have a second >> second version. >> All in favor? >> I I abstensions. Any objections? Okay. >> We did not have an executive session this evening. So that's going to bring us to our open public meeting act. Notice of this regular meeting of the Pitman Board of Education was posted at
Pearl Hall. A copy thereof delivered to all Pitman schools to be posted and posted on the district's website. Further notice was posted and filed as required by law that the board would meet in close session at 6:30 p.m. in the Pitman High School Media Center. The president shall entertain any objections with supporting reasons to the contract of this meeting on the grounds that it
violates the Open Public Meeting Act. >> Seeing none, thank you for joining us at tonight's board of education meeting. Please join me in a moment of silence. Thank you. Please join me in a salute to the flag. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Mr. >> Yes. Mrs. Bolton, >> here. >> Mrs. Frell, >> here.
>> Mr. Gman, >> present. >> Mrs. Higgy, Iono, >> here. >> Mrs. Miller, >> here. >> Mrs. Papalardo, >> here. >> Mrs. Pope, >> here. >> Quote, quorum seventh here. >> She was here. >> I got it. >> Okay, that's going to bring us to our first public comment. The Pitman Public
School District recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on school matters of community interest. This is the first of two public comments we will have tonight. The first public hearing is on agenda items only. This is a public comment, not a dialogue between the board and the public. You will have
three minutes to speak. It is your opportunity to comment or ask questions on agenda items only. In accordance with board policy number 0167, we ask that you state your name, municipality of residence, and group affiliation if applicable. To be recognized to speak, please come stand to the podium located to my right.
>> Okay. Seeing none, we're uh actually we're going to go. Mr. Mr. Datus, do we have any correspondence? >> No. >> Okay. I will now move to accept a motion for the minutes of the Fitman Board of Education as held on the dates listed below are approved as printed and reading dispensed with. May I have a second?
>> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any abstensions? >> Any objections? Okay. We're actually going to um swap the um agenda out just a little bit tonight. And so we're going to do our presentation portion first.
The president's report is kind of lengthy this evening and I feel confident that none of these kiddos want to hear it. So, let's get to the stars of the show. So, I will turn it over to Mr. Coltiana. >> Sure. So, Dr. Preston couldn't be with us tonight. He's uh currently has a
family emergency he's dealing with. So, I'm going to do my best to fill in for him. Um but uh for for to start the evening off, we have Mrs. Mason who will present our spot staff and student spotlight for her school. So, Mrs. Mason
and Mr. Morris, I apologize. >> Good evening. We're going to start off with our um Panther Awards uh which the board I believe started a couple of years ago. So teachers had the opportunity uh to nominate students uh for character traits. So exhibiting uh
integrity uh what else do we have? Wisdom, I believe, was our first character virtue uh for this school year. On deck is justice. Right now we're practicing self-control. Uh so the teachers had a chance to collaborate with their team um look at the students in the grade uh and nominate ones that
we really felt like stood out. So I am going to share I'm excited to share the uh second third and fourth grade uh students that got nominated and then Mr. Mars my co-principal is going to share the fifth and sixth grade students who were nominated. So students when we call your name come on up. We're going to get
your picture. You're going to smile for your family and we're going to get to brag about you a little bit. Okay. All right, we're gonna start with Colton Carrie. Colton Carrie, second grade. Colton is a kind, polite, hard-working student who
takes pride in all he does in school and how he acts towards others. He shows compassion and empathy. He is always willing to help his friends, classmates, and teachers in any way possible. He knows right from wrong choices and he
will actively steer others in the right direction. Colton is a pleasure to teach, know, and have in our class. Congratulations, COLTON. How many people sit back down? We'll get you for a picture later. All right. Our third grade student that
we are honoring is Cody. >> All right. Cody and his brothers are all matching. Well, she's adorable in orange. We got to get a picture of that. All right. Cody's our third grader. He is a fantastic student. Shows excellence in all areas, especially wisdom and
integrity. He is a model student that brings something special to our school every single day. Cody works hard, treats others with kindness, and always shows up ready to learn and help out. Whether it's taking on tough assignments, jumping into group
activities, or cheering on his classmates, he makes a positive impact wherever he goes. His attitude, effort, and big heart truly stand out. We're so proud of everything he has accomplished, and we can't wait to see all of the
great things he will continue to do. Congratulations. >> Good job. >> Um, our fourth grade student, we would like to recognize Tommy Sh. Uh Tommy consistently demonstrates the character traits of wisdom and integrity
both academically and socially. He makes thoughtful choices, approaches challenges with maturity, and can always be counted on to do the right thing, even when no one is watching. Tommy leads by quiet example and contributes
positively to our classroom community each day. Congratulations. I have them in my hand and then I pocketed the glasses. and Nicolina Gray is our NEXT Nicolina is having an incredible school
year. She has been doing phenomenally academically and really working hard socially as well. Nicolina is kind, respectful, hardworking young lady who has been having a very successful start to her fifth grade year.
