WEBVTT

METADATA
Video-Count: 1
Video-1: youtube.com/watch?v=x3cbYEcZ7YI

NOTE
MEETING SECTIONS:

Part 1 (Video ID: x3cbYEcZ7YI):
- 00:00:00: Meeting Start, Roll Call, Pledge, and Opening Remarks
- 00:01:39: High School Updates: Past and Future Events, Sports
- 00:03:23: Superintendent's Report and Boys Basketball Team Recognition
- 00:09:56: Shoprite Stars Recognition: Academics, Athletics, Arts, Service, Leadership
- 00:20:06: One Minute Break
- 00:23:21: Opening Public Hearing for 2026-2027 Budget
- 00:24:04: Academic Achievements, Rankings, Post-Graduation Plans, and More
- 00:34:25: Annual Budget Presentation, Expenditures, Revenues, and Tax Impact
- 00:46:32: Motion to close the public hearing
- 00:47:02: Committee Reports: Finance, Curriculum, Policy, Delegate, Athletic
- 00:58:45: Public Comment 1: Rich Lorenzo on Inclusivity
- 01:03:54: Public Comment 2: Kristen Piper on Signage Policy
- 01:10:26: Public Comment 3: Brian Mills on Pride Signs
- 01:13:28: Public Comment 4: Tony Chen on Pride Recognition
- 01:16:09: Public Comment 5: Sheri Sephur on Public Education
- 01:19:57: Public Comment 6: Sheri Schwarz on Lazar Board
- 01:25:18: Public Comment 7: Robera Prober on Board Restriction
- 01:27:44: Public Comment 8: Kim Michelle on Loving Kids
- 01:30:10: Public Comment 9: Arthy Gupta, Indian-American Alum
- 01:33:01: Public Comment 10: Naswart on Inclusivity
- 01:35:58: Public Comment 11: Carrie Miller on Education
- 01:39:26: Public Comment 12: Cara O'Neal on Signs
- 01:42:32: Public Comment 13: Judy Godhealth on Pride
- 01:47:42: Public Comment 14: Ken Chen, Trans Youth Protections
- 01:52:08: Public Comment 15: Nolan Shankman on Tradition Representation
- 01:54:19: Consent Resolutions, M1 and K1 Abstentions, Retiree Recognitions
- 02:01:13: Discussion and Vote on N1: Signage Policy
- 02:40:56: No old business. General Board Comments.
- 02:42:20: Public Comment 1: Jennifer Shankman Sign issue
- 02:43:38: Public Comment 2: Unworkable Policies
- 02:45:56: Public Comment 3: Miss Piper- Showed Up to Community
- 02:47:19: Public Comment 4: Laser Treasurer, Donate or Return
- 02:48:58: Public Comment 5: Lazer Prograns
- 02:50:02: Public Comment 6: School Board Memebers: Management Issue
- 02:52:33: Public Comment 7: Homschool, Privacy
- 02:54:19: Public Comment 8: Traffic Issues
- 02:55:58: Public Comment 9: Show up to Community 


Part: 1

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Roll call, please. >> Dr. Cordelino, >> here. >> Mrs. Fano, >> here. >> Dr. Modrack >> here. >> Mr. Palma >> here. >> Mr. Petraino >> here. >> Mr. Rapaort >> here.

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>> Mrs. Smith >> here. >> Mrs. Zuckerman >> here. >> Mr. Dorri >> here. >> Ms. Emer >> here. >> Mr. Blumenthal >> here. Please stand for the pledge of >> allegiance.

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>> To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. at the open public meeting notice. >> The New Jersey open public meeting law

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was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provision of the act, the Montville Township Board of Education provided a public notice of

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this meeting which included the time, date, and location that was posted at the Montville Township Municipal Building, all Montville public schools, the Montville public library, the Montville Township Board of Education administrative office building, the district website, and advertised in the

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daily record, and the Montville tap into the board's official newspapers on January 8th, 2026. >> Thank you. Uh we'll move into the high school reps. What's going on in the schools? >> So in past times at MTHS on Friday,

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March 20th, schools closed due to Eid alert. Spirit week was from March 23rd to the 27th. The purpose of this event was to raise school spirit and honor spring athletes. The journey begins, which is a high school counseling event, was on March 26th. Spring break was from March

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30th to April 6th, and the end of the marking period was April 13th. and the fourth marking period began on April 14th. The World Honor Society is held on April 22nd. For some sports, Mville softball is currently 9 and one with a second round

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game in the Morris County Conference uh at 4 p.m. today. Boys lacrosse is 6 and4 with a game against Jefferson today. Girls lacrosse is 3 and five with a Morris County tournament game against Randolph tomorrow. Boys tennis is currently 5-8 with a match against Mo Beard today at 4. Girls golf is 4-2 with

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a match at 3:30 today against Parcipany. Baseball is currently 1-12 today with a game against Caldwell. Boys golf is currently 7-2 as they place Vernon and Hackintown tomorrow. Girls flag football is 2 and3 with a game against Lakeland at 6.

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>> In future times at MTHs, from April 27th to May 1st from 3 to 9:00 p.m., MTHs seniors are having their picture portraits taken. On April 29th, MTHS is hosting Broadway night in the auditorium from 7 to 900 pm. On May 2nd, MTHS is

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hosting SATs from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. From May 4th to the 15th, MTHS is having their AP testing from 7 to 3:30 p.m. On May 6th, from 7 to 8:00 p.m., MTHs is having a virtual counseling event for teens and gambling.

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>> Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Superintendent support. >> Yes. Uh in the interest of time, we have a lot of great things to celebrate tonight. Um the quarter three goals, the district goals, the results, I usually go into a little bit more detail, but

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just overall we're doing uh we're making great progress. I shared that with the board last week and then I'll give you a much fuller report when we get into the fourth quarter. Um so moving right into the great stuff. We're going to get into athletics. Mr. Gorino, where are you? Come on up. We have Coach Medina here as

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well. And let's bring up the boys basketball team, please. We're going to celebrate their success. Yeah, you gota use use the mic. So, we have a resolution which Mr. Dory is going to read. Uh we'll we'll start

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with that first and then we'll get into uh the team and if any of the students want to make a comment or two that'd be great. Whereas the MUN Township Board of Education is committed to recognizing outstanding achievements of its students. And whereas the Maf Township

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High School boys basketball team demonstrated outstanding skill, dedication, and sportsmanship throughout the winter season. And whereas the team achieved significant success by winning the blue gold winter tournament championship. And whereas the team

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earned the title of Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference American Division Champions. And whereas the team further distinguished itself as North one group three state sectional champions, exemplifying excellence at the state level. And whereas the team concluded

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its remarkable season, ranked number three overall in group three in the state of New Jersey. And whereas student athlete Chris Ferrari was recognized for his exceptional performance and academic achievement as Morris County player of

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the year, first team all NJAC and Morris County Scholar athlete recipient. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Maf Township Board of Education of Maf, New Jersey hereby congratulates the high school boys basketball team for his outstanding accomplishments during the

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season. And be it further resolved that the board extends a s sincere congratulations to all team members, coaches, and supporters of their dedication, hard work, and commitment to excellence. >> Congratulations. >> Thank you, Mr.

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>> You got it. Yep. Good. Uh, thank you so much and uh for everyone who came along for the ride with this team. And this was a team for the ages. Uh for the first time in this high school's history, our boys basketball team did seal a sectional championship. Um that

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was on the road in a pretty hostile environment in Tene High School and these kids just came to play. It was such an amazing run where we have a county player of the year. We do have coach Medina earned Morris County coach of the year uh which is a a

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distinguished honor and um you know these guys and I was saying it uh every month uh Dr. Gorman asks for an athletics report and I I highlighted these guys often and I just said how well they played with one another. Um they all had their own set of roles

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whether they were starters, role players off the bench. Um they knew what they were capable of doing. They didn't try to do too much. They just did enough and supported one another throughout and it was just, like I said, such a fun ride. So once again, congratulations on an

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amazing season, an amazing run. So, uh, Coach Medina, congrats. And boys, great job. >> Do any of the students want to say something? Want to get one or two of the student athletes? Go ahead. Uh, Chris Ferrari.

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Um, yeah, thank you so much for honoring us and everything. It was a it was a special year. We we have uh guys, seniors especially, have been playing together since like fourth grade. So, tight-knit group and it should definitely showed on the court. So, it was an awesome ride. Super proud to have been a part of it and thank you for

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everything. >> Oh, yeah. I've been playing sports all my life, but uh this group right here is no doubt is the best three and a half months of my life. So, yes. It shows what kind of what kind of boys we were together. >> Awesome. Yeah. Uh Mr. Gorino said exactly what I

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was going to say. It was just beautiful to see you on the court, you know, playing and passing. You guys knew exactly where you were going to be and to just see you, you know, never panic in any game situation. It was, it was beautiful. So, great job. Congratulations. What we're going to do is just do a big group picture right here in the middle and then we'll give

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you the resolution. So you guys have your backs to me. Good Thank you. Okay, that was the athletic part of the evening. So, now we're going to get to the Shopright stars for the academics and all the other wonderful things these students have accomplished.

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Mr. Nazac Good evening everyone. I am thrilled to present our shop right stars for the third marking period of the 2025 2026 school year. Tonight's stars as always were nominated by faculty members of one of five different categories and the winners were selected by an administrative committee in addition to the recognition of these wonderful

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students. Sunrise Shopright generously donates $1,000 to the class of 2026. Please join me in congratulating each of our stars this evening in the field of academics. Congratulations to Rihanna Shamsud. >> Teachers who nominated Rihanna uh or had

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her as a student were affusive in their praise. She's an incredibly talented student who cares deeply about learning. To students like Rihanna, learning isn't accomplished when grades are posted. It is a lifelong pursuit of knowledge. Rihanna takes this challenge seriously,

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having taken 11 AP classes throughout high school and maintaining a 4.7 plus GPA. Rihanna is also a gifted debater. She was a state finalist during sophomore year and qualified for the tournament of champions last year. Rihanna is also a volunteer for the

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forensics outreach program, a mentor to middle schoolers, and was selected to serve as the club treasurer. Rihanna demonstrates an interest in other areas as well. She is published in the NCBI database for resol research on the derigent pro uh protein, won first place

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at the science symposium and obtained the seal of bi literacy in Spanish. Outside of school, Riana is a volunteer coordinator for the American Central Asian Association where she manages their internship program overseeing more than 30 interns throughout New York City. She has spearheaded initiatives

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such as the first ever Central Asian Cultural Festival, Toy Drives, and the Census of Central Asians in the United States, which was published in a community needs assessment report. Rihanna is also a finalist or was also a finalist at the Morristown Festival of

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Books and earned a President's Volunteer Service Gold Award. Despite so much personal success, she is most proud that she will be the first in her family to attend college. Rihanna plans to attend Brown University in the fall and double major in international and public affairs and public health. Again,

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congratulations in the field of athletics. Congratulations to Cole Riley. One of the primary reasons our ice hockey team has experienced uh the success that it has over the past four years is directly attributed to the talent, sportsmanship, teams, uh teamwork, and leadership that Cole

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demonstrates on a consistent basis. Cole's lifelong love of hockey and desire to play at the highest levels meant to relentless drive and dedication throughout middle school and for all four years on our varsity team. This has culminated with a number of personal accomplishments. I'll share them now. In sophomore and junior years, Cole

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received honorable mention in the allhos division and all halverson division. During senior year, Cole was selected to be the team captain, was named to the all Morris and all Sussex County second team, earned team MVP, the Edward Halverson Memorial MVP award, and

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finished his Monfield career with 120 points, including 74 goals. Despite this, uh, Cole is most proud of the team accomplishment of winning the 2023 Sharet Cup uh, championship, uh, which happened for the first time in school history. Cole also plays club hockey,

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going to two national championships with the Montlair Blues and playing junior hockey this year with the Jersey Hitman USPHL Premier League. Uh, earning a spot on the Hitman is especially impressive, uh, seeing as how the team sent over 300

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players to colleges in the NCAA and six players to the NHL. Cole finished the season with the Hitman with uh, Cole finished his season with the Hitman uh, with 14 points and seven goals. Off the ice, Cole is a conscientious student and has been described by teachers as

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dedicated and extremely hardworking. In the fall, Cole plans to continue playing hockey at the junior level before entering college uh and continuing what we hope is a long and successful career. Again, congratulations in the field of the arts.

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Congratulations to Anthony Dano. According to staff who nominated Anthony for this award and those in particular who help support our arts program at the high school, Anthony has shown tremendous growth as a musician. During the past eight years, Anthony has had roles in over 20 shows and productions.

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And throughout the past four years, he has finally started to receive the recognition and praise that he deserves. For example, Anthony was recently accepted into the NJSMA region choir, ranking seven out of 48 tener twos. Several months ago, Anony's musical theater ensemble group competed in the

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final round of the Speech and Theater Association of New Jersey's Governor Award. And most recently, Anthony was recognized for his work in Impulse, which is our arch capella group. Specifically, Impulse won their third consecutive quarterfinal championship. And for the

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second year, Anthony was selected as the winner of the outstanding soloist award. Anthony has also been recognized for his work in community theater uh with the Aspire Theater Company uh and at the Barn Theater and Paper Paper Mill Playhouse. Last year, Anthony was

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nominated for a prestigious NJC Perry Award for his performance in uh Alice by Heart at the Barn Theater, and this year he was selected to star in our spring musical Sweeney Todd as the title character and did a phenomenal job. For those of you who saw the show, Anthony

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was absolutely sensational and earned se standing ovations on each night. Away from the stage, Anthony has made three short films, ran varsity track, and is a dedicated student who made significant contributions to classes offered within our arts department. In the fall, Anthony will attend Fullale University

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to study animation and film. Congratulations in the field of community service. Congratulations to Victoria Gomes. Much of Victoria's community service work takes place at or through St. Pius, but the hours that she dedicates are staggering. For the past four years and

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as a member of the youth ministry group, Victoria has volunteered to teach religious formation CCD classes and offer support in the main office. Victoria has participated in a number of service experiences including the crop walk and annual breakfast with Santa

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where her passion for helping those in need is truly on display. Victoria also provides assistance in our community uh through her work as a cadet in the Montville Township First Aid Squad and as a member of Key Club where she has taken a leadership role in various fundraising efforts including the

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Thanksgiving food drive and volleyball marathon. Aside from her volunteering work, Victoria is a hard-working, thoughtful, and conscientious student as demonstrated by her attendance at a second school for the past four year 12 years to advance her knowledge and proficiency in another language. At

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Montville, Victoria has taken an increasingly challenging course load each of the past four years. At the end of her sophomore year, she is uh she had successfully completed one AP class. By the end of her senior year, she will have completed eight, culminating in her induction into the National Honor

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Society and Spanish Honor Society while maintaining a 4.7 plus GPA. Victoria is also passionate about supporting our school community. She serves as the editor of the yearbook and editor of the podium. Victoria will attend Boston College in the fall and plans to major in biology on the premed track. Again,

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congratulations in the field of leadership. Congratulations to Anisha Malinte. Anisha has been an influential officer in Key Club, demonstrating maturity, initiative, leadership, and a deep commitment to serving others. This year, Anisha thrived as president of Key Club.

