At this time, I entertain the motion to reconvene in open session. So move second. It's been properly moved and second to reconvene in open session. All those in favor say I. I. I. All those oppos same right on the extension. We are now back at open session. This time
we'll ask you all to rise to salute the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
[Music] Thank you. At this time, we'll turn over to Superintendent Lieutenant McGlo. Good evening, everyone. It's my favorite board meeting of the year where we get to honor our retirees. We have some refreshments here for you
and your family. So, after all the retirees are spoken about and recognized, we're going to take a short break and enjoy the food and talk to each other and celebrate. Okay. So, I'm going to first call up Mrs. Lisa Romano from LMS,
Mrs. [Applause] Hey, good evening everybody. Tonight, LMS celebrates 22 years of faithful, compassionate, and impeccable service from our school nurse, Miss
Denise. In every school, the role of the nurse is both unique and vital. Teachers and counselors collaborate in teams, but the school nurse is often the only medical professional in the building. an island unto herself and at the same time the
heartbeat of the entire operation. Every principal relies heavily on the nurse's judgment to ensure the health and safety of students and staff. We don't have the clinical expertise. Denise has been our trusted expert, our guide, and our anchor over the course of
22 years. Wait for this, Denise. She has cared for more than 17,000 students if you add it up. nearly 500 staff members with extraordinary attentiveness, skill, and heart. During cold and flu season, Denise sees as many as 80 to 90 students
per day. Outside of peak times, Denise regularly cares for 60 to 70 students daily. And this care is never robotic or clinical. And one at the same time, I have seen Denise hold back a student's hair as they got sick, gently coax a
nervous child back to class, and instruct a proud recess warrior on how to properly ice a scrape earned in a fierce game of four square. I've heard Denise quietly console colleagues during times of personal loss. And I've also witnessed her
command a situation with firm authority once, dismissing a colleague's protest and insisting, "Get into that ambulance now." Hours later, that same colleague called from the hospital to thank her for what turned out to be a very dangerous situation.
Denise is without question the matriarch of our school family, and I use that word with the deepest respect and admiration. This is not a title earned simply by years of service. No, Denise is our matriarch because of the loving care that she gives to every single one
of our students and every staff member every day. She takes care of us with the greatest of care and concern. One of the sweetest things I've heard said about Denise was by a new staff member this year who remarked, "Even though I haven't been here for long, I feel like I've been working alongside Denise for
years." And that's a testament to Denise's warm and welcoming nature. Very few people in the world perform their job even for just one single day, let alone every day with the love and passion Denise has given to all of us for 22 years. Denise herself said
something to me recently that speaks volumes. We're talking about a student who had required immediate medical attention. Soon thereafter, she said, "Lisa, it is all so sensitive. In less than a second, everything can change. What was a normal moment can become a
life ordeath situation. That's why I have to be honored. That's why I have to be sensitive to every detail, every complaint, every concern. This is why Denise is our matriarch. Now, I would be remiss if I didn't
acknowledge that Denise is not all business. She is a playful, joyful side that can light up any room and elevate any gathering. For sure, this is not the forum to share specific stories about that side of her, but trust me when I
say never underestimate Denise's ability to save a life or to bring life to a party. As she steps into this next chapter, Denise shared with me that while she's excited for what lies ahead, she also
feels like she's leaving home, leaving family. But here's what I know, Denise. You never leave family, especially when you are its matriarch. Denise, you're a legend, a pillar of our
community, irreplaceable in every way. We love you dearly. We will miss you more than words can express, but we will always always be your work family. And like every family, we are with you near or far, always and forever.
Congratulations [Applause] $100,000. Just let you know that was not approved. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. She's a lady. I'm going to learn how to break. Good
evening everyone, community leaders, family, friends, and colleagues of the musically magnificent Dr. Laurel. I am proud and excited to celebrate her and the amazing career she has had in mind. Her journey in music began at the
age of six when she had her first piano lesson. Her love of music continued and further developed over the years as she earned her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, all in piano performance from the New England Conservatory of Music,
the University of Southern California, and Ruckers University, respectively. Laura's career as a music educator began during her time as an adjunct music professor at Raritton Valley Community College. In 2004, she brought her passion and expertise to Orchard Hill, where she served as the general music
teacher for six magical years. And since 2010, she has been the heart and soul of music at Village School. As our general music teacher and fourth grade coral director, she has taught more than 7,000 students not just how to sing or read
music, but how to express joy, connect with others, communicate in other languages, and believe in themselves. She created highlevel engaging music experiences for every child who walked into her classroom. The impact she has had on our VES
community can be heard in every note sung, every song played, and every smile sparked by me by music. She doesn't just teach music. She also serves as the orchestra rehearsal assistant, a cooperating
teacher and mentor to music teachers in training. She has been the related arts team leader and brought vision, dedication, and heart to every conversation and decision. She has enriched our curriculum as a writer and collaborator. And she is the current force behind the VEX news.
From coordinating the festive joy of the holiday singalong in the uplifting spirit of the end of year singalong to composing Blazer the blue is proud and strong or Blazer the remix. Go Blazer, go laser.
And the ever inspiring Blazer believes in you chant that we say at the end of the day. And she conducts 50 nifty United States, which is like a Hallmark awesome piece. Go on Instagram, listen to the kids sing that song. They can name all the states super super fast.
These aren't just songs. They're traditions and memories and parts of who we are woven into the fabric of our school. Beyond the classroom, Laura has shared her immense talents as a pianist, served as an accompanist for the New Jersey Elementary Allstate Honor Choir, where
at least five of our students participated this year, and she has students participate every year. She'd worked as the musical director for music from the heart. She is also the director of music and an organist at her church, a true reflection of how deeply music and service are woven into who she is.
Laura founded and ran Dr. School of Music, teaching piano for 25 years. She has performed with orchestras and choirs and performed solo concerts in Boston, LA, France, New York, and New Jersey. And she has made two solo piano music
CDs. Quite the talent she is. In addition to all of that, she has been an incredible colleague and mentor, lifting others up, sharing her gifts generously, and bringing joy wherever she goes. While we will miss her tremendously, we
know Kate May is gaining a very special resident. And though she may be moving on, the music she created here, the traditions, the spirit, the belief she inspired in every student will echo through village school for many years to come. On behalf of the entire school family,
thank you Laura for your music, your mentorship, your leadership, and your love for this community. You've left a legacy that will continue to sing long after the final bell. We wish you all the best in your well-deserved retirement. We can't wait to celebrate you with our staff on
Monday. [Applause] I was supposed to say so I started my time here in this very room doing concerts here for I had six magicals of years here. Um and I remember Tom Barkley was my first
principal and he he uh he's the one that sponsored me because I had to do an alternate route. He took a chance on me um through Claire Solen uh is um you know the band teacher at LMS retired. She goes in my church and we were doing a children's choir
together and she called and I we found out Mr. White my husband Bob the bus driver was driving a bus and found out Mr. Whitel was retiring and and um Claire called a barb sergeant and said get her resume to the top. So got my
foot in the door and then he had he um saw something in me I guess cuz I had taught preschool and high and college but not really in between public school. And um at one point he said you know we you know your content you got to work on
the other stuff which was the classroom management procedure and all that stuff. So, I um really worked hard on that and found that I just I always I say this to this day, I never have a bad day. I can never have a bad day at school. It's
great to love what you do. And um I just I want to get back to playing piano more. So, that's why I'm here. Moving on. Thank you. [Applause] Mr. Daniel. [Music] Hi everybody.
Susan, I now have to come up with a pun for Caster or Evans. Is that what you're putting me up against here? Going last. Uh, amazing speeches, everybody. I am here to honor two um longtime Orchard Hill staff members. Uh, good evening
everyone. Good evening, board Mary. Um, I'm honored to speak tonight about two longtime Orchard Hill staff members who have given their all to the Cubs of Orchard Hill. First, we are saying goodbye to Rich Caster, a longtime
custodian here at Orchard. Rich started here at Orchard way back in 1999, serving the district's maintenance and facilities department for over 26 years, 23 of which were here at Orchard Hill.
While I've only known Rich for the last seven years of his tenure, I can tell you that it didn't take me long to find out about his number one strength, his work ethic. Something I'm guessing he learned about while serving our country for 3 years in the Army. Thank you for
your service, Rich. So, Rich never stopped working. Uh while he might not have been the most excited to hear his name come over the walkie Rich, you there, he always responded to get the job done.
Even though a building and staff of this size can keep a custodian busy, Rich has always said what he enjoyed most was being around the students. Events like Funday and our second grade clap off seemed to resonate with him. And I think
I know why. Those are culminating activities. Activities that when you work as hard as Rich worked for the students of this school, it probably gave him great joy and pride to take in some of the endofear fun. As we get
ready for those same events in 2025, Rich, we wish you all the best in your retirement. Lots of rest, good times with friends and family, and absolutely no more calls over the wall.
Thank you. Congratulations. One more. That's right. Congratulations. Congratulations. Thank you. Thanks. Okay. Second, we would like to congratulate Donna Evans on an outstanding career in the OS art
department. Donna has taught art at Orchard Hill for the last 20 years, serving in a part-time role until finally going full-time with us just a few years back. Like many of us, teaching was a second career for Donna, as prior to starting as an art teacher,
she was a human resources specialist in the postal service. Donna has thrived in the collaborative and supportive environment that makes Montgomery so special. She enjoyed bouncing instructional ideas off of her teaching colleagues, visiting with other members
of the related art staff, and maybe every so often venting about a student who was in their own way communicating that art wasn't their favorite subject. That used to be me too, Donna. Way back, the only C I ever got in middle school
was in art class. Donna needs to be celebrated for her patient and nurturing approach to instruction. 20 years of curious artrelated questions from our cubs can take its toll, but Donna always makes sure to give each question the attention
it deserves. Moving forward, Donna is thinking about continuing to give back to the community near where she lives in Monroe, possibly working with the public library system to prov to provide arts and crafts opportunities for young children in town. Donna, thank you for
consistently making sure our Cubs knew that art was what you, the artist, felt good and proud of, and it didn't need to be anything more than that. Congratulations on your retirement and all the best to you.
