i have such a headache Oh jeez I just have a headache I have a really bad headache Call the meeting to order Roll call please Miss Rakamando present Miss Bali present
Mr Richello present Missyello present Mr Laurentino present Miss Roloff here Miss Torvick present Miss Traverso standing Present President please rise for the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United
States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Okay Adequate notice of this meeting has been sent to all members of the board of
education and to the Bergen record in accordance with the provisions of the open public meetings act chapter 231 1975 Okay Uh student representatives can we have your report okay good Okay Starting off with Washington school It's been a very busy
week for them having ReadAcross America week and they welcomed many readers into the students classrooms They were so excited to see their parents family members and special guests from across the district In addition students from the middle school high school sale program came to read and do special
crafts with the students during ReadAcross America week At the end of last month the students had a field trip to Imagine That And this month they will continue their study on their study on pets learning all about such things as their natural habitats and how to care for them And lastly as the warm weather
approaches Washington School is excited to get more use out of their new playground equipment Franklin School has been buzzing with exciting activities Their kindergarten classes enjoyed two special visits this past month one visit from Saddle Brook High School Service Learning Club who came to read to the
kindergarten classes along with a visit from students in the Saddle Brook High School sale program who assisted with events for their kindergarteners during Kids Heart Challenge Month in their gym classes Additionally Franklin School celebrated ReadAcross America Week with
tremendous success with events all throughout the week and welcoming over 20 guest readers who shared their love of reading with Franklin students Now for Smith School they've had a quite busy and exciting few weeks They kicked
things off with a good celebration for ReadAcross America Week and they also had a character dressup day Um they were thrilled to welcome the preview performance for the high school musical The students thoroughly enjoyed the show and it was a great opportunity to connect with the high school community Additionally they took this moment to
recognize some of the former Smith School students who were in the play Smith School PTO has been incredibly active and supportive bringing a truly engaging mad science assembly titled Up Up and Away for the students who were absolutely captivated by the demonstrations And everyone is very
grateful for the PTO's commitment to enriching their students learning experiences And last night they had the pleasure of hosting the incoming kindergarten parents from all three elementary schools It was a wonderful opportunity for them to come together and learn more about the exciting journey that awaits their children Smith
looks forward to meeting all the children soon Long school has been vibrantly active in the past month They want to firstly voice their gratitude as they were honored to host guest readers from Shadow Brook High School staff staff community in Bergen County this past month They extend their sincere
gratitude to Miss Vietti Mr Okamando Mr Archello Mayor White Mr Gallo Mrs Jenkins Miss Collie Mr Osborne Mr Donis Mr Mesh Miss Mansfield Miss Kelly Fontana Miss Lauder Miss Weiss Miss
French Miss Ferrero Mr Joam Miss Christine Lieutenant Buchek and Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Mousella for sharing their time and passion for reading with their students during ReadAcross America week Aweek also brought an element of delightful surprise with their teacher swap
providing students the unique opportunity to read to a guest teacher and share and sharing one of their favorite books The atmosphere was lively as the students and staff alike showcased their literary enthusiasm by dressing as their favorite book characters for read across
America week as well The creativity and engagement displayed were remarkable They also had a schoolwide color run kickoff assembly that generated enthusiasm for this highly anticipated BTO event They encouraged all to mark their calendars for the color run on May
17th at Long School This month they also had a special preview of the high school musical Once Upon a Mattress courtesy of the high school music staff They appreciate their dedication to sharing the performing arts with long students Ultimately it was a great month at Long School
Now for the middle school On February 13th they celebrated PSI Love You Day by wearing purple And the intention of wearing purple on this day is to come together as a community to provide suicide prevention and to provide a sense of unity and mental health awareness The middle school students decorated coffee sleeves and wrote
positive messages on them They were donated by the Saddle Brook Starbucks Starbucks then distributed them and decorated the sleeves to its customers all weekend I can attest cuz I worked there all the customers were very happy to see them and they were very very cute The eighth graders are one step closer to the promotion ceremony on February
28th They were measured for their caps and gowns A big shout out to everyone that performed in Once Upon a Mattress It was a stellar performance So proud of the middle school students and all the high school students as well And the middle school would like to give a special thanks to Mr Ortega and Mr Cuden
for the great show For the high school the senior banquet was banquet was held on March 12th at Brownstone Seniors ate from a buffet took amazing pictures danced and some were hypnotized putting on an entertaining show The class of 2025
