[Music] [Music] You got it. You get [Music] Love that song. Okay. Yeah. Good evening everyone. I'd like to call this meeting
to order. This is the North Brunswick Township Board of Education conference meeting. Today is Wednesday, May 7th. Can we all please rise for the pledge of allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Mr. Ali present. Mr. Carter here. Miss James present. Miss Keith, Mr. Lori,
Dr. Patel here. Mr. Singh here. Uh, Miss Toast here. And Mr. W here. We have a quum. Thank you. The New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any
business affecting their interests is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the open public meetings law, the public notice of this meeting, which included the time, date, and location, was distributed by 3 PM on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, and Wednesday,
November 27th, 2024 in the following manner. Posted on the bulletin board reserved for announcements in the board office, 25 Lynwood Place, North Brunswick. mailed to the Home News Tribune, Starledger, NJ.com, and the clerk of the township of North
Brunswick, and delivered to the nine duly elected board members. Well, good evening everyone. Hope everyone is doing well. It's always great for us as a board to get out to all of our schools. And this meeting actually wraps up our
road tour to our different schools for the year. It's crazy that summer is right around the corner. I'm sure our students are very excited for the warm weather and the summer, but very happy to be here at Lynwood School and at this
time I will pass it over to our superintendent to introduce our presentation. Good evening and welcome to our final road show. Uh it's not the antiques road show, it's the fifth and sixth grade road show. Um and so again, we're very excited to be here and see
the happenings here at Lynwood School. And Mr. I'd like to invite you and your your admin team again. Would you like us to to come down on the Yes, please. If you don't mind. Appreciate that. might make it a little
loud. All right. Thank you so much. So, first we want to thank our superintendent, Mr. Roka, our board president, Miss Tolth, and the board members for coming tonight. We really appreciate you coming to see what Lynwood is all about. So, an old proverb
states that all work and no play makes Jack a dull ball. So that means you know a balanced lifestyle combined with work and meaningful play is necessary to be happy and to be fulfilled. So our goal at
Lynwood School is to ensure that all of our young Lions here are not only just academically successful but also socially and physically healthy. All right. So tonight you will see and hear all about the amazing extracurricular activities that we have that our
students participate here at Lynwood School. So tonight we have a very very very special treat for you. We are going to give you a live performance from our orchestra led by Mr. Burkehead and our
jazz band led by Mr. Mason. So if you guys are ready, Mr. B is going to start first. Mr. B, you may go forward. Thank you. [Music] [Music] [Music]
[Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] Thank you so much. I do want to make a
correction and I apologize everybody. It is the band, not the jazz band. I apologize. Honor band. I saw some looks at me. Sorry. Honors band. I apologize. Honors band. Thank you.
Get up here. [Applause] [Music] [Music]
[Music]
Heat. Heat. [Music]
[Applause] One of their favorite love. too. Thank you. [Music]
Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Oh my god. [Music]
[Applause] [Music] Happy birthday. Heat. Heat. [Applause]
[Music] [Applause]
Bye guys. charge. Charge the Chromebook, Peter. Great. Chargebook. Chargebook. So, I want to thank our honors band and our orchestra for coming out and performing. I really appreciate all
they did. So tonight we're going to just highlight a lot of the extracurricular activities that we have at Lynwood. When you walked in, you saw a lot of the art that was produced by our art club. I know it was shown in in our art festival that was at the I believe the middle school this year. So uh again, we have kids doing a lot of good things. So
we're just going to really highlight and then show it to you because we believe that pictures have a thousand words. So we're going to show it to you. So I am going to talk about a couple of them. The first I'm going to talk about our mentor program. So, Lynwood's mentor program is designed to connect students with trusted adults who provide
guidance, support, and encouragement. The purpose of the program is to foster positive relationships between building students confidence and promoting personal and academic growth. Then I will show you slides on our robotics club. So robotics club is a student
sorry it's for students interested in building and programming robots using obots make blocks robots and Lego prime robots. Students will also develop problem solving, critical thinking and teamwork skills while exploring the
exciting world of robots. So please enjoy. [Music] [Music] [Applause]
[Music] [Applause] Hush my darling don't fear my darling sleeps tonight. [Music]
So, next I'd like to introduce Christine Childer. She is the assistant principal of our sixth grade. Hi, I'm Christine Childer. I am the sixth grade assistant principal. Miss Conn is my dean and we run the sixth grade house center. I'm also the club supervisor. So, I'm very
excited to talk about the clubs here. We have over about 300 kids who take part in one or two of our clubs. So, the first club I'm going to talk about is a coding club. This is for students interested in learning computer programming skills, creating and sharing unique projects, and learning about real
