Good evening. Good evening. Testing. Testing. Testing. One, two, three. Can you hear me out there?
Okay, testing. Good evening everyone. The Pleasantville School Board will come to order. Today is Tuesday, August the 12th, 2025. May we please stand for the flag salute,
a moment of silence, and also remember um that one of our employ uh employees of the city had lost a loved one. So, please keep them in prayer. Miss White. This is to
This is to advise those present at this August 12th, 2025 regular board workshop action meeting of the board of Pleasantville of the city the board of education of the city of Pleasantville and the county of Atlantic. That notice was given on January the 9th, 2025 of
the revised annual designation of the regular monthly board meetings as required by the provisions of chapter 231 of the laws of 1975. Notice thereof has been distributed for publication in the press, posted in the administration building, and forwarded to the city clerk of the city of Pleasantville
within the time required by said act. Roll call on Miss White. Miss Alberto, Mr. Gibson, Miss Akins. Miss Melo here. Miss Pepe
present. Miss Silver present. Miss Waters here. Miss King present. Miss Roel present. We're good. Okay.
Next we have public comments. We ask you when you come, can you please state your name, your address? Please be courteous and respectful. Um, we're on agenda items only. Uh, first we have Jonathan Diego.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the board, Board President, Superintendent Martinez. Uh, my name is Jonathan Diego, 129 South Main Street, Pleasantville. Uh, by way of background again, born and raised in Pleasantville, product of North Main Street Elementary, the old high school on Franklin
Boulevard, and I own and operate my business here in my hometown. Um, I'm speaking specifically under facilities number 5.1. I believe there's an attachment, an addendum to that dealing specifically with the Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Latina pageant, which I believe
is scheduled to be held at this venue on Thursday. Um, I'd respectfully request uh, as a grassroots leader in the Latino community in Atlantic County, I understand that the payment has already been made for the venue's uh,
utilization. Uh, but I think it would be prudent uh, if the board considers waving fees. I'm sure that uh there are various events that have occurred on school properties over the years where the fees have been waved and especially for nonprofits. I think it's prudent
that we actually allow the monies to be utilized for scholarships for these young ladies that are going to be in this pageant as opposed to uh for the venue costs that are already paid for by the taxpayers. The other u issue I
wanted to address is number four, transportation. Um I do support the transportation um request or the application for the the contract
related to transportation um for our children. And it's my understanding that we're not trying to outsource any transportation to other areas, but we're trying to supplement. In fact, my understanding is we're actually purchasing five new buses for our district. So, this is not a matter,
this is not an issue of um having our children be second. We're trying to make sure that we have the resources necessary to ensure that our children have access to whether it's the school, whether it's to activities after school or otherwise. Thank you for your time.
Thank you, Mr. Diego. And Mr. Diego, Mr. Diego, um, you mentioned about the pageant. Uh, is any of our children from the district going to be in the pageant? That's a great question. It's my understanding there's a young lady from the middle school and a young lady from the high school that are going to be in
this pageant. And respectfully, Pleas is the epicenter of the Latino community here in Atlanta County. Actually, along the Jersey Shore, uh, our our school district is over 70% Latino. And if you go up and down Main Street, uh the vast majority of our businesses are owned and
operated by Latinos. And I think it's long overdue, uh that our school district and our city government embrace that and make sure that we're part of the fold. And we have various groups like El Poito, who's also here, uh the
leadership here. And you know, we have a good great coalition of grassroots leaders in the Latino community that really want to be, you know, we want to be at the table. We don't want to be on the table. We want to be at the table and have a voice and we appreciate the opportunity to do so. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Next we Next we have Miss Mona Thally. Good evening. Good evening. Hi. I was just here I'm here to get clarification as to the scheduling for the kids this year particularly the elementary kids. Okay.
Um, yes. One moment, Miss Tally. Good evening. Good evening. In an effort to provide high school students with the opportunity to hear me now
raise the volume. Okay. The question is about the student schedule. Uh the proposed schedule for this next school year for elementary schools is that students start time begin at 9:00
and that their dismissal time is at 3:10. And that is in an effort to really support um having our high school students begin at 8:00 rather than 7:45 and our middle school students begin at
8:30. The dismissal for high school students would then be 250 and for the middle school students would be 320. That would really address several things. Number one, it would really support um our high
school students in perhaps uh attending school on time and giving them an opportunity to begin their classes um in a way that engages them much more productively. It also allows time
between the middle and the high school. Um I believe it's a 30 minute window so that on the campus there's less congestion particularly the traffic that has uh incurred here in the past. It
allows for ample time between uh students high school students and the elementary school students as well. there's time between u the middle and elementary schools so that parents that may have more than one
child are able to drop off. What we do know is that many of our prek students um are taken to school by parents uh and actually are not using the bus transportation that
has been provided. So we want to ensure that our students have opportunity to attend school uh and be able to have breakfast, lunch, transition time that afford them the opportunity to be
better engaged in student learning. Thank you for that response. But when you made these changes, particularly for the elementary kids starting at 9:00 a.m., did you take into account the parents that have to be to work in the morning and can't afford before care or
simply because they make too much to get child care network and they don't make enough to pay rent. So I'm concerned about those parents particularly my family who don't make enough to pay for
before care or after care and they have to be to work by 9:00 a.m. So when you was allowing the kids when their time start was 8:50 I could drop them off at 8:50 hit the expressway and make it work by 9:06 every morning so that I'm not
late and docked 15 minutes because every minute counts because I need every minute every dollar to pay my bills. So I'm just wondering if you guys took that into into account when you made a decision to change the time to nine o'clock. Did you think of the parents
who work and make they think we make too much for assistance but we don't really make enough because we still can't live. I think that's a great point. Actually, we did take it into account. You see, at 9:00, it really means that instruction
begins at 9:00. And therefore, we should have our district the opportunity for students to be dropped off in a safe environment, be able to have breakfast, and be seated by 9:00 in their classroom ready to learn. And so the answer is
that we are providing opportunities for parents like yourself that need a little bit more time to drop off their child with um support in the morning. And we have a recognized 21st century
afterchool program. It's recognized by the state. It's one of the best in the in the state of New Jersey um with after care program. So, we do have opportunities for parents that may need to drop off their student, their child a little bit sooner.
So, what would be the earliest I would be able to drop my children off? Because in the last two years, three years, I'm sorry, in the last three years, teachers weren't opening the door until the very last minute. And sometimes I had to knock on the door to let them know like,
um, it's 8:53. Um, I got to get to work. So, how do we account for that? We'll have a schedule sent out to parents very clearly when they'll be able to drop off students. So, if last year, uh, I believe the elementary
school started at 8:50. Yes. What time did you drop off, if I may ask? Well, we couldn't get in the door until 8:50. Sometimes 8:51, 8:52. It depends on when they get to the door. So, every minute counts, especially when my money
is on the line. I I certainly agree. And so we're going to provide opportunities where parents are able to at least drop off students around 8:50. So we're still going to be able to drop our children off at 8:50 and the teachers are going to be and they're going to know this and they're going to
have the doors open for us. Correct. And this is going to be at no cost to the parent. There's no cost to the parents for the start of the school day. Our goal is that in we we want to maximize teaching and learning. We want all of our students to be seated and ready to learn
on time. So, we're going to do everything to work with parents to ensure that we have a safe place for student arrival and their dismissal. Okay. So, in the event, right, that this does don't happen, what's our recourse
then as parents? If it does not if the teachers are not opening the doors at 8:50, so when I'm running to drop off my two babies at 8:50 in the morning so I could get to Atlantic City to work by 9, what happens in that point? What's my
recourse? My expectation is that our schools will be ready to receive our students and be able to provide a safe environment. So whenever students are um to answer your question briefly, if there's an
issue, then I would expect the procedures of communicating with first the school principal to share your concern. And if that's not um meeting your needs, then sure enough, my office will respond to your needs.
Thank you. So one last question. Contractually, are the teachers going to be required to be there? What time are the teachers required to be there? contractually. So the schedule for elementary schools uh the staff start time would be 8:50.
