually peer mediate, right? So, that's something that if there is student conflict, we often use, but if we're looking at something that's falls under HIB, we often have to use different techniques. It has to be more
adult- centered. Um, and we do have to do that formal investigation, which is something that you will play a role in, which we'll talk about in a little bit. Um and you know and often not all the time but most of the time we do not bring to students together at least initially if it is something we're
investigating as a hip because of the empower imbalance the intent to harm and those pieces we have to navigate um and the focus is on safety and as well as following the law. So in terms of what do we do? So we have a lot of trainings throughout the year
to educate around HIP. Um our staff gets trained each year. We have HIP specialists in every building. They're trained each year. Again, board of education members trained within the first year of service. And we also have a lot of programming for students, right? We have a plethora of character education programs and targeted
interventions to educate students. Every counselor goes in and does lessons around this. In October, we have the week of respect in October where we're really starting the year off with educating students around um their rights and around how to you know navigate conflict so that it doesn't
fall under him. We also every year perform a self- assessment. Um we presented earlier in the year for the self- assessment. We also in that self- assessment we do a mini training for you all and for the public around that. So every year, which is why I'm not kind of going back and doing what we did already
in the fall. Um, but we have to present manually. The self- assessment scores have to be posted on the website. And um, we also just, you know, it gives us a chance to really assess what we're doing or, you know, is there anything that we're noticing an uptick in a certain area and do we need to, you know, beef up our efforts in a certain
area or are we doing a nice job and should we replicate and amplify that in our buildings. So when we look at the reporting um and the things that fall under HIB we have a you know a very strict timeline that we have to follow. So within the first day
um that it is reported we have to there is a form online the 338 form that has to be completed and that starts the investigation process. Families are notified within a day that that investigation has been started. Whether the parent fills out the form, a staff
member, a student, right? Anyone can fill out that form to initiate an investigation. Um, and we do notify the family. Then the principal will then tell the HIP specialist in the building to start the investigation. They can have other people help with the investigation depending on the situation
and we jump in. We have about 10 days to complete that investigation. um and parts, you know, we look at we have a lot of questions that we ask. We look at um you know, again that three-prong test. Um and then we also look at, you know, not just consequences, but also like what other
actions and interventions do we need to put into place? Are the students safe? How are they being taken care of? What wraparound supports do we need to put for all of the students involved? So after that 10th day, then we have a platform we use called Hipster. We report it to the superintendent within
two days of the final investigation. Um, and then it goes into hipster that way. The next step is for you all to get an executive summary that you review in in executive session. Um, which is an overview of the HIP cases from the last month. Um, then at that point, you
always have the prerogative to ask additional questions. You can always call me into an executive session if you had additional questions. After that review of the HIP um hip cases from the previous month, that is when then we notify the families that the
investigation has concluded that the board of education has reviewed the information. Families do have the ability to appeal. they can appeal to the board and then in an executive session we would talk about that case if a parent appeals um and I would be there along with the superintendent and we would um navigate that situation and be
able to ask you know they'd be able to talk about why they're appealing and you'd be able to ask questions. So that is something that can happen and they have 10 days to appeal once they receive that notification. Then um the final results are board approved and then the families do have a
90-day window to do an appeal to the state. So that's the quick and dirty version of like the timeline, but we're held to pretty strict protocols by the state. So again, executive session, you do get that. Yeah, >> I just want to thank you for the new
format. It makes it so much easier for us to ask questions and understand. >> Awesome. >> We appreciate the time you put into it. >> Great. Thank you. So again in executive session you do have a quick summary of the cases right obviously we have to follow um
confidentiality fa compliance and all of that um when we're talking about the situation um as well as that's why if a family appeals that's why we do an executive session to protect their privacy as well. Um again those executive summaries give a brief overview um and then again if you had
additional questions you could re reach out to the superintendent to follow up with that. Um and members of the board must remain objective and base decisions solely on the investigation recorded. Um and board members can ask questions to the superintendent regarding a HIPP case.
Again, so 90 days um the board once the board issues its decision, parents do have 90 days to file a petition of appeal with the commissioner of education. Um and that um your action is it is appealable.