[Applause] Yep. Congrats. Congratulations. At this time, I entertain a motion to reconvene in executive session. So move that second. Sorry. Properly move and second to reconvene in executive session. Any questions on the motion?
All those in favor say I. I. All those opposed say right. Now back in second session. [Music] Thank you all for your patience. At this time I entertain a motion to reconvene
an open session. So move. Second. It's been properly moved and seconded to reconvene open session. Any questions on the motion? Hearing none. All those in favor say I. I. I. All those opposed say right. Extensions. We
are now back in open session. First up, superintendent report presentation. Superintendent ML. Good evening again. It's an honor to introduce the Montgomery High School Science Olympiad team. this year's New Jersey state champions and won the top 10 teams in
the entire nation. After a season of tireless preparation and collaboration, these remarkable students placed first in New Jersey and earned a 10th place finish at the National Science Olympiad Tournament. Along the way, they achieved top six national rankings in 10
challenging events, including Write It, Do It, Tower, Geom Mapping, Dynamic Planet, Codebusters, Material Science, Chem Lab, astronomy, disease detectives, and fossils. Their accomplishments reflect not only deep scientific
curiosity and academic excellence, but also a true spirit of teamwork. We are immensely proud of our students and their dedicated coaches and we're thrilled to have them here tonight to share more about their extraordinary season team. All right, don't just sit there. Let's
come up and we can get a little better view. make you feel like we have that. Get some good photos, too. So, uh, good evening. Uh, thank you, Superintendent McLaclin, and, uh, board of education for inviting us to come and, uh, present
and share a little bit of our exciting season. Uh, it is it is that it is final exam season also. So, uh, we don't have our whole squad here, although we do have quite a few. Uh, so I'm grateful for all of them taking their time. Uh as
uh was mentioned, we had a great season. We uh competed uh starting in uh November. So this this group that you see before you um many of them who are coming back next year are probably already planning for the year to come.
So this is uh basically a 365 day a year uh commitment that they put into it and so many countless hours. Uh they are very dedicated. uh they're super talented, but they also work really really hard. So that combination of uh
talent and hard work is hard to beat and uh these kids have that. Uh so a couple of the highlights, we did go up to Cornell. Um when I say we have a little larger team than this this year, we were fortunate to get three teams. Uh so a team would consist of roughly uh 15
individuals. Uh you can never have more than seven seniors on a team. So, it's a pretty wide distribution. Uh, also at Cornell, they allow a couple um alternate events. So, we had 17 people on each of the teams. So, we took a bus
of 51 uh really new to each other in many ways, uh, students up to Cornell. Uh, spent the night and it's a great time for us to kind of get to figure out who we are as a team and get to do some bonding. Uh we basically occupied about four or five Apache grills that night
and had a lot of fun doing that. So they work really hard and get ready for that season. We had one virtual event that we did in December. Uh and then a couple internal they run their own competitions just to see who's going to make what we would consider our A, B, and C teams as
we go to these competitions. Although when we go to them often they they don't do them as JB varsity kind of thing. we just evenly distribute um as we go through that. Um those three teams at Cornell all finished I believe in the top seven if I remember right. So we had
three squads and uh a tournament finishing top seven. Uh after the first of the year we get into our huge competition season. We went to regionals down at Camden. Uh and then really start the intensity where we went to uh MIT in
January. the very next week, I think it was that we were at Princeton University and almost feels like the week after that, but I think there was a break one week, uh we were at um uh UPEN and had just tremendous success all the way through. Uh really building up to what
we wanted to do and that was win the state title and we were able to defend that. Uh you have a few of these individuals now that are seniors and if you could just kind of step forward so I make sure I catch all of the seniors. So, we have some some of our captains uh
here and then other seniors who have been on the team for uh the better part of their high school careers. When they were ninth graders, they were smaller. Um and uh they were uh learning things, learning how to build that. I had great moments of just teaching them to use a
hammer. Uh and it was kind of fun. Uh but as they have matured through this, they won the state title in 2022, 2024, and 2025. So three out of the best. To say that we will miss our seniors is
an understatement. It's always true. Uh they are the most experienced, the most talented. They know what's going on. Uh but they leave a legacy. Uh so they they have mentored the others. Uh they have made friends with them. Uh they have put up with them sometimes uh long bus
rides, but uh we're ready to go for the next year uh when they walk out the door. We we will definitely miss them. They will get emails from me to uh help out with regional competitions and uh other event writings as we uh we draw on our alumni and stay into that. It's one
of the big biggest senses of pride I think for the coaches. Uh Mr. English and I are uh the coaches this year is to go to our tournaments at some of these universities and our students come and they're like, "Yeah, I'm running this event. I'm running that event." And uh
it's it's quite amazing to see them and get to sit down and chat with them over dinner or uh just casually to find out how they're doing. Uh so this year we had three of our students who are in PhD programs at MIT just stop by on a Friday night to our hotel room to see how the
team was doing. uh they graduated many years ago and they still love this. So I hope for you all Andrew uh graduating senior, Ren also graduating senior, David and Anish, David and Anish are both senior captains. Uh all all four of
them graduating seniors. I hope to see you and uh that you will come back and uh I hope this was an important part of your life that uh you go through there. Ending kind of on some highlights. Uh we did get to travel to Lincoln, Nebraska. Uh if you ever go there, might suggest
you you fly. Uh but uh we we took a bus because our team is big and uh getting to Lincoln, Nebraska was 39 students and coaches uh is a little bit expensive. It's not the easiest airport to get to and we wanted to take all of our team
that could go and so many of these students were there. Uh that is a two-day bus ride. uh slip over in Chicago, but it was literally 24 hours on the bus there and back. Uh and time again when they're giving up their time late in the year uh
right after uh AP exams and kind of the exhaustion of what that is. Uh Mr. English and the same is is going and we were we left on a Wednesday and we got back the late Monday night of Memorial weekend. So they basically gave up their whole weekend to do this. Uh we had a
blast out there. a good time to be together as a team. I found some things out about them uh particularly on the way home. Uh so uh we'll we'll save that. But our competition was extraordinary. Uh we did wonderfully. We
had many places and uh it's interesting as we've come to come with this team and you're now in our third state championship with this group. Um and and Superintendent Mccclaclin said that they were it they would finish 10th place
this year. Um I will I will tell you just kind of candidly they were a little bit disappointed at 10th place. And I think they would tell you that um we had high aspirations and then you take a step back and you say wait a second we're in a position right now with this
team and where these students have created this program where 10th place in this in the nation is disappointing. Uh so I I think we're in a good place. Uh and some days you know we had great things happen and then like everything else when there's 23 events we had some
things not go our way. Um and uh that happens all the time and uh but we we take that learning from it and that experience and the memories that we made. Um every year we come back and we try to do something fun afterwards. So outside of Chicago, we we sort of
overtook a small mom and pop go-kart land. Um, and uh, we went there on the Sunday of Memorial Weekend and I think there were uh, there were 40 of us and there I think there were like six other
people there maybe. And so we made this guy's weekend. We said, "Well, before you came all my money was going to pay the staff, so this is actually good." So they had a blessed. Um, but they had this package and I'll I'll just kind of date myself with the age part of this and that I I was looking at. They had a
go-kart package, you know, mini golf. And uh and I'm thinking, "Oh, go-kart, mini golf. They like to do that." Bumper boats, that's fun, you know. And then they had this water works thing. And I'm like, "Oh, that doesn't sound kind of cloudy. It's a little bit chilly. You know, I probably won't want to do that."
So, um I called them and told them what we wanted. And and then David comes up to me and says, "Okay, this is what we want. We want this package. You want the waterworks?" And I'm like, "Oh, really?" Like, "It's got kind of cold. I didn't think we weren't going to have swimming suits." said, "No, we want the waterworks." And uh this was like a
balloon launcher and they sat and just shot balloons at each other for a while. And uh and it was a lot of fun. Uh I did not get in there. I caught a little couple strays, but um otherwise it was it was a lot of fun just to see them. I also learned that they're really really
really bad at mini golf. I mean epically bad at mini golf. Um so we are we're really good at a lot of things. to mini golf. Not one of them. And uh so we have some work to do if we're going to go back and kind of do that publicly again. Uh we're going to work on the mini golf
a little bit. Um but few thank yous as we get going. And then we have a few things to show you. Uh so you can chat to students up in a little break. Uh first off, just thanking the district and uh supportive administrators uh that we have. Uh they say yes more than they
say no. Probably say yes more than they should, but uh I I love that. uh we have so many opportunities to take these students to places and give them experiences and they truly make the best of them. So uh when you are investing those things in in this kind of a group
it's it's a lot of fun to go to it uh we give up a lot of our time uh but it's it's a lot of fun. You just find things you like to do and you do lots of them. Um I get to do that and I wish that for all of you as well. Um, thank you. Big thanks to uh co- coach David English.
