WEBVTT

METADATA
Video-Count: 2
Video-1: youtube.com/watch?v=9NXpyaa-Vh0
Video-2: youtube.com/watch?v=wfg-k__kMWA

NOTE
MEETING SECTIONS:

Part 1 (Video ID: 9NXpyaa-Vh0):
- 00:00:00: Meeting Opening, Roll Call, and Introductions
- 00:01:33: Employee of the Month - Mrs. Patty Esposito
- 00:03:28: Recognition of Middlesex Competitive Cheer Squad
- 00:06:33: 2026-2027 Annual Budget Presentation: Overview and Challenges
- 00:10:36: Public Comment Opening and Guidelines
- 00:11:10: Public Comment: Tax Levy Increase Questioned
- 00:14:23: Public Comment: Gym Teacher Hiring Concerns
- 00:17:27: Public Comment: Parent Advisory Committee Facilitator
- 00:18:27: Public Comment: Teacher Hiring and Salary Concerns
- 00:20:55: Public Comment: Agenda Changes and Curriculum Coordinator
- 00:23:13: Public Comment: Hazel Wood Principal Concerns
- 00:28:28: Public Comment: Salary Guide Implosion and Hazelwood Principal
- 00:35:22: Closing Public Comment and Executive Session Motion

Part 2 (Video ID: wfg-k__kMWA):
- 00:00:00: Senior Commitments, Baseball Champions, Superintendent's Strategic Planning Survey
- 00:01:37: Library Programs, NJ SBA Delegate, County SBA Delegate Reports
- 00:05:17: Student Representative Report: Sports, Spirit Week, Field Trips
- 00:12:31: Special Education Programs: Coffee Cart, CPAG, Inclusion Efforts
- 00:14:57: AP Exams, Senior Activities, and Spirit Points Update
- 00:16:12: Approval of Minutes, Committee Reports Overview
- 00:17:58: Personnel Report, Action Items, and Recusals Discussion
- 00:26:50: Education Action Items Approval and Policy Action Items
- 00:28:34: Facilities and Finance Items: Budget Concerns Discussion
- 00:31:01: Opening Public Comment: Rules and Introduction
- 00:31:16: Public Comment 1: Audio File Obstruction Complaint
- 00:34:38: Public Comment 2: MEA's Public Education Partnership (PEP) and FAST
- 00:37:59: Public Comment 3: Unanswered Questions, Town Co-op Update
- 00:46:53: Public Comment 4: Capital Reserve Withdrawal Questions
- 00:48:38: Public Comment 5: School Fence, Traffic, and Board Positions
- 00:52:40: Public Comment 6: Lunch Arrears, Track, Strategic Planning
- 00:58:56: Public Comment 7: Staff Safety and Whipple Ball Tournament
- 01:02:01: Public Comment 8: Track Meeting Priorities and New Board
- 01:03:15: Public Comment 9: Lease Agreement Policy and Process
- 01:05:26: Public Comment 10: Class Three Officers and Legal Funding
- 01:06:36: Closing Public Comment and Executive Session Resolution


Part: 1

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--------- Mrs. please take the roll. Here. Here. Here. Present. Present. Here. Here. Here.

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Okay, thank you. I'd like to um introduce our Spanish interpreter, Mrs. Suzette Breaker. Hello. The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meeting of the public bodies

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at which any business affecting their interests is discussed and acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of the act, the board secretary has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date, time, and place thereof posted on the bulletin board located in the hallway outside of the

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administrative offices. And notice was provided to the Courier News, the Home News Tribune, and the Middlesex Borough Clerk. Okay, we will now move on to our presentations. Our first presentation is our employee district employee of the month. Mrs. Patty Esposito, please come to the

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podium. >> [applause and cheering] >> Mrs. Esposito is an outstanding member of the Watchung school community. Whose dedication is felt each and every day. She is the kind of person who keeps the school running smoothly through her professionalism, kindness, and

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unwavering commitment to others. In her role, Mrs. Esposito manages countless responsibilities with care and efficiency, all while creating a welcoming environment for students, staff, and families. She is someone people know they can rely

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on, and she consistently goes above and beyond to support those around her. What makes Mrs. Esposito truly special is her selfless approach to service. She steps in whenever needed, solves problems quietly, and always puts the

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needs of the school first. Her positive attitude, strong work ethic, and team-centered mindset are a powerful example for others. Mrs. Esposito is a tremendous asset to the school district, and her daily contributions deserve to be recognized.

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We thank you, Mrs. Esposito. >> [applause] [applause] [applause] >> Okay, we will now move on to our Middlesex Middlesex competitive cheer squad recognition. Oh, I don't know if

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Is Mrs. McDonald or Do you want Do you want to say something? Speak or Okay. I didn't know what you wanted to do. Or And Janice and Maynard >> [applause] >> She's going to give a recap of our weekend. Um and this is a previous post

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we had shared. So, we said, "We believe we could, so we did." The weekend we worked all season for was nothing short of amazing. Putting on our uniform all three days is a privilege and one we will never forget. When you think about having a

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team of only 11 cheerleaders, it can make you cringe a little. What can you do with only 11 girls on a mat? You still go out on the biggest stage with the best teams in the country and perform five amazing routines. For the first time in 6 years, we made

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it to semifinals for our traditional routine. For the first time ever, we hit, but come up but came up just short of finals. We appreciate all the hard work of our choreographer and his dedication to our program over all these years. We fly him out all the way from Colorado

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every August. For the past This will be a seventh season with us. Our game day routine was one that didn't score well all season. We were constantly at the bottom of the team rankings. And a few times we were closer to the top, other programs couldn't believe it. We came into nationals a little worried

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to perform this routine, and once we stepped foot on the mat, it was game on. For the first time in program history, we are game day finalists, placing 22 out of 85 teams. One of the biggest decisions of the weekend is something we'll never forget. And we thank our

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choreographer for giving us this routine, and it is officially retired. So, we hired two choreographers. The choreographer for this routine is the head coach of Monmouth University's cheer team. Our tiny team from a tiny town is coming home with so much pride and some

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hardware. Reflecting on that past weekend, I was I had a grateful heart. It was my eighth UCA Nationals trip with Coach Janice by my side, and I couldn't help but smile and shed a few tears for what that weekend had meant. The program hadn't

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made it to finals in 19 years. Coaching this team for 11 years, we've always fallen just short. There were often times I wondered if we would ever make it to the final round. This season posed many challenges, but one thing remained constant, a team that was dedicated,

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hardworking, and so, so loyal. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Good job, girls. We're very proud of you. Congratulations. We also have two that are still at softball. We have a We have [laughter] two girls who are preseason athletes.

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>> [applause] >> Okay, we will now move on to our 2026-2027 annual budget um Welcome to the Middlesex Borough Public Schools 2026-2027 district budget video. This budget focuses on supporting students, managing

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resources effectively, and strengthening our schools. Our budget is student-centered by design. We are committed to aligning resources to support learning, essential services, and efficient school operations to create the best educational environment possible. Supporting our schools

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involves three key areas: people, programs, and systems. This includes dedicated staff, academic and student support services, >> [music] >> and essential operations like transportation and technology to keep schools running effectively. Understanding today's financial

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landscape means recognizing that required costs are rising faster than available revenue. Budget decisions must balance diverse student needs and operational requirements. Resources are focused on required obligations, student support, and district priorities. Major

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cost drivers significantly shape our annual budget. These include consistently rising healthcare expenses, >> [music] >> special education costs for required services and compliance, and salary obligations driven by negotiated contracts and staff commitments. The chart illustrates how budget

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resources are allocated. Instructional salaries and employee benefits account for the largest portions of our total appropriations, totaling over $52 million. We face budget challenges and are committed to fiscal stewardship within a limited revenue environment. While state

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aid has increased, rising costs persist, necessitating careful management of our resources. Addressing the challenge involves protecting priorities and aligning resources through three key actions: [music] expenditure review, staffing alignment to maintain student support, and program protection,

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>> [music] >> prioritizing essential classroom instruction and services. We are expanding educational opportunities through continued growth in preschool access and strengthening early learning by investing in our youngest learners. The district is also leveraging external

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support by strategically utilizing grant funding, such as the NJDOE Lift and Coach grants, to enhance early literacy initiatives and boost student outcomes. Our focus on facilities and operations ensures strong learning environments, operational readiness through efficient

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systems, and modern technology integration. We also prioritize clean facilities, maintenance upgrades, [music] and enhanced safety protocols. The budget aligns resources with our strategic planning and vision. We [music] are committed to ensuring resources are effectively aligned with

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the district's priorities and engaging stakeholders to shape a shared vision for our students' future. Responsible stewardship is key, balancing student needs with fiscal responsibility. This means preserving the people, programs, and systems that have been established while making thoughtful decisions that

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support long-term stability for our school community. Our key takeaways focus on protecting programs, strengthening opportunities, and guiding priorities. We are leveraging grant funding and strategic planning to ensure all students receive necessary resources and

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support for success. What's next? [music] Preserve the infrastructure that supports our schools. Protect what matters most and continue moving Middlesex forward with students at the center of every decision. Thank you. Thank you.

