[Music] Good evening everyone. This meeting is an open session of the Roosevelt Park Board of Education being held in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act of the State of New Jersey. Notice of this meeting was sent to the Star Ledger, local source, the Home News
Tribune, the Burough Clerk, school offices, and the district website. Roll call, please. >> Mark Fernandez, >> here. >> Lucy Figero, >> here. >> Zenfonte, >> here. >> President Dr. Brittany Kirkland,
>> here. Cindy Mego >> here, >> Jen McCar, Chris Monroe, Constance Quintella >> here, >> Vice President Michael Anne Regan >> here. >> Please stand for the flag salute
of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Executive session resolve that the Roosevelt Park Board of Education hereby convenes to executive session for
discussion of the following topics. One, personnel. Two, a client attorney attorney client privilege. Three, student matters. It is anticipated that the executive session will take approximately 1.5 hours. The board may take action during public session. The
board shall return to public session following executive session at approximately 7 p.m. The minutes of the public session the minutes of the executive session will be released to the public when the reason for the p for the executive session no longer exists. Motion to go into executive.
>> Motion. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> We are now in executive. Okay. That's it. Good e Oh, not on.
>> Test testing. >> Testing. Okay. Good evening everyone. Can I have a motion to return to public session? >> Motion. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Great. Public participation agenda items
only. Each member of the public may speak a maximum of three minutes. Please state your name for the record. Seeing none, I'm going to close public participation on agenda items only. And now we are going to move into our principal report given by Miss Costa.
I'm so excited I get to go first. Uh that's fantastic. So, thank you everyone for having the for having me here tonight to represent the high school. And um I just want to thank our student rep, Ununice. And she's going to give the majority of the high school presentation tonight kind of just a
little bit of the facts and but I want to take some time um to recognize 15 students and then to turn the microphone over to one of those students. So, I want to start by first thanking you for the phenomenal start to the school year. Thank you to the parents and the students sitting here. You're part of the reason that we're off to such a
really strong start. We want to recognize 14 students first this evening um that received national recognition for their PSAT scores last year. I want to thank the board for allowing us to give the PSAT to all of our sophomores and all of our juniors every year. We
just finished giving that test last week. Um this is the scores from last year. However, these 14 students ranked in the top 10% of test takers on our PSAT. In addition, they must have a very high cumulative cumulative GPA above a
B+. And in addition to that, four of these students also earned first generation award. That means that they uh have the hopes of being the first person in their family to attend college. Um, so I want to take a minute to recognize
th these 14 students and then I have one more student I would like to recognize. So as I call your name, students, please come up. We have some certificates for you. Um, and the first generation awards I'll also do at the same time. Um, so I'd like to start. Why don't why don't
everybody who's I'll just call you. Um, first is Michaela Ali. Oh, go right up there. Stay up there. Okay, we're going to call everyone. Kaylee Berios, I didn't see everyone, but I saw most of these. Uh, did Oscar come back? He's not
back. Okay, I know he's here. I'm going to call him in a minute. Um, Jaden Cole, Camila Cruz, Cordiero, [Applause] Jaden Franco, [Applause]
Chloe Jimitic. Not that way. Yep. Good job. Larry Hernandez Grande. [Applause] Adriana Manahonto. I know it.
Isabella McGoan. McGawan. What was that? >> Okay, she's coming. Okay. Um, Fawad Man, Michaela Mora, [Applause]
Adai Moran, Sydney Smith, Nastra's back. Nastra Bolivar. Okay. And Adriana's coming, right? So if when Adriana comes, we'll make sure to recognize her. And this just shows every these students are here tonight. And as I look, I see everything from I see
goalies, I see basketball players, I see scholars up in the up early in the morning for zero period. Um, these students are involved in so many wonderful ways and I can't can't thank you thank you enough. Um, so now I would like to turn it over. Um, at this time
we have Oh, you may be Did you get a picture? >> No, I was waiting for >> Oh, I'm sorry. I have to slow down. Let's get a picture. >> You got to go in the picture. >> I don't like to go. >> All right. Happy birthday. >> Big smiles.
Everybody got one? [Applause] Okay, in a second, uh, Ununice, I'm going to turn it over to you, but first I want to turn it over to, um, one of our students whose name is Isabella
Rodriguez, and she elected, uh, tried out, was named um to serve on the Youth Art Education Council. Um it is quite a lot of work. It does involve monetary um reward as well. And one of the requirements of
this position is that she needs to present at a board meeting. She needs to tell you a little bit about what she's doing and why she's doing it and uh why she's advocating for the arts like she is. And I'm so proud of her. And I'm going to turn the mic over to Isabella. Don't worry, she won't be too long. And
then I'm going to come right back up for one more thing. [Applause] Good afternoon. My name is Isabella Rodriguez. I'm a junior here at Rosal Park High School and I'm currently completing an internship with the New
Jersey Youth Art Education Cohort where my goal is to raise awareness about the importance of arts education. Art is often overlooked, but it does so much more than spark creativity. Research shows that engaging in the arts actually strengthens the part of the
brain responsible for problem solving and innovation. In other words, our trained students in ways that can shape their future. Through my internship, I have written to the US House of Representatives to promote their annual art competition. I've created
promotional artwork and presented research on the impact of arts education. As art club president and student council president, I've been using my platform to share opportunities and encourage others to advocate for the arts in our school. This internship,
which meets online every Monday, has taught me how to use my voice, creativity, and leadership to make a difference. And to show that art isn't just a class, it's a force of change. Thank you.
[Applause] Come back. Come back. I love digital film. I could just keep pushing the button a lot. [Applause] Okay. I also wanted to take a minute to
just thank our student board representative Ununice Aravalo for for being here and for being involved in these board meetings. Um she won't toot her own horn. Uh but she also was involved in some ex
extremely impressive work at Ruckers University over the summer. She did a four-week course in something way over my head um having to do with phosphorescent proteins and she was actually published to the website for her research findings. So if you want to
talk a little bit about that, you don't have to. I know you don't like to be put on the spot. Um, but I do want to thank you for giving the update of the high school uh this evening and just for all you do and all of these other students as um wonderful active members of the high school in so many ways
academically, extracurricularly. So, thank you for that. Did Adriana come back yet? Oh, come back. Come up, Adriana. We didn't get your your photo because you were in band being so productive in extracurriculars. Um, so let me also congratulate you on
your high PSAT scores. Um, where is it? There's footwads. It's going to be the last one I open. All right, there we go. Adriana, let's do a picture with you.
then we'll turn it over to Ununice and then afterwards um high schoolers you can take off [Applause] Good evening. Since our last boarding meeting, there's been a lot of exciting
progress and activity at the high school. We started the year strong with back to school night on September 25th, which had an impressive turnout. It was great seeing so many students volunteer their time to guide parents, answer questions, and make sure the night ran smoothly. The following day, we held our
annual club fair in the front circle. Every club set up a display and students were encouraged to explore and get involved. The student event was packed and it really highlighted the enthusiasm and involvement across our student body. During the first week of October, our
10th and 11th graders took PSAT while many seniors participated in Senior Sunrise, a long-standing tradition where we gather on on the football field to watch the sunrise and celebrate the start of our final year together. Right now, the focus is on homecoming week. Spirit week has been a huge success with
students showing off their creativity and school pride each day. The homecoming dance will be this Thursday night with the theme big city lights. On Friday, we'll honor our seniors in bands cheer in football before our last regular season home game against JP Stevens. Senior night begins at 5:30
with kickoff at 6. Looking ahead, there's a lot of things happening in the next few weeks. The PTO meeting will be on October 20th, followed by the junior parent meeting. and wellness fair on the 21st. Underclassman makeup photos on the 22nd and our inschool SAT will be given
on the 23rd. We'll be also hosting a fast fun night on October 29th. And then we'll wrap up our month with Halloween, one of our favorite school traditions featuring the annual costume contest with categories like best group, scariest, and most creative. It's been
an incredible start to the school year full of energy, involvement, and pride. Students are engaged, events are running strong, and there's a real sense of community building across the school, and we're excited to keep this progress going. Thank you so much for that report. Uh,
and congratulations to all of the students tonight that received an award and were recognized. We do understand that it's a school night, so you are welcome to leave, but you're also welcome to stay. We understand. Okay, great. Um, and so before we move
into committee reports, I just want to address something. So, there's been a lot of conversation about online about the board of education building and to be clear, it is not currently up for sale. So, any decisions about future expansion will be made with community
input and you'll be consistently receiving updates from the vision committee like the report that you're going to receive tonight. Um, so if you have any questions or ideas, you can feel free to email the vision committee and the email address is vision v i s io
n-2035- committee at rpsd.org. And now moving into other committee reports. I will start with my left and we'll work our way down. So I I am
I am the liaison for Robert Gordon. I am proud to say that on October 7th we had our Zoom meeting and on October 17th they're having their fall festival which they need volunteers. Their fall festivals from 6 to 8 on the 17th. You
can buy tickets in advance which will be $25. It is uh for per family, a minimum of five. If you buy in advance, you get a pumpkin and tickets. If you buy them at the door, it will be 35 uh $30 and
you only get tickets. Um on the 17th, Robert Gordon's also doing their annual flowers, which they'll be there from 12 to 3:00. On the 21st, Robert Gordon is doing a pretzel sale. um on the black top right between the middle school and
Robert Gordon. On October 22nd, Robert Gordon's doing a coffee corner sale from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. On October 24th, they're doing a pajama day, which the PTA will get all the funding for them.