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She runs meetings with confidence and clarity while fostering an inclusive environment that encourages participation. Students enjoy being involved under her leadership because she leads proactively and collaboratively, listening to ideas, offering guidance, and ensuring that everyone feels valued. Importantly,

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Anisha has expanded Key Club's impact in lasting ways. She wrote an article highlighting Key Club service projects, helping raise awareness of both student leadership and community needs. One such project supported 40 families during the holiday season amid the SNAP benefits crisis, reflecting her empathy and

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ability to connect service to realworld issues impacting our children and families. Another project was hearts of hope uh in which hundreds of handmade hearts were delivered to local hospitals to support patients and healthcare workers. This is just one f facet of who Anisha is as a

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person and leader but she has accomplished so much more. For example, Anisha attended the New Jersey Governor's School of Engineering and Technology and the Colombia Science Honors Program, was selected for robotics uh internship at Monontlair State and the STEM internship at NASA

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and was the captain of the first tech challenge robotics team. In addition to Key Club, Anisha is a member of FBLA, forensics, culture diversity club, and serves as our UNICEF adviser. Anisha has won a number of awards and has taken four 14 AP classes uh while also

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maintaining a 4.8 plus GPA. In the fall, Anisha will attend the University of Pennsylvania where she is one of only 50 in the entire world selected for the Jerome Fischer program to major in computer science and finance. Again, congratulations to Anisha and to all of

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our Shopright stars for the third market period. Definitely some talent up there. We'll take a one minute break. If you want to leave now, go back. and Is he

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>> okay? If I can get a motion to open the public hearing for the 2026 2027 annual budget. >> So moved. Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Thank you, Dr. Okay. All right. So, thank you for being

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here. So, what we do tonight is we talk about the budget, but uh to show you what goes into the budget, we talk about uh all the great things that the students been doing and everything that's been going on in the classrooms. So, I'll start talking about that and then uh I'm going to hand it over to our business administrator, Kine So

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just going back uh to 2022 uh we did a a survey of faculty and staff and these are just some of the quotes that were coming up. You know students are willing to learn a variety of programs uh that appeal to the students teachers care and connect with the uh students there's a

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high level of professionalism uh just wonderful things that are going on uh that our staff recognizes. And then uh two years ago the parents uh gave us comments in a staff's a parent survey and that they were saying that the teachers were all amazing, fabulous, amazing, outstanding. My children's

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experience and classes were excellent. The teachers are great. Uh teachers are wonderful. Just wonderful accolades going all around and it's just great to hear and great to see. One thing, you know, we don't put a ton of things, you know, you know, with the rankings, you gota be very careful with

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them, but uh what you see consistently, whether it be niche or all the other different uh um rankings that are out there. We see that Montville and our school district constantly ranks very high. You see the best school districts in America, top top 5%. You have uh the

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best high schools for STEM in New Jersey. You have best high schools, best area to live in, things like that. So just constantly being reinforced year and year, year after year that uh this is the reason why a lot of people move to this town and we see wonderful things going on in our schools.

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The post-graduation plans for our students. We have about 95 96% going on to colleges two and fouryear and others are entering into the military and other types of business and technical fields and stuff like that. uh our acceptance rate for Baron's classifications of

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students being most most uh uh highly vary and most competitive colleges consistently stays around that 61%. So almost twothirds of our students are getting into the upper echelon colleges that they're applying to and doing extremely well.

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This slide I always just like to show because there's a lot of rumors out there. you know, the kids don't want to go to the high school after they leave Lazar and things like that. And that rumor is always out there in all different districts, but it turns out to be not true. Uh when you look at the number of students that are coming from the fifth grade and going to Lazar,

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fewer than 10, maybe even fewer than five are choosing not to go to Lazar for different reasons, many different reasons, family reasons. But then when you look at a three-year average of the number of kids that are going from Lazar to the high school, overall about 10% of

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the students uh who who are promoted from Lazar decide not to go to the high school. That is a very good number. Many districts are much higher than that and that is a number that we're very proud of that we're able to hold on to 90% of our students. The 10% that decide to

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move on, they might go to other schools for legacy reasons. they might go for religious reasons or for some kind of specialty that they were looking for. Uh and that's totally fine. We always accept the students if they decide to come back sophomore year and junior year and just the average about seven

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students do return after they go and try out those other schools and then they do come back after a couple years and we're always willing to take them back. So, it's very exciting having them. We pride ourselves on the four A's in education, the academics, the activities, athletics, and the arts. And

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you saw that tonight with the Shopright stars and everything that's being accomplished. And this is something that we highlight, we promote, and encourage our students to get involved in. Just some new exciting classes and programs that we did o over this past year. We brought in some action-based learning, which means that at the kindergarten

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level, first grade level, and some of the classrooms, and in some of our special ed classrooms, we brought in um fancy furniture, if you want to call them that, but they had bicycles on on on there the kids could pedal. They had special seating all things because when they're sitting in the seats that you're

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all sitting in right now, that's like the worst way to learn. You know, you get you're just too, you know, confined. And then when the kids are moving and pedaling or uh or have options, they uh do really well. And this mindbased learning is uh incre increasing student

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learning and we hope to replicate this in many more classrooms. Moving on. Our elementary schedule's in it's our second year. We made a number of changes to that. We have rotating classes in the fourth and fifth grade for math, science, and social studies. And that's been going extremely well uh overall for

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the students. We have Spanish now at the elementary level that is in in residence program we're calling it. So the kids are getting about eight weeks of Spanish instruction all at once. Before they used to get it like once a week or twice a week over the whole course of the

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year, but we find it much better a way to approach this that the kids are able to immerse themselves for the number of weeks into their language before that teacher moves on to a different uh grade or school. We expanded the number of buses we have. We've been saving our

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district about a quarter of a million dollars by doing that. We have four school buses, but this allows us now also to help out with a lot of our sports programs as well as our special ed programs with field field trips. So, we're able to get a lot of our students now to get out into the community and do

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this community- based instruction, get out out into the work programs and things like that. And it's been a great program and very exciting for those students. our English language arts program at the middle school at Lazar. Uh we what we were able to do, we split the uh we used

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to have them combined two periods and we split that. So now we have a reading and a writing uh type of a class. So that's split and uh it's working extremely well this year. That's for the seventh and eighth grade levels. And then Medlick is our afterchool program as well as now we've been doing enrichment classes uh

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during the summer. This year in fact we're going to be offering two theater arts types programs. one for the elementary level and one for the middle and high school levels. But these enrichment classes have gone extremely well. Parents are signing up for them and we're going to continue to grow that program.

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For colleges, uh students that are looking ahead, they want to get enrolled in some kind of dual enrollment program. We have nine courses that students are enrolled in right now. 82 students are participating in that. We have anatomy and physiology, environmental science, general physics, genocide, principles of

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marketing. And these kids will sign up for this. They'll pay a little bit of money that goes to FDU and then they're able to get college course credits that helps them later on with the college payments um to help knock off some of those courses that they don't have to take anymore. Testing another area that we do

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extremely well. We're constantly outperforming uh other districts that are like us in our county as well as uh the state. So when we compare ourselves to other people that are very similar to us, we're doing extremely well. we're having our students uh you know at a different ELA again English type um

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testing 80% are meeting or exceeding achievement uh we're higher than the state when you look at our math scores similar 75% are meeting or exceeding and then at the science level again meeting or exceeding so we're doing extremely well there's different levels

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so it's not all just sitting in the classroom with the teachers uh we're also able to get outside and learn and go to competitions At the elementary level, we had 31 different field trips. So, they went to Legoland, Ellis Island, Gershwin Theater, and more. Lazar had 18

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with the Science Olympiad, Spring Lake, local trips, and even Six Flags for the choir. And the high school had 95 plus uh different field trips. That includes the DECA competitions that are at the state and national level, band, choir, cheer, athletic competitions, forensics,

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Rockefeller Center, ground zero, Holocaust Museum, and much, much more. So, these are just enriching experiences that our students are involved in all throughout the year. Clubs and activities. One of the other ways to round out the experience for our students, we have 71 clubs at the high

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school, 31 at Lazar, and 10 at elementary level. These are offered at lunchtime but also after school and different ways to uh hit the different passions of the students and ways for them to get involved. athletics. We have uh this year we have

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flag football still as a club, but next year it will be a varsity sport that's growing. And uh we have female wrestling uh that has been doing extremely well. And that's another sport that's growing. And you can see that we have 13 female sports plus the one club, 11 male

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sports, and then three that are co-ed. So very proud of our athletic program. You saw the results of basketball tonight. We're going to be res uh uh recognizing the bowling program at the next meeting as well for all their state championships.

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For the arts, we had 16 students that were accepted for the Blackwell Street uh program. That's a Morris County program. There were over 500 pieces submitted and we had um a number of our students works uh um accepted and

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winning awards for that program. And then with the music, we had uh 11 students. They were recognized for music and choir recognition at the regional level. As well as our junior, Alex Tarnick. He won the 2026 Chorus New Jersey Governor's Award. Incredible

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shows as you just saw with with our students tonight recognizing them with what they've been doing. But 10 years in a row, our music education program has been doing incredibly well. And all this comes together with, you know, the help of our community, with

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our parents, with our PTAs, HSAs, and PTC's. This year, we we raised $450,000 in donations. Majority of this money was for the playgrounds at the elementary levels. So, that's why you see there's a larger donation there. But very proud of that, and we can't do it without the

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help of our community and our parents and all the different organizations. So, that's all the great news that's been going on in our district and how we support that. Miss SL's going to come up here and explain it all to you. So, the annual budget is the financial

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plan for the board of education, the administration, and it guides what we do as we move through the year. That process is a process that is districtwide. We begin in November to speaking to the principles and the supervisors in all the different areas

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and we have them help build the budget. So we all meet through the winter and we begin to put together what next year's programs will be. This year in particular was very challenging. Um,

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as indicated, we are trying to execute the strategic plans and academic expectations of the district while also balancing a budget, meaning that the costs of running the district cannot exceed the resources the district has

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available to it. And we are in a cycle right now where the number of resources are diminishing while costs like health care and transportation are increasing much much faster than the resources can fund them. So this year in

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particular, we really had to evaluate programs, decide what we could keep and what we needed to try to gain efficiencies in. We actually didn't cut any programs, but we streamlined them so that they were more efficient

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and we were able to produce a balanced budget. We are very grateful for the fact that so many boards before us have made great decisions to help build up that revenue base so that we didn't have to do drastic cuts.

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When we look at the budget, we tend to look towards the expenditure side first and then look at the revenues. So in that process what we do is we look at them in groups. We group together everything that's instructional and we look at those and we group everything together that's support service

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administration and operations. And when we do that we then compare it to the amount of resources we have and then make adjustments accordingly. So to that end the first area that we're going to look at is the instructional area. These are costs that are occurring

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in the classrooms. So these are your teachers and your supplies, your technology services, all that are occurring within the classroom. We break them out by regular ed, special ed, basic skills and bilingual

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co-curricular which is your activities like uh your yearbook and your band and things like that. Athletics and then students that we are not able to educate within the district just because their needs are severe and that we aren't able

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to meet their needs. When you look at the budget in comparison to the previous year, what you notice is that it didn't really increase very much. We pretty much are maintaining the programs. We didn't need to cut anything. We have about a 2% increase overall in the

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instructional area. But what we were able to continue to do this year is and into next year is to go and continue the amplified program which we're using in the English and language arts area. We're can able to continue the action-based learning which was the

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picture that Dr. Gorman spoke about the kids being a little itchy in the chairs. that program and expanding it a little so we could provide it to more students at that K to2 level. We continue to expand services to special needs students. We are beginning to go and

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teach kids how to use AI responsibly and we have over the last decade done a one-toone Chromebook initiative in which Chromebooks are available to all the students and we keep rotating old Chromebooks through and and replacing

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them with new As we move into the second section which is support services, this is an area where these individuals support the students. They just may not be the teachers that are in the classrooms with them. This this is your nurse, your uh

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school counselor, your child's study team, your media specialists, all the training and curriculum development that goes into the year. This area did increase by almost about 4% but mostly that related to us providing additional

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services to students with special needs. We were able though to continue our initiatives to retain staff that is an ongoing issue in schools throughout New Jersey as well as provide additional professional development so that we

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constantly are improving the skills of the teachers that we have. The next area is administration. The administration is both at the board and central office location, but also the administration that's in each of the schools, principles, assistant principles, as

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well as the technology and the business office. These areas um in the end did decrease but very by a very small number. We unfortunately are experiencing a lot of turnover. People are retiring and new people are coming in at at lower rates. On this slide

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though, we also show benefits. Benefits are I have done been doing this for quite a long time and I have never had a year where my benefits have gone up as dramatically in one year as they did this year. Uh state health benefits though we are not part of anymore

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increased by double digits in the 20s and 30% depending on the type of insurance it was. Our increase was at 11% which honestly was pretty good in comparison to what everybody else was experiencing and that came from us

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having not been part of the state health benefits plan. That is an example of a cost that we have to find a way to absorb by not cutting other things just by trying to squeeze more out of what we already have.

