Maybe I should Good morning. This meeting is an open session of the Rosal 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 and the home
news tribune, the burough clerk school offices and the district website. Roll call, please. Christian Camillo, Vice President Mark Fernandez, Lucy Figerito >> here, >> Zfonte
>> here, >> Dr. Brittany Kirkland >> here, >> Jennifer Mano >> here, >> Gregory Picowski >> here, >> Constance Quintella >> here, >> President Michael Anne Regan >> here. >> Um, please rise for the flag salute.
I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Executive session. Resolve that the
Rosal Park Board of Education meeting hereby convenes to executive session for discussion of the following subjects. One, personnel matters. Two, a attorney client privilege. Three, student matter. It is anticipated that the executive session will take approximately two
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 executive session shall be released to the public when reason for the executive session no longer exists. A motion to go into executive
session. >> Make that motion. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> I. We're in We're now in executive session. May I please have a motion to return to public session? >> Motion. >> Second. >> All in favor?
>> I. >> Public participation agenda items only. Each member of the public may speak a maximum of three minutes. Please state your first and last name for the record. Okay, seeing no one, we're going to move
into the principal's report given by Mr. Wriggy. Good evening. Thank you to the community of Rosal Park, Board of Education, Superintendent, Miss Patricia Goce, Business Administrator, Mrs. Patricia
Mau. It is an honor to stand before you as the principal of Aldine Elementary School. Currently, Aldine has 281 students. Over the winter, our school community has hosted many school-based events such
as dances, movie nights, talent shows, and multiple assemblies. All these events provided our students with the goal to create connectedness and an overall great school experience. Our safety patrol members have done an excellent job of helping students enter
and exit the school safely. And our character council just completed both a coat drive and a food drive that collected items that were donated to the town. They also sponsored a fifth grade dance. Aldine school is currently in the
process of of applying to a renew our national school of character recognition from character.org. Academically, we are in the process of completing our first schoolwide math challenge where grade levels compete against each other in healthy
competition to help in increase our math skills. Since starting the schoolwide challenge, we have re we have had 100% student participation with the average weekly student participating outside of school being over 45 minutes of extra math skill
practice per week. A special thank you to our parents and students for continuing this math challenge at home. Tonight, we recognize our students for their hard work, determination, and overall excellence. The first group we will honor tonight is our steam tank
participants facilitated by their teacher, Miss Jennifer Neves. The Thank you. The Steam Tank Challenge encourages students to work collaboratively to identify and develop innovative
solutions to solve real world problems. The Steam Tank Challenge also inspires students to become the next generation of entrepreneurs, inventors, scientists, artists, and engineers. Thank you for your participation.
Matteo Shoan, Grace Dazir, Sophia Moro, Cecilia Munos, Adius Onia, Arav Patel, Aria Peterson,
Amelia Rivera, Leila Smith and Aubrey Sauce. Tom, you take a picture. I'm good. Anybody else? The second group we will recognize tonight is our youth youth art month
show presentation that was held at Kain University where their artwork was put on display. Recognized tonight, Amendra Moss Mendoza, Galilea Shantes, and Anthony Umbria.
The third group of students we will honor tonight were also facilitated by our art teacher, Miss Gina Cesero, for the Union County Dental Poster Contest. Recognized tonight, Camila Kadisano
and Aubrey Sauce. And finally, I wanted to just bring acknowledgement to Miss Cesaro for helping us create the first annual Aldine perfect pet book. um students were involved in an art contest to where
you know we receive it's the young artist a awards where they send in their artwork and they're able to compete in the contest. Unfortunately this winter we were not able to compete because we received the letters too late and usually the students who are selected
are put into a book and we receive copies of the book. So rather than not have our students acknowledged um our our teacher Ms. Miss uh Gina Cesaro, she created her own art book so for the students and their parents and we will
acknowledge them at our awards ceremony. Thank you. And thank you to Mrs. Cesaro. >> Sorry. >> Oh, sorry. She's late. For the youth art month show presentation, we have Amendra Masmoza.
Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Wriggy. We now move into our student report. Good evening. Since our last board of education meeting, Roso Park High School has continued to provide meaningful opportunities for student growth and
success. Our spring musical, MMA Mia, was a tremendous success, showcasing the talent and dedication of our students, staff, and directing team. We recognize also our student athletes at the winter sports awards ceremony and are proud of
the strong participation in athletics. Spring sports are currently underway, including our track team, golf, softball, and baseball. Academically, we completed all grade 11 state testing and access testing for multilingual learners
meeting all state requirements. Our PTO also continues to to support students through their senior scholarships and project graduation planning and I believe there is a senior car wash this Saturday. Um so please come and support the senior class. Um it goes towards
their project graduation which um it's like a nice little like celebration after graduation. So please come and support. And we are proud to report that students have received acceptances from approximately 96 colleges and universities including highly selective
institutions such as the University of Michigan, New York University, Northeastern University, Purdue University, and Syracuse University. Students also benefited from visits by career and military representatives and
154 juniors completed teen mental health first aid certification. Looking ahead, we are preparing for college and career signing day on May 1st, AP testing across 18 courses, the TSA state championship, spring concerts, and
continued athletic and academic programming. And this concludes my student report. Thank you. Thank you. We now move into committee reports. I'm going to start with my right and then I'll go that way. I'm good.
>> Committee. Just committee. Committee. I >> Hi, ma'am. My turn. Right. Okay. Uh CPAC will be holding their meeting for this month. Uh Tuesday, April 28th, uh the Anthony Signarella's Youth Center, 234 Chestnut
Street. They're going to have Sarah Zeden Wabber, a BCPBA. They're going to present regulation strategies to help our kids focus in schools and access their education. These strategies are not just for um uh children with special needs. They're for all students. Um these are strategies that will be
helpful to them. and whether you want to support your child in general, special ed or mix of both, uh you're more than welcome to intend to come learn with them. >> I have a report as well from the curriculum committee. At our last curriculum committee meeting, we discussed the new student use of
internet enabled devices policy aligned to recent signed legislation PL2 2025 C195. This law requires all districts to adopt a bell-to-bell policy prohibiting non-academic use of cell phones and
personal devices during the school day by the start of the 2627 school year. While the policy must align with NJ DOE guidance, the district will maintain flexibility and determining implementation, including device storage, supervision, and enforcement procedures that best meet our local
needs. A district committee has been formed and it consists of administrators, teachers, students, parents, and board of education members. Also, the impact grant has been extended through January of 2027, allowing us to conduct a more thoughtful
and thorough pilot of our two K5 core ELA programs from September through December with a final recommendation for adoption anticipated in January. Lastly, we discussed the planning phases of a curriculum spotlight series, which will provide opportunities for families to
engage with the district on key topics through virtual, in-person, or hybrid sessions. Additionally, these sessions will be recorded and shared on the district website. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um, we now move into ethics training given by by Miss Clearary.
