No, it's a little warmer. Okay. Okay. The time is now 7:01 and I'll call the the meeting of the Leona Public Schools Board of Education to order. Um the excuse me adequate notice of
tonight's meeting has been provided in accordance with the open public meetings act by the following methods through distribution of notice to the record and posting of agenda on the school district website and through parent square. Can everyone please rise for the pledge of allegiance? Mr. Thomas, can we have a
roll call, please? Miss Choy, Mr. GR Dr. Mester here Miss Molina here Mr. Park here Mr. Zepka Mr. Seagel Mr. Zepa just
arrived uh Miss Thompson Vice President Melman and President Lee here we have a quorum for tonight's meeting also in attendance is our acting superintendent of schools Dr. Carammanos as well as our board attorney, Mr. Lea. And we have our
two student reps, Dwan Kim and Renee Kim, also present. Okay, thank you. Okay. Um, if you have a copy of the agenda before you, you'll see that item 1.6 6 is actually in a couple items, but we're going to move that up and hold the
present public presentations item 1.6 first. So, we'll begin. So, we'll start tonight. We have a few presentations to share tonight. Um, tonight we'll start with um Mr. Tim Cullen is going to uh present the award from the New Jersey Council for Social
Studies to our student uh winner. How about now? There we go. The New Jersey Council for the Social Studies annually awards uh silver and gold medal to students who foster study of history and civics. We
have won six silver medals, one of whom is Yubie sitting right here. But this is the first time we've ever had a Leonian achieve the gold medal along with two additional uh people from New Jersey. And this is Valentina Kolicardo. And
when people ask me how you describe her, I said the best phrase is a Renaissance woman. Regardless of whether we are talking about realms academic or artistic or athletic, she has achieved that most unusual ability and that is to
uplift and enhance the performance of those around her. I'm very proud of her. I hope you are as well. Valentina Kolicardo. Okay, this was put together very last minute from Mr. Coen telling me to do this. Um, I just wanted to thank
everyone for helping me get to where I am right now. I would like to thank all the history teachers and social studies teachers that have also helped me because it would not make me the person that I am today and foster the growth and learning that I have. And also here today is Mr. Mch, which is one of my
also my favorite history teachers. Um, and I'm really just thankful for him coming. and also Mr. Cullen here coming and all the history teachers that have helped me. Thank you. Congratulations, Valentina. We're very proud of you and very proud of our entire social studies department for all
the work they do around uh supporting students in that area. Um I know Valentina has to run to the chorus practice the uh with Mr. Dunn. So feel free to step out if you need to. Uh we'll move on to the next uh
presentation is the seal of biiteracy uh presented by Dr. Gander. Good evening esteemed members of the board, Dr. Karamanos, parents and students. I am thrilled to be here tonight to present our district's recipients of the seal of biiteracy. The
CILAB literacy program recognizes students in grades 11 and 12 who have achieved high levels of proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking in both English and in their home language, which is demonstrated by scoring a five on all sections of the STAMP assessment or a six on the Alta
assessment. This program represents a significant milestone for our district. It signifies our commitment to providing students with the skills they need to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world. This year, 29 seniors have met the rigorous requirements to earn the
seal of biiteracy. These students have demonstrated their fluency through standardized assessment in seven languages: Korean, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Dalog, Turkish, and Chinese. These students being honored today
accepted the challenge to not only work diligently to meet and exceed graduation requirements, but also maintain their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills in their native language. Learning a new language is an impressive feat. But holding on to your
home language while doing so is truly commendable. It demonstrates a deep respect for your cultural roots and a commitment to multilingualism. I'm going to ask Dr. Carmonos to come up and help present both the New Jersey seal of biiteracy
certificate and a Leonia certificate. When I call your name, please come up to receive your certificates. Lzth Alcantar Rodriguez. The next few are not here, but I'm going to read their names anyway. Marcel Astrachan for Russian.
Isabella Kaba for Spanish. Samantha Gangara, Spanish. Dogan Gorkan Turkish. Alexis Ha for Spanish. Kai Hammond for Spanish. Yun Han for Korean.