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And then the final area is the area of operations. Operations is the area where it's the basically the b be behind the scenes people. This is your custodians, your maintenance workers, your cafeteria workers, your bus drivers. It is the

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areas that support what happens in a classroom every day by making sure it's clean and we get the children there and they're fed properly. All of those types of areas are part of uh operations. Mostly the change in this area relates

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to equipment and improvements which is also part of the operations area. What that is is that's the work we do on the schools during the summer and that those were going to be based off of the projects that we happen to be doing. We did a lot of work last year putting um

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safety security vestibules onto most of the schools and that resulted in a very large amount budgeted for th those types of projects from our capital reserves in 2526

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for 2627 meaning this upcoming summer we are beginning to attempt to replace the univventilators in the most needy schools. before they completely no longer function. Um, if you think about the age

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of our buildings, most of our buildings are over 50 years old. Many of our buildings are over 65 years old. And most of the unit ventilators in the classrooms are original to the buildings. So if you think of your house, no one is anticipating that your

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boiler or your cooling system in your house would last 65 years. That is the same here. And so we are beginning to replace them. Uh Lazar will have two wings that will have new unit ventilators and Valley View will have their kindergarten wing with new

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ventilators. Those were the worst ones that we had in the district. So that's part of our capital reserve that we always put money aside for in order to do these types of projects and that money has been set aside just for that purpose. We will also be doing some

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other interior repairs, things like stairs, replacing flooring, exterior improvements like landscaping improvements, walls that need that are coming down that need to be fixed, things like that. And that's all part of this. When you put everything together,

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you have a budget that is at about a little more than a hundred million for all of those different areas. And in terms of increase over the previous year, it's only a 1.27

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increase over that of the previous year. That's the expenditure side. Now, we needed to look at the revenue side and see how we can make the two pieces match. We did have the opportunity to um take advantage of a waiver that was

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offered to us. So, we are capped at 2%. We cannot raise taxes by more than 2% except in specific situations where specific waiverss are given. One of those is when health costs, health uh benefit costs are extremely high and we

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took advantage of that. Um that along with an increase in state aid enabled us to go and meet the expenditure amounts so that the budget was balanced. And what you'll notice is

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the first column box is got the expenditures. The second column or box has the revenues and the numbers match from year to year. In addition to our general operating budget, which is what those numbers

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represented, we also have grants that are available to us both from local areas as well as state and federal grants. Unfortunately, like with everything, those numbers are declining and we don't have as many resources available to us. And so, we have

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absorbed those programs ourselves that we had in many years had exterior funds to go and fund. And then the second big area that is also part of the budget is debt service. So when the community votes for a referendum, what you're

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voting for is to raise taxes into the future in order to pay off the balance of what we borrowed. And so this particular these particular payments all relate to the 2017 referendum. All that's actually the only issuance we

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have open at this point. And those balances are paid through the budget cycle. in terms of overall the entire budget um in terms of tax impact. So the average

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assessed house right now is valued at $542,000. For that average assessed value, the increase for this budget is $134 this year. So there is a lot of bang for

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that rather small buck in comparison. Um, but you're all of the programs that Dr. Gorman spoke about will be available to the students in 2627 just like they were available to them in 2526.

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Does anyone have any questions? >> Yeah. Do you want to >> at this point if anyone from the public would like to come up and comment on the 2627 budget you feel free to come up and speak now just on that matter.

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Thank you, Kine, for the presentation. I would like a motion to close the public hearing. >> Second. >> Second. >> Thank you. All in favor? Hi. >> Hi. >> Okay. Um committee reports finance uh the finance and facilities committee

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met right before this uh meeting just really put the finishing touches on the budget. Um, and the rest uh was explained by Mrs. Slant who can do a much more uh eloquent and efficient job

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than I can. So, >> thank you. Curriculum Michael. >> Yes. Uh, curriculum committee met uh uh last Monday I think to Tuesday. Uh, and we went over a variety of

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issues. Uh the first is uh we talked about I Ready as an instructional tool and um we're that the administration is evaluating whether we should reduce the amount that is used uh of instructional

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component that's used by I Ready. um continue to use I Ready for the assessment uh portion, but uh perhaps reducing the amount of instructional time um partly because of of the cost of I Ready, partly because uh there's other

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programs like Amplify that um do similar things and partly to uh help reduce screen time uh where where kids are be more uh active in an interactive class rather than uh being faced down in in in a computer.

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Um, we also uh talked about the two books for the summer. Uh, for for the middle school students, we looked at the seventh most important thing to the seventh most important thing um which is a historical

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fiction book and at the high school it's the running dream by uh Wendellyn Van Drain. Um, also, uh, I believe, uh, Gordon Corman, uh, who's the author of Restart and about 70 or 80 other middle school

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books, uh, will be doing a, uh, a visit, a virtual visit to Lazar on June 2nd during period 2. Um, it was very great that he's, uh, uh, he's coming. I've read a lot of his books o over the years and, and I enjoyed every single one of

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his books, so I think the kids will really enjoy listening to what he has to say. Um then we moved on to the master schedule for the high school looking at all the courses that uh needed exceptions whether there's too many students or too few students. Um and uh

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we went through all those different requests and and uh uh administration's got got everything spot on and and we we approved that to move forward. Um lastly we talked about uh the screen time survey um and the analysis and um

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we did talk about the uh uh the feedback from from the students from the parents from the teachers and uh as I mentioned with the I Ready everyone kind of feels that yes it's it's better to reduce the amount of screen time where we can and

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instead have more interactive uh uh uh lessons um uh to to keep the kids more interested, more more active um instead of just uh sitting in a chair uh staring at a computer screen. Um so we will try to reduce that as much as possible and

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there's going to be uh more information on that coming out as uh as the different recommendations get rolled out to the various uh teachers of all the different grade levels. And that that's it. Yeah. Hey Joe, uh, real quick, uh,

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before you get off that, Andrea or or Mike, um, can you comment more about that survey, that screen time? Um, I saw some details in the report, but I mean, can you explain a little bit more for the public? So, we did um a survey for our

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elementary um teachers and then our uh secondary teachers and we just asked them um questions about how much they used it in during the course of the school day for

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their lessons and then also uh the assigned homework that involved that. Um we got um I got the results back um and I shared just briefly with the um CIT committee which was the survey itself

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was um due to a a previous discussion that we had at um our CIT meeting um I think the month before or back in March. Um and so now the next step is for me to provide uh the administration at all

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levels a chance to look at that and then discuss it, add their own um information to it and then um formulate some recommendations and then share it back out with CIT and then the board of education.

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So, so can I ask you compared to other school districts, other environments, are our kids using screens a lot more or less? And what does the literature say about optimal >> Hey Dave, can we hold off on this for right now? >> CIT stuff.

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>> We're in the middle of reports, >> policy and personnel. Christine. >> Uh, good evening everyone. Yes, tonight we will have a first reading >> communications. >> No, no report. Safety and security.

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>> No report. >> School boards delegate Karen. >> Uh, thank you, Joe. uh workshop 2027 is already in the works and we are very pleased to announce that uh Timothy

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Shriber who is the um make sure I get this right. uh he co-founded and currently chairs the collaborative for academic, social and emotional learning and he is the

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chairperson of special Olympics. Um he has developed uh something called the dignity index which uh takes one from a a number one which is not treating someone very well all the way up to

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number eight which uh can help people collaborate in difficult situations. And so we're really looking forward to his talk. Uh and the other item is that uh school boards has developed a de delegate assembly task force to take a

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look at best practices for how we run our delegate assembly. >> Thank you. Uh Morris County School Boards. >> Yes. The uh next meeting is May 6 and it's in uh Mendum Township. Um and the

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the U theme is celebrating successes and honoring service. Uh so we have uh two people. First is uh Christine Feno who's going to be honored as certified board member. Uh she will have a certific

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certification at the meeting. Um and also we have the boardmanship award winner will be announced that night. Uh we have Joe Dory who who's been nominated and I believe uh five other people have also been nominated. Uh so good luck Joe uh on May 6.

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>> Thank you. Um, Caitlyn, >> hey. Um, the Mono Municipal Alliance hosted the Black Poster Project on April 22nd in the Piacasta Auditorium with featured speaker D. Gillan. And for those who don't know, the Black Poster Project honors lives lost to any form of

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substance use and to transform grief into awareness, prevention, and hope. Um, and they are hoping to see this program offered in the high school. >> Thank you. Uh, MTO Athletic Boosters. >> Mville Athletic Boosters. Can I borrow

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this? >> Sure. >> Mville Athletic Boosters met on April 16th. Um, principal Sanford introduced the new principal Ken Nasdc. Uh, Wayne Gino AD. Uh, let us know some upcoming

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dates. The Morris County baseball final tournament May 22nd or no, excuse me, May 15th. uh college athlete recognition day. Um Chris Ferrari and Lily Smith on May 22nd

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and NJASSA CG uh CJ Tedesco. Uh about 150,000 in the budget. We're looking really good across 20 sports. Uh of course various amounts in different sports. >> Thank you, John. Uh Christine, the special ed group.

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>> Yes, thanks Joe. The special education parents advisory group will be meeting on June 1st from 11:30 in the morning till 100 p.m. Um, and it's nice. It's a nice afternoon um uh meeting for uh

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parents who are stayed at home or can work from home. So, I'm looking forward to that. >> Thank you. Um, Cedar Hill, >> uh, no report, but there is a meeting coming up in May.

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>> Thank you, Hilldale. >> Yeah, they had their trips program. It was a lot of fun. They did really well. Enjoyed it. Uh, their next meeting is May 14th. >> Thank you. Valley View, >> um, they also had their trips program, which was very successful. and they had

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um about 40 parents come in for Steam week to talk about their um jobs and how it relates. Um brought in a lot of money for the kids heart challenge and their next meeting is on Thursday. >> Thank you. Mason,

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>> we also had our trips program which was successful. Uh we eagerly await the the playground being finished. It's it's very close to completion. And we have our new black top down uh at the bottom of the field and uh the kids are excited. >> Woodmont

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>> uh no report >> uh upcoming PTC meeting on Monday May 11th and of course living lessons is coming up on Thursday May 14th. So um just an incredible day as we all know and encourage uh as many of my

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colleagues as possible to attend >> the high school. >> Yes. Yes, Joe. The PTC meeting will be this Monday, May 4th, 6:30 p.m. and it will be virtual.

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>> Thank you. Uh we're now going to move to public participation for items on the agenda. So if you'd like to come up and make a comment, please feel free. So Oh, >> if you just state your name when you come up to the podium.

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Okay. Um, hi everyone. My name is Rich Lorenzo. Um, uh, I'm a a parent of two, uh, Montville Township High School, uh, alumni. Uh, I'd like to come here to oppose the, uh,

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administrative plan section 4, item four. uh excluding religious holidays, celebration months, including not limited to religious holidays, cultural events and observances. I think this is a uh mean-spirited

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uh addi addition considering you already have a compliance and approval clause. Um, I mean, we chose Montville because of the quiet streets, good schools, good neighbors, and good place to raise our

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children, surrounded by people who look out for one another. This is the Montville I know. This exclusion is foreign to me and I question the heart and its intent.

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Um, I think it came from a national playbook written by people who have never driven down Changebridge Road. Um, we have been asked to import somebody else's culture war into our classrooms and call it local values.

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It's not our values. It has never been our values. To the members of the board, I urge you to consider carefully what you're being asked to do. You have the authority to shape what happens inside our school buildings, but you do not have the authority to strip students from their

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constitutional rights. The First Amendment does not stop the schoolhouse door. The Supreme Court made that clear more than 50 years ago. Our students have the right to express who they are. You cannot you cannot take that from them. What you can do, what this

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proposal does is take away one one piece, one place where the expression happens in a safe, supported, supervised environment. All I want to you can push it out of the classroom away from away from the guidance of

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caring teachers and counselors and into spaces where no one is watching, no adult is there to protect them. I want you to sit with that. You are not eliminating expression. You are eliminating safety. I want to talk about safety because that's what I've seen.

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What the alternative looks like. A few weeks ago, I stood on a public sidewalk with my neighbors, other Montville students exercising their First Amendment rights, holding signs that said no kings. A driver, visibly enraged, swerved off the road and onto the shoulder directed towards us. Not a

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mistake, not an accident. a deliberate act of intimidation by someone so consumed with political anger that they are willing to endanger their neighbors lives with a vehicle. That is not Montfill. That is not who we are. But that is the spirit this proposal feeds.

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When institutions strip protections from the vulnerable, they do not create neutrality. They create permission. Permission for the loudest and most aggressive voices to fill the silence. Now, I want to speak directly to the students in this room and the ones who

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couldn't bring themselves to come. To every LGBTQ plus student in Montville, I see you. Your neighbors see you. And I need you to hear hear something that matters more than any vote of this board tonight.

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Montville loves you. Not a watered down qualified love you butt version. You are loved as you are fully. And there are adults in this town who will protect you. That is not negotiable. To every student who cares about history, about

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heritage, about the full truth of who of who we are as a country, if this board votes to silence those celebrations inside your schools, then I welcome you to the sidewalks. I've been out there. I will continue to be out there. And unlike the board, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe while you

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raise your voices. You will be you will not be silenced. will be amplified. I will like to close with this. In the movement I'm part of, in the resistance that's growing right here in Montville, one neighbor at a time, we have a call and response that I carry with me every

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time I stand on the sidewalk. And that is who keeps us safe. We keep us safe. Not this proposal, not silence, not the elimination of the spaces where our children learn that every person in this country has a story worth telling. We

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keep us safe and we are not going anywhere. Thank you. >> Anyone else want to come up? Just want to remind everyone, please keep it to five minutes. Hi, I'm Kristen Piper. Um, I sent an email to everybody on the

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board, but considering the audience here tonight, I thought it'd be worthwhile to read the email that I sent to everybody. Um, I'm a long-term volunteer, which includes serving as president of the Hillale uh, parent teacher council, the Lazar parent teacher council, and I'm currently the co-president of the

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Montville Township High School PTC. I have seen firsthand how our students thrive through inclusion and celebration. My comments are most recently shaped by serving on the search committee for the high school principal where candidates share their

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overwhelmingly positive views of our community. In fact, I sat today on the search committee for an assistant high school principal where there those very same sentiments were shared. I'm also a practicing attorney specializing in civil rights law and I have offered

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various proono services to many members of our community. I provide this context so it underscores my sincere commitment to inclusivity and the success of the Montville Township Public School District. I have two girls, a freshman

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and a junior in this school district. I have reviewed the signage policy and first disagree with the prohibition on the celebration of student birthdays. As you may know from my email, it was my idea to post the birthdays. Um, when the

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the sign was installed, there was a significant shortfall of what the Lazar PDC earmarked for the board and what it actually cost. I suggested to Mr. Brusho that we sell birthday messages to make up that shortfall. They're $ five

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dollar. Uh the first year we had an amount, the second year even more, the third year even more. Fourth year even more, and every year there are more messages. This amount that we've raised over five years is $5,000.

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Compare this to a fundraiser that I ran for the swim team at Buffalo Wild Wings where we raised $50. It's a substantial difference. But even more importantly, the students love these messages. They are thrilled to see their names

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displayed. The parents love buying it for them. It's a simple, loweffort way to bring some joy to the school. I also sat on the climate and culture committee at Lazar. And something that was resonating each message, each meeting

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that we had was how can we raise morale with these students? The birthday messages raise morale. It's simple. All it takes is a volunteer, someone like me, to sit for a couple hours on an afternoon and program the messages. It's

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simple. It makes kids happy. Why would you take it away? I also disagree with the unexplained disconnect between the signage policy and this and the stated guidelines and the policy itself, the board of eds

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published goals and missions and the mors and values of our community. Guideline number two of the signage policy indicates that all content must adhere to the district's code of conduct and be appropriate for all audiences

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considering the diverse community within the Montville Township schools. And that language contradicts with guideline number four of the silage policy which eliminates the posting of holidays and celebrations. I submit we should recognize all

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non-religious holidays, celebration months and cultural obser observations to show we are in fact a diverse community. Our school calendar has recently been modified to celebrate Eden Dewali. Hildell Elementary School has

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celebrated Dewali and Chinese New Year for decades probably. Uh this shows that our community wants to celebrate, not eliminate recognition of these events. The signage policy does not align also

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with a board of eds stated mission to develop well-rounded, invested, and inspired students by engaging them in an experience of collaboration with educators, parents, and community

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that fosters a culture of innovation, character, and inclusivity in a shared spirit of pride. And I took that from the website that you guys created. If this board truly wants to create students that are ethical,

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self-motivated, caring, and contributing members of the global community, again, your language, more holidays, more cultures should be displayed, not less. In fact, observing a wide variety of holidays and cultures

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would further your stated goals of creating a positive school culture while engaging with the community to ensure that all students feel safe, supported, and connected with their school environment. Again, that's your language.