That is for receiving students. Uh we are adding our planning time at the start of the school day as well. So that information is forthcoming and it'll be very much available to uh staff and parents shortly.
Okay. So, I just have just I'm just thinking logically. So, 8:50 I could drop my kids off. The teachers coming at 8:50. So, essentially myself and the teachers will all be running in the door together, but the teachers are supposed to be there to receive my kids at 8:50.
Can you help me understand how that's going to be possible? So, we'll have a program ready for stu students that arrive sooner and that program is going to be ready to go first day of school or first week of school. Maybe maybe second week. I you usually you guys start like afterare the
second week. So will this be in place and ready to go? That's the point because I you know what I mean? I I need these answers. These are important for me because I have to figure it out and I don't want to have to figure it out September the 1st when school is starting September what 6th I think. Understood.
We'll have all of the information provided to parents within the next seven days so that you're able to plan accordingly. This don't sound confident, but if that's what you say, I I'll I'll I I'll wait it out, I guess, and give it an
opportunity. Um, but I I can't I can't imagine the teachers running in at the same time that my me and my children are trying to run in. My expectation of a teacher, and I even said this when I sat on the school board, is that teachers are at in the schools ready to go, not running in the door with me at the same
time that I'm trying to drop my children off. I don't understand I don't understand how even sitting here talking it through with you now, you know what I mean? How did this even make sense that the teachers are going to be coming in 850 and you just told me that
I could drop my children off at 850 because I can't afford before care and and Pleasville as we know is a low-income district and most parents don't make enough to survive. We don't make enough to pay for child care. And I'm just one of those parents that don't qualify for childcare network. So I
don't I'm just trying to figure it out because it really does not make sense to me as a parent how me and the teachers are going to be coming in at the same time. And that teacher is ready to go with my child mentally, emotionally, they have already settled down from their tra, you know, they're traveling
to school because they have to travel too. So they need time to, you know, adjust themselves for the day to prepare for the kids to come in. I just don't see that it's even possible for them to be ready for my kids at 8:50 mentally or emotionally and then be prepared to deal with whatever my kids come through the
door with. And that's not just my kid. That's I'm sure that's the other thousands of kids that's going to be attending school here in Pleasantville. We're working with in partnership to provide a safe environment for the start of the school day and be able to start school on time for
students. I hear you. But you're I I hear you. And I'm not here to argue. I just really need clarity and I just want to make it known that it's going to be difficult for us to drop children off at 8:50 if the teachers are coming in at the same time. The teachers are not coming in at the
same time. They're planning so contractually the planning time will start during the morning. Okay. That information is forthcoming right to be exact. So the teacher won't be receiving the kids. So, we're going to provide Miss Tally,
will it be support? Yeah, Miss Tally, I'll um Dr. Martinez, we'll make sure she gives you a call and inform you. We have another meeting um on the 20 the 26th of this month. So, we'll have more forth um coming
information for you then and I'll make sure she reaches out to you person. So, this isn't finalized then, right? We could we can still talk this through. You can call my office, of course. Just give her a call in her office. Miss Tally, I sure will. Thank you, Miss Tally.
Uh, next we have Janisa Farah. Good evening. I'm Zana Ferrar. Hi everyone. Um, I just wanted to piggy back off of Mona as well because I am a parent who cannot afford child care, but I'm making it on rent and the start times I have to get to
work 9:00. The start times are out of reach, honestly. And like you, like you said, the teachers get there at 8:50, the children would arrive at 8:50. A lot of my problem that I had last year was school preschool started at 8:55, right? Elementary school started at 8:45. I go
from 8:45 to drop my child off. It's raining. It's freezing cold. For the people that don't have transportation and can't sit in the car to wait to drop their children off, the teachers aren't opening the door exactly at 8:55. And if they are, it's exactly at 8:55, which is 10 minutes later than what we are
dropping our other children off at. I understand, you know, you want the high school students to excel and be successful this school year, but I don't feel like you're considering the smaller children as well with their schedules. later start times the brains I mean they
don't if we know earlier start times waking the kids up they get up at seven they go learn this is the best time for them to learn you're pushing the times back they can't consume all this knowledge in their head because the start times are much later what about lunch about snacks what about all these
things throughout the day what about that I feel like 2:00 lunch that they starting at 9 and we're getting a 2 o'clock lunch that's five hours that you're trying to cram all this in their brain and then you're feeding them at 2:00, they get picked up at 4. That
that's insane to me and it's not it just doesn't make sense honestly. Also, the staffing I feel like I've experienced I have four kids in the district and I feel like I've experienced from elementary school on up actually let's count five because I have
a niece as well up to high school. Staffing is a problem. So to start later that they the teachers they can't even support themselves off the salaries they make. So they have to go to other jobs. So the kids will be getting lack of those teachers to go to other jobs to make up the money that they're missing.
So it's just like either way the kids are losing out. Nobody's considering the smaller children. They're only considering the older kids because it could be a lazy thing that they don't want to get up and come to school. What about truency? We see a bunch of kids walking these streets in these neighborhoods, but truency is not riding behind trying to get them in these cars
and get them to school. I have children with IEPs who have to outsource to other schools as well and this will affect them as well. Like we're not being considerate of the children because we're just basing it off of Pleasantville High School that it's not it's it's a safety concern as well
knowing that when the sun sets when we're going into daylight saving times. It's a walking district. We got kids walking at all times of night at this point. like nobody's out here guarding the streets. We don't see nobody out here guarding these kids after 3:00, 4:00 when school's over. So, these are
all safety concerns. The kids can't learn. And then I don't I also want to speak about the transportation. I kind of needed clarification for that as well. Are we outsourcing? Are we not? What What is it? That was three minutes. Yeah. Um, well, I can tell you to clear
up the rumor, Pleasantville is not outsourcing transportation. We have 20 buses and as Dr. Martinez said or Miss White said, we're also getting five new buses. Okay. So, we're not outsourcing
transportation. Not at all. That is a untrue statement. And we do think of our kids first and our kids are first. Okay. I love that. Thanks. Thank you so much. I want to actually make one more concern and I don't know if this is on the
agenda, but going down Adams because like I said, it is a walking district. I walk my kids every day to school and I walk down Adams. The speed limit, we don't know what it is. Kids can get hit by these cars flying down the streets. We don't have crossing guards on any street down Adams, but at the corners of
each, but it's a long street, but and these cars are flying. I've seen multiple times kids are in the street trying to cross and they're trying to get the cars pume. It's just an unsafe environment and I've contacted multiple people about it and I still haven't heard anything. Uh, you know what?
Even Judy Ward, I've went to Okay, you might want to and this is just contact um city council or maybe go to one of the city council meetings and kind of like address that. Okay. You know what I mean? But thank you so much. Thank you. All right.
Next, we have Mrs. Kathy Watson from the PA. Good evening. Good evening. Um, so on behalf of the Pleasantville Education Association, which I'm the president of, we have 550 members.