life applications. Students gain valuable skills such as problem solving, logical thinking, and attention to detail. We have another computer club called Cyber Tech Club. The Cyber Tech Club is for students interested in playing video games, discovering new
game genres, and understanding the games you play. The club also provides opportunities to learn about game development, play with other students, and participate in gaming tournaments. Our student congress is for students interested in representing and updating
their social studies classes, carrying out schoolwide activities, brainstorming ideas, and designing posters for school spirit days. Participating in the student congress club provides students with an opportunity to develop essential leadership skills and work together to
make a positive impact on their school environment. I'm going to do a fundraising shoutout for the student congress. Uh the 14th next week we have a Buffalo Wild Wings fundraiser. If you need dinner that night, just go over to Buffalo Wild Wings. All that money comes
back to the student congress and back to the school May 14th and it's all day. you can go for lunch or dinner. And the last club I'm going to talk about, which I think I might be biased because I was the club adviser for five years, is the yearbook club is for students interested
in taking photos, designing and editing layouts, creating themes, and learning photography software. Students who will create yearbook memories for their fellow classmates that will last a lifetime. And if you're ever in the main office, ask to see one of our adorable
and cute yearbooks. Thank you. [Music] Rainbow blue
fly and the dream that you did. Oh, why? Oh, why can't [Music] I wish upon a star wake up with the clouds fall
[Music] behind me like a lemon drops high above the chimney top. That's where you find me.
Oh, over the rainbow way up high. Why? Oh, why can't I? [Music] [Music]
Good evening everyone. My name is Abby Conn. I'm the sixth grade dean here at Lynwood School and I work directly with Mrs. Shelder in the Blue House Center um taking care of all sixth graders here. I'm going to be speaking with you about a few clubs that we offer here. Uh the
newspaper club, hydroponics and aquaculture culture club, uh the environmental club, and the drama club. The newspaper club um is for students interested in writing articles about current events and what's happening in
the North Brunswick community as well as at Lynwood School. Uh club members will interview teachers, administrators, and other members of Lynwood School community to collaborate to produce a monthly um publication. And you all have a copy. Um it's called the Lynwood
Ledger and it looks like this. So you can take a look at that. The next club I'll be speaking to you about is hydroponics and aquaculture club. Uh it's for students interested in science and living things and exploring the interaction between living and non-living things like plants and how
they get their nutrients. Uh the club provides hands-on learning experiences where students can grow plants without soil using hydroponic systems and study aquatic ecosystems. Um the Lynwood School environmental club is for students
interested in environmental issues. uh contributing to a greener earth, um creating garden beds for native pollinated plants, building rain barrels, creating composting area, and recycling programs. Club members participate in local cleanup drives and advocacy campaigns to promote
sustainable practices within the school and the wider community. And finally, the drama club. The drama club is for students interested in acting, dancing, writing, and telling stories. Students will explore their creativity through performances and productions. The club provides an opportunity for students to
express themselves artistically um while building confidence and teamwork. in arts is good for our children's social emotional learning, mental wellness and just a sense of community and they sounded so good here. Uh but
it's really fun for them to be able to explore a little bit more outside of their daily classes. So art club is uh the club for students interested in creating artwork and so they get to use variety of supplies that they don't use in the classroom all the time. Um a supportive environment where they can
explore their creativity and develop their artistic skills and experiment with different techniques. Uh we have the jazz band and wind ensemble and the jazz band club is for band students interested in working on basic improvisation skills which is very cool. Uh working on beginner jazz concepts and
playing great music. And the wind ensemble is for students interested in learning advanced music, working in small group performances, and discovering new styles of music. There is a chorus club for students interested in learning music games, rehearsing more advanced music, and exploring their
vocal talents, and preparing for honor choir opportunities. Students develop skills such as musicality, discipline, and collaboration while participating in performances and competitions. And the last one I will mention is the orchestra club. And orchestra club is for students
interested in exploring new music in addition to the music they already play in school. And club members have the opportunity to develop their skills, learn new techniques, and collaborate with other musicians to showcase their talents through performances and competition. I had a dream so big and loud. I jump so
high I touch the clouds. I stretch my hands out to the sky. We dance with monsters through the night. I'm never going to look back. I'm never going to give it up. No, please don't wake me now.