She is reflective, aware, and responsive in all that she does, and we are honored to have her on our team this year. She is a leader and role model in our class. Congratulations. Our next honore is Emma Glass.
I love the smile. Congratulations. First, it is with great joy that we recommend Emma Glass for the Integrity Panther Award. She is a shining example of what it means to do the right thing, even
when she thinks no one is watching. Emma can always always be counted on to tell the truth, help others, make and make kind choices. In our classroom, she leads by example, treating everyone with respect, standing up for what's fair,
and encouraging others to do their best. Emma shows that true character isn't about being perfect, but always about trying to do what's right. We are so proud of her and all the ways she makes our school a better place.
Congratulations. >> Our last student tonight is Lucy Vanderfl. Wisdom and integrity are complex character traits that are developed over time. They are values that show one's maturity and depth of character and
worth. Yet, they are traits that only begin to capture the person that Lucy Vanderlice is. Lucy is a student who not only has great intelligence, she is someone who has empathy, insight, reason, and good judgment.
She is honest, reliable, trustworthy, and sincere. Lucy has a level of maturity that is r is very rarely seen in someone her age. Yet, she models it in all in a way that is easy for her
classmates and peers to emulate. Lucy is kind and approachable. She is well-liked and always ready with a smile and a helping hand. She is a hard worker in and outside the classroom, making her not only a model student, athlete, and
musician, but also a model citizen. It seems so effortless to Lucy, which speaks volumes to her and her family's dedication to each other and in everything they set out to do. Lucy is a person that the sixth grade team is
lucky to work with every day and is truly honored to know. Congratulations, CONGRATULATIONS STUDENTS. We have uh one more spotlight, not a student but our staff spotlight for 2025. Uh so Mr. Morris and I are so
excited uh to have Miss Janine Morrison come on up. All right, here we go. It's always fun to brag about teachers. They're such a hard job, so we love highlighting them. Mrs. Marrison currently serves as the fifth grade math, science, and social studies
teacher at PEES. She serves about 50 students and families. She has been a dedicated teacher in the Pitman School District for 19 years. Fact check me. Is that right? 19 years. >> It's close. >> Okay, it's close. Most of her teaching career was at Walls. Mr. Mars, I think
you started before Mr. Mars. >> Yeah, >> Mr. >> Starting as a kindergarten teacher. Some kindergarters here. Then a first grade teacher, then I think co happens >> and then she moved to fifth grade. She plays a critical role to the success of
PES's daily operations. She was brave enough to relaunch the traditional fifth grade safety patrol in 2023 when we opened the new school. Each year each year this club has grown and currently had we have about 40 safe safety patrol members. She has outlined
a rigorous application process followed by training sessions and assigning posts. The students help out in many areas including morning announcements, flag duty, arrival and dismissal duty. Each month she appoints a captain, a lieutenant, a sergeant, and in addition
to that, safeties of the month. She goes the extra step by proudly displaying their name and title on a safety bullet board outside her classroom. Inside the classroom, you can find students highly engaged in learning, whether it be a collaborative lab task, practicing math
facts to improve fluency. But beware, because if you walk in Mrs. Morrison's home room at any time, she will challenge you to trash the ball. If you get the basket, the students uh I believe they get a reward, right? >> I think I'm like two for
>> two for two. >> Um Mrs. Morrison brings learning to life. She's positively impacted thousands of students in those 19 years and we are grateful for her expertise, partnership, and commitment to all of the students and staff. And if I had a
couple words to describe Janine, I would say firm yet fair, kind yet holding to high expectations. Those are words that we think about when we think about Mrs. Morrison. She truly believes each student can learn and holds them accountable for making that
happen. Uh before we conclude, I did have some students write some fun things that they love about you. And we're going to start with something funny that you said. So, something funny that you say and they all said it. All kids that I
surveyed said they love when you say 67. >> They all said it. >> I was I was nervous. >> You were nervous. Okay. >> It could have been anything. >> I think we're all over the success. >> Um, Mrs. Morrison, they also said,
"Because of Mrs. Morrison, I know how to multiply decimals and just how to deal with decimals in general." >> We spent a lot of time on that. Um, their favorite thing about you was that you're lightigh-hearted and fashionable. Oh, wow.