Erica Hbe Wilson for Japanese. Now IA Japanese Ginb Kang Korean here. Khloe Kim who is here please come up. Dwan Kim please come up. Korean
Michael Kim for Korean. Mji Kim Korean. Yubie Kim Korean. Kelly Lim Korean. Robert Mahia for Spanish. Ellen Molina for
Spanish. Valerie Palasio Osa for Spanish. Peter Pan, Chinese Mandarin. Juliana Pascal, Tagalog. Seth Pennington, Spanish. Hen Piao for Korean.
Manuela Sanchez for Spanish, Salem Ser for Turkish, Sophia Istus Sanin for Russian, Julia Yan for Korean, and Rachel Yu for Korean. Please join me in congratulating this year's recipients of the seal of biiteracy.
[Applause] We'd love to do a group picture if the recipient could come over here, please. And if the board members would get behind them maybe Okay. And we have one more uh
recognition, one more award to uh give out and then we will take a 10-minute break for some refreshments. There's cookies and coffee and tea over here. So, make sure you stay for some cookies, coffee, and tea. Next we have our So every year uh we
uh our district selects a each school selects a teacher to be designated as teacher of the year. Um the teachers of the year uh in each building really exemplify what it means to be a a quality educator in our district. And they showcase all of the the amazing
um they they showcase all of the amazing skills and uh things that we promote and that we want students to to walk away with. Uh so today we tonight we are recognizing our three teachers of the year. We have two of them here. One could not join us today. Um but we will
announce her anyway. Um and the first recipient will be uh from LMS. So I'll ask Mr. Sacko to come up and uh start his presentation. Good evening. Good evening members of the board. Thank you so much for this opportunity uh to share a few
words about the LMS teacher of the year for this year, Mrs. Stephanie Corino. Um so again, as Dr. Karen Manos mentioned, uh each year, uh I'm going to essentially read to you the uh the big announcement that we make over the PA
system. When we surprise the teacher of the year, they don't know that they've been uh been been named until I do that. So each year the LMS faculty honors one of our colleagues by naming them LMS teacher of the year. Teachers are
nominated and a committee of our peers reviews all the nominations and selects one teacher as this year's special standout. Previous LMS teachers of the year have included Mrs. Capawano, Mrs. Lanoff, Mrs. Gerta, and most recently
Mrs. Rivera. Now using the words of her colleagues as written in the nomination letters uh the the following is has been used to describe Mrs. Corino. Inspiring, dedicated, hard-working, mentor,
supportive and collaborative colleague. Goes above and beyond, exceptional, passionate about teaching, crafts engaging and innovative lessons. ensures every student feels valued, challenged, and
inspired. Uh, something I did not read that morning, but worth noting here, uh, Stephanie is also a graduate of the Leonia public schools, having attended ACS, LMS, and LHS. Uh, members of the board, it is my great pleasure to
present to you this year's LMS teacher of the year, Mrs. Stephanie Corino. [Applause] This year we are presenting our teachers of the year with a little plaque that says 2024 2025 teacher of
the year. Leon public schools presented to Stephanie Kino. Thank you. So, I will um present the ACS teacher of the year. Um Miss uh the principal of uh and the vice principal, Miss N is actually on her way. Um she was picking
up her daughter from piano lessons and it ran a little late, so she is on her way. She should be here in like 10 minutes, but I don't want to hold everyone up. So, I will, you know, knowing. So, the elementary school princ uh teacher of the year is Miss Williams. Um Miss Williams is a Spanish teacher in our district. She teaches K to K to four
now, right? Not K to 5. Um K to four, but at one point she taught the fifth grader Spanish as well. Um Miss Williams has been a teacher for as long as I've been here, and I'm sure I'm sure most of you have had Miss Williams as well. Um you know, uh Miss Williams brings an
energy to the building that really helps uh students really engage in that multicultural work. Actually, Dr. Yander, do you want to share some not to put you on the spot, but since you are her supervisor, would you like to share no idea what I'm saying, but um Miss Williams is actually in my department
and she has been a huge welcoming person to me as a new administrator. She is one of the greatest collaborators with the entire department. She's actually one of our pillars. Um, I will say that I teach Spanish in the middle school and I still
use some references that she creates in the classroom and the kid every time the kids see her, they love her. They run to her. Um, all the colleagues love being around her. She has had a huge impact not only in my department but also all
over the district and I am so lucky to have her in my department. Um, the biggest and the best. Just saying it's how I address all the emails. Um, but I am um very fortunate because she's not only wise, but also like Dr. Carmono
said, very energetic and very welcoming. So, not bad off the top of my head. So, would you like to come up and receive your gift, Miss Williams? It's booby trapped. Congratulations.