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So, we will now open the public comment portion of the meeting on the public comment / budget hearing. Comments at this time are limited to agenda items only. Please come to the podium and put your name, address, email address, and subject of your comment into the record book. Before speaking,

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please give your name, address, and subject of your comment to Ms. Annette Duda business administrator board secretary. Direct your comments and questions to the board president. You may speak on two separate topics for up to 3 minutes each. I just want to also point out that

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for the budget part of it, if you have concerns, obviously you're free to come up and say those and ask the questions, but this is not meant to be a question and answer period about the budget. So, just want to put that out there. Hey Bulkovitch, 240 Hazelwood. Just had

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one quick question. Um I was looking at the district website today and there was a presentation about the budget on there. And there was a slide in that presentation that said the tax levy was going up 2%. Um my calculations, and I believe in the

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presentation that Dr. Freeman did in March said that the levy was going up 7%. So, I was wondering why the presentation online, I believe there was even a slide last night that said it was going up 2%. Why was there a slide in there saying it

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was going up 2% when the actual increase is 7%? So, as far as I'm aware, this is the same presentation from last night, correct? Yeah. I don't know what slide you're talking about. There is If you can I can look look You said you saw it on the website, I'll check it out, but

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>> You know, when you go on the main page, there's a little go down about halfway, there's a local pre The one that you did the presentation on in March. Yes. So, Yes, I believe that it shows you that the 2% is the the levy cap that we're allowed to take, but then we're also

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allowed to take bank cap >> Right. plus the health insurance waiver, which we did. So, in total it does show there that it's 7%. Right. I understand that there's waivers, but it just seemed that the waiver's percentage, again, in the slide I'm pretty sure I

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saw last night and what was on the website this afternoon said local tax levy 2% and then it went on to say average home 483 or whatever it was and what the tax impact was. I was just concerned that you were portraying this as a 2% tax

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increase when it's actually 7%. Yeah, I don't I don't believe that it was being portrayed as a 2% increase, but I'll look at what you see on the main page. I'll check it out and see Okay. >> why it would maybe be perceived that way. Thank you very much. Is this the time for My first concern is about Middlesex, New

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Jersey. >> [snorts] >> I'm tonight's agenda under column personnel action items. I know you can't talk about specific people, but I'm here [snorts] to point out

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to the board that something doesn't necessarily mean Dr. Freeman, but we are replacing a middle school gym teacher with a step 18

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M A gym teacher for $103,000. Part of her presentation is to help our budget by using attrition strategy,

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which normally is you take a teacher making, which the woman leaving made close to 103, you replace it with somebody maybe making 60, 65,000,

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bringing a new teacher from college, maybe one or two year teacher. I am appalled if you guys vote yes against tonight that you were going to do this to us as

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taxpayers in this town. There you can't tell me you didn't have other candidates that weren't step 17. I'm sorry. And if you didn't, then you properly didn't advertise it.

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I know for a fact last year at TCNJ, there were 30 gym teachers that graduated. That's just TCNJ. We got Kean. I thought you had a relationship with Kean. And we have until

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the end of the year or we even have until September to hire a gym teacher. I myself would like to see the board deny this replacement teacher. Nothing against her. I don't know her. Nothing bad. I'm not saying anything bad about anybody.

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Um but I'm concerned about the budget. And I don't think this is how we've been doing this. We've been saying this for 2 years. Stop bringing in teachers. Okay, you can't find them. Some of the specialty teachers, I honestly understand that. But a gym

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teacher, I'm sorry. They used to be a dime a dozen, maybe they're a dime a dozen now. I don't know. But four six, I don't But I don't think the proper um board put seven in finding a gym teacher

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to replace this gym teacher. That's the first thing that I have to say. And um the second question was um what is a parent advisory committee facilitator? For what? Where did you see that at?

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It's on the I'm sorry. In your Yeah. Yeah, hourly positions. Parent advisory committee facilitator, a parent facilitator. I will have to find out what that is for you. Okay. Cuz

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you guys are voting on that, too. for $53 an hour. I don't know what they do, either. Um and that's all I have for budget comments. I will find out what that the duties are of that, but um

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that cuz that money is paid out of Title One funds. So, it's not from our general budget. Correct. Okay. Okay. Okay. I'm also curious on what that position is. capital budget

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Okay. Thank you. Charlotte Torres, 10 Judson Drive, Middlesex. Um I want second what Lisa said about the gym teacher. And in writing your slide, you say that

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we're going to recoup some of our money through attrition, yet we're going to pay somebody the same amount of money as the person that's leaving. Um not only that, but English as a second language position is open. Um

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what was at a step seven is now going to be hired at a step 11, which is $13,000 more. They both have masters. So, again, with all the kids that are graduating college now, especially now,

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we can't find anybody that can come in slightly higher or the same amount and for $103,000 for a gym teacher at step 18, that means that how long are they going to be here

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for? Like, really? Step 18? You would want to try to find somebody with some longevity, I would assume. Um also, along with the um facilitators, what do the leaders do?

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You have leaders in there. Um and you have heads. There's PACs, heads, leaders. What do they all do? Find out. Okay, thank you. Um I also want to let you know that

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Middlesex Public Schools spend about $25,000 per pupil per year, about $14,000 above average. And as of today, we have a one in three student one in three students meeting the math

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standards and under half meeting the reading standards. So, that's why we should be thinking about the teachers we're bringing in. That's it. I have more for you this next time. Thank you. Laura Thomas, 109 Green Avenue.

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My first question is were there any changes to the agenda from when it was posted yesterday to today handed them out? The one that's there is the current. Is it the same It's nothing was changed from the other day. From when? Yesterday? >> There were additions to it.

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>> And what were they? They're on They're on They're in the the printout that you have. It was a resignation a a retirement, I'm sorry. Um there was an addition to the updates in public I'm

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sorry. Corrections and revisions to previous agendas on personnel. Um there is a out-of-district placement that got added. Um electrical services got added under facilities and finance 14.14.

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And a software service on 14.15. So, I'm I'm going to ask again. Obviously, you have a sheet of paper there that has it on it. If there could be an additional paper so people that do read it the day before know It's hard to

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go through pages and pages to know compare. Okay. You just asked me. I'm glad you did. Um let's see here. Okay. So, I read in the um on the agenda that the a curriculum coordinator has

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resigned. And that was a $127,754,000 position. I would request that that position not be um replaced with anyone. I feel that we

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have one curriculum coordinator plus the assistant superintendent's job description includes curriculum development, implementation, and assessment, which I feel is sufficient for the 2,000 students that we have in this district. And then also, I believe it was last

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month there was we hired an individual at $38 an hour for game design for curriculum writing. So, again, to try to save some money, I would hope that maybe you would consider not filling that position and saving that $127,000.

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I also would like the board um to seriously think about the rehiring of the Hazel Wood principal. Um based on some of the policies that were not followed and also

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I know that several people sent emails to each and every one of you. I'm not sure if you got it or not, but I would like to hand you the letter just so you can have some thoughts before you make a Or you can give them to me. I don't know about that one. Thank you.

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Yes. Yes, it is. And um I requested at another meeting that when money is being um something is being paid by something other than the money that we think is not budget money, like I think you just explained to um

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uh Cheryl or somebody that it was coming from a grant or federal or something, but we have no idea of knowing that. Maybe just an asterisk or something indicating [clears throat] that we would know. >> Yes. So, what um Last month, when there was only a few questions from the previous month, I read the answers.

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Um this month, since there were a lot of questions last month, we linked them in the agenda. It got added today. So, if you go in back into BoardDocs, you'll look up this agenda under ongoing business, I believe, you can find all the answers to the questions from last

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month, and that was on there. Um there is a way I think the answer was that there is a different format we can run the report to get that information, so we will try to do that today. Okay. Um Let's see. I think that was

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Because I see that uh Rich Doncelian is listed to be approved tonight for a tenure and administrative and supervisor position. And I believe that that is going to be paid for by the preschool grant. It's preschool aid. But

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in July 1st. It's not about a specific employee. It's about generally how the position is being paid as Yeah. Yeah. So, the the preschool principal position will be

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paid for by preschool extension aid. Okay. So, that's not what the salary this What is this position listed for here then? Well, everybody has to be renewed. Yeah, everybody has to be renewed. Okay. But it just says it's not for a specific No, it's not. It's not going to

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say where the salary money is coming from. It won't say that on the renewal. That's just their renewal. Okay. And so, where will that be listed that I would know where the money's coming from? I don't know that that's I mean, that would be on some of Bill's

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list. There's a payroll, but it doesn't specifically say what line item it's coming from, I don't believe. I mean, you could send an OPRA request if there's something specific you're looking for. I I don't The agenda items list the salary of the employees. It never lists anything more than that.