Um, David is tireless in terms of uh being there. Uh, and uh it was just the two of us this year with sometimes 50 plus kids and uh it's a lot, but uh we're we're grateful we get to work with great kids. Our biggest accomplishment
uh one thing we didn't have to ask you for was a lot of money. Um that's because these kids organized a a junior cougar championship this year. We had roughly 200 students from uh not this building mostly but from VES and lower
middle school who attended this. Um I think they had a great time. There was just a lot of energy. We ran four Saturdays where we did workshops for these students to get ready for a competition and we had a kind of a elementary middle or middle school kind of competition. Great fun that day. We
learned a lot about organizing and getting that through, but it also was uh the community coming out and supporting us and essentially paid for a better part of the trip. So, we went all the way to Lincoln, Nebraska this year and it cost the students less than it did to
go to Michigan State last year. Um, so that was that was an accomplishment. You worked hard for that. Uh congratulations and uh just start planning because uh next year we have aspirations not just 10 but we want to we want to get there again. We want to win the state. Uh we
want to repeat do all of those things to to get ready. Uh we also have the opportunity perhaps next year if we do do all those things uh next year it's in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California. So I think there's some incentive to kind of uh lock in
early and uh get going on this. So, uh we are uh starting probably next week already with all of this. Uh thank you to uh my boss at uh at the high school, Heather Pino. Uh again, uh always going
there for advice and uh she is she is one uh who gives me that wisdom uh in what we should do and how we should handle things, but also is very supportive of our program. So, uh, very much appreciate that. Along with the staff at Montgomery High School, um, I
have the distinct pleasure of leading a group of science educators that, you know, will put up against anyone, uh, as educators and as people. Um, so they, uh, they come out for us. Uh, there were four or five of them that attended um,
state championship this year to help run events. Uh, so when asked, they come out and they're just they're they're good people. and uh I greatly appreciate all of them. Um so with that uh being said, I think we will kind of turn this off
and let you show off some things. So uh you will see one thing Ren has been, you know, getting a little arm workout with our electric vehicle. Um and you can ask some questions about these things. We brought in a couple of our devices that are the showand tell stuff. uh in 23
events there are about five of them that you can watch that we call spectator events and others that are you know combination of engineering and building events and testing events that you can't see. So a lot of things get uncovered at the at the awards. So we're going to show you off uh the air trajectory
that's over there. Uh all homemade 3D printed right inhouse. So all of these things and this is iterative design. This is probably air trajectory number four or so. Um and hours of testing. Uh we have our electric vehicle again that you're going to see that is again used
our 3D printers to get most of that and then Anish is going to wind up the helicopter. Uh because when we both walked in here, this is an amazing ceiling for the helicopter. Um so we'll get to see the the helicopter fly. So uh thank you again all the students coming
out and uh let's get ready to go Monty. Uh we've got some work to do. Thank you. All right. So, yeah, since everyone looking. Um, this is the air trajectory. The goal is simple. Unfortunately, we don't have the full target set up here, but essentially consists of a near
target that's elevated up to 2 meters off the ground, so higher than head height. Um, a far target, and then a bucket shot. So, of course, the bucket shot. Everyone likes to see it. It's the biggest barn. So, hopefully it's going to go in. Unfortunately, we uh forgot our laser alignment device. So, um
please don't blame me if this misses. Yeah. Yeah. And just to add on to that, they do not know any of the heights or the distances for those targets until you drop your machine off that day. And and you have to be ready for all of the parameters. So, it's not like we could
just sit and practice at a target like we did before we came in today. um to hopefully get this bucket shot. All right, let's see what happens. You guys give me a 3 2 1 and then Yeah, we'll hit it. 3 2 1.
[Music] So, we'll give him a little pause to do the second one. Again, the first shot usually is at an elevated target about 2 m up in the air. You're trying to get as close to that target as you can. If you get within 40 cm, 50 centimeters I think
it is, you get a shot at the bonus which is the bucket. So this is not a guaranteed every time. And then there's another target that is out farther off the center uh about 8 or 9 m sometimes. And that target again if you get there
you get a bonus shot at the bucket. This is very eyeball. Mr. How many chances do you get? Pardon me. How many chances do you get? Uh, you get one shot at the target. Uh, well, you essentially get four shots total.
So, if you get within 50 cm, then you can take your second shot at the bonus bucket on either one of the targets. So, you can basically get four shots. Usually there we have like a measuring device or something. 2 is All right. So, hopefully this one
goes in. If it doesn't, that's that's not good. But three, two, one. It does not have to stay in. So then, uh, you want to get your, uh, helicopter ready to go. Okay. So, we're going to wind up the helicopter. So the
helicopter alternates year to year with uh something usually a balsa wood plane. These uh helicopters go through quite a bit. Um so they are very delicate in terms of what they're uh made out of balsa wood and some very light myar. The
goal is to basically wind this thing up and get it to stay in the air as long as possible. Uh for the helicopter, your goal is to get it to basically go up to the ceiling and sit there and spin for as long as you can. Um so they have to test the different type of rubber bands
that they're using. There's all kinds of parameters that they have. Uh these helicopters probably weigh what is it? I think it's under 4 g. What is
the mass of helicopter? Yes. is very rust. So imagine like a male uh in about This is also National when I was packing up the car tonight. I did forget to bring over our bridge. I will note that our bridge took I think
third place in the nation. So we have a bridge that or a tower I'm sorry uh that held over 15 kg and weighs just about 5 g which Uh, if you guys want to give a countdown, I I'll release it when you
3 two one. [Music] So, at the national competition, we got a time of around 2 minutes and 46 seconds, and that got us third place. I believe the winning team got um like a little over 3 minutes. Um, this is not
going to get that high because this is just a test we didn't find that hard. But yeah, that's just an idea of how long it needs to stay here. So on top of just watching this, each one of these devices is probably in the neighborhoods of time and actual cost
somewhere around $60 and probably at least 60 hours of flying and building time. So uh they invest in them. We have four or five of these. When we go to competitions, we need to
be able to bring three of these devices. So, the students are always building and always doing this and unfortunately always breaking too because Okay. Okay. So, if you want to walk over and get a little closer look. I think those are two big demos tonight. We tried to keep it shorter and sweeter,
but you can see what that device looks like. Hello. Thank you. Yeah, it's pretty thin. You have to be pretty careful. The more you weren't the longer. Yeah. Although there is like after a
certain point that's not really the case. So you have to experiment with like just a lot of testing. We keep a log just to see like how many lines at what time. Um because if you wind too much, number one, the rubber can snap.
Number two, like somehow master. Yeah, we actually we have it all calibrated at all different takes you so far. That's basically changing that airs in a room or not as
you don't Uh yes, during the competition you have to like program uh the vehicle to go that specific finals. Okay, we'll now move on to committee representative reports. First up, MTA report.
Stand by one second, Mr. Zola. Sorry, I jumped the gun. Sorry. I wanted to highlight a few before we close out the year a few of the accomplishments throughout the building. Um, I'll just I'll go all over the place. So, we'll start with LMS. Fifth and sixth graders in the KK, which is the Kids Equal
Kindness Group, donated $786 to Madison Elementary School in Pasadena, California, a school directly impacted by the wildfires this past year. Um, the Kids Equal Kindness is a group that raises funds by selling bracelets during
lunch in the cafeteria, demonstrating a powerful act of compassion and support. Over 30 character recognition awards were distributed to students at LMS this year for going above and beyond in random acts of kindness towards their peers at school. Unified PE was created
and implemented to strengthen peer-to-peer relationships and to ensure inclusivity. In addition to being named a national blue ribbon school of excellence, it was also honored to be named it also was given the honor to be named the top
performing school in Somerset County. This rating was a result of having the highest summitive score which is a combination of standardized test scores, student academic growth, and attendance. This is a direct result of our staff, exceptional students, and support of the community as a whole.
Montgomery High School students continue to rank among the highest in New Jersey and National League with standout SHA in AP performance, 15 national merit finalists and significant growth in AP participation. Achievements spann from math league science olympiad national
language contest and prestigious awards like seal of bi literacy. Students excelled in modern mo model UN speech and debate robotics FA academic league and performing arts. Honors include top national and state placements, prestigious nominations, and recognition
for inspiring leadership and excellence across all disciplines. MHS teams won multiple conference championships and state level honors across sports, while individual coaches and athletes were celebrated for their outstanding contributions. The school was named a unified champion school and
recognized nationally for music education excellence. Here at Orchard Hill, STEM and inventive play are alive and well. All throughout the school year, our cults at the various grade levels engage in opportunities to explore, build, fail,
and problem solve. Not only did this t take place in the classroom during instruction, but during days of play, and outdoor Cubs cave as well. Students in first and second grade were exposed to the new phonics program this year, which had a direct impact, positive impact on our young readers and the
ability to dissect words and decode text independently. Across grade levels, students in math continue to be more comfortable applying taught skills and strategies to activities and games provided outside of the structure of the lesson. This is foundational piece of our math curriculum and our cubs are showing
evidence of it on a daily basis. Almost done. Sorry, Mike. This year marked a successful implementation of Blazers beliefs at Village. As our first year introducing the schoolwide initiative, students and staff embraced its core values, helping to build a stronger, more respectful and inclusive
school community. We're proud of positive impact it's already had and look forward to continuing to grow this important work in the years ahead. Third graders recently took stage for their first evening core choir concert, proudly showcasing their musical talents
and beautiful artwork they've created throughout the year. Meanwhile, the fourth graders had an exciting opportunity to perform in band, orchestra, and choir concerts held at Montgomery Performing Arts Center, giving them the first glimpse of the big stage. We are thrilled to share that
five of our talent vocalists represent a village in the prestigious 2025 New Jersey Elementary and Junior All State Choirs. Fourth graders participated in the 2025 Somerset County Constitutional Officers Poster Contest, showcasing their creativity and understanding of civic
responsibility. We're proud to announce they had first place winner and a third place winner along with several students who received honorable mentions. And last but not least, starting with the 2526 school year, all schools must use universal screeners to gauge
students achievement of key literacy skills in alignment with the New Jersey learning standards. English language arts, specifically in grades K to 3. The focus funding for optimal comprehensive universal screener grant was made available to school districts to offset both the cost of the screener and the
necessary professional development for the teachers. We're happy to say Montgomery Township received $10,70 for the script. Everyone in full night next year. That concludes the superintendent. And now
resident Michael. Well, I'm glad Mary went about to complain about my spot again cuz I'm always after all the cool stuff. Like it's always like robots, helicopters, national and awards then me. So I welcome Mary jumping in there for a little bit because it's tough. is a tough show to follow. It really is.