Good evening. It's a pleasure to be with you. Um we are here to uh do the annual review of ethics training. The board for the benefit of the public um has all undergone ethics training in the past but is required to uh review it on an
annual basis. So I'm going to start off. You've all been provided, I hope, with the electronic PDF version of this so that you'll have access to it. It has a lot of hyperlinks in there, which is why we don't print it out anymore to bring you to the source information. I have to
start off tonight's training just with recognizing that this is meant forformational purposes and cannot be seen as legal advice. Your board attorney is the best person to guide you on any specifics, any questions that you may have, especially after this training, if anything comes to mind.
So, the School Ethics Act is um re recognizes that it's essential that the conduct of members of local boards of education and administrators maintain and hold the respect and confidence of the community. you are school officials
and as such you have to avoid any conduct which is in violation of the public trust or equally as important creates a justifiable impression that the public trust is being violated and that's an important distinction. It's
not just your actions but it's the way your actions may be interpreted even if you didn't have intent. So who enforces the act? the school ethics commission which is composed of nine members appointed by the governor. No uh no more than five can be from one political
party and it's constituted um of two school board members from throughout the state. Unfortunately, those seats I believe still are um open at this time. Uh five members uh that are appointed and two school administrators. And I
should recognize that you um have a superintendent who has stepped up to be um one of the local one of the administrators for that. The school ethics commission, the work that they do is to provide you with guidance and support as well as to um investigate any
cases to see if um there's any anything that needs to happen in terms of penalty or guidance. So the the purpose of the ethics act is really to and we're going to take a look at the provisions of the act which
really lead to accountability. Um all four of these um different areas we're going to look at in in more depth as I go through the slides. We're going to look at the mandatory training that board members are required to take the actual code of ethics A throughJ which
is only a part of the ethics act. um the disclosure statements and the prohibited acts. And just to know that um lead administrators in the district are also required um to file disclosure statements and abide by the prohibited
acts. So your mandatory training as I'm sure you are aware um for each year of service you're required to as board members um complete your governance training within the year. So, governance one in year one, governance two in year
two and so on. For any reelected or reappointed board members after completing a full term um in that first year of a of a new term, you have to um go through governance forward to provide you with the most recent legal updates that should be used um to inform you in
your decision- making. New Jersey school boards is recognized as the body appointed to provide mandatory training. We um ask that you know uh the census is kept up to date so that we have proper tracking for you and your mandatory
training. We really want to see you um be in compliance and stay in compliance to avoid any penalties. Um but we are required to um provide an out of compliance list to the school ethics commission who then can act upon it to
um bring penalty. looking at financial um and personal relative disclosure statements. Both board members and lead administrators are required to complete these annually. When you first come on the board as a board member or are first hired into the
district as a lead administrator, you must complete those in the first 30 days. Um but then annually, you um have a responsibility to be completing these by April 30th. It's the responsibility of each of you to know that and to ensure that you're doing it in a timely
way to avoid penalty. The um information that's that's gained from that is actually hosted on the school ethics commission website um so that it's available to the public. Financial statements do not ask you for uh dollar amounts, but actually for the sources of
where you draw income because that helps identify if you perhaps have any conflicts to preclude you from being able to participate in any board discussions or votes. Um we have um in red here in bold we want
to just really point out um that this past year has seen you know a significant uptick in um people who have failed to file their forms or file failed to file them accurately or on time. So please really we're approaching
the April 30th deadline. So just be careful and make sure that you have filed. We have a case here and I just want to point out that when we have up at the top it says C85-24 that means case 85 in the from the year
24. Um it was found um it was decided this past year in 25 that this was actually a violation of a board member who failed to put down a source of income that she and her spouse had. Um and similar cases were being caught this
past year. So just be accurate. They're not looking for dollar amounts, but it's really important because it goes to um decision- making later on about what you may or may not be able to participate in. On the next slides, we're going to go through A through J, which is actually
the code of ethics. And before I leave tonight, I have just handouts for each of you that contain one single sheet with the with the code of ethics, a sign off that you can leave with the board secretary so that that is evidence that you've had your training for this year.
um and some other information that you might find helpful. So on the bottom of each slide under underneath where it says standards that actually indicates the evidence that would have to be provided if someone to was to allege that this part of the code was violated.
So the first one a is that you are saying that you will uphold and enforce all laws, rules and regulations of the state board of education and court orders pertaining to schools and that you only bring about changes through legal and ethical procedures. And a
basis of knowing what those are is um as policy makers you have a policy manual that should be in compliance with state and um federal regulations. In B, it says that you'll make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of
children and seek and maintain schools that meet individual needs of all children regardless of any identifying characteristic. That is really why we are all here, but board members in particular have to um really always maintain that focus that
individual students will have individual needs and that public schools exist to make sure that the supports that are appropriate are put in place so that all children can succeed. C actually um sums up the roles and
responsibilities of board members that you will confine your action to policym planning and appraisal and then to help frame policies and plans only after you have um consulted those who will be affected by them. And you mainly do this
through a process, established process of um first and second read perhaps of policies so that the public has an opportunity to weigh in or provide you feedback on how they may be affected by policies that you're looking to create or change.