This is going to be the best day of my life. This is going to be the best day of my life. My life. [Music]
Ah, I at the moon with friends and then the sun came crashing in. Oh, but all the possibilities, no limits, just oh, I'm never going to look back. I'm
never going to give it up. No, just don't wake me now. This is going to be the best day of my life. This is going to be the best day of my life. [Music]
Good evening. My name is Nicole Jakunsky and I work alongside Mrs. Jackson in the Lion House Center. I am the fifth grade dean. So this evening I'm going to speak to you about a few clubs as well. The first one being our chess club. The
chess club is for students interested in exercising their brains by by playing against classmates. Members of the club will improve their critical thinking skills and learn how to strategize and
solve problems. Also, we have the Math Olympiad. The Math Olympiad club is for students interested in practicing solving challenging math problems to prepare for our contest days. By joining the club,
students can enhance their problem solving skills and deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts valuable in academic and real world situations. Next, we have our girls empowerment through running club. You may have seen some of our girls running
around um the complex. Uh the girls empowerment through running club is for female students interested in running endurance and social skills. By joining the club, participants can improve their physical fitness and endurance while
also gaining valuable social skills through teamwork and group activities. And finally, the sports club. The sports club is for students interested in learning sports, competing, being active, and learning
about sports. By joining this club, students can improve their physical fitness and health while learning the importance of sportsmanship and leadership skills, which are valuable both in life and on the field.
[Music] If you ever find yourself in the middle of the sea, I'll sell the world to find you. If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't
see, I'll be the light to guide [Music] you. Find out what we're made of. When we are called to help our friends in
need, you can count on me. Like one, two, three, I'll be there. And I know when I need it, I can count on you. Like 4 3 2 and you'll be
there. Cuz that's what friends are supposed to do. Oh yeah. [Music] Oo yeah. If you're tossing and you're turning and you just can't fall
asleep. I'll sing a song beside you. And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me, every day I will remind
you. Oh, find out what we're made of when we are called to help our friends in need. [Music]
I'll be there. Ladies and gentlemen, want to thank you again for your time. Hopefully, you got to see again the inner side of Lynwood besides in the classroom. So, we want to thank you again. I appreciate your time and have a good night. Thank you. All right. Mr. Sharter and his admin team,
we want to thank you very much for bringing out the orchestra and the band. They were fantastic and for showcasing all the wonderful extracurricular activities that are going on at Lynwood, helping to make our students wellrounded and engagement. We know so many kids these days are just focused on their
devices and having, you know, not having the opportunity to engage with other children and you can obviously tell that so much of that is going on. So, thank you very much. Definitely. You know, I attended Lynwood many years ago and I have to say I don't
remember that many clubs back then. So, there has been so much involvement since then, and you could just see how much the students enjoy all of the different organizations that they're in. And to get them started in um activities like
that at a young age really does set up for success for the later grades and the band and orchestra, you can just so tell that you love your job. So, I just want to say thank you to you personally because it's so amazing to see you so
engaged with the children, the children so engaged with you. It's also teacher appreciation week. So, as a board, on behalf of the board, we just want to say also thank you to all of our educators in North Brunswick. Um, you know, we appreciate everything that you do for
our schools to make our schools go around every day, but also to educate the youth of North Brunswick, the next generation um of you know, parents, families um you know that will continue their journey in North Brunswick. So, thank you for that as well. Thanks again
for having us. So, we do have um the continuation of our meeting. We have a short agenda this evening. Um we will go into number six on our agenda which is the review of
our agenda. The board has seen uh the agenda prior to this evening and has reviewed it. So we can just take a look at page one and then flip over on two. At this time we will have a public
session on agenda items only. this. Um, if at any point in time someone would like to come up and speak about the agenda, um, we ask that you rise to the podium, state your name, and um, you'll be given three minutes to
address the board. Seeing none, can I have a motion to close this portion of the meeting? All in favor? Anyone opposed? This session is closed. Thank you. Miss James, would you please take item eight?