All right. So, as the year wind down, some do so do some of our programs. Our last readaloud is happening right now tonight. Stephanie Lockour is our guest reader there. So, we've had great attendance for all of our readalouds with a lot of our younger students from Orchard and Village. They've been really fun to partake in just the discussions
and hearing what pizza kids like and all the crazy stuff that they add to it. Um, all that work happens as part of our PEP and Fast program. So, you shout out to Stacy Anderson. She's the chair of that program. So she writes all the grants. She does all the paperwork, all the organizing. Very difficult because those
things are always changing with regulations. So she writes almost like 30 different grants a year. So it's a lot a lot of extra work for her. So big shout out. So even though the year is ending, her work hasn't. We'll have Montgomery Summer Pride. That'll be a whole bunch of books that are going out for students that are in need. So we
will continue to support our community and the students throughout the summer to make sure they receive books. In the summer, we will be sending five MTA members to the National Education Association Representative Assembly that is in Portland, Oregon this year. Those members will represent Montgomery, Somerset County, and the state of New
Jersey as we discuss different topics that all schools around the nation face and different members. So, we'll be there as representatives from here. So, thank you very much and have a great summer. [Applause] Thank you, Mr. We have the board member
delegate representative reports tonight. I just have an update. Uh the Somerset County School Board Association new leadership met and started planning. We do have our next meeting. I know it's coming up October 9th. It is a while,
but the good news is we're really trying to change uh the format. It will be um at the Votech school, but we're looking to have more panel discussions when we will be bringing superintendent and other folks uh for conversation around
AI, around academic integrity, around superintendent um led conversations, what's important to superintendents across Somerset County. So, we're looking to stick with Somerset County, but uh if this uh becomes popular, then we'll be looking
to explore elsewhere outside of the county. So, Thursday, October 9th is the next meeting. So, if you are free, feel free to join. Great meal, too. Thank you. I just wanted to share the uh municipal
alliance held its last meeting for the fiscal year on June 9th and two things that I wanted to lift up. One um I want to commend the partnership between the municipal alliance and the school district led by Mr. Cory Delcado, Miss
Christine Gman and Miss Stephanie Lakenau as the advisor for Bond Diab. The work and partnership they've been doing over the past year has really been great. It's been fruitful, especially the lunch and learn at the high school. Um they've had a lot of students
participate like session one they had 38 students, session two 39 students and session three uh 20 students and it was a variety of speakers from um vocational professionals um you know doctors they had um across
the board and there's a lot of interest. So hoping that they could do it again this coming spring and maybe a little bit more um organized in a way where we can invite more speakers and have more students attend um because it's very clear that students wanted to hear from
these professionals. Um, the other thing that was brought up at the meeting, which I think is of concern, um, the Princeton Elks Food Pantry, which is a private nonprofit food pantry led by Ellen Robbins, will be closing September
1st. And she had shared that um, and I commend her for really supporting the families of the community and the students of the community. and she shared that we have about 420 students who go to the food pantry um you know to take advantage of what they had to offer
and with the closing of the um Princeton Elks food pantry she's partnering with the township to create a similar um offering that the township can do similar to what the Princeton Elks has been doing over the past couple years but I'm sure they're
going to need volunteers to help them um partnership with the school district I'm just concerned about how our students will be affected by this. If there are 420 students at the moment and with what's going on, you know, in the
country right now, there might be more students eventually that will need to take advantage of what the food pantry has to offer. So, um, just for us to think about for food insecurity in this town and how we can help our students.
That's it. Thank you. Any other delegated representative reports? Uh the NCPAG and or CPAG and MEPTA both met since the last um board meeting. One was just right after and the other was uh the
beginning of June. Um both wrapping up uh the MSETA's last event um or upcoming event is uh being postponed. It was going to be an ice cream social at the um and uh it's going to be July 7th
instead of ne this week or next week. So July 7th will be that for the MEPTA. Um and I I know that uh Tiger's Tale has given a lot of um uh there's been you know writeups about them and what
they've done for MSETA this year. It's been really great. The community has come together a lot around our special education parent group. Um, one thing um, of note, I think that both CPAC and MSEPta were both questioning and and talking about the last two meetings. Um,
and the CPAC meeting was, um, not very well attended, unfortunately. Um, I was the only parent there and um, it was an uh, in person and I think that we should probably be doing more to get more parents uh, to going to those meetings.
Um there was about 10 at the MEPTA meeting. So perhaps um queuing those in again together would be great. Both groups were both talking about the blue envelope program, which is a program that um you have a blue envelope either of a parent of an autistic child or an
autistic driver themselves, which would alert uh police that maybe that uh driver or a passenger who might be having um some difficulty communicating or um calming down in a stressful
situation. um what that person is going through and how um the officer can handle it with with care. Um I know that uh CPAG members and SEPTA members wants to know uh about how many blue envelopes
were handed out at the last um initiative. So again, these are all community partnerships that are working together to to keep our our students and our community members safe and wellfed
and all of the things. So keep keep um supporting them. May I have a question for is this a parent lead organized group or school lead group? So the CPAG is a special education parent action
group which is required by every school district to have uh in place. They have to have parents um as a part of that group. So there it's not parentally. It's kind of currently a school league now, right? Um no, there's three the
three board members are parents. Yeah, it's three parents. One at the lower elementary, one at the middle grades, and one who has high school songs. So it's spread and the their children have varying needs. Um and so
those people are the board of CPAG and one of those coordinators was also on the MSEPA call. So there should be some overlap that happens with those parents. It would be wonderful to have more and so that we could you know frequently all be talking together and um you know
working in the same it before had a lot of parents involved engaged. Well, MSEPTA is like a PTA group and CPAG is um the required by the state. We're the only ones by the way with an
inceptor really like not a lot of districts I don't know of any that have a parent PTA group that do as much as you know the dance floor giving out scholarships for our special education students. I mean they
really do so much. So, and and even um they do some of the work that that you know CPAD can partner on as well, which is like educating parents about the IEP process and different things and they they will partner with other community groups to to bring those types of things
virtually versus in person. So, thank you. You're welcome. Any other committee representative reports? I do. Um just on that note, um I was at the PTA meeting and PTO meeting. Unfortunately, this month I had to miss the PTSA meeting, but um the
common theme is everyone's ending the year tying up um you know, fundraisers and things like that. It's been a wonderful successful year. Uh some of the key takeaways uh they're looking for volunteers, parents encouraging parents
to come to the schools and volunteer. So please um come the fall please sign up for uh memberships for all the schools because we are really really looking for families to join. And one big takeaway for the PTA meeting that um the
conversation that occurred was full day kindergarten what is su excuse me a success that's been and just academically and socially the benefits that the teachers were seeing in the students. So that was really wonderful to hear that and um we're anxious and excited to see that data continue to um
increase and get more information as next year I think will be the first next year I think it'll be every year every grade kinder through second we'll have full day kindergarten so that'll be really exciting to see that progress uh continue so thank you questions
I have a question for when you said 400 plus students 420 students according Are are they students of Montgomery School District? They they're availing of the free reduced lunch. And I looked
it up to um because of the federal poverty um what do you call this? Annual income has increased. So for the state of New Jersey, if you make if you're a family of four and you make about 70,000, you're considered, you
know, to below the poverty line. So you're applying for uh free and reduced lunch and that's increased like I think that's double from when I started in Montgome as a board member here. Um so you I mean we expect that number will
continue to grow. So Mary I have a question for you. So does a school district other than just doing the free and reduced lunch during the school time do we extend our help uh in the community later in you know for the families who are in need? Do we do
anything? No. No. Do we have any grants? We get to give them free backpacks and school supplies or anything like that. So, we we have title one funds that we utilize to support the students before and after school in their academics.
Oh, sorry. We have title one funds that support students. [Music] Do we let our students know there are other community like church offer pantry and something like okay so we do provide
information yes thank you the reason why I'm saying is in school district where I work there are sorry your microphone the the school district where I work for there are a homeless
uh or displaced liaison. Oh yeah, we have one too. But not all students that um maybe have food insecurity or homeless like they're separate categories. Separate categories. And then
I think that that's why I brought it up. Um that number to me is pretty concerning. It's a large number especially like I said since from when I started here a couple years ago 420 is a lot of students. Yeah. Um and just to
think about what's that what that will mean once the food pantry closes and there's no alternative. I don't know when the township can have something um comparable that will be up and running by the time the elves close.
Supporting our community, our students is important. what what can we do? I think at the loan retreat, is it true? Correct me if I'm wrong. Orchard does cups helping cubs, which is just a small step towards helping, you know, I know the holidays they had donations for
gifts and things like that. So, that's maybe something we kind of continue to look for like that. So, so I do know that Ellen is partnering with the township to try and see if they can have um the same offerings that uh that the Elks used to
provide. I think the Elks also provided fresh food which the township I believe does not and trying to figure out how that can happen after September 1st. Yeah, it's true though. What?
Um, I think Ellen was the only one that ran it. Um, and you can't go into the pantry. Ellen wasn't there. And she does, I'm sure, does other things. So, any other questions? Any other board uh representative
reports? Now, we'll go on to board committee reports. Assessment Curriculum and Instruction Committee. Board member Dallas goodness. I think I'm the only one on this panel that doesn't really need a microphone, but I will use a microphone. Good
evening, everyone. Can you hear me or did I break it? You broke it. You broke Can you hear me? I apologize. You do your own strength. Okay. [Music] Okay. To keep us on task uh we met on
June. Thank you. Thank you. We met on June 6th uh virtually and in person. Uh first we spoke about the um extended school year. Uh an update. This occurs uh during the month of July at
OES. It does service the entire district uh in order to make sure that there are no gaps in learning uh and this services students through the age of 21. Um and this is a mandated program through the uh special education code. Secondly, we
had an update from counseling um where we talked about the scholarship night. 94 awards were distributed to students totaling $75,000 in awards. So, it was a very successful and celebratory evening. Um, we also talked about the multi-tered
system of support MTSS uh which is a framework to proactively and reactively support all students all students at various levels. Um, it basic the district is working on streamlining the process with instructional
interventions. They have made great strides to integrate structures and pro programs that include the INRS process, the RTI process, UDL, morning meeting, academic support, restorative practices, and others to support all types of
learners, not just those that are struggling. While there is still some work to be done on this basis, um sorry, while there's still work to be done, um they have refined processes with better goal setting, progress monitoring, and strengthening the
composition of the teams. Instructionally, they have adopted better aligned tier 2 and tier three interventions and the implementation of the UDL strategies has helped the classroom teachers to become better educators in the tier one strategy
category. Questions from the T from the ACI committee included um if there were efforts made to invite students for goal setting meetings with counselors and that is an area that they are also trying to strengthen um and that
students uh who are excelling uh and and doing well are continuing to be challenged through the Voyagers and expeditions resources through the tier one. Then we talked about um a summer reading book that will that was proposed. Um the
literary text recommendation is named an artist of the following float. Um and that would be for the high school AP literature and composition class. Um this would be a replacement book replacing 100 years of solitude. Um this
is a historical fiction book. Um all AP books cover critical reading and a literary critique. Uh and this uh would be aligned would be better aligned to the beginning of the school year. Technology summer projects include um
supporting the soore and um the extended school year program. Uh they also are transitioning to a new website company. Um this is really exciting news because the website will be better formatted um for it to be more mobile friendly and
more visually appealing. um at OES and VES um they will be replacing all classroom computers uh which the other three schools have already been upgraded. Um there is a 7 to 10year-old
um sorry these computers are 7 to 10 years old and they no longer support Windows 11. Um two computer labs also need to be refreshed uh and they will have business programs with um more middleof the road processors. um which is a step up from
what we have currently. Uh then we talked about the New Jersey graduation profic profici excuse me prof proficiency assessment um which is an individual student report um and that will be made available through the
Genesis parent portal on July 17th which is sorry June 17th which I believe is today and they've already gone out and they've already gone out. Thank you. Uh this assessment um is taken by 11th grade students only and is a
statemandated graduation requirement. Parents and families of 11th graders uh will be notified via email as soon as the scores are available. So hopefully everybody has been notified. Um and summary results will be presented at the July board of education meeting. And
then lastly we talked about um enrollment. The committee was provided with student enrollment numbers for in district students from the previous five years of eighth grade classes. The student cohort consisted of the following classes. Class of 2024, 2025,
2026, 2027, and 2028. For the classes of 2025 through 2028, enrollment numbers were supplied for each cohort's last day of their eighth grade year, midocctober of their 9th grade year, and June 4th, 2025. The class of 2024's enrollment
numbers were supplied from the last day of their eighth grade year, mid October of their 9th grade year, and the last day of the 2023 24 school year. And that was it. Any questions or comments? I do, please. Um, can you go
into what the enrollment data that was presented encompassed and what if there was any trends that were noted and why why we were going through the enrollment data? [Music] I know I'm not going to touch it
anymore. um disl why why it was presented. Yes, it was on the agenda. I honestly don't know why it was presented, but I will certainly Did you bring it up as a question? Yeah, it was a question mentioned, I think. No,
but it was No, it was it was presented. It was It was asked as a question. Yes, it was enrollment and retention question. So, the enrollment question got answered. What were the answers?