Indeed it is um identifying here the break where your roles are policy making, planning and appraisal to uh the roles of the the superintendent. So you'll carry out your responsibility not to administer the schools which is the
function of the superintendent but very importantly the way this is worded is together with fellow board members see that they are wellrun. So the board operates in um a majority structure. We should go further and try to always be committed to building
consensus by listening and learning and hearing each other. Um but no individual board member has authority. So, you really need to stay um working as a a good strong team that communicates well. E goes on to say that you'll recognize
that the authority rests with the board of education and make no personal promises or take any private action that could compromise the board. Um I think that when board members hear this, I think we all say, "I know I'm not doing that." But sometimes the devil is in the
details. and compromising the board can come about with um without intent to do that. But we'll talk later on about relationships and look at some of the things that you may be um that may be affecting you as perhaps a volunteer on other things. We want to always maintain
as the ethics act is designed to do the confidence in the community that you um are are being objective and not partial to any any source. Right? So, you want to be careful of how your actions can be interpreted um not just the actions that
you take. I'll refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special interest or partisan political groups or use the schools for personal gain or the gain of friends. In a few slides, we're going to look at benefits and um conflicts that can
arise. So, if there's a reasonable um belief, a justifiable impression for members of the community that um there's a benefit to you or your family, that would of course um take away the trust that's necessary for you to uphold. So,
we really are here to um independently weigh what the information, work together as a as a team in service to students, and be focused especially on student achievement. G goes on to say that you'll hold confidential all matters pertaining to
the schools that could possibly injure a party or the schools. So it goes on to say that afterwards you'll provide accurate information in concert with your fellow board members. Again the board itself is the authority that
has the granted authority not individual board members. So um maintaining confidentiality is very important to understand especially because we recognize that we also on the other side of it want to be transparent with our community. But committee work is a
perfect example as well as your executive session where those things discussed should be held confidential until the time that it's appropriate to share with the community. And the way you would know that is that that would then wind up on the board agenda,
meaning that it's prepared and ready to now be discussed in public and um entertain any questions that come up. Pri doing that prior to the time where it's prepared can actually undermine the work and efficiency of the board and the district.
H is that I will vote I will vote to appoint the best qualified personnel available after consideration of the recommendation of your superintendent. So it's the role of the superintendent as the educational leader and um chief
executive running day-to-day operations to match up any openings with qualified personnel and to make that recommendation to the board. the board is not authorized to recommend people for hire or to petition for people to be hired. You have and you would look at
your policies to see um what you may be entitled to um have available to know that that is someone that you helps you to support the recommendation of the superintendent but the role of hiring is limited for board members.
I will support and protect personnel in the proper performance of their duties. As sitting board members, I'm sure that you recognize the importance of um maintaining good relationships with your staff and um recognizing that at times
people in the community, parents um perhaps even yourselves on the board may have concerns about material uh that's being discussed in classrooms. But as long as the um staff is operating appropriately to what they are required
to be doing under New Jersey student learning standards um and their behavior is appropriate as outlined in what the expectations are that you create through your policies, then regardless of your personal opinion, you are obligated to support personnel that maintains good
operations and efficiencies that lead to better outcomes for your students. Jay, I will refer all complaints to the superintendent and act on those complaints at public meetings only after the failure of an administrative
solution. This is one that I know for sure as a former board member myself touches your life all the time. When people see you out and about in the community and approach you because they are looking for a solution to a um a concern or problem that they have, we
really need to be prepared to explain to them that you are prohibited from really having that discussion and recom uh send them to the appropriate person on the chain of command. Um the reason for that is that individuals again hold no
authority even though that may be a misinterpreted by your community. So you can educate them about the fact that you have to be in compliance with the code of ethics. Um it's there's no way for you individually to shortcut and get them the answer that they're hoping for. Now, if it goes up through the chain of
command, even up and up to and including the superintendent's desk, and there's um a lack of agreement on that being the best solution, in those rare instances, it may come before the full board at a public meeting. And at that time, the
board would be asked to support or not support the recommendation of the superintendent. Um, but if you have had conversations or said anything along the lines of, "I'll look into it. Let me get back to you." um or discuss the issue, you would have to recuse yourself likely
from um participating in what would really be your authority as a board member. So, we've covered A through J and now we look at filing um ethics complaints. Anyone in the community can file an
ethics complaint if they believe that there's been a violation. They have to do it within 180 days of the alleged violation. They have to identify the section and part of the act that they believe has been violated. And as I
showed on those slides, there's factual information that has to be provided to support that because the ethics commission has to do an investigation and they're going to have questions, but they need um something of value to start that discussion with. There is something that we like to
highlight. um that people who file frivolous, you know, um ethics violations because perhaps there's a disagreement or they just don't like another party can be subject to a $500 fine. So, um what we're really looking
for is for you to understand that even if an ethics violation is filed against you, there's a process. That process needs to be clear to be fair to all parties. um and it will be investigated and handled appropriately by the ethics commission.
If after their investigation they have determined the ethics commission has determined that they there is um a substantiated violation they will then recommend the um penalty to be imposed to the commissioner. The commissioner
has to act upon that recommendation of the commission. The first one is a reprimand which would be basically a learning experience um that it's recognized that there was actually um a violation but it wasn't impactful enough
to be detrimental to the community. So you um learn from that, don't do it again. A censure becomes more public. it recognizes that there was a violation and the board has to make a public resolution um so that the community it
is made aware of it followed by um a suspension it form more serious acts and these are things that would have a negative impact and undermine the community's um trust in public school officials
that suspension can be um recommended for 30 60 90 days whatever they feel is appropriate these cases are decided in in great part on the specifics and the impact it would have on your community. And finally, um removal from the board.
So, um and if if it's a an administrator who's failed to file um documentation they're required to or in any other way broken ethics, they would uh could be terminated. In the past, um, board members who found
themselves, um, to be in violation have said, "Well, my board attorney said it was okay to do." Um, just be aware that advice of counsel is no longer a defense to remove penalties. It may or may not mitigate penalties if these four things
were present. That you ask for the information and guidance from the attorney um, in advance of taking action. that you uh got the advice from the board attorney who's actually the authorized person to give you guidance,
that you disclosed all pertinent facts, and that you complied with the advice that was given to you to follow. Um, if those things are in place, it may or may not reduce the penalty, but not remove it. So,
we're going to just take a quick look at some cases to make this seem a little bit um more understandable. Again, all of these cases are hyperlinks and I recommend that you do kind of take a moment to go through them just to be aware and um they can be very helpful to
you. So, a board member had um made a statement that the board was prepared to reduce instructional time and made this statement after this information was shared in executive session, failed to hold it confidential after the
superintendent had made it very clear that this should not be discussed. Um, and what that led to was they were in negotiations with the bargaining unit and it did put the district at a disadvantage with that going out. It was
also um found that that individual really was speaking really on behalf of the board without the appropriate um ability to do so because they weren't authorized to speak for the board and um went ahead and re revealed information.