I got one more. Her their favorite thing about you is that you give us a soft start in the morning to get ready for the day and that you have a 67 mindset, which I again did not know exactly what that meant, but I had to mention it. >> Thank you, Mrs. Morrison, for being a
pillar in our school district for 19 years. It is our honor and privilege to recognize you as our 2526 staff spotlight. Congratulations. >> We'll have all the students and our teacher come up to our our
get a nice photo. Guys, we're going to go ahead and take a brief recess from our meeting so that we can take the um students and staff pictures and then if any other folks want to get pictures Now check the boring business. So let me just get back in and we'll get started. I think we're going to have a
public speaker tonight. >> Okay, guys. Um to our meeting. It's going to take us to our president's report. Um, I do have a number of items on the president's report. Actually, you know what? Let me just close the doors real quick. Sorry. You got to Oh, thank
you. Oh, thanks. Not that I don't want muffled president's report for those folks at home who I'm sure would rather hear whatever's going on out in the hallway. It sounds more fun. Okay. Um we had since our last meeting we had Thank you so much you guys. We had the u NJSBA
workshop. I know that we were able to attend. Did anybody have any feedback or suggestions? Did anybody take an opportunity to do the survey for the NJSBA? >> Your face is telling me now. I I do know that they reviewed the survey results. I think there was a lot
of very honest feedback. I know that um I felt like the sessions were really spread out and difficult to get into. There was no way to um ensure that you're you could attend a session that you really wanted to. Some of the sessions were perhaps in smaller rooms
than we would have liked or you know all that stuff. So unfortunately I didn't really feel like I got to go to much this time. partly because I was presenting, but then also partly because of the structure. So, would you guys agree? That's feedback I know that they're looking for, and I love sharing
feedback. So, um I want to take an opportunity to thank um the board and everyone who helped assist in the pep rally. It was definitely a trial run and I loved seeing all the kids that were able to
make it out. Um, and I liked that they were able to go out on the field and hopefully this is a tradition that um, on the years that our homecoming is not on Thanksgiving, we could see kind of carry forward. I'd love to see a 501c in town or another organization kind of
take the lead. I think that it's just easier um, when you have those folks liazing with the district. It's not really a role that we can assume as board members, but I think any events that we can bring out as many community members as possible is great. So, I want to thank to all the organizations that
participated and showed up and set up a table and did activities. Um, that was really great and I hope that the kids really enjoyed it. Uh, Saturday morning, Mrs. Higion and I attended the county leadership association meeting which was virtual. Um, there were a number of items. I kind of just co-mingled the
talking points between the county leadership association and the um uh Gloucester County meeting because I thought there was so much overlap and so I thought we would just kind of cover it all in one rather than speak to them individually. On Monday evening we had the Gloucester County Schoolboard
Association meeting at Washington Township. Um Dr. Severance presented. I know that some folks were able to log on from home. She talked a lot about educational leadership. um she works primarily with educational facilities and schools. She's a former school superintendent as well. Um I thought
there were some positive takeaways, but some of the items that were discussed uh was the policy tools that are going to be provided by the NJSBA that would be available to boards that you could probably use in conjunction with Strauss Esme. It currently appears to be a a uh resource that is at no additional
charge. I would suspect that if it is actually um intended to supplant Strauss estimate, there will at some point become a charge. I can't imagine that that resource will be available for free um as that's a business model that already exists, but I will be interested
to see what the NJSBA rolls out. Um they also talked about Laura Bishop, the firm that we worked with for the referendum, is also now contracted with the NJSBA, and they're providing crisis management in the event that a district ever needs that. and they have a guaranteed lowest
rate um in the the um agreement. Ray Penny is going to be leading some training sessions on civility and I know that there's I don't think it's a task force. I forget what the name is. It's not a standalone committee but just increased conversation around that but