It will I believe it's a dollar per student. October 31st they are doing their class parties and they're doing a half a day and that day they do their big uh Halloween parties. They're also doing a Halloween boos which they will
be sending home for the kids. The next party I'm sorry the next uh PTA meeting will be on November 11th at 7:30 p.m. That's it. Thank you. uh the negotiations committee met on October 6th uh for custodians and
continuing that conversation. >> Thank you, Dr. President, Dr. Kirkland. Thank you, Superintendent Goce. Uh the personnel committee met. Uh we discussed what is on the agenda in regard to the HR business manager job description uh just to keep up with the evolving needs
of our district. uh and the policy committee met as well uh just to address certain accountability within uh and collaboration in the board and our uh assessment of policy throughout the coming years. So that's that's my report
this way, right? Okay. The special education committee met on October 7th. We discussed some of the items on the agenda. The pair of professionals that are being moved and new hires have to do with student needs. In response to the question raised at
the last board meeting, prek friendship day at the Turtleback Zoo is currently on the agenda. Um, education 29C for October 24th for that class that was being discussed. And our next committee meeting will be
held on November 11th. Good evening everybody. Um for facilities we have one basically want to say the HVAC system in um Aldine is on full blast. It's working. I attended a PTO meeting last week and it was cold.
So I know it's it's definitely working and um the high school don't worry it's on its way. We're putting out RFP soon. So you guys uh hopefully we'll have that project done before I guess next school year, but it's definitely in the making.
Um I want to I want to again address what I did last uh meeting regarding the Thanksgiving Day game. Um we do not have a vote on that. It's not under our control. Um there's been other misinformation about that. I invited Mr. Kane to come to the meeting today to
explain to, you know, everybody the situation with the Thanksgiving Day game this year and going forward. Mr. Kane, if you could come up. [Music] Thank you. Good evening, everybody. Um, so it was brought to my attention again
that there may be some misinformation going around and I just want to be very clear again. And I had said this between multiple times in different meetings and it's with complete respect to the board and the community, but we don't make these decisions. As Mr. Monroe had just
stated, our opponent on Thanksgiving for 105 years doesn't want to play on Thanksgiving anymore. We don't have an opponent. There are we are down to about 15 games in the state of New Jersey. We have over 300 football teams in the state of New Jersey and 15 play. All of
those reasons are because the state of New Jersey, when I played football and everyone else in the community played football, it was a fall sport. It is now transitioned into a summer sport. We start in early August. Week zero is August 25th,
first games. We're 10 days outside of school or so, maybe a week out of school. And a lot of schools have one to two games under their belt already. When our generation played football, our first game was the second or third weekend in September. So when I played on Thanksgiving and everyone else here
played on Thanksgiving, there was a 8 to 10 day gap between the last game of the regular season and Thanksgiving. There's only 8 to 10 days this year. The date of our last regular season football
game before Thanksgiving is I'm going to mess the date up. It's either October 24th or 25th, whatever that Friday is, we are going to Spotwood for a six o'clock kickoff. And then our next football game is November 27th. There's a fiveweek gap in between the end of the
regular season and the Thanksgiving Day game. That is a long time. Now, the state moved things back in all sports and in many sports like soccer, they truncated the season, which means they play multiple games during the week because they want that season to end sooner so that coaches and athletes have
a larger gap to get healthy mentally, emotionally, physically before the next season. We are a group one school. Most of our athletes are multisport athletes, which is a wonderful thing. But our players that are done in early November have about two to three weeks before
they get to try out November 24th for basketball leading into the Thanksgiving Day week. So basketball starts November 24th. The date of November of Thanksgiving is November 27th. So there's an overlap there. So our other athletes get a two to three week gap to
get healthy along with their coaches. whereas our football players and coaches get 72 hours between Thursday morning and Monday morning when they're already three days late to the winter practice. So, these are the reasons why we had coach Wagner uh talk a lot about this.
If you're not sure who coach Wagner is, he has been to 58 of the 105 games that have been played on Thanksgiving. He was there as a young kid in Rosell Park. He was there as a football player in Rosell Park. He was there as the head coach. He was there as the athletic director and administrator in this district for a
long time. He's been to all of them. This is it's in his blood and he loves it and he understands why it doesn't make sense in the state of New Jersey anymore. There's any questions or concerns or well, we know there's concerns, but if
there's any questions, it's all in the best intention for our student athletes. If there was a way that that we only had those 8 to 10 days, it'd be a wonderful thing. But we we have five weeks and that is
the biggest issue with continuing on that tradition. Now, on a positive spin, we are still going to play Roselle. That is the rivalry we are keeping alive. So, that tradition of 105 times that we've played will continue on in 26 and 27 and
28 and going forward. And here's another good positive thing that hasn't been discussed yet. There are years in the past as I've gone through this, I've talked to a lot of people. Roselle's got a bunch of good wins and then we go and beat them on Thanksgiving.
We get zero power points for that win. Move them back to week eight and we beat them in week eight. We get the power points which counts towards the playoffs for us. So again, by moving it back and playing a team that could have some wins under their belts and we can go and beat
them, it's a positive for our team to potentially make the playoffs there, too. So it's a good way to look at it as well. Anything else I can help? >> Are there any board members that have any questions for Mr. Kane?
>> Oh, there we go. So ultimately, correct me if I'm wrong. This is in the best interest of the health, both mental, physical, of the students. >> Absolutely. To go from, let's say you've got one of our kids that rolls an ankle, sprains an ankle, something happens on Thanksgiving. We win or lose. Let's say you win, you celebrate, great. They're
out for basketball season for a few weeks. You know, the the the the coaches need a mental, emotional break. Football is a grind. If you haven't played it, you haven't coached it. I mean, last night they're going to be here late watching game film, these coaches. Then they're going to be watching film when they get home. There is a lot to that
goes in that you'll never see in the sport of football. And to extend that by five weeks mentally, emotionally, physically, these guys are on the football field and their friends are hanging out relaxing because their season's over and they're looking forward to the winter season. Whereas
our football players in some ways may be thinking, I have practice again on Monday. Like, I haven't not had practice since August 12th and I go right back to practice for winter. So absolutely it is in the mental, emotional, physical health of our student athletes.
>> Thank you. >> But besides the break, it's also the fact that Roselle no longer wants to play the game. >> They do not want to play the game. Okay. They do not They This is why they moved it to Wednesday in the first place. They want to play on Wednesday night. The tradition is Thanksgiving, the day of
Thanksgiving. >> And they they're trying everything they can to not play on Thanksgiving. So when the when the conversation was in the conference as well that I don't know if you're aware but Westfield Planefield the conversation started Westfield Planefield if we're playing for our 105th game they're
playing for their 125th game and they decided not to celebrate it. And I can go on with that for a few seconds. I know we got a lot you have a lot more to do tonight than listen to me. So I'll make it quick. But Westfield and Planefield should have played this year on Thanksgiving. This should have been the last year because it gets scheduled
in a two-year band. So, our schedule was made for us last year for this year. Two years, play the same teams, you just flip-flop home and away. If you remember, we were at Roselle last year on Wednesday night, and that's why we're home this year on Thanksgiving against Rosel on Thanksgiving. Westfield and Planefield said, "We're not even doing
it this year. We're not going to celebrate it. We're not going to recognize it. We are just moving on." They moved it to week zero. They already played in August. They're done. What I would really like and we've talked about it and people have talked about it and I I had a meeting with um very important
stakeholders about it as well to celebrate this final time that we are doing this in Roselle Park against Roselle and bringing back some traditions that have long standed and there maybe they've been missing for a while and in talking to coach Wagner and talking to former players that are uh
are still heavily involved in the community to bring things back so we can celebrate it one last time on that day. >> Thank you. >> Uh just to be clear, so um just so everybody understand this year the game
will happen >> 10 a.m. >> Yes. >> Be there. Herm Shaw Field Kicking off at 10:00 a.m. We have a lot of uh fun ideas to be to be included, people to be included so everyone gets the respect and
celebration that it absolutely deserves. I do have one question. So, you're the expert on the sport. I don't have a older child that plays football right now, so I really don't know what goes into it. I'm just curious about the the Rosal Park not wanting to play us. Have
we reached out to >> Y >> Yeah, we don't want to play each other. >> Sorry, Roselle not wanting to play us. Um, have did we reach out to anyone else to see if they might be interested in playing us? >> No. >> Okay. >> No, that's it. That's why we're down to
15 in the whole state. >> It's just it's just a function of the schedule from the state. >> Anybody else? >> Thank you, Mr. King. >> Thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it. [Applause]
>> Okay. Up next, I would like to bring Miss Wendy. Uh she's going to be representing the vision 2035 committee. >> Good evening everyone. Uh I want to thank everyone for being here tonight and um having me up here to give you this committee report.