So this was recommended for censure. So a moment ago talking about the need to understand when is appropriate to hold confidential those things that need to be held confidential. This is also part of it. The second one is something that
seems minor that could lead to um a reprimand. So it's just worth understanding. A board member used board email to um respond and say that they were going to attend the CPAG meeting. that could that left the impression that
they were attending as a board member and not as apparent as which was actually the truth of why they were going. Um it could cause confusion and anything that they said at that meeting could be seen through a different lens if people think that they're talking um
on behalf of the board. So that led to a reprimand. So we have to be very careful. Something as simple as just using the wrong email to respond um could have uh you know an impact that you hadn't considered. The bottom case here is one that we've
carried over from last year. Um, all of the field service reps that go out and do this training agreed that it was important to remind boards that board members, even who have 15 plus years of experience and have sat through this type of ethics training for those years,
can still make bad choices. Um and this board member usurped the authority of the superintendent who um regarding a disciplinary action for a staff member. The board member didn't agree with the superintendent and it was
purely under the superintendent's authority to make the recommendation for disciplinary action. That board member um had a letter drafted by the staff member. went to their house, picked it up, was um speaking on behalf, trying to convince the other board members
individually um to support them and not the superintendent. Gave it to the BA, told the BA not to tell the superintendent, and then spoke publicly in support of the staff member, undermining the authority of the superintendent. So, um not surprisingly, that violated
many, many parts of the code of ethics and led to a suspension of 60 days. So experience doesn't guarantee that we're um not making bad choices. So it's it's important that we do have these refreshers to just keep this in uh front
of mind. Recusal versus abstension. There might be appropriate times to abstain. If you are asked to vote on accepting the meeting minutes from the last meeting, but you weren't in attendance, you would abstain from that because you shouldn't
be voting on something that you weren't there for. Recusal, it's important to understand the um recusal and how that's different is actually the formal way to recognize that you as a board member having sat through ethics training
understand that something may appear to a reasonable member of your community as something that would violate their trust um or lead them to believe that you aren't objective. Remembering it's not how you feel. If you could be objective, it's how you can be perceived. In that
case, you should recuse yourself um and avoid any discussions on that topic or any votes. It's always important to um have that conversation with board counsel, preferably before the meeting so that um they are aware. Uh it could
have an impact on quorum that night if you have people out. So, there are just some things to consider and um board counsel can also guide you if you have questions about lay it out the facts and tell you if you should be recusing yourself or not. I'm not going to really
spend too much time here on relationship definitions. Um this ties into the family um disclosure statement that you have, personal relative disclosure statement that you have to file, but I'm going to hand out um a reference sheet that goes into it way more than what's
up on this screen. So now you want to do the right thing, but sometimes something pops up and we're not sure what the right thing is. So you can or the board attorney on your behalf can ask for an advisory opinion um to guide you before
you take action. And if if it's looked at from the school ethics commission as a question that could be valuable to other board members throughout the state, it'll be put in basically an electronic library for reference. And on this this page at the
bottom, there's a hyperlink that will bring you to that library of previously given advisory opinions. So before you ask for an advisory opinion, you may want to check if something similar has been already advised. Very similar to a police officer. Um I
don't have to know the uh the speed limit between my house and here. I can't if I get pulled over and I'm speeding. I can't use the fact that I wasn't aware as an excuse, right? Once it's out there, it's out there. It's my responsibility of being in compliance.
Similar to this situation. Um, saying that you're you weren't aware that an advisory opinion had been given in the past that speaks to this to guide your behavior is not an excuse. So, I recommend that you really do click on that link and just review some of the
advisory opinions, especially the more recent ones. Um, so that you're familiar on this. And the next slide, we have the advisory opinions that were provided and released in 2025. And there's a brief summary of what they um are referring
to. Um, but of course, when you click on that hyperlink to advisory opinions, it's going to be all that have given that have been given, but these are the ones most recently here. So I don't want to take the board's time to review all of them, but I strongly suggest you become familiar with them.
So one of the things we have to avoid under the code of ethics is having a personal gain or benefit to us or a family member. So they recognize that there has to be a definition that we all are abiding by. So the ethics regulation
definition of a benefit is direct or indirect advantage, profit, privilege or gain, whether personal, right? It could be that you know some action you take is going to benefit you by everybody thinking you're um a really great person
better than somebody else um financial or otherwise. And I would really bring your attention to the gray area of a term like or otherwise. these cases are decided on the specifics presented for that case and the impact it will have on your community. So that's a way to keep
it open um to allow for that. The determinative factor that's going to decide if there is a violation there is um not your personal belief but the perception of the public. So there this case that's here a board
member from the board table um announced that he was running for general assembly and you know he did it at the end of a meeting from my understanding without much fanfare but it was someone made a complaint about that and it was determined that it could be seen as
using a position um a privilege of sitting on the board um that whoever they were running against didn't have access to. So um it was considered a personal benefit and it was a reprimand.
So prohibited acts prohibited acts are listed here but there's a hyperlink up at top that goes into um more you know provides more information for you to consider. But of course, um, if there's a benefit to you as that school official
or a family member, and again, I'm going to give you the list of of those relationships to consider. If there's a perceived or real business interest or professional activity and conflict, any use of your position to get privileges
that wouldn't be available to someone else not serving on the board. um financial involvement that could be seen as impairing your objectivity. If you work for a textbook firm and you know you're deciding as a board to which vendor to go with for textbooks, maybe
you shouldn't be participating in the discussion or the vote on that service or employment that could prejudice your judgment, any gifts, favors or financial gains. And really very importantly, you have to recognize that as board members, you can't represent any other person or
party um other than the board or the district in matters that are coming before you. And that's something that helps the community to see that you really they can have confidence in your objectivity. And you're here to serve
the interest of the district because the interest of the district is serving the interest of the students. And that's really the heart of why you're here. So, one of the prohibited acts cases that came out this year, um, and this is just a lesson to be super careful on
something that you do on a regular basis, approving a bill's list. This board member um was found to have um a direct or indirect financial gain um because they were represented by a law
firm that provided free um consultation to um regarding an ethics charge that was filed against that board member. So by nature of that relationship that was personal it was separate from board work and when the bills list came they voted
to approve payment of that law firm right and it when it was looked at it was determined that a board member who's gone through ethics training should have been aware that that would look a certain way to members of the community.