And our LHS teacher of the year is uh Miss Jennifer Summer, who could not be here tonight, but she will. We have our uh Bergen County teacher of the year celebration tomorrow. Um, so we will have our uh we will the teachers of the year, myself, the principles will um get to celebrate all three of them tomorrow
with the rest of the Bergen County teachers of the year. So congratulations to our teachers and our students on all your hard work and your achievements. Thank you so much for everything that you do. U we're going to take a 10-minute recess. Can I have a do I motion? Miss Thompson second. Mr.
Park. All in favor? Okay. So, we'll we'll go into a break for just 10 minutes and then we'll rejoin and continue the meeting. Please come and enjoy some refreshments. Thank you all so much. Okay, we'll give it one more minute. One more minute.
Okay, last call. Last call. If you're staying for the meeting, please take your seat. If you're not, please, you are welcome to take more cookies. We have to ask you to continue conversations outside. Okay. No, I know.
Okay. Can I have a motion to return to the meeting? Motion. Motion. Mr. Grout. Was that Mr. Grout? Motion second. Mr. Seagel. Uh, can I All in favor? Okay. Any opposed or abstensions?
Okay. We are back into the meeting at 7:30 p.m. And that brings us to item 1.4, public comments regarding agenda items. Anyone from the public wishing to speak, please step up to the podium, provide your name and address. You have two minutes to speak.
Arthur 125. Realdies, that was a great start uh to this meeting and uh it was a pleasure looking at all the award winners and uh that we have and it's nice to be recognized. One of the greatest things you can do for an employee or an associate is recognize
good work. You know, people the top three things that people always are interested in as an employee on all surveys is not in this order, but it's good pay, recognition for good work, and job security. Those are three things that are always at top in different orders. Anyhow, I have a I have a I have
a question and I have a and I have a comment and it has to do with the strategic plan. Surprise. Um the question is is there a state format checklist with boxes where you know you have to go down it it's guidelines where
you go down and we did this, we did this, we did this, we did that. Um it seems like and I'm going to go to my comments. It seems like going I went through all 14 pages as you can imagine and I didn't take a lot of notes because there's a lot of stuff there. Now respectfully because I know the council's been busy. You got a lot on
your plates with replacements. Uh there was a lot of work going into the strategic plan. I went to all three meetings. It was good, well attended. There was a lot of information, but I think it needs work. I was disappointed in some areas of it. And what I was disappointed in is there weren't timets
for completion. It wasn't there wasn't a note for who's going to honcho this, who's going to monitor it, make sure you're on the path to completing it and being successful. And I think that needs to be included in there. I think some of the stuff is really obvious, but for example, one of the things you want to
you do, which is great, is um reduce attrition. You want to have a st more stable workforce. Um you want to increase pay to be competitive. You're not going to get a stable workforce and you're not going to attract great talent unless you can pay
them. And we know that's a real high bar, okay? Especially in this town. So, I'm not sure how you're going to achieve that. One of the things that I brought up, I think a long time ago, maybe privately, maybe publicly, is that uh the regional school systems, and I know you may not want to hear that, all most
of them at least in Bergen County and the around all excel above Leonia in in performance and in pay and probably they're paying the people. So, I'm not sure how that could help or hurt, but I didn't see that noted how as a as a
target to how can you get there? We know what you have to do, but how you going to get there? So, I think that you need I think I think it needs work and I said I appreciate all the work that went into it. I know there's a lot of you 14 pages here. There's a lot of information, but I think you need to refine it. You need
to have deadlines and dates you're going to get by, who's going to do it and um who's going to be besides perhaps the super, but but maybe not. Maybe you need somebody to hon it. Uh that's pretty much it. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Let me see. Anyone else from the public wishing to speak? Okay, seeing none, we'll move on to board comments and responses. So I can um Arthur address your questions. Um the the T so the document that's on