Yes. Consent agenda. Yes. I will make a motion to approve item one, B, and C on the agenda. Second. All right. I'm going to take a roll call. So, did we pull I'm sorry, Miss James. Can you clarify what? Yes. The
motion is made for items 1, B, and C. Item uh sub A has been pulled. Okay. So, A and C. Item B and C are moved. B and C. Got it. Okay. We're going to pull the A. Yes. Perfect. And I'm going to take roll call right now. Here we go. Uh, Mr.
Ali. Yes. Mr. Carter. Yes. Miss James. Yes. Uh, Dr. Patel. Mr. Sing. Yes. Miss Toe. Yes. And Mr. W. Yes. The two items here have been approved. Thank you. All right. At this time, we'll move to item nine. We'll
have a public session on any matter. If anyone from the public would like to come to the podium, this is now your time. Um, we ask that you state your name and you will be given three minutes and there is a signin sheet um
for anyone that is interested. It's on the podium here. So, this is a public this is now um public session on any matter. So, if anyone from our audience would like to come up to the podium and speak on any
matter, this is now the time for that. We just ask that you state your name, you sign in, and you'll be given a total of three minutes. You're more than welcome. Good evening, sir. I I don't I don't know what the agenda is. Um we didn't we want privy to that.
So, this is um a public session on any matter. So, at this time, we just ask that you come up to the podium, you just state your name, you sign in, and you'll be given three minutes to speak. That's in our bylaws.
take a little longer than three minutes. You have three minutes. I'm sure someone can yield to me. You have That's not how it works. You have three minutes to Mr. Not including me signing, right? No, not when you start speaking. Yeah. And this is on YouTube, correct? Being
televised. Yes, our meetings are recorded and our minutes are recorded as well. No problem. Well, I originally was going to come here for something else, but this is a more pressing issue, right? And the
state is is the state is well aware of the lack of diversity and staffing in North Brunswick. I'm only speaking today about the numbers in the high school because I'm I'm not familiar with the area. I
don't really know the numbers. But in short, I had a short time to do this. I just got the numbers today. And if I'm wrong, you can correct me. In the high school, there are 250 staff
teachers. 15 out of 250 are black and brown teachers at North Brunson High School. There are four or five assistant principles at North Brunswick High
School. There are all men and one black woman and one black man who has been there for 25 years. Tenure they call it. There has
been administrators hired after the person I'm here to speak for. I do not know this person. Only from her dealing with my daughter. I've never met her before or
have I ever been with her after on any other form. Right. and be and every and she's the only one I feel that has been impacted from these so-called budget
cuts. She's a black woman. She helps black kids. She's one of 17 staff members at North Brunswick High School. There 250 staff teachers there.