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Last June, I learned that Miss Fano communicated to the Lazard administration that certain of her constituents complain about a pride message that was displayed while the drastic prohibitions continue. >> You're going to have to wrap this up. You're at your five minute time limit. >> I'm sorry.

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>> You're at your five minute time limit. You had to wrap it up. >> Okay. I have just a few more sentences. >> Thank you. While the drastic prohibitions contained in the signage poly signage policy may be in response to these complaints, inclusive policies should not be abandoned due to the

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complaints of a few. Our community is made up of different races and ethnic backgrounds with varied beliefs, values, concerns, and priorities. Our students are lucky to learn about and be tolerant of these differences from their peers. Our differences are what makes our community special. We should embrace

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these differences. I learned today that you have the ability to not even push this policy forward and I urge you to do so. Thank you. I just just before you go, I just want to make you go ahead. Um just for the record, uh Miss Feno has not contacted

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the administration at Lazar. Um so I just want to correct that one statement. Apologies. >> No problem. >> Good evening. Um, I would also like to speak in opposition of the new policy. Uh, my name is Brian Mills and I'm a parent of two children in this district.

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I'm also a gay man. Last summer when I saw the pride sign displayed on the marquee at Lazar, it stopped me in my tracks in the best way possible. It wasn't just a sign. It was a message. a

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message that said, "You belong here." When I was in middle school, I already knew I was different. I knew I was gay. But there were no signs, literally or figuratively, that told me that I was okay. There was no signal from my school

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or my community that I would be accepted. And that silence can be loud. It can make a kid feel isolated, anxious, scared, and alone. That's why this matters. A pride sign is

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not about politics. It's about people, specifically young people who are trying to understand who they are. It's about creating an environment where every student feels safe enough to learn, to grow, and to be themselves.

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For students, that sign may be the only visible reassurance that they see um reassurance. They see that they are not alone, that they are not wrong, and that they are valued. As a parent, I think about my own children.

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They have two dads. When they see that sign, they see a reflection of their family being acknowledged and respected. It tells them that their school and that their community accepts them. And that matters more than I can fully put into

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words. We all want our schools to be places where bullying is reduced, not ignored. Where differences are not just tolerated um but understood. A pride a pride sign contributes to that culture. It sets a

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tone. It clearly says kindness, inclusion, and respect are expectations here. Removing the signs sends a very different message. Whether intended or not, it tells some students that their identities are controversial or worse,

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unwelcome. I understand that not everyone will agree on every issue, but this is not about asking everyone to change their beliefs. It's about what kind of environment we choose to create for our children. Do we want a school and a school system where kids feel

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invisible or one where every child knows that they belong? Keeping the pride sign is a small action with a meaningful impact. It costs nothing, but it can be everything to a student who needs to see it. I

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respectfully urge the board to keep the sign. Thank you for your time. Good evening. Good evening. I also oppose the banning or prohibiting the content. >> Excuse me if you just say your name. >> Oh, sorry. Tony Chen.

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>> So, good evening. My name is Tony Chen. I'm a lifelong Montville resident. I grew up here. I went to William Mason Lazar and I graduated from Montville High School in 1998. This town helped shape who I am. Today, I'm raising my own family here. I'm the father of two

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children in our public school system and I coach my son's kindergarten soccer team. I'm not here as anything other than what many of you are, a parent, a neighbor, someone who cares deeply about this community and what it stands for. I'm also a gay man. And for me, this

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conversation isn't abstract. It's personal. What makes Montville special isn't just our schools and our neighborhoods. It's our sense of community. It's the idea that people feel welcome here, that families want to stay here, and that we look out for one

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another. Pride recognition is a reflection of those values. It's not about politics, it's about people. It's about acknowledging that LGBTQ residents are part of this town, that our families exist, that we belong here just like

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anyone else. Removing pride doesn't remove LGBTQ people. It just sends a message. And I think we should be very thoughtful about what that message is because there are kids in our schools right now who are figuring out who they are. There are kids who have parents

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like me and even small signals from the community like recognizing pride can make a real difference in whether they feel seen, supported, and safe. As a parent, I want my kids to grow up in a town that teaches respect. I want them

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to learn that inclusion isn't selective. It's something we extend to everyone. That's the Montville I grew up in. That's the Montville I'm proud to still call home. This isn't about asking for special treatment. It's about in being included in the same way other groups

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and communities are recognized throughout the year. So, I'm asking you to keep pride recognition in Montville, not as a political statement, but as a reflection of who we are at our best. Because what makes this town great is not just where we live, but how we treat

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each other. Thank you. >> Good evening. I'm Sheri Sephur and I am the proud granddaughter and daughter of four educators. Um, my family educated generations of children. So, I take

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public education very seriously. Um, I think it is an incredibly important uh civic duty. I do not have any children and I am very proud that the 32 years I lived here, 60% of my taxes went to support this extraordinary school

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system. I come into the building here and I see the words educate, inspire, empower. I don't see any of that when I see this

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current proposed policy. What is education? What is it that we are doing? I couldn't really come up with the words myself. So I went to one of the greatest teachers of the last 100 years and I have some

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words from Ellie Visel. I go to him often when I need some guidance. We are enough if we can treat history, literature, science, math, language, the

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arts, athletics, not simply as an end in themselves, but as a pathway to something even more, to a sense of self and responsibility through which young

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adults can become richer with wisdom. not just fuller with knowledge. the digital signs that were put up, aside from the wonderful birthday celebrations, which I always love seeing

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when I'm uh driving past Lazar, give information to the public about education, which is what your responsibility is about Black History Month, about Pride Month,

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about Indigenous People's Month. It is not about telling people what day an exam is going to be. They can get that information off of the patient the uh parent portal. It doesn't need to be on a digital sign.

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This is frankly an innocuous document that is really an attempt to dissuade public information that is important to a lot of people and that is not acceptable and it goes

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against your creed and I ask you to revisit that as something completely inappropriate to what public education should be. I'm going to share one more paragraph because I couldn't decide which one from Ellie Visel.

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There is divine beauty in learning. To learn means to accept the postulate that life did not begin at my birth. Others have been here before me and I walk in their footsteps. The books that I have

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read were composed by generations of fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, teachers and disciples. I am the sum total of their experiences,

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their quests, and so are you. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Sheri Schwarz of 14 Asa um Asa Street in Montville. I'm an active member of this community and have held many leadership positions on our school's HSAs and PTC's. I'm currently the co-president of Lazar PTC

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and want to take this opportunity to address this new policy. When the electronic sign was purchased, and sorry if we're being redundant here, sorry, Kristen. um for the Lazar PTC um donated a sign significant amount of money to fund this project as we felt it was important purchase for the staff, teachers, students, parents and

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community as a whole. This sign was properly placed for people driving by to see how Lazar was supporting its community. Due to financial the financial commitment, the PTC needed to raise funds to recoup the money spent on the sign. And one idea was to have the birthday announcements. Parents of Lazar

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students can choose to pay for a shout out to the for their child and to wish them a happy birthday on the sign. Parents choose to participate and they choose what they write. Many say happy birthday Jane or happy 12th birthday

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Joe. Currently, these shoutouts are $10. We had 41 birthday announcements from just January to March of this year. By doing the math, this small, easy fundraiser brings over $1,500 this year to the PCC. over 4,000 since we began. It should be noted that we used to only

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charge $5 per message, so the total in the future will be double. The money fund raise helps support teachers wish lists, book fair books, field trips to school to students in need, teacher appreciation week, and ice cream for the sixth grade field day, and so much more.

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Taking off my PTC hat and speaking as a concerned citizen, I would also like a better understanding of the reason for this policy. It has come to my attention that some board of education members do not like certain inclusive messaging to be on the electronic board. At the March

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President Council meeting, we were informed that the superintendent's office receives a quote handful of calls about the fact that the month of June notes the word pride on the Lazar electronic board. It was clear at this meeting that there were more than a handful of people who supported Mr.

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Pushut's announcement on the pr um announcement on the board. just like he may have had on the electronic board Black History Month in February or Women's History Month in March. This is a small way of showing inclusivity to the students, staff, and

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community that people who may not be part of the majority are seen, heard, and accepted at Lazar. If you could think back to a time you may have been a minority, whether it's due to your race, age, religion, identity, ability, or something else, and someone does

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something to show you that you are welcome in the community. Maybe it's by wearing a cross or a Star of David around your neck, or by um or having ramps and bathroom facilities that are not just up to code, but rather helpful for somebody who has a disability. Or a

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microphone like the one I'm actually using could help people who have difficulty hearing. You suddenly feel a connection. You're hopeful that this is a safe community and people see value in you being a part of it. By listing things like Pride, Black History Month,

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Veterans Day, and others, this sign does more than state words. It forms a connection and shares an underlying message that you are welcome here. I'm assuming that this is why our administration was trusted to make these decisions and post these messages to the board. Removing our ability to fund

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raise and res restrict the principal's decision on what could be read on the electronic sign does way more harm than good. Honestly, this proposed policy shows a lack of trust in our administration to make decisions negatively impacts the PTC whose purpose is to support the needs of students,

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families, teachers, and staff and sends an announcement of ignorance, bias, and exclusivity rather than acceptance for all people who are part of Lazar and the Montville community as a whole. Electronic signs are not just announcements to say when a game is to take place place, but rather an

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invitation for people to feel welcome and valued. The board of education has spoken of their desire to educate students to be well-rounded and inclusive. This policy is the antithesis of this mission and appears hypocritical to the goals previously shared. We as a community should not settle for words

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that are not followed by actions. We should not pride ourselves on tolerance rather we should educate and promote inclusivity and acceptance. The world is much bigger than our small township and our students and arguably many of our adults need to understand that when they

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leave this bubble and enter the real world they will meet people who are diverse in a variety of ways. We owe it to our children to encourage them to learn about people who may be different from them, develop empathy for others, and ask appropriate, respectful

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questions when learning something new. It is my hope that our elected board of education members, as as our elected board of education members, you take into account the many reasons why this policy is not necessary and sends a negative message, or rather a negative announcement to our community. Thank

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you. DO I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK a question? No. So, this is not a question time. Okay. >> Hi, I'm Robera Prober. Um, the mother of two graduates of Monville and happy to

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be here. Um, and I apologize the link to the agenda, the link to the document, um, did not work. So, if I I'm misunderstanding anything, I apologize. But I think that there are numerous days on the calendar that can serve to inform

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and educate our students and our community. Um, and I don't understand why the school board would want to limit such education. For instance, a little over a week after school begins in in September, September

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10th is suicide prevention day where, you know, if the administration and the students so choose, they could start to have those difficult conversations that in fact can prevent suicide. Um, when we go into October, it's Halloween. Do we

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not want to be able to tell our kids to be safe and have fun in November? Do we want I I agree. We don't want to push political agendas, but we do want to push civics and encourage our 17 year

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olds to register so that when they can they they can vote um in December. Do we really want to refrain from wishing our community happy holidays in in their many renditions? Um can we say happy new year

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in January? Can we celebrate both love and black history in February? March is National Nutrition Month, National Reading Month, and Women's History Month. Are any of these subjects a problem for school signs? And tell me,

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what is wrong with message pride? Um, when we started to hear about how well our students in our schools are doing and the survey that was done, we were told that our students are willing to learn. They are. So, let's teach them. Um, let's trust that our administration

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and our students are smart enough and caring enough to put strong community messages on the side and let's not restrict their discussion. Thank you. Hi, I'm Kim on

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>> Yes. Okay. Sorry. Uh Kim Michelle. I have three daughters who attend Hillale. Um I'm here today not as an expert politician or somebody who's as eloquent as everybody else. Um I'm an aunt. I'm a mom. I'm someone who loves kids. All kids. I have a niece and I have a nephew

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who are both part of the LGBTQ community. I have several friends as well who have children. And to me, they're not issues or topics. They are human beings. They are kids who deserve to feel safe, seen, and loved exactly as they are. And

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that's what this really comes down to. Why is it in a world that is already so hard, we're making it harder for our kids just to be themselves? School should be a place where kids feel safe, where they feel proud of who they are, where they are not hiding or shrinking or questioning whether they

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belong. They deserve to walk into a classroom and feel seen. They deserve to just feel seen. They deserve to know the adults around them support them. They deserve to feel pride and not fear. We already recognize and celebrate

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different histories, cultures, identities, and communities in this country because representation matters. It tells people you matter. And the truth is we are already a diverse community. Our kids are growing up surrounded by different cultures,

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backgrounds, beliefs, identities, and families every single day. It's one of the reasons we moved here 5 years ago when my daughter was in first grade. When we start talking about eliminating celebrations and recognition, what message does that send to the students

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who finally felt seen by them? Our differences are not something to minimize or hide from. They are something to embrace because they are part of the real world our children are growing up in. And it's scary out there right now. So, I don't know why we're

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trying to take things away. At the end of the day, this isn't about signs. It's not about politics or policies on paper. It's about kids. Kids who are watching. Kids who are listening. Kids who who are deciding right now whether their school

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is a place where they are welcomed, valued, and supported for exactly who they are. And I don't know about you, but I want every child to be loved and to feel loved fully, loudly, and without conditions

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because they deserve nothing less. Belonging should never be up for debate. Thank you. Hi, my name is Arthy, last name Gupta, and I am a 2016 Montville High School alum. I grew up here my whole life. I went to Woodmont. Um, I went to Lazar

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and I went to high school here. And as I look around, I see some familiar faces, uh, as I may have grown up with some of your children and it's been a privilege. And, um, just getting a tidbit of what everyone has been saying, I have to say that, uh, growing up as an Indian-American in this school, uh,

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Montville has always been a very safe town and this school especially has always been very safe. And, uh, I remember my mother saying, you know, in other towns they have happy Diwali. Why don't we have that here? And I said, you know, mom, maybe one day. This was about 10 years ago. And I remember about a few

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years ago, we saw the happy the valley sign on the electric uh on the electronic board by town hall. And you know, I said, see, mom, it'll happen. And it did happen. And uh I can't tell you how much pride and joy we feel knowing that we are finally being

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acknowledged to have my neighbors going from what is the Voli to happy Dali. Uh it brings us immense joy. And um you know my parents when they came to this country they never intended to erase anything about themselves. Uh I myself I hold a doctor of education and I can't

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erase my qualifications nor can I erase my heritage and where I'm from and my parents came to this country because they believe in this country and they came to this town because they believe in Montville and we unfortunately cannot erase who we are but I do know that we can go to places that we feel safe and Montfal has always been very safe for my

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family and I especially the school school system and uh I really do oppose uh limiting the messages on the electric electronic board because our differences are what makes us unique and I believe that Montville children and citizens should be well-rounded because I do believe that that can lead to increase

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in bias, intimidation and bullying and I personally have experienced that myself and with that being said I really do believe that the electronic board should not be limited to certain messages but everyone should feel included because we are all taxpayers including myself and my parents and all these previous

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speakers. We all have a right to feel a way we feel and we all feel a right to be celebrated for who we are because we contribute to this town in various ways. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Naswart. I live in Montville. I have two kids in high

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school. Tonight we are hearing about a proposal that aims to end certain types of messaging on our electronic boards in front of the schools. If this proposal moves forward, we would no longer acknowledge and show acceptance of our

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LGBTQIA plus community members by me sorry community members by messaging about for example pride. This action, this action, however small

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and inconsequential it might like to be, is part of a broader push to exclude LGBTQIA plus people. It is part of a movement to push people out of our community and out of our consciousness.