Um I'm going to just take a few minutes to talk about the 2035 vision committee and clear up some confusion. First, let me give you a brief timeline of how the 2035 vision committee came to be. The idea of reviving the committee was prevented presented in executive
session March 18th, 2025. Voted on at the April 8th BOE meeting and the idea was approved to move forward. The applications were sent out in April of 2025. Members were announced
at the May board of ed meeting. The first meeting was in June. It was a general meeting for organization and alignment of priorities and goals. The second meeting was in August of 2025 to firm up priorities and goals. The most recent meeting was in October to form
committees within the committee to start tackling the goals. The applications were sent out to board of education members, school teachers, the mayor and council, and all members of our community via Google form. Two months were given for everyone to
consider participation and committee me members to make selections and the selections confirmed. The final list of members were confirmed on June 10th, 2025. This is not this is not a secret
group. The committee was created to meet legal requirements from the state which are necessary for us to keep our schools running. Important points to note about the 2035 vision committee.
The goal of the 2035 vision committee is to guide the district through the long-term collaborative planning process that aligns facilities, programs, and resources with the district's mission, core values, and board goals.
You may be thinking to yourself, why is this work something we must do? Well, the district faces critical long-term challenges. Let me give you some examples. Aging facilities, full
elementary capacity, evolving enrollment, and growing demand for technology safety and accessible and sustain sustainability in our schools. A new long range facilities plan, otherwise known as a LRFP,
is required by the state by 2025. This committee ensures that the LRFP plan becomes a strategic valuing plan rather than a compliance document. The
committee connects facilities to equity and learning ensuring that every space supports inclusion, modern instruction, and student access. It model Excuse me. I'm sorry. I'm a little nervous. It models shared
leadership, bringing together board members, staff, and community voices. Sustainable change does not come from the top. It comes from a collective ownership. We the community. That's where it comes from. Through transparency and public engagement, the
2035 vision committee will build trust and accountability, showing the decisions are made with the comm with the community in mind, not behind closed doors. As a further note, a updated LFRP is
required by 2026. Vision 2035 is about designing the future of education in Rosal Park School District, aligning physical spaces with mission, values, and the needs of students through 2035 and beyond. Let me
be clear and loud. There are no board of education buildings or property currently up for sale. The committee is working on a long-term plan and that means we must consider all possible options. That does not mean everything
in the plan will happen. It means if we ever decide as a community to move forward with an idea, we won't have to start the entire process over again with the state, saving us time, money, and effort.
If something is listed in the plan, it is not a final decision. It's there so we do not have to start the process over, ensuring we can make critical and timely decisions. If you have questions or concerns, I invite you to send us an
email. We welcome your thoughts, your ideas, and your voice in this process. The vision committee can be reached at vision-2035-commd.org. The vision, the vision 2035 committee is about working together to create a plan that will help move education forward in
Rosal Park for our children today and for many years to come. The information provided today should clear up any misconceptions going on about at the hows and wise or the formation of the vision 2035 committee. Please note that
if the information about the committee or what the committee is doing did not come from the committee, it is not something being considered. I believe in our community and working together for what's best for our students and the future of the education in Rosel Park. That's how I ended up standing up here
in front of everyone today. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the community members in case people have missed it in the beginning um when it was announced on June 10th. Um I'm going to present the 2035 vision committee members. They are dedicated to
the betterment of our schools and community. We have superintendent of schools, Miss Patricia Goce, Miss Patricia Mau, Dr. Brittney Kirkland, Mr. Chris Monroe, Miss Michael Anne Reagan, Mr. Joseph Singaloro Jr., Mr. Gregory
Johnson, Miss Jodie Foy, Miss Jackie Garcia, Mr. Frank Gagliaro, me, Wendy Gilligit, and we have Lauren Burgski, and we will be bringing in experts or people who may have to comment on certain things which will be in my
vision reports that you all get to hear me say. So, I'm going to present some information that was provided to the committee members as to why they felt inspired to take on this archuous task. I'm only going to prevent a few today for the sake of time, but since I'm going to have to give these regularly, I
will include them until we get through everyone. Okay. So, the first question we asked the vision committee is, "What inspired you to join the vision committee?" And this is from Mrs. Foy. She states that I was
inspired to join the vision 2035 committee to give back to the community and school district having been involved in Rosel Park School District as a student class of 1990 employee teaching third grade since 1996 and a parent
Jared class of 2022 and Hannah class of 2025. I felt it was most important to be a part of finding solutions to some of the challenges we are facing in Rosal Park. The next question we asked was, "What is one goal or hope that you have for the
future of our district?" Mrs. Foy answered, "My hope is that the the vision 2020, it should be 2035, the vision 2035 committee can assist the board of education in creating solutions to our space challenges. I would like
both our students and teachers to be able to work and learn in spaces that are more than just adequate spaces that are cutting edge and allow our teachers to provide the most up-to-date and innovative education for the students of Rosal Park and then the third question
we asked was how do you see our schools evolving to best support our students over the next decade and Miss Foy answered I see our schools evolving in ways that match the demands and ch changes is that public education will
continue to face over the next decade. The importance of providing preschool education to all our youngest learners starting at age three so that they are prepared for the rigor of elementary school is paramount to the continued success of Rosal Park School District.
Continuing to offer advanced classes, academic experiences, and extracurricular activities, including the arts and athletics to our high school students, and having the ability to bring those experience to both our middle school and elementary schools,
should be at the forefront of both the vision 2035 committee and the board of education. The next person we're going to talk about is Mr. Frank Eglaro. We asked him the same three questions. Question one was, "What inspired you to
join the vision 2035 committee?" Um, Frank answered, "I have a very strong passion for this town and its schools. We have a great school system, but there is always room to be better, and I believe I can help make that happen." Question two, what is one goal or hope
you have for the future of our district? I would love for our schools to have more space so that teachers and students can accomplish their dreams. Question three, how do you see our schools evolving to be the best support our students to best support our students
over the next decade? Frank answered, I hope we can get better equipped with the latest technology and teaching skills to help our students meet and exceed their goals as well as the state requirements. Then we have Mrs. Jackie Garcia. Same
three questions. Question one, what inspired you to join the vision 2035 committee? What inspired me to join the vision 2035 committee is my commitment in to creating an inclusive school system where every child regardless of
ability has access to the resources and support they need to succeed. As a parent of a child with different abilities, I understand firsthand the importance of inclusive practices and individualized support. I joined this
committee to advocate for changes that ensure students receiving special education services are fully included to thrive in their schools. Question two, what is one goal or hope you have for
the future of our district? And Jackie said, "My greatest hope is that Rosel Park becomes a model district for inclusive education. I envision a school system where general and special education is not separate skills but fully ingrained environments that
include diversity and learning across all schools. Question three, how do you see our schools evolving to best support our students over the next decade? And Jackie said, "I hope we can get better equipped with the latest technology and
teaching skills to help our students meet and exceed their goals as well as state requirements over the next 10 years with thoughtful long-term planning. I see Rosal Park schools being transformed into modern
modernized state-of-the-art buildings that will meet the needs of all students. I envision sensor friendly spaces, accessible technology, universal design for learning principles embedded in instruction
curriculums along with strong collaborate collaboration between general and special educators. In conclusion, the 2035 committee was created to plan for the future of Rosel Park schools. Our goal is to make sure
every student learns in a safe, modern, and welcoming environment. Together, we are looking at how to update and improve our schools buildings, use technology better, and make our schools more energy efficient, accessible, and secure. This
committee brings together school leaders, teachers, parents, and community members to share ideas and make decisions openly. By working together, we can create a long-term plan that reflects our community's values
and supports our students now and for years to come. The vision 2035 committee is about designing the future of education in Rosal Park School District, aligning physical spaces with missions, values, and the needs of students
through 2035 and beyond. Thank you for your time. [Applause] >> Uh thank you, Wendy. Uh just to add also just so for people that's uh that anyone that's calling the board office asking
about hey they sold the building just so you know it's not something that's easy to do. We even if we wanted to we cannot sell the board building it has to come from the department of education. They make the final decision and they and basically they make their decision on
whatever is best for the kids. If it's not in the best interest of the kids they will not approve it. If they if they do not approve it, nothing gets done. So, anything from the vision committee, from the board of ed, anything has to go from the top. That