there is just the the skeleton of the strategic plan is the is the baseline of the strategic plan. We're working on uh a more interactive dashboard that will give exactly what you're asking for the monitoring and the timeline on the dashboard with the exact indicators and
steps that we are going to take to meet those objectives. So under each, so if you look at like just pulling it up and looking at the first one, if you look at like developing a comprehensive profile of a lion that defines the essential skills, competencies, and attributes of future
ready learners, underneath that is engaged stakeholders in defining those qualities. So when we have that forward- facing dashboard, those steps are broken out a bit more with the timeline of expectations and then who is also responsible by position. So we we'll break it down by position so that way
there is turnover in the position, it still belongs to that position. Um there is no state format or checklist. It would be great if there was or some type of formula to put a strategic plan together. Um we did a lot of research on neighboring districts and districts just
that h have had successful implementations of a strategic plan and what theirs looked like. um and kind of modeled took what we felt was best best attributes of each document and put it together. I think I I think I answered all of
them. Just to elaborate on that a little bit more, I mean, you're talking to the people that will be holding everyone responsible for um carrying out the strategic plan. Um as the board, that's part of our job. As the acting
superintendent, um Dr. Caramonus' job is to implement as much of the strategic plan into everyday operations as possible. I know it's a little bit of um just you know words coming out of my mouth, but I mean truly the that is the function of the board, right? This this
strategic plan and I've said it many times, this is what is going to guide us with every decision moving forward. And if we're not doing that, then then you know we shouldn't be in our positions because this is the purpose of this document. Um but as Dr. Herammano said, you know, there will be more details
with each item as we continue to work forward. This is our it's the light that we're we're walking towards. It's our it's our path and it provides our direction, but the details, yes, some of them have to be worked out. And the strategic plan is always an editable document, right? in terms of like what
what indicators and what strategies we're doing because there's a certain point where a lot of a lot of the indicators and the objectives is about creating doing an audit some type of audit to understand what we have in the district and then creating a plan from that audit. But that's not the the plan isn't just going to we're not going to
just end at the plan. Once we create the plan, it's over. Then from the plan, that's when we go in and edit the document to say, "Okay, these are the next steps. Now that we've done this plan in year two of the strategic plan, what are we going to do the next three years to meet to continue to meet this goal? So the the this document is flexible and open for the board to look
at and monitor that progress but also make sure that um we're continuing to update it as we grow and as the expectations change around us. Yeah to that. Um so our committee um principles and practices has now been um
combined with strategic planning. So when we meet the every month um discuss strategic planning um and Dr. Karammanis is not doing this like no one's doing this in isolation. We've been I think very thorough as a
committee um discussing the planning every time we meet and looking at the various platforms like she said um that we kind of based on other districts who are doing this successfully and when you look at those um kind of shells um one is a Google platform another one is um
something um not related to Google um paid platforms um they're highly detailed when you click on the subcategories um really highly detailed So, um, we are working on that, you know, every time we meet in committee.
Thank you. Um, any other board member comments? Okay, seeing none, we'll move on to item 2.1, student representative comments. Okay. Uh, that brings us to item 3.1, approval of consent agenda items. Can I have a motion and a
second? Dr. Meester. Second, Miss Thompson. Any items to be pulled for discussion? Can I just ask one question regarding the HIB? Um, what does inconclusive mean on a HIB document? So, that means that we could not determine if it was or wasn't a HIB. Uh,
there was no evidence to show either way. Gotcha. So, the the investigation doesn't continue. We just closed. Correct. It's closed. Yeah. Doesn't tell us either way. Thank you. Okay. Any other comments or questions? Can we have roll call,
please? Miss Troy, Mr. Growl, yes. Dr. Mester, yes. Miss Molina, yes. But abstaining on anything ACS. Mr. Park, yes. Mr. Zepka, yes. Mr.