You summarized them. Was there a decline from 8th grade to 9th grade and 9th grade to June of 2025 in the years 2024, 2025, 26, 27, and 28th grade? Just looking at the
enrollment, you cannot fully answer your questions because you do have to take a look at the retention and that part of the question was not addressed. But was there a decline in the enrollment? Not not a substantial decline. No, that that was answered.
Is there going to be any additional followup on this or not at this time? Um I think the administrator did say uh for student who will disenroll the school district will code it into three categories but that's it. So I did not
hear will there be follow up on the retention but I think that's a uh important question school board we should um ask and hear. Is there a concern from the administration about retention of students from 8th to 9th
9th to 12th? Thank you. So I don't is if there's not a concern I don't know why we further looking into I don't think it's a concern. I think it's just a knowledge, right? Are we retaining our students or students going elsewhere? What are we doing? You know, is it our curriculum?
So it's just part of the endto-end story process. That's I think that's why the questions. I think it's a healthy practice to basically have a routine report on how we doing as a district. I know like two years ago, two or three years ago, there was a really
comprehensive report that a superintendent presented at the at the board meeting which I found very valuable before even becoming a board member. And that report showed us by grade how many students were enrolled,
how many students left the district, how many new students came in. It was quite informative and it's just data that I think we all as board members should have and it's a good practice because it provides opportunity for good reflection what we're doing right what we need to
focus on. I think what's difficult about that and this was um answered um to some extent at the ACI meeting is that there are very you know how do you how do you document you know the one thing is numbers of of students coming and going
but there there's a variety of reasons why students are coming and going and why families are coming and going and I think it's very difficult to sort of pinpoint oh if there's a decline you know of 20 families that doesn't necessarily correlate to the strength or the weakness of our program. Well, I
think before we jump to that analysis, I think just seeing numbers how they trend is a good start because if there is really no unusual fluctuation, then you're right. It's like there is really no point of digging in and trying to,
you know, track the families and ask them why they're leaving. But if if you do if we do see a trend, then maybe it's worthwhile to find out like what exactly can we do better to retain them, you know? I I think the numbers are the numbers. I think what's difficult is that we we don't ask those questions,
right? Like we don't have exit surveys. We don't have you know that idea of why is it that families are coming and or why are they going? No, I think from the school uh administration administrator what they shared is um this why they disenrolled school district. They have
to report that to the state. So that explain the reason why they left school like they decide to homeschooling they decide to enroll in neighborhoods school district they decide to move out of the state there are three reasons there are three uh category the different codes
there's three categories and then they have to submit yes student board of governance would ask about enrollment and retention questions because those are important data for us to provide to the community how we it's about transpar privacy it's about accountability right
why we don't ask about this question this are data shared with B uh and JD doe and why we can't share with the community so I guess I I guess here's my my I don't see the red flag is what I'm
saying I guess because if our enrollment data hasn't changed drastically and our student um you know the the number of students in the school system hasn't changed drastically. I don't know how you define
drastically because what the data I see is one year big one year small one year yeah there's bubble years there's that always happens if you you know over over time but a drastic change would mean does it hurt to share that data with community well no but it's there like
okay I'm just saying I don't see red flags to be asking to go and do these like you know deep dive digs to say this is the the big thing that's going to so it would just ask help our ACI I committee to to move the needle forward.
I that's not board member fel. What were you saying a couple of years ago that that what was presented? Yes. So I'm not sure if uh it copy it was very before but again I'm just I'm just asking
because I don't I didn't realize that there was a huge concern. So it's a report that's been shown in the past. So I'm assuming there's some data there that we can track over time that we're able to to generate yet again. It's just for the enrollment piece for the retention piece. We did
not get that information and we know that retention made four students equal to one on average one teacher salary. We really want to keep multi fabulous excellent teacher here. We
should also think about how to retain the students. This is all cross nationally. All the board of governance would ask from K12 public to higher ed education we all ask this basic enrollment and retention questions. We
get it on our enrollment report every year. Yep. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions? Thank you board member DIY. Moving on to operations facilities and finance committee. Board member.
So the operations, finance and facilities committee uh met on Tuesday, June 10th. Uh Mr. Italiano provided a brief update on the status of the border RFP and he reported that the advertisement was published in the
career news on June 13 and it will run for 21 business days with the submission deadline July 24th. He emphasized the importance of adhering to this timeline. The advertisement will also be posted on the district website that we received of
the proof of publication which actually happened today. Thank you. Um Mr. Italana also reached reached out to the building principles to collect input from their advisory committee meeting regarding food service. He also plans to
visit a different school cafeteria each week to gather firsthand feedback, ensuring stronger accountability from material school food services. This is in response to the feedback that we received that more oversight is needed.
Um we also received an update on the progress in submission of the extraordinary aid application. The district submitted uh its excite application this month and Mr. Taliano worked very closely with director of
special um education to ensure all eligible expenses were captured. The final award amount will be shared with the board around August. So hopefully we will have the results to present it to the community at the August uh board meeting.
Um, uh, Superintendent McLaclin noted that the current shed services agreement with the township expires on June 30th. Uh, the proposed new agreement includes revised usage usage schedules and that
differs slightly from the currently uh, from those currently in place. The township has scheduled summer program requiring the use of school district facilities such as pool and the courts. Therefore, it's very critical that the
township returns the sign agreement by June 30 to avoid disruptions to community programs. Multiple follow-ups from the business administrator to the township administrator were made and the reason for the delayed remains unclear.
Without the sign agreement, the district will not be able to allow township access to facilities after June 30th. So we strongly urge the township to take prompt action to to see that this programs can continue uninterrupted and
the sign agreements are returned. Mr. O'Neal shared update updates on the district's long-term facilities plan. He recently contacted work with four out of five schools alongside with
the lead lead architect from from our architects on on rec of record and they focused on infrastructure needs. The key areas reviewed included uh keying system drainage issues and moving conditions.
Mr. Mr. O'Neal also identified potential HR upgrades that may qualify for rod grant funding. Mr. Will Ross from um Peret Sjen Architects is scheduled to attend the
August of committee meeting to provide a more detailed update on the long uh facility plan. The committee reviewed progress of hiring um the assistant business administrator. The position has remained
vacant for 7 months. This ongoing vacancy has placed a significant strain on our business administrator and presents a risk to district operations in the absence of a certified backup to the BA or board secretary roles. The
committee inquired where the positions is currently being advertises advertised and they are as they are not well I have not been able to look at the postings. The committee will continue to monitor this process closely and we will help
you know to to ensure this position is filled properly with highly qualified certified candidate. Um the committee requested an update on whether the district is actively pursuing pilot funding opportunities.
Neighboring districts such as Hopewell and Princeton have successfully reached agreements with their municipalities to share pilot funds for school facility upgrades. The business administrator will conduct would would consult with
the district attorney at property and har and is expected to present any recommendation at or before the July meeting. Any questions? I know our township council is very
excited about partnering with pilot. the town council is very excited about partnering and and partnering with you on on the the pilot initiative. So hopefully that goes off and we're I had a call with the Princeton business
administrator and our uh law firm is the same one that they used right there. So they kind of gave us some insight on that and as uh as Felix said uh we're going to take that step to kind of get that information and essentially usually speaking the township does reach out to the district. So, we're going to do our
due diligence and we're kind of kind of extend to them to try to kind of move that forward. Just be mindful uh what the other towns did and what our town did. It kind of depends on the relationships we have with the developers and it does take time, but we're going to kind of take these steps
forward to kind of pursue it. I want to make one other comment uh regarding the pool. Uh, I secured a meeting with the township leadership for this Thursday, uh, Thursday morning with Superintendent McLaclin, myself, um, the mayor, the town administrator, park leader to, uh,
kind of try to get that through like within the timeline. So, I'm optimistic for some progress with that. Awesome. Great. Thank you for the Sure. Any other questions? Hearing none, we'll move to policy and communications committee. board members
would like Jernigan and Franco Harris. So, we met on June 5th um and we discussed a couple um policies as you guys have heard me say. We worked with uh NJSBA on doing a wellness check that
drove some discussion with Strauss Esme. Uh we've also initiated a uh Strauss Esme policy audit which is part of our contract. So, as you will see over the next few months, there will be some cleaned up policies that are being uh
set for approval. Those two policies are um here today, policy 3134, assignment of extra duties, as well as policy 7130 of school closing. The language has been updated for those policies per the uh latest
uh updates. In addition to that, um the superintendent provided an update on the National School Public Relations Association follow-up communication survey which has been completed. We're awaiting results. Um and I believe that
um there's some meetings scheduled and we should be getting some additional feedback. Approximately 460 participants completed the survey. So, um, we should hear those results momentarily.