The superintendent has made a decision to use her budget cut on a black woman who speaks up and helps the black students at North Brunswick High
School. It is kind of it is very suspicious that two months after she organized a trip as a H.B.CU that she is being let go. Is this retaliatoral or just a coincidence? I and the community need
answers. This woman has helped my daughter on numerous occasions when it was when it was hard to talk to others in this administration. My daughter has experienced racism and disrespect from other people in this in this school
district and their jobs have not been impacted. Sir, could be due to the fail. Sir, could be to her tenure or could be the voices of black and brown people are being unheard in the school district. Sir, I am not afraid and I see what's going on, sir.
And I'm going to make it a point for others to see. So, superintendent, please correct these issues and you can start by using your budget cuts on other less important things in this school district and not on a person who is helping our community. and our black and
brown kids. And it's a shame, sir, that we're voting on it. And I'm looking at three to four five, six black and brown people on this board and we are agreeing with this sit
this we are agreeing with this. It's an injustice. Sir, your three minutes are up. Sorry. Are you throwing me out because I'm speaking the truth? No, we have bylaws. We have three minutes. That is that's our policy. All right. Did did what am I being heard or you just ready
to throw me out? Sir, we appreciate your comments and we hear them. Okay. What do you do with my comments? Do you ignore them or will you have some type of form or meeting on personel matters? None of us can. Okay. Thank you. I hope you're listening because I will bring others.
My name is Mhammadu Nadaw. I'm a student at MBTHs. I'm currently a senior. And throughout all my years of being at North Brunswick Township Public Schools, I've really connected with Miss Gamble personally because she has made me feel
seen and made me feel uh feel incredibly connected with the school to things I've never heard about before and helping me learn new things. Miss Gamble has shown that there is a need for diversity in every single space, in every single
community because I have felt I haven't felt as comm uh how do I say this? I haven't felt as connected to an administrator or to someone in a power position than I have to Miss Gamble because she has always been willing to open her doors and give help whenever is
necessary. And her also uh doing this H.B.CU GCU trip has been a great help. It has really shown me that I need to broaden my horizons and understand that there are deeper parts of my own community that I have never seen before, which has led me to my decision to
actually commit to one of these H.B.CU, which I feel like I would not have done had I not had Miss Gamble's help. So, I just would like to say that Miss Gamble has been a great help in teaching me diversity and teamwork and everything that is included in leadership with all of her programs. And that's all I would
like to say. Thank you. Hi, my name is Carson Kelly. I'm also a senior from North Brunswick. You know, I had you as a principal at one point. I just wanted to come up here and say that um Miss Gamble also has been a big inspiration for me to go to college this
year. Um she took us on that trip to the H.B.CU U all the way down south and um you know she was really like a stepping stone in me picking my college. I did not end up going to H.B.CU but I still picked the college because you know she was there to kind of guide us into making the right decisions of what to
pick and why to pick and for whatever reason she's getting let go or whatever is going on. you know, I just wanted to, you know, let you guys maybe even rest your decision or leave that up to you guys because, you know, she's been one of the only people to look out for, um, you know, me, my friends, people like
looked at me, look like me and, um, you know, I've never had that. You know, going to a school, I've only had maybe two or three teachers of color and, you know, for most her part, they're just teaching. You know, they weren't really helping me. and she's like one of the only um people of color or just people in general that sat there sat with us in
her office and really try to you know get us to the next level which is college which I know a lot of you guys up here probably once who and you guys have that figure in your life and that's what we had. So for whatever reason she has to go. We hope we really hope it wasn't for anything bad. Hopefully she could maybe come back one day but you
know a lot of kids from the future are going to need that for need the opportunity to go on the H.B.CU few trips that hopefully they probably still go on now. But, you know, hopefully you guys can change your mind, whatever is going on, because you guys have the power. You guys are changing it right now, but it's up to you guys. And I would have to ask, do we know why she's
getting let go? Because we don't know anything. You know, the students don't know. I feel like we have the right to We can't talk about personal. We can't talk about that in our own school. Okay. We're just legally not allowed to talk. Okay. Bush, our attorney would would be up here if he was able to be here tonight, but um spoke to him earlier. We
cannot You know, I would just love that we have more information about what's going on in our own school other than just being left in the dark because, you know, that's not right for any of us here. We have to go through it. All right. That's why that's why uh you know, thank you.