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a movement that wants to exclude certain people from our collective as well as individual individual responsibility to care, to love, and to accept one another as we are. This proposal is not only directed

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against the LGBTQIA community in our schools and in our town, but also in our country as a whole. This push is part of the many small cuts that together aim to take down our culture of innovation and inclus

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inclusivity. A push that aims to destroy our shared spirit of pride in who we are as as a person, as a community, and as humans. Having good intentions does not make an action right.

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Meaning well does not necessarily lead to the right action. Doing the right thing, setting a good example for our kids so that they will be able to build a better world is not achieved by keeping kids away from

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experience nor by exclusion. May I remind the board of the schools of this school district of its mission statement that describes very clearly how we want to help our students to be well-rounded, invested, and inspired.

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Namely, by engaging them in an experience of collaboration with educators, parents and community that fosters our culture of innovation, character, and inclusivity in a shared spirit of pride.

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May this mission statement guide you to make the right decisions. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Carrie Miller. I'm a resident of the Meadows at Montville and actually relatively new to Montville. I am the uh parent of an

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elementary school student and when my husband and I were driving around New Jersey last summer trying to decide where to move, we were delighted to see um that the Robert A. Lasar I'm still

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learning the school names was displaying birthdays and also pride. It was one of the factors in our decision to move here as well as this those excellent school ratings. So, we were understandably disappointed

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when we heard about section 4 item four, which we are definitely opposed to. Um, we love the diversity in this area and learning about all different cultures and their celebrations. And we believe that uh events like

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LGBTQIA pride, Heritage Celebrations, and History Months are what constitutes school excellence and inclusivity. LGBTQIA pride, Heritage Celebrations, and History Months are meant to shine a light on past and present oppression of

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historically disenfranchised communities and to celebrate the far too often overlooked contributions of these communities, including women. Because history is often written from the perspective of those in the majority or those in power, Pride, heritage, and

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history months are needed to remind all of us to consider how historical events impacted different communities differently, as well as the legacy of these historical impacts, many of which ripple throughout the present day. Pride, Heritage, and History Months also

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promote promote inclusion, equality, equity, and an end to the oppression and dehumanization of any group of people, which human history is unfortunately riddled with. An excellent and complete education must include the full truth of

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human history, even the parts that are painful to learn and teach. In the words of George Santeana, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Human beings who do not learn the full truth of human history are much

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more likely to repeat the mistakes of the past. Celebrating pride, heritage, and history month sends a clear message that the past oppression and dehumanization of so many disenfranchised populations and minority

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communities will not be repeated. at least not in this community. Celebrating diversity, pride, and heritage along with learning the full truth of human history fosters critical thinking, cultivates empathy, and empowers all of us to work together to co-create a

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society where we can all thrive together. Please choose to celebrate diversity, increase inclusion, and help every student feel they belong at their own school. Doing so benefits us all and in

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my opinion and my husband's opinion is a prerequisite to excellent education. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Cara O'Neal and I have two students at Lazar Middle School. Um, I grew up in a neighboring town and when my husband and I were

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looking to move here about 16 years ago, we fell upon here wondering how this gem existed beyond our neighboring town. And we so much valued the education and the excellence that we were expecting that we were hoping our family would be able

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to appreciate and experience. I am respectfully and strongly urging you to oppose the elimination of holiday and celebration month's content from the school signage and electronic messaging in our schools.

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Let me be clear, our children are watching. Our children deserve our collective best. Children's author Grace Lynn has done a

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phenomenal TED talk about the importance of books and how they are both the mirrors and the windows in which we experience life. Those electronic signs are mirrors and windows.

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Windows to create opportunities to experience someone else's lived experience and mirrors to be seen. Montville Township Public Schools

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educate, inspire, empower. You are charged with the task of matching your impact with your intentions of the choices and decisions that you make. It is a heavy weight and we are

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entrusting you to remember our children and to make sure no one feels undervalued, invisible or not seen. Throughout all our schools, we hear about phenomenal

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programs like Lazar's living lessons, for example. Multiple weeks of respect, celebrating neurody diversity, neurodiversity, celebrating kindness, celebrating inclusion,

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celebrating the arts, celebrating mental health awareness, so on and so forth. We also have things like one school, one book where we intentionally select a book. So every student, every family in

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one entire community has a shared experience of reading the same thing and making multiple connections that bind us in our humanity. Celebrate our differences and make those connections.

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It is so important that we say to our children that you matter. In Dr. Gorman's November superintendence column, he quoted Maya Angelou and she said in via his email, "I've learned

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that people will forget what you said. People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. When you vote, how will you choose to make our students feel?

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>> Thank you. Hi everyone, Judy Godhealth, former Lazar teacher, co-chair and creator of the living lessons program and a very happy retiree. But with that being said, I do have to

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tell you that even as a retiree, I still have a vested interest in our kids. I just have a question that you It's rhetorical. What on earth is going on here? I I seriously I I heard about

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this. What are we doing? I will tell you that years ago in the living lessons program, we had speakers who were gay and we had we knew that we had some children who were gay as well.

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And at the end of living lessons, children write letters to a speaker or speakers of their choice. I have notebooks this thick since 2005

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where students wrote letters to all different speakers. And you have no idea how many students wrote letters to those speakers that they heard who were members of the LGBTQ community

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saying, "Thank you so much. You made me feel safe. You made me feel heard. You made me feel strong enough to come out

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and to talk to my parents and to tell my friends. Isn't that what we want for children? Isn't that what we want our children? And we want them to feel safe. We want them to feel heard.

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So to take a pride sign down and to tell us what can go up on the sign at Lazar, I I'm sorry. I I think it's nuts. I really do. Sorry I'm not as eloquent as everybody

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else, but I'm so worked up over this. Listen, every single child needs to be heard. Every single child needs to be embraced. Every single child in this school district needs to be loved

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and we show our love through what we do for them. What we teach them and what we do for them. And having a sign in front of Lazar that for a month says pride.

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We're acknowledging those kids. We're acknowledging members of our greater community. We're not just pushing them aside and saying, "You don't belong. We took that sign down because we don't like it

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because we've heard some people, I guess, who complained. I am asking you to please make the right decision and make the right decision

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for our children. If you want me to show you the letters, I'd have to go through the notebooks of Living Lessons, but Living Lessons is coming up and there will be more more letters written.

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And there will be more lessons taught outside of a classroom. And we need to teach our children to respect each other, to love each other, to embrace our differences,

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and to have compassion for each other no matter our differences. Thank you. All right. Sorry. Uh my name is uh Ken Chen and I just

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want to say that you know this is uh something that is deeply personal to me. uh people around here were talking about like you know uh LGBTQ youth and I'm like as somebody who uh has been uh you

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know talked uh to people and uh is one myself uh like trans youth is something that's deeply personal to me and I just feel that this is an issue that people are making because you know people like Chia right chick lips to Tik Tok mom to

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liberty these billionaires just want to like you know have this discussion instead of, you know, the actual issues that are facing us. Like they talk about, you know, trans women and women's sports quote unquote protecting them. But, you know, it's like team teamwork

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and just, you know, building a community and overall the issues that affect this and like this school and just like New Jersey in general. Like just ensuring our kids are able to you know have are

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able to learn and you know contribute to society. Like I think we should be talking more about like feeding kids and uh you know giving school lunches for everybody not just like you know select few and just like just ensure that everybody regardless of like where they

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come from who they are just you know they have a place here and I also think about like what's happening uh across Minnesota and you know our kids are just it's just terrifying. trying and I don't

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want to see like you know these mask agents coming up to this school and like any school in New Jersey and they're already trying to and I just feel that our time should be better uh instead of like talking about signs we should be talking about how we can protect our kids not just uh you know trans and

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queer youth but you know everybody regardless of like know what race age or just like whatever you are just like you know this place safe for you and you know just make sure that we can uh ensure that everybody no matter who they

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are is able to just come here uh learn and not have to worry about if they're going to be sent off to Delaney Harl like whatever like all the way in like Texas or just you know shipped off just this I've been around this district and

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like NJ11 and I've been talking to a lot of people uh specifically from Mia and I just these people are great but this community. It's just it's really it's like honestly it's just uh so

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it's like I just feel that uh people are finally uh just trying to are finally able to come together and just you know and just just try to these times just want to like help each other and like you know sure that we can get through this together and the town over in

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Fairfield like just last week this weekend I saw a community like and I was trying to uh you know ensure that uh protect all of us especially with you know with the uh thugs and and I just feel that we together uh can

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face we can uh get these challenges and uh overcome them and I think that starts by uh just acknowledging who is trying to uh get this discussion and what is really distracting from which is just you know making sure we get a great education and you know ensure way we can

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actually contribute to society. And I just feel that as I just even though I have uh experienced uh you know the consequences of attacks from uh those trolls I just feel that I personally should uh if I can do can't do anything

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else is just to help others you know and that's just what I want to say. So protect trans youth and abolish ICE. Thank you. Good evening. Uh, my name is Nolan Shankman and I'm currently a senior at the high school here. And as a kid

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growing up, um, I was raised like half Jewish, half Christian for raised both ways. And while I wasn't very religious uh in that sense, it was always stood out to me that one what was supposed to be one half of me was under reppresented

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in most conversations. Um Christmas and Christianity was always the bigger conversation and a part of me felt sort of guilty about that that Hanukkah didn't get as much representation in those conversations.

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And while this is vastly different from the minorities that are being in question right now of who should be getting representation, it's that same feeling of a part of me felt under reppresented in the community. And it felt like there was something that I

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should be doing or I could be doing to try and bring more awareness to that even at that time. And in elementary school when I was went to Cedar Hill, we didn't have any electronic sign. um that wasn't a thing yet, but we had something called Holidays and Traditions Day where we learned about Christmas, Hanukkah,

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Diwali, and Ramadan. And that was always something I really enjoyed, just being able to learn about the different traditions, the different experiences that all these different cultures went through. And through the same time, 90% of people only know and only hear about Christmas. And there's so many other

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holidays and other traditions that are important for people to understand. And especially in today's world when there's so much controversy over where people belong and what kind of person you should be, I feel like it's very important for people to feel that

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recognition and understand that the religion they are or who they are is accepted and should be taught and understood by the entire community instead of something that you should feel embarrassed by or guilty that only you know about it. I feel like it's very

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important for everyone to know about the different religions and different events and to include each other in those things despite not being of that kind of religion or anything else yourself. So like most of the other people here I am

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very opposed to the proposal that is going on right now. Okay, at this time, uh, we're going to go to consent resolutions. I'm going to ask that we hold off on N1 for discussion after we vote on consent resolutions. So, we're going to hold off

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on N1. So, I get a motion, >> a second. >> Thank you. Section I. Any questions? Section J, section K, section L,

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section M, um section N2, that is a second reading the adoption from the previous policies. Section uh can we get a vote? Dr. Modrack.

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>> Yes. >> Mr. Palma, >> abstain on the minutes from March 24th. Yes. To everything else. >> Dr. Cordelino. >> Yes. Mrs. Fano.

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>> Yes. >> Mr. Petraino. >> Yes. Abstain. Minutes. March 24th. >> Mr. Rapaort. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Smith. Yes, >> Mrs. Zuckerman. >> Yes, Mr. Dore.

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>> Yes, on everything except M1 and K1. So, so um when people retire, I I read a quick statement about them. Um this month we have eight retirees. uh this was the last chance they had to

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be able to get their uh retirement papers in. They wanted to continue their checks over the summer. So that's why you have so many. It's not that it's a mass exodus of people leaving here. Um so I'm just going to start off with uh Sue Anu. She's been an educator for over 40 years and has served with distinction

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as a 25-y year vet veteran at Valley View as a prek teacher. Her dedication to our youngest scholars has established solid footing for their educational journey ahead. As one of her team members has noted, with daily doses of fun, her lessons are crafted to reach

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all levels with an unmatched love and compassion she has for the art of teaching. Miss Sue has built lasting relationships with students, parents, and colleagues. Her warm and sh caring demeanor and her exemplary professionalism will be missed by all.

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A veteran speech therapist and special education teacher of 26 years, Jana Feinstein has served with distinction at Valley View for the past five years. During this time, Jana has expertly scaffold instruction for children in all small group and resource room settings

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and has brilliantly co-taught and with colleagues at various grade levels in our in-class resource settings. She is able to quickly inspire her students to be active, supportive members of their learning community. A constant and dedicated professional, Jana has been an asset to Valley View and will be greatly

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missed. Number three, Pat Pai served at the Woodmont school community with unwavering professionalism for 13 years as a par profofessional. She constantly displayed a cooperative spirit and a deep commitment to student growth. She demonstrated strong educational

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instincts, supporting instruction with clarity, patience, and an ability to meet students where they were willing to help them move forward with confidence. colleagues valued her as a dependable team member who approached every task with positivity and a willingness to collaborate. Her legacy is reflected not

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only in the students she supported but also in the collegial culture she helped strengthen. Number four, Eddie uh Pimeint Pimeienta leaves an enduring 27year legacy as both a trusted paraprofessional and a valued member of the Woodmont school community.

