e e we're going to get started okay I'm gon to call our meeting to order this is a special meeting of the Marboro Township Board of Education today is um Tuesday February 18th it's 7 we had um public notice that was sent out on this meeting um and we'll get to
that in a few minutes but before I do do so I just want to point everyone to the agenda uh to the Sunshine Law that this meeting is being held in accordance with the open public meetings act um and adequate notice of the date the time the agenda has been sent to the asber park press and to The Star Ledger and has
been posted as well and filed in the Marboro Township clerk's office um I want a statement on public um videotaping a public portion of the board meeting you know this is a public meeting there is a portion of the board meeting that's actually videotaped and available for public viewing on our
website and then um there will be um opportunity for public comments on our agenda this evening there will be two opportunities for public comment um both the beginning after we return from our executive session which is the first item on our agenda and then after we um
entertain as a board the motion that's in front of us so before we get started uh one last thing no smoking or vaping on school grounds that includes both inside and outside uh we appreciate you paying attention to that may we all stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I
think we need to take roll call I pledge allegiance to the clag the United States of America the for it stands Nation indivisible andice for all Mr caravell can I have a roll call
please sure Mrs bomo here Mrs carero here Mrs Gandhi here Mr hayatt here Mr lonsky here Mrs Mendes here Dr MTZ here Mrs
seart here and Mr Cohen here thank you all right um first item on our agenda tonight is an executive session resolution can I have a motion to move into executive session miss Gandhi second Miss Carrero
this will be for a matter as of attorney client privilege and we expect to it uh it to last no more than 45 minutes thank you everyone in favor I anyone opposed thank you we're just going to go into executive session thank
you e e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e e e okay Mr carabell can you do a roll call please Mrs bomo
here Mrs Carrero here Mrs Gandhi here Mr hayatt here Mr lonsky here Mrs Mendes here Dr misit here Mrs seart here and Mr Cohen I'm
here okay thank you everyone um let's let me uh just go back to sort of um again thanking you for attending this evening um as I mentioned earlier this is a special meeting of the board um today is February 18
2025 uh this meeting is um was was called pursuant to um both our policies and the public notice requirements that um we have and I would like to also um recognize the fact that
the concept or idea for this meeting was actually suggested by Mr Michael Lansky a member of our board Mr Lansky actually contacted me um the next morning um to suggest this idea and I want to put this into the context of um when I was
elected board president one of the first things I did when I sat down in the seat is that I looked to miss Mendes and I looked to Mr Lansky and I asked them to sort of be a guiding principal to supporting the role of President and they both agreed and this is a classic perfect example of Mr lonsky offering
suggestions and advice based upon his experience both as a prior vice president and prior board me and prior board president so thank you for that uh once he um uh suggested this to me my next action was to immediately contact Mr caravell I asked him to reach out to
our board members to um check their availability which his office did thank you very much Mr caravell for doing that so quickly and then hence we had a special meeting confirmed and public notice steps began and immediately thereafter so that's how this meeting
came to pass and how we um we're here this evening so uh thank you for all of you who um responded um we are here tonight um pursuing to the policies to actually um have one item of official board business and that is a motion that's in front of the board uh
regarding the um abolishment of policy 5756 um we will first go to public comments on our agenda um pursuant to our policies as well every you know anyone who would like to speak um will have three minutes to do so um and we would like to you know to offer that to
anyone who would like to come up to the mic I know there's a sign up list so in a moment I'll turn to Mr Caravel to do that once public comments are closed we'll take an opportunity to sort of entertain the motion um we will then take um dis an opportunity for discussion once discussion is closed we
will go into a vote and at that time board members will obviously when they're placing their votes they will also have an opportunity to sort of make a statement of anything they'd like to in regard to their to their vote um once the motion um is the votes completed we will then have an opportunity to do
second round of public comments and after the second round of public comments um if there's a need for an executive session we will go into it if not we will adjourn so that's how the meeting will play out tonight I just want to share that with everyone so you all have some insight to how we will
will operate so with that um I'm going to um move us into public comments Mr caravell sure um first on my list uh Jennifer Woodruff hi my name is Jennifer Woodruff
and I am from Morganville and I want to thank all of you for all your time and efforts on this policy I know you spent a many many hours over the last years and the last year and a half were squashed because
the state got involved and wouldn't let you try to do something that was well intended on amending the policy uh most of you are already aware of my opposition this is just a little odd there you go does this work that's
fine U most of you are already aware of my opposition to this policy but there are some new board members and so I would like to address my concerns the 5756 policy allows teachers to withhold information and mislead
parents regarding important matters regarding their children keeping parents in the dark about a student's mental health and behavior is detrimental to the child's well-being when a school doesn't have open communication the parents are
hindered in providing the necessary guidance and support the child needs I understand the intent of the policy is to protect a student's privacy but this policy erodes the partnership between schools and families it also serves to create a
bigger wedge between the parent and child during adolescence a time when parents and children are already dealing with the typical growingup struggles and adhering to ground rules the policy tells kids it's okay to keep secrets from your parents but don't worry you