Seel, Miss Thompson, Vice President Melman, and President Lee. Yes. Motion carries on 3.1 consent agenda. Thank you. Uh that brings us to item 5.1, Dr. Paramos.
Okay. I have I have just a few updates. Um first I have to report annually we have to report on the HIP grades that we receive. Um if you remember the HIP self assessment was presented to the board at the October meeting um presented by Miss
Russo where she went through how each of the buildings scored themselves uh in that self- assessment. This is from the 20 23 24 school year. So they do a self assessment um in September of the 2324 school year and then we present them to you and then we submit them to the
state. Now the state uh basically certifies those HIP grades and says yes those are correct. Now you can officially tell the board. So even though we were already reported these I'm once again telling you um what the what we selfc scored ourselves uh for
ACS um we had so the the rubric is a score of 70 out of 78 um 52 if you hit if you score yourself at a 52 you meet all of the requirements so 52 means that you meet all of the requirements anything above 52 is that you are
exceeding the requirements um so ACS was scored at a 63 out of 78 8 which is about 80% 81%. LMS is 69 out of 78 and then LHS is 55 out of 78. Um so all of
our schools are meeting the standards. Um and we updated our website with the information uh and also a document a guidance document for people in the public who the first time that they're viewing these HIP scores they have some idea of how the scoring works.
That is my HIB report. Uh and then I have a few other reports and a few other actually more more acknowledgements and awards. Um first uh Ian so who is our uh a 12th grader at LHS uh this past
weekend. He so he uh first won the local American Legion ortorial contest. This was back in February, January, February I believe. So, he won the local, then he went and represented Bergen County in the Northern Jersey contest and he won that. And then he went to the state
final and won that. And this past weekend, he was in a national final. He was in Michigan this past weekend and uh he placed in the top 18 in the national competition. Yeah. Yes. So, we're really excited for Ian. Uh we wish him all the
best. Uh we also had uh two students won a essay contest. Uh there was a New Jersey Hall of Fame essay contest. Um there was a elementary school winner, middle school winner, and uh high school winner. And we had two students who won.
One for the middle school. We had eighth grader Arthur Park who father is at the table with us. U and his teacher, Miss Richter, um who who is his current English teacher. And then at the high school level, we had Kayla Park, who is
a 10th grader with Miss Bozac. So, we wanted to acknowledge and congratulate them. We just got that news this week. And then some athletic victories this past this past few weeks. Uh we had uh Kaijin Luke Lok. He won the
NJSIA scholar athlete of the of the year for cross country and he he plays cross country and boys volleyball. um and he won a uh the scholar athlete this year. So, he was just acknowledged at a recent banquet. And then our boys tennis team
this past weekend uh our Bergen County Invitational Tournament co-ch champions. So, they won the Bergen County Invitational Tournament this past weekend. They are sorry, they are co-chions with Fairlon and they are currently seated number one in the state
sectional bracket that will be kicking off soon. Um the other state se the other seeds uh haven't been announced yet. Uh may have some other number one seeds. Boys tennis. Yes. Very as a tennis player. I'm very excited for
them. Uh and then we also have to celebrate Mr. Tim Ryan. This past weekend he was celebrated. He won his 100th victory in cross country. So for Leon schools, he won his 100th victory this past fall. So they celebrated him
uh at this on Sunday at the at a at a brunch that they have for for coaches. So we congratulate all of our students and the amazing accomplishments that they they have done this past year. Um and we're excited. We got a lot of celebrations coming up, a lot of great
things happening. We're very excited, but we want to keep reminding people about the expectations of coming to school every day and you know the behavioral expectations that we have. And we've got about I think it was four more Mondays left, four more weeks left until we hit that last week of school.