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She brought a unique perspective and a deep personal investment to her work as a former Woodmont parent, always putting students and families first. She was especially instrumental in supporting our Spanish-sp speakaking population, serving as a bridge for communication, understanding, and inclusion. Her

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compassion, cultural insight, and unwavering commitment have made a lasting impact that will be felt for years to come. Number five, Linda Pico has been in the business office for 11 years. Over the years, she has adjusted to various jobs within the office with grace. Recently,

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she has been the district's receptionist, greeting the public and prof with professionalism and warmth. Linda will be greatly missed, but we wish her wish her well in her retirement. Next is uh Eleanor Cling Clinger. She prepares to retire um and she we

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recognize her dedication to the health and well-being of every student and staff member who walk through her door. Her calm present presence, compassion, and professionalism made her a trusted resource for students, staff, and families alike. She went far beyond her role, serving as the head district

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nurse, providing guidance to fellow nurses, leading monthly meetings, ensuring buildings were adequately adequately staffed with substitutes and handling countless other responsibilities. Her impact on the Montell Township School District will be felt for years to come, and we wish her

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well in her welldeserved retirement. Michael Fedorchic started working for Montville in June of 2001 as a night custodian at the Hilldale School. In April of 2008, his job performance and skill set enabled him to take the talents and transfer to the maintenance

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team. Besides his daily duties, he has spent many hours both day and night plowing snow, preparing for graduation ceremonies, and assisting in occasional emergencies. His abilities, energy, and personality will be greatly missed. And last, since the beginning of her tenure

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as the educational technology teacher coach in 2012, Dr. Andrea Van Buzzkerk has served our district with distinction. Over the past 14 years, she has kept our schools at the forefront of innovation, ensuring that our students and staff remain

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equipped for the involve evolving digital world. Throughout her career, Dr. Van Buskerk uh maintained the district's in instructional technology uh resources and leading pivotal in initiatives such as Google Classroom Pilot. We are deeply grateful for her

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tireless dedication with the professionalized coaching she has provided at all grade levels. We wish her very well and the best in retirement. Thank you. >> Thank you. At this point now, can I get a um motion for N1? >> Second.

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>> Thank you. Uh discussion. Okay. Um, I'll start. Okay. Okay. The first thing I want to do is thank the people in the public who passionately spoke out about this. No

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matter what side you're on, I think it's important that we continue to have respectful and productive uh discussions between the public and the board. And I thank you for doing so in a respectful and calm way. I know here in Montville we've always

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been very proud of our culture of diversity and inclusion and I don't see anything changing that way. I think there's there seems to be a misconception that this policy is somehow going to change what goes on in

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the schools and this policy has absolutely nothing to do with what goes on in the schools. It in no way prohibits district, the district or schools from running and promoting their own events, including seminars, programs,

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including things having to do with cultural diversity, inclusion events, and I have no problem with those going on the billboard because our billboards should be used to promote what we're

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doing in the schools. And these are important things. You know, it's one thing to have on the billboard February is teen dating violence month or September is youth suicide prevention month. It's another to actually do

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something about it and have programs and have instruction to our students that educates them and the public. And I think we're going to continue to do that. I hope we continue to do that. And I hope we continue to advertise those.

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What this policy is about is a sign. Signs signs are I think the best way we have to get people to see what's going on in the district and they're underutilized. I think we should spend more time on our signs talking about things like student

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achievement, team achievements, individual achievements. Yeah. Notifications and deadlines. They're great. But if you look at this agenda here, look at all these wonderful things our students did. I'll just even throw throw example. I think we had, you

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know, 11 kids in high school, nine in middle school made, you know, region chorus. But that's the type of thing that should be going on the boards. Now one thing I have a problem with the policy and this is what I want to talk about is you look at section three

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subsection 4 it says current content shall be strictly limited to the following standard school business categories and says district events dates and times for athletic events theater performances and concerts sanctioned by the board and look I love

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sports concert and theater as much as anybody but I think that's too restrictive I think we need to expand that to include things about cultural, educational, informative things that we're doing as a

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district to not only tell the public what we're doing, but to help the public, put them in the right direction. Say whether it's violence, college applications, drugs, we have programs like this and

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things like trips, art exhibitions. Last year we had an art exhibition in the high school. Displays of student talents open to the public, inductions, dances, special nights like bingo nights,

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district or school sponsored informal events like drugs, dating violence, college application tips, and yes, cultural and diversity events. Um, I saw, you know, Arty here tonight. I know she went to Woodmont. Hi, Arty. Um,

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I think this may predate you, but back in the days, I mean, Woodmont used to have something called a multicultural night. I don't know if they still do that. Long time ago, but yeah. But, um, it was an absolutely wonderful event. We

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promoted it and it helped us all learn more about each other. Living lessons. That's, you know, Judy, that's going to be your legacy to the district. It's an absolutely wonderful event.

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What we're talking about here is a sign and I think this policy is in recognition of the fact that as we expand as we start recognizing more things it becomes a matter of okay who are we celebrating

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and who are we leaving out and I'm just going to give you an example May coming up you know May is ALS awareness month I'm I'm not even going to even talk about things like National Barbecue Month, National Asparagus Month, and things like that. ALS Awareness Month,

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National Alfrai Awareness of the Month, AsianPacific American Heritage Month, Better Hearing and Speech Month, National Blood Pressure Education Month, Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness in the Month, National Brain Tumor Awareness Month, Celiac Awareness

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Month, National Chamber Music Month, Cystic Fibrosis Month, National Foster Care Month, National Get Caught Reading Month, Haitian Heritage Month, National Inventors Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, Lupus awareness month, National Lyme disease awareness month,

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Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month, Mental Health Awareness Month, National Military Appreciation Month, Neurop Fibrotosis Awareness Month, Older Americans Month, National Stroke Awareness Month, National Wildfire Awareness Month, National Water Safety

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Month, and that that's one month and I've left half of them out. So the thing I just want to emphasize is that this is not in any way meant to exclude anybody. I'm just want to control what goes on on the signs to use

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them to the best purpose. And yes, if there's going to be something going on in the schools that promotes things and it could be pride. If school wants to have a pride event and they want to promote it, yes, go ahead and do it. But there's a difference between saying this

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this month, that month, that month, you know, maybe to some people means something. I think it's some of the hollow gesture unless you do something to back it up. So I fundamentally agree with the

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policy and if anyone thinks this was in any way an effort to exclude anyone group, I can assure you at least from my point of view, it absolutely was not. And that's all I meant. want to say about this? Thank you for indulging me.

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>> Thank you, Mike. >> I'd like to say something. >> Yeah, go ahead. >> Um, forgive me. I'm going to read from my notes because I just work better that way. Um, when I was an educator, one of my main goals was to make sure all of my students felt safe in the classroom.

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Safety means different things to different people. Working with students from grades K to eight, I have cared for students dealing with abuse, learning difficulties, hunger, students who are lonely, figuring out their sexuality, students looking for friends, or a quiet place to eat lunch. I've encountered

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many different students, all looking to satisfy different needs. And as a board of ed member, the goal of helping children feel safe is still at the forefront of my mind. There are different narratives about why this sign policy is up for discussion. As someone who is at the meeting discussing this, someone who is on the policy committee,

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let me assure you, I do not take this lightly. I would not agree to a policy that has a goal of directly harming others or causing children to not feel safe or supported. As many people have said, we celebrate many cultures, religions, and lifestyles in this town. That's something that makes our town so

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wonderful. We have teachers and staff from many different backgrounds who bring light into their students lives. By having the school signs relay information about school events, we are not taking any of that away from our schools, our teachers, or our students. I hear what you all have said tonight.

436
02:09:34.400 --> 02:09:49.599
When discussing this previously, we discussed the signs as a tool to relay pertinent information to parents and the many other tools that are used to acknowledge the multitude of holidays celebrated, national months recognized, and theme weeks to bring attention to imperative topics. From my point of

437
02:09:49.599 --> 02:10:05.920
view, this policy was not designed to harm or silence anyone. That being said, I reiterate I hear what you were all saying tonight. I regret that people feel this was aimed at any one particular group because again, as

438
02:10:05.920 --> 02:10:21.679
someone who was sitting in on the meeting this year, that was not the case. There's many other calls that come in to complain about who was left out of certain things. And when we talked about

439
02:10:21.679 --> 02:10:37.520
it, as Mike said, there are a long list of things that could go on that sign. And we weren't seeing it as a way to exclude any particular group, but as a way to not hurt those who felt excluded by what we weren't putting on there. In

440
02:10:37.520 --> 02:10:52.480
regard to the birthday fundraiser, I put my son's name on the board. I participated in the fundraiser. I happened to like it. As the former PTA president at Valley View, when we asked if we could bring it there, it was a no

441
02:10:52.480 --> 02:11:08.639
because they felt that the kids whose parents chose not to participate would feel excluded or left out or sad that their name wasn't on the board. Different age groups, different experiences. I understand some of the board members

442
02:11:08.639 --> 02:11:25.520
concerns that by having the full names on the sign along with their birth date provides identifying information that could lead to harm for some children if certain people were driving by and decided to use that information for purposes that most people don't use it

443
02:11:25.520 --> 02:11:41.599
for. That being said, if there was a way to go back and discuss it further because I do understand how difficult it is to fund raise, especially as the kids get older and um almost more segregated into their activities where they want to

444
02:11:41.599 --> 02:11:57.520
financially support the stuff that they're directly involved in rather than the school in its entirety. I understand what that's like and I feel for the people who, you know, are on the back end of the fundraising. Um, so if there was a way to incorporate something like that in with the signs where perhaps not

445
02:11:57.520 --> 02:12:11.840
so much information about the children was given, maybe it's just a first name or something like that, I would be open to talking about that as well. >> Thank you. >> Thanks, Kaitlin. >> Joe. >> Yes, Christine.

446
02:12:11.840 --> 02:12:28.159
>> Hi, Joe. Hi, everyone. So, as Mike and Caitlyn described, um, when we had this meeting, it was about a lot of different things. I'll talk about the the birthday one. Um what we noticed was it was

447
02:12:28.159 --> 02:12:43.360
taking a lot of time on those boards and you drive by and that's all you would see is birthdays. Nothing important what's going on in the school. Um there was a concert performance. Uh the kids

448
02:12:43.360 --> 02:12:58.480
did the um the musical performance that wasn't on there as well. Um, and so things were missing that should have been on that board because when you drive through um dropping off your

449
02:12:58.480 --> 02:13:16.480
child's in the morning um when the kids are dropped off um everyone looks at the board hopefully. Um and you just have that five seconds to do so and that's important information. Report cards are out. Parents then have to log in. my,

450
02:13:16.480 --> 02:13:32.480
you know, my son growing up had that and it was old school if you guys remember where the custodian or the secretary would come out with the magnets and put them on the whiteboard and it was always usually done on a Monday so you knew

451
02:13:32.480 --> 02:13:49.040
what was planned for that week so parents could remember like picture days what those were a standardized testing um you know one school has it this week it probably should have been on the board for parents to know these are

452
02:13:49.040 --> 02:14:06.960
important time-sensitive information. So, we were seeing that and people were, you know, saying it's maybe inappropriate to put kids first and last names on it. Um, but additionally, a majority of the kids did not participate

453
02:14:06.960 --> 02:14:23.360
and I had a neighbor who's she forgot to, you know, do it. um and she got very upset during the day because her birthday wasn't recognized. So, she was excluded. So, we don't want to exclude

454
02:14:23.360 --> 02:14:39.520
the majority of students, even if they didn't want their name on the board, having one person get happy birthdays and then you don't on your special day. You know, we just we just saw, you know, that was an issue. Um, and we've never I

455
02:14:39.520 --> 02:14:55.760
don't think I've ever seen a daily fundraiser on a school board ever before. So, this is new. Um, and also, I don't know if I talk about it a lot, though. My my younger son has autism.

456
02:14:55.760 --> 02:15:11.840
Um, I'm very a big advocate for the um special needs community and I'm also now a liazison for CPAC. And one year there was, it was two years ago, autism awareness month, which was

457
02:15:11.840 --> 02:15:28.560
very nice, but then that was it. There were no other disabilities for the next two years. And I'm on CPAC. I now listen to families whose children in our district have Down syndrome, um, who

458
02:15:28.560 --> 02:15:45.119
have cable pausy, who have brain injury, um, who have Tourette's syndrome. And these, you know, once you start adding up all of these um special and um you know, uh recognition months, you could

459
02:15:45.119 --> 02:16:01.760
be at a hundred. And these boards, if you drive in any school district anywhere in New Jersey, it's really timesensitive information for the parents as they drive in, drive out. Um and messages also were on for long

460
02:16:01.760 --> 02:16:19.599
periods of time and it took up space and this is just an important tool for the building principal to have. Um so those are really the reasons why we really didn't want to exclude any group no matter how big they were. Uh we wanted

461
02:16:19.599 --> 02:16:40.639
all the kids to uh be we wanted to be inclusive and to everyone. I hope that's helpful. >> So, um, I spent some time trying to wrap my head around and understand why this policy came out of the policy, you know,

462
02:16:40.639 --> 02:16:58.000
committee and I appreciate my colleagues giving the additional context here tonight because I I do respect and um and hear what you're saying. That being said, um, in general, I think schoolboard policies are an important part of us effectively managing our

463
02:16:58.000 --> 02:17:12.960
district and I felt comfortable with the policies we've adopted in the past. Um, I'm proud to be a member of this board for many reasons. Um, and just like no individual is perfect, no school system, no school board is perfect, but I know in my heart my colleagues who've served

464
02:17:12.960 --> 02:17:28.559
with me on the board and our district's administration have worked hard through the years to make our schools the best they can be. Um, I don't think that this policy accomplishes that and I think it does the opposite. Um, for many years during my time at Cedar Hill, I was the

465
02:17:28.559 --> 02:17:45.040
person who was out there in the freezing cold putting on the old sign, the letters when you had to dig in in the box and putting them on, right? Um, then I was very proud to be part of the fundraising initiatives that helped us purchase the electronic signs throughout the schools. The other signs had limited

466
02:17:45.040 --> 02:18:01.120
capabilities and different purposes. I think part of the challenge here is that people are still thinking of it in that way. Back when those signs were in practice more, you didn't have the ability to communicate about all of those events. You didn't have the weekly

467
02:18:01.120 --> 02:18:15.679
newsletters. You didn't have the website. It was important back then for those signs to clearly have every event. Parents did rely on it. I would in argue that these new signs, I was excited about the possibility of these new signs

468
02:18:15.679 --> 02:18:32.080
and I've been excited to see how the district successfully implemented different ways to approach the new signs. I appreciate that there's a lot out there to recognize. I hear the concerns that I think, you know, were

469
02:18:32.080 --> 02:18:49.519
part of the decision to do this. Um, I think it's important to understand some things that were said today. I think that I acknowledge and I appreciate and I agree with that these recognitions highlight the beautiful fabric and

470
02:18:49.519 --> 02:19:06.240
diversity of our community, our country, our world. Um, we have students in our schools who feel seen and supported when they see uh signs like this. And it's not political. it it and it's a difficult decision to decide what to do, but it's important to ensure that all of

471
02:19:06.240 --> 02:19:23.439
our students in these schools are represented, protected, and educated. Ultimately, I don't believe the administration was asking for this policy, right? I believe kind of this is not something the board needed to delve into. We they weren't

472
02:19:23.439 --> 02:19:38.479
asking for this. We pride ourselves on the quality of our schools and our administration, right? I trust our administration to manage this. We've seen firsthand how they navigate sensitive issues with professionalism, with compassion. Why are we coming out

473
02:19:38.479 --> 02:19:56.000
here with this restrictive policy which in some ways is telling our administration, we're going to do this better than you? We don't trust you to do it the right way. Why don't we give them the opportunity to hear different viewpoints, get constructive feedback, and then trust them to do what's right?