can trust us parents have the legal and moral responsibility of the child until they are no longer minors and even upon adulthood that love and care for that child never ceases proponents of this policy say
that it protects children's from abusive parents New Jersey has a child welfare system and mandated reporter law that is designed to specifically identify children that may be subject to abuse NE neglect and pro provide protective
safeguards for this the fact that the 5756 transgender policy does not have a guideline for determining which parents are notified and which ones are not when a child wants to identify as a different gender makes it ambiguous and
is a lawsuit ready to happen the 5756 policy is divisive and discriminatory all children should be respected but certain children should not have special special rights at the ex expense of others this policy puts teachers in a
bad place a position of deception and it takes away the Privacy rights of the other kids I remember how modest I was having to dress in high school in the locker room with other girls I cannot imagine how it would feel if a boy was in the room school districts that have
not re okay darn um goad thank you thank you for your decision to resend the policy which I believe um is your intention and I thank
you for all your efforts thank you Miss Woodruff and thank you also for sharing your your views with the board and your thoughtful email that you sent to us this past weekend and um we appreciate that I know personally I appreciate hearing your thoughts and both in person tonight and
for coming last last week in that weather so I appreciate you being here sure next Ron Mack hello my name is Ron Mack I'm from Oldbridge and I'm uh here encouraging you to resend
5756 A lot's happened with this the the reasons at this point is uh there's a growing amount of push back against this from uh what you'll never hear is D transitioning which is where a
child uh which means their minors which is 90 plus per of the 95% of the students in this school are coaxed into this and go into even surgeries where they're cutting off parts of their
anatomy and then as they reach adulthood they realize what the Sam Hill did I just do and then they start suing people who are part of the instrumental in this from a legal standpoint alone uh Michael Gross I I think that it puts this this
school in enormous Jeopardy five years down the road six years down the road and it opens a whole new Pandora's Box that's never been here before as far as litigation if you doubt that uh Google two words Khloe Cole uh she spoke before
Congress because she's a d transitioner a word you won't here in these meetings usually the other other reason is we have a new president and he's spoken very boldly about this in the mutilation of children and uh his executive orders
are going to put have already put uh the having policy 5756 intact in direct violation of federal federal rules and federal uh funding so vote against 5756 I applaud your courageousness us over
we've watched you over couple years now you were in the Forefront of things and uh and uh we we appreciate your service here thank you thank [Applause]
you next Dan finny good evening thank you for this opportunity congratulations again on prevailing finally against a stack deck witnessing the litigation in court made clear to me that not all judges are fair
and impartial without judges that actually follow the rule of law and Constitution we are in real trouble since we get our judges through the process of elections in our constitutional republic the importance of voting cannot
be overstated it is more than a privilege it is a duty I would sure think and expect you will now exercise your local authority to get rid of this unprecedented policy causing division confusion unintended consequences and real harm but I want to
take a moment to point out this should also be an inflection point to look a new at your other policies and curriculum some of which is chalked full of socialist mark Marist ideology pushed down from the federal
and state bureaucracies by the way there was no federal doe when I went through school matter of fact I wasn't even aware that it it was different until
recently when I was going to school uh we did get a great education that made us um competitive in the world and I'm thinking that um there's going to be some great changes in this
new Administration but I want to point out some examples of what I think um all of our schools should be looking a new at and that are is things like critical race Theory so social and emotional
learning social justice diversity Equity inclusion and one you might surprise some people is climate change and I want to touch on climate change and use it as an example of how easily people can be deceived when lies are often repeated
they become socialized fact in the culture so CO2 is one atom of carbon and two atoms of oxygen we breathe that is a pretty good deal we
get two for one plus we get vegetative health and food yet and I'm sure some of us remember learning about photosynthesis but somehow it didn't translate into um this climate change
narrative yet we are being told CO2 is bad and that reducing what is already a trace gas in our atmosphere at just 0.40% in a very complex weather ecosystem can affect climate I could talk about the fallacies and absurdities
for hours the global warming which then morphed into climate change Hy hypothesis was dramatically shown to be false as there has been zero correlation between higher levels of CO2 and global temperatures the reason I bring this up
and then I'll close is that it's being presented as science and the number one target is our children through the public education system who trust us to give them the truth thank you very very much thank you Mr FY
likewise I want to thank you for sharing your thoughts with the board um this past this past weekend and for your you know thoughtfulness and the time you spent in in sending that and and writing it as well so thank you Mr gell sure Alice
finny I'm just gonna start with this hi I'm Alice finny Five Points Road in cols neck I grew up in Mammoth County lived here my whole life um in Hell uh pretty much um and I just commend your
board for taking a stand against policy 5756 I've told my story before but one that really just becomes more alive to me every time I hear about this is that when I was a child say eight started
around eight I used to want to dress like boys and I I remember running around um as a kid without my shirt on until someone told us me and my girlfriend that we had to put them back on I'm just saying that and I would play with frogs I played with in sand I uh