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I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for, but um So, I'm just looking and seeing approved, and I just wondered what that money was what it was being approved for. Obviously, he was approved at a meeting to be the preschool uh principal for next year. So, all the

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renewals are so that employees will continue to have their job come have a job come July 1st, and it's statutory that we do it. We have to notify them by May 15th. Okay. So, that's why everybody's on that one of those lists.

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>> Okay. Cheryl. I just wanted to say something. Thank you. Um repeat where that information is located for the prior questions cuz I couldn't find it. So, it got added today. It's a link under Let me just make sure it's there. Under ongoing business in the

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public content. But under what? You go in this horrible website that we have. Um let me just refresh. No, it's in it's in BoardDocs. Yes. Go in BoardDocs, and you know how you can look at the agendas under meetings. Um

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on number 15 is ongoing business, and under public content, there's a link there. You can link to the questions Okay, thank you. Uh Melissa Zimak, 6 Princeton Drive. Uh to follow up on what others said, I just think that the board um should be

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aware that it's not only just hiring a physical education teacher step 18. It's the fact that when you look at your non-tenured renewals, there's 17 of them that are on step 18. That means people who have been here less than 3 years

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are have been hired at the top of the guide. You look at that pie chart. It's your largest chunk of change. You are allowing the implosion of the way the salary guide is supposed to work. There's supposed to be breakage. When someone retires at the top, you're

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supposed to get someone near the bottom. You use that breakage. It's imploding the salary guide. I was personally in negotiations where the board, some of you were on it, fought for that step 17A saying that this step 18 is bankrupting

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And in the past 3 years, you've then hired 17, now this will be 18 plus one getting tenure, so include 4 years. The past 4 years, you've hired 19 people above the step you said was going to bankrupt you. Now, what I'm here for.

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Um I know [clears throat] there was some talk about the meetings uh not being posted, the policy, whatever. Um luckily, you can Google Middlesex Borough Board of Ed meetings for the record on YouTube and believe it's New Brunswick Daily, goes

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all the way back to 2005. Um but just in case, you know, there's a lot of information here. Um So, just a little timeline. September 2025, a principal was hired for Hazelwood at the top of the guide with a doctor stipend.

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This indicated we are paying for experience and excellence with an education kicker. A second grade teacher was out by Thanksgiving. That class spiraled into chaos. There was months of chaos for that class. Grace was given, wasn't planned,

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could not be accounted for. But let's be real. Nobody really jumped in to solve anything because people weren't complaining publicly. A long-time secretary of the school requested transfer. The beginning of February, a maternity leave they'd known about since November

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was not filled. Another class in chaos. Moms started asking, "What's going on?" What's the MO? Blame the teacher, right? There's all this background stuff we don't know. Well, teachers don't know what paperwork to get in when leadership doesn't tell them what paperwork to get in.

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In April, the teachers came here with a public plea, teachers of Hazelwood, came here with a public plea for support from the board and the administration. They specifically noted that after years of feeling heard, included, given opportunities, and respected in their

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environment, uh and respected, their environment now feels angry, resentful, and manipulative. They shared how differences of opinion at least used to be treated with respect, but now an opinion has you labeled as disrespectful and could possibly come with a write-up.

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We know how that meeting went. In May was the first security breach that I'm aware of and that you're aware of. None of school policy was followed. It seemed lack of knowledge was blamed, but the lack of knowledge was created by transferring the secretary without allowing her to train the new one and by

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hiring a principal for experience doesn't seem to have any. In June, there was a second security breach that we are aware of. Still no policy followed for PTO members. The MO seemed to be to blame the new secretary who it seemed ended up taking the fall. But the reality is when someone is a

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leader, that leader leads. They ensure each of their employees is doing what they're supposed to be doing and help out or correct when it's not. None of that was done. It was uneventful or at least unknown events over the summer, but two beloved teachers resigned. These are not teachers who would uh

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have only been here a few years. They had built their careers here. You can say they did what's better for them, but somehow it was better for them. What was better for them was not us, and that's a problem. September was okay, came and went. Mr. Majoka was principal for most of it and

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issues were handled by him. Honestly, it wasn't a bad month. He's fantastic and he will be missed in this district. Another employee who built their entire career here resigning. October, we had students playing in construction zones. Parents expressed concerns. We were told that the principal and the director of facilities

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reviewed into a safe. Okay, but what directly followed was indoor recess for 2 weeks and ultimately through the entire winter. In the end of time when kids could really go outside, they were cooped up. When asked why, we received a lie about staffing. Parents are expected to

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believe that on the most eventful construction day, there was enough staff for safety, but the following days the staff for recess was all out. I bet those numbers of people assigned to recess duty do not support that, which means the students were actually in danger and it took parents pointing it

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out or the students were punished because parents complained. Neither one of those is good. End of October, another security breach. You all were notified through email. That notification in November led to a parent being berated by this principal.

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This parent was expressing her safety concerns for the third time and the principal could not control her emotions to a parent again. I can't imagine what the teachers, staff, and students she has power over have to deal with. February, we're clearly not monitoring academic academic content being taught

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by a first-year teacher and there was no support for that teacher. In fact, the principal apologized to a classroom of kids in front of that teacher. There were no real apologies to the parents, just blame and excuse. Blame and excuses. March-ish, again, we can

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replace a teacher we know is going on leave and they don't. Another class descends into chaos. And here we are, signing up this for our children for another year? I don't know what whatever you guys are on cuz this is not just one person's

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experience. Ask anyone with second graders last year. Ask anyone with second graders this year. I'd even say ask the PTO now. In fact, I think I can only find one person that has anything positive to say at this point. It's not a witch hunt when

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there's no hunting. The issues are served on a silver platter monthly. And these are just the ones that I know and talk about. I know there are people with even more issues. Whether you choose to acknowledge that or not is on you, but most of your children got to enjoy a

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fantastic education at their local elementary school, most of them being Hazelwood, and you are single-handedly destroying that for the students currently there and going into it, and that is sad. Thank you. Okay, we will now close the public

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comment portion of the meeting. Pursuant to chapter 231 PL 1975, also known as the Open Public Meetings Act, authorizing a public body to meet in executive private session under certain limited circumstances, and said law requires the board adopt a resolution at a public meeting before it can meet in

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such an executive or private session. The Middlesex Board of Education hereby determines that it may be necessary to meet in executive session on April 29th, 2026 to discuss matters involving attorney-client privilege, confidential student matter, confidential personnel matter. So moved. Second.

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Annette, can you please take the roll? Mrs. Frintzy? >> Yes. Mrs. Shulman? Yes. Mrs. Bayatch? Yes. Mr. Horn? Yes. Mrs. Decker? Yes. Mr. Nikolai? Yes. Mr. Quinn? Yes. Mrs. Reynolds? Yes. Mr. Thornton? Yes.

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Okay, all are Um we're going to executive session. We have to discuss some things that we're voting on. Um there are tables and chairs set up in the cafeteria if you want to wait there until we're done. Um because we will come back and vote on the rest of the agenda after exact.

Part: 2

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Yes, Mr. Thornton. Yes. Okay, thank you. We'll move on to our announcements. Um I will go first. Um I just wanted to There is a lot of um commitments happening for our seniors, so I just wanted to congratulate them on

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that. Um we have a lot of good I shouldn't say good schools. All colleges are great. Um but a lot of a lot of schools represented. Um Rutgers, Middlesex College, Drew University, William Paterson, Seton Hall, just to name a few. Um there is an Instagram

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page for the commits, so if anybody wants to follow that, that's that's really great to see where so many of our students are going. Um and there's also people going to the military as well, so we commend them. Um and then I just wanted to point out that Mr. Granger is going to Georgetown. Oh,

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nice. Georgetown. >> [applause] >> Okay, I'll add that to the list as well. Um and then last night with a win against Colonia, your baseball team became the White Division champions. >> [applause] >> Okay, and that's all I have, so we will

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move on to our Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Roberta Freeman. Thank you. Just a real quick one, the next phase of strategic planning um is the survey, which is up on the website. As soon as you go to the website, you will see the pop-up. The survey will be available

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from now until May 8th. Thank you. And now our Business Administrator Board Secretary, Ms. Annette Giordano. Good evening, everyone. I have no announcements from the business office tonight. Thank you. We'll move on to our liaison reports. First, our Middlesex Public

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Library Board of Education Representative, Ms. Anne Gonzalez. Good evening, everyone. So, the main thing is the fact that it's surprising that we're pretty much getting into May and going into the summer, but with the library, they're going to be starting their uh summer

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programs, their summer reading programs. So, if you do have any, you know, school-aged children, definitely get them to the library to sign up and start doing all of that because they're going to have some really great programs throughout the entire summer. Thank you. And now our NJ SBA County

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Delegate and our Legislative Officer, Mrs. Sharon Shuler. So, the delegate assembly is going to be on May 15th. The resolutions subcommittee met and we forwarded six resolutions to um be voted on.

