Meeting call to order. Mr. Alro present. Miss Calder here. Mr. Dcasta. Miss Caulinger here. Mr. Lombardi here. Mr. Luna. Miss Ryan. Vice President D here. President here. Please stand for the
pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. In accordance with the provisions of the
New Jersey open public meetings law, the new Milford Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date, time, and place there posted in the Burough Hall in the New Milford Public Library. Notices have been sent to the record that have been buried. The board announces that under its long-standing
policy, it will not discuss in public any comments made by members of the public concerning individual staff members. At this time, please be advised that all cell phones and electronic devices are to be turned off. Meetings at the board are open to the public and all members of the community shall free
should feel free to participate. Before coming to the board, the chain of command should be followed. There are two portions of the meeting reserved for comments from the public. The first at the beginning of the meeting for agenda items only and the second at the end of the meeting for other items. Issues raised by the public may or may not be
responded to by the board, but all comments will be considered. The board requests that all members of the public be mindful of the rights of other individuals when speaking. Due to confidentiality and legal rights afforded by the state of New Jersey, members of the public are asked to not speak negatively or in a derogatory
manner about any employee of the board or any student. Committee of the whole. I seek a motion for approval of minutes March 8th close March I'm sorry March 18th close March 18th work and March 26 regular any second Nicole all in
favor okay student board representative board immigrating good evening everyone enjoyed a relaxing spring break and now the lights are back to close up the school year freshman and junior students are taking NJSLA testing this week and sophomores and seniors are enjoying a
couple hours of So, the student council is finalizing its details and ideas for the spring Olympics, and it's an event we're very excited for because it will combine both academic and athletic interests. So, we plan out a fun-filled day filled with activities and games, a great way to promote school spirit and grade level
pride. Last Thursday, April 24th, we had a successful New York Milford High School junior and senior high school art show. And congratulations to Jamie Liebeck who have who was selected to have her art displayed at Bergen County Plaza in Hackinack. Jamie is also
participating in the 2025 NJ05 Congressional Art Competition Showcase. She's very talented. Last Friday, the academyy's program got a glass from the past on a tour of Metife Stadium with former Duke's principal Mr. Davies. The tour was very new and exciting, and it was great to learn about the inner
workings of a stadium as well as lesserk known career options. It was very cool. This Friday, our golf team is headed to Valley Brook Golf Course for their NJIC tournament. So, good luck to them. And recently, our track team has been very successful. At the Aviator Relays, the track team made three school records.
And the boys had a trip the boys were bowled in the triple jump having the second best TJ relay in school history. Sorry. Also, the boys and girls were both champions in the 2025 Patriot Division League. So, nice. That concludes my report.
Thank you. Does anyone have any questions for us? Any any idea what the Olympic sports are going to be? Is it the same every year or you change it up? It switches up there. Yeah. I'm not sure though. We'll combine it with like spirit week and stuff. So, I'm not sure the things yet, but it's fine.
Thank you. We know you're very busy. You do not have to stay for our meeting. And thank you for your presentation. [Music] Superintendent of Schools report. All right, good evening everyone. Um, first I'd like to start off by thanking everyone who's here. Um, the state of
the district uh address uh to the board and the public have been moved to next week because we're waiting for a tax incentive program that was offered by the state to raise the tax levy um to be officially granted to us. So, we can't approve the budget until then. So, we
are assuming that May 7th will be the date because they have to get it to Okay. Um May 5th through 9th is teacher appreciation week. So I just I'd like to talk a little bit about that. Um sometimes we forget that like the
strength uh of America lies in the education of its citizens. It's one thing that set us apart, you know, over 200 years ago. And um we guarantee free and public education to everybody um despite disabilities uh where they come
from, demographics, whether they're rich, they're poor. That's something that every country didn't do. And the fundamental nature of education rests on the shoulders of the teachers. They are still in the classroom. They are still in the kids. And that fundamental premise of we have to educate our
citizenry still occurs from the classroom. Now it has changed. Um it's not just academics anymore. And I really want to emphasize teachers are whatever they need to be, whether it's counselors, surrogate moms, surrogate dads.