played with Dinosaurs I didn't really play with the dolls uh we were very active I rode my bike I climbed trees I went fishing I did all these things and just to think at this young age between sometimes kindergarten this thought is introduced
to these kids that hey you might not be a girl or you might not be a boy are you sure what do you think that you are well if that thank goodness my mother um always my mother and father always told me I was a girl I never thought different but if I lived in today's time
I cannot think what would have happened to me because I was very compliant I listened to what adults and other people told me to do and I really would have ruined my life I mean we don't allow kids to get tattoos or to drw drive or to drink or any of these things and we
need adults to stand there and to protect these children and it's not about discrimination we love these kids and we need to have tough love with these kids the kids that are having problems there's no separation now
between the suicide rate um they don't distinguish after uh transitioning where people are affected by the transitioning Khloe Cole says I never had suicide ideation or thoughts until after I went through um
her double Mass ectomy until after they said wow what did I do and studies show 11 studies including the Toronto 2021 study shows that between 80 and 90% And that study was 86% of the children returned to their
birth gender identifying with their birth gender by 18 so we really need to not allow children to make decisions so many kids are Ma you know making the rules instead of their parents so many times Well I feel this way and the
parents are saying oh instead of taking a stand and saying no you're a girl or you're a boy because you can't change that you really can't and sadly the people have tried to um have been um shadowbanned from the internet so we're not seeing that but I just commend you
all for taking a stand with the other three towns um the other two towns um Middletown and um that was really a wonderful thing and we I just um um just thank you so much for your support to resend this policy thank
you thank you Miss finny and thank you for sharing your personal experiences um I know the board probably you know appreciates that as well Mr car I have no more on my list so if anybody else would like to speak is there anyone else
anyone else would like to come up please just state your name and address thank you uh my name is Carolyn Mac and U my husband and I live in Oldbridge um and um I guess I I just
want to encourage you um as board members and remind you that you are The Gatekeepers for what comes into the school uh as a parent I'm a gate gatekeeper we have four children and now
five grandchildren and um you know as a parent uh was part of my job was um I was the gatekeeper for the books that would come into the house the books that I would buy for them or not buy for them the movies that we would allow them to
see the TV programs that we thought were healthy or not healthy and um you have an important job as a board member you are deciding as Gatekeepers what is uh healthy and good for the kids um and to
be part of the curriculum and what is not and I just want to remind you that the um 5756 and a lot of the uh the reading material that's coming into schools right now has opened the the doors wide
to groomers and this is this isn't an opinion it is it is a fact and um like somebody else said just a little while ago it's never a good idea to keep secrets from parents and that is what 5756 does uh which is another reason why
I'm very much opposed to it also I think just the reminder that 5756 uh encourages the idea that a child can change their gender this is a contradiction of science no one can change their gender it doesn't matter
how many uh hormones they receive or the body parts that get cut off their gender is not changed and I think to encourage the lie that they can change their gender I think it's um I think it's a a
problem and um again as The Gatekeepers you can decide whether or not this this teaching uh comes into the school and is accepted or if it's rejected um and I noticed as we came in you have these uh character traits in
the hallway kindness positivity uh respect responsibility and um as adults I think we we are uh either models of that encouraging that you know kindness good citizenship and I think um some policies
encourage those qualities that we want to see in our children and some do not and I I don't think 57 56 belongs in our schools so I just want to encourage you to stand firm and vote it vote to resend it I think you're on the right side of
History if you do that thank you thank you and thank you for those important reminders as well as for pointing out those really important messages that are on the walls of this building when we walk in I appreciate that would you like hi my name is Jerry Monroy uh uh
Taylor Road in Marboro I want to look at this um the 5756 what it encourages is the double life John becomes Jane when he goes to
school parents don't know about it and the and and the parents are kept in the dark and so what would teaching the kid from a very early age is a very disordered notion the notion of living a double life nothing could be more
morally wrong than that I I I certainly support the resend the resending of 5756 because we do not want to engender this kind of of of Morality In growing children who
would then take that into an adult life whereby they would yeah can have a double life you have a person here and a person there doesn't know about the other you know what I'm saying a double life is int intrinsically a disordered life please resend 5756 thank you God
bless thank you thank you for also sharing your views we appreciate that is there anyone else without seeing anyone else oh Mr Pollock TR good evening everybody my name is ad
poock I live on St Lawrence way in Marboro so I am supportive of abolishing policy 5756 the reason I'm supportive is because of how divisive this policy has been for our town uh I have two
daughters that are in the in that are students in the district and I have family employed by the district unlike some of the people who are here and who have spoken my family is interacting with uh School staff in our town all the the time we interact with the principes
the support staff the teachers the administrators the security staff bus drivers and the employees at the YMCA program to all those people people like Mr shatz Mr pagero Mr bone Mrs Tyrone Mr Bob Mrs bolava Mr Lavoy officer Ron Mr
cyber Miss bunny all the teachers in the elementary schools all the teachers in both middle schools and every teacher my daughters have had over the last 5 years I want to extend my family's deepest apologies the insinuation that the staff