That's all I have on policy. How do you feel that it's um, how do you feel that it's the 460 in, you know, relation to other surveys or p previous surveys more or less? It's about the same. Any other questions?
All right. Human resources committee met on June 10th. Uh we talked about um sup uh assistant superintendent Kelly Mattis updated us on the vice principal searches. I would to announce that uh Jessica
Glover um the acting VP um has been recommended for for village and Megan Moore is the recommendation for S. Nope. I'm sorry. Yeah. Yes, for she's current uh school counselor and so those
are the two current recommendations. [Applause] Uh it was fantastic that we were able to move forward with internal candidates. Um just so you know, you know, as you I'm sure you're aware, there have been a lot of layouts districtwide. As a result, um well, I'm saying
districtwide, other districts throughout the state. And as a result, village um BES had approximately 90 applicants and had approximately 60 applicants. So very fortunate that we found two internal candidates from that very large pool.
Um, as board member uh Felac mentioned, the search for the assistant uh business administrator position is still ongoing. Um, we've decided to or Mr. Taliano has decided to expand that search. Um, we have been using a couple of um
well-known school um board um employment sites. uh we talked about expanding those sites to um other employment sites such as LinkedIn and indeed.com and other um employment sites. So hopefully
we can secure someone from those sites. I did have to leave the meeting early. So board member feel like is there anything that I missed that was discussed after meeting. Okay. Thank you much. Any questions? All right. hearing none.
At this time, I'll take a motion to accept the minutes of May 16th, 2025 special meeting, May 20th, 2025 executive session, May 20th, 2025 business meeting. So moved. Second. It's been properly moved and second. Any
questions on the motion? Roll call, please. Mr. Cheliano. Dr. W. Yes. Mr. Stalin, yes. Mina, yes. Herman, yes. Filac, yes. Saris, yes. Jurig
again, yes. Snargon, yes. Mr. Todd, yes. Thank you. Motion carries. Thank you. At this time, the board recognizes the correspondence to the board. Action agenda items. Public comments. The board of education welcomes and
encourages input from the public. Members of the public are allotted one opportunity to address the board regarding the action agenda items only for up to maximum of three minutes per speaker. All comments must be directed to the board. Before you make your comment, please state your full name and
address and enter both in the Chromebook provided being mindful of privacy rights regarding students, board employees, and board members. And to avoid any liability on the part of the speaker, the board discourages defamatory and discourteous remarks. The public comment portions of the meeting are not
structured as question and answer sessions, but are rather but rather are offered as opportunities for the public to share their thoughts with the board. The board may need to refer an issue to the superintendent if the issue has not been handled through the appropriate chain of command, usually starting at the school level. Responses may be
provided at the end of this session. Any public comment for action agenda items hearing? I haven't seen that. Okay, before we go to the action agenda roll call vote, I need to make a couple of minor uh amendments. Uh I'm going to
read them aloud right now. They all happen in the personnel section. The first one is 4.1, section N, appointment of proctors. We're going to withdraw items 22 through 25. The next item is item 4.3.
um that is a settlement agreement between an employee whose name is on file in the superintendent's office and the board of education. And the last one is item 4.4. Those are 25 2025 2026 renewals of
unaffiliated central office staff. I'm going to read those aloud. Uh the first one is for me. Uh Andrew Taliano, business administrator board secretary. Salary 198,000. The next one is for Kelly Mattis, assistant superintendent
of human resources, salary 195 and 818. And the third one is for Damian Paper, assistant superintendent of schools, salary 197 657. That will be added to the agenda is item 4.4. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chelaniano. At
this time, I'm going to entertain a motion to accept action agenda items 1.1 through 1 through 4.4 4 with the amendments noted. So moved. Second. It's been properly moved and second.
Seconded. Any questions on the motion? Hearing none. Roll call, please. Dr. W. Yes. Stout. Yes. Spina. Yes. Herman. Abstain. Uh 1.2 1.3 4.1 to 4.3. Yes. To
everything else noted. Thank you. I need to abstain on the travel section 3.4 se uh schedule C other yes
noted. Thank you Mr. Harris abstain 1.2 1.3 4.1 to 4.3 and yes to everything else. Thank you. [Music] Thank you board member.
Yes. All right. This will let the journey. I'm going to abstain from schedule J on the travel agenda. And for the rest of the items. Yes. Thank you, Miss Nar. I'm going to abstain from um
schedule J travel reimbursement and yes to others. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. Motions carry. Thank you, Mr. Teliano.
New business from the public. The board of ed board of education welcomes and encourages input from the public. Members of the public are allowed one opportunity to bring any new business to the board for up to a maximum of 3 minutes per speaker. All comments must be directed to the board. Before you make your comment, please state your
full name and address and enter both on the Chromebook provided. Being mindful of privacy rights regarding students, board employees, and board members. And to avoid any potential liability on the part of the speaker, the board discourages defamatory and discourteous remarks. The public comment portions of
the meeting are not structured as question and answer session. The board may need to refer an issue to the superintendent if the issue has not been handled through the appropriate chain of command, usually starting at the school level. Responses may be provided at the end of this session.
Public comments are now open. Good evening both members of the board. My name is Balajaran from 300 Berkeley Avenue and I've been here for months and I've stood for the same request. Please bring back the double accurate math program in Montgomery that includes that in fifth grade you start pre-alggebra.
This is not just a concern of my child. There have been a growing number of families with 100 families a concern on our district. Our are no longer meeting the need for the most driven capable mathematics students. When you remove the double accent program, you didn't take away a class.
You took away opportunity. You took away momentum from the students who are motivated, curious, and need to work hard. You told them slow down, wait. And now on the top of that we see the curriculum is being watered down. Content stretched thin across grades.
Challenges is dis disappearing from classrooms and kids are losing interest. Not because they're incapable but because they are not challenged. Let's be honest. The only way to get ahead now is outside the school system by paying
for private tutors, summer courses, and transportation. This is not equity. That's privilege. Montgomery has always been a district that values academic excellence. But right now we are making a choice to limit students instead of lifting them. By removing a double
accurate program, we have created a quietly created a two-t tired system. One for the families who can afford to supplement and others another for the rest. We have turned what should have been a merit-based path to a payto-play track. I ask you again,
why not support the kids who are ready for more within the school day under the guidance of trained teachers with a transparent and fair process. Advanced math isn't just a subject. It's a gateway to opportunity. By closing that
gateway, we are closing futures. Fairness doesn't mean holding back every holding everyone back. Fairness means letting each child go as far as the talent and dedication will take them. Please bring back the double accident math program. Let's build a Montgomery
where every student regardless of background has a chance to thrive. Thank you so much. Good evening board members. Good evening, superintendent. My name is Christopher Mane and I reside at 98 Stos Bomb Road in Eli. I'm here tonight um to
ask all of you to um consider an email, two emails that I recently sent to the board on behalf of my son, Lincoln Mene. Lincoln is a student with a disability that is uh parentally enrolled in a recognized special education school uh
for kids like him who would like to participate in district uh athletic program. Um Lincoln has been a wrestler on the Montgomery recreational team for eight years. He's a role model athlete um on that team. He won an award last
year uh even um for his sportsmanship and how he mentors uh younger athletes on the team. He's uh made the New Jersey state championships as a wrestler for two years in a row now. Um so really just a model athlete um and you know
again attends a school outside of the district um because that's it's better for his education. Um in the state of New Jersey, kids who are parentally placed in special education schools have the ability to participate in district um athletics with the approval of the
board of education. Um which is why you know I've reached out to all of you and why I'm here tonight. Um, so I'm I'm a little bit confused by the response I received my initial inquiry by email. Um, it seemed uh very abrupt. Um, you know, I got a response that my son
wasn't eligible um because he didn't meet the criteria and that he was not um either enrolled in the district or he was not a student with a disability um attending a a recognized school for special education. Um, again, my student is a student with my son is a student
with a disability who attends a special school for kids like him. Um, you know, that's that's well known by the administration um in the district. Um, previously um some of you know uh I was a leader for the district special education parent advisory group. I've
been very vocal about my concerns about the quality of special services in the district. Um, one of the concerns that was frequently raised in our district was that there's um an adversarial culture in our district between administration and parents um so far um
to that many parents are afraid to raise concerns for fear of retribution um and that their kids wouldn't get the same educational opportunities as other kids if they raised those concerns. But I have to say I I do share those
concerns. Um, you know, I do feel like I have cause for concern that my inquiry isn't being handled fairly. Um, and again, this is primarily a board of ed matter. Um, that's what the law states is that it's up to the board of ed to decide whether my son um will have the
opportunity to participate in athletics. Um so instead of you know having our superintendent unilaterally make a decision on this given um the history of me raising concerns about the quality of services in our district and the quality of her leadership in particular. That's time I'm asking the board to vote on
this tonight. Thank you. [Music] Good evening. I am Fiona Borland and I have been your director of curriculum, instruction, and staff development since 2019. But I've been committed to supporting Montgomery teachers in instruction and innovation since 2013 as
a director of instructional technology. Words like trust, transparency, and respectful dialogue have been used at the BOE table. while at the same time a board member pulled out a college textbook and recommended that the administrators may want to read in order
to learn how to do a program review. It is emphasized that program decisions should be data driven and include the voices of stakeholders. When the ACI committee changed in January of 2025, a request was made to understand how the decision for the
current middle school math program put in place and approved two years ago was made. At a recent ACI meeting, I reviewed the past ACI presentation that explained the changes that were recommended in 2022 by our math supervisors, our math teachers, and me
based on data that included information on courses offered by comparable districts, alignment to the New Jersey core curriculum, and most importantly, student achievement data. I find it difficult to hear repeated requests for transparent, respectful
dialogue implying that information has not been shared and presented each time it has been asked for. It seems that the data and the recommendations of experienced curriculum experts do not support the recent requests of a small handful of individuals. Public
statements are being made to imply that thoughtful due diligence did not occur. It was stated that for the past two years there has been constant feedback from parents, teachers, students, and higher ed experts and that their concerns are being ignored. The
importance of meeting diverse learning needs in the classroom so that students do not become disengaged leading to behavior problems was cautioned by this board. I am here to clarify that our teachers are not overwhelmed by parents concerns regarding inadequate academic
programming. In fact, these phone calls are extremely rare. When concerns are raised, the educational professions professionals, the teachers, the certified content area supervisors, and when necessary, me work together to ensure that a student's needs are met.