So um parents again they have the rights they have 10 days after they receive that request to request that initial um appeal in front of you first. Um they must be held in executive session and um you all issue that final determination
whether or not appeals happen for for our hip cases. And that is it. Again u didn't want to re you know go over everything that we do when we do the self assessment. Um but it is important for you to understand just your role in this process that you do have the right to
ask questions and that families do have the right to appeal to you um if they you know need to and that's something that we would navigate together. Any questions? >> Yeah. One do you check with other Mercer County school districts to see how if they follow the same procedure the way
we do? It's come up at some of the New Jersey school board meetings. I I think what we do is following it by the book and we totally understand it, but some of the districts are not as forthcoming as we are. So, I'm wondering how we
evolve to the good place we're at and and do they do you collaborate with other >> So, that's a great question. So, um we I have a couple different organiz groups that I'm a part of. Uh there's a Mercer County director's group for guidance and counseling. So, not we don't necessarily
talk about all of the process, but we do often talk about trends. Um, we talk about the platform and the reporting and just making sure that we're aligned that way. Um, sometimes we even have um situations that cross schools >> and that is, you know, whether the
victim or the offender is, you know, in different buildings in different districts. So, we do coordinate in that case. I wouldn't say we align ourselves necessarily because, you know, we are kind of mandated by the state. We're it's pretty strict. you know, we are allowed to create our own policy, you know, the local board, but there's such
strict contingencies of what's supposed to be in there. Um, but we do often talk about the trends and that side of things as well. It's just like the reporting, you know, like the platform we use Hipster is something that most of the schools use. So, we often talk mostly about the tech issues around it and making sure we're good there.
>> Thank you, >> Dr. Fisher. Related to what Joanne said, what about if something happens at like a sports event, so like a football game or something like that? Would that also be considered under that? >> Yep. Anything on the bus, anything on school grounds, school function, that all would fall under this. And that's where we're looking for that substantial
disruption. >> Um something we find that can be something we really have to dive into and figure out is that um something that happens maybe not at a school event. We look for does that trickle in and substantially disrupt the school day? And then that's where we use the
determination of whether or not it would fall under HIV. Um, but if it happens in an event, a school, whether it's our district's event for another district and it involves our students or in a bus, it still would fall under the hip category. >> Great question.
Any other questions? Awesome. Well, thank you again. If you ever have any any questions, you can reach out to Dr. Clim. Happy to help. And um, you know, again, you have the ability to ask those questions in executive session when reviewing the cases as well. So, thank you. >> Thank you. Great.
>> Thank you so much, Dr. Fischer. Yes, Bravo. We'll clap for you. Cheers for Dr. Fisher. >> Small crowd tonight. Um, okay. Board discussion and action items. Uh, personnel committee and personnel action items.
>> All right. Personnel met April 29th, 8:15. Um, in attendance were Dr. Robin Clim, Sean Fry, Michelle Bose, McKenzie Kelly, Arendelle Clark, and me. At this meeting, we reviewed elementary vacancies at Slackwood and Lawrenceville
Elementary School as well as the middle school for English and the high school for chemistry position. Um, we are recommending a district nurse along with a muse music for Lawrence Middle School, English at Lawrence High School, a
secretary for Lawrence High, as well as a new supervisor for humanities. And if we look in the back, we see Megan Stratton. And after new business, we will then applaud and welcome you fully. But we want to recognize you in the audience. >> That's not yet.
>> Oh, I thought that was Megan. Sorry, that's a new business. Sorry, I switched it around. >> We're currently still interviewing for BCABA, board certified behavior analysis position. We reviewed staffing
projections for 26 26 27 and discussed reappointments. Um, we didn't have any policies to discuss on the agenda. And on tonight's agenda, including the new business that I just messed up, you will find approvals for
resignation for retirement. Our Frank Gapon is his position as security administrative for our district. Frank has held the position for 23 years. He is has exemplified reliability, has a plethora of knowledge concerning
technology. He has proven how valuable he is in keeping our district safe. We appreciate his years of service and we wish him well in his retirement in June. He'll also find approvals for substitute teachers, resignations, employment contracts due to staff background
clearances, paid and unpaid staff leave. Um members for camp eagles program summer program EDP's approval for non-tenured and tenur staff members for 2627 school year LTE custodial
maintenance staff stipens approvals for secretarial staff Lab NTA staff for non-tenured and tenur lab staff administrative staff nonrepresented staff and you'll also see appointments or substitutes ES and substitute
assistance. Thinking about the summer, you'll also see approvals for summer instrumental music instructors and you'll also see adjustments for start dates and salaries. A few items that needed amending. And with all the above, I'd like to recommend moving P1 through
P35. Please >> second. >> Tom, with a motion and a second. >> Mr. Caparata? >> Yes. >> Miss Evans? >> Yes. >> Miss Grover? Yes, >> Miss Martinez. >> Yes, >> Miss Pasculi. >> Yes, >> Mr. Vanheis.