in Marboro is somehow keeping secrets from the parents and is doing anything that is not in the best interest and safety of the students that they support here is Pauling in my own experience with the staff in the district I've never seen any reason to suggest the
teachers and the administrators in in our town are doing anything that is not in the best interest of the students here teach teachers administrators are not preventing information from being distributed to parents in Marboro teachers and administrators are not
putting students in situations where they are in bathrooms with other Sexes inappropriately in Marboro these are lies used to scare and divide the community the real problem is that these tactics are working there are loud voices in our
community and outside our community who do not want to have children in the district who do not have children in the district and who don't interact with the staff in our schools who are using Scare Tactics to misrepresent what is happening in our district in reality the
victims are the administrators and the teachers who are maligned with false accusations around their intentions and the standards that are used to keep our children safe for the teachers and administrators in our town who feel attacked by this continuation that they are that they are not doing everything
that they can to keep our student body safe or that the residents of our town think you are acting nefariously or keeping secrets from the parents here know that there are parents in our community that don't feel that way and support you wholeheartedly with all of that said in the spirit of community in
the spirit of compromise and the hope that putting 5756 behind us will allow this board to come together and focus on education please abolish 5756 thank you [Music] thank you Mr
Pollock Mr Cohen can I address that for a moment yes sure please I just wanted to say thank you Mr Pollock for speaking you're way back there so I'm just looking this way I just wanted to say one thing since I was on the committee or led the committee for the past two
years not this year but in the past two years and spent countless hours weeks months with some of the board members I just want to say to the that policy exists across the state of New Jersey it has been abolished Now by many school districts
but at least from a policy standpoint it was never implied in that policy by us when we were presenting it that it pertained to a particular teacher or that a particular teacher here would do something like that we fully support the teachers what it
states just in black and white in the policy is that across the state of New Jersey in a school there was the ability if needed to change the students records and if possible keep it confidential from the parent I don't want it to be
implied that that was the nature of the policy is that it was against the school district the administration who are wonderful here or the staff it's a policy in general that stated it could happen not saying it would I just want to make that very clear cuz that was
never the intention at least when that policy was modified it was to make sure that we accept everybody for who they are but in our district of minors of K through 8 we just wanted to make it clear that absolutely you should come as you are and we love you and welcome you
with open arms you just have to make sure your parental figures are involved that was the nature of it and I appreciate you sharing that sentiment Mr Pollock I have seen a lot of divisiveness online never the intention I just want to make it clear what the policy committee's intention was and I
know Mr patruno you're up next but I did just want to share the intention at the time yes can I respond to him as well before he comes back or you want to go in between sure let me let Miss bomo um additional statements I know that we know each other quite well and you know
that there's probably nobody here that interacts with the staff and the children and the administration in the district more than myself um with your daughters as well um and from my perspective this
policy is a blatant disregard for our teachers uh the way that it is right now putting them and positioning them between a child and their parent the decision um what to disclose and how to disclose it to a parent should never be
on the shoulders of a teacher um and for a child to say I do not want my parent to know and the teacher to have to bear that responsibility and either break their relationship with the child or with the parent should not weigh on the
wonderful incredible staff that we have here in marro Township so I see residing this policy As A Great Notion for all teachers that this responsibility is no longer um you know cemented in a policy that positions them between a student
and their parent thank you so thank you for responding I actually 100% agree with everything that you both just said and I know what the um what the intent of the policy is and this is a very complicated issue um but
I how you um explained it is one way of how someone could think about that situation and another way of thinking about that situation um would be that the teachers
who are hearing the visceral comments about people in the who are coming into our community who are T who are who are making this appear to be a political circus where this has
been going on for years at this point and there is is um dog whistle language being used that could be seen as um antagonistic it could be seen as um
hurtful toward some people um not being inclusive to everybody there's different ways of thinking about this and I think that perception is really important here the perception that you that some of the board members have and some of the community have about this is one thing you have to also think about it from the other people that are being affected by
this the teachers who have to deal with these situations the administrators who are responsible for it and the students right so I just I I know no one intentionally was doing anything wrong and that's why I like having these conversations with you all but it's you you can there's there's different ways
of think about it and being in a position of leadership is not just think about what you guys think representing the community obviously but also thinking about how it affects other people and you know I was someone I respect a lot said something to me recently that sometimes um you have to
weigh with what you believe leave with what is going to be most effective for the community and I just think that knowing that there's different ways of thinking about these issues um is important when um when when when being so steadfast in what you believe I'm
