Uh so great to see everybody here tonight. Uh call our meeting to order. Uh this is a regular meeting of the board of education. Adequate notice has been provided. Uh schedule regular meetings of the board of education was adopted at the reorganization meeting in
January of 25. Uh the schedule notice of said meetings have been posted um in accordance with the open public meetings act. And we're going to uh do a roll call. >> Mr. Demarco >> here. >> Mrs. Fel
>> here. >> Mrs. Love >> here. >> Mrs. Marmian >> here. >> Mr. Schaefer >> here. >> Mr. Stoz >> here. >> Mr. Tavy >> 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. >> All right. No exe executive session at
this time. So, we're going to move on to item number three, our presentations. And we're going to turn over to Mrs. Balden with our Hawk hero recognitions. Am I on? Okay. Okay. Well, welcome everybody. It's nice to see so many faces out tonight. This first
presentation is a special one. We are introducing our November Hawk heroes. Our November Hawk heroes were chosen because they are our ambitious students. And at Oakland, we define ambitious as
having a strong desire to do or to achieve something. Ambitious students set strong goals, have high standards, challenge themselves, are passionate about learning, and are motivated to succeed. So, when I call your name, this is what I want you to do. You're going
to come up and stand in the line here and then I'm going to have something really sweet to say about you that your teachers wrote about you and we'll get our certificates and get some pictures. Okay, Hawks, are you ready? Ava, come on up. AVA. HI, EVA. You can stand right here. Let's
not triple the mic. Graham Gothy, COME UP. STAND RIGHT NEXT TO EVA. Margaret Grabb. Come on up, MARGARET. Ron Kissinger. Come on up, REN. And I don't see him yet, but we do have a Michael McKen. And maybe he'll be
here, but we do want to recognize him. Michael Mchuan FOR FOURTH GRADE. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, our fifth grader, Amelia Arusi. Come on up, AMELIA. SO, big round of applause for our
November Hawks. So, Ava, Ava continually de continuously demonstrates ambition. She's always ready to challenge herself to get to the next level and continues to take steps to strive towards learning and understanding new concepts taught in class. Ava is proud of her work and
loves to learn. Miss Sard Gran is consistently demonstrating ambition and a strong desire to learn. He approaches each new challenge with enthusiasm and determination. Always striving to do his best. Graham shows curiosity, focus, and a drive to improve
every day. His positive attitude and commitment to grow makes him a rock star in Mrs. Stibbert's class. Margaret is an ambitious student who constantly thinks a step ahead and is always seeking new opportunities to learn and improve. She challenges
herself with thoughtful questions, sets high standards, and shows a genuine passion for learning every day. Mrs. DELA Ren is an ambitious student because she continuously sets her own personal goals at home and school and challenges
herself to reach them. She always makes sure she completes her homework with integrity and extra effort and even goes above and beyond on all of her assignments. As a young third grader, she is already working on accomplishing this goal by being on the Odyssey of the Mind team. MISS MARGRO
and Michael's not here yet, but we will read what Mrs. Cumins wrote about him. Michael shows determination and a strong desire to do his best. He consistently challenges himself to do well in school. His ambition to improve in his skills shows each and every day. He works hard to succeed and is always striving for
more. Mrs. CUMMINGS and Amelia. Amelia always goes above and beyond. She challenges herself to do better at everything she does. She truly enjoys learning and shows ambition every day. She leads by example with hard work
and enthusiasm. This is hard. We also have to wish a happy birthday. Happy birthday. Okay, guys. I'm going to give you my certificates and take some pictures. All right.
and Amelia. Another big round of applause, guys. Flip around so our boards can see you. Flip. Just look around. APPLAUSE FOR YOU. CAN I GET A PICTURE OF THEM? NOW, I didn't bring my camera up, but
they want to stand right there and you could sneak in the middle. >> All right, guys. Hold your certificates up high. >> Can both of you stand on both sides and the principal? >> That's right. So cute.
>> Congratulations, GUYS. >> Thank you for coming out. All right. Thank you everyone for celebrating with us. We're going to move on to uh item four, which is committee of the whole. Uh do we have a motion to go into committee of the whole? >> Okay. So move
>> and second. >> All in favor? >> I motion passes. Uh just some quick uh I don't I don't really have any updates from committees. I have a couple general ones from committees, but we'll get to during the committee reports. Any uh board member
topics for uh committee the whole? Um I know we'll talk about it later, but just while we have an audience here, our roundt discussion is this Thursday, the 20th at 6:30 right here, and we'll be talking about the school budget process.
So hopefully some of you can join us. Um, I just want to thank folks for uh who are participating on the uh negotiations committee. There's some updates that have gone out and will be going out for that. So, just keep an eye on your email as we move forward with that process.