there are some classes coming up. I think it's a really important conversation. Um and I'm really pleased to hear that the NJSBA is inserting that into the dialogue. civility should always be, you know, how folks are conversing. So definitely in this space, it's what we strive for. So I'd love to
see if we have opportunities as board members to participate in that. We can take advantage of it. They are now offering at the NJSBA an in-house HR person similar to how they have an in-house attorney and in-house BA. Um they are introducing an AI bot named
Carla. Mrs. Higgby can tell you that some folks were very excited and could go on for quite a while about it. >> Oddly so. >> It's it's Yeah, Carla seems amazing. The goal for Carla initially will be to require interaction if you do the
self-paced governance classes. So, she will not give you the answers, but she will require you to engage with the uh governance training in a way that demonstrates that you're paying attention. So, swiping and sliding things down, answering questions, just
making sure that you're making, you know, you're you're doing your governance training in the spirit it's intended and um and the way that we should. Uh we had Harrison Silver and Jonathan Burns with legislative updates. They had a couple updates. There's a um couple charter school bills. I don't
know that they really touched upon them, but um that Senator Gopal uh um put forward in the Senate Education Committee on Thursday of last week. Uh it dealt with some of it dealt with the um acceptance of charter school students. It some dealt with the
funding. There's several bills, but there's no sister bill in the assembly yet. Um he also proposed a regionalization bill that was introduced to the Senate on Thursday. There is no assembly bill. They have no intention of voting on it. it would not impact a district like Pitman. Um the language of
the bill seems to indicate it. It seems kind of gray and kind of a wide wide net currently that they're looking at and it really was trying to give um power to the executive county superintendent that they already have to evaluate shared service agreements and to encourage
them. But um we spoke with um Mike Elaniano who is Senator Gopal's aid who indicated that they do not intend for a vote to be had. It's really just to start some of those dialogues around that and that the um hearings would be held during the regular Senate Education
Committee meetings. So, I will keep an eye on that. But I, you know, love driving to Trenton. So, I think as those come up, there'll be some group trips if anybody wants to go. Um they also proposed pilot program legislation uh that would require municipalities to
ensure that school districts have a fair shot at pilot agreements payment loom taxes so that um that is shared amongst the different organizations that could be impacted by whatever that new development is or whatever the agreement currently reflects. So that's really
kind of nuance. Um definitely something to keep our eyes on, but they seems like it's kind of still a little bit of a ways away to get into the uh the end line on that. On Tuesday night, we had a fair funding collective meeting. Um, and
it was kind of all the same stuff you guys have already heard. But one of the suggestions was creating a funding class that could be offered not only to in partnership with the NJSBA, but to New Jersey ASBO, uh, New Jersey um, admin
group. Uh, but the big suggestion was the League of Municipalities to partner with them. They felt like there was a gap in knowledge from municipalities about school funding and it would be great if you could keep it really surface level um and introduce them to some of the formatting of how schools are funded so that they could discern
that information when the governor does their budget address and anticipate what the implication will be for school districts. So I know that was all very exciting. Uh so the next question I had delegate assembly are we good for that? Are you able to go? All right. >> Um is anyone else able to attend
virtually? Those are some of the credits you need for the various certification levels. That's going to be this Saturday, right, Mr. Gman? These are >> What's the time? >> It's Saturday, I think, at 9. >> Yeah, I can probably do virtually, too.
>> Virtually. Okay. Did you get a >> I drive up alone again. >> You want to solve go? >> Yeah. Right. Did you get um uh >> the resolutions? Yeah, there's only three this year. What do you got? >> Oh, I didn't see them, right? Do >> you want me to share them now?
>> Yeah, just like a just a blurb if you have one and then we can just have that conversation now instead of >> committing to going home. >> There were originally five, but his wording on like how one of them got kicked off the agenda. It's kind of long-winded and hard. >> Yes, I did see that.
>> The resolutions committee is its own committee, guys. If you're ever interested in serving on an NJSBA committee that I think it would be really nice to have someone on, but isn't for me. >> First one is criminal history review. Uh-huh. >> Uh, special education funding and universal free school meals.