So, we can do it. Thank you. My son's been counting the days on the calendar. Um, Mr. Thomas Evich, thank you, President Lee. Um, for tonight, I have one one item. It's great
news. So I would like to inform the full board and the public that the budget adjustment for the 2526 final budget that was uh presented at last uh public hearing last meeting on May 6th uh relating to the tax levy
incentive program was approved by the state. So thank you. Um as a result um the next steps the district provided all the necessary documents to the county office for their final review which they concluded. Um the county pretty much signed off on the revisions that were
made uh which basically means now the district can move forward with the final 2526 budget. So which you'll see on tonight's agenda is the certification of the taxes which was um which will be is prep is provided to the full board to
approve and that was also provided to the burrow and all the um necessary agencies relating to the taxes for for next year. Thank you very much. I know that took a lot of work um on both your part and Dr.
Carmonus's part. So, really appreciate all that work that you put into it. Okay, that brings us to our committee reports and our student representatives. So, the Leonia High School will have their culture day this coming Friday, which is a day traditionally for
um talent show like performances and where we can share food at the gym. So, students, please be excited for that. Um we have senior week which is approaching and we wanted to let all the seniors know to get ready for it and to keep up with their grades and their absences so they won't have to miss out on the fun.
and then that we won't have school on Monday due to Memorial Day and to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day weekend. Thank you. Okay, thank you very much. Brings us to practices and principles.
We met on uh May 13th. Um we spent the majority of the meeting talking about the SI evaluation. Um I think everyone received my email with the updates um that we are moving forward with using the um abbreviated version for um Dr.
Karammano since she's acting interim. Um so just keep an eye out for more you know updated emails um when she sends out her portion um for completing the document. And then like I said in um board comments, we continued to discuss
the strategic plan. Um we continued to look at the draft um and we're um we Dr. Karamanos was showing us various platforms that will eventually be used on our website. Thank you very much. Um I think Dr.
Carmanus you have one more thing. Yes, I'm sorry I completely forgot here my note. Um I also have one more congratulations um to Jordan Ziggler, our burough representative who graduated from college yesterday. As a fellow pirate, I welcome you to the alumni pirate uh
Satan Hall pirate uh family, we wanted to congratulate you and we appreciate all the, you know, the inter uh relationships that we've we've done between the burrow and uh the district. So, congratulations. That brings us to buildings and grounds.
Um yes, so we met today. Um, ACS doors are done, so there's no more open projects. LMS, there's no open projects. LHS, um, the old media center, that's ongoing right now. It's in
progress. Also LHS, the, um, weight room is in progress. Um, LHS, the culinary dishwasher, we're working with the architect to get that done. Um, the drawings and everything. um how we can
put that dishwasher together in there for them to utilize it. Then the electric, which we were supposed to upgrade at the high school last year, it didn't happen. Um so we're going to try to do it this summer. So that project, they'll shut all the electric down to the high school. So it might take four
to six weeks over the summer. Um LHS Science Wing, that's going to start August 2024 and hopefully be done December to January. Um there's bear with me there's a few more um LHS art room syncs. Um they're
working on that. Probably going to start August 2025. I think this 2025. It's it's based on insurance recovery from the rainstorm in August 2024. Okay. Okay. That's why I'm see 2024. That's the funding. Uh yep.
Um I'll skip through a There's still a lot of doors ongoing right now. LHS. Um LHS, this is an interesting thing. The EV chargers, they're all installed, but we're still waiting for the wires to be connected by PSEG, but they're all there
um ready to be used. Along those lines, we got five of the seven EV buses. Um so, we were just waiting for two more. Um and we're consistently looking into like grant opportunities. I know like one of them we talked about today is
PSEG. they come and look at some of our old equipment and depending on if there's a newer model with better uh energy efficiency, they can give us 40 to 50% off on upgrading those equipment and also give us a fiveyear window to
pay that off um monthly payments. Um let me see. And then we also talked about like how we utilize our facilities. Um this is an ongoing thing um just to make sure like we utilize it and and um produce revenue in in the
best possible way um you know for all our facilities. I think that's it. Yeah, that's okay. Thank you very much. Um that brings us to 6.4 education. Thompson. So we haven't met uh since our last
board meeting. We're we're meeting next Tuesday, but I was very happy to see uh the parent square notification go out about the upcoming um workshop for parents focused on the gifted and talented program around what care
caregivers can can do over the summer to to prepare their kids and to maintain um kind of an enriching environment for them. and and separately, you know, we'll be working on a plan to make sure that families uh can continue to stay involved as we kind of define what our
next steps are there. Wonderful. Thank you. Um 6.5 is finance and planned as myself. Um we have not met since the budget uh review um round of meetings. Um but I would like to hold one final meeting before we lose Eric um
just to review um what to look out for, things that we should be concerned with moving forward. And that brings us to policy. So, we were able to finally have a scheduled meeting coming up next Tuesday. Uh barely get maybe three or four people to make it, but we will be able to to have
it happen with a quorum and we will just be reviewing a number of policies that'll eventually come to the uh to the agenda from a a first reading perspective. Thank you. Okay. Thank you very much. Okay. Sorry, just scrolling
through the agenda. So that brings us to um okay that with the consent agenda items that brings us all the way down to item 10.1 that's the contract award. Can I have a motion in a second? Uh Dr. Mr. Mester in a second.