concludes my committee reports. >> Okay, thank you for those committee reports. And now we're going to move to superintendence report. >> Good evening everyone. At this time, I would like to call Miss Kaduga. We have three reports under my uh presentation
that will be given by our administrators um as we have to have these by state um mandate. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Good evening esteemed board members, superintendent and Rosel Park community members. As per the New Jersey Department of Education,
schools are required to submit student safety information twice each school year to the New Jersey Department of Education. Additionally, as the anti-bullying coordinator for the district, it is my responsibility to specifically report harassment, intimidation, and bullying data to the
board of education. This report is for the reporting period of January 1st through June 30th of 2025. Each school in the district has their own anti-bullying specialist who along with their administrators address any reports of alleged harassment, intimidation, and
bullying in their building and conduct investigations as required by the anti-bullying laws. The anti-bullying specialists for the reporting period were Andrea Kazidoi at the high school, Chelsea Murphy at the middle school, Dina Miwad at Robert Gordon, Caroline
Gleason at Aldine School, and Jamie Halprin at Sherman School. For this reporting period of January 1st through June 30th of 2025, there were a total of 33 investigations initiated as possible cases of harassment, intimidation, and
bullying. After thorough investigations by each school, it was determined that nine out of the 33 cases met all of the criteria as set by the New Jersey Anti-bullying Bill of Rights. In order to be confirmed, cases must meet all of
the criteria. The following is a breakdown of the cases by each school, which is also projected on the screen. At the high school, there were three confirmed cases and five alleged cases. At the middle school, three confirmed cases. 13 alleged cases. Robert Gordon,
one confirmed case and one alleged case. Aldine, two confirmed cases and four alleged cases. And Sherman, zero confirmed cases and one alleged cases. In addition, uh principles have the
ability to use preliminary determination when forms are initially submitted. During this reporting period, preliminary determination was not used in any of the cases. So all reports that were received by any schools were investigated. Consequences are applied
on a case-by- case basis. Consequences for a student who commits one or more acts of harassment, intimidation, and bullying may range from positive behavioral interventions up to and including suspension or expulsion. Also, consequences for a student who commits
an act of harassment, intimidation, and bullying are those that are varied and graded according to the nature of the behavior, according to the nature of the students disability, if any exists, and to the extent relevant to the findings, the developmental age of the student as
well as the student's history of problem behaviors and performance. Remedial measures are also used as part of the consequences that can be applied. Our goal is to always use situations in each school as learning opportunities and
moments to teach students for their future. So counseling for offenders and sometimes the victim will also be required. Additional consequences may also include parent conferences, education on the district's harassment, intimidation, and bullying policy,
schedule changes, detentions, in and out of school suspension, student monitoring by staff members, daily check-ins, and/or police involvement as warranted during this reporting period. The following programs and training sessions were also held at each school.
Projected on the screen are just a few of the trainings and programs. I will go through each school at this time. The high school had the crisis center peer support program, the stall ledger, the power of life and death assembly, school climate surveys was completed, and there
was also HIV policy training. At the middle school, we had Black History Month activities, recognized National School Counseling Week, Women's History Month, NJCAP Bullying Prevention Lessons that were provided by the NJCAP Union County Office, autism awareness month
activities, the power of words assembly provided by NJ4S, the power of life and death presentation, passionate learner day, fifth grade orientation, advisory programs, as well as HIV policy and prevention review, climate survey completion,
and HIV remediation and peer relationships training. At Robert Gordon, there was a safety patrol, no one eats alone day, random acts of kindness week activities, world seal day, fifth grade transition meetings, special persons day, occupation day,
bike and pedestrian safety assemblies, clapouts, award assemblies, as well as HIV policy and prevention review with training on conflict resolution and school climate. Aldine school had morning morning meetings, safety patrol, have a heart slips activities, character
council, buddy class activities, cyber bullying and digital digital citizenship lessons, manners and behavior lessons, no one eats alone day, random acts of kindness week, fifth grade transition meetings to the middle school and the HIV policy prevention review with also
training on conflict resolution and peer relationships. Sherman school had social skills lessons, safety patrol, American heart assembly, senior breakfasts, no one eats alone day, random acts of kindness week, classroom lessons on bullying, worldcl day, special persons
day, fifth grade transition meetings to the middle school and HIV policy prevention review with training on school climate. and the Rosell Park prek building had keep my hands to myself lessons, getting along expectations as well as lessons and the Tucker the
Turtle lesson series. The goal of our anti-bullying specialists, school safety teams that meet at least twice a year and principles is to continue to create schools with positive and accepting environments where all members of the school community feel safe and supported. Another one of my
responsibilities as the district anti-bullying coordinator is to prevent the self assess present the self- assessment for determining grades under the bullying rights act as required by the NJDOE. This report is based on the 2024 2025 school year. It is a rubric
that is completed by each school anti-bullying specialist in conjunction with their safety teams and reviewed and approved by the building principal. I'm required by law to share the scores with the board of education for approval and then they will be submitted officially to the NJDOE. The scores were approved
at the September board meeting and will be submitted to the NJ DOE after tonight's presentation. Now, it takes the NJ DOE almost the entire school year to re review the scores that were submitted and then they will release official scores in the spring. So I will
be once again back at that time to report the scores and which will include each school as well as the district official score given by the state. To note the grades are out of 78 total points. The rubric is very specific with eight core elements with ratings of one
for one to three for each indicator with one representing partially meets ex requirements, two representing meeting requirements and three representing exceeding requirements. It's not a passing or failing score. It is a reflection to determine where there is
room for improvement in our programs at each one of our schools and at the district level. Currently on our website, you will see the scores that were posted from the previous school year which were 2324. So once we receive the official
ones for the 2024 2025 school year, they will also be posted on the website. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Kog. At this time, I would like to call Miss Bodak to present the NJSLA results. Okay. Good evening everyone. Um, I'm
here to present the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment Results and that was given last spring um during the month of May to our students in grades 3 through nine um as well as some sophomores in
algebra 1 and our juniors in science. Okay, it's okay. Um, so we gave that assessment to nearly a thousand students in the spring. Um and the assessment is used to assess progress toward our um state learning standards and algebra 1
is a requirement for federal accountability. So there are a number of things I need to report on. Um we'll discuss some district statistics um some comparisons um by school and then we'll also look at
some subgroup data. Um, so if you look at the stats there, I'm comparing our district averages from 2024 to 2025. And this is um in ELA at the top. Um, so this past year about 50% of our students
met expectations in ELA and that was in all grades. And and uh the previous year that was 56%. Um this past spring about 34% of our students met expectations in math and that's up from about 29% the previous
year. Um and 14.5% of our students met expectations in science um down slightly from the previous year um 2024. I don't have the state averages, but um some of you who may be familiar with me presenting this data might have
remembered last year I did have the state average for science and I think last year it was not I think it might have been 19%. So I don't know what it is this year. I'm looking forward to seeing that information, but I think that's worth a note um because those
statistics do look very low, but comparatively I think we are um in line with where the state is or very close. At least we were last year. Um this is a comparison um of all of the ele all of the elementary schools
together. Um so across district, this is just breaking out um the third graders, the fourth graders, the fifth graders. So um about 45% of our students in third grade met expectations in ELA, about 43%
in math. Um, fourth grade about 55% met in ELA, about 38% in math, and in fifth grade we had about 58% meeting expectations in ELA, and in math about 26%.
Here are science results just broken out by tested grades. So, science is only tested in fifth, eighth, and 11th grades. So you can see um in the spring about 18% of students met expectations in fifth grade, 5% of students in eighth
grade and 20% of students in 11th grade. This is our comparison results by elementary school. So um we start with Aldine at the top followed by Robert Gordon and then Sherman. Um so for ELA about 48% of students at Aldine in
grades three four five met expectations um in ELA. Um that was about 46% at Robert Gordon and about 63% at Sherman. That was for ELA. And then for math, um, at Aldine, we had about 33% meet
expectations, about 32% at Robert Gordon, and about 42% meeting expectations in math at Sherman. And then in science, about 14% of students um, were meeting expectations in science at Alden. And again, this is just fifth
grade for science. about 10% at Robert Gordon and about 29% at Sherman meeting expectations in science. These are the results for the middle school. Um and this is a year-over-year comparison because I you know there's
only one school for the middle school. So um ELA6 um about 52% of students met expectations. It's very similar to last year's result. Um same for um ELA7 about 51%
um and ELA 8 about 47% of students met expectations down slightly from the previous year. Here is our math results for the middle school.