>> Okay. >> And then looks like Bridgton Raritton district got two of them. One kicked off and one they're not. One they sent back which will probably be revised before Saturday and one they said they're not addressing. >> Okay. Um All right. Well, if you guys have any
>> I did click to read more about them, but it was like read more in peace. Uh, I just >> very >> I'll go there and when I get the handbook, I get the synopsis, right? I'll text everyone. >> Okay. All right. So, keep an eye out and if you have anything that you want to weigh in on, please communicate it to Mr. Boseman. Um, Stacy, I wanted to
touch base and see if you maybe next month we can get together. We asked and solicited feedback from everybody about what they're willing to do for committees and then we wound up leaving them kind of all in place. Um, so probably something to put on our radar to review those emails and see kind of
what that might shake out like ahead of reorg, but I know that the holidays are stressful, so whatever comes up sounds good. >> And then I just want to put on everyone's um radar that we had discussed using the reorg meeting as a board retreat. So we'll close the reorg
meeting and then we'll go directly into our board retreat since we're already booked that evening. Is everyone still okay with that? Okay, is that good? Miss Higgby Viono, you'll do our ethics training for us. >> We like contracting the free services,
Miss Higgbyono, to do them and >> um get more detailed ethics training above and beyond. The state requires like a basic ethics statement that we sign um and that we're required to adhere to. And then um as a board we try to do more nuance training so that we
have a better understanding as to the school ethics commission decisions and um various ways that other districts have not adhered to it basically so that we can kind of learn from their lessons. So that is my very long-winded president's report and I will now turn it over to
Mr. Coltiana. >> All right, stepping in for Dr. Preston. I'm going to do his superintendent report. Um so for the month we had no HIBs either reported or confirmed. Um all security drills were were uh completed at each school. Um on Thursday
night last week the uh junior senior high had their open house. Um the open house welcomes uh students in grades 5 to eight along with any other students throughout the county or outside of the county that would be interested in attending Pitman. Um we had all our staff there. Mrs. Stewart did an
excellent job setting that up, putting out flyers and notifying um students in our community and outside our community that it was coming. Um we had ouries on full display, all of our clubs, we had students on hand, all of our teachers were there, even our board had a table.
So, thank you board for coming out. Um so that went really well and Mrs. Stewart and her team did a really nice job. Um other uh other things happening in Pitman, we have some recent student achievements. Um the both the boys and girls soccer team made the playoffs. Um
so congratulations to those teams. Our girls tennis team um for the second year in a row were the South Jersey state champions. So congratulations to them. We had five students make all South Jersey chorus that's James Sullivan, Scott Pal, Felix Canals, Ella
Pedalinghog, and Fiona James. Fiona was also named section leader which is a really big deal. And Mrs. Mkel made a little joke. She said, "You know, Fiona came up to me and said, I'm going to get section leader." And Sarah was like, "I don't know. It's not not, you know, it's hard to get that." And what do you know?
She was named section leader. And Mrs. Mikkels through the roof over that. And congratulations to Fiona. She's done a great job singing for our district for the past few years. So, at least as long as I've been here. Um, our theater program puts on we'll put on a play on
Thursday and Friday night. Um, Thanksgiving is coming and it'll be the 100th meeting between Clayton and Pitman in their uh, annual football game and it's becoming a big celebration. On Tuesday night, there's going to be a
celebration dinner for all previous uh, players and coaches that's taking place. So, the districts are putting that on together, which is nice. Um, finally, um, myself, Dr. Preston couldn't make it. Was supposed to be there. Uh, and Mrs. Mason and Miss Stewart presented at
the senior outreach lunchin at the Methodist church on Monday and that was pretty much a thank you for coming out voting for the referendum either for or against is how I put it. Um and we also had an opportunity to have a question and answer session which was pretty
active and uh I got grilled a little bit which I liked. Um and then we also played a video of our open house that Mrs. Stewart and Mrs. Tucci put together. Um and they just absolutely loved that. They loved seeing the video, seeing the kids. I had so many of them
come up to me afterwards and just talk about how nice it was to see the things happening in the district. So, um, also shout shout out to Eileen Salmon who does a really nice job coordinating with Dr. Preston and, um, I talked to Eileen about possibly, um, connecting more with
the seniors and doing more with that outreach group. So, um, hopefully more to come on that. And I think that completes Dr. Preston's report. Okay, very good. Yeah, I thought the open house was really great. It was such a nice opportunity to attend. You over the board had a table only in that we like
directed people around the corner. That was our that was our And honestly, Mr. Gman did all the heavy lifting on that. >> I think I mostly just stood at the table and handed out keychains. >> We were very good at making the turn around the corner. That's what we excelled at. >> I will turn it over to you.