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I was working on sending an email to everyone cuz I just don't want to take everyone's time. We've already had a long meeting and we still have much more to go. Um So, if you see any of the resolutions that you have any questions or concerns about, just let me know. Um and I

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believe Thomas also coming to the meeting and um if if you want to attend without um physically coming to join Tom and I, there is a virtual option so that you

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can see how it's run. Um but I will send that email out um about the six resolutions uh as soon as this meeting commences. Thank you. Thank you. And now our Middlesex County SBA Delegate, Mr. Tom Thornton. Good evening, all.

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Uh there was no uh there was no meetings in between our meetings. However, um I'm actually going to Hunterdon County tomorrow night. Uh Somerset County, May 4th. And our

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Middlesex County meeting is May 20th at the Pines Manor. I want to >> [clears throat] >> congratulate the hard work that uh Danielle Parente put in as um a certified board member and can I say myself?

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>> Yes, I mean you said it. We will congratulate you as well. [laughter] And um myself as new board member uh certification. >> [applause] >> We'll be honored there. And um yeah, that's about >> forgot to also say get your Borough

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Alliance liaison as well at the beginning. So, you can go into that if you like. And they met. There we go. We met. They discussed They mentioned a couple dates regarding the um Middlesex Elks uh mini police academy.

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Uh they're actually doing two. The first one will be July 6th to July 10th. And the mini academy two will be July 13th through the 17th, both at the high school. Um National Night Out, they will be there

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for Middlesex's National Night Out. And um that's it. The next meeting for the alliance is June 10th in the community room next to the the library. I apologize. Did they give a date for

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National Night Out? They have it here as August 11th. Okay, thank you. But then they're they were talking about is it August 11th or August 18th? Oh. So. Yeah. I know it always used to be the first Tuesday in August, right? And then all

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of a sudden they changed it and so who knows? Yes. Okay, thank you. And now our student representative, Mr. Kevin Rent. All right, guys. So, uh my parents are in attendance tonight and they're actually [laughter] recording this.

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Take a look So, everyone say hi to Mr. and Mrs. Rand. >> [applause] >> So, let me get started. All right, this month has been very active actually for such a short month after following spring break. Um if you look at the board, you'll see that's uh our very own Calvin Strand. He's I I

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forget what his name is, but the guy from Greece. They played Greece for theater this month. No, no, no, not Yeah. Kinicki, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So, I figured I'd spotlight him for the title. So, all right, at the high school, let's see.

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One sec. Okay. So, uh I'm going to start by covering sports. Um so, for starters, like we saw earlier, we had cheerleading. They made game day finalists at nationals for the first time in almost two decades. Um and so because of that, they've hired

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a new choreographer, like she said, from Monmouth University, so we can expect a lot from them. Um besides that, our baseball team, they're 14 and 1 actually. They might be Yeah, 15 and 0. Um on the website it says >> They did have They have a loss. Like that. I think they're 15 and 1. Yeah, it

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was like I think Spotswood South Brunswick. They lost to South Brunswick. Oh, South Brunswick. That's what it was. And they um they had like a game against them, lost it, but then two days later played them again and won it. So, I'm not sure what happened. But uh all right. They're they just won the

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White Division and they're moving to the county and state tournaments soon. Um for softball, they're also uh they've also finished their division. They ended 9 and 5. And they're going to be doing those tournaments soon as well. The track team, up coming up, they have

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their GMC championship and their invitationals the championship throwing meet and the sectionals in the next two weeks. Um and then on the right, you can see the golf and the tennis team. The golf team is 7 and 5 and the boys tennis are 4 and 6.

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Okay. Uh this week they're in the middle of spirit week. Monday was Nike Tech versus quarter-zip day for my old people in the crowd. That's like like sportswear versus professional or like business casual. Um

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yesterday was Troll Tuesday, so we're, you know, a peop- an outfit that reflects a pop culture reference or a meme. Did anybody like come in with like their hair like a troll? I don't think so. >> troll? >> [laughter] >> No, I don't think so. That would have been awesome though. Maybe I should have done that.

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Um today was wig day, so we had a bunch of students if you're in the high school, you would have seen a bunch of students wearing rainbow wigs and all sorts of stuff. It was real fun. Tomorrow we have class color day. Our freshman are white, our sophomore are black, our juniors are red, and our seniors are blue, and they'll be wearing that because tomorrow we have the pep

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rally. And then tomorrow night we have hallway decorating. Let me see. I can't remember. The theme for hallway decorating this year is Disney. For those of you who don't know, basically every year we have hallway decorating and each grade is a Each grade has to decorate the hallways in accordance to

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the theme, but also with this their class color. So, the freshman's for white, they are zombies. Not sure how that works. Um let me see. The sophomores are Alice in Wonderland, the juniors are Cars, and the seniors

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are Toy Story. Um so, we'll be able to For those of you in the high school, you'll see that on Friday. The hallways are going to look wonderful, you know. Can we come see them? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You should. Uh and then Friday is, you know, like commitment day for our seniors, and so

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we're going to come to school wearing our commitment like college apparel. And I guess your students who haven't committed cuz they're juniors and sophomores, they're going to wear their favorite college. So, that's Friday. Cool. Yeah. So, this month we had a lot of field trips.

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Miss I think it was Yeah, Miss Agnostra Miss A's class for her I Yeah, Miss A's class for her I think in class, they went to to a play at RBCC and they watched a play it's called From the Fires, Voices of the

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Holocaust. Um on the right you'll see we went to a planetarium that's me in the middle. Um that was for our astronomy club. Uh that was really fun. That was also at RBCC, one of the local colleges. Um

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and then not there's I couldn't find pictures for them but today our culinary classes they had a field trip as well. They went to the Patriot stadium to the game and they got to run the food stands for the day. Which was fun. So, in the classroom there's been a

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bunch of fun activities uh but you can find them on the Instagram as well. On the left um Ms. I also for her forensics class she invited like local policemen in the K9 unit to do demonstrations about how they use dogs to work alongside policemen.

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And I'm really sorry I couldn't find the video but I did see a video of a dog rushing a policeman with like the bite guard on their arm which would have been fun to see but I couldn't find it. Uh in the middle you can see Mr. Mr. Señor Diaz's class for the International

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Day of the Spanish Language. Yeah, his heritage class made posters to celebrate it. Um in the bottom in the middle you can see for Bring Your Child to Work Day that was also this month our child development classes made fun stations for uh you know, the young kids to play

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at while their parents were working. And then on the right we had Mr. Freeze's class did like a science taste test demo. So, they had like a like a map of the tongue where on your tongue you'll taste different things and then they had like samples of different foods that they

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could try and test on their own to see if those maps were correct. Okay. And so from the beginning like I said, our theater was really active this month. They played Grease and I'm not going to lie that was my first musical that I have attended in all of

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high school and I really regret that being the first musical because they did a really good job. Um all of you in the crowd if you ever find if you ever see a poster any of time to go see their plays I think you really should. It was you know, quite an experience seeing these people I've

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grown up with for so long and like I know who they are and I'm friends with them to see them literally be a completely different person and do a really good job at it. So. Um I don't remember. So, for this month I covered our special education program.

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Um I interviewed Ms. Taylor about what they're doing in the classrooms across the district. Um So, for starters she told me about how they're revamping their coffee and snack cart. So, you know for anyone who would who's in the

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schools you'll know that the students come around with the coffee cart and sell coffee and snacks but recently she's been trying to get like she's been having the classes go out to buy like pro like like Dunkin or um fast food stuff for the teachers

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which is really cool. Um she told me it's important because it fosters money communication skills and independence. Like they they actually during school they go out and buy the inventory themselves. And they're assisted by speech pathologists when they do that. Um and of course you know, it's self

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self-sufficient so all the money that they make goes back into it so they can keep expanding it. Um they've also been working on their parent organization group called CPAG. It's on the left right there. That's the homepage for their website.