Um in uh math six we had about 36% meeting expectations. That's up quite a bit from the previous year, which was about 29%. Math 7 um were up slightly at 16.8% from the previous year. U math 8 very similar
to the previous year at about 11%. Um algebra 1 um was pretty consistent with the previous year. about 74% of our students taking algebra 1 at the middle school um met expectations and then about 76%
met expectations um in geometry. Here's the results for the high school. So 9th graders about 47% met expectations in ELA. Um down a bit from
the previous year. Um though if you if you look at the previous year from the eighth grade, it it's actually not that that far off. Um but algebra 1 um we went up quite a bit uh to 21.4%
um the previous year was 12.5% met expectations. Geometry up to 17% from 5.8% the previous year. In algebra 2, we didn't have any uh students test in 2024 in algebra 2. we did this year and that
was about 44% of the students met expectations in algebra 2. So here's the subgroup data by race and I apologize this is um a bit small but just just so you can see the very first
um the light colored um bar there is the results from 2023. Um the darker color is 2024 next to it and then um the even darker color is 2025. So they're like three bars in a
group. Um and on the top we have um language arts and to the right math and on the bottom science. So all the way to the left um we have Asian students. The second uh group of bars are black
students. Then the next group of bars are Hispanic students, multi-racial students, and white students. So we can see just generally speaking that there is a gap there that definitely needs to be closed. And we are working to do that.
And this is subgroup data by program. Again, up on the left we have uh language arts, to the right math, and on the bottom science. So all the way to the left we have ML students. It's our multilingual learners. followed by students on free and reduced lunch,
followed by our section 504 students, our IEP students, and our gened students all the way to the right. And you can see in all areas, our our ML students and our IEP students um there there's a a bit of a gap there. Again, we are
addressing that and hope to close that gap with some of the things I will note in a minute. Um so some notable achievements from um this year's data across the district. The percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math increased by about
5% year-over-year from 2024. Math gains were seen in all tested grades with the exception of fifth and eighth grades. Gains were also reported in math and science for special education students over last year and that's a testament to our all-in initiative.
Um about 1/4th of our seventh graders um and 22% of our sixth graders exceeded expectations in ELA. Um and 19% of our fourth graders at Aldine and 23% of our fourth graders at Sherman also exceeded
expectations in ELA. some of our intervention strategies. We continue to work with the all-in for inclusive education grant um to close that achievement gap among our subgroups. Um we started this year with departmentalization of the fourth and
fifth grades um so that our teachers are focusing on you know what their their strengths are and sharing that with our students. So hopefully we will see gains in both math and ELA in those grades. We are increasing a focus on data across the district. We are continuing to
employ our ELA and math coaches. They are great at analyzing data and making recommendations for MTSS placement. Um we also employ our ELA and math intervention teachers. We have skills-based instruction focused on grade level standards and we continue to
use our link benchmark assessments and we give those three times yearly to identify needs for improvement. Um, looking ahead, all parents and guardians should have received the ISR, the individual score report for their
children. Um, in the last couple of weeks. If they did not, please contact my office and I can get that to you. Um, and also there is a portal. Um, it should be in the link portal. If you have access to that, if you did not receive your ISR or if you moved
recently, please contact our office so we can get that to you. Um, linkit form B and C assessments will take place throughout the remainder of the year. Um, and MTSS will be deployed for students that need support. Um, later this month, we're going to be giving the
NJSLA adaptive field test through Cambium assessment. Um, this is a new platform we're going to be using. We're moving away from Pearson. That's the the decision from the state. So, our students will be exposed to this new platform um later this month. and then
they will be um utilizing it in the spring for the NJSLA adaptive test and classroom instruction and intervention strategies will be continued to be um informed by assessment data and other data points.
Um and that's it. If you have any questions, I'm happy to address them or send them to someone who may address them. And u my email address is up there as well as my phone number. And I also have Dr. GZ who um heads up our
curriculum and instruction and Heather Gilgen our um director of special services contact information up there as well. Thank you. [Applause] >> Do you have any insight as to why the
numbers got worse from last year >> overall? >> So, well in math they didn't. Right. We went up about five, right? Okay, we went up about 5% in math. I think we would need to see the state averages to see,
you know, if they also decreased in ELA and science. Um, and that might give us some insight. Um, but there's also other data. If you look at last, you know, every year we have a different group of students testing and there's always outliers, right, that impact the
statistics. So, we also have to look at the previous year's data for the previous grade, you know, 2024. Um, so I'm happy to share this information with you. I'm going to put it on the website as well, so you can take a deeper dive into it. Um, but if
anybody has any specific questions, feel free to reach out. >> Can you explain the um issue with science, why science was so low? So, personally, it's not my area of expertise because
I'm um responsible for administering the test and making sure that students have the proper accommodations that the staff is prepared. Um I think that's a better question for the director of curriculum. >> Got it. >> Thank you.
>> Thank you, Miss Pac. Okay, thank you for all of the reports this evening and now we are going to move into our agenda. So starting with personnel, one staff appointment, two substitutes, three, revision slashtrange
change of assignment slashtransfer, four, additional instructional support stipens, five, high school extracurricular advisors for 2025 and 2026. Six, middle school athletic coach 2025 2026. Seven, student assistant
coordinator. Eight, revised affirmative action officer. Nine, maternity leave. 10, maternity leave revision. 11, paternity leave. 12, step correction. 13, resignation. 14, abandonment of
position. 15, Roso Park annual treelighting. 16, revise, add additional classes 2025 to 2026. 17, enrichment program. 18, high school extracurricular activities. 19 high
school and middle school athletic proctors/site managers for 2025 and 2026 20 proctors rate change elementary only 21 2025 2026 proctors 22 high school and middle school
athletic volunteers 23 after/befor school detention duty high school 24 paraprofessional additional hours for the course program and number 25 job description Can I please have a motion to approve the personnel section?
>> Motion. >> Great. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Great. Any discussion? >> Okay. Seeing none. Roll call, please. >> Mark Fernandez, >> yes. >> Lucy Figero, >> yes. >> Zen Fonte,
>> yes. With an abstension on 17B. Cindy Mgo, >> yes. >> Chris Monroe, >> yes. >> Constance Quintella, >> yes. >> Vice President Rean, >> yes. >> President Dr. Kirkland, >> yes.
>> Motion passed. >> Great. Now moving to education. 26 is the wellness fair. 27 is high school peer leadership. 28 field trip location. 29 trip request
30. Conference attendance requests 31. Activities at the high school 32. High school wrestling tournament overnight trip. 33. 2025 2026 school year tuition and transportation. 34.
District contracts for 2025 and 2026. And can I have a motion to approve the education section? Okay. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Okay. Any discussion? >> Okay. Seeing none, roll call, please. Mark Fernandez,
>> yes. >> Lucy Figerito, >> yes. >> Zenfonte, >> yes. >> Cindy Meo, >> Chris Monroe, >> yes. Constance Quintella. >> Yes. With abstension from 29C.
>> Can you repeat the abstension, please? >> 29 C. >> Thank you. >> Vice President Rean. >> Yes. >> President Dr. Kirkland. >> Yes. >> Motion passed. >> Okay. Great. Now moving to the business
section. Uh number 35, monthly certification. 36 approval of bills. 37. Approval of public and executive minutes. 38 district emergency virtual or remote instruction plan. 39. Professional development plan. 40.
Approval of 2025 2026 by annual SOA regarding the use of paraprofessional staff. 41. ESA except grant allocation. 42. Use of buildings and grounds. 43 DI Group Architects.
And can I have a motion to approve the business section? >> Motion. >> Great. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Okay. Any discussion? Okay. Seeing none, roll call, please. Mark Fernandez, >> yes.
>> Lucy Figero, >> yes. Except for exaining on April's minutes. >> Sorry, on 37. April's minutes. >> Okay. >> 37. >> Zenfonte. >> Yes.
>> Cindy Mega. >> Um, absention from 36 37. Hold on. Third. What number is this? Sorry. 42 S and T,
no to 43, and yes to everything else. >> Bless you, >> Chris Monroe. >> Yes, >> Constance Quintella. >> So, yes, but with an abstension to
number 37 and no on 43. Vice President Reagan. >> Yes. >> President Dr. Kirkland. >> Yes. >> Motion passed. >> Okay. Is there any continuing business?