We surveyed them during the summer, which is usually nobody is going to respond during the summer. And we had over 400 responses of our educators expressing concern about the movement of the schedule. Um because just like these
parents here are expressing, our educators are parents as well. And we have a lot of issues picking up our kids after school and dropping our kids off as well. And once you have a a happy uh group of employees, it's going to spread
down to our children as well. So, we would like to be more of a part of the conversation about making major changes which are proposed in our community, including the recent changes in the start times. We understand that the superintendent has our best interest of
our students and our families at heart. However, we do have a lot of concerned concerns especially about the after school um and A2 contracts after school and how are the students going to
where are the students going to go after after the school is over a because the teachers aren't leaving until the children are supposed to leave at 3:10. The educators aren't supposed to be finish their contract time until
3:30. So that's 20 minutes of unsupervised four o'clock. So that's that's a lot of time where the kids are not supervised. Where are they going to go? Who's going to watch them? What about all the afterchool programs,
the tutoring, the chess, the dance? Excuse me. How are the teachers going to We can't double dip. We can't be monitoring our children during our contract times and also teaching tutoring or teaching
dance. We can't double dip. We can't be, you know, having two contracts at the same time. So, how are we going to transition from teachers contract time is over and then your your A2 contract for your chess club starts? Like, where are the
children going to be? Do you guys understand what I'm saying? precisely. All right. I know the teachers do. Um, so we do have a lot of concern about extracurricular activities and if we can't start our extracurricular activity like our chess club or our tutoring until 4:00, the kids aren't walking home
until 5 because that's usually an hour. And like these ladies are saying, we we care about our kids. So, how are they going to get home walking in the dark? How are they going to get to home to eat to get changed to go to the joker field to do uh football
and cheerleading? Most of our kids are in some after school activity. Yes. Go ahead, Dr. Martinez. Mrs. Watson. Yes, ma'am. I believe that I shared that the elementary time
We can't hear you. We can't hear you. I believe that I shared that the elementary time student dismissal was 3:10 and that the teacher's planning time was moved to the beginning of the day. Therefore,
student dismissal is at 3:10 and the teacher dismissal for elementary is 10 minutes after just to ensure that there is a safe dismissal. Therefore, a therefore
any time for after school um tutoring or any such other activities are possible. The district does provide transportation for our students, those that are participating in the afterare
program. So, we want to work in partnership to make sure that we have a safe environment. But the dismissal that's being proposed is not that much different than last year. The schedule hasn't been seen by everybody. It hasn't been on the agenda.
It hasn't been I I don't know if it's been board approved, but we haven't seen it. I've seen some of it just because I'm the president. And so we we need to know more about what's happening because from what I have seen, it looks like the third, fourth, and fifth graders
have more than four hours from when they have breakfast until when they have lunch. The fifth graders look like they're they're having lunch at like 2:30. So that's way too long for the kids to go without food, even if they're having snacks. So Mrs. Watson,
um that schedule has not been shared. Um, I believe I shared at a PA meeting with you and several others that the student dismissals are very much close to what they were last year. For
elementary, it is 3:10. And of course, we would not give lunch at 2:30. Therefore, I don't know where you're getting your information, but the elementary principles, let me finish. The elementary principles are working
with a master schedule to ensure that we are accurate with the contract in terms of the teacher contact minutes that we are providing maximum of instructional time
and that we provide a safe lunch for every student. And this year we're providing additional support so that teachers have a dutyfree lunch because we're adding personnel in noon time aids
to be able to support particularly in the elementary schools. So we want to make sure that our students have uh a great lunchtime and that teachers have time for lunch as well and that our students are supervised in a safe way.
So we're providing additional staff to be able to do that. So the final schedule for uh the lunches for students um is actually uh being done by principles. Uh I don't expect any student to be
eating lunch at an unreasonable time. Thank you for that information. Uh we will Thank you, Mrs. Watson. I gave you a little bit more time. Thank you so much. Next we have Mr. uh Pastor Paige,
former board president. Yes, Jerome Page, former president of board education, 17 years on the board. Um my questions is about the agenda. This is the last copy that I received and you had more people come in. There
is not enough copies for the people that are here. Um, I would ask that you make sure we have plenty of copies. I know this is a a an unusual night because we have more people out, but my question is this. We have eight board members that are
present today and I want to thank you for being present. But in your makeup and I'm looking at the agenda in 2022 uh 20 uh 22 I was president and we put back the policy that says do we create
committees as a whole or do we commit create committees separately uh to the president? What is your committee structure right now? I'll get back to you. Okay. I'm it's my understanding that you
have standard committees. You have transportation committee, you have uh negotiation committee, you have uh uh curriculum, you have all these committees. I'm looking at the faces of the of the members here. And as board members,
anything the superintendent comes in to recommend for change should come through the correct committee because once it comes through the committee is three board members on the committee and that superintendent will sit in front of you and all the
questions that was asked tonight, you would already know it or you would it it would have to come out from the superintendent. There's questions asked tonight. We should have an agenda. We should have an agenda of what is the new procedure for the early uh kids coming
to school and and all this. We have responses from the superintendent and she says she just hopes that everything goes the way it should go. But the problem is, the problem is you as board members, you must key in on every
committee and you must ask those questions that the parents keep calling you and telling you some things and you got to bring it up in that committee because on the agenda tonight, it should be curriculum, chair of curriculum, what is your report?
Chair of of of uh finance, what is your report? Because see, when you bring out your report, it's everything that the superintendent has brought to your attention. So any questions that's out here should not be any questions
because you are prepared. Okay? I'm just saying past board president eight times, 17 years on the board. It has to be a procedure. Yes, the superintendent is the key person of
the district. I got three seconds, but but you are the overseer of what goes on in your school district. Thank you, Mr. Paige. Next 1.6, the superintendence report. Hello, my name is Carrie Clark.
I'm sorry, we didn't have you on the list. I placed my name on the list. I was told and as I can read in this One second. Where's the list at? I'm sorry, Miss Clark. Your name is not on the list. My name is on the list.
Is her name on the list? Maybe I don't see it with my glasses. We're on that one. Oh, you're on the second one, Carrie. Miss Clark. Yeah, you're on the second um part of the public comments. Thank you. You're welcome. Um
no, not this part. You're not on this part. We're done with the agenda items only. We'll run through the agenda and then we do the for the general public. So, right now this part is closed. I'm so sorry. I came to speak about these agenda items and that's how we have the superintendence report.
Where's security at? We have to move on and follow the rules of the agenda. There's no disrespect nowhere. But this Can you please ne next is the superintendent's report. Ne next is the superintendent report. Please
be respectful. We have you on the list. Please be respectful. We're being respectful for to you. So, can you please be respectful to us? You're going to be heard, but you're not heard at this part of the session. Thank you so much,
Dr. Martinez. All right. For this superintendent's report, I am going to ask board members to please join um because it's difficult for you to read or see and this report is essential
for you. Once again, good evening board members, community members, staff, and those that are online. This superintendent's report tonight is about the New Jersey Department of Education 2023 through 2024 school
performance reports and the WEDA access reports for English language learners. The New Jersey Department of Education provides yearly school performance reports data comparing the district, schools, and the state to meet federal
guidelines. We use these reports to create an improvement plan for our schools and district. You can find information about the Pleasantville public schools by clicking the picture below and NJS ho00
NJSC Odata.org for other districts in New Jersey. The report includes information about school districts and their demographics, student growth and achievement, college
and career readiness, graduation and post-secondary school climate, staff information, and other accountability information. New information included in the school performance reports include more detailed information about chronic
absenteeism sealed by literacy, visual and performing arts, and graduation rates. In the last three years, the reports show that the district's student enrollment rose by about 175 students
from 2021 through 2024 with an increase in English learners and student disabilities. New Jerseys plan for academic progress or student growth is measured by percentiles on statewide English language arts and mathematics assessments. The student growth
percentile is used to measure student learning and to assist in developing school plans to improve student achievement. There is no state reported student growth data for the 21 2021 2022 school year. However, compared to the statewide
median in ELA and math, the district student growth has remained consistent over the past two years. The school performance reports has information that measures student proficiency in English language arts, mathematics, and science. It also
includes dynamic learning maps and alternate assessment for students with the most significant intellectual disabilities as well as access, an assessment that measures the English language proficiency of English learners. The New Jersey graduation proficiency assessment for students in
grade 11 for the purpose of meeting the state graduation assessment requirement is also available. The district's assessments results have been stable for the last three years and student participation was the highest at almost 100% last year in both ELA and
math. Our high school seniors are in a cohort learning community for graduation which is used for state and federal reporting purposes. When a senior graduates by August 31st, a state endorsed diploma is awarded to them because they met all graduation
requirements. Last year, graduating students met requirements by either demonstrating proficiency on the New Jersey GPA, meeting the cut score on a substitute competency test, or by submitting a student portfolio appeal to the New Jersey Department of Education.