There is not one way to ensure student engagement, nor does the title of a course dictate student engagement. Teachers, supervisors, building administration, and I are your educational profess professionals. We are certified and experienced experts
who work for children and families. Our consistent high achievement by every metric speaks to our success. Since 2013, I have had a history of experiencing respectful two-way dialogue with all members of our community. But that is not what I am experiencing at
this time. I am very concerned that some of the statements being made at BOE meetings are causing confusion and harm. So lastly, I will reiterate that a freshman can start high school in algebra 2 and take calculus BC as a junior without any summer classes and
clarify that all of our Nope. Thanks again. Thank you. Any other comments from the public? Any other comments from the public? Hearing none, public comment session is now closed. Superintendent McLaclin,
anything you would like to address. Question. No question. Gotcha. Okay. Thank you. Um, at this time, any closing announcements from the board of ed members? Yes. Um
so today I want to make a speech on accountability through data. Why we must demand more than uh anecdotals. So good evening board members and community stakeholders. Tonight I want to return to a theme that cut across nearly every
issues we've debated this year from middle school math to high school science to budget finance topics. That is accountability through data. We cannot talk meaningfully about student growth, curriculum quality or educational equip equity if we don't
first agree that decisions must be informed by data not driven by assumptions, convenience or tradition. First point I want to talk about the need for systematic and transparent data. Take the enrollment and retention
for example. Uh at the June ACI meeting, we were given the total enrollment numbers, but critical questions such as student retention year of the year, especially during transitions from middle school to high school were left unanswered. So, I've been asking this uh
since February. This matters as shown in the data presented in the K12 insight. Enrollment and retention directly affects funding and staffing. For every four student lost, a district may lose the equivalent of one full teacher salary. That is not a theoretical
impact. It's a direct consequence with real implications of class sizes, course offerings, and student services. When we ask for enrollment trends, we're not doing so out of curiosity. We're asking because enrollment and retent
retentions is a fun foundational variable in both financial planning and instructional equity. We hear that our student doing well. We see references to the top 10 national growth percentile. We hear general claims that student are
strong in maths. But without disagregated results across all the percentile bands, without grade level breakdowns, demographic analysis or longitudinal comparisons, we can't honestly evaluate the impact of our curriculum
decisions. It's like trying to judge a school play after only watching the dress rehearsal of the lead actor. Sure, it may look good from one angle, but we're missing the whole ensemble, the technical proof, the timing, the pacing, the full performance. We can't keep make
decisions based on selective snapshots and we certainly can't assume that programs are effective just because no one has proven otherwise. This is not accountability. That's complacency. And more importantly, we can't just improve. We can't improve what we don't
measure. Second, I want to talk about data is not optional. It's fun. It is foundational to accountability. In recent weeks, we've heard concerns the request for data might be burdensome to the administration. But let's be clear, the burden isn't in asking for data. The
real burden is making decisions without it. Our job as a board is not to prove ideas based on belief, is to make decision grounded in evidence that serve all students. also ensure that taxpayers dollars are being spent wisely and that
every student regardless of background has access to learning opportunities they need to thrive. This is why we need clear answers to questions like our curriculum changes leading to measurable improvements are enrollment and retention patterns pointing to deeper
equity or assess issues are student progressing academically through the spectrum not just the top 10%. This not rhetorical questions. These are the kind of questions that high-erforming school boards are asking across the country. The center for public education reminds
us the most effective boards make data priority and regularly review performance metrics to guide policy and value impact. Let me say it again. Effective boards make data priority. So when we are told we believe the current curriculum is fine or we've
heard no venture complaints that's not enough belief isn't evidence lack of complaint isn't proof we need measurable outcome and the shared framework for evaluating whether these outcomes are meeting the district goals we can't
answer this unless we committed to this aggregated actionable data third point I want to talk about why test score ability matters Let me now explain what it means to use test score responsibly, especially since this assessments are often used to
justify program changes. When we use a test score to make a decision about placement, about sets, about course offerings, we're making a pla claim based on that number. Testing expert, Professor Michael Kaine, explained that validity is not just about whether a
test is reliable or well constructed. It's about whether the way we're using the score is appropriate, fair, and supported by evidence. For example, if we use a math score to decide whether student to should take algebra 1 or two, we must ask, does that
score actually reflect readiness for more advanced math? Is there evidence that student place this way succeed later on? Are we monitoring how well this district decision worked and just but adjusted if it didn't? If the answer is no, then we're not using the score of
validity even if the test itself is sound. Later, Samuel Massik, another pioneer in testing suit uh theory, added a critical dimension. He said that the validity of the test score depends not only on how it it interpreted but on the
consequences of that interpretation. So if a test score is used to remove a math pathway and as a result student lose assessed college prep coursework that outcome must be part of the validity conversation. In short a test use is
only valid if the consequences of that use are justified. Fourth point I want to talk about the broader impact equity opportunity and transparency. So let's step back. Why does this matter so much? Because this is not just about math. It's about
whether this district equipped to evaluate the impact of its own decisions. It's about whether we're transparent with our community. Not just about what we've done, but about why we've done it and how we know it's working. It's about equity. And this is
where I want to be very clear. Removing learning opportunities is not how we close the achievement gap. Limiting assess does not lift struggling student. It holds everyone back. The goal should not be to cap the growth of student who
are ready to move ahead in reading, writing, math or science. The goal should be blow the votes high to raise the floor without lowering the ceiling. The right approach to equity is to reach the students where they are. Every
student, whether they are catching up or moving ahead, deserves a curriculum that challenges them, respect their potentials, and prepares them for what lies ahead. Removing advanced coursework in the name of equity is misguided.
True equity means giving every student access to what they need to grow, not limiting some to make outcomes appear more equal. Last, I want to call for action. So, here's someone I'm asking for tonight. A clear plan for how school district will
validate outcome curriculum changes including assess to advanced math and science pathways. This aggregate reporting of student growth across local percentile not just the top 10% as a broad as a board. We care about the
whole spectrum of the student growth. a commitment to data transparency with the public, including publishing summaries, sum summary findings, program evaluations, and progress reports in a for you know format families can understand and or shift in the mindset
from defensiveness about data requests to a culture of continuous improvement grounded in evidence. So because the goal here isn't blame, it's better. We want better learning opportunities. We want a better preparation for college
and careers. We want a better use of our resources. We want a better alignment between what we promise as a school district and what what we actually deliver. Let's start with the best district already do. Let's lead with evidence. So let's build a data informed
culture that student, teachers, families, future employers can trust. So that's all my speech. I I don't know whether of my board colleagues have comments on my thought datriven approach
um agree or disagree I welcome comments any comments. So if you agree then we need to look at the data and through data we can better understand whether or not we are really meeting the expectations of this
community. the the district uh elected the board members to to be their voice and the school district is the community school. So while we while the administrators need to make sure that we
are following the standards of the uh New Jersey Department of Education that we following all the laws and the curriculums up to the New Jersey standards. We also cannot ignore what the community expects from us. So, um
I'm troubled to see how many parents write to us. They they wrote several petitions with so many signatures asking for the return of the accelerated math
program. And what I'm trying to understand is why we are not listening to those parents and why we are so strongly opposing to restore that path.
And I took time to actually fully understand the you know the difference between the regular math program, the accelerated MA math program and the double accelerated math program. So I created the chart
which I create which I shared with my fellow board members and it shows different tracks that students can follow and the path that brought us the
most recognition and success. and the incredible students that were presenting to us are basic were following that double accelerated math program and that program allowed them to achieve such
incredible accomplishments. Now that path is shutting down. So um parents who have multiple children in the district, they can firsthand observe
the the difference because when they have a student in LMS right now and they have a student and they used to have a student in LMS two or three years ago, their older child was able to take pre-alggebra
in uh LMS, but that program is that path is no longer available. They actually need to wait to take that class in seventh grade. So what that does is it's
basically pushing the those students forward because now they are not meeting those prerequisites to be able to follow that double accelerated math program. So when they get to high school, the the
students under the double accelerated path program, they were able to start high school with pre-calculus. Now when that path that cohort is done, I I think next year that will be the
last class that will be able to follow that path. after that the students will not be able to enter high school um by and take pre pre-calculus. So now when we compare our district with
let's say West Windsor, West Windsor offers algebra 2 to students in 8th grade and our district right now that's still a possibility but in a year or two that will no longer be a you know a
possibility. What does that do to our students? We do algebra 1 then algebra 2 then geometry. I've said it before. So their eighth graders do not take geometry until ninth grade.
Our school does algebra. Our school does algebra 1, geometry, algebra 2. They do algebra 1, algebra 2, geometry. So it's the same exact path that our children have. Exact. On the chart that I created and I shared it with you as well. Uh it shows that you share this with all of
us. I shared it with all of you. No, you didn't. Yes, sir. Can I ask a question? Um, just to clarify, maybe you just didn't open the attachment. Well, I just looked, did you get it? I asked the ACI person, do you have this spreadsheet? Yes. So, I do want to bring up a point
of order and I appreciate everyone's passion on this, but we've talked about this. There was a vote and it did not pass. That's a point of order. We've talked about this at Nauseium. There was a vote on restoring it. It did not pass.