Second. Um, Mr. Zeppa and any comments or Well, any comments or questions? Okay, seeing none, can I have roll call, please? Miss Choy,
Mr. Growl, yes. Dr. Meester, Miss Molina, yes. Mr. Park. Yes. Mr. Zepka. Yes. Mr. Seagel, Miss Thompson, Vice President Melman, and President Lee.
Yes. Motion carries on new business. 10.1. Okay. Thank you very much. That brings us to 11.1 public comments regarding any non-aggenda items. Anyone from the public wishing to speak, please step up to the podium, provide your name and address, and you'll have two minutes. Good evening, Dan Slamman, 177 Lake View
Avenue. At the last meeting, I asked this board about the sexual abuse settlement with two individuals that happened late last year because of their abuse by ASC teacher John Agnosti. and I asked if Leone is trying to hide the settlement because you fear there
are more victims that may come forward. I've not gotten a response to that question. Though I did learn last night that the mayor and the town council had no knowledge of the settlement until I emailed them and until I spoke to them last
night. Mr. Mr. Ray had access to hundreds of children over the 14 years that he was teacher in this school with this school sanctioning his conduct and how he was taking kids to his homes and the kind of class trips he was handling.
So again, I'm asking why are you not willing to reveal this settlement? Are you worried about more victims? Because the chances of there being more victims out there is pretty real. My second question is I talked to you
all about an institution that is taking responsibility for things that have happened in their past. The Boys and Girls Club of America. I proposed to you a policy that is comprehensive and multi-layered and designed to keep children
safe. I'm curious, have you taken any action or even looked at it? There's an organization called RAIN who works with uh with the uh Boys and Girls Club who work with all kinds of organizations. You all could bring them
in here and they could create the kind of policies that will protect children now and for the future. You can also take better work and better make public statements about the the victims that may be out there.
While I know you all probably feel like you don't have any responsibility here because this happened a long time ago. Since 2019, there's been a new law. That law was passed because there are past harms that need to be
writed. And it's time for Leon to take responsibility for its history. And it's time for the Alonia school board to take responsibility for its history because that history includes teachers in this school helping the defense to try to get Mr. A
off. That history includes ignoring when he was convicted the responsibility that this district then had for all of the other children who were his students and who have been left with lifetime consequences as a result.