>> Yes, >> Miss Pose. >> Yes. >> Motion carried. >> Thank you. Okay. Uh CIAD report and student services action items. CIPD did not meet yet. Uh we meet next week. And so, uh for motion
for your approval, our is a travel log for upcoming professional development. uh mostly for the board and central office and uh motion to approve locations for field trips. There are three there. And then for OSS1 and OSS
2, there's uh approvals for non-public schools, funding for nonprofit schools and the HIV yearly report actually. So motion to approve. >> Second, >> Tom. So it's it's all of them os and
oss. >> Yes. Oh, I messed that up. Sorry, Michelle. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> I'm sorry. So that you made the motion. Thank you. >> I'm working it here. >> That's fine. >> Okay. Mr. Caparata. >> Yes.
>> Miss Evans? >> Yes. >> Miss Kroger? >> Yes. >> Miss Martinez? >> Yes. >> Miss Pascoli? >> Yes. >> Mr. Vanheis? >> Yes. >> And Miss Bose? >> Yes. >> Motion carried. Thank you. Finance Committee report and school business
management action items. >> The finance committee met on May 1st at 8:00 a.m. with the committee members joining me Paul Caparado, Diana Pasculi, Kevin Vanheis, and also joining us were
Dr. Clim, Jen Baldesari, Jill Yubri, and Tom Eldridge. We talked about the budget. We talked about um Ryder House. Robin informed the committee that the district is in discussion with Ryder University to lease space for a post 12th grade
program for special needs students for whom we keep under our wing from 18 to 21. Uh Robin told us that uh the district is purchasing metal detectors for use at public events. They'll be portable so they can be moved where we
need them. Uh the committee discussed residential housing developments occurring and proposed how they would impact the schools likely uh your home school could change your bus route could change and the
district will hire a demographer. We talked about hiring uh appointing new auditors and attorneys uh new occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech behavioral consultants, nurses, athletic trainers. Uh
there were no reservations, LMS construction change orders were there and uh LIS and Slackwood school building modifications. Uh the Slackwood ramp project is being rebid. Construction is still anticipated
for the summer. Long range facility plan was amended. Uh there will be a change in the district's treasurer once the municipal CFO retires. And the good news is Rick Bus Company, our trans key
transportation provider, is going to keep the existing contracts flat for the 26 27th school year >> before the gas went up. >> And uh let's see. If you go to your agenda, you'll see the usual drills.
Hback for 20,000 approving health and prescription insurance capital projects. The roofs on LHS and LMS. Uh teacher laptops are on there. Uh the actual budget proposal is on there. Some
policies are on there. And with that, I'd like to move SPM 1 through 15. >> Second. >> Tom, is the motion second? >> Mr. Caparado? >> Yes. >> Miss Evans? >> Yes. >> Miss Kroger? >> Yes. >> Miss Martinez? >> Yes.
>> Miss Pasculi? >> Yes. >> Mr. Vanheis? Yes, >> Miss Bose. >> Yes. >> Motion carry. >> Thank you. Uh, new business, Mr. Vanheis. >> Public input. >> Oh, public input. >> Oh, I forgot.
This is our last opportunity for public input. >> We're so quick to go. >> Sorry. I'm sorry. >> You have a paper. >> Oh, okay. I have >> Oh, yay. >> All right. I'm sorry. I have to go back and just read something very quickly. I apologize. The public education recognized the value of public comment
on educational issues and school matters of community interest. In support of this position, the law establishes a period of public comment at every board meeting. Individuals wishing to speak must state their name and write their address. Comments are limited to three minutes in duration, but an individual may speak a second time after all others
who wish to speak on the topic have been heard. The board may require the individual registered to speak prior to the beginning of the meeting. Um, all statements shall be directed to the presiding officer. or no participant may address or question board members. Please don't be afraid. All speakers are requested to express themselves in a
civil matter with due respect for dignity and privacy of others whose rights may be affected. Please note, while it's not our intention to stifle comment on matters of legitimate concern to the community, the public should be aware that if their statements violate the rights of others under the law governing defamation or invasion of
privacy, they may face personal liability to the injured party. If speakers are uncertain about the legal ramifications of the comment, the board urges them to seek guidance beforehand from their own legal adviser. The floor is yours. >> Thank you. Uh my name is Sylvia Kobas.