>> Wait, do we know where does Sorry. >> Um neglected to mention two of our cross country athletes made states. That's correct. Yes. >> Pton Black and Peyton Coyle. >> Correct. Yes. I apologize. We did have that as well. >> Just want to make sure we >> Thank you, Miss
>> on the Thanksgiving game. What the record is? >> Oh, the win record. >> I do not know what the record is. >> Mr. Raz, >> I'm pretty sure Pitman has the edge. >> They're still trying to >> It's going to be my mission. That's what I'll do this weekend. my laundry between
>> instead of your laundry that finding the time. >> You gave up on that. >> In the years that uh I provided to the group that's putting it together, we won all of those years. >> Yeah, selective research is nice, too. I
like that. You're right. Maybe I'll do selective research this weekend. >> I like it. All right. I will turn it over to our student representative. >> Um, at the high school, the junior senior high school, um, spirit week
started with the dress up day and homecoming on October 17th. It was PJ day, too. And then we went to monochromatic monochromatic Monday on obviously that Monday. And then Tuesday was jersey versus jersey short, then duo
day, country versus country club, and then black and orange. Uh students enjoyed our spirit week activities including powderpuff dress up days, hallway decorating, quizo, the homecoming dance, pep rally, and the homecoming game. We had a lot of supporters at the homecoming game this year, including students and parents. We
also had a decent amount of students, uh mostly the little ones come out for the communitywide pep rally as well, despite it's freezing outside. Um, on another note, um, our goal for the food drive this year was 1,200 cans, but we almost doubled it with over 2,000 cans this
year. Um, it was a very fun month for the students. Uh, the following week, students celebrated Red Ribbon Week to emphasize the negative consequences of drug use. During that week, students participated in dressup days and teachers decorated their doors to wear
to raise awareness for the cause. Fall sports are coming to an end with only the last football game at Clayton on Thanksgiving Day remaining. The end of the marking period was last week and students met with their teachers. They finalized their grades for the marking period. Uh winter sports are also
starting this week for some people including swim uh allowing uh students to participate in basketball, winter track, swim, dive, and wrestling very shortly. Lastly, uh National Honor Society inductions are on December 5th.
Okay. At the elementary school, fourth graders are enjoying Rowan's Engineers on Wheels, um, which they visit and they focus on steam experiments and activities. Um, the elementary school hosted their annual Halloween parade on
Davis Field. It was a huge success. The newest after school clubs have begun, which included game club and cursive club. And also, Miss Roodie is planning the stages of a new cooking club. The fifth graders are organizing a Thanksgiving Day food drive and will be
donating to the food bank of New South Jersey. The Women's Club of Pitman is hosting the third annual spelling bee which started this month. Parents have the opportunity to meet with teachers later in the month to discuss their students progress at parent teacher
conferences which I'm pretty sure was this week. Um the students are still enjoying the character champions program in which they earn tickets to be eligible for weekly prizes. Um as Miss Mason had said earlier, safety patrol is underway and students are helping around the school with
morning announcements, arrival, dismissal, flag duty, and much more. And their home and school association is hosting a Grinch night for the second and third graders in December. As far as far as memorial, they hosted their first literacy night sponsored by
their early childhood council. It was open to preschool through first grade. The women's club readers visited a first grade classroom in October and they're working on book buddies, so the first graders get to listen and they also get to read. Um
they'll be hosting them again next month. And students had a blast on Halloween. They had two parades, one for preschool and one for kindergarten and first grade. In the upcoming month, teachers are looking forward to conferencing with parents and hosting the annual HSA sponsored holiday shock.
>> Great. I do have a selfish question now. Who won spirit week? >> Juniors. >> I'm just kidding. They're very good. >> I was going to say, and who won homecoming king and queen? >> Yes, Abby was homecoming queen. Abby was being modest. >> Congratulations.
>> You deleted that out. >> She left that one out. >> I still have your buttons in my car. >> Oh, that's nice. >> They're definitely in my dashboard. >> And the way I clean my van, they could be there by the time like your kids are here. >> I should have put one in a time capsule.