Um and it was recommended censure. And when you see the term recommended censure, it's because the school ethics commission has made that determination and that's what's recommended to the governor, I'm sorry, to the commissioner who has to finally impose that formally.
We have other cases here. Um the the one on the top actually was a very unfortunate situation. These cases were put together all to do with one board filing ethics charges against one another. Um and using the board attorney
to do that and the board itself cannot file ethics charges. Ethics charges have to be filed by individuals. Um and individual board members shouldn't have the benefit of using the board attorney for personal matters. So this became very complicated. Um and there was
recommended censure on this case. So I'm going to move forward on these. Um you really are strongly recommend, you know, it's strongly recommended to you to become familiar with these. Um no one, you know, I wouldn't think anyone
here sets out to be in violation. Um but being aware of how things can play out and be interpreted really is something that should guide you moving into hiring and personnel. Um you may not hire the relative of a board member or your
superintendent. There are times when a family member of a board member or the superintendent even could have preceded you and your service to the district. In that case, an administrator cannot have any um cannot exercise any direct or
indirect control over uh their relative. So, so plans really have to be taken and put in writing to guide how that will happen, how that staff member um who will be supervising them and such. A board member can't take part in employment matters concerning the
superintendent. Um, if you have a family member for any for anyone on that chain of command, right, and you can't participate in the superintendent's evaluation, you're conflicted from um evaluating the superintendent, which is otherwise
something you are required to do under statute annually. There can be um if you have a family member, relative working in the district, there can be real impacts to that that you should be aware of. Um a
board president had a child um an adult child working as an instructional assistant and was was told that they could not participate in anything that could in any way possibly touch upon
their family members employment which meant that they were not able to participate in personnel negotiations instructional and finance committees not limited to that. The important thing about that is at reorganization when you select your board president, you want to
be sure that these types of conflicts aren't in place because that person would really be restricted from being able to fulfill the role and responsibilities of the board president. Um likewise for someone uh that's not the president of the board but a board
member um similarly you would be restricted from participating in those committees as well. So, um, just be really, you know, aware of that and ask those questions of your board attorney if, um, you have any, you know, doubts
about your ability to participate. The next part that's important to understand, of course, with collective bargaining, it's important um, that we recognize that if we have conflicts, we may not be able to participate. This is
a reference chart about whether you have a family member um working in the district or in um a a union that might be outside of the district but fulfilling a higher level in that um it
might restrict you from certain things. I really uh say this is just for reference, but the best person to really speak to, especially when it comes to this is your board attorney for guidance about your ability to participate. Board members who receive union
endorsements um may be conflicted from that bargaining process if the negotiations begin within the first year. When I was a board member, I enjoyed the support of my local union. Um, and we happened to come into negotiations that first year and I
didn't participate in it. You, you know, the second well the second round after that I was on the board still. I was able to participate, right? So, it's um a matter of, you know, timing and perception. There's not necessarily um a conflict,
you know, by getting that support. Um, but we have to be very careful about how that could look or be interpreted by the community. We know that most board members have gotten to the board table because they've been involved in the community
and the schools and have been volunteering for other things. So, the ethics commission does not say that you can't be volunteering, but it really as a board member becomes very important to to consider two things. the level of
your involvement with students and staff in other volunteer activities outside of the board. Um, and the authority that you would have in those roles to give directions um or to guide funds where they're going to be spent that the level
and the degree could cause a conflict. Remembering that the code of ethics says that you confine your board action to policym planning and appraisal. So that's really the focus of what you're here to do and it's a huge responsibility to be a board member. Um
so be very careful um about things that would put you in the schools in heightened at a heightened level um working shouldertoshoulder with staff, right? Because that's a relationship that can come into play and undermine
the um good work of the board. You're not supposed to be administering the schools. So any volunteer work that would have you in an authority role to direct funds or um make decisions, direct uh staff members would be um
against what you're here to do and not take any private action that could compromise the board. So I'm not suggesting that you can't, you know, have a friendship with someone that you might have had a friendship with or a teacher that you really liked um and had great experiences with. We always want
to be supportive, but remember that you will as part of a board be making decisions at times that can impact their employment. And so we really don't want to be seen as um being favorites with someone or being in that um you know
that staff that staff room, right? That's not where a board member belongs. as um board members, if you have children in the schools and you're visiting the schools, remember that you have no greater authority to be walking
through those halls than any member of the community. We live in an environment where we don't have open doors anymore for our schools for security and safety reasons and to maintain the focus on teaching and learning in the schools. But if you have a valid, you know, a valid reason to be there, um it's good
practice to advise the superintendent's office um that you're going to be there as a parent or if you are volunteering for something in the school that day so that the superintendent's office is aware. Always refrain from any board discussions. Even if someone in that
building tries to engage you with some board business, um it's inappropriate to be discussing that. You can always encourage them to come out to board meetings and stay on focus for your visit. If you're there for a parent teacher conference, um once that's
ending, just the way any other parent would be expected to do, leave the building. Um don't be walking through the halls or engaging with other staff. Really be very clear on the purpose of why you're there. social media. This would be a really quick part if I was allowed to just tell
you not to do it, but we know that social media is part of the world that we live in, but you have heightened responsibility as board members and um being subject to the the um ethics act. So you want to recognize that the
content, substance, and context of what you are saying through social media um will determine whether there's that nexus between the statements you're making and board business, right? So, if you're going on and you're just, you
know, encouraging people to come out to um the the play or the, you know, see the kids or saying how wonderful a performance or a game was, that's that's probably going to be okay. But if you're talking about board business and you're trying to say you're saying it as an
individual, you have to remember your community knows you sit on the board and will always believe that you're speaking on behalf of the board. So, be very careful. The School Ethics Commission recommends that you use a disclaimer if you feel the need to be making statements about
board business or anything to do with the running of the schools. Um, important to know, you're not required to use this disclaimer, but it is recommended by the authority that will judge whether or not you're in violation. Um, there are two parts of this disclaimer to know. The first one
is talking about the fact that you're recognizing and you want to share with everyone that you're speaking as an individual citizen and not as a board member. And the second equally important part is that you're saying that you're not speaking for other board members and it only represents your own personal
opinion. But again, if it's reviewed and it seems to be that you're leaving the impression um with a reasonable member of the community that you are speaking for the board because you have access to information, which you do at times, that's not um generally available to the
public, then you could be risking being in violation. There was a case of this that was decided this year from 2023 um because cases do run over time where a board member made statements on social media
um regarding um regarding materials that are used. and a staff member saw it and it started, you know, a lot of upset in the schools because there was concern that the board was about to um remove materials,
teaching materials from the classroom. So, we recognized that the board has the authority and has to approve required materials. um but there's a policy that you have in place and a policy that you have to follow. And this board wasn't even um considering that at this time.