Um, sometimes they buy things for the kids. Um, they put up with a lot and they deal with a lot. And I think it just has to be recognized that this week, May 5th through 9th, is is really important to just recognize them, understand them. We know there's teacher
burnout all over the country. Um, It's hard to find teachers. It's even harder to find great teachers. So, number one, I'm thankful that everybody in New Milford who is a teacher became a teacher. And number two, I'm thankful you're staying teachers. And I I thank you for just coming to work every day
and committing to the students because without you, the whole American um in invention does not work. Uh it still rests on the teacher shoulders. And I think they are keeping society together as there's family breakdowns and everything. more rest on the teachers.
So, I appreciate you. Um, last week, April 23rd, I hope you remembered, uh, Mr. Alro was administrative professionals day, uh, your secretary. So, you did remember, right? Very good. So, I just want to point out, um, that they're behind the
scenes all the time, but without them, it would be extremely difficult. It it would be almost too much to make any district win. um they are on the front lines with administration, with teachers, with parents many times with students. They do so much to just keep
the machine running and I thank them for that and it's well deserved to recognize them last week. Um as for district happenings, performance reports were released in April. So I do want to say a little bit about this because it's great information for the public. So, the New
Jersey Department of Education made a commitment to release these performance reports for every single district in the state. If you just Google performance reports NJ do, you click on that link, you will come to the main page and you can search by district um or county, you
find the Milford school system and there's a district summary and then a detailed report. You can go into each individual school and it gives a abundance of information anywhere from test scores to student growth to chronic absenteeism to the education of our
staff. Uh so much information. So I encourage you to go look at that. We use it on our end especially through NJ Smart which powers that um to make big program programmatic decisions and also to take sneak peeks at schools. Like if I want to compare our school to Tony's,
I go on I don't call them. I go on to performance and compare. Like my old district, I compare because I want to win every time. Um so it's a great resource. I encourage everyone to use it. And if you have any questions, you know, seek out um your building
principal, guidance counselor, teacher. Um they'll be more than willing to explain anything that you may need. Okay. Um NJSL AP testing was discussed. Please have your children just go to bed early. give them a banana or more milk
at night. Um but please get them in bed and get them ready for tests. Please uh parents um acknowledge the tests and tell them it's important because it is because if we get false information then it's hard for us to know where we are going. So the more accurate the
information that we get to identify gaps in learning it will help us help your children. But we need accurate information that comes from students working hard at the tests. I would like to thank the New Milford Education Foundation uh for donating a
large sum of money and helping the district paint the front of uh the school with the pillars. Um I think it was a goal of ours almost immediately. It was a mutual goal because we know come this season actually with the pictures for prom and graduation it's
nice to we have a very picturesque school and uh the worst thing is when you look at pillars to see rotting wood behind it. It was not a small task. Um, they had a lift here. They actually had to chop out pieces of wood that were rotten the size of me and then replace
it and then repaint it. Um, they did a wonderful job. So, we thank the Ed Foundation for making that happen. We went to a county job fair on April 5th, uh, the principles and I, and there's a lot of teachers looking for a job. So, um, it was great seeing the
energy. We saw a bunch of new Milford kids actually from Ramanville College looking for jobs. So we were bringing them in for interviews. Um high school students are once again uh training to be uh the poll booth workers uh to for the June election
which is very exciting. Uh they get paid and I can tell that the county is doing it more and more and more because it's getting much more smooth than it was in the past. So I appreciate that. Gives international night out. Mrs. Tori was very proud of this. She worked in
conjunction with the PTO and it was amazing. The strength of one of the strengths of our community is the diversity and this international night out. You got to see parents and families come out and they are so proud of their culture and we're looking for a platform