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Um and she encouraged me to ask everyone in the crowd who might have a child with special needs to look into that and I couldn't get a QR code for the website but she wanted you guys to look into it in case you did have a student with special needs because basically the goal

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of that group is to you know, focus on parent education for what they do with their students. Um what else? Okay. Also on the right you'll be able to see those signs. So, turns out those signs are actually made by the special education students and I

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didn't know that because and they've been they've been here since I was in Maugus which is really cool to know that they're still making them. Um they also she told me how their speech pathology team moved to what they call a three to one model which means they provide three weeks of

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direct service and one-on-one speaking with the student. Um and then one week of indirect service which is either to provide makeup for students that missed or to work with the teacher with the whole class. Um And then lastly she told me about how

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they are working to increase inclusion and being creative on how they deliver it. Um and she's excited for this the seniors this year they have five graduating seniors. She's excited for them to be participating in all the senior activities this year. Um Like they also went to the the dog the

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K9 unit thing in Ms. Hayes' class. So. All right. So, what's to come? I wrote down that obviously we have our AP exams coming up. You know, it's not fun. Um No, it's not the end of it. Um commitment day is Friday of course.

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Um good news with the AP exams being over soon is that our AP classes are going to have field trips and I've noticed it's like a growing trend recently in my four years of high school that we're doing more field trips for our AP classes which is really nice. Um

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you know, the end of the year activities for seniors are coming up and then also just field trips in general for classes and hopefully the seniors win spirit points so we get a field trip. Um but that's all I got for you guys. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> [applause] >> GOOD JOB.

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IS IT TRUE THAT I DON'T KNOW. IS WAS THERE EVERY YEAR THAT the seniors didn't win in spirit >> I don't so I think it's fixed. >> [laughter] >> I think they do every year except this year it's not looking like we're going to win. Uh-huh. Which is really upsetting. >> Wait, I don't know. I feel like you guys will Like we deserve it. We watched we

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watched all of >> Step up your hall decorating. Well, you guys lost points right because um the powder puff got canceled. I think so. I think it was me and the seniors and juniors lost points. No participation.

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Lame. No, it's done. Did somebody win senior assassin this year? No. Okay, thank you. So, we'll move on to the approval of our minutes from last month. Superintendent recommends approval of item 6.01 as presented. So moved.

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Second. Annette, can you please take the roll? Mrs. Parenti? Yes. Mrs. Shuler? Yes. Mrs. Bayersdorfer? Yes. Mr. Carnes? Yes. Ms. Decker? Yes. Mr. Nickolan? Yes. Mr. Quinn? Yes. Mrs. Reynolds? Yes. Mr. Thornton? Yes.

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Thank you. Oftentimes it may appear to members of our audience that the Board of Education takes action with very little comment and in many cases a unanimous vote. Before any matter is placed on the agenda at a public meeting the administration has thoroughly reviewed the matter with the Superintendent of Schools.

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If the Superintendent is satisfied that the matter is ready to be presented to the Board of Education it is then referred to the appropriate board committee. The members of the board committee work with the administration and the Superintendent to ensure that the members fully understand the matter. When the committee is satisfied with the

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matter is it is presented to the Board of Education before any final action is taken. Only then is it placed on the agenda for action at a public meeting. We'll move on to our personnel report by our committee chair Mr. Nickolan. Thank you, Danielle.

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Okay. Superintendent recommends approval personnel action items 9.1 through 9.13 as presented. So moved. Second. Um any questions or comments on items there?

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Concerns? All right. Annette, can you please take the roll? On 9.13 Oh, sorry. Word is the board briefly we So, I don't know. Can we choose what how do we choose not to

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abstain from just one of them? How does that process work? If you need to abstain from the vote on an individual person that's identified in here just name that person and say you're abstaining from the vote on that person. Or it's yes to everyone else or no to everyone else. However you need to do it. Okay. You could identify the person you're abstaining from. That's what I was going to ask whether we say

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the number Yeah, I so I'm assuming you're talking about 9.12 correct? The the Yeah. in the middle of the three The the the number on the agenda is 9.12 other personnel action items. Is that what you're referring to?

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>> No, it would be 9.01 under the appointment contract. >> Wrong. Okay. Sorry. Yes, I thought you were talking about something. Okay. Yes. Annette, you can just name the person. Um Annette, can you please take the roll? Mrs. Parenti? Um so, I have to

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recuse on I'm sorry. No, I'm I'm recusing for a conflict. Uh 9.12 I'm going to recuse on number seven um and also number 17 for the facilities director.

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Um and then also um I thought there was another one. There it is. Hold on. I'm sorry. I wrote it down. Oh, I wrote it down. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm recusing fully on number 17. And then, I am recusing on

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number 10 for Justin Marsh. Yes to the rest. And you got the recuse on number seven as well, correct? Mrs. Shuler? Yes. Mrs. Baycheck? Yes. Mr. Karns?

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Yeah, no to Evans Kelly for another 9.01. Yes to the other two. And this goes all the way up to 9.13, correct? >> Yes. Yes. All right, cool. Um for 9.12,

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number 10, that is going to be a no. Yes to the rest. And Miss Decker? Um I am saying no to 9.12 or 9.12, number 10.

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Yes to the rest. Mr. Nikolai? Yes. Mr. Quinn? I'm going to abstain from 9.05, 9.12, um Gary Brennan.

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I'm going to say no to 9.12, number 10, and 9.01, Evans. Yes to the rest. Mrs. Reynolds? Recuse from 9.12, number eight, um

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Brian Reynolds, and number nine, Jason Serrano, for conflict. Yes to the rest. Mr. Thornton? Yes. Uh for 9.12, I'm going to abstain.

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And 9.1, Evans, no. Yes to the rest. Sorry. So Just because to get clarification on that. Yeah, so um anyone who abstained or voted no on 9.12, number 10, um if

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you have a specific person, I would say that because there are other people within that um grouping that that would affect if you're not specific. How did you how did you vote on these? Okay. Same.

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All of them the same. All of them the same. What what The only thing she's pointing out is that you those of you who voted no to 10, you voted no to numerous staff members. She's asking was that the intent or was there one specific or were there individual staff members you were trying to vote no to?

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Or abstain from or whatever you voted on. I'm good with whatever one else said. No, I don't I don't understand where all the other names There's There's three names. Jeremiah said no to the 9 10 12, number 10.

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Not 9 12 10. He said no to this one, not this one. So we're talking about 9.12, number 10. Correct. Not the new appointment structure. Jeremiah was talking about 9 10 12. I wrote it down.

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Well, no, they said number 9.12, number 10 is what they all said. But prior to that, he said no to 9 10 12. So um That's why he's confused. Oh, okay. What for the people? >> Three for 10,

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Okay. Do you say the name or you say the Say the name, correct. Yeah, you can say the name. So I would say 9 10, um after the 10, you would say no to the principals. So called no to Parkhomes, yes to the call, yes to that.

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Okay. So yes to everyone but Parkhomes, you're saying. You are wrong, Daniel. Oh, okay. I'm sorry. I was thinking about The check, that's 9 12, 9 10, not Yeah, I'm sorry. I was thinking that it was There was somebody

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I was looking at the wrong So actually, let me Yeah, I know, that's the thing. I can't Hold on. So I might I think I need to Who needs to fix their vote? Me. What's happening? Because I thought 10 was some Where was he? Things have moved around since >> I know. I tried to

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I got them. The list is like I think you were trying to do number seven. Number seven. 9 12, number seven. But if he recuses all of them He would have called it seven. Oh, yeah.

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Okay. Yeah, so for whatever number um is Justin Marsh, I'm recusing from that. Number 15. 15? >> [clears throat] >> Okay. Not affiliated. Okay. So there you go. So number 17, number seven.

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I'm recusing on number seven. I am recusing on number 15 for Justin Marsh, and I'm recusing on number 17. Yes to the rest. So sorry. That was my fault, guys. I was confused about

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who was on the list. The list. Which number? My fault. Okay. Everyone else is the same as originally. Sorry. Sorry I confused you all. Okay, so we will move on to our education items by our committee chair,

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Mrs. Reynolds. Unfortunately, I missed the meeting but we did this last night, so you know. Um superintendent recommends approval of education action items 11.01 through 11.15 as presented.

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Second. Any questions or comments on education items? Concerns? And then, can you please take the roll? Mrs. Perenze? Yes. Mrs. Shuler? Yes. Mrs. Baycheck? Yes. Mr. Karns? Yes.