Any other items for committee of the whole? All right. Hearing none. Uh, do we have a motion to close committee of the hall motion? Do we have a second? >> Motion and second. All in favor? >> I.
>> Motion passes. All right. Moving on to uh routine board business. Uh we're looking for approval of uh our board minute board minutes from October 28th, 2025. Uh do we have a motion? >> Moved and second. All in favor?
>> I opposed. Motion passes. All right. And we are now moving on to our first public comment section of the evening. Um, all participants are reminded to please stand, state your name and address, and keep your comments to five minutes or less. The purpose of
this first public comment section is to discuss items listed specifically on the agenda. Additional more general comments may be made later on in the meeting during our second public comment section. Uh, public is reminded that attempts to resolve all concerns and complaints should go through the
appropriate staff members and administrators. Anyone for public comment for tonight? All right, hearing none, we will uh close our public comments section and we're moving on to the uh superintendent report.
>> So, good evening everyone. Our uh report will not be as cute or as exciting as the hawk hero, so please bear with us. Uh section um uh 8 is the enrollment report. October 2024 is 273. October of
2025 is 271 and that report is attached. 8.02 is the school safety uh drew report that is also attached. Uh 03 and 04 there is uh none to report. Uh one positive um uh kudos uh to make an
announcement is right now uh while this meeting is taking place uh over in our auditorium we are inducting 41 uh students into the National Honor Society uh with uh three of those uh students
being um Oakland uh uh residents. And so we would just like to publicly say congratulations to all of the new uh honor society inductees this evening. That it good. Yeah. All right. Moving on to the business administrator board secretary report. Mrs. Coleman.
>> All right. This evening in item 9.01 are your October monthly uh budget transfers. 9.02 02 are your financial statement, your board secretaries report, treasurer's report, and cash flow analysis is attached. 9.03 is a listing of the purchase orders that were
issued during the month of November. And 9.04, it's listing of the warrants to be paid tomorrow morning, pending approval tonight. And um most likely um at the uh December board meeting, I probably
should have the audit report. It's been done for a while. Um it's required to be done by December 5th, but we always have to wait for data from Trenton. All the school districts have to include some information from Trenton. So um I have seen a draft of the audit. So hopefully I will have it for you um to accept at
the December board meeting. All right. Thank you. Moving on to item 10, Finance, Buildings, and Grounds Committee. Um not a whole lot to talk about with finance, buildings, and grounds this month. Um we're looking for approval
um of item 10.01 which is the approval of budget transfers. 10.02 and 10.03 is the approval of certifications of no over expenditures. 10.04 is approval of the secretary treasury reports and 10.05 and 10.06 our approval of the purchase
orders and warrants. Um so we are looking for approval of items 10.01 1 to 10.06. Um, do we have a motion? >> Moved and seconded. Any comments or questions on the uh finance buildings
and ground? >> None. >> Hearing none. Let's uh do a roll call, please. >> Mr. DeMarco, >> yes. >> Mrs. Fel, >> yes. >> Mrs. Love, >> yes. >> Mrs. Marmian, >> yes. >> Mr. Schaefer. >> Yes. >> Mr. Stoz, >> yes.
>> Mr. Tabby, >> yes. Uh motion passes. Uh moving on to item 11, curriculum and personnel committee. Mr. Schaefer. >> All right. Good evening everyone. Just a few items on uh the agenda here. So item 11.01. Um hopefully you got a chance to
look at it. It did come in after the committee had met. Uh it's a recommendation to approve a student uh in first grade for out of placement to attend the castle program at work uh virtua for a duration of 2 to eight weeks as deemed necessary. Uh Oakland will provide the transportation rate
beginning November 19th. Uh and two hours of home instruction are provided daily by the castle program at the hourly rate provide uh listed there. Uh item 11.02, 02 we are looking for uh to approve the 26 27 preschool plan and projected enrollments uh to the new New
Jersey Department of Education and item 11.03 uh we do not have any travel expenses. Um so we're looking to approve items 11.01 uh and 11.03 which acknowledges there are no travel expenses at this time.
>> All right. Do we have a motion? and moved and seconded. Um any questions or comments um for curriculum and personnel committee. U just a a couple of comments um from our conversation there. Uh we did
receive um some wonderful updates on our key indicator goals that we have as a district. Um specifically pertaining to improving our student attendance percentages, which we are um crushing that goal. We're we're ahead of where we were uh last year and are continuing to
do really well. Part of that is uh a new component um in our student information system, Genesis, that allows um faculty and staff to go in and and look at that data quickly and and easily so that they can see um the the student attendance
numbers and and their grades and and all kinds of things that are in there as well. So, um, some exciting curriculum updates that, um, Mrs. Balden shared, uh, grades three, four, and five, we're rolling out some multiplication and division fact fluency challenges. So,
parents, get ready for some extra math homework coming your way. It's going to be good. UM >> um we talked a little bit about creative curriculum and the role that that program is playing in kindergarten and it's been successful a successful uh supplement to our current programming.