So again, I'm asking for answers to those two questions. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else from the public wishing to speak? Arthur's ahead. Uh talking specifically to Joe about his report on buildings and grounds and shutting down the high
school for the summer. What's a contingency plan and what are they doing that requires the power to be off for the sum or unless I misunderstood what you said uh for the for the whole uh summer? I mean I'm very pretty familiar with power and power distribution. So I'm not
sure you know even if they're rewiring a place I'm not sure I don't understand it and what's your contingency plan again for summer school and things like that. Thank you. I'll start um and then I know Zanti and any any other members from the public wishing to speak? Yes, please step up to
the podium provide your name and address. There we go. I figured it out. Uh Jordan Ziggler 20Y Street. Thank you Dr. Carammanos and the entire board for your kind words. I really do appreciate the partnership that I've built with you guys over the last 18 months and I cannot wait to continue working with
you. Thank you. Okay. Thank you very much. Any other members from the public wishing to speak? Okay. Seeing none, we will move to board comments. Item 12.1. Joe, did you want to answer Mr. question? Um, I'll start. And like I said, um, Eric
and Zanti. So, contingency plans. They're going to use the middle school for programs that would have other otherwise been used at the high school. Um shutting it down. So PSEG from how I explained to me they come they cut cut off all the power then our electricians
up makes the upgrades that are necessary then you call PSEG back and they turn it on. Now when you call them they don't come the next day. That could take a week, two weeks, three weeks a month for them to come turn that power back on. Um but Eric could elaborate on why they're
shutting it completely shutting a building down um and so forth. Thank you, Mr. Zepa. Um so basically it's my understanding that the replacement that is being done was uh damage from uh the flooding from
Hurricane Ida. Um that flooding caused uh a secondary electrical secondary that needed to be replaced. Um because of that PSC requires the the complete power to the building to be shut down. Uh the building will still be functionable to some capacity as far as uh with
generators um on generators but it can't be occupied. So our custodial staff my understanding that they can uh be in the building uh contractors can be in the building to do um you know some of the construction projects. Um the goal is uh we have a date scheduled June 30th for
PSNG to shut it down and then we have a vendor that we board approved a couple of years ago to um repair the secondary which will take about a week to two weeks. The biggest um issue is getting PSNG back into the district to now review the work and to shut it turn the
power back on. Um so that's why they're anticipating you know four to six week period. Um, you know, potentially it could be end of July, it could run into August, which obviously, you know, the start of schools, the high school will be up and running.
Correct. It's like Correct. It's like the main um and I'm not a electrician or um it's from my understanding it's the main line going into the high school that's that provides the the power to operate the the full um uh school level.
So correct. So it's additional power that's that's running into the school. Right now the the school is operational but by adding um with the secondary down but if we wanted to expand and do any type of additions or we're going to be kind of um hand tied. So it's beneficial
that um we replace this electrical secondary which is another line running into it's a straight line running into um the school providing electrical um additional electrical capacity and then by doing that we can expand for future projects you know down the road.
And we can also add on to our generator. Um, so that way if power goes down like it did a few weeks ago, if we have more of our building on a generator, we can do a little bit more rather than having to shut down the entire NJSLA testing that day. Sorry, just to respond to I know there
were some questions with regard to the um uh Mr. Mr. Sllayman's comments. U Mr. Slayman, I know that we have ongoing litigation right now. So, the board doesn't typically comment on litigation. Um, but just to answer the one question about the uh the settlements, the
settlements were publicly approved at a board meeting which I think was in October um or maybe November of last year. Um, so those are those are a matter of public record, but otherwise we really can't comment on anything related to the litigation. Thank you.
I I understand, but we're looking at it expansively and that we can we believe that that's part of the ongoing litigation. Can I have a motion to go into close, please? Motion Mr. Seagel second second Mr. Park. All
in favor? I. Any opposed or absentions? Okay. So, members that are watching on YouTube, we thank you for watching. We will need to go into close session for about 20 minutes. Um, after which time we will come back and take action on personnel
and then adjournment. And for the members of the public that are joining us here in person, we thank you for being here. Um, but we need to ask you to leave. And thank you to our student, Representative Zuul. We are back in public session at 9:27.
Um, can I have a motion on personnel items? Motion, Dr. Mester. Second, sir. Um, do Mr. grow. And these are personnel items, so there are no discussions. Uh, can I have roll call, please? Miss Troy, Mr.
Grow, yes. Dr. Mester, Miss Molina, yes. Mr. Parr, yes. Mr. Zephr, yes. Mr. Seel, Miss Thompson, Vice President Melman, and President Lee. Yes. Motion carries on personnel. Thank you. Can I have a
motion for adjournment or we can hang out? We can hang out. Motion. Motion. Mr. Can I have a second please? Mr. Seagel. All in favor? Any oppose or absentions? Okay, we are journ. Thank
you very much everyone.