Hi, I'm Miranda Sodto. I am a junior at North Brunswick Township High School. And I feel like you letting go or basically firing Riah Gamble is a wrong choice because we all would like to preach how North Brunswick is so diverse
and so like how our student section is so diverse and we're the most like one of the most schools that are diverse in the state. However, our staff doesn't reflect that reflect the diversity of the students. Most of our teachers are
white. We barely have that representation of having a black teacher or a teacher of color. I've been in North Brunswick since sixth grade. This is the first year where I've had a black teacher since I left East Orange and
came here or any teacher of of color. And I think that you want out of all the people that you want to let go, you want to let go someone who's an administrator, who's a person of color, someone we connect with, someone who understands us, who represents us, who
does things for us, like a H.B.CU trip is just plain wrong. There are teachers in a school who got upset that we were going on this trip for three days. However, if another kid was like, "Oh, I'm going on a trip for DECA. DECA is a business club at our school." Oh, no,
it's fine. But when we go on our HB.CU trip, it's a problem. But you're not going to let go those people. You want to let go the people that help us with stuff like this. Not every student has the privilege to tour a college. And not to just tour a college, but tour a
college that is of their culture. And the fact that you want to get rid of somebody who has helped us with that is just plain wrong. So I'm that's all I have to say. Hi, my name is Alfreda and what I just have to say about this is just really
heartbreaking because I know that when I graduate I know the system that goes on when a class leaves the class the principal gets another class. When my class leave, my 13-year-old brother when he gets into high school, he was gonna
have Miss Gamble. And I would have loved for my little brother to have the same guidance that I had going into high school with Miss Gamble. I'm not going to talk about how she's a colored woman or stuff like that. I'm going to talk about the opportunities that she gave me. Um, it's not even the H.B.CU trip
without even without her. If we didn't have Miss Gamble, the H.B.CU BCU HBU trip wouldn't have happened. The H the H.B.C.U. college fair. We wouldn't have gone to. I went to many leadership opportunities and leadership roles that
I could now put on my college resume because of Miss Gamble. We went to the senior center and talked to the incoming eighth grade eighth grade and gave them guidance on high school and it wouldn't have happened without Miss Gamble. There are times when I could go to her office
and talk to her and she's just very open. And when we say her doors are open, they're literally open. She's just there whenever we need her. For instance, the H.B.CU trip would never have happened. And it's like next year as a senior, an incoming senior, if I
were to go to the H.B.CU GCU trip. It's not going to be the same cuz it won't have the same guidance or the same flow as it did as the one I went to this year. I know each and everybody knows here like as a high school student. I
had to I had Miss Gamble from my freshman year to it's going to I guess stop my junior year. It's going to be different my senior year dealing with what colleges I want to go to, what like what I want to do in my future. And it's
just like it's just going to hurt because I know Miss Gamble is going to be there for me. And I was hoping to have her on my side when I have my decision. I would love to go to Miss Gamble to tell her, "Hey, I'm going inward." But I can't do that if she's
not going to be my assistant principal. And then what's it called? There's other stuff like the teachers around her that are gonna get hurt. Like I know her secretary, Miss Perkins, is going to feel so bad. Everybody loves Miss Gamble. Everybody loves Miss Perkins. And I know the shift in the atmosphere
is not going to be the same. I can say that every day, every someone's walking into Miss Gamble's office wanting to talk to her about something new or someone has good news to share with her. I know that someone's coming in to show loving and infectious. It's only good
vibes when we walk into Miss Gamble's office. I know I can't have that same relationship with any other, not even teacher, any other administrator. Miss Gamble is I can say the only black administrator since I went to elementary
school in Sville, which was over what 13, 12, 10 years ago for a long time. The last time I had somebody Oh. Um, but all I could say is the last time I had somebody showing me with the right path
was when I was in elementary school. And I didn't get that until now. Hi everybody. My name is Leo Boykins. I'm a senior at North Friendly Township High School. And I just wanted to speak on the whole Miss Gamble situation that of others have been talking about real