Um and uh new this year um is the departmentalization in fourth grade which we had some great success in fifth grade. um that really shown through on our standardized testing. So, it's going incredibly well in fourth grade as well.
Um any other comments or questions for all right on a vote? >> Mr. Demarco, >> yes. >> Mrs. Fel, >> yes. >> Mrs. Love, >> yes. >> Mrs. Marmian, >> yes. >> Mr. Schaefer, >> yes. >> Mr. Staltz,
>> yes. >> Mr. Taty, >> yes. Motion passes. Moving on to item 12, school community relations and policy. Mrs. Marmian. >> Well, this will be a short section. Item 12.01 is the Congress report, but Mr. McMillan is not here, so we'll table
that until next month. And item 12.02 is the PTA leazison report, but Mr. Fando is not here. Um, but I will because I have some celebrities in the house. The next PTA meeting, just want to say publicly is December.
No, no, no. January 13th. >> January 13th. Thank you. >> December is very busy, but PTA continues to do incredible things um including some um celebrations. The
Monster Mash getting the name right and things in October. So, >> what was that? >> The winter event. >> Winter events coming up >> from 12 to 2 in the cafeteria. December 6, 12 to 2 in the cafeteria, winter event, but we will have a full report on
everything for next month's meeting. Um, item 12.03 is the OMEAC report. Mr. TV, >> thank you. Um, yeah, exciting news. The grants and funding have been renewed uh for for the school year. So, OMESAC is off to a good start. Um, the first gym
night is coming up and that was out on social media. So, stay tuned for that. And our over 30 basketball is rocking and rolling in our gym. And that's it from OMEAC. >> Great. Thank you. Item 1204, the Oakland Education Foundation. Mr. Schaefer,
>> I have an update. Yes. >> So, um, big kudos to the uh, OEF. They conducted a food drive uh, in which they were able to donate several boxes of bags of food to the Collingswood uh, Panther Pantry, which is headed up by uh, Ardan Ener, who was a teacher here at Oakland. She came over to the middle
school. Uh so in addition to the substantial donation, OEF also sent a $250 check to Panther Pantry. So very generous. Uh great timing too with the holidays coming up. So um thank you to the OEF. Uh thank you to Ardan Eastern and her work with Panther Pantry. So um
happy to report that. >> Thank you and thanks to the community for supporting that. Um item 12.05 is policies up for first reading. We have one um it's 2422 statutory curricular requirements.
Um item 12.06 our policies up for second reading. 5117 interd district public choice and 5339.01 student sun protection. Item 12.07 is a regulation for one reading. That's uh the regulation for
5117 interd district public school choice. So we are seeking approval for items 12.05 through 12.07. 07. >> All right. Uh do we have a motion >> and a second?
>> Um moved and seconded. Any uh comments or questions on policy? >> Uh yes. So just one comment on uh the first read of policy 2422. Um so for the first read um we're well I'll vote to adopt but uh there are going to be
changes made that we're going to be looking for for the second read uh in striking out items that do not pertain to our school as a K to 5 district. So um while they're not in that uh in that write up yet um we're going to look for that in the second read. So, um
approving the first read reading tonight with the expectation that those uh strikes will be made and we'll just have um a policy that's appropriate for K to 5. >> Yeah, I can just add to that. So, for next month, I know it's a little out of order, but maybe we can have the full
strike through in the administrative content for board members for second policy. Um I did give 2422 a cross reference read and the changes that we our committee proposed are all there. Um but agreed that we need to see it. So
thank you T. >> Thank you. >> All right. Roll call. >> Mr. Demarco. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Fal. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Love. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Marian. >> Yes. Mr. Schaefer. >> Yes. >> Mr. Staltz. >> Yes.
>> Mr. Tabby. >> Yes. Uh motion passes. Moving on to item 13. Uh miscellaneous, we have our uh HIV report for the previous month. Do you need to go into anything with that one or just
>> go through? Gotcha. All right. Uh do we have a motion to approve the HIV report? >> Moved and seconded. On a roll call. >> Just want to thank Aiden and Kim for like carrying everybody tonight is happening. I CAN'T HAVE ALL THAT.