>> Yes. So, I would like to discuss the resolution that was passed last week since we keep talking about miscommunication last month. Last month. Last month. Don't want to be misinforming anyone. last month. Um, first I'd like to actually read the
resolution because it was never actually read last month to the public. Uh, it says, "Whereas the Rosal Park Board of Education is the fee holder owner of the property designated on the official tax map of Burrow of Rosal Park as block 504
lot 6, commonly known as 510 Chestnut Street, the BOE property. Whereas the BOE property has been included by the burrow within its statemandated affordable housing plan. And whereas in light of the same, the BOE wishes to
authorize its professionals to explore a potential disposition of the BOE property that would further the burrow's compliance with its statemandated affordable housing obligations. Therefore, be it resolved, the Rosal Park Board of Education does follows.
The foregoing res recital are hereby incorporated as if set forth at length. Number two, the board hereby authorizes a superintendent, business administrator, board attorney to take steps to explore the potential disposition of the BOE property in furtherance of the bureau's compliance
with its statemandated affordable housing obligations consistent with the foregoing. Three, this resolution shall be effective immediately. We keep having discussions in private about how the vision committee is the one that came up with this. But after reviewing the minutes from the
vision committee because I requested them doesn't say anything about this. So I'm just looking for clarification in public so we keep can stop calling it misinformation because nothing in here talks about trying to make room for our students. We're supposed to be for the students.
This says the burrow needs affordable housing. Let's give it to them. So maybe the vision committee chair can explain this. >> That resolution was for us to have a discussion about it. That that still doesn't say that we sold the building. That's what that's what the
>> Didn't say it said it sold it. >> No, but you and a couple other people have told people in town that we sold the building. >> Didn't say we sold the building. >> Well, they're telling us that you said that. So, I'm just clearing it up that we did not sell the building. This resolution says we can discuss the
possibilities if any firm, not just that firm, any other firm that wants to come to the table and offer us anything. This was directed to us by the DOE that we needed to do this to even have a discussion with anybody. So that's how that was done. >> So can you explain how selling the board
of ed office helps the students? >> Where do the board of ed >> staff go? >> We're not selling it. >> Okay. the potential disposition. How does potentially disposing of the building in furtherance of the burrow's
affordable housing plan? >> We don't know yet. We haven't gotten there. >> Okay. So, instead of doing that, why didn't we further the actual plan? This was the only thing that was brought at the last minute. >> It's only been a month. >> This is >> But this was the important part.
>> We had to do that in order to have the conversation. We can't talk to anybody about it without this. This has given us that open conversation to have with any developer or anybody who wants to do anything with it. That's clearly >> But again, you're you're talking in
circles here. >> I'm not I'm saying the same thing I've said. >> You want to talk to developers about the board of ed building. What does that have to do with getting more space for our schools? >> So, I think I can add something here.
So, for us to be able to do anything around expansion, whether it is selling or purchasing a building, we have to do our long-term facility plan. We have to make sure and and to be clear, that is a five-year plan. We have to make sure
that any idea that has been discussed, that has been told to us from the public, that it is included in the plan because it costs money to redo it later. What's included in the plan does not necessarily mean that it is going to
happen. But anything that we want to do that is not included cost us an additional 15 to $20,000. So this is being fiscally responsible in exploring every single thing that we have discussed or that has come up or
that has been presented to understand exactly what is the best possible plan for our students. So this is a research phase that we are in. Ex exactly what was stated in the committee report.
This wasn't in the committee report. >> I'm sorry. The committee minutes. The committee minutes. It wasn't even listed in the committee minutes as being brought up. I'm being transparent here. Let's say it in public instead of this. Oh, there's no misinformation. There's no
misinformation. There is misinformation because the information that we have all been discussing and we've been putting forward has been uh taken apart online. So we are here today to make sure that everyone knows we are in a research
phase. As I've been consistently saying since March, anyone who has an idea about how to move forward with the district, we are going to explore every single idea. We don't know what the best plan forward is, but we have to explore
every single option there. Once we get to a point of understanding what's actually feasible, there will be multiple rounds of community input to know exactly what we're going to move forward with. There have been no decisions that have been made. This is the plan is a five-year plan. The
committee is a 10-year committee. No decisions have been made without community input. But we can't put information out unless we know all of the parts of the information. >> Yes. And I just want to say that nothing is going to be done that doesn't tie
back into our vision, mission, and the board goals. So anything that we end up doing going forward is going to be tied into our board goals or to the vision and mission of this district. Nothing is going to be
done just because what a random reason. >> And if I may add, >> there's a there's a purpose to everything that we're doing. >> I just wanted to add as Miss Monura has already said, anything that has is done has to be approved by the DOE. Correct.
So any exploration that we have we are doing at the end of the day for all sake of transparency at the end of the day the decision will be made by the DOE and it's our responsibility to to do the work to get to that point and I I stand behind and support the vision committee's efforts to
>> that is correct >> to continue to explore uh because we can't get anywhere if we don't start >> I think the main concern and why even we're kind of confused on what happened and I'm sure why the public is confused. It's because the only thing as a at
least the board as a whole, so as all nine members have been included on was this single vote at the last meeting which only specifies for the sale of the board of education building. I'm sorry, the disposition of the board of ed building. Nothing else has been brought
forward about anything. I mean, we talked about this obviously prior, but it was never brought to us before. It was a handcarried motion which was only read by us at that meeting right before and then we were asked to vote on it. So when you say we are doing this I guess
the people who aren't included in that we are getting concerned. >> Can I just say that we did try to have a discussion in um in executive but Cindy walked out. >> I did walk out when I asked why and Mr. Fernandez said cuz I want to.
>> Mr. You should be able to finish. >> We we wanted to we wanted to clearly explain and we we did explain to you Constance when you stayed back. We explained to everybody, even Lucy, what the situation was. If if you decided to leave, that's on you. So, you decided
not to take the information that we were giving you. So, be transparent about that. You can't make you can't say what you you were going out there telling people what you personally feel. >> I didn't tell anybody anything. I haven't said here. I'm just saying what you made a post online saying the same thing. So that's giving people
misinformation, but I'm not I'm I'm not here to go back and forth about it. I just let everybody know what the facts is and that's where it stands. We are researching that resolution allows us to do that. Nothing final has been done.
I just find it curious that the wording of the resolution, which wasn't read at last month's meeting, only speaks to meeting the burrow's affordable housing commitment, not about they because they asked. That doesn't matter. This is why I voted against
putting the council on the committee to begin with because it's supposed to be for the students and the school system, not to meet their commitments. In fact, I feel that this is outside the scope of the BOE's statutory mission, which confines its actions to providing a thorough and efficient system of
education by complying with the municipal affordable housing quotas is the burrow's job, not the school districts. >> We had we had the mayor come to a schoolboard meeting. >> Yeah. He magically only came when we were not able to be there. >> Who who four of you just chose not to be there at the same day?
>> That's not how it works. To >> to be clear, the meeting that Mr. Fernandez is f is referring to was a meeting that we all agreed we could make that date. So just to clear that up and then we got to the meeting and there one
person notified us Lucy. She had a work commitment. >> I notified the pre the superintendent of schools as well. >> But what I'm saying is of the everyone who was there it was no secret meeting. It was well advertised. We discussed the
date al together. So just to be clear, there was nothing done behind anybody's back because everyone knew that that meeting was happening that day. >> At the building on Westfield Avenue that was not announced, that wasn't done behind people's backs.
>> You were not Were you not invited to Westfield Avenue? Did you not go there >> after with the facilities committee? Not when you went before you were actually sworn in. >> Not when you went. When you were actually not sworn in yet by >> So what does that have to do with anything? We weren't sworn in.
>> It just shows non-transparency and ethics. >> Were you not invited to the building? >> Not to have your little meeting with the mayor and the land use board. >> Were you invited to the meeting? >> No. >> No. You weren't invited to meeting after. >> Did you public? >> Did you see the building? >> Did you see the building?