quickly. And I just want to start off by saying that knowing that you guys are the ones who make the decisions that affect our high school and affect the students in the high school, I feel like that my opinion and others opinions are very important to the concerning
decision. Just because it's my education, my high school experience, my friends high school experience um that would be affected depending on however the situation goes off. And I just want to start by um talking about how Miss
Gamble has made such a big um impact through my high school career. Through though I just met her in the beginning of the school year, I can truly say that she has been such an influence and great support system for me when it comes to my plans following high school. As you know, Miss Gamble and other teachers and
staff at MBTHs um made the H.B.CU tour that allowed students to go visit historically black colleges and universities. Though I did not end up committing to an H.B.CU. The tour allowed me to get a feel for what life could be like if I went to one and experience the campus firsthand. Me and
many other students may have not gotten the chance to visit these colleges if it weren't for this trip due to the fact that most H.B.CU are down south and not very local. And as I stated before, I'm not committed to an H.B.CU. Um, but Mr. Gamble has supported me all the way through my college decision process and
helped me with anything I needed when it came to college, whether it was just asking a simple question or wanting her opinion on a matter. And now I can say that I'm proudly committed to Ruckers University as a psychology major on a pre-med track and Miss Gamble's unwavering support and motivation played
a big part in getting me to where I am today. I believe that the future classes need someone like her in our school and to be there for them and guide them when they need help. and I'm in truly inspired by her, not only because of her hard work and um her great work ethic
and kindness, but also because she is a black woman with the title of assistant principal, class of 2026. And I know that you've heard this a lot from the previous people who are speaking, but I just wanted to emphasize how um important representation is throughout
the schooling like years. Um, like seeing that these are like our developmental years and this high school and middle school and all that plays a really big impact on how we move throughout life and how we go on with our lives. Um, represent representation
just shows that like we can dream big and that our big dreams can become reality when you see somebody in a big position like that. And we don't even see like women in high positions. Like I'm so glad that this board has so many women on it, period. But just being able
to see like a black woman on like this board or like any higher up um position just means so much to not only us but like younger children and all that. Oh, okay. Um yeah, so that's just what I wanted to say and I hope that you take
what I said and what others said into consideration. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, Councilmen and Councilwoman. My name is Naomi Dande and I'm currently a senior at North Munich Township High School and I'm here to
express my concern over Miss Gamble. Though I only met Miss Gamble this year, she's left a significant impact on me and is someone I consider a mentor. She's someone I hope to maintain a relationship with even after I graduate. I was first introduced to her in October for the H.B.CU collegebound trip where
she asked me to be a student leader. Over the next eight months, I got to know her through that experience and beyond. That trip gave me an opportunity I would have never had like otherwise. Being from the north, many of us don't have the luxury of traveling down south, such as Leah said, but Miss Gamble made
that experience possible. Without her, I wouldn't have been able to see North Carolina ENT that I will now be attending in the fall. She's been a steady support system through my senior year when I was distraught about the possibility of not being able to attend my dream school. Miss Gamble didn't um
let me give up. She reminded me every time that I was definitely going and she never wavered her belief in me, even when I doubted my own self. Miss Gamble's presence is so much more than her title. Seeing a black woman in a leadership role such as assistant principal to the class of 2026 inspires
students like me to believe in our own potential. There are few people at our school, um, people of color that are in higher positions. Yet, our high school prides itself on diversity. Taking away her position doesn't align with those values and it goes against them. Thank
you for your time and consideration. Anyone else? I'd like to thank you all for coming out and speaking tonight. We appreciate your passion. We understand the importance of mentors and um again I cannot speak specifically to personnel decisions. However, I want to make it