The graduation rates for federal reporting and accountability have changed since 2021. Currently, the federal reporting of the 2024 graduation rates, students with disabilities who did not meet various requirements were
exempted from the federal graduation count, but not their adjusted cohort. The changes in the federal reporting and accountability do not change how a student can earn a diploma in the state of New Jersey, regardless of disabilities. The district's state
four-year graduation rate for cohort 2024 was the highest in the last three years, which is 11.2% higher than 2023. The district federal four-year graduation rate for cohort 2024 was
within a 2% of the state's rate. Chronic absenteeism is defined as being absent for 10% or more of the days enrolled during the school year. A student who is not present for any reason whether excused, unexcused, or for disciplinary action is considered absent unless
permitted by state by state statute or regulations. Research shows that state that absenteeism greatly impacts student academic performance. When compared to the statewide average, the district continues to exhibit a higher rate of chronic absenteeism, indicating an
ongoing challenge that may impact student achievement outcomes. Last school year, an average rate of 45 students in the high school were chronically absent, compared to the 17.25 statewide average rate. In pre kindergarten, there is little difference between a district and a state chronic
absenteeism rate. The school performance report card reports demonstrate whether students have diverse teachers. Statewide almost 82% of teachers are white compared to 38.2%
white students, 34% Hispanic students, 14.2% black or African-American students, and 13% students are listed other. Pleasantville public schools district teacher student demographic shows that almost 62% of the teachers are white
while almost 70% of the students are Hispanic and 29% are black or African-American. In the 20 in the 2023 2024 school year, there was an almost 10% increase in the number of 11th graders who opted for dual enrollment
coursework. In fact, the Pleasantville public schools had the highest number of seniors graduating with an associates degree in the Atlantic County and surpassed the statewide average. Additionally, last school year, the Pleasantville public schools exceeded the statewide average of seniors
graduating with a seal of biiteracy. Moreover, the percentage of career and technical education concentrators are more than the statewide average. The district provides visual and performing arts for all students in grades K through 12. More than half of
the students districtwide opt to participate in visual and performing arts coursework, distinguishing itself from many other New Jersey districts. The Pleasantville public schools has consistently provided comprehensive early childhood education through both
pre pre kindergarten and kindergarten programs. The district provides smaller class size at a student teacher ratio of 12 students to one teacher. Every school has a nurse, counselor, librarian, and other support staff.
The WEDA access and the WEDA alter alternate access are K to2 yearly summitive assessments of students English language abilities in listening, reading, writing, and speaking for students identified as multilingual learners.
Within the district student demographics are the m are the multilingual learners in Pleasantville public schools. 26 26.3% of the students are multilingual learners.
Last school year out of a total student population of 3,92 there were 1,026 multilingual learners. Multilingual multilingual. The student population in the district
is represented of at least 30 countries. In the district schools, there are students whose home language is something other than English. However, the top three primary language spoken at home are Spanish, English, and Creole. In elementary grades K through five,
most multilingual students enter the district in kindergarten. Um, go back one, please, where it says primary land. There we go. The next one. Thank you. In elementary grades K through five, most
multilingual students enter the district in kindergarten with minimal academic and social language. In grades first through fifth, multilingual students are mostly developing English language for social and academic skills.
What is striking is that in grades 6 through 12, multilingual learners enter the school district with the minimal social and academic English proficiency. In grades 11 and 12, more than half of multilingual learners are at the
entering level for English proficiency. 49% of middle school multilingual learners have been in the country for two years or less, as well as 60.4% of the multilingual learners in the high school. It is important to note that
multilingual learners in Pleasantville exit the program with a WEO score of 4.5 and often do not reach a level of five or six. In the context of the New Jersey SLA assessment, multilingual learners in sixth through 12th grade are likely at a
fourth or fifth grade reading level. modeling. Multilingu Multilingual pleasant New Jersey Okinto. The total number of multilingual learners that exited the ESL bilingual
program in 2024 is 71. Good news. Good news. The next slide. Good news. In the 2023 through 2024 school year
overall districtwide, the Pleasantville public schools met the goal for progress toward English proficiency as well as the multilingual student population. The district and each student group met the
accountability target for math growth. as the pleasant. Lastly, I would like to thank the members of the board of education for their continued support for the recommendations aimed at improving education for the students of Pleasible public schools.
Our school district will host three community partnership meetings inviting staff, students, parents, and community members to collaborate in creating a strategic plan for district improvement. And the dates are
Tuesday, September 23rd from 5 from 6:00 to 8 m. Thursday, October 16th from 6:00 to 7:30 and Thursday, November 20th from 6:00 to 7:30. The flyers will be put on the website and will be shared throughout
the community and you are all welcome to participate in these meetings. Thank you. Thank you board. Oh, but you have to live in the district. Um, thank you so much. Board members, please resume. Thank you so much.
Next. May I have a motion to approve the sup Oh, wait. Does any any board members have any questions about the superintendent report? No questions. May I have a motion to approve 1.6 superintendent report?
Motion. Motion by Mrs. Alberto. May I have a second? Second. Second by Miss Silver. Questions? No questions? Roll call. Miss White. Miss Alberto. Yes. Mr. Gibson. Yes.
Miss Akins. Yes. Miss Melo. Yes. Miss Pepe. Yes. Miss Silver. Yes. Miss Waters. Yes. Miss King. Yes. Miss Roel. Yes.
Motion carries. Next. May I have a motion to approve the monthly fire and safety drill report? Motion by Mrs. Pepe. May I have a second? Second. Second by Mrs. Akens. Any questions?
No questions. Roll call. Miss White. Miss Alberto. Yes. Mr. Gibson. Yes. Miss Akins, yes. Miss Melo, yes.
Miss Pepe, yes. Miss Silver, yes. Miss Waters, yes. Miss King, yes. Miss Roel, yes. Motion carries. Next 1.8. Uh, board
president comments. Um, I just wanted to uh let you know once again, I said it um during public comments that we're not outsourcing transportation. Transportation will be um inhouse on um
we are purchasing five new buses. We have 20 buses and I believe we have three vans or more. So, just once again, we're not outsourcing transportation. Transportation isn't going anywhere. It is staying in the district. hired new bus drivers
and we hired new bus drivers. And next also to echo Dr. Martinez the uh district strategic planning um we want you to come out um and be a part of the plans that we have for the district
for the next five years. So with that um we're going to go on to the board minutes. May I have a motion for I'm going to do them separate because we have a couple of them here. May I have a motion for 2.1? Motion. Motion by Mr. Gibson. May I have a
second? Oh, second by Oh, who who motioned it? Oh, I'm sorry. My motion is Miss Silver. Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Silver Mo um moved it. May I have a second?
Oh, Miss Pepe. Yes. Okay. Uh any questions? No questions. Roll call. Miss White. Miss Alberto. Yes. Mr. Gibson. Yes. Miss Akins?
Yes. Miss Melo? Yes. Miss Pepe? Yes. Miss Silver? Yes. Miss Waters? Yes. Miss King? Yes. Miss Roel? Yes. Motion carries. Yes. May I have a motion for 2.2 board
minutes from June the 10th? Motion. Motion by Mrs. Akens. May I have a second? Second. Second by Miss Silver. Any questions? Board. No questions. Roll call. Miss White. Miss Alberto. Yes. Mr. Gibson,
yes. Miss Akins, yes. Miss Melo, yes. Miss Pepe, yes. Miss Silver, yes. Miss Waters, yes. Miss King, yes. Miss Roel, yes.
Motion carries. Next, may I have a motion for 2.3 board minutes from June the 17, 2025? Motion. Motion by Mr. Gibson. May I have a second? Second. Second by Miss Akins. Any questions? Board.
No questions. Roll call. Miss White. Miss Alberto. Yes. Mr. Gibson. Yes. Miss Aikens? Yes. Miss Melo? Yes. Miss Pepe? Yes. Miss Silver? Yes, Miss Waters.
Yes, Miss King. Yes, Miss Roel. Yes. Motion carries. That was 2.4, right? 2.3. Okay. Uh, next, may I have a motion for 2.4 June the 24th meeting, 2025.