>> I did. The junk building. Yeah, I did see it. Cindy, if you have if you have allegations against ethics, then perhaps it's worth filing a complaint because >> I have. Thank you. >> Okay. >> Okay. Great. >> Well, then let's see how that proceeds and then we can >> It's also not ethically You're also not
ethically >> supposed to be wearing partisan political shirts tonight. >> Okay, everyone. This this portion of the meeting is not being productive. We are putting on a show. Thank you to the audience for being here. Is there anything else for new business before we
move on to public participation? >> Okay, >> we are going to move into public participation. >> Wait, >> sorry. >> Sorry. >> For for continuing business, new business >> for new business. >> Yes. Um,
>> uh, yes. The Oh, I got to on a on a later note got to go to the Aldine back to school night. It was the first time it was a back to school night in forever. And someone asked me who my kid was. And I don't have a a student in Aldine, but I I my first answer was Mia Bella. That's my niece's name. And uh I
recognized what her experience I imagined what her experience at Aldine would have been. And uh she's currently at school brick. So go Mabella kick butt. Um, and uh, it just reminded me while I was at Aldine how incredible of an experience I had and how uh, privileged our students are across the
district to attend uh, schools with such incredible educators and administrators. Um, the next uh, uh, PTO meeting, there was a brief PTO meeting uh, uh, which the co-presidents uh, who are with us uh, uh, invited the
parents to participate in our uh, aline PTO. And on that note, I'd like to encourage everyone to look at their school's PTO's um and uh either volunteer or make your contribution as was said um by uh Miss Mayo and Canella, Mrs. Contella at the uh meeting, it's
important to participate and to give what you can to uh even if you can't give time to give what you can. Um because there are a lot of people who are working really hard to to make sure uh that students are given the extra uh love that they deserve. Whether it's
getting uh you know money to get on a bus for a school trip or you know getting a little package on Halloween um or Valentine's Day. That was my favorite. Um and then also the CPAG has a meeting on November 25th. Uh there is one tomorrow for parents only which you
must register for. And then, oh, very exciting to see the musical uh the High School Musicals team uh officially brought in. I'm very excited to see the show here in the spring. Um it's an incredible team of collaborators, some
who I've worked with when I was a student here, uh like Mrs. Green, um or our new director, uh Miss Jensen Madero, uh who I saw play Rizzo in Greece on this stage. So, it's incredible to see uh how alumni and how our community continues to come back together uh
because there's such passion and love for this community. So, that's that's me. >> I have um so just to say just to add on to what Z said about the CPAG meeting tomorrow on Zoom. Um, this meeting is reserved
for parents with children receiving early intervention, have an IEP 504, or receiving related services, or in the process of getting an evaluation. The goal of this meeting is to provide an opportunity to get to know the board of education candidates and ask questions
with a focus on special education. Also, the CPAG fall festival will be at Aldine School on October 27th from 3 to 4 pm. Um, and Sherman School had some great things happening this month. They
celebrated National Custodians Day, National Walk to School Day, the Week of Respect, which was last week, uh Sherman Walkathon, and Sherman will be having their Halloween dance October 17th, and Sherman will be having their fall
festival on October 24th. Just to remind everybody, Robert Gordon's festival will be October 17th at 6 to 8 at Robert Gordon. Uh if you buy your tickets ahead, it's $25. If you buy it at the door, it's $30. Just to
remind everybody. Thank you. for the middle school. Uh, Friday, October 24th is the middle school. They're hosting their fall dance and they're looking to collect water and individually wrapped snacks. The next
meeting is November 12th at 6:30 p.m. Um, also I want to say as we recognize anti-bullying awareness month, I want to take a moment to talk about something that affects far too many of our kids and something that we can change when we work together. Across the country, about
one in three teenagers says they've been bullied in the past year. One in five students reports being bullied at school and nearly half of all teens have faced some form of online bullying. Those numbers are more than just statistics. Behind every one of them is a young
person, a student who feels left out, a classmate who's afraid to speak up, a child who deserves to feel safe, supported, and seen. Bullying doesn't just happen in hallways anymore. It follows kids home uh through screens and social media. And it doesn't just hurt
feelings. It affects confidence, learning, and mental health in ways that can la can last a long time. But here's the good news. We can make a difference. When schools, families, and communities stand together, bullying goes down. When student when students speak up for one
another, when adults model kindness and inclusion, change happens. So, let's remind our kids and ourselves that ca that kindness isn't weakness. It's courage, respect, and respect isn't optional. It's essential. And everyone
everyone deserves to feel safe and valued. Thank you for standing together to build a community where every student knows they belong. And just to add, I just want to say that basically we talk about this to kids,
students all the time. But at the end of the day, it starts at home. We see I see a lot of toxic online energy from adults online. How are we how are we supposed to teach kids how to stop bullying?
But yet we're grown folks doing this online all day. We're teaching the kids the same the same energy you tell them not to do. They're out here. They're they're out there doing that needs to stop. That needs to literally we got to set a better
example. People ask why don't I engage with people online when they ask questions. Why? Because that's I I don't I don't do that. If you have an issue, we're gonna talk face to face because I know you're not going to bring that same energy face to face that you're gonna be
behind a keyboard. So, if we want to if you want to talk, we got to talk like humans face to face and we can talk out any issues. I'm not hard to find. I'm hard not hard to reach out to. So, just putting it out there that the
toxic energy that we setting the tone in this town needs to stop. Act like you're an adult. Act like a parent. That's it. Thank you. >> Thank you for all of those reports. And now we are going to move into public
participation. Each member of the public may speak a maximum of three minutes. Please state your name for the record. >> So I'm Wendy Gillig Jim. I wasn't going to say anything cuz I usually don't talk during the public portion. But I sat here and I watched this whole meeting.
Okay. I watched everybody try to explain to a board member what is actually happening. Cindy, I am so disappointed in you. We have worked together so much for you to walk out of a meeting which is literally a legal requirement. We are doing this because it's a legal requirement. you are on the board of
education and you are refusing to participate in planning the future of the school district that you are representing. That is not what how when you speak to me and I speak to you and we do all the things for all the community all together. I love working with all of you. I think that I don't
know why that is. I don't know what the personal relationships are, but I think that all needs to be set aside and there needs to be some real cohesiveness to come together because it's not about you. It's not about me. It is about the future of our school and these are the kids that are going to be pushing us in
our wheelchairs and if we don't do something now, they're going to be in the parking lot being educated. So that's it. It's it's really unfair of you to bring that type of energy to a board meeting when I see you in all the other meetings and you don't do that. So I hope that whatever's happening with
that can be resolved and even if you don't want to participate, you can bring a better energy and have some communication with us and contribute in a positive way to the end goal. And the end goal is to follow the procedures
that are set forth by the state so that we can make sure we are in compliance and we can keep our schools opening, functioning and into the future so that people that come after us do not have to go through all this. That is really the
point. And just, you know, we used the word miscommunication and I know you didn't like that, but there was a lot of miscommunication on everybody's end. So that's why we decided that I will come up here and speak. If anybody wants to speak to me, I'm always open to
discussion. I try to listen to all sides of everything and everybody knows me. I want what is best for our community and our schools. Period. Our kids are the ones that are going to lead us into the future and we need to lead them to get them there. And
if we don't set that example, then why are we even in this room right now? That's all I have to say. I really >> what? >> Since she was allowed to direct it to me instead of you, Dr. Kirkland, could I respond?
>> I'm going to Anyway, >> I I understand, but you're supposed to direct it to the chair. Since you directed at me, I'm going to respond. You >> When we're behind closed doors, you don't see what occurs. And when we have a board member that makes a habit of cursing out the women behind closed
doors, I have every right to walk out. And what you don't know is now that they said that is yes, she did walk out, but then we did have another meeting where everybody was inclusive. [Music] Edward gate. Uh good evening everyone.
I want to thank you very much for two things. Uh first of all the attachments all the attach attachment on the cost and spending. I had a lot of questions but uh Dr. Khan didn't open the public portion of the agenda.
Yeah, that's why I think the time is limited. I will forward my question to the superintendent and district office. Um, also I want to thank you for the discussion. It was really very productive. Excellent. And I don't agree with Dr.