supportive of a board that that uh is that does what they believe and is speaking from the heart and all those things but just there is we live in a community here where there's a lot of different opinions and ways of thinking about things thank you thank you Mr
petruno Aldo petruno Morganville New Jersey um actually Danielle said pretty much everything I was gonna so thank you Danielle and um rather than you know thanking you guys for hopefully abolishing this to end the
divisiveness I'm going to say hopefully I can thank you guys for ending this because it's the right thing to do so that's it [Applause] okay um anyone
else nope uh motion to close public comments Miss Gandhi second Miss Mendes that's motion all in favor anyone opposed abstained motion
carries okay thank you everyone for spending the time and sort of sharing your thoughts um for me it's extremely valuable and important it's sort of what our whole process is built upon and why we sit here to be able to sort of listen to what our community says so thank you
and I appreciate that um the next item on our calendar for tonight or our agenda tonight is um actually item for policy development and community relations um I'd like to ask Miss seart if you would do that item for me I'm super emotional about this I'm
sorry take your time policy development and Community relation matter the superintendent of schools submits the following resolution for approval one first reading policy 5756 transgender students abolished is
so move second Miss Mendes okay we're open for discussion before we um begin our votes any discussions on this matter I do um first um this is a big day for everyone here
um first and foremost I'd like to thank our community um in addition to what Mr CA said um it's our parents that over the last few days have spoke up and demanded this Swift action so thank you before I
cast my vote today I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to Valentina and Annette who who are currently serving on the board as well as Aldo Christina and Ashley who are past members that attended multiple court dates and stood up to protect parental rights your unwavering
dedication to protecting parental notification from the very beginning has been the driving force in getting us to this point where we can now place our vote you stood up for the community's needs and served as board members and voices for the community with exemplary
commitment so thank you as we each make our decis today I also want to thank all of the parents who have supported our right to parental notification I urge you to stay engaged and ensure that this is never compromised again moving forward it is
essential to stay informed on both state level policies and local policies that are under review and revision policies related to counseling notification parental environment involvement student records and parent organizations should
always be top of mind to to make sure we are never in this situation again the challenges surrounding 5756 have been one of the most important learning experiences for me both as a parent and a board member as I place my vote tonight I am filled with excitement
and optimism hoping that we are answering the call of our community and restoring our rights to parental notification thank you so um before any other discussions because I know Miss Momo shared her her thoughts on this but I thought with the
as we go around for the vote if a board member would like to share similar sentiments or similar opinions they can but we would follow Mr carll's roll call for the vote is that okay with everyone okay so the motion before us is
to abolish 5756 is there any other discussions you want us to say our piece you said when we're voting if yeah I think it that's fine it would help um okay so um we are now going to it was moved
it was seconded we're going to discussion we're going into roll call Mr Caravella Dr MTZ yes Mrs bomo yes Mrs Carrero wait I can read if I have
something to read I can read it now okay okay so I'm going to I have a statement um so over the past several months policy 5756 has become less about students and more about fueling Division I believe our schools should be a place where every child no matter what feels
safe valued and respected removing this policy does not change our commitment to that New Jersey's anti-discrimination laws and regulations already provide strong protections uh for all students includ including transgender uh our responsibility as
board uh and district and as a board and a district is a foster an environment where all students feel supported not just through policies but through the culture we create in our schools one built on trust understanding meaningful Partnerships with students importantly parents and the community at the same
time we must respect the rights of parents to be involved in their child's lives school should be a place where Educators and families work together in the best interest of students I refuse to let um the any student be used as a wedge uh as a wedge issue this decision
is about fairness unity and ensuring that all students feel safe supported and understood schools should be a welcoming environment for everyone not just because a PO policy tells us to but because it's the right thing to do so with my statements I'm a voting to abolish
5756 so to be clear your vote is yes to abolish yes thank you Mrs Gandhi [Music] I have a statement prepared as well we all love our children and as parents we have an undeniable right to
be fully informed about every aspect of their lives that is a fact without exception as a parent taxpayer and now board member I firmly believe that policy 5756 should never have been amended the way it was 18 months ago the
board members responsible for that decision lacked the foresight and conviction to take the responsible path abolishing it outright board members should have never let social media grandstanding dictate decisions that impact students families and taxpayers yet the amendment of policy 5756 ignited
an unnecessary and costly culture War diverting vital resources away from education and into defending an indefensible illegal policy it drained thousands of taxpayer money dollars money that should have funded reading math and
science one worse it stripped our board and community of their rights for 18 months a reckless decision with lasting consequences mistakes however painful can offer lessons but on February 11th it became clear that some had failed to
learn them one one board member disregarding legal and procedural Integrity attended to suspend policy 5756 under the emergency clause in policy 131 a reckless move that could have plunged the district into further legal Jeopardy and jeopardize our