Motion by Mrs. Pepe. May I have a second? Second. Second by Miss Akins. Any questions for it? No questions. Roll call. Miss White. Miss Alberto. Yes. Mr. Gibson. Yes.
Miss Akins. Yes. Miss Melo. I must stayain. I was not here for that day. Miss Pepe. Yes. Miss Silver. Yes. Miss Waters? Yes. Miss King? Yes. Miss Rowell?
Yes. Motion carries. Next last one. 2.5 board minutes from July 1st our board retreat. May I have a motion? Motion. Motion by Miss Silver. May I have a second? Second by Miss Pepe. Any questions?
Board. No questions. Roll call. Miss White. Miss Alberto. Mr. Gibson. Yes. Miss Aikens. That wasn't before retreat, was it? No, you wasn't. You wasn't. Yeah, it was the retreat. He wasn't at
the retreat. It was this was from I'm sorry. This was July meeting. Yeah, that's the special board meeting. That was the special board meeting. I stand corrected. Yes. Yes. Yes. Miss Melo.
I'm not here for that one. Miss Pepe. Miss Silver. Yes. Miss Waters. Yes. Miss King. Yes. Miss Roel. Yes. Motion carries.
And you did change that to July 1st. July 1st. Yes. Okay. Great. Um, next uh last one. May I have a motion for 2.6 the board minutes from July 15th, 2025. That was the retreat. Motion. Motion by Miss Silver. May I have a
second? Second. Second by Miss Alberto. Any questions? No questions. Roll call. Miss White. Miss Alberto. Yes. Mr. Gibson, yes. Miss Akins, I wasn't here.
Miss Melo, yes. Miss Pepe, Miss Silver, yes. Miss Waters, yes. Miss King, yes. Miss Rowell, yes. Motion carries.
Next, finance. May I have a motion for 3.1 to 3.49? 49. Motion by Mrs. Melo. May I have a second? Second. Second by Mrs. Alberto.
Questions. Board. No questions. Roll call. Miss White. Miss Alberto. Yes. Mr. Gibson. Yes. Miss Aikens. Yes. For everything but the um legal
fees. Miss, you said everything except for the legal. Which all of them or all of legal fees. Miss Melo? Yes. Miss Pepe? Yes.
Miss Silver. Um, everything except 3.49. I will abstain. Miss Waters. Yes, Miss King. Yes, M. Roel.
Yes. Motion carries. Um, next, transportation. May I have a motion for 4.1 to 4.4? Motion. Uh motion by Mr. Gibson. May I have a
second? Second. Second by Miss Silver. I'm sorry, Miss Alberto. Miss Silver. And any questions for it? No questions. Roll call. Miss White. Miss Alberto.
Yes. Mr. Gibson. Yes. Miss Akins, Miss Melo, yes. Miss Pepe, Miss Silver, yes. Miss Waters,
Miss King, yes. Miss Roel, yes. Motion carries. Next, I um I have a question. I want to see facilities. Okay, sorry about that. Uh, next we have
facilities. Um, may I have a motion for uh 5.1 with um the board to wave the fees for the pageant with no cost? Okay. Motion by Mrs. Melo. May I have a
second? Second by Miss Sorry about that, Miss Silver. Questions? Yes, I have questions. Yes. our committee. It was requested that we pull it. How is it on the agenda?
Can you use the mic, Mr. Akens? In our committee, we pulled that. How is it on the agenda? Because we didn't have a complete understanding. We pulled the facility uh report with the fees. One
one second, Miss Akens. Yes. Go ahead. All right. So, I'm sorry. In committee, uh, there was agreement on supporting this item on the agenda.
Agreed. Although I got a an email from you, the chair to uh request to remove the item. Yes. I my understanding is that the members of the committee are in support of this
agenda item. Okay. Well, who was in the committee that agreed? You You're the chair. I know. Who agreed? So, the members of the committee. Did you agree, Mr. Gibson, did you agree?
Yes, I did. Okay. Wow. Miss Alberto agreed the agreement and I also agreed. So, my understanding is that there was agreement. Okay. Okay. Any other questions for it? Yes, I do.
Yes, Mrs. King. Um um can the board consider um approving part of uh the cost for this event.
The question I asked was can the board approve partial you can't hear me? Okay. I'm sorry. My question is, can the board approve
partial uh of the cost for for the uh use of the facility as opposed to wavering all of it? I'm asking the board a question. Can we
Miss Oh, yeah. Yes, Miss King. Um, this event was also waved twice before in the past. Oh, what? Yes, it was waved twice before in the past. Okay. All right. Well, thank you for that. Oh, you're welcome, Miss King. No more questions. No, I have a question. Go ahead. Oh, go ahead.
Um, there's a discrepancy on the times of the event. Is it for three hours or five? Because on one sheet you have
from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. And on the second on the memo, you have from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. I believe I have it here. Originally, it was stated it was going to be from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
And then the time was revised from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. So, it's going to be 3 hours. And you want us to give them a discount for the use of the facilities? Yes, we're asking to wave the fees. Um, Mrs. orders because they have had the
pageant here twice before in the past and the board has approved it and they also waved the fees. Why don't they give uh Pleasantville Rec Center uh a discount as well? Because those are the people of the community that use our facilities.
Um I don't think there's any cost to the rec center. I don't think it's any cost to the rec center. board. It says board cost. That means a board. It means a board is cost. Okay. Right. And and and just to be transparent with that, we have waved
some um things for the rec center in the past. Okay. Yes. We we will work with them very closely. So we have wave three hours long both. No, but some of the things that the rec center has had big events, we also waved their fees just you know for your
information. But can I ask add something to that? Um, the rec center also, I'm sorry, the city also allowed the the board, I'm sorry, or the district to use their facilities without a cost, too. So, it is a partnership. Well, unfortunately, we're not talking about this right now. We're just talking
about the she mentioned the So, you mentioned the rack. We going to talk that's decision. We're She wanted to know. So I just said we're w we want to get a recommendation from the board to wave this event because in the past pleasant
has had it twice and it has waved it. Now when we're talking about the wreck if we're talking about that specifically if we're waving something for that then we'll talk about that but right now we're talking about the pageant. So with how many kids for the district is is in that pageant for
two Mr. Diego um in his uh public comments I believe he's still here. Two of our students are in this pageant. So only two the rest of the Yes. So why didn't they have that direct only two? You would have to talk to the organizer
of the person that organized this why they wanted to they decided to have this here again this year. I don't know. They just I just they just chose Pleasantville, but I don't know why. Is this a county thing? It says Atlantic County. Then they should have it at a
county school like ACIT or something like that. Listen, that's my question. They probably wanted to choose Pleasantville. You would have to really talk to the organizer and asked her why she wanted Pleasantville this year. I I can't speak to that. I can only speak to
the truth that I know, unfortunately. I'm so sorry. All right. With that, any more questions? No more questions. Roll call on Miss White. Miss Alberto. Yes, we have a motion in the floor.
We already had the MOT. Go ahead, Mrs. White. Miss Gibson. Mr. Mr. Gibson. Mrs. Mrs. Melo made the first motion and Miss Silver got the second to wave the fees. Right.
Uh, roll call. Miss White. Miss Alberto, yes. Mr. Gibson, yes. Miss Akins, no. Miss Melo, yes. Miss Pepe,
Miss Silver, yes. Miss Waters, no. Miss King? Yes. Miss Rowel? Yes. Motion carries. Next. Human resources. May I have a
motion for 6.1 to 6.10 human resources. Motion all speak at once. Motion by Mrs. Silver. May I have a second? Second by Mr. Gibson.
Any questions? No questions. Roll call. Miss White, Miss Alberto, yes. Mr. Gibson, yes. Miss Akins, no.
Miss Melo, yes. Miss Pepe, yes. Miss Silver, yes. Miss Waters, yes. Miss King, yes. Miss Roel, yes.