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Miss Decker? Yes. Mr. Nikolai? Yes. Mr. Quinn? Yes. Mrs. Reynolds? Yes. Mr. Thornton? Yes. Thank you. We'll move on to our policy action items. Superintendent recommends the approval of policy action items 12.01 to 12.04 as

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presented. So Questions, comments, concerns? And then, can you please take the roll? Mrs. Perenze? Yes. Mrs. Shuler? Yes. Mrs. Baycheck? Yes. Mr. Karns? Uh you need to make the item a no.

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Sorry. Okay. Yes. Miss Decker? Yes. Mr. Nikolai? Yes. Mr. Quinn? Yes. Mrs. Reynolds? Yes. Mr. Thornton? Yes. Okay, thank you. We'll move on to our facilities and finance items by our committee chair,

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Mrs. Baycheck. Superintendent recommends approval of facilities and finance action items 14.01 through 14.19. So moved. Second. Any questions, comments, concerns?

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Um the budget is part of this. I know, Mr. Quinn, you had quite a few questions in email. I don't know if there's anything you want to discuss here or not. That's up to you. It's just very difficult to follow the paper trails because of changing accounts and things like that through

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year reports. It wasn't really designed from how I've been trying to compare them for that kind of comparison. So that's all I have. Okay, thank you. Your comment was the 14.18? Correct. And that's based on the fact that

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the numbers in the worksheet are they just changed? They're different. >> different accounts are utilized and Okay. Thank you. Any other questions, comments, suggestions? Okay. And then, can you please take the roll? Mrs. Perente?

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>> Yes. Mrs. Shuler? Yes. Mrs. Bayerchak? Yes. Mr. Carnes? Um no to 14.18, yes to That's the budget, right? Yes. Yeah. Big

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no to that. Yes to the rest. Mrs. Decker? Um 14.18 it's no, but yes to the rest. No to the budget. Mr. Nicolai? Yes. Mr. Quinn?

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14.18 no, yes to the rest. Mrs. Reynolds? Yes. Mr. Thornton? 14.18 no, yes to the rest. Okay. Um any ongoing business?

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Aside from the answers to last month's questions that are there, does anybody have any other ongoing business for me? Okay, any new business? Danielle, I have a family matter to bring Oh, yeah. Of course. Okay. So, I thank you. Thank you.

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Don't forget your jacket. Jack, yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I wouldn't think I would have rained it out. I wouldn't have >> [laughter] >> I wouldn't have Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Thanks, Don. Okay, we will now open the public comment portion of the meeting. Comments at this time can be on any topic. Please

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come to the podium and put your name, address, email address, and subject of your comment into the record book. Before speaking, please give your name, address, and subject of your comment to Ms. Annette Giordano, business administrator, board secretary. Direct your comments and questions to the board president. You may speak on two separate

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topics for up to 3 minutes each. Kevin Rusinski, 4 Laurel one Fairview Ave. I'd like to start um just actually talking directly to Mr. Carnes. Uh Mr. Carnes, I know we've had some colorful exchanges while you were on town council, and I just wanted to say that I'm looking forward to starting

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year with a clean slate. And as a step in that direction, uh I'd like to congratulate you, sir. From what I understand, you recently received your Is it master's in law? I did. Yeah, I got a double master's in law. Great. Congratulations. Nice to know you're the legal eagle up here

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on our side. Um I'd like to ask about the obvious obstruction of information. This would be pertaining to a large number of audio files that was removed from the district site I guess over a year ago. I was at the committee of the whole meeting last

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year, and I asked why those files were taken down, where they are, how they can be accessed. And fair enough, you know, it was fairly early on with that change, so board president wasn't able to tell me where they were at. Uh they were archived, they were in the cloud, what have you. So, my question

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remains as to where those files are and how it is we would access them. Uh and I won't ask why it was taken down because there's really only one answer as to why. Uh wasn't a tech issue, wasn't a storage issue, because those files were massive and they were in there for over 8 years. So, the

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technology years ago would have supported it. Clearly, tech does not grow backwards. I understand you have a 45-day window, and at that point you can remove them. Those files stood up there for close to 7 years. A lot of 45-day windows passed, nothing.

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Uh if you've now created a process where you need to reach out to the school in order to get a hold of the files, who's now created clerical work where previously there was none. So, considering the fact that those meetings audio went all the way back to

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before the town referendum meeting and then included the years up until when it was removed, that is a massive amount of history. People from the community expressing concerns, asking questions, and then the board of ed action that was taken or not

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taken in accordance with that, along with a wealth of other information. All of the special meetings were in there, all the town referendum meetings were in there. So, how would I access that information now? You can OPRA request it. So, you have to OPRA request it?

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Well, you know, everybody seems to have plenty of people to ignore already. I mean, we're really going to just pile up some more? So, you have [snorts] to send an OPRA request for information that previously was easily accessed on the website for over 7 years.

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Correct? That is correct. All right, it's obstruction. That's all it is. You're trying to limit the amount of information, you're trying to control the information. It's not your information, it's public information. This is a public place, people can record, people can post what they want. If you don't like hearing

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from the public regarding your job, don't get a job in the public sector, cuz that's how it works. Good luck. Rachel Singer, 19 Man Road, Helmet, New Jersey. Um good evening, members of the Board of Education and community

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members. My name is Rachel Singer, and I'm the current PEP and FAST chair for the Middlesex Education Association. I'm here tonight to share a brief overview of these two impactful initiatives we proudly support. PEP, or the Public Education Partnership, focuses on celebrating and

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promoting the great things happening in our schools. It highlights student achievements, staff dedication, and the many positive experiences that make our district strong. FAST, which stands for Families and Schools Together Work for Children, is centered on building meaningful connections between families and

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schools. Through workshops, events, and shared experiences, FAST encourages parent involvement and strengthens the support around each student. Together, these NJEA-funded initiatives support not only academics, but also social growth and

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community building, key components of student success. Over the past 5 years, the Middlesex Education Association has proudly sponsored more than $41,000 in activities through PEP and FAST. This year alone, we've already contributed

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over $12,800 to support our students, families, and schools. Some of our most recent initiatives include the Parker PTO Back to School Picnic, where families connected, built relationships, and collaborated on setting a positive tone for the school year. The Middlesex High School events,

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such as Haunted Hallways. The Veterans Lunch, which is going to come at the end of May, and the Winter Weather Get-Together. The sponsorship of the Harlem Wizards event, ensuring that all proceeds went directly back to benefit students. Providing planners for all second and third graders at Watchung Elementary.

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Supplying planners and folders for all third graders at Hazelwood Elementary. The Woodland Intermediate Annual Day of Service. A police breakfast at Watchung Elementary, honoring our local police officers and thanking them for their continued service to our community. These are just some of the many events

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that we have held just this year alone. These efforts are about more than just funding, they are about creating opportunities for connection, engagement, and support across our entire school community. The Middlesex is proud to sponsor these wonderful activities and remains committed to

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supporting programs that bring families, students, and schools together. Thank you for your time and continued support. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Carol Pardus, 10 Spruce Drive. Um first, I would like to say that um I

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haven't checked the website for the questions that I've asked previously, but um I'm going to just reiterate them, so that if they're not up there, if you could put it up there, so when I check tomorrow um Do you mean from like before last month

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or the month before? Is that where you're referring? >> Yeah. Since last These are my questions from last month. Where are the water coolers that we're paying for? And the earned income that we received

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from renting out our facilities, where does that go? I know the water cooler answer is on that document. >> Okay. Um that's linked on the agenda, so you can find that one there. And then we'll get the answers to the other Okay. Um you said the in Where does the income from the rental go? That's what you

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asked the correct Right. From the $100 an hour, and you know, I know that the janitorial probably goes to their staff, but to pay for staff, but Um also, um is there going to be any kind of update on the co-op with the town? Cuz I

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understand that people met, but we haven't had an update. So, if maybe we could put it on the agenda for next month an update on whatever's going on. Are you referring to the Class 3 officers? Is that what Well, no. There was at the last meeting, you guys had

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talked about getting together with them. Yeah, last month for me. Yeah, I had a report again for this agenda. Oh, so I I'm sorry. We were a little bit Yeah, so if you want to If you want to speak to that, you can speak to that now. >> Right now? Yeah, what she Oh, I mean, I would like to say >> Yeah, we had a great meeting. I'd like

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to thank Dr. Brennan and um Mrs. Shuler and Danielle and Mrs. Perente, and I I really want to thank um Councilwoman Quinn. I know that Councilwoman Quinn oh I really want to thank Councilman uh woman Quinn for the dealing with my ADHD, jumping in there saying, "Let's

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get this time, this time." And well, for the adjustment to everybody getting the meeting together. We got it together. It was a nice start of of the day. Um I would say um everybody seemed to have a good conversation, and we said we're going to

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move forward to the next step. And the next step is going to be a little bit bigger of a crowd to get some move back forward, and it was just a hey, let's move forward. Let's look at the bright future. Let's watch the Blue Jays rise together. Let's start focusing on things. And I did like