>> SORRY. >> I'M SHARING the wealth. >> Okay. I'm sorry. I just >> teaming over here. >> I'm I I I'm loving it. I love it. >> Mr. DeMarco, >> yes. >> Mrs. Papel, >> yes. >> Mrs. Love, >> yes. >> Mrs. Marian,
>> yes. Mr. Schaefer. >> Yes. >> Mr. Stz, >> yes. >> Mr. Taty, >> yes. Motion passes. Uh, moving on to item 14. This is our second public comment meeting of the evening. Um my agenda is not updating here. Oh,
there we go. Um uh all participants are reminded to please stand, state your name and address, keep your comments to 5 minutes or less. Um this public comment section is open to all comments. Um however, the public's reminded that um attempts to resolve all concerns and complaints should go through the
appropriate staff members and administrators. Um any public comment? The mic >> video they can hear you. >> Fantastic. Hi Mike Warino 512 Oklahoma Avenue. Uh if you don't know know me, I
coach soccer, softball. I've been behind the schools for like seven or eight years now coaching. Um, I'm coming today to ask for help. Um, I need to be able to use the gym. I've been trying I've asked for like years to use the gym and
whether it's the president of soccer or the president of the little league, we've been told it's busy, we can't use it, it's full, we can't use it. Last year, I was in a position in Little League where I got more information and we paid $300 to use the facilities in
the fall. They said we could use the gym if when it's available. I went on Monday, somebody's in there. Went on Tuesday, there's basketball. Went Wednesday, there's color guard. The gym wasn't available for us to use, so we didn't use it. This year, we didn't pay
a fee. I'm really cold. I'm outside. Got freezing rain today. I coach Oakland students for a long time. I just would like some help. Maybe I just found this form. if someone could help me to like
get inside like as soon as possible. I know I'm late to the game and people request it ahead of time, but if I could get any help in the matter cuz I've and people have helped, but I've just been getting to run around and the best I got was it's available at 8:30 on a
Thursday. It's tough with like third and fourth graders at that time. So if I can even for like an hour if we could squeeze in anything that would be helpful. Thanks. Um, so yeah, I can sort of reply. Um,
the on the Collingswood website, um, under facilities, there should be a phone number. Um, the person you want to talk to is Mike Sessi because he does both district calendars, so he'll know exactly what's available. And he is the he's the one that you can come back up. He's the one that would receive all the paperwork, too.
>> Yeah. So Mike Mike was help today. He was very responsive and that's I got the 8:30 time slot. >> Oh, okay. >> So, I didn't know but I like I know the gym's open. Like I went by there's no one in the gym from 6:00 to 7 on Tuesday
before basketball. So, I didn't know if I don't know how to request it because I'm flexible. Whatever I could get in there is good. So, I don't know like if I can get an hour that's great. If I can get an hour and a half that's great. like any day of the week. I'm just looking for something
>> besides the 8:30 which I got from Mike so far. >> I'm not sure about the 6 to 7 time. I don't know if it's a healthy kids thing. I'm looking at Jen. I I'm not sure. >> Something other organizations start healthy is usually down there early but then they
merge back >> by like Yeah. So >> yeah. So email Mike Sessi back if you want to copy me on the email. Okay. just so like I've got eyes on it and just let him know that you've spoken to the principal and myself and you witnessed it yourself that it's available from
6:00 to 7:00 and could he take another look? >> Okay. >> But um yeah, if I'll write down my email address on here, but if you copy me on at least I'll I won't forget. >> Thank you. >> Okay. >> Any other public comments? Hello. Um, Steph Mohan, uh, 164 East
Bedwood in Oakland. Um, some of you know me. I might I was trying to run for a spot on this board, fell short on votes, but I still want to use my experience um as someone who's worked in the building for four years to
share with you some things you might not know um that some of my staff know as well. Um, I was out to dinner last night talking about how frequently we've had a false lockdown at our
school. That hasn't been a drill because administration let us lets us know ahead of time. So, we as staff members are not scared by it. We know it's a drill. But at least once a year in the four years I've been working in this building,
there's been a lockdown that wasn't announced. And it's been terrifying. And it's led me to worry that maybe in the event that there's a need for a real lockdown, is this same system going to misfire the way it has misfired when
there was not danger? In addition to the lockdown alarm, we also have a lot of trouble with our landline phones, which I knew about before I worked here because I was a stay-at-home mom and
received a phone call from the school nurse that she saw my child and could I call her back. I tried to call and the phone did not work. And this has happened, I think, off and on. And maybe Miss Goldman can comment
on that. think it's a issue with Verizon, but some of my biggest worry is about that aspect of our infrastructure. And I look forward to speaking to you at
the town hall meeting on Thursday about some more ideas that I have. >> All right. Any other public comments? All right. Hearing none, we will uh close out the public comment section and moving out to item 15. Uh adjournment.
Do we have a motion to adjurnn? >> Second. >> Love it. >> Moved and seconded. All in favor? >> I motion passes.