ability to vote today six of us rejected that manufactured crisis an emergency is an imminent threat an immediate unavoidable and dangerous school shootings violent crimes catastrophic storms those are emergencies impatience
and political theater are not policy 5756 had existed since 2015 without known issues in without known issues in maror waiting a few more weeks to repeal it properly with public notice and due process was not a crisis to suggest
otherwise was at best misleading we listened to sound legal councel and relied on Common Sense we voted to do this the right way we also made it crystal clear to to our colleagues that we were fully committed to abolishing this policy legally
transparently and without unnecessary risk to our district yet despite knowing the board was unified on the outcome one board member chose to mislead the public launching a baseless smear campaign against those of us who upheld the law
this wasn't about informing the community it was about undermining the board that is both dishonest and deeply disappointing the people of marbor elected us to act with Integrity to follow the law and to make decisions that serve the entire Community that's
exactly what six of us did on February 11th and I'm proud of that vote leadership isn't about pandering to a vocal few it's about making the right choices for the greater good I'm grateful for the new leadership on this board and for the decision to move this motion forward swiftly
collabora collaboratively and correctly so today I vote Yes to abolish policy 5756 not just because it should never have existed but because doing so the right way affirms our commitment to responsible governance this is the first of many sound decisions this board will
make together we will continue to put students families Educators and taxpayers first so again my vote is yes to abolish thank you Mr hayatt uh yes uh I just want to
reiterate two things and sorry I'm have a little bit of a cold uh I think a lot of what was said here tonight uh played in to factoring in my decision and in my vote I think um Mrs Woodruff and sorry I forgot your name right is that right thank you there are safeguards in place
that makes me confident in voting to resend this policy frankly I think what Mr Pollock said in terms of the vision it's brought to our community I would like to see that abolished along with the policy I think more importantly the final thing I'll say is without this policy without all this back and forth I
hope we can focus on the needs of our Administration our teachers our students and parents most importantly um and our community abroad that's really the focus I think we should have here and I hope uh By Us voting to resend this policy we can get back to those Basics so my vote
is to yes abolish the policy thank you Mr lonsky hi just going to quickly thank everybody that spoke tonight and thank my fellow board members for taking the time to be here tonight uh so we can get this moved along and buttoned up hopefully by the end of the month with
that my vote is yes thank you Mr L Mrs Mendes um I have a statement that I had written uh since June of 23 uh our Board of Education we worked to ensure that our policies align with our commitment
to keeping families involved in the children's education as a k38 school district we believe that parental involvement is Paramount which was the guiding principle behind our modification of policy 5756 which required parental notification sorry about that given the
young ages of our students we felt this amendment was necessary to maintain open communication and a strong support system between families and schools following this policy change our board along with two neighboring districts as we know was sued by the governor and the Attorney General alleging that our
action violated the rights of a particular group of students for quite some time we were engaged in legal proceedings with little progress however we have always maintained that involving families in Key decisions affecting their children is not a violation of Rights but rather
a fundamental aspect of ensuring their well-being and support I am grateful for the W unwavering support of our community and all those who stood by us throughout this process and I'm looking forward to the decision to move forward in the best
interest of our students and families and I do just want to thank the countless community members I want to thank past um and current board members I want to thank um we spent a lot of time so I want to thank those board members that we were with in the
courthouse that day and that stood behind the policy change so I want to thank Mrs Rosado Mrs amster Mr patruno Mrs McCormack miss bomo miss seart Mr lonsky I want to thank and obviously the community members and any staff or
Administration I know that was supportive of this policy um and the changes and again I'm just looking forward to moving forward with abolishing it so again thank you and I appreciate um the years that we've spent
working through this and so my vote is yes thank you Mrs seart my vote is yes to the abolishment of 5756 I just also feel the need to thank Mr balone our superintendent who uh was
very supportive in the pioneering of bringing attention to this policy when previous administration literally told me at that Podium you don't need to worry about that so I'm so glad that we all continued to worry about it because we really brought attention to a topic
not just for our neighboring towns but almost nationally so even though it brought on some legal ramifications um I just want to make it clear that we were misinformed that this policy was a mandated policy that we we
couldn't abolish it with the information that we were given 18 months ago if we had the correct information and that little M wasn't on top of the alert from our policy writing company uh we would have moved forward with abolishing so I just want to make sure that that
information was clear that we didn't know that this was even an option we thought that this was a mandated policy I hope to never see the words parents need not be notified ever again in any of the policies that our district amends
or changes um I also just want to thank the parents that I set shoulder-to-shoulder with for so many meetings when we were first talking about this policy I think that our voices were heard and most importantly I think that we all came from a place of
love and concern and community and family and all of the values that make marro great even if you read some not flattering things on social media hopefully we take a turn and um we can put an end to the fake profiles bashing