474
02:19:56.000 --> 02:20:11.359
If we, you know, want to give feedback, there's ways to do it, conversations to be had, but to just come forth with this restrictive policy, I just don't think that's where we need to go right now. I I don't see the benefit of it. I see the

475
02:20:11.359 --> 02:20:29.200
negatives of it. I I respectfully ask my colleagues if they're hearing different perspectives to consider rescending their support for the policy, thinking of different ways that this could be addressed, thinking of the good ways we could come together as a community, not doing restrictive policy. Um, and I I

476
02:20:29.200 --> 02:20:52.960
cannot support it. >> Good evening everyone and thank you for coming out. Let me state from the outset I oppose policy 7523. In my 20 years of serving on the board of education, I'm unaware of a time when

477
02:20:52.960 --> 02:21:08.880
we needed or wanted a policy that bans the acknowledgement of nationally recognized groups. In fact, this policy is so unusual, our policy vendor did not have an existing

478
02:21:08.880 --> 02:21:23.920
policy to offer. So, we had to create one by ourselves. I'm surprised to see that yet another discussion related to schools digital signs has come up. This has been vetted

479
02:21:23.920 --> 02:21:40.399
twice before. In March of 2024, the board decided to have the policy committee investigate this. On March 5th, the committee meeting minutes are as follows. The committee chair requested this topic

480
02:21:40.399 --> 02:21:57.520
be placed on the agenda as an open discussion item related to the guidelines and content that appear on individual schools digital signs. There was discussion about possibly developing a policy that would restrict

481
02:21:57.520 --> 02:22:14.319
restrict the content on the signs such as Black History Month, Pride, and you've heard others. After extensive discussion, the committee determined that no policy was necessary and what is selected to appear on the digital signs

482
02:22:14.319 --> 02:22:31.359
will remain at the discretion of the school principal administrator. The issue resurfaced in June of 2025 when a request was made for a list of nationally recognized occasions that are

483
02:22:31.359 --> 02:22:48.640
displayed on the on the boards. The list is really too long, although you did hear from Mr. Palma um to recognize every nationally recognized group or week or month. But here's a list of events that actually were

484
02:22:48.640 --> 02:23:04.640
recognized by our schools. Black History Month, Women's History Month, Fourth of July, Autism Awareness, Breast Cancer, Red Ribbon Week, Happy New Year, Flag Day, Pride, School Counseling Week, Teacher Appreciation Week, Professional

485
02:23:04.640 --> 02:23:20.640
Assistant Day, Lunar New Year, National School Resource Officer. Keep in mind whether these groups appear on digital signs or not, we teach about these groups and communities in our

486
02:23:20.640 --> 02:23:36.880
schools. They are part of our community. We recognize them because we believe that all students in our schools should be represented and safe. While the board debates this, I have not

487
02:23:36.880 --> 02:23:53.280
heard any outcry about listing these groups on our signs. I've heard some say their constituents are offended by the pride sign. Well, my constituents are not, but I'll tell you

488
02:23:53.280 --> 02:24:09.200
what they are offended by. This attempt to marginalize already marginalized groups. I've heard others say that they don't want uh the signs to post anything but school activities.

489
02:24:09.200 --> 02:24:27.040
The signs rotate messages so both can coexist. And isn't that the way it should be? A school district embracing not hiding from its diversity. And I'd like to close with a quote

490
02:24:27.040 --> 02:24:47.200
from a very special person, one of our parents. It kills my soul that this community would rather stand divided than stand as one, no matter how different we are. Thank you,

491
02:24:47.200 --> 02:25:06.479
>> Joe. Um actually I have a lot a few questions. Um first of all uh I want to know why aren't the current policies that we have adequate for addressing this issue that has come up and that's not a rhetorical question. Um whoever

492
02:25:06.479 --> 02:25:29.880
wrote this policy authored it did what uh supported it I would appreciate an answer. Why aren't the current policies adequate for this issue? Christine, you want to clean that up? >> Somebody

493
02:25:30.240 --> 02:25:44.000
>> I don't believe there is a current policy that addresses it at all. >> That's that's my recollection. >> No, but why aren't our current both uh policies and administrative procedures

494
02:25:44.000 --> 02:26:03.040
adequate for addressing this issue? I get anyone from >> because there is none I think is the is the answer to your question >> I don't see why not I mean we haven't had I mean how many complaint Dr. Mr. Worman, how many complaints have you

495
02:26:03.040 --> 02:26:18.319
received on the on this particular issue? >> I get a handful. >> I get a handful each year. >> A handful. >> Yeah, >> a few. >> Okay. And we have a lot of people who obviously disagree with that. But um

496
02:26:18.319 --> 02:26:33.840
Okay. Uh then I've got some other issues with this one. And I would like to point out that many members of the public did make a good point about how this policy seems to be in conflict with our state of district mission goals. But also

497
02:26:33.840 --> 02:26:51.120
looking at section three number four, district events, dates, times for athletic events, theater, performances, and concerts sanctioned by the board. I have particular issue with that last those last four words sanctioned by the board. This is micromanaging. This means this policy requires that everything

498
02:26:51.120 --> 02:27:06.399
that goes on that board comes to this board for approval. That's what that says right there. Sanctioned by the board. Okay. And number three above district sanctioned awards. Okay. That means we have to decide that. That means

499
02:27:06.399 --> 02:27:26.080
we have to micromanage the district. And I'm against doing micromanaging of the district. Um, and so beyond that, I mean, I just don't think that a good board is supposed to get involved. I think that there are

500
02:27:26.080 --> 02:27:42.640
current administrative policies, administrative procedures to handle any complaints that one might have about the content of the board uh of the message board. I think that if there's an issue with that, we should be going to Dr. Gorman. We shouldn't be writing policies

501
02:27:42.640 --> 02:27:59.280
that hamstring our administrators. I mean, there are so many things that are not listed in here. For instance, if you wanted to talk about any of like share the keys, any of you know that would share the keys fall

502
02:27:59.280 --> 02:28:14.640
into one of these categories because I don't see it on this list. See, this is a problem when you start trying to micromanage is that you you start having to keep updating every time something new comes along. Oh, we forgot that. We got to add it. Oh, we forgot

503
02:28:14.640 --> 02:28:31.880
that. We got to add it. And so, I think there's an issue with this uh you know, just trying to get into the day-to-day running of the school district. I don't think that's what a good board does. And so, I can't support this.

504
02:28:38.240 --> 02:28:54.479
question. I just want to make sure this thing says sanctioned by the board that Dave was talking about. That doesn't I don't think that's meant to mean that every single thing has to like come to us at a board meeting for a yes or no. >> That's what it says. >> Is that what it says? Okay. Well, then then okay, that wasn't the way I interpreted. But maybe that needs to be

505
02:28:54.479 --> 02:29:08.960
changed because that wasn't my intention. >> You're a lawyer. You know how to read these things. Well, to me to me sanctioned by the board means sanctioned by the district. >> But >> no, it says by the board. And even if it meant sanctioned by the district, it would still have every single thing

506
02:29:08.960 --> 02:29:24.560
would have to then fall back to the district, fall back to Dr. Gorman. Doesn't he have better things to do at this time than review the message boards? >> No, categories. But um yeah, just one thing I wanted to say just in basics in response to something that um was raised

507
02:29:24.560 --> 02:29:40.080
by I think um Kayn and Christine about the birthdays just um that's kind this is kind of a different category. Here's the problem I have with the birthdays. And I'm not against doing something where we could keep the fundraiser, but here's where that gives

508
02:29:40.080 --> 02:29:58.080
me problems that we have, you know, Matilda Corn Popper who lives at uh six 6,500 Pennsylvania Avenue in Montville and goes to, you know, Mikey Cheryl Elementary School. And she graduates from fifth grade. And they put

509
02:29:58.080 --> 02:30:14.960
the sign on her property. Congratulations uh Matilda Cornpopper the picture of it. So now everyone knows that Matilda Corn Popper lives at 6500 Pennsylvania Avenue. Then she goes to Lazar next year and April 28th. Happy birthday Matilda

510
02:30:14.960 --> 02:30:30.800
Cornpopper. So people can say, "Okay, I've been monitoring this." So we know where she lives. We know she was in fifth grade last year. So she's probably in sixth grade this year, which means she's probably just turned 12. officer birthday is probably April 28th of 2014.

511
02:30:30.800 --> 02:30:46.240
And I know this is a totally different issue, but I'm just wondering, is this really a good idea? I think maybe we need to do something to make it so maybe if you said Matilda C or happy the

512
02:30:46.240 --> 02:31:01.600
birthday month or something like that. I just don't know if it's a good idea being putting kids first on that names and their birthday on a school board. But >> I'm sorry. >> Sorry. The public does not get to speak. >> Wait, can I >> The public doesn't get to speak.

513
02:31:01.600 --> 02:31:18.240
>> The the only thing I Mike would like to my thought is I don't think we need this policy if that's a concern to address it. I think it could go through the administrative process and those concerns could be addressed. So that would be my you know response to that is that I just I don't think this policy is

514
02:31:18.240 --> 02:31:35.800
the answer. Um if if there's concerns I think they could be raised through different means. >> Right. And I don't disagree with you. It's just simply that it came up. >> Sorry, you can't speak right now. >> I understand that. But in this it is casual. >> Excuse me. You're not supposed to be speaking now. Please sit down.

515
02:31:36.080 --> 02:31:52.479
>> There is a second public participation. Correct. >> Yes. >> That's it. >> Thank you. just I would like to just um address you know my colleagues who it was not their intent to exclude

516
02:31:52.479 --> 02:32:10.880
anyone. Um I'm reassured to hear that but that says you know different um they feel they're being excluded and they're here telling us that and they're here at 10 o'clock at night telling us that. So

517
02:32:10.880 --> 02:32:31.760
I I don't think we can ignore that. >> Steve, you just want to clarify first meeting and second meeting >> just >> Oh, wow. >> Sure. Um policies uh require two

518
02:32:31.760 --> 02:32:48.560
readings. Uh this is the first reading. uh at a future board meeting, most likely the May board meeting, uh this will be on the agenda for second reading. At that point, uh it could be

519
02:32:48.560 --> 02:33:05.040
amended. If people think particular language is uh unclear or inappropriate uh at that time, someone could move to amend. Uh this is uh really a way to

520
02:33:05.040 --> 02:33:25.760
move the policy on to a vote uh which would enact it. That would not happen tonight. >> Joe, um by the way, I would just like to say Karen is absolutely right. um you know we may try to craft policies that

521
02:33:25.760 --> 02:33:43.040
achieve a certain goal and not realize the unintended consequences of those actions. Um it's very important for us to hear from the public about that. Furthermore, I just want to clarify something earlier. The public is allowed to ask questions. We don't have to

522
02:33:43.040 --> 02:34:00.439
answer right away. We wait until the public is done asking questions and then the superintendent can answer or you can answer or the attorney can answer. But we are allowed to entertain questions but we just reserve the time to answer them to the end.

523
02:34:03.040 --> 02:34:18.399
>> Okay. >> Steve, if if this policy is amended in a second reading, would it have to be read again? >> No. >> Okay. With that being said, uh, can we move toward >> I I'll just real real quick I want to

524
02:34:18.399 --> 02:34:34.240
just comment because I I this is this is tough for me. Um, you know, I hate to be the fun police or or take anyone's feeling good away from them or or any celebratory right that they feel

525
02:34:34.240 --> 02:34:50.399
that they have. Um but but I want these boards to be used for their best use and I I just think you know whether it's happy whatever isn't

526
02:34:50.399 --> 02:35:05.760
that use. We have so much going on in these schools that can be achieved and celebrated and the these whether they're holidays, political things there there's too much going on that on the boards that might be divisive and

527
02:35:05.760 --> 02:35:20.800
We we you know like um Mike said that that there's if something's going on in the school which all of these things are going on in school different groups and different things if they're having events they can be celebrated on these boards um and I think that's more

528
02:35:20.800 --> 02:35:38.880
important uh to to get out messaging uh and and to for the principles and the administration to be controlling what's on these boards and not you know other groups >> and Joe can I say one thing as well.

529
02:35:38.880 --> 02:35:56.000
>> One of the things that um I know I discussed was that when students names or are on the board, those should be earned recognitions. Those are we have so many students who've earned awards

530
02:35:56.000 --> 02:36:13.520
and so forth. Their name should be on the board as well as staff. when I see staff recognitions um of awards and our students, it's amazing. So, those boards are very special and if a child's name is on

531
02:36:13.520 --> 02:36:30.319
there, whether it be just a first name or first and last name, it should be earned. It shouldn't just be their parents paying money. That's it's that's not what those boards were ever designed for anywhere. Um, those are for quick

532
02:36:30.319 --> 02:36:46.880
information for parents that they need uh to know for that week or the week after, including performances that the kids um participate in. Um, including just um eighth grade graduation events,

533
02:36:46.880 --> 02:37:01.840
things of that nature. It's we really need to stick to that. We had that for many years and the last few years it became something very different. And it's, you know, in our conversation,

534
02:37:01.840 --> 02:37:17.200
pride never came up. That was not in our committee meeting at all. This is really looking at the best interests of all the schools. Um, making sure no religious group um was left out and everyone was

535
02:37:17.200 --> 02:37:34.160
included. So, I just want the public to realize that this is something for the ent. We have thousands of kids um that uh we all have to educate and um so that is

536
02:37:34.160 --> 02:37:50.080
why >> you >> okay at this point I would like to put Go ahead. Uh thanks. Um so I heard a a lot of information from from everybody on on the board and um

537
02:37:50.080 --> 02:38:06.479
and it's everybody's, you know, got the right perspective on this. They want the the the sign board uh signs to to be focused uh on on our schools and and be supportive of the the the children and

538
02:38:06.479 --> 02:38:23.760
their education. Um, with that said, uh, I did write down I think about, uh, four areas where where I think I'd like to make amendments. I'm not prepared to make an amendment right now. So, when I think about the exact wording and stuff like that, u So, I just want to just let

539
02:38:23.760 --> 02:38:39.359
the board know that I probably would write up some uh, amendments, send it to the policy committee for consideration uh, in preparation for for the second reading. um just because I do think there's a couple of things that that can

540
02:38:39.359 --> 02:38:57.040
be made better uh in the policy. >> Thank you, Mike. So, I just >> Yeah, just saying we've heard a lot tonight. Um in view the fact that people do have some things they I mean, Michael just said he has some changes. I have some things I'd like to change. Maybe we

541
02:38:57.040 --> 02:39:12.960
should pull this from the agenda tonight, send it back to committee and let people put well let people put on if they have things that they like to be changed specific language. So we left we're going to do let's do it right.