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push the idea of maybe we should do a combined program raising money for the track together, seeing if we could do that in the community without raising the taxes, and we can work on it as a community. Um that was just one concept idea cuz this big hot thought ideas that

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have to happen, and that's just Jeremiah saying random things while I have the mic to say it because I know we can do it, Blue Jays. But it's um I would like to think I think that's it, right, Michelle? Or where else are we going after that? Yeah, so we put together um a committee was put together

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to on both sides from for the town and for the Board of Ed to create a shared services agreement an updated and official shared services agreement that would go to both lawyers, both attorneys, um you know, to make sure that everything

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is on the up and up, and then that way we can have an official shared services agreement because in the past it was a lot of They can cheat things, you know, like you do this for us, we'll do that for you, but don't do this. So, there's a committee that is was put together that will handle that. Okay, so they can do

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>> we're going in right direction. Everybody got together, so that's pretty positive thing, I think. Um Okay. Can you tell me if there's a tie vote, who makes the deciding

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tie vote? So, there can't be a tie There there is no such thing if there's a tie vote, a motion wouldn't carry. So, it'd be Okay. >> was 4-4, what would you do? If it was 4-4 >> it doesn't carry. All right. Whatever you want >> Let me ask another question.

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Where can I find the policy on how votes are taken on agenda items? Because you should have a policy. I I don't know if we have a policy on that or not. But you're required to Yeah. You you could look on the webpage and

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see >> I did. There's no policies on the webpage. So, what >> It says none available. The the That's I'm on the webpage right now. I have >> Well, I was on it this afternoon. It said none available. >> No, there are every single policy and bylaw and regulation is listed right on

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the website. Under what? Cuz when I went under policy, it wasn't there. It's voting specific. I'm on them right now. It's it's under Board of Ed the Board of Education tab under board policies.

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Okay, that's what I checked on. And it says coming soon. No, I got Right here it says Middlesex Borough Board of Education >> Okay, well, I'm telling you what I was looking at this afternoon. Okay, I haven't been on it today. It's in board All right. I'll come back to that.

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policies and board docs. You you might need to go into board docs. Yeah, normally you click on the webpage, it goes right to uh Strauss Esmay. Okay, I'll move on from that. I'll check it out. I'll get back to you next month. Um

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If you could tell me how much is spent to date on professional development, I know you're going to these will be questions that you get back to me on. Um and what our contract says for administrators and teachers about

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retirement benefits. I know we don't pay any of their pension, but it's my understanding that there could be a shared service between the district and the state, and it depends on what our contract states.

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I know you won't have that now, you get back to me on it. Um Also, I guess there won't be another presentation on the budget for the public to ask questions because you guys already voted on it. So, that was one of

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my questions. So, the public really didn't have a chance to know about or speak to the budget at the presentation because the entire presentation really wasn't out there. Have we got these these things

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>> The presentation that was given in I believe it's March >> March >> um was posted on the website. It was given [clears throat] here, and then it was posted on the website. And then that video was like a a summary of that presentation, and then the first public comment portion was

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listed as a budget hearing for the public to come up and give their comments and concerns. Today? Yes. Yes, today. Yes, yes. Okay, so what was the actual percentage points that the budget is going to be

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increased? 2% cap or the 7.6? >> it is It's 7.06. Right. It's Yes, it's on that um presentation from March. >> I got it. I just wanted to know if it

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was the 2% cap or the 7.06? So, it's a combination. It's the 2% plus yes. But it's 7.06. Yes. Okay. The total correct. >> Now, um you guys voted on 4-6 14 number 16,

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renew technology thing. Mhm. Okay. Maybe we'll be able to get a little bit more ahead of stuff. Um so, we're going to solicit a company in Arkansas to help us with the software. Will there

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be a committee of people that could give some input on what they would like to see on the website? Like are you going to go to you like have meetings with the parents of schools, with teachers of schools, um or just

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like retired people, senior citizens, um to find out what our input could be on trying to locate some of the information? We can discuss that. Okay, thank you.

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Good evening, everybody. 608 Clinton Ave. Had a quick question on uh capital reserve withdrawal. So, tonight the board authorized a withdrawal for the Watchung Elementary project, as far as I'm aware, on the um Is that That would be a capital

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capital withdrawal for next budget? Or it would be for the the upcoming budget, right? As the Parker one would be. And ask if you can confirm or Or would it come out >> Or do you want us to take this thing?

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The item for Watchung is actually for this year. Um and then what was the sec the part of the part >> I was I was saying like the the parts of the Parker one is coming out in next year's capital withdrawal. >> Parker is what is in also in this year's budget. That was appropriated in this

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year's budget. So, and then but it's advertised on the on the on the advertisement of budget for 26-27. What's advertised coming out of capital reserve for next year is the roof and on

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the auditorium here in this building. For this for next year's budget for 26-27, it's the roof on the auditorium at this building. So, Parker is coming out of 25-26. Exactly. >> And then Watchung is coming out of Right. And were those on I was I was on

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the Were those on uh the last year's I I looked it up. Were they on last year's uh advertisement? >> advertise, yes. Thank you. Yes, yep. Please to sign that. I want to start off by saying I feel

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like I'm in a pew because I have two kindergartners going to Hazel Avenue School next year. Very disappointing. Um That was just a comment. My second question is on the fence you discussed last night

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that you're putting at Morgan School. Could you please explain to me again exactly where that's going to go? So, it's going to enclose the property, the school property. >> Yeah, can you tell me exactly? Like when you talk about when you talk about enclosing the school

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property Yeah, that's what I wanted to know. Like are you talking about from the where the shopping center is there? Like where Dunkin' Donuts is? Like you got Dunkin' Donuts, and you have all that going to start there, and go all the way

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there, then go all the way down to the little league field? I believe it's just Maugher School, so it's not I don't believe it's Maugher >> School is close to the I have to defer I have to look into what exactly the

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the exact plans are. I haven't seen the exact plans. I just know that it's for the Maugher property. But I will find out. Uh so, my concern is the traffic. Nobody ever addresses the always the problem is the traffic at

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Maugher School. So, we what do we have? How many students do we have at Woodland Maugher? Well, Woodland Maugher, that area. How many students do they I don't know off the top of About 600? At least 600? Is that 600?

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Yeah, off the cuff, okay? [snorts] They all go to school at the same time. The traffic there is outrageous to begin with. We have no bussing in our town, so everybody drives their kids there. A lot of people, and I and I understand like that access to the shopping center

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you want to want to block that during the day, so people don't come on the property. I get that. But is there any way to put a gate there so that people, like at Hazelwood School, so they blocked off um Doan Avenue

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from the playground area, so they have that all fenced in. But they do have a gate there, so in the morning when you're walking down Doan Avenue, you can come through the fence to drop your kids off cuz everybody gets dropped off there.

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So, what my concern is is that I don't want them just to put the gate along there since a lot of people drop their kids off right there at the shopping center to eliminate the traffic on 28. I mean, people are

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backed up on 28 all the time. So, this was discussed at facilities and finance with facilities director. I can't say exactly where there will be gates, but there will be There will be gates. >> be gates cuz we brought up the fact that sometimes there are parents that drop

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off at different locations. So, I don't want to promise exactly where they're located in in the plans, but that was discussed. Okay. Okay. I was concerned about that because it's crazy over there, and I don't drop anybody off there yet, but

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it's coming. Um and then I was curious to know, I know there's three positions available for that will come up next year for renewal on the board. Oh, yeah, every year there's three There is three. Could you tell me which three

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will be coming up for next year? Mrs. Reynolds, Mr. Nickolite, and Mr. Archer. Okay. Okay. Thank you. That's it. Laura Thomassy Um I have just a few questions. Uh I did check the um

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answers that you said were on these websites, but I don't see any answer for the lunch arrears that I've been asking for several months. That was on last month. Okay. So So, I I wish that someone would have said at the a meeting to us, you can go there to look. I had

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no idea to to do that, but So, this this month was the first time we did it that we linked it to the agenda. Last month, I think you were here, right? verbally read the answers. So, going forward, we're going to link them on the agenda. So, the board, what was it called? Board corner, I think called it

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they were going to It's right. So, that's not that has not been up and running, and that's not going to be up and running. It's going to be We replaced that, and if you look, it's um where the information about the strategic plan is, that is now the board corner. But we didn't feel that putting the

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answers to the questions there was a good Yeah, it wasn't a it wasn't a good resolution because, you know, you were saying that sometimes our website needs help anyway. Um so, we were trying to figure out ways to

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better get that information. So, we just stopped putting them on the board corner. So, now going forward, we are going to link the answers on the agenda under ongoing business. Maybe that could be advertised someplace so people know that come to a meeting and maybe didn't come to hear this tonight will know that

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that's where they can go to look. Okay. And um Mr. Corines brought up about the track, and that was one of my questions. I was going to ask if there's has been any talk or plans because first, it's very unfair for the track

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athletes that they can never have a home meet. It's very dangerous. It's a big safety issue, and not only do people have are there for track, other people use that facility. So, I would hope that maybe something could a plan could be made.