Motion carries. Next policy. May I have a motion for 7.1? Motion motion by Mr. Gibson. May I have a second? Second. Second by Mrs. Silver. Questions. Board.
No questions. Roll call on Miss White. Miss Alberto. Yes. Mr. Gibson. Yes. Miss Aikens? Yes. Miss Melo? Yes.
Miss Pepe? Yes. Miss Silver, yes. Miss Waters, yes. Miss King, yes. Miss Roel, yes. Motion carries.
Next, uh, may I have a motion to go into executive session to discuss motion? Oh, didn't Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I missed curriculum and instruction. May I have a motion for 8.1
to 8.3 curriculum instructions? Motion. Motion by Mrs. Silver. Second by Miss Pepe. Any questions, board? I have a question. Go ahead. I'm looking at some of these fees. Um, which page?
On page 69. Give me a second. Some of these back to school fees, um, refreshments, $1,000. Um, is that considered reasonable when these others are 300,
350, 500? I thought we just did the manual where it says reasonable cost. Last year, the back to school night at the middle school. Uh actually we had if
memory serves me right about 700 parents attend and so that was phenomenal. We want to continue not to hope but to have the expectation that we'll have 700 plus more. So I think that given the uh
number of participants we want to make sure that we have adequate refreshments. So I would think that that number is at least an approximate number for refreshments for that many people. Well, why the different schools have
different amounts then? So you're saying some schools are less? I'm saying that um the middle school has the it has almost a thousand students and our largest elementary school has roughly
600. Okay. Well, you have Leeds Avenue at $1,000 and you have the high school at 500 and the other ones are 300. Yeah, the high school while we strive to
have high participant participation um it's a struggle to get uh parents to come at large numbers. So, we want to be able to provide refreshments um in anticipation of those that will attend.
uh the Leeds Avenue that is a high cost of $1,000 for Leeds Avenue, but it has 600 students. And I will tell you at Leeds, honest to God, every parent comes and they come with family members. They have
a full house all the time. Oh, that's the lead community right there. Am I right? Leeds they all come as a full house. Yes. So, I I strongly recommend that the
refreshments um be approved because we we want to be able to provide opportunities for our parents and our staff to uh participate in back to school night and have refreshments and also Dr. Martinez, who comes up with
these causes, the principles, correct? Oh, the Yes. So, and also Mrs. Akens for your information, the principles, they kind of know, you know, what they need to spend on that and they come up with these costs. Okay.
Any more questions? Roll call. Miss White. Miss Alberto, yes. Mr. Gibson, yes. Miss Akins, yes. Miss Melo, yes. Miss Pepe,
yes. Miss Silver, yes. Miss Waters, yes. Miss King, yes. Miss Roell, yes. Motion carries. Next. May I have a motion to go into executive session to
motion? Wait a minute. To discuss student and personnel matters. May I have a motion? Motion. Motion by Mrs. Alberto. Madam second by Mrs. Pepe. Any questions? No questions. spoke on Miss White. Miss Alberto,
yes. Mr. Gibson, yes. Miss Akins, yes. Miss Millow, yes. Miss Pepe, yes. Miss Silver, yes. Miss Waters, yes. Miss King, yes. Miss Rouell, yes.
Motion carries. I'm coming. May I have a motion to come out of executive session? Motion by Mrs. Alberto. Second. Second by Mrs. Akens. Questions? No questions. Miss White.
Miss Alberto. Yes. Mr. Gibson. Yes. Miss Aikens. Yes. Miss Pepe. Yes. Miss Silver, yes. Miss King, yes. Miss Rowell,
yes. Motion carries. Go ahead. I have a motion to approve the HIP report. Motion. Motion by Mrs. Silver. Second by Mr. Gibson. Questions? No questions? Roll call. Miss White.
Miss Alberto. Yes. Mr. Gibson. Yes. Miss Aikens? Yes. Miss Pepe? Yes. Miss Silver, yes. Miss King, yes. Miss Rewell, yes.
Motion carries. Report. Oh, may I have a motion for legal fees? for motion for the board of education to accept the recommendation of superintendent and here hereby approves legal fees for employee 106107
in the amount of $3,65422. May I have a motion? Motion. Motion by Mrs. Pepe. Second. Second by Miss Silver. Questions? No questions. Roll call. Miss White. Miss Alberto. Yes.
Mr. Gibson, yes. Miss Aikens, yes. Miss Pepe, yes. Miss Silver, yes. Miss King, yes. Miss Roel, yes. Motion carries. Next, uh, public comments. Uh, general
matters only. We want to let you know uh, three minutes only. Please come be courteous, respectful, and state your name and your address. First, we have Miss Christristen Rodriguez. Mr. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, mister.
Thank you for the clarification. Yes. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. My full name is Christian Moreno Rodriguez. Two addresses here. 7:30 New Maple Road, Pleasville, New Jersey. It's our family home. And then we also have 3203 which
is in Atlantic City on Atlantic Avenue, the heart of our new community center space that our organization at Pueblo is going to be opening up next month. I want to start off by saying Best
and to the rest of the board. We're here specifically on point eight of your norms of collaboration, pursuing advocacy and equity. And just like our community members that came out here tonight to speak on their issues, our Latino and our and immigrant
community is coming out to speak on our general issues as well because we have to ensure that we have full community representation from this point forward at every single meeting at every single strategic planning meeting at every single planning meeting every single parent teacher conference meeting from
this point forward. And what Mr. Diego spoke on earlier. Something as simple as approving with fees waved a Latino pageant has seem to cause and stir so much debate.
And it saddens us saddens us when we when we have to come out and respond when we hear claims of discrimination and we hear claims of anti-Latino and anti-immigrant sentiment being espoused behind the scenes with an event like
this. And so that speaks to a much bigger issue because while you're in here debating something as simple as that, our community is being under attack in Pleasantville. Our organization at PBLO is one of the groups that's actively
responding to threats of ICE enforcement, the threats of immigration in the city of Pleasantville. And we've verified ICE activity at 4, 5, 6, 7 in the morning the last six, seven months. So my question is, what is the school district doing right now to implement
the New Jersey Department of Education guidance that laid out very in very specific details considerations with how we can protect immigrant students. And so I know some of you board members might be involved or might be aware of what's happening, but if you don't, then that means you're not on the ground and
that means you're not listening to the concerns of our immigrant community. And so I'm here to just propose collaboration. We'd love to have a follow-up meeting. We'd love to discuss this. The school year is starting, but it's never too late because things are only get progressively worse. And when
we have to respond to Abby Lane, which is one block away from Washington Avenue School. Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Um, then it's unacceptable. Thank you. I appreciate your time. I I'm I'm a little disheartened that some other members of the community got way over three minutes, but when it
comes to a brown person or Latino person asking for their time, it just seems unfair. Thank you. No, you're fine. and um Mr. Christian Buckus, we're excited. I'm excited at least to have the pageant coming here and we thought, you know, we thought that, you know, look, we just asked to
have the fees waved because you guys had had it here twice. So, I'm excited that it's coming here and a lot of other board members are excited. So, we thank you. I'm excited. Okay. Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Have a great afternoon. Talk to you. You too. Bye. Bye. Next.
Next, we have Mrs. Kathy Watson. from the pea. Good evening. Good evening. Uh we did have a meeting yesterday with the uh superintendent and her staff members which was great. Thank you very much. We really appreciate it. So,
we started a new uh a committee which should have been open like it's in the contract, a liaison committee. So, I'm we're so excited to be able to have conversations back and forth so we can um try to work together productively because again we have our
students best interest at at um at our hearts. Of course, we do. And um just wanted to bring it to the attention of the board that we still have 12 open grievances and a grievance just like we showed you last year um in June. Uh
grievance is a lawsuit because it is against the contract like we are saying that this is being our contract's being violated 12 different times. So, I just wanted to make sure that you know that and we are trying to have conversations to
um resolve these grievances before they go to arbitration and before the district has to spend thousands of dollars on each one. Um and there just seems to be an unwillingness to compromise on most of the grievances
such as uh transferring of our um staff who are senior like our senior staff. It's in our contract that the senior staff don't get transferred. The less senior staff gets transferred. Uh we have people who've been working
for 30 years being transferred. Um, that's all I really wanted to bring up to your attention is that we would really like to have serious conversations about solving these grievances without um spending the district's money.
Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Watson. Next, we have is it Terry? Alabazo. Good evening board. My name is Terry Alabarta. I am a teacher at Leeds Avenue School. F. First of all, I wanted to
thank all the board members. I know it's a very difficult job. I have volunteered on a local school board for a little over a year and I want to thank you for the job you do. Sometimes, you know, it's difficult. Um, I signed up because, you know, I was told that the elementary
schools, uh, the teachers would not be done until 3:55. And I promised some of my colleagues that couldn't come tonight that I would come on and stand and talk on their behalf. First, on my behalf, um, I have doctor's appointments I have to get to
um, so I can stay well and that so we can be all the other teachers feel the same way. So, if it's ever thought about to have us in school till 4:00 again, it makes it difficult for us to um get to our doctor's appointment so we can be well and so that we can be present and
that we can teach our children. Uh none of us want to take a half day and have a substitute come in because our children aren't really learning the same if we're not there. So, we need to stay well for the kids of Pleasantville. Uh there's also a lot of talk uh from some of my
colleagues that it's too late to sign up for child care after school for their kids. So I had people panicking and talking to me and they're like, I don't know what to do. Like I can't work here anymore if school gets done at 3:55
because my child care is till 4. So I just wanted to bring up some of the things. I'm very happy to hear that we're going back to the old schedule. Um, from what I heard, I don't know. Was I okay, that was a look. So, well, if if we're still thinking 355, there is going
to be a lot of problems with my colleagues and we we need to be there for the kids of Pleasantville. So, and I know that some of the parents spoke up and that it's we we start school in about three weeks. So, it's
very late for people to to really figure out where their child care is coming from at this point. So, thank you very much. Thank you. Next, we have Carrie Clark. Miss
Clark Carrie Clark. Hello. Thank you. I ask that uh my time not be started yet. uh just so I can communicate to you that I am a neurode divergent person. Speaking just in
general is very difficult in order to uh organize my thoughts and sometimes it takes a little bit longer in order to be clear. I also ask that the time not be started yet so that I can clarify on this question of what time exactly are
we starting school? I think that's really rude as educators. I would just like to say being that many parents here have a neurode divergent child who need IEPs or 504s and I was one of those children. So
now that I am an adult, I think it's important that I communicate with people that I am communicating with in order so that they can understand how to communicate with me better. And I think it's a not a polite organized
community thing to do because we're here to support each other as well as children. And I think that's important to show children that you're supporting an adult. Hey, look, now we're a full minute in. So, I really appreciate now that I don't get to explain to you my
thoughts. So, um, before we start my clock again, can we please clarify the question of We're not going to start the clock again. The clock started when you a minute and a half ago. I've explained to you that I think the answer on what
time the children are to start school is important before I can ask and make my statements because my statements could very well not be relevant at this time if it is that I'm understanding the wrong information and
the information that I'm receiving is that my child would not leave school until 3:45. So, is that the case that my child is not leaving Leeds Avenue until 3:45? Go ahead, Nancy, please. Dr. Martinez.
No, it's not. Okay. So, what time is it that my child would be leaving school? The recommended time for students to be dismissed at an elementary school is 3:10. And what time would my child be starting school? 9:00. So, what part of the day is being cut
from my child's school? Not being that we are 10 minutes later than we were last year, none of the time is being cut. None of the time is being cut. So not part of recess or lunch or extracurriculars out of specials or any of those things?
No. So at 3:10 the children are going to be dismissed and our main issue is that the children are not going to start school until 9:00. That would be your issue. Yes, I think that's the parents issue across
the board because parents need to then pay in a poorly supported economic community across the board that they then need to pay for the afterare. Thank you so much. It's rude and disrespectful to not think of the people in your community.
Next, we have uh Pastor Paige, former president uh board of ed member Yes, board. I'm really disappointed. You know, you a couple months ago, y'all passed a budget for over $126 million.
And you run this meeting like it's a a city hall meeting. This is a board of education meeting. and you're doing making decisions that affect our children and the staff.
If there's one thing I'm asking from this whole board is when you come to the meeting, stay at the meeting. Nine of you opened it up, it's only seven of you. Now, listen. and the ones that are running again. I would ask you to come to every
meeting, every every uh sub meeting, all that because it's our children that that is going to pay for this. And I thank the gentlemen and the people that come up representing their people, okay? And I understand we have a
Hispanic superintendent, but when we didn't have Hispanic superintendent, we still needed you here. What I want to say is I don't like the time because you're making decisions that
really affect uh the staff and the kids and you're not listening. A lot of your job is to listen and read. Okay. Board education meetings. It's on it's on TV right now. Why don't we have the
agenda on the on the screen or on the site when we see every item you vote on the people that are home, they don't know what you voting on. You came out of executive session. You never said in that you're going into executive session to to settle anything. You come out
executive session and you make a mo a motion to approve some kind of expenditure for the um the uh attorneys. What case? What did you talk about? Did this end the case? Cuz you know when
you go into executive session, there comes a time when you end a case. You solve the case, but now that comes out to the public. And for so many years now, y'all settle so many cases, but you never come back and tell us why.
Cases that you can win if you go to court. But no, you settle. The union is standing here saying there the grievances that should be that should be answered by the board. Don't go to arbitration. Don't have an attorney get paid every time maybe 30
days we talk about the case and then two years later you settle because that's what you're doing. You know you can't win cases so you settle them two years later. That's wrong.
And I'm telling you, every one of you, you took a oath. You live by the oath. The oath is you honor and you respect the law. Natalie, stop this timelessness. Is there a Natalie in here?
Natalie? Nobody. Next, we have Miss Mona. So my first question before I get started is for all of the elected board members, do you guys realize that you work for us, the taxpayers here in the
pleas city of Pleasville? Anybody can answer. It's just a yes or no question. I know that. Okay. Yes, I know. So as taxpayers of the city of Pleasville and any municipality
actually, we have a right to come to these public forums and express our interests, our likes, our dislikes, and what bothers us most, right? Without fear of
retaliation, disrespect, ignored, or anything like that. So I'm appalled being my first meeting in a quite a few years that this is the behaviors that are being exhibited by our current school board. But November 4th rolls
around soon, right? And then June and November comes every year and every year we have an election. So, it's going to be up to the people to make a difference in all of that because the level of disrespect that I'm seeing
tonight is crazy. And the fact that the superintendent has very little eye contact with those that's coming to this mic is appalling as well. So, I did want to come up here and talk
about the instability throughout the school throughout the school district over the years. People have been telling me about this for years and I just stayed away. But I'm here today. So, we're concerned about the kids start times, right? And we want to change it
because they learn better according to your earlier statements. But did you know if they don't have a stable environment that they're still not going to learn at the level that you think they're going to learn because they've been experiencing instability over the
last two years so to speak for as far as you've been at place, right? So what are we going to do about the instability throughout the school district? That's one. Two, I just found out that there's only limited slots for afterare. So even if afterare and before care. So even if
I could afford it, I wouldn't be able to get my five grand kids in there anyway because there's no slots available, right? And then the reassignment, you took a full-time experienced full of years Dr. Lapel, Dr. Lapel's Chapman out
of the high school to replace him with a interim that we're paying $650 a day and he's part-time. What can he do for my kids part-time? I would expect a call so that we can have further dialogue and we can schedule a meeting tonight before I leave. And Miss Roell, I'll invite you
to that meeting as well. And superintendent, I'm I'll be waiting for your call. Thank Thank you, Mrs. Tally. Next, we have Miss Lesley Fortune. Is she live?