542
02:39:12.960 --> 02:39:28.000
>> I not do it at all. >> Right. >> That's >> right. We don't have to have this policy. >> At this point I'm going to call for a vote. >> What are we voting on >> to move it? So we can move the policy to

543
02:39:28.000 --> 02:39:49.120
go to second meeting. >> I'm calling a vote to move this to second meeting. Roll call. >> Dr. Modrack. >> No. >> Mr. Palmer. >> I'd like to see it go back to committee

544
02:39:49.120 --> 02:40:04.560
for some reworking. So I'm going to say no. This doesn't mean I'm necessarily going to be against the policy, but I would like to see some reworking. So, I'm going to say no. >> Dr. Cordelino, >> no. >> Mrs. Fano, >> yes. >> Mr. Petraino,

545
02:40:04.560 --> 02:40:28.800
>> yes. >> Mr. Rapaort, >> yes. >> Mrs. Smith. >> Okay. If it goes to second reading, it can still have amendments done. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Be shut down. >> What?

546
02:40:28.800 --> 02:40:56.080
>> All right. Yes. >> Mrs. Zuckerman. >> No, Mr. Dorree. >> Yes. >> It passes. Okay. Um, old business. >> See none. Uh, general board comments. >> Yeah, got something. If it's okay, may I

547
02:40:56.080 --> 02:41:12.800
go back to the survey that I was asking about earlier? >> Yes, this is the appropriate time now, Dave. >> Actually, not, but okay. Andrea, um, coming back just real quick. Um, if I can regain my thoughts on that, uh, compare it to other school districts, how much do our kids use screens? Are we

548
02:41:12.800 --> 02:41:30.080
using it more or less? And what does the literature say about the optimal amount of time for screen time for uh, kids of different age groups? >> I don't have it's just it was just internal. >> Okay. >> Um, so the next step would be looking at

549
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this at a broader scale with the administrative team. >> Okay. And how does how might this um the survey results interact with the amount of time that kids spend on their phones and screens in other capacities outside of school? Is that going to be taken

550
02:41:46.240 --> 02:41:59.520
into account? >> No, this didn't have anything to do. It was just internally what our teachers do with our students and what homework they assign via the um the Chromebooks that we're using.

551
02:41:59.520 --> 02:42:20.960
>> Okay. Thank you. Any other comments? Okay. Um, last section uh for the public to come up and say anything of any interest. You can come up to the deis. >> Hi, good evening. Uh, my name is Jennifer Shankman. Um, I've been

552
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involved with the um different HSAs and PTC's um throughout the district since I want to say 2010. Um my son is graduating senior. I have another uh son who came through the schools. Um my main question is um Cedar Hill has had their

553
02:42:38.960 --> 02:42:54.240
electron electronic sign since I would say Michelle 2018, maybe 2017. Um and why is this an issue now? We've celebrated or you know announced holidays, announced all these

554
02:42:54.240 --> 02:43:13.200
things on um the Cedar Hill sign, on the Lazar sign for the last almost decade. Why is this an issue now? Somebody, you know, >> no, it's it's still public comments. So, you just make your comments and then

555
02:43:13.200 --> 02:43:38.000
we'll take them into consideration. Okay. >> All right. Thank you. Hi, I'd just like to point out that um as previously noted, permissible content is extremely restrictive, proscriptive,

556
02:43:38.000 --> 02:43:52.399
and unworkable. And you can come up with an amendment and it's going to have problems and you're going to pass something that's crappy and doesn't work. This policy looks like it was generated by AI.

557
02:43:52.399 --> 02:44:09.439
But the section 4, paragraph 4 is just mean-spirited. It's talking about guidelines for content. But then four is elimination of holidays and and celebration

558
02:44:09.439 --> 02:44:27.520
months. There's no reason to you can have a guideline. There's no reason to explicitly state that events like Pride Month and and uh Black History Month and all the other have to be excluded. There's no reason for that excluded.

559
02:44:27.520 --> 02:44:50.479
It's mean-spirited. I understand it was probably maybe it was an oversight. That's not how it's received. Please eliminate section 4, paragraph 4. Thank you for giving me the opportunity for a few more comments. I'm probably

560
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the only person in this room that actually has knowledge of how the board works. I program messages on the board. The birthday messages run for eight seconds. That's it. So if there's five birthdays on any given day, that's 40

561
02:45:07.760 --> 02:45:24.319
seconds. There's plenty of time if you're driving to Lazar, dropping your kids off to see any other messages that could be programmed for the day. So by your example, if there are 15 things that month that deserve celebration,

562
02:45:24.319 --> 02:45:40.080
run them all. If there's 30 things that month that deserve celebration, run them all. There's plenty of time. This message board runs for 24 hours a day. Run everything. I don't see the harm in

563
02:45:40.080 --> 02:45:56.080
being more inclusive. Let's celebrate everything that's worth celebrating. Um, and the other thing I want to say is to the people who showed up tonight, thank you for using your voice for good. I'm so proud to be part of this. Miss

564
02:45:56.080 --> 02:46:09.920
Piper with you. >> Miss Piper, you have to address the board. I'm sorry. >> You have to address the board. Yeah. >> To the board, I want to thank the people behind me for showing up and speaking on behalf of the community that we're all

565
02:46:09.920 --> 02:46:27.600
so proud to be part of. I have never been so proud to be part of the Montville community as I am right now. I've been brought to tears. There are students here. There's alumni here. There's parents here. and for them all to take time out of their night of

566
02:46:27.600 --> 02:46:46.240
whatever commitments they had to to explain what this means to them, what it means to be part of a community, what it means to be part of Montville is powerful. So, I I really urge you to to think about this. Um, think about why

567
02:46:46.240 --> 02:47:04.479
Jen said we didn't need a policy before. Why, as Dr. Modrack said we probably don't need a policy now and don't even push this policy forward. It's it's not necessary. Oh, one other thing I wanted to mention. Um it if you want more

568
02:47:04.479 --> 02:47:19.520
things posted, I suggest you give the administrators help in posting it because being the one posting it takes some time. So it it's sort of unfair to ask the principal to do all this posting. So that's my two cents on

569
02:47:19.520 --> 02:47:44.160
behalf of Mr. Pashidto. I'm normally never vocal. My name is Lisa Patel and I'm the treasurer at Lazar. And I have a comment and it doesn't need to be answered now. Clearly the one question I had was the PTC's and

570
02:47:44.160 --> 02:47:59.920
the PTAs for all the schools have participated in providing financial I whether you want to call it aid or monies that they've donated for these signs. Will those and you don't have to answer this right now. Will those be

571
02:47:59.920 --> 02:48:17.680
given back to those organizations? If the board and the administration is going to be controlling everything that is going to be presented, will those funds be given back? >> Just just in general gifts that are

572
02:48:17.680 --> 02:48:32.479
given, they're they're given and it's still under, you know, the the board has the control of everything. So, no, there's no money that goes back. >> Okay. Okay. That being said, it's very disappointing to hear which will then make us

573
02:48:32.479 --> 02:48:58.000
reconsider the financial aid that we do provide to this district. >> Hi Sher Schwarz again. Um I just for clarity I so Dr. Modra said we can ask questions but I was told I could not ask a question. Can somebody just Am I allowed to ask a question?

574
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>> You could pose a question, but the board does not have to answer. They we could choose depending on what it is. >> Okay. So, thank you for allowing me to ask this time. Um, so if you choose to answer, if members of the school are asked to participate in a program, so

575
02:49:13.920 --> 02:49:31.439
for instance, at Lazar, often Lazar students cross the street and and participate in a Veterans Day program, right? Is that something that if this policy goes through, is that something that's allowed to be on the board? I'm

576
02:49:31.439 --> 02:49:46.399
going to ask the question and if you'd like to answer, I'd love to hear it. Just real quick, I think that's what Mr. Palma was asking. You know, the differentiation between, you know, recognizing Veterans Day versus it's part of the program. They want people to know what's going on with the students.

577
02:49:46.399 --> 02:50:02.640
So that's something he brought up is wanting further clarification. >> But as it's written right now, if if there's a program that Lazar students or high school students or any of the other two schools that have these

578
02:50:02.640 --> 02:50:29.600
signs, if those students participate, is that something that would be allowed on the board? Well, why don't you just leave that question and then we'll be looking at that. Thank you. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Just as a general board comment, I just want to say that's the type of thing

579
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that was looking to have the thing go back into committee for to clear up things such as that. That was my point. So, since there may be some edits made, uh, since my son will be in Montville public schools for the next 11 years,

580
02:50:50.720 --> 02:51:07.120
for whatever it's worth, I personally would much rather, uh, the specific school that he's at be managing the digital board, especially because that makes it a lot easier for parents to uh, also give feedback on that. Um, and

581
02:51:07.120 --> 02:51:22.479
then if the school was using the board as a primary means by which to keep parents informed, I would definitely express that I don't think that's a very good way to keep parents informed. Um, I think an email, text chain, website, all of those are a much better way to keep

582
02:51:22.479 --> 02:51:37.279
parents informed about school events. Um, the boards seem like a great place to celebrate each and every student. So, if you do decide to make a policy about them, I know it's a fundraiser, but I

583
02:51:37.279 --> 02:51:54.160
knew a lot of uh kids who weren't high achievers. Um, I used to be a high school science teacher and a lot of the like DND kids and the kids who weren't into sports or anything like that, they would have really loved to have their birthday on that board just

584
02:51:54.160 --> 02:52:09.520
automatically unless maybe their parents opted out of that. So, it seems like because the board is the public face of the school, uh it would be great if it celebrated each and every student at least once a year with their birthday

585
02:52:09.520 --> 02:52:33.760
and was a place to to let the wider community know that Montville schools celebrate diversity, are inclusive, and cherish every student. That's just my opinion. Um Nolan Shankman again. I just have two

586
02:52:33.760 --> 02:52:50.960
quick things. One of them about the birthday comments about privacy reasons. Um obviously it's a big issue of privacy on the internet, but also being a high schooler senior right now, obviously I have social media. I think that any

587
02:52:50.960 --> 02:53:07.359
predator trying to find information about a student could find their age and their birthday and their full name on any social media account in 10 seconds if they wanted to. Obviously, it's a problem that their name might be posted at the school, but I don't think that

588
02:53:07.359 --> 02:53:22.319
that's a real threat compared to every other power that they have on the internet. And the other thing, um, what was I going to say about the, um, intention that you guys had in the process of creating this? You mentioned

589
02:53:22.319 --> 02:53:38.720
that, uh, Pride Month was never brought up in your meeting. You mentioned that this was always meant to be more inclusive, but I might be the only person that listens to these, but every year we get taught about harassment, intubation, and bullying in home room. And the biggest principle they say is

590
02:53:38.720 --> 02:53:55.279
the intent doesn't matter. It's the effect on the person that matters. So I could try even if I'm making a joke to someone who I think is my friend, if they take it as I'm being hurtful to them or hurtful to their culture, who they are, that's what

591
02:53:55.279 --> 02:54:12.200
matters, not what I'm trying to say. So I'm sure benefit of the doubt that you guys had all the right intentions in mind. What's more important is the effect it has on the minority groups that are possibly being left out with this new change.

592
02:54:19.520 --> 02:54:36.160
>> Uh hello again board. Uh, I just as I was hearing everyone's comments, I just thought something very logically and I just thought I understand the need to post messages that pertain to students and the schools, but it had me thinking, you know, as I'm driving, uh, it can be

593
02:54:36.160 --> 02:54:51.600
overbearing to to maybe for a parent to see a message talking about report cards or potentially about school programs. And we have to keep in mind that people are driving by as they see this. So I think it's something to note that the messages should be very short or

594
02:54:51.600 --> 02:55:06.479
something to maybe boost morale to students uh because I'm no longer a student but I am an alumni and it feels really nice to see messages boosting morale because not just for the schools but for the town but it's just something to consider that people are driving so people can get distracted. Someone might

595
02:55:06.479 --> 02:55:29.600
see a report card sign or a reminder and might instantly take out their phone. So it is really important to note that people are driving and walking as they are seeing these signs. Thank you. >> Uh hi uh Ken Chen once again. Uh I just

596
02:55:29.600 --> 02:55:47.359
wanted to say that you know this uh meeting has uh been just it it's uh I'm just uh glad that people are like showing up and like you know making their voices heard and just trying to uh like because uh we are having a uh

597
02:55:47.359 --> 02:56:03.600
crisis in our like democracy and you know uh our country as a whole and I feel that like you know having a dialogue and you know having people actually uh come out and try to like at the very least like uh even if we're not going to like you know we're not going to agree on everything, but at the very

598
02:56:03.600 --> 02:56:19.680
least like uh hearing out like what people have to say and like you know even if this passes at the very least uh people uh uh that uh people here who have spoken out like regardless like where they're from the very least uh we

599
02:56:19.680 --> 02:56:35.920
uh uh if it does passes we uh know that people did not want this and overall we just uh just wanted to uh say that I'm just glad people are showing up and like you know making uh their voices heard and uh I just want everybody here to

600
02:56:35.920 --> 02:56:52.640
like you know uh take us me and everyone else uh words consideration when uh comes to this policy and future ones especially just try and uh you know who the people and students here who are

601
02:56:52.640 --> 02:57:10.000
going to be growing up uh and uh just trying to figure where they are in the world. Just just want to uh uh show them that uh you know that this is what uh community really looks like and overall just uh want to make sure

602
02:57:10.000 --> 02:57:37.200
that everybody has a place and just to uh show that they can make a difference. Uh thank you Well, before we do that, let me ask one. Is it permissible to ask out of courtesy that before this goes on for a second

603
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reading, we have another policy meeting so we can tighten things up? I mean, 99 out of 100 policies, we do our rubber stamps. This one isn't. I just want don't want to be here the next meeting and people doing chicken scratch with pen and ink and making changes on the

604
02:57:52.720 --> 02:58:10.160
fly at the next meeting. I want to have something in place. >> Absolutely. Who's the chair of the policy? >> Yes, I am. >> I heard I heard you, Mike. Yeah, that sounds great. >> Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

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02:58:10.160 --> 02:58:16.359
>> Second. >> Second. >> All in favor?