>> You should have. No, you should have. I should have. Perfect. >> We'll have to take it back up. All right, we're going to go on to finance and facility and I will turn it over to our chairman, Mr. President. >> Good evening. All the finance and facilities committee met at 3:30 p.m. on
November 12th. In attendance along with myself were superintendent Dr. Robert Preston, business administrator Christopher Draatus, board president April Miller and my colleague the incomparable Rebecca Higgby Iona. The meeting lasted 1 hour 5 minutes and we
adjourned at 4 35 p.m. We discussed this month's agenda items in great detail and I will highlight the bullet points. There is a business academy grant that the board must vote to accept this evening. We did so last year and must do so again this
year. We made a bookkeeping adjustment to account in one spot maintenance expenses for the district that will now include the salaries for that department to be reflective of the entire maintenance budget totals. Whereas in past the salaries were listed elsewhere and now they are all on the same line
item. The new logo for the newly constructed track and field arena was still undecided. We do however agree that the standalone P logo is not what will be chosen. We were between the paw print with the Pitman overlay and the Panther
profile with the with Pitman written below it. After discussion by admins and the various stakeholders, the decision was made to use the image of the Panther. We discussed and agreed to award a stipen for a girls assistant wrestling coach. Logic, common sense, and
prospective student appeal for the sport makes this decision to have a second assistant coach for the female wrestlers. We agreed to set maintenance reserve funds at 600,000 in each account. and a detailed discussion on outofd district tuition was had with a great exchange of
pros and cons and budgetary matters and concerns but after a long dialogue we did not land on out of district tuition rates for next year as of yet more to follow after more data is collected on the matter this will conclude this month's report and with that I move items one through four for approval
>> have a second Bolton okay any discussion Okay, seeing none, Mr. Datus, please call the vote. >> Mrs. Bolton, >> yes. >> Mrs. Pharaoh, >> yes. >> Mr. Gman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Higgbyono, >> yes. >> Mrs. Papalardo, >> yes. >> Mrs. Pope, >> yes. >> Mrs. Miller, >> yes.
>> Motion carries. >> Thank you. All right. Curriculum instruction. I will turn it over to Chairwoman Bolton. Yes. >> Uh, yeah, it's me. >> Yeah. Great. That's what I thought. That's what I had here in front of me,
but I had it like a pause for a second. I'm like, am I doing this right? >> Um, I was looking at my little spiel. Okay. The curriculum and instruction committee met on November 12th, 2025 at 4:35 in our newly renovated schoolboard
office. Um, it was nice to meet in person this month in uh a nice office. So, um, it lasted about an hour. In attendance were Dr. Preston, Mr. Calpiano, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Pot, and myself. We went over uh many items on
the agenda. We went over the enrollment numbers. Um a teacher shifting over to PEES to cover several special education students and our volunteer coaches for the winter season at the high school. We
also discussed the wall school building um and the options we have for tenants. We also talked about some programs um that we may run out of there before we sign a lease agreement. We just want to make sure we have everything in order.
Uh we then move to talk about the ASVAB uh test is now one will meet a requirement for high school graduation for our students. So uh we're happy about that because that should help some students meet some requirements a little
easier to get them through graduation. And last, we talked about some of the new court cases. One deals with reading material in the classroom as well as religious exemptions um in the
curriculum area. So, we'll continue to keep an eye on these areas and um if we need to change any policy, we will then pass that over to the policy committee if we feel, you know, if we get any like we talked about with the strame and different things. If we get any legal
advice that we need to change some of our policy, we'll the curriculum will then pass it over to the policy committee so that they can make those changes through our policy. So with that, I will uh make a motion to
approve items 2 through 26 as written. >> We have a second >> second. Any discussion? >> Seeing none, Mr. Mrs. Bolton, >> I'm going to say yes, but I think I have
to abstain from 21. >> Okay, Mrs. Frell, >> yes. >> Mr. Gman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Higgbyono, >> I have to abstain from 20, but yes to the rest. >> Okay. Mrs. Papalardo, >> yes.
>> Mrs. Pope, >> yes. >> Mrs. Miller, >> I have seen for number two. Yes to the rest. >> Okay. Motion carries. >> Thank you. Okay. Okay, communication policy committee. I'll turn it over to our chairman, Mrs. Higgiano. >> Uh, the communication and policy committee met on November 12th at 4:30
p.m. In attendance were Mrs. Papalardo, Mrs. Farrell, Dr. Preston, Mr. Cultaniano, and me. Um, we only have one action item this month, which is the second reading of the revised policy on governing booster clubs.
Strauss Esme has issued a proposed policy addressing the New Jersey Freedom to Read Act. Uh we need to review it and we'll have a revised policy if necessary on the agenda probably next month for a
first reading. So with that, I will move to adopt item number one as written. >> You were 5:30 your >> move in a second. >> Second like we were at 430. I don't know where they're
>> Okay. Is there any discussion? Okay. Seeing none, Mr. Datus, please call the vote. >> Mrs. Bolton, >> yes. >> Mrs. Frell, >> yes. >> Mr. Gman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Higgbyono, >> yes. >> Mrs. Papalardo, >> yes. >> Mrs. Pope, >> yes. >> Mrs. Miller, >> yes. >> Motion carries.