Uh I'm a resident of Lawrence Township and um I'm very happy to hear because that was my concern all the pilot programs that are going to be coming in into the township with all the residential redevelopment um into all
the highdensity residential. I was very happy to hear that there's some solutions being looked at um to get the money out of the pilot, direct them to the school district um because that was that was an extreme
worry for me. Um I attend a lot of township council meetings and um planning board meetings. Therefore, I've noticed um ETSs 800 units. Um the one there is one right outside of Quaker
Bridge Mall, which is going to be 450 units. Um the so-called Bulick House that's over 100 units and of course the one that's already have been approved uh 3131 Princeton Pike which is almost 300
units. So there is there is a lot of um new development coming in and it's all high density and um as I heard Mr. Ninsky mentioned at one of the planning board meetings pretty much any redevelopment is going to have the pilot
program on the table. So uh that's a lot of new residents with which is great. It's it's great to have the township grow and all of that, but then we also need the schools to be funded because I
think the best one of the best things in our township is the wonderful school district. And um my daughter attended only high school, the public high school here, but uh she loved it and we love the experience. So, um I appreciate that
you are already looking into it and that makes me feel a little bit better. Uh so, thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Um I also want to encourage you to come to our strategic planning meeting. If you haven't heard, it's on the 27th of
May here in the high school. Um because that's, you know, the opportunity to really get input from the public and your concerns and thoughts and, you know, um would be greatly valued by us in the school district because we are committed to our students um in the
future no matter what happens in our township. Okay. Any other public input? Okay. New business now. >> Good job. >> Thanks. Um on uh the new business uh items, we have some resignations,
appointments, um two additional travel log approvals, uh authorization for our business administrator to use cooperative pricings, uh awards of scholarships, uh and two EDPs, and then the most important thing that we have uh as alluded to by Joanne uh is the
appointment of our new uh supervising, supervisor, Mega Megan Stratton. Um, so with that I will move uh NB2 individually if I could and then that way we can approve that and then >> herself. I like that. >> Great.
>> Second. Hey Tom. >> Okay. Mr. Caparado. >> Yes. >> Miss Evans. >> Yes. >> Miss Groger. >> Yes. >> M. Martinez. >> Yes. >> M. Pasculi. >> Yes. >> Mr. Vanheis. >> Yes. >> Miss Bose.
>> Yes. >> Your motion is approved. Thank you. >> Like to extend our congratulations officially. >> Not to put you on the spot, did you want to say a few words to the board or your journey here? >> Oh my gosh. >> I will say Miss Stratton went through a
very rigorous interview process. Um, and I got a chance to spend some time with her just a couple of weeks ago. We are thrilled for your appointment tonight and you know, maybe just say a few things about your background so the board can get to know you. I would love to. Um, so just thank you so much. I'm
so excited um to join the team in July. Um, so I come from a background of a supervisor of humanities currently. Um, and I've just loved the opportunity to support both teachers and students in that role. Um, prior to that I was a um, teacher of social studies in East
Windsor, so in the area. Um, and I just, you know, I'm so passionate about helping students um, and supporting teachers because I feel that a supported teacher um, is going to support students in the best way. So, thank you so much for the opportunity and I'm very grateful for the warm welcome.
>> Thank you. >> Wonderful. >> Welcome. >> And with that, I will then uh, move NB1 and NB3 through nine. >> Second. Tom with a motion and a second. >> Mr. Caparata, >> yes.
>> Miss Evans, >> yes. >> M Groer, >> yes. >> Miss Martinez, >> yes. >> Miss Pascali, >> yes. >> Mr. Vanise, >> yes. >> Miss Bose, >> yes. >> Motion carried. >> Thank you. And can I have a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> All in second. All in favor?
>> I thank you everyone for coming and we look forward to seeing you at our next board meeting on May 20th. Well done.