But a statement that a board member made um kind of musing about what would happen really sparked a lot of concern and brought a lot of distraction and upset and all of that takes away the from the efficient running of the district that should be focused on
serving students. So, this led to a reprimand. Um, so it's just an example of why you want to be really careful about what you say and how you say it because how you intend it may not be how it's received um and causes a lot of
distraction and confusion. So, important information to keep in mind, texting from the board table can result in an Oprah request to open up your phone. Um, when you are at the board
table, it's recommended that you refrain from texting because it can be interpreted by members of the public that you are texting someone about board business during board time. When you're here, you're here and should be focused on the agenda and the work of the board during this meeting. So, protect
yourselves and just know that that is a possibility. Um, an ethics complaint, anybody can file an ethics complaint. It doesn't necessarily make it true. Um, and it has to show that there's that nexus between what you are saying and
board business that could lead to that confusion. Always you are your child's advocate first and foremost and when meeting with staff as a parent um you know refrain from saying that you're a board member. I would also say that on your personal
social media pages, if you have Facebook, Instagram, or whatever is new out there, do not identify yourself in the bio as a board member. You're just inviting inviting trouble. Okay? Refrain from using social media pages that you
may have used when you were running to be a board member. Once you become a board member, the reason for that is you pretty much could say what you wanted before because you weren't held to the standards of the ethics act, but now that you're a board member, you are. And that can cause confusion and pain for
you that you can avoid by just not doing that. And it's strongly recommended that you as a sitting board member not be the administrator on any social media pages because what you allow on that social media page um can be viewed as being
supportive of that issue and anything that you don't permit on that social media page can be seen as a statement of not supporting that on that issue. So, it gets into um really gray areas and invites distraction and takes away from
the good important work that you're here to do. So, you're still awake and I appreciate that. Um we've hit the end of the presentation. These are the hyperlinks that will bring you to the information that you need. And if it's okay to
approach, I'm just going to leave the packets for you that contain the information that um you should have. And there's a sign off page. You want to just re turn to your uh board secretary. I should say if there are any questions before I leave.
If not, I just want to thank you as board members for your service. I know it's the biggest most important volunteer work that you're doing and takes a tremendous amount of commitment. Um, my card is on there. So, um, I always like to just remind you that I am
available to speak to you. Um, pro provide resources, point you in the direction or have a conversation. You can reach out to me. Any board member can at any time. And when you do, that conversation is confidential because my goal is to just make sure that you have what you need to do this challenging
work. Um, and not to involve myself in the work of the board. Separately, there's a sheet in there about some of the services I do provide for full board training. So, if anything seems appropriate or you're interested in learning more, just please reach out to me. Okay? And thank you so much.
>> Thank you. >> Thank you. Okay. Policy agenda item one. The superintendent recommends one district policies second reading.
Approval of policy section. Um motion to approve. >> Motion. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Okay. Hearing none. Roll call, please. >> Christian Camillo, >> yes.
>> Vice President Mark Fernandez, >> yes. >> Lucy Figero, >> yes. >> Zian Fonte, >> Dr. Brittney Kirkland, >> yes. >> Jennifer Mano, >> yes. >> Gregory Pocowski, >> yes. >> Constance Quintella,
>> yes. >> President Michael Anne Regan, >> yes. >> Motion passed. >> Okay. Personnel agenda items 2 through 13. Two, resolution and paraprofessionals sidebar agreement.
Three, paraprofessional additional time. Four, resignation. Five, night event proctor aline. Six, additional classes, middle school, high school amended. Seven, high school coach resignation.
Eight, chaperones, school nurse for young for American young voices chorus trip. Nine, district substitutes. 10, 2026 2027 custodial maintenance employees holiday schedule. 11,
administrative leave. 12, summer camp. 13, medical leaves of absence 2025 2026. Uh, may I have a motion to approve this section? >> Motion. >> Second. Is there any discussion?
>> Okay. Hearing none. Roll call, please. >> Christian Camo. >> Yes. With an with an extension on 9E. >> Vice President Mark Fernandez. >> Yes. With a recruit recusal on uh 9E.
Lucy Figerito. >> Yes. >> Zean Fonte. >> Is he there? >> Dr. Brittney Kirkland. >> Yes. With an abstension for 9E. >> Jennifer Mano.
>> Yes. >> Gregory Pocowski. >> Yes. With an abstension on 9E. Constance Quintella. >> Yes. >> President Michael Anne Rean. >> Yes. Uh with rec with a recusal from
number two. >> So doesn't pass. >> Motion pass with the exception of 9E. Moving on to the education section. Agenda items 14 through 23. 14. CPR certification class. 15.
Conference attendance request. 16. Rosal Park Public School District's 2026 2027 preschool program plan. 17. Field trip request. 18. Termination of tuition special education.
19. Professional development. 20. Elementary spring concert 2025 2026. 21. Approval of contract Janie Consulting. 22. Educational assemblies.
23. Garden enhancement grant award. May I have a mo uh may I have a motion to approve this section? >> Motion. >> Second. >> Second. Uh, any discussion on this section? Okay, hearing none. Roll call, please.