Caroline is not uh being not productive should never close a discussion. I can understand member Cindy fears when member Chris said uh we still researching so everything on the table and very much a good chance if we see
what's going on around the town and the flooded building in the in Westfield Avenue so there's a good chance uh the building may be uh sold maybe going to be sold so uh it was clear I can understand her
fears and Um what I also want to thank her about the question she asked uh for the numbers ELA scores getting worse. I came from my position can tell you um
we uh as parents we don't have resource at all. Don't have anything at home to study from and to optimize the kids skills and get them to review. get them to study, get them to
master the the the the subject and they get hammered by testing every day from everywhere from behind, from front, from right, from left. Uh they don't have a chance to think
okay and I keep saying we need resources, we need books, we need the materials and no response on this. Okay, we will we will we will nothing and uh there is a situation in this regard escalated uh for my third great daughter and it's
been brought to the attention of the principal and to the attention of the uh superintendent hopefully they work on it better and I can tell is a great chance she's got taken advantage of she's gifted and talented
and she's not giving getting the enough support and I can't get her enough support to optimize her and now she's filtered and framed pretty much. She's filtered and framed and her score is getting lowered. Okay. And the teacher
uh as I show is really taking advantage of her. Okay. So, we need materials. Uh we need uh resources. Uh what I like the everybody knows my older daughter in Magnet High School. I received an email
the other week. The uh can I continue? >> I can let you finish your thought, but that's time. You can finish your sentence though. >> Okay. I received the Union County Vocational Technical School email. They sharing the assessment, the whole year assessment calendar and all the
resources and they appreciating all the parents and the kids want to prepare ahead. So we want to do the same. Thank you very much. >> Thank you for your comment. Hi, good evening Jennifer Mano. Um, so thank you, Chris, for trying to shed
some light on some of the happenings and going on of what has transpired from last month's meeting until now. Wendy, thank you for sharing the vision committee's um agenda, goals, direction. However, the dots are still
not connecting. I can see it here on the board and I see it in the public in conversations that I have um also online on the forums. The dots are not connecting. So, the vision committee sounds very clear that they're
looking for more space. They're looking for better technology, so much more for the betterment of our students. Makes perfect sense. The betterment of our district. 100% agree with that. However, la last month's meeting there was a handc carried motion which had some
sense of urgency to it that had to get done last month. Um, which only addresses the board of education building does not help the students or the betterment of the district or students in any way that I can see or that other
people are challenged with seeing this connecting of the dots. So, you can see where the public is confused. The handcarried motion stated, as I believe Cindy just read, that it helps the burrow meet its quota of state
affordable housing. Doesn't mention anything about the betterment of our students. Doesn't help doesn't mention about bringing our students into the next century and making sure they're ready for the future and what the future lies ahead. If the vision committee is stating this
and the hand carried motion that was put forth last month is stating something else specifically just for the betterment of our district, you can see where the public is confused. And I think that Cindy and some others here were just trying to
express that. I think that's where it's it's very heated obviously very passionate about it. But I think if you just take a moment and step back and see where the confusion is happening, you might be able to better get this misinformation or
disinformation resolved once and for all. If it's a vision committee that's working for the betterment of the students, then that should be the direction. The immediate motions, the immediate goals that are set forth should be specific for the betterment of our students in our district. selling a
board of ed the potential disposition of a board of ed building to meet state state affordable housing the the dots don't connect. So I'm hoping that maybe for the future we can do better on connecting those dots. Thank you.
>> Thank you for your comment. >> How you doing? George Ramirez 500 East Clay. So as far as connecting the dots, the resolution states that the BOE property has been included by the bureau with its statemandated mandated
affordable housing plan. Now in light of the same, the BOE wishes to authorize the professionals to explore a potential disposition of the BOE property that would further the burrow's compliance with its statemandated affordable housing
obligations. Now, as far as the burrow, being that you're incorporating the burrow into BOE property, which I think is illegal, but the burrow right now has had a redevelopment plan announced, and they've even gone as far
as announcing a potential developer. So, if we're incorporating this into the burrow's property uh housing, affordable housing obligations, people want to know why is a developer
being announced and why is the plan being pushed forward with the town and the BOE? Can you answer that so that there's no misinformation? I'm sure a lot of you are are are frequent flyers or have been here before at other meetings, but just as a
reminder for everybody that this is an opportunity to give comments. There's no um there's no uh it's not a question answer session. So, you can comment about your concerns, but the board is not required to respond to any direct questions. >> All right. So, my other concerns are about the uh undisclosed January 5th
meeting which violates the open public meetings act being that you had Dr. Kirkland board members Michael Rean, Chris Monroe, Mark Fernandez, Zachary Infante, Mayor Joe Signarelloo, and the land use board chairman who's also the
real estate agent uh on the proposed new property. You have the September 16th vote, which was procedurally illegal. Uh because none of that occurred. Basically, you'd have to have advanced public notice of any res resolution. uh
Department of Education approval or supporting documentation. Uh and I have court cases here. I also have the predetermined coordination with the mayor and the developer. You have the
building that's the BOE building slated for redevelopment under false pretenses. And basically, I would ask to resend the September 16th vote to start the 510
Chestnut Street sale process or potential dis disposition of what you want to call it. And also, I have something that I would like to include, formally include into the minutes. If I could hand this over to Dr. Kirkland.
And that's it. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comment. >> Good evening. My name is Greg Picauski and I'm a a candidate for the board of education. And some of you may know me as a police officer in town or recognize me as a lead instructor that's law enforcement against drugs if you have a
fifth grade student. Over the last few years, I'm also a proud father of two daughters with a six-month-old on track to become a Rosal Park student in the next few years, which is why I wanted to get involved. I'm also the proud bonus father of my girlfriend's two kids. Just wanted to share my platform of student
safety, transparency, and facility upgrades. I want to take the drama out of board meetings and focus that energy on why we are all here, our kids. Yesterday, I met with the teachers union because I want to hear from all the stakeholders on how to improve our district. And I'm attending the meeting
tomorrow with the parents I hope if elected to find common ground with fellow board members, especially Chris Monroe, and work together to elevate the Rosal Park School District to the next level. I want to wish all the candidates good with running the best of luck, and I will see you on the campaign trail. If
any residents have any specific questions for me, you can reach me by email at gregpolicoscyahoo.com. Thank you. Have a great night. >> Thank you for your comment. [Music] >> Hello everybody. Frank Edgardo. Um, wow.
Anyway, on to what I was going to say. Um, first a couple issues I have that I would like to talk to specific individual individuals. Uh, I feel like when I started the uh food hut situation
of re refurbishing it, um, I had to take a break this year because I have kids in uh, marching band and I wanted to completely focus on that. But I'm still highly involved in making sure everything is is going smoothly with the
food hut and I just wanted to talk to uh anybody that can answer some questions for me would be greatly appreciated um on that. Other things moving on to something that I saw online that I absolutely
am in love with. Um Sherman School is running a uh fundraiser for Miss Schultz uh that passed away and they are raising it for a uh book vending machine and I think it's fantastic. Uh my kids had
Schultz so I I think I just think it's amazing. So I just wanted to get that out first. Um, as far as the high school PTO, uh, we had a fantastic, uh, open back to school, we have like over
140 members of PTO members that came out and, uh, we've been, we started this the school year off really, really strong. Um, one of the events that I am part of that I'm super excited for, have no idea why though, is Halloween.
Uh it's our second year doing it. Uh we have are having a Halloween haunted house on the 25th. Uh we are doing a morning shift for the younger kids that I am personally designing uh kids young games for kids. A little off my beaten
path. I'm more of a scary guy. Uh but I'm also doing the nighttime where if you want to get scared, it's gonna happen. It's only going to be $5. So please come out. uh support the the 2026
class and the 2028 class and the PTO. Uh if and just going back on the vision board, if you have any questions since I am on it, please come up to me. I am an open book. I have nothing to hide. You
can find me. Uh my email is online. My I'm on Facebook. Please join your Facebook page. And like Z said, uh the PTO is very important. All our information goes out on the Facebook pages and hopefully the newsletters uh
to send out all our information. Thanks, guys. >> Thank you for your comment. >> Good evening any everyone. Christian Camilillo, I too am running for the board of ed. Um first and foremost um
just really excited and really energized by the vision 2035 committee and really thinking through my platform and the things that I'd like to do and that being one ensuring that our kids have modern schools two ensuring that our
kids have the space in the schools and that we're not overcrowding our classrooms and then three ensuring that we have the right level of support for STEM programs for the arts programs for the sports programs. Um, as a parent and
as a parent with a child in a school, it is disappointing, infuriating, and disparaging that we spend so much time discussing things that do not lead to giving our children the opportunities
that they deserve. and and not allowing us to focus on what the real challenges are for our kids. And that is my why and why I am running because as a parent I am tired
and I am furious that we spend our time on conversations that have nothing to do with the betterment of our children. Let's spend our energy and our time focused on the things that are going to impact our children in a positive way.
And I'll say I appreciate some of the more recent things that I've seen. Committees like this are committees that should be formed and we should continue to do that. we should continue to include the voice of the parents, the voice of the teachers, the voice of the
administrators and find ways as a community to actually get to better outcomes in the other side. So that is why I am proud to run for the board of ed working with folks like you, working with folks like Chris Monroe, working with folks like Greg if we are elected
to ensure that we continue to focus on the kids and on what's better for them. Thank you. Thank you for your comment. >> Okay, seeing no one else, I am going to close the public participation portion. Britney, can I ask a question real
quick? Not >> I didn't hear you. >> I just want to ask one quick question. >> Okay. >> Actually to Miss Spice. >> Okay. uh just because I know there's board we're having drama and fighting and nobody wants that. So as superintendent
asking your opinion to move forward, get the STEM programs working, expand our district, get better schools, something we all want, we all want to figure out a plan for. Do you think we have to sell the board of education building? >> Not at this moment. >> Thank you.
>> Not Can I have a motion for adjournment? >> I make the motion. >> Second. >> Great. All in favor? >> I. The next scheduled board meeting will be an open session held on Tuesday, November 18th at 7 p.m.