to speak about it, perform, cook, share and they came out in droves and it was wonderful. Some presentations were in front of the whole entire gymnasium in front of hundreds of people. Others set up booths and cooked food or um put cultural dress attire. I mean, I was
doing calligraphy. Um it was it was it was an amazing amazing night and I could tell Miss Tori and the PTO is very very proud of it and I I anticipated having more and more and more and just gaining more steam. So, it was a great way to just harness the power of diversity which we are very lucky to have in New
Milford. I I can't believe I keep going over this. We have so many people that win awards in New Milford. Um the mock trial. So mock trial is an educational program offered by New Jersey State Bar Foundation that simulates real court
cases for students. Nicole Choy, who's an 11th grader of ours, and Moses Duce competed at the state mock trial competition several weeks ago, which saw 216 teams participated with over 3,400 students. Nicole Choy took first place
in the courtroom news reporter competition. That is amazing. Nicole will now represent them over at the national competition in Arizona this May. That is amazing. And the HOSA International. So we had a couple state winners. Ian Lee was one of them. Uh so
HOSA is a national student organization focused on the developing future health care professionals providing leadership service and recognition opportunities for students in health science programs. Um Ian Lee we are proud to say um placed second
at the HOSA state leadership conference in dental terminology and will now be competing at the HOSA international in Tennessee this coming June. So we have Arizona and Tennessee and amazing stuff. Um, the Montlair Theater Awards just
came out. Now, this is a year behind. So, this is actually celebrating last year's middle school musical, which is nominated, which was Shrek Jr., three of our students were nominated. Um, so we're proud to say that outstanding achievement in costume
design, Sonia Vasencio. Um, I wish he was still in district. She is not, but we'll be back. Outstanding achievement by a student uh stage crew, Hannah Cho, and outstanding performance by an actor, Amari Rudd. Um this is the third annual awards ceremony, so we're looking forward to these nominations. And on May
19th, we'll see if we win. A fourth grader winning a contest, the Drug-Free Bookmark Contest, which I've always heard about this. I've never actually met a winner, so I want to go meet her. Um, but this contest uh challenges fourth grade students across
New Jersey to create original bookmark design to promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. There were 2,157 entries submitted from across the state. The three Bergen County finalists have been named and one of our very own is up for the grand prize. We are proud
to report Ariana Dy from BF Gibbs Elementary School will be honored at an award ceremony on May 6th. We even had a teacher for the Crystal Apple Awards finalist which um just very dedicated teacher and our
teachers in the district are voting for her um and she could win supplies. I think she came in seventh or eighth. Um Jamie Liebach was discussed. Um I went to the art show. Very very talented. I would encourage you the next
time there is an art show, please go. Um I learn a lot each time. It's all different like uh platforms like it's yes some is drawing some is like watercolor but others like there's this new digital art um that is absolutely
amazing and we have very talented students there's clay there that was kilfired there's 3D modeling um it's just very dynamic and I would encourage you all to go um it's just a quick walk through takes half hour 45 minutes but you're going to catch yourself like just
staring at the pieces and wondering how it's done and Um, last week was all new Milford kids. Like sometimes we do a county thing where it's a bunch of, you know, representing schools, but this was all all us. So that was really neat. On the same day, actually, it just popped
in my the black poster uh project was on the opposite side of Milford on the same day and I wanted to see what that was about. So I went you, if you want to pull at your heartstrings, go to that. It is an
amazing amazing display and makes you stop in your tracks. I probably spend about an hour and a half there just like going through each of the stories. Very very powerful. I would encourage you the next time it comes to just stop by there. It will add a lot of perspective uh to your life uh your family's lives.
Um you know how lucky and fortunate we all are. So also nominated I told you a lot of awards. 2025 theater night awards for our fall drama. We have three nominations. We have outstanding performance by an actress in a contemporary comedy. Sarah Lher as juror
number six. Outstanding acting ensemble and a contemporary comedy the whole entire cast and outstanding production in contemporary comedy. So we're very proud. Mr. Pit actually is one of the directors. So thank you very much. I can't tell if you're smiling back here.