very clear that as a board and myself um we all value diversity and leaders in roles who can be role models for all of you and for all of our students. Um and that is that is 100% um something that's very important to all of us here at the
board. Anyone else? I just want to give the students credit for coming out and speaking tonight about someone obviously that means a lot to you all. Um you know I don't know if I would have stood up as a senior and done something like that. So give you guys a lot of credit as a
board obviously it's difficult because we cannot sp speak legally on personnel matters in in the public. Um but you know especially for the seniors we we look forward to celebrating your accomplishments in the next couple of weeks. Um, we look forward to shaking
your hands at graduation and celebrating um, you know, years of success. Whether you, you know, have come to North Brunswick, um, you know, mid of your schooling career or more recently or you've been with us, you know, the full way, we look forward to celebrating your accomplishments in, uh, in June. So,
thank you. Thanks for coming out. Anyone else? So, thank you. Um, and you know, uh, comment, not that it was bad or good or bad, but um, We're we're a body of nine and there's a lot more that goes into some of these
decisions than than you know any one of us can control or change. So, thank you all for coming and sharing and and just really speaking your truth. It was heard and thank you.
Anyone else from the board? Sure. Shar, I think, you know, thank you again for for sharing, you know, um your thoughts with us. I think a lot of the thoughts that um some of the sentiments that you had shared are things that um me personally I have thought about um you know I've talked to others and we you
know have had ideas right representation is important um and I think that's something that we continue to strive for um sometimes things time things um you know whatever direction that happens you know there there's a lot of things that
surround that and um you know we have to uh figure out a solution for. Um so I think just I hope that you can trust that at least me individually and I know others um are looking out for the best of this district and we know that our
district is a diverse place. It is something to be celebrated and you know we're continuing to strive towards that and supporting that. Thank you Mr. Anyone else? I think we could all have something to say here.
Um, as board members to see the public come out to actually communicate a concern is something that we do not want to ignore or to give you the appearance that is being ignored just because of the way our governance structure works. But we're not able to engage fully to respond back and forth to talk about
personnel from this position. We literally are constrained not to do that. So you all will tell us, you know, your statements. We will take it under advisement and under consideration. I wish I were at liberty to have more of a discussion with you all. I am not. But I want you all to know that your comments
have been heard. They have been duly noted and they are not ignored. So, thank you all for your time. Um, and for letting your your sentiments be heard. Uh, I might chime in a little bit. Um, Miss Gamble, I mean, just hearing you guys, the passion that you had for her,
you know, I could tell she's a great person, great human being, great administrator, but I'm sure I mean, I don't know. I don't think she's here today, but if she was, she'd be very proud that the seven eight of you guys actually stood up and took your time, you know, of your day to come out and spend that with us, waiting for your
turn to speak. So, you know, I I thank you for that. And just keep in mind as you guys get you guys, some of you guys are seniors, some of you guys are juniors, as you go through life and college, never give up. If you feel passionate about something, always voice your opinion, you know, do it in the manner that you guys did. You guys are spectacular today. So, I want to thank
you for that. just, you know, to for me personally, um, I know North Brunswick's very diverse. I grew up here. I went to high school here. You know, I'm sitting on a board, which is very diverse if you guys look around. Um, but you know, you you guys should be really proud of yourself for doing what you did today.
So, thank you. Yeah, I'll just add I want to thank you all for coming out and speaking as well, right? Um, as folks have said, we can only say so much, but your words matter and we're listening to your voices and we appreciate you coming.
Thank you. All right. Seeing no more comments, um can we please move to close this public portion of the meeting? So move second. All in favor? I anyone opposed this session? Thank you. And at
this time we have no closed session. So we will adjourn our meeting. Can we please have a motion to adjourn? So move second. I'm sorry. Who was second there? All in favor? Is anyone opposed? We are
journ. Thank you very much.