Good evening board. Um, good evening. I come here to speak on behalf of my parent. First and foremost, I would like to address the serious disconnect between the board members and the families. I mean, seriously, it it just seems that
like I I've I've gone to Pleasantville schools and it always just seems that we are an afterthought. Nobody thinks about us. We're always behind. Teachers talk down to us. Huh? And we can't even get a schedule. What's that
about? All the other districts get a schedule. Look at Egg Harbor Township. I see my uncle. He has a schedule. He knows what he's going to do. He knows what time. He knows everything. I think we can all agree that nobody likes to be
working in the dark. Everybody knows to be successful, you have to be ahead of the game. If you're not ahead of the game, how you h how how you going to win? It just doesn't make sense that even
after all these years, I done graduated, went to college, got a degree, and got a job, and Pleasantville is still the same an afterthought. Do you is where's the care for that? And as a board members, it just feels like
there's no liaison. There's no connection. It feels like they're saying no, no, no. And I'm hearing you guys saying yes, yes, yes. And it's it's there is no yes. You got people here who are paying
taxes. My parents pay $8,000 a year in taxes. You've got this lady here who's saying she pays double taxes here. for them and for for the child and the teacher to not have a schedule to work
with three weeks out of school. It just make it make sense. We are now in August. September is next month. I've left and I've come back and this the the the the Pleasantville is an
afterthought. The kids the that nothing. It doesn't make sense for people to be paying taxes and they cannot get a set schedule to be ahead of the game to push their kids further to success. You're not making any sense. I'm done.
Thank you, Lesie. My head. Next is board comments. Wait. Just just so the public is aware, um the resolution that dealt with the payment
of attorney's fees was not a settlement of a case. It involved an employee who was the subject of some sort of uh prosecution. that case was dismissed and pursuant to statute, the employee was
entitled by law to reimbursement for that employees attorney's fees. It was not a settlement. And lastly, regarding I know the board president referenced this regarding the threeminut time period that is in your public comment section that was created in 2006, that
policy. Thank you, Mr. Hammond. Next, uh, board comments. Mr. Gibson, I just want to thank everyone for coming out tonight and, um, I'm glad you all stated your concerns and I gladly think about it. Thank you,
Miss Aikens. I want to thank everyone that came out. I want to thank everyone who's watching. Um, I just want to let everyone know I hear you. I'm listening. Um, I can understand some of the things that
you're talking about. Um, I'm not dismissive to what you're saying. Um, I am taking in consideration a lot of things. Um, you guys hear things that may or may not be true. Um, heck, I don't even know sometimes of things
that's going on cuz everything ain't shared with all board members. So, um, I'm just going to say it, leave that as as that is. Um but we are well let me excuse me I am listening and I
appreciate you guys comments and um you know continue to come out you guys have good night Alberto I only want to say thank you for everyone take your time for be here tonight listen to us thank you cannot
hear you I only want to say thank you for everybody taking time for be there here tonight. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time and kind Miss Pepe. Thank you everyone for coming and voice
your concern. Um we are as a board hearing you guys. We were hearing your parents and we are considering everything you guys have said. Again, thank you for coming out tonight. Miss Silver,
thank everyone for coming out. It's a challenging time for us as well as it is for you, but we do hear you. We're not ignoring you. We hear you. It took us a while to get to the point where we are as a Pleasantville district
to dig our and we have to begin to dig oursel out. So, we ask that you be patient as this process continue. and thank you for coming out, Miss King. Oh, yes. Good evening. Good evening.
And thank you for attending tonight's meeting. Um, and I concur with my fellow board members. um that we do consider you and what you do say and our every action is for the
betterment of the city of Pleasantville, your school district and its students. We want this district to succeed and I can attest that we have moved in a very positive
direction under Dr. Martinez's leadership and her staff and the educators and we think about what's in the best interest of this district when we do so. Um, and in closing, I would
just like to say that I think a prime example of the spirit that's in this district is this this district summer program. Um they ended their program this year with a wonderful rendition of the Wizard
of Oz and the talents of the children's was uh was on display and they did an excellent job and the community did come out and they supported them. So, I do give kudos to
the educators um the teachers and the uh say program staff and the students for showing the district and the citizens of Pleasantville that Pleasantville school district is on the move and we and this
evening Dr. M Dr. Martinez's presentation about how we are progressing and we do have challenges. Absenteeism is a challenge is a problem and it is a challenge and that's
something that uh this district is implementing programs and staff to address. So I I think that uh that we need to be hopeful and we also as we try to do on this board is to work together
uh and that can only be done if we can be patient and also trust each other. Um, so I just hope that the spirit that the summers that the children display during the summer program is carried throughout
the year and we learn to work together in unison um and and find ways that we can have that we can work um together. Thank you for coming out. Dr. Martinez, do you have anything?
want to thank the board of education for its support and leadership and focus on student learning and to ensure that all students are being served. Also want to thank the staff for coming out and sharing their concerns as well as
parents and we intend to work together on being responsive so that all students can meet success in our district. Just want to thank everyone for coming out tonight. Um, and as my colleague said, we hear you.
Um, we're listening. We may not respond at that time, but we do hear you. Um, and it's very difficult to sit up here because we have decisions that we have
to make. Like I said in the beginning or two years, three years ago when I first took the presidency seat, when you're a board member and you sit up here, it's a lot of decisions and tough decisions that we have to make and
consider. But we don't make the decisions because we want to make them for ourselves, but we make the decisions for the district and for the children and what's best. Um, and
we're trying our best. Um, just want to thank everybody for the comments that they said. We also want to thank um, not single anyone out, but we like to thank Mr. Diego for coming out. Um, and we're looking forward to the pageant um,
that's coming. And we're going to strive to do the best we can to move the district forward. We have another meeting August the 26 at six o'clock. Um, and
we assure you that you guys will know your schedules um before the start of school um and everything will be in order. Um, so with that, just be a little bit
patient cuz as Miss King said, we have made a lot of strides and gains. Um, and it's been a long hall and we can't change everything overnight.
It takes time. Um, and we try to be transparent with each board member here. We don't withhold information from any board member or anyone. We make sure everyone has that information and everyone knows
each other's phone numbers and if they have a question. So if they have a question, they can either reach out to myself or they can reach out to the superintendent if they don't understand something. So we strive on transparency.
So we are transparent. Um, and this is a position that we're not paid to do this. And yes, as a resident has said, you know, you vote for us to be here. You guys voted for some of us to be sitting
up here now. So, myself, I want to do the very best because I was born and raised here. My whole family went to school here. You know, my sisters and them, they graduated from here. Um, so it's my passion and I'm not trying to
convince everyone here because I don't have to because my actions speak for me. And you know, sometimes you get different ones that may put a false narrative out about a person, but I know that I'm here for the kids and I believe everyone on this board here is for the
kids. But, you know, just be a little bit patient with us. We're trying to do the best we can and we're doing it what's best for the district. And as I always say, I thank you. I thank the staff for what you do and all you do because without you guys here, we couldn't run a district. So, you know, I
just want to thank the staff too for everything that they do because each person here plays a major component in running the school from the from the administrator down on down to the um custodian. So, everybody has their
positions that they play. So with that um also we want to invite you guys um we have a district strategic planning for the next five years that we are planning to host in September and we invite the residents of Pleasantville to come out
and share in your concerns so we can help make that next five-year plan a great plan. So, we invite you out. And with that, we thank you for all your comments once again. And hopefully we get to see you again on August the 26 at
six o'clock. And we hope and I hope and the board hopes that you have a great and a blessed week until we meet again. May I have May I have a motion to adjourn this meeting? Motion. Motion by Mrs. Silver. May I have a second?
Second by Miss Pepe. All in favor? I. All oppose. Good night. Thank you, Mr. Gibson. Thank you. This was a long one. Oh my gosh. I know. I know.
So I know. I I know. I know. I'm just think I'm going I'm not coming back cuz I'm on I'm going on vacation. I ain't coming back. I'm actually going on vacation Thursday. I'm extended.
Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Yeah. Look, I got a few. See, they they give me this job and they know I can get but I have it. Have a good night.