people and the the vital conversations that are going on and the assumptions that are being made because at the end of the day this is a volunteer position and we're all here because we want to and we're all here because we have the best interests of the children so thank you to board members past present and
future and hopefully this sets forth a new expectation for how we want our schools to be run so thank you and just to be clear that was a yes the yes I would like to say hell yes but I'll get in trouble by my parents
for that so hell yes to abolishing 5756 thank you and Mr Cohen so um I I've always been a firm believer that um people can arrive at a
unilateral decision even if they come at it from different perspectives or different paths and tonight is a great example of exactly how this board has arrived at a unified decision but coming at from different perspectives so with
with that I want to commend the board and I want to commend um our community for um sharing their perspectives sharing their views and um advocating for something that they felt very
strongly for at the end of the day as without even me casting my vote yet you all know what the count is right um which is exactly where I'm going to sit which is my vote it will be yes to abolish this this policy um I will say
just in in final that um this is the right decision I've said this for quite some time um that we did not need this policy for whatever reasons I have for that but that's how I felt um so I am
glad that the board and has had a unified decision on this I'm glad that we are one step closer to actually abolishing 5756 and um with that I believe Mr I can say that we have a unanimous
vote right yep n it's a 90 vote the next steps for this will be to actually um have our second read for this policy to officially be abolished pursuant to our Bo our board policies um
on our meeting on February 25th where at that meeting this will be on the agenda for second read and we will have one more vote so with that I want to uh thank everyone for you know their their honesy their opinions their feelings and
expressing them tonight um but we are um we have done what we had to do as far as tonight's meeting the the next item on our agenda is actually one other round of public comments if anyone wants to um sort of speak they're more than welcome to come up
um so do we have anyone on the list for second round no I do not okay hi everyone near of kakia Morganville New Jersey um first and foremost I want to thank the board for carefully reviewing all the options and
making a well-informed decision regarding 5756 I'm really glad there was not a hasty choice but one that you guys made thoroughly weighing all considerations and without further impacting
taxpayers so this decision that you've made I think takes us to the next phase in our you know in in life right because regardless of where we stand you know our shared priorities remain protecting our children upholding parental rights
and I really really thrilled that we can now move on and now focus on what's important in this school district that's education and making sure that our children have the tools necessary to succeed and to be safe I want maror and
I'm you know one of the reasons why I move to maror as I'm sure many people know is because of the education when you Google marble mtps I'm hoping now we don't see um articles about 5756 and we see articles about how wonderful this
community is and how wonderful our school district is so thank you for voting thank you for abolishing this and I'm hoping we can now move forward and not be as divisive as we were over the past two years thanks so
much thank you Mr kadakia anyone else Aldo petruno Morganville New Jersey first off thank you uh this has been 18 months in the making and I'm glad it's finally behind
us you guys almost made it a full meeting without any back and forth but adidi just couldn't keep it to herself so let me just uh clarify real quick adidi the policy was amended because when the policy vendors
sent it to us we were told it was mandatory so we couldn't abolish it it wasn't until we were in court that it became clear it could be abolished first off second off thank you Miss bomo for your emergency motion at the last
meeting because in the last two weeks had anything happened in these schools this district and this board would have been liable so to say it wasn't an emergency is actually kind of ridiculous and you should be ashamed of yourself we
used the emergency clause on two other occasions one was for FMLA and the other was for sick leave I believe and you're going to tell me parental notification that we were in a lawsuit for 18 months isn't an emergency give me a break thank
you Miss Palomo thank you to the board good [Applause] night I was hoping someone would say my name so I could have a chance to respond um I would like to say that tonight is
so Monumental to so many people that I'm not going to take this opportunity to rebut the ridiculous claims that were made against me um but I am going to say if it was the motion that was made no
let me rephrase that because of the motion that was made I am proud that we have moved to abolish 5756 and if it was the outcry of the community after the motion that I made
that got us here tonight at a an Emergency meeting then so be it pat yourself on the back Mrs Gandhi we got the result we wanted thank [Applause]
you I stand by my statement and I think everybody here would agree that um this was always the intent and that was an an emergency for us to risk potential litigation anything against
the board so I think again I'm going to say I commend board leadership for thinking this through not acting on emotion and just doing what you all were elected to do so thank you very
much thank you Miss finny thank you um I just wanted to say um thank you so much for protecting the teachers and some of the comments that were made and I wanted to respond to this gentleman Mr poock
um my daughter had it was in Middle School and there were three children that wanted to use different pronouns than than they were I work in a high school and so that's a little different than where you're at but I want to say about a year and a half ago we had training um professional development
training on this where there were five students and I'm not going to say where I work but um who were um using different pronouns and and I'm assuming some of them may been on hormones anyway I went and I spoke to another teacher
about this that I was not going to use the pronouns and um she said well that's not your business you need to that's not your business leave that to the counselors and other professionals the following year I did get a student who was asking me to use different pronouns