>> Thank you. >> Okay, that's going to bring us to our second public comment. The Pitman Public School District recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves in school matters of community interest. This is the second public comment and it is not a dialogue between the board and
the public. You will have three minutes to speak and it is your opportunity to comment or ask questions in accordance with board policy number 0167. We ask that you state your name, municipality of residents, and group affiliation if applicable. To be recognized to speak, please come stand to the podium located to my right and speak clearly for the
folks at home. Uh my name is Samantha Calibies. I've lived in Pitman now for almost nine years. I've got three boys. Um my youngest though, whose name is Marshall, is autistic. He's on the spectrum um with autism. Um if any parent has a
child who has special needs, that is a very broad spectrum. Um, so my son has a big issue unfortunately when it comes to behavioral. Um, Pitman's school we attended last year, Memorial, it was
good in terms of I did love the aids in terms of him that you guys give speech and OT, but only having an hour of that during certain days of the week is not enough for what my son and truly what I think some of the other children
needed in there. And unfortunately, you guys don't offer ABA, which is for behavioral strictly. Like my son is adapting well. He's doing well with his speech. He's doing well in terms of he's starting to recognize people better. But
there a lot of kids who have autism. They're very routine ritual. And unfortunately, at least what we experienced last year in Memorial where AIDS were intertwining throughout the day. The only constant was their teacher. Um, I'm not saying that things don't happen, but it's very
important for kids with autism to have that matter of routine every day. Um, so moving forward to September, we well really I should go back to when we had our meeting back, our IEP meeting, um, which was great overall, but we had
brought up our concerns. My husband and I, who unfortunately is not here, he's deployed overseas at the moment, so I have my advocates with me, but um, we brought up about not having ABA. We were told that they hired an aid who had ABA training, but at the end of the day,
training is pretty expensive. And unless they have like a one-on-one aid with ABA, that doesn't really do great for kids like mine, unfortunately. So, with that said, when September came around, we started at an outside school. And
unless anybody uh here who has had a child with special needs, sorry, it's a little upsetting. Get a little upset. Um, it's expensive. It's an expensive uh choice we have to make to better for our kids. And we're going right now to a school called Country Acres, which is on
the cusp of Glassboro and Williamstown. Um that provides full day aid with ABA speech and OT, which is what kids like my son needs. And I love Pitman. Clearly, a lot of the people who are here love Pitman. That's why you're on the school board. And you want better
for our kids. But Pitman lacks special needs help like and it was upsetting to hear that even this year in September the teacher who was previously my son's teacher wasn't there. So the kids who are still there this year we're also going to face another change. So I'm
glad that my son personally didn't have to deal with that. But I think that's something as a whole a community like you guys really have to take in account for the kids. And if you don't have a chilly who has special needs or a family member, I feel you can't quite relate. But trying for me somebody, it's it's
very hard to change the routine. It's it's upsetting for them. They don't understand why. And I'm just here to make light of that like that you guys can further see. And I'm just trying to see and we can work out to get some help because it's draining our savings trying
to send him out of district because we didn't have a choice. you guys don't offer the programming that he needs. So, that's why we're here. And if you have anything else to say as advocate, I unfortunately know my three minutes is up, but I appreciate your time. And I
did email back on the 21st, and I appreciate you, Mrs. Miller, just acknowledging my email. And I did hear back on the 31st from Mr. Morris, about meeting uh making a meeting to talk about all of this. And I've never heard
an answer back. I responded back and I can pull the emails, print them, give them to whoever, but I have not heard back about setting up a sit down meeting when I have emailed back and asked. So, that's kind of where I'm at for me. >> So, but thank you for your time. >> Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> You just come up and say your name. >> My name is Rodriguez. I live at 20 and in discussion with Mrs. She also had written every one of you on the school board regarding the issues with her son. Now we understand that it
is an expense but if this child needs special training and instruction I can't understand why school will not grant that. >> Thank you. else. >> Okay. Would anyone else like to
participate in public comment? >> Okay. Seeing none, do we have any old business? Any new business? Okay. I will now entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> May I have a second? >> Second. Bolton. >> All in favor?
>> I. >> Any abstensions? Any objections? Next board of education's meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 17th in the Pitman Junior Senior High Media Center.