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This is a great plan, but I don't know if we could come up with that to So, that's going to be part of what the shared services agreement is going to cover, so that will It's also not our property. Right, that's what I mean. So, it's part of the shared services.

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The committee will come up with ways to how we're going to figure out all of those issues that are part of on the town property, but used by the school. Right. I hope that that would be a a big priority because it's it's been quite some time since that's been a disaster there.

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Um I'm going to ask again, there are were people scheduled on the on the agenda that are resigning? Will there be exit interviews with them? I think it's very important to have an exit interview. They were Those were actually already

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conducted. They didn't have They were already Exit interviews were conducted for those individuals. For those people that are on the Yes. Thank you. Um I did go back and look at the frequently asked questions for the strategic planning,

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and it explained what's going to happen. It explained the responsibilities for the people on the steering committee, but my questions were what were their qualifications, and who decided were the people that were going to be on the committee, and I went

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and looked, and I see that there's admins, teachers, parents, MEA rep, business leaders, but there are no concerned residents that were included on there, and that's a little bit upsetting to me. There are um there are parents. There are parent um Parents,

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but I'm not a parent, and I I said I would love to be on that committee. So, I kind of feel that that was put on me. It's my understanding that we went by the company who Studer Education is running it, we went by their recommendations on who should be on the

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steering committee, and that's how why [snorts] we chose the people that we chose. Or the representatives from each group. Okay, my last thing. According to the OPRA report I requested, the number of students enrolled that have re-registered with

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the lady, and that number was 1,979. Well, the total enrollment is listed as 2,044. That means a difference of 65 students that are attending Middlesex School and are not re-registered.

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This is at a cost of $22,000 per student per year for a cost of $1.5 million to the district. I thought it was four. I was at a meeting last month. No, they stated one. I was at a meeting where they stated four or a lower number.

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And she OPRA'd it. So, I can I can also speak to I can speak to that, too. So, the number of students who that Mrs. Thomassy had just mentioned. So, we only had one particular student who did not re-register at all whatsoever. But

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that's a different story because that's a a specific situation we're working with the family. The other students that may not necessarily have that house validation in Genesis that the report comes from, we verified they do

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live in Middlesex. They just might not have uploaded like a driver's license or one water bill, but they've uploaded their deed or their mortgage statements or their uh lease or something like that. So, That's not true cuz I didn't

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upload all my information, and my child is still counted as registered. And she OPRA'd it. So, what's the point of OPRA if She OPRA'd it. That's the number. If that's not the You're not legitimate. Who's legitimate? That's the number, and that's not the number we were told previously. I'm I'm just letting you know how we verified

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the families. >> it. Okay. Watching the sausage being made. My name is John Baker. Peter Bottalico, Middlesex at the MEA president.

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Uh my first the first part of my statement is going to sound familiar. Uh all attendees are reminded that any verbal, written, or physical conduct that is demeaning or inflammatory toward any other while engaged in a school activity will not be tolerated.

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Each person is requested to take personal responsibility for conducting him or herself respectfully during all school functions. That leads me to our statement. There was a recent meeting in which it was reported to me that staff were subjected to verbal

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attacks, and that the superintendent did not stop or pause the meeting when it occurred. While I understand we may not have all sides of the situation yet, even the report of this raises serious concerns about the staff safety and how these

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situations are handled in real time. If meetings are allowed to continue while staff are being verbally targeted, it creates a situation where employees are left unprotected. This is not acceptable. And it is something I believe needs to be addressed to the board itself.

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So, clear expectations are expected for when and how administration must intervene. This is not about one incident. It's about ensuring this does not happen again to any other staff member. While we fully support parent engagement

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and communication within the district, we request a clear, consistent protocol for managing meetings when interactions become disruptive or escalate beyond respectful dialogue.

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Staff must be able to participate in meetings without being subjected to yelling or hostile exchanges. We are asking that the administration be empowered and expected to intervene in those moments

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and if necessary, pause or restructure the conversation to ensure a professional environment for all parties. Please. Thank you. Um I'm sure it was just an oversight by this Sunday, uh we're doing a whipple

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ball tournament in memory of James Matola uh to start a scholarship and uh it wasn't mentioned um about it at all or I mean it is

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um I actually can't I just am in disbelief that May 3rd is this weekend I think that's part of the reason Well, I just wanted to bring it everyone's attention that we are hosting a whipple ball tournament in honor of James Matola. Thank you.

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Can we still sign up? Hi. Can I still sign up? Yes. Still having you sign up. Don't worry. I might have to beat you on the field. Is there a age Can I bring Can we bring our kids and stuff? >> Yes. Mhm. I don't know if I'm going to

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throw my shoulder out. Uh Melissa Zamax, Princeton Drive, Middlesex. Um I'd like to start by thanking the new board members for following through on what they said they were going to do. Um it's refreshing

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uh and I wish more people would jump on board. That being said, uh what came up about the um the track, uh with all due respect to everyone sitting up here, to say that

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the track can't have home meets because the track is so bad and we're working on a committee that could get together to work on that when we held a special meeting for a baseball fence when the baseball team

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was not going to be able to have home games is a little bit ridiculous to me. And it didn't click until I just heard it here. Wow. Does that say something? Thank you. Thank you. I forgot to ask one question. What

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policy and or process do you have in place to check for lease agreements? >> [clears throat] >> Well, it's part of the re-registration process. Which is happening now on a rolling Lease agreements that could be up for renters. Now, how is that

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checked? Like their lease >> It's It's by It's expired. Expired lease agreements. So, they would either have to unenrolled in the school or they have to change their address. I mean, if their lease expires, where are they

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going to get their mail from the school? So, they'd have to change their address. But on a rolling basis is now re-registration. Okay. But is anyone It wouldn't be yearly, no, on on a on a lease, no, because a lease it's could be 1 year. They're not going to Their lease is not going to be checked every year,

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no. It'll be checked when it's time for them to re-register. But lease agreements can be up to 24 months In our Genesis system, there is an option where lease agreements you can put in the date when they expire. And then that triggers to our attendance

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officer to follow through with those lease agreements. Okay, that's exactly what I'm asking. I just want to ask a question about um the joint committee with the um the chairman of the board um

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Are you guys going to add a tab to the agenda for him to report every month on that? >> Yes. Yes. Okay. That was my my Oh, okay. Okay. That's all I just wanted to know. Thanks. >> [clears throat] >> Uh Linda Rosetti, 316 Dunbridge Road. Um It's I haven't had a chance to look but

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I didn't know until today that where the questions were being answered on the website. Um was it stated where we stand with the class three officers? Yeah, well. Um so, we met with um

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Chief Geist last night. It was an executive because it's security related so we're not going to put out any of that information out there. But it is um moving forward. He is in the process of um collecting applications and interviewing candidates. So, that's where that stands.

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Okay. Um also, going through the budget and seeing that there's uh no more funding for legal matters, um I would like to know how we're funding legal matters at this point out of the budget and if it's answered

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um under that tab, how many lawsuits the school is currently That answer was on there, yes. It's on there. Okay. I I haven't had a chance to check this. All right, that's it for me. Thank you. Thank you.

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We have now closed the public comment portion of the meeting. We do We will be going to another executive session pursuant to chapter 231 PL 1975, also known as the Open Public Meetings Act, authorizing a public body to meet in executive private session under certain limited

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circumstances. And the said law requires the board adopt a resolution at a public meeting before it can meet in such an executive or private session. The Middlesex Board of Education hereby determines that it may be necessary to meet in executive session on April 29th, 2026 to discuss matters involving

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attorney-client privilege, confidential student matter, confidential personnel matter. So moved. Second. Be we taking a second? We taking a vote? No action. Um Can you take the roll? I'm sorry, now can you take the roll? I Patrick.

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Mrs. Parenti? Yes. Mrs. Sherwood? Yes. Mrs. Banaszek? Yes. Mr. Collins? Yes. Mrs. Decker? Yes. Mr. Nikolai? Mr. Quinn? Yes. Mrs. Reynolds? Yes. Mr. Thornton? Yes. Okay. Uh I just wanted to finish that

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part before it No, we will not be taking any action after this. I wanted to just devote to that. We need to take You got to get if you need What do you guys want?