and I had a private conversation with her and I said um I may I'm going to try my best to call you by your first and last name and um um if I don't it's because I feel that it's damaging and there are people detransitioning and it
might hurt you and I want to do the right thing and tell you the truth and I said you're a wonderful student you're bright and all these other things that I need to say because she was but I never had a pro I said I'm not trying to make an issue but this is what I had to go
through as a teacher and then I also spoke to a counselor not a guidance counselor and told her my feelings I someone I trusted and she said you might lose your job and I said well so be it because I need to tell the truth I can't live with myself leading someone down this path to
go affirming them until then they take the next step and the next step and then they do something that they can't that they regret so there are situations I mean you guys may have the best teachers in the world but you know it is against
the law and people can get in trouble and um I just I see other schools if it's happening happening right in our neighborhood and I see it all the time it's not to say that it wouldn't happen in the future and so I just um thank you
for protecting the teachers who were not saying anything some people are retiring because they don't want to deal with these things and um I just commend you for that thank you thank [Applause]
you Mr finny hi good evening again I don't want to belabor of the meeting but um I just uh wanted to share with you that I when I came to New Jersey and uh
2007 uh I moved to maror and I was stationed on the naval weapons station Earl there as the officer in charge of the Min minici command and loved marble and so I was a resident for several
years and now I am just a stonethrow away in Colts Neck but um you know you know have some good friends in marbor and this a great Community I I feel it's like a um I I feels the same way about
coln where we're you know just to uh peas in a pod but the other thing I wanted just say is um I really really appreciate your service to this community and U it was you know mentioned I think by someone that you
know it's not a paid position and it's challenging especially over these last uh few years and uh I I just want to tell you that um I for one have an idea of what that commitment is through uh
several friendships and from being involved in my Township now in Colts Neck uh so thank you uh again for all your uh hard work and for being willing to serve the community for our kids
thanks thank you Mr FY and thank you for recognizing the service of the board but also thank you for your service Miss Woodruff hi Jennifer Woodruff again um I want to repeat what Dan just said um I know this can be a thankless job and you
put a lot of hours and time in and I know you you know you're away from your families you spend a lot of hours here and and probably meeting outside and we really appreciate what you do it's a very professional group um but I do have a question um it seems like this policy
is abolished but there's this second vote how does that work what what exactly does that mean I'm a little confused so um I can explain it but I will also look to our attorney to sort of correct me if I misstated it but our policies policy
131 requires that we have the motion on an agenda and then it can be abolished at the subsequent meeting so we have the motion on the agenda tonight and then it will be added to our agenda for the February 25th meeting which is next Tuesday for a final vote of the board to
abolish the policy and there'll be another meeting like this it'll be there'll be a regular meeting next Tuesday that's already that's already been planned this item will be added to that agenda so that we can have another vote okay thank
you anyone else for yes good evening um thank you Scot here excuse me let me go back thank you U my name is Kim Linley I'm a former special education teacher I'm from analin and I'm just so happy I made the meeting on time that you got the right vote so I
want to start off with what I wrote soem um if it sounds redundant I'm sorry but you got the great answer so uh my name is Kim Linley and I reside in manalan New Jersey I am a mom and a former special education teacher thank you for your time effort most of all Having the courage to do what is right for what the
students of your District recing policy 5756 policy 5756 is this adjust the policy and not mandate by law I thank you for standing up for what is the best interest of your students also for supporting one of the strongest relationships a student will have the
teacher and the parent relationship the ruling in favor of policy 5756 is evidence that removing this policy is morally and legally correct also this ruling supports that you have done what was the right thing to do also the teacher parent relation plays a
Paramount role in the students lives communication and Trust are key elements between teachers and parents students have shown how well students perform when communication lines are open and are with parents one of the studies is a long-term impact academic success and
Beyond the provides of Parental involvement is the name of the article there's less absenteeism increase homework completion less classroom management problems more time devoted to teaching better peer relationships and better decision-making skills for the par when parents are involved
another thing that I discovered during this um policy 5756 is the brain how can we have a child in fifth who five make complex decisions when that 13 the prefrontal cortex is involved how in the world can you just
put all these um comple decisions they don't know the consequences and your personality your identity all forms at 13 the full um brain is not developed to like 30 years old I have a 26 and 29 who drive me nuts they still don't know what they're doing so I just I'm so proud and
happy that you guys are on the right track and for teachers everywhere thank you so much because when we were teaching I loved my job the kids were my kids from 9: to 3 mine were mine so I thank you for your time and your efforts and thank you for the right decision
thank you thank you anyone else for public comment second round of public comments okay can I have a motion to close public comments Miss Mendes a second Dr MTZ all in
favor anyone opposed abstained public clance is closed um I've been informed by our attorney that we have no additional matters of attorney client privilege to require us for executive session so we will not be going into executive session this evening can I have a motion to adjourn please miss
gande a second Miss SE all in favor anyone opposed abstained have a good night everyone thank you very much for coming out this evening [Music]