Very humble hiding. There's always behind the scenes, but thank you very much and congratulations. We look forward to May 19th um when uh the results come out. We also have an alumni being recognized at Ramapo College,
Stephanie Vieiraa, class of 2021. So she was honored with this fellowship award, this New York urban fellowship award and it's a very prestigious award and provides you access um through fellowships and the government agencies
in New York City. So it's like a paid internship. It's not many people get it. Um everything that I read up about on it was like it's a hot contest to get. And so we were very fortunate that she got it and she represents us. came from
here. Um, but a bunch of old teachers, not old, I'll say retired teachers reached out, um, who found out about this and we're very, very proud. Um, she's currently finalist for a couple other awards, including the Fulbright and
Truman Awards, um, which are also, you know, very prestigious awards. So, coming from New Milford, it's great. Um, yeah, Frozen Jr. Dio musical was earlier in April. Uh again, Dan, you're involved in that. Uh you know, thank you um to the
directors, all the kids. Wonderful. They actually had real snow. Your daughter was involved. So was Tony. Tony was involved. My daughter was involved, right? Um they actually had real snow on the stage. Um very picturesque. A lot of
kids involved. A lot of kids. And it's also nice to see how many kids are involved in the background with the lighting and all that stuff. So great feeder program for our high school musical and drama. So wonderful. Spring sports as Miss Grady
discussed are in full swing. Um we did we have spring track won two league championships for the boys and the girls which is phenomenal. We are very talented in track. Uh, boys tennis is 5-6, flag football is 1 and one, three games next week, and uh, baseball's
seven- six, and softball is 9 and5. So, we're doing very well there. And the golf NGIC championship is on this Friday, I believe. So, we're looking forward to that. That is all I have as far as happenings. As far as upcoming
events, we have a short session on May 5th. We have the Penith knee scholarship barbecue on May 9th. Senior academic awards on May 13th. Also on May 13th is the Bergen County suicide symposium which we are representing the county in
terms of symposium is Zacher our sack. I've been working on this very hard. Um May 15th is the New Milford High School Junior Prom. On May 16th is the New Milford High School buddy talent show which I am very interested to see what that's like. And then May 21st is the new Milford High School art show. and
spring concert in the high school. That is it for me. Thank you. Any questions? Assistant superintendent report. Lauren Doska. Um, no report this evening. Okay. Business administr administrator report
70. No report this evening. Wow. Okay. Any leazison board meeting reports? We receive some correspondence as you see next to you. Okay. Open to the public for items on the agenda. As outlined, new Milford Board of Education
bylaw 0167. Each statement made by our participant shall be more than 3 minutes. I seek a motion. Stephanie, seconded by Tony. All in favor? I oppose? Any comment from the
public? Okay, I seek a motion to close to the public. Nicole, seconded by Stephanie. All in favor? Opposed? Okay. for dashing. Having the recommendation of the superintendent, I seek a motion for BA24-25.76.77 and 78. Need a second.
Tony, all in favor? Opposed? Educational programs and curriculum committee Stephanie Carpenter. I make motion to seek approval for C24-25.34.35 and.36. A second. Andrew. All in favor? Opposed?
Personnel. Having the recommendation of the superintendent, I seek a motion for [Music] P24-25.104.105.106.107108. I need a second. Nicole. Mr. Albero. Yes. M. Yes.
Missinger. Yes. Mr. Lombardi. Yes. Vice President Dunn. Yes. President Gomez. Yes. Okay. Finance and Facilities Committee. Cheryl Calon. I see a motion for approval for F2
F5.213 214.215.216 217.28.219.22021.222. 22232.422522627 4225226 227 228 229 23 a
second Stephanie all in favor oppose athletics co-curricular committee Nicole Dunn I seek a motion for AC24-25.17 and just would like to thank the people listed here for volunteering their services for the fall 2025
I need a second. Andrew, all in favor? I oppose. Okay. Any old business? Any new business? Any board member request for additional information? Okay. Open to the public.
Okay. Open to the public as outlined in Milford Board of Education bylaw 0167. Each statement made by our participants shall be limited to 3 minutes. Need a motion, Stephanie. Seconded by Andrew. All in favor? I
oppose. Okay. Seek a motion to come from public. I'm saying I will ice. No one say anything. I need a motion. Tony, seconded by Nicole. All in favor? I oppose. Okay. Close session. It is
hereby moved that the board of education adjourn into executive session in accordance with the provisions of the section 8 of the open public meetings act chapter 231PL for the purpose of discussion and consideration of matters pertaining to the following subject personnel matter. The minutes of the
executive session will be made available to the public when need for confidentiality no longer exist. Any motion Stephanie seconded by Toby. All in favor oppos. and we would not be taking any action when we come
back. Okay. Thank you.