>> Christian Camillo, >> yes. >> Vice President Mark Fernandez, >> yes. >> Lucy Figerito, >> yes. >> Zean Fonte, >> Dr. Brittany Kirkland, >> yes. >> Jennifer Mano, >> yes. >> Gregory Picowski,
>> yes. Constance Quintella. >> Yes. >> President Michael Anne Regan. >> Yes. >> Motion passed. >> Business agenda items 24 through 28. Monthly certification. 24 monthly certification. 25. Approval
of bills. 26. Approval of minutes. 27. Use of buildings and grounds. 28. 2026. 2027. food service contract renewal. Uh, may I have a motion for the for to approve the business section? >> Motion.
>> Second. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Okay. Roll call, please. >> Christian Camilillo, >> yes. >> Vice President Mark Fernandez, >> yes. >> Lucy Figero,
>> yes. Zay Infonte. >> Dr. Brittney Kirkland. >> Yes. With an abstension from 26. >> Jennifer Mano. >> Yes. >> Gregory Picowski. >> Yes. >> Constance Quintella. >> Yes. >> President Michael Lean Regan. >> Yes.
>> Motion passed. >> Okay. Harassment, intimidation, bullying incidents. Agenda item 29, harassment, intimidation, bullying incidents. to affirm the superintendent's recommendation on the following harassment, intimidation, bullying
incidents subject to all parental appellet rights afforded under New Jersey law. Um, may I please have a motion to approve this section? >> Motion. >> Second. >> Um,
roll call, please. >> Christian Camo. Yes. >> Vice President Mark Fernandez. >> Yes. As discussed, >> Lucy Figero,
>> are you doing the regular one? 29. >> Yeah, just the regular one. Just what's on the agenda, not anything extra. >> Number 29. >> Yes. All of the above. >> Zamfante. >> Yes. >> Dr. Brittney Kirkland.
>> Yes. Yes to all. >> Jennifer Mano. >> Yes to all. >> Gregory Pelicowski. >> Yes to all. >> Constance Quintella. >> Yes to all. >> President Michael Anne Rean. >> Yes to all. >> Motion passed. >> New new business
and liaison reports. Does anybody have >> I have a leazison report. >> Okay. >> Are you doing your new business first? >> Go ahead. >> New business. >> Okay. Okay. New business first.
Um, can I have a motion to add the settlements agreement as a result of a grievance? >> Motion. >> Is there a second? >> Second. Whereas the Rosel Park Board of
Education Board and the Rosell Park Education Association Association are parties to a collective bargaining agreement. Whereas the association filed a grievance on behalf of some of its members concerning entitlement to a six period stipen. Whereas both parties
reached a mutually agreeable resolution of the grievance without admission of wrongdoing by either party as set forth in the attached settlement agreement and general release. Whereas the superintendent recommends that the board approve the settlement agreement and general release in the interest of
ending all disputes and controversies amongst the parties. Be it resolved that the board hereby approves subject to review by legal counsel as to legality and form the attached settlement agreement and general release and authorizes the board president to execute the settlement agreement on
behalf of the board. >> Roll call, please. Christian Camillo, >> yes. >> Vice President Mark Fernandez, >> yes. >> Lucy Figero, >> no. >> Zean Fonte, >> yes.
>> Dr. Brittney Kirkland, >> yes. >> Jennifer Mano, >> yes. >> Gregory Policowski, >> yes. >> Constance Quintella, >> yes. >> President Michael Lean Reagan, >> I'm recusing myself from this vote.
Motion passed. >> Now voting on the recommendation of the superintendent for HI number 2425047. Um roll call. Uh roll call, please. Oh, may I please have a motion? >> Motion. >> Uh in a second. >> Second.
>> Okay. Roll call, please. >> Christian Camo, >> yes. >> Vice President Mark Fernandez, >> yes. >> Lucy Figero, >> no. Zean Fonte, >> yes. >> Dr. Brittney Kirkland, >> yes. >> Jennifer Mano,
>> yes. >> Gregory Pocowski, >> yes. >> Constance Quintella, >> no. >> President Michael Anne Reagan, >> yes. >> Motion passed. >> Okay. Um, liaison reports. I will start
with my right side and work my way left. >> Uh, yes. I attended the Aldine PTO meeting and uh first off want to say that they are accepting nominations for next year's PTO executive board. After a
long uh standing um run that the current co-presidents have had, they are stepping down and looking for nominations. Um next up is that their tricky tray will be held on uh May 2nd. Everyone please come out and have some fun. Uh May 4th through the 8th is
teacher appreciation week. May 15th is special persons day and May 29th is field day. Uh that's all I have. Thank you. >> Um okay. Rosel Park High School uh went to their PTO meeting last night. In fact, their president and vice president
are sitting with us here. Um they are selling and going to raffle off a parking spot for students. It's a VIP spot. It is $10 a day for seniors, $15 a day for junior. Right now it's on their
Facebook page. I believe Miss Costa is going to be sending out an email. Um so everyone please go. I think it's $40 a week for seniors and 70 for juniors. So you can buy the whole week and your student will get a VIP spot in front of the school. I believe Frank's painting
it red. >> No. >> Yeah, it's already red. Okay. >> Um, uh, they will be having their 26 27 PTO elections. I know Wendy and Frank are still able to stay on, but they do need
a secretary and treasurer. So, if there's any ninth or tth grade parents that are interested, they would love to have anyone could do it, but nth orth grade parents for a secretary or treasurer. If you want to nominate them or nominate yourself, please do. Um,
Thursday is bring your child to work day. Uh, they also need donations and volunteers for teacher appreciation week. May 28th is the photo festival of the arts at the school. I think 7.
Do you know what time? >> Starts at 7. Okay. At 7. May 21st is their spring concert. May 16th, the T the TSA is hosting a color run with the middle school. And let's see, May 1st is
college signing day and June 4th is prom at the Sapphire Grand. And this Saturday is the car wash. So, please help them out for seniors. Thank you. Thank you.