I'm trying to understand exactly what the opposition is from the administration side because we we are depriving our students of opportunity to apply to better colleges by not completing certain math. No student is being deprived of anything. The the
administration has talked about that endlessly. There's no student being denied anything. And I want to add to when you said petition and emails from families out of about what 4,700 families in the district maybe we've gotten what 10 20 if that emails. I mean
it's a very hill parents allow them. And I know that um like Fiona shared as well earlier the small population you know there's no limit to what we're allowing for our students. So there's not a ceiling. So as far as that those
students any of the challenges provide opportunities for that small population, there's no data shows there's no ceiling. I clarified in my last month's board meeting. Please don't speak to me like that. We're having a conversation. Okay. Well, yeah. I'm just responding to it's becoming a pattern. Please don't speak to me like that. Thank you. But as
I said, board of order. This has been voted on. It did not pass. Yeah, we can still have discussion, right? This is the floor for discussion. No. Okay. I not on this item. Yeah, I have a uh I'm not have I have a motion. I'd like to move that this aggregated student growth
data report presentation in English language arts ELA mathematics and science for grades 3 to 11 by local percentile bands for example 10th 25th 50s 75
point of order that has to be discussed and decided in ACI no that's not about ACI and 90 this is about ACI I can make a motion Again, that has to go to ACI. No, I don't have to go to the ACI. Yes, you do. If if a
board member will second my thing, it has to be discussed in ACI. That is the proper procedure. It's discussed. They refuse to dis to provide the data. Again, it has to go through ACI. So I
want to know board member on behalf of the public asked for assessment data which is should be part of the transparency of what the school board do to oversee this and the school refused to provide that data. We as a board what
we should do just let it be let the school run the school back. Why should the board here? So what data receives? It's aggregated student growth data. Student growth data. They said that's
internal data. They don't provide math third grade through 11th grade broken down by percentile. Top top 10, top 75. That's why they say top 25. The public records request. It's Yes, it's an Oprah request. That's right. So public records
request, just for the record, is for records, not data. That's why it was denied. Curriculum items don't just get walked up on the agenda. They get discussed at the curriculum committee. We can't do that. It didn't Can I just ask a question? I'm not I'm not quite
sure where the doubt is coming from in terms of why are we not trusting the professionals that we have hired at our schools. It's not about trust. It's about it's about transparency. It's about data. Show the show the community
how the great job we've done as we did as I did in my speech. We want better learning opportunities. We want better preparation for college and careers. Want better use of resources. Better than better than what we have. mindset.
But but where is the data from rejecting to showing the data? Data is fact. Where is the data showing that our students are not excelling? Where is that data? Where the data showing it's excelling. We heard about concerns for the community that is that not enough? some
members of the community. You you're speaking as if the entire Montgomery community, not the is it. So you you're you're talking so this is why we ask retention question too. It sounds like people don't care about student drop out from a school district. We should show we care about every student. We don't
have a dropout. Yeah, we we care about that about students or row about that. This row equal to drop out. No, we do not. Okay. We use the word this. We use the word this in row. We use the word this in
row. That's about the retention data. So board member 10 Wayne I suggest that your request go through ACI it did not move forward as I mentioned. So what's the next step should be I would like have advice on this.
I will you and I will have discussion. I will let you know your your proper course. And we talked about this many times. Patrick, is there anything? You and I have not talked about this. You and I will talk about this and I will advise you on the proper course. I have a follow-up question. Um, we had
a curriculum um specialist talk to us about doing analytics around other school districts. Mary, could we see that? Could we see that view of uh what other school districts surrounding districts are doing when it comes to math curriculum?
I often hear in these discussions uh that other school districts follow a different pattern or different curriculum structure. Maybe if we look at if any changes have been made to some of the other uh like Hopewell or Hillsboro or West Windsor, we can then
compare and see what the difference is. Maybe that'll help us clarify. I'm sorry. To be clear, you you mean the path in terms of when they take what what math course, correct? Okay. And those are districts that we are outperforming. Yes, hope well we're
outperform. I mean I don't want to put people under the bus, but we are we are overperforming in terms of all the districts that are near us. I think that we just want to see the paths, right? Not necessarily student performance, right? But just paths that other school
districts are taking have taken. Uh I would imagine that website. Yeah. Say it again. It's right on the website. It's on the district's website. Yeah. So, I'm sure there's no visual pass uh provided. All other school district
provide that. Um can we have another discussion on that parents who came? C can I just say one thing? I I do I do want to make clear that when the the math discussion was presented, it was based on data of our students who were getting to a place where they did not
have enough of the foundational mathematics at the middle school level to be able to move forward. So that was a big discussion and a big understanding of why they charted the math program the way that they charted it. So it was
based on data based on I would interpret that as a philosophy or a theoretical framework not data because I haven't seen any performance data disagregated by student percentage local percentile. I have not seen that and I did hear the
curriculum specialist say that you know that other school districts analytics was taken into place. So I think maybe it's a natural step for us to take a look at it and just compare That's exactly what I was thinking too
when uh uh we just heard that when they changed this math program two years ago whenever it happened. So there was some reasoning behind it. So there was the reasoning behind would have supported by some kind of a data or some kind of a
community survey or some kind of a if if that is avoided would that be yeah that can be should be shared right so far I have not seen that could be the presentation was shared with the presentation
any single number a datadriven person like board member thing it's not I don't think interested in discussions and just what we what we thought is good. It's just what was the data behind this
change. I think if that is provided maybe then there will be some questions will be answered. The problem it was provided certain board members do not accept it. That's the problem. The problem is multiple multiple presentations. First of all, you would not speak over
me. There have been multiple presentations data data shared. Certain board members will not accept it. That is the issue. That's the issue. Plain and simple. Okay. It's my turn to solve. There is no
data being shared. Data is the numbers. Data are the facts. Data not philosophical presentation but just by tasks that come from the word of mouth who work on data day by day. It's not about the data person, the board member.
Second, it's the higher education faculty also do not accept that either. You can't disagree with higher ed education faculty's opinions too. Of course. Thank you. Any other items? At this time, I entertain a motion for
adjournment. I have another one more. We're not done item. We had a parent who came and made a request for us to discuss the situation with his son. So I
do want to hear the reasoning for the denial of his request because based on what I read his son qualifies to participate in our court. So if he's being denied, I would
like to understand why. So I forwarded the last email to the board attorney and they will respond. So we need attorney to to wait. Well, we already had the letter director respond. The director respond. I responded and the question keeps coming. So now it's
going to the board attorney who was who who advised us through all of our responses originally. Yeah. But like your response when when I received your response it seems like you did not have all information all you know like relevant
information at hand because you decided you know he will not be able to participate because he does not meet the qualifications point of order we should actually not be talking about any student in in a board meeting in a board meeting. So as the superintendent as was already discussed correct but the board
should not be discussing that. So as the superintendent said that information has been forward to our board of attorney for review. Well okay so like in general terms I guess when you responded to us it was as if like you did not have all relevant information at hand which later on the
parent presented and it was in alignment with what your concerns was. So now I think it seems like he's meeting all the qualifications. So, I'm just wondering why again the board attorney because we're not going
to talk about a student. So, the board attorney will respond. Well, but it's a board decision, right? But this isn't a matter that we should have for public discussion. Um, everybody can talk to us about whatever they want, but I'm going to protect you as the board secretary. We don't talk about students at public discussion. So, should we talk about it
at executive meeting? I'm I'm not I'm not going to There should be a venue to talk about this, right? We're we're not going to talk about this. Correct. and the board attorney will respond. Okay. So, just for uh reference for the public, there's two policies that are at
question. I think policy 2431 um and then policy 2460 for reference. I think um you know for a policy as a policy committee member one thing that I find interesting and maybe this would be something for us to consider the policy
um 2431 prevents homeschooled kids from participating in school sports and you know I was wondering how the board feels about that. I mean, once again, I don't have the data to understand how many homeschool kids we have in town, but I
would think as Montgomery School District, we would want to represent homeschool kids as well. Um, so perhaps that will be something that I would like to discuss in the next policy committee to see if there's a potential for us to make some exceptions uh to this. So my
question to Mary is I don't know if you have that data point but do we understand within the Montgomery school district how many uh kids are homeschooled uh today? Is that something that's available to us? Only those that would have been in the school district
and left and would use that code. But if somebody was always homeschooled, we would never know that. Okay. Just like if somebody always went to a private school. So if you could just at least give us that one number so we have a we have an understanding of what that number is that would help us in the
conversation and and that sorry how do they where do they have to get their curriculum approved from isn't it that they would have to if not in district but they have to follow the NJSIA rules
if they have to prove residency uh they have to be added to our insurance policy things like that it's a huge expense No, no. I'm saying no for the I think she means the curriculum for homeschool. Isn't that something that would need to be approved? So there would be record of
of because you as a parent if you were homeschooling you would have to go and get the curriculum that you're choosing to teach your child approved. We would have to look into all that. We haven't done that ever because we don't sports. Yeah, it's actually Maria. It's
available. There's um actual organizations where kids can go and and uh meet up for more complex um studies, but it's all those are different though. Those are like rights. Yeah. The No, it's it's actually it's
it's available to schools. Yeah. There's it's a whole program that actually is available online. Online and follows all of the guidelines. It used to be that you had to actually go and get that approved from your state in order to get a state diploma. But now with the way
those programs have grown significantly so considering the internet and you know virtual everything. Absolutely. Yes. I I have a question for the policy that you brought up. Actually, I read that policy. It looks like it did not specify
for the the students who lives in this township but they are out of school district that we forbidden them from participating in the sports and usually under that it's like when we go insurance too they they kind of benefit favoring that group and they allow them
to participate in the sports. So if we just follow that by this policy, it sounds like this school for student who uh out of school school district who live in this township, they still can participate the school sports. That's my understanding.
Yeah, that is not the way this policy is being uh presented. So that's why I want to bring it up for discussion, right? What what does that really mean? And do we have any flexibility? Right? if we have a very small number because I know this is not the first time that we've had parents
ask that maybe you know would like their kids to participate. So and then the second policy I think for review is 2460 which we'll also discuss and that will be around special education and um you know are there any different
rules for kids with special needs that could potentially participate. So I'll take both of those policies and I'll review them in the next policy meeting. Thank you. That's correct. All right. Anything else? At this time, I entertain a motion for
adjournment. So moved. Second. No problem move. Second. Any questions? All those in favor state I. I. I. All those opposed, same right. Stand.