We're now going to move into the public participation portion. Each member of the public may speak a maximum of three minutes. Please state your name for the record. Good evening. Joe Signarella Jr. 625 Woodland A Rosel Park. Uh couple months
ago, uh the school nurse from the high school asked the the burrow help out on a project that was put on here last Thursday in the high school in the middle school. Um um a gentleman, Matthew Bachi, that lost his father and
got involved with opioids and um a lot of bad stuff. But I just want to say commend the school district. Excuse me. And then the the school district came and looked for some funding from the burrow and we helped out. But I just want to say so uh uh
kudos to the school district. I was here for both the events. This room was full. These kids were paying attention. Uh I don't know how many uh uh students who were in the room, but focused focus on this uh event and u saw some uh teareyed
people in the room, but I got to say kudos to the district in this building and the middle school. These kids were right on and they really focused and paid attention. And that's a that's good thing to the school district. I just want to let you know, wow, I was amazed
where like I went to the school, you know, 46 years ago and there's kids goofing off. There was nobody goofing off and they were paying attention. 20, 30 kids came up after and spoke to this gentleman. I could tell you the first couple of minutes I was teeyed. He lost
his father in 911 and everything went bad for him. But thank you to the school district uh for doing a good job and having these kids pay attention. Have a good evening. >> Thank you for your comments. Good evening everyone. Edward Gate,
Hamilton Place, Rosel Park. Yeah, I want to extend my thank you again to uh Robert Gordon uh nurse and uh uh secretary and uh and Miss Connor. Great great job, continuous great job. Uh outstanding.
Um I want to also uh tell you my achievements, recent achievements. uh before the holidays uh spring break we received the report rate report uh cards uh trimester 2. Um that would never
happen before. This was 10 days ago before I mean the the spring break. Um a great achieve achievement for me. Um also uh communication regarding the state test
uh beautiful and including out you know I mean road map for support and encouragement. Uh that would never happen without my suggestion and and discussion and taking the stand. Now we need to create system to dispute
the reports. The reports again is not ultimate is not final. So we need to know the frame time and the steps to dispute the report if any as that would be nice. I want to
thank Mr. Taylor. Great job in communication. Mr. Devido he's working on solving the blockage for my email. He was talking to me out there and uh that pretty much it. I want to talk about policing around the Robert Garden and middle school. The police is too much
around. I never see that around any school in any town and they are not doing good job. They harassing certain people. They picking certain people to give tickets and yell at and this must stop. The mayor is informed and hope I hope you do
something about. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comment. Council Quintella Rosel Park here because I'm speaking as a community member, not as a board member. I want to know why the board members sitting up there with our shortage in substitutes,
how six of you could abstain and recuse yourself from a certified teacher who applied as substitute. I have three children in three different schools here, all of which have not enough subs. So,
what could possibly be the reason that six of you felt comfortable doing that? >> I agree. >> I need my three minutes. Frank Aguardo aka Rocky by Moa. Uh I just wanted to come up and uh uh commend
the attendance for the high school play. I was there all uh three nights and the attendance was phenomenal. Uh all I can say is these songs are stuck in my head. Uh you can dance definitely. Uh and I
want to commend the uh student that represents the high school. She comes here and every time I enjoy her telling uh us about what's going on in the high school and she did a phenomenal job this year. There's only two more times that you're going to be here. Uh, and I just
wanted to say kudos to you. And if you can maybe look at some of the juniors that are coming up to be seniors and maybe recommend somebody to this and they maybe could come up to the last two meetings that you'll be here so they can kind of see what you do. Uh, and that's
pretty much it. Thank you guys. >> Thank you. >> Hello. Hello, it's Wendy Gillig. I am um here I just um Constants did a great job of telling everybody what's happening, but there is a lot happening. So, I'm just going to run down the list of what is happening. Um we have the high school
car wash for the senior for project graduation. That will be this Saturday, April 20th. Also happening this Saturday, April 20th, is the Rosal Park Arts Festival. So, on your way to the arts festival, go get your car cleaned. I recommend really stopping by the arts festival. We have a ton of our students
and our community members participating. We have high school marching band students. We have elementary students. There will be artworks on display. So, um that's and it's a great day to go out and check out the town with your family and see all the great things that our
school does for the arts. Um the Rosal Park High School marching band will have their tricky tray on Sunday. Um that's going to be April 26th and it will be in Clark at the Deutsche Club. You can go to the band page or you can email the band parents and if you need tickets or
you need more information, but it's been all over Facebook. Um we are almost at capacity. So if you want to get tickets, this is like your very last chance. Um May 1st is signing day for college. We're really proud of all of our high school students. They worked really hard to get into these schools. So I hope we
can really just, you know, show them as a community that their hard work and dedication is appreciated. but we know that they wouldn't have got there without our school district. So, we really appreciate all the time and effort the teachers, administration, custodians, everybody, every adult in the building that has poured into these
kids to help them achieve their dreams. Um, we also have the Triumph Showcase that will be happening this Thursday and Friday, the 23rd and the 24th. That happens at um the doors open at 5:30. And I don't know how aware people are of what Try is. Triam is a triam music
honor society is a honor society. That means that you as a student have achieved and participated in more than three um musical ensembles or musical type activities. It could be choir band, jazz band, concert band, percussion
band. There's a lot of music things. So, if you've prep participated in at least three of those things and you've maintained um a a high grade point average, you will be in Triam. They are doing a basically it's a spotlight on Triam. So they use that as their fundraiser every year. Um and it's
usually about $5 at the door. I don't know. It's all kid organized and run. So information is coming from teenagers. So take that as you will. But we'd love for everybody to show up and support the kids. Um let me see there's other things happening. Um the VIP parking spot, we
would love for everybody to um really take advantage of that. Um, we did that as trying to have a continuous fundraiser for the PTO so that we are not begging with popcorn sales and brownie sales and it frees up other types of sales for all the school districts. So, we really want to focus
on not competing because we're all competing for the same pool of support and we appreciate all the support in the community. Um, I guess I have to be done now. There's a lot more. Thank you, Wendy, so much for your
comments. >> If if someone needs to finish that, >> that's okay. >> Okay. All right. Um, closing public participation. May I have a motion for adjournment?
>> Motion. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> The next scheduled meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 5th, 2026 at 6 PM. The board meeting will be held in the Rosel Park High School auditorium where formal
action may be taken at the special meeting. The next regular sk reg regularly scheduled board meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 19th, 2026 at 6 p.m. The board meeting will be held in the Rosal Park High School auditorium.
Meeting is adjourned.