validictorian and saludatoran was announced this past month Congratulations to the validictorian Shawn McCauley and to the saludiatoran Deanna Jo The NJGPA testing took place this past week While juniors tested the rest of the school participated in a delayed opening schedule The spring
musical was a great success Once Upon a Mattress was a hit Congratulations to everyone who participated You all did a great job On March 3rd marking period 3 progress reports were released Coming up shortly April 4th the third marking period will end Lastly the AP mock exams
will take place all week next week Good luck to everyone participating Okay And finally we have our information regarding the sports department The Saddle Brook High School athletic department would like to recognize the following winter sport all league players For indoor track and field it's
second team shot putter Jaden Taylor For wrestling first team all league 215 pounder Ryan Cruz second team at 126 Jake Rialosce and at 138 Dylan Sarasel An honorable mention to selection at 285
Charles Henle For boys basketball it's first team Nelson Aim and second team Mark Franson and an honorable mention to Nicholas Vidiello For girls basketball first team Bella LaGuardia and second team Zleal Law An honorable mention to Brianna Cologne And finally for
competition cheer congratulations to the Saddb Brook High School competition cheer team on winning second year in a row at the NGIC conference championship and coming in second place in their state competition Along with that our girls were named for back-to-back years national and high point champions
Congratulations Thank you Um Mrs Violet we weren't done this report Thank you So you heard our students share about Once Upon a Mattress that was our spring musical this past weekend It was absolutely phenomenal show So thank you to Mr
Ortega and Mr Cudin for all their hard work with this performance And I also think we should acknowledge the fact that they they were able to stay clear the stage and make sure this room is ready for our board meeting within a few days So thank you to them for that I also shared on social media today some
updated pictures on our turf field and lights It is coming along very nicely It's fascinating how they create the turf field It's fun to watch So we're really excited and hoping it'll be a couple more weeks before we're able to get on that
field Let's see NJSA NJSLA testing I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the hard work our staff has been doing in preparing our students for the NJSLA We are really focusing on improvement in our academic performance this year and I just want to take a
moment to extend my gratitude to the staff for all their hard work with this Um last night we had our parent partnership night We it was the second one of this year We hosted a college and career fair Spencer Bank hosted a session on financial planning Never too
early to start Um we also NJ4S is a nonforprofit nonprofit organization They did a session on anxiety and stress on coping with anxiety and stress not increasing it And our elementary principles did a kindergarten prep session as well It was very wellreceived
Lots of positive feedback from our families Um it was the first time we did a nighttime college and career fair and the parents were very the feedback we received is the parents were very happy to be able to have this experience with their child So and I also just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the fact
that um my leadership team has been present at these parent partnership nights which not only shows support but also has them be visible to our community members that attend these events and it's such a great um thing for our community to experience I want to take a moment to extend my gratitude
to our leadership team and also our communication has been great with the township and the recreation department and our school system And I just want to acknowledge this as well We're being informed about rec basketball basketball championship games about wrestling competing at the states and it is nice
to know exactly what's going on with our students and having that communication back and forth with the town and the recreation department So we appreciate that Next I'm going to we have two what we started this um tradition this year of acknowleding students at our high school
that exhibit the qualities of a true Saddlebrook Falcon of someone that we're proud to have at our high school Um and we're calling them exemplary falcons And what I'm going to do is I'm just going to share some comments that people have shared about both of these students So we have Mia and Rebecca And what we do
is we have teachers nominate students each month and then we send out a form to our entire district staff and anyone's able to write a positive comment about these students So I'm just going to take a moment to read them have them come up and present them with a falcon of the week shirt and then we'll
take some pictures Okay I'm not starting to move No I want my phone to take pictures forgot Thank you You're welcome I always forget that question Okay I'm going to start with Mia
Kosvski Mia Kosvski you're nominated for being an excellent motivated student very involved with extracurriculars after school Mia is one of the founding members of the Reset Club She goes above and beyond helping plan the activities and ensuring that everyone is
involved I had Mia in my class when she was in middle school Mia was a dedicated and hard-working middle school student who consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to both academic and personal growth Engaged in classroom discuss discussions she actively contributed
insightful ideas and asked thoughtful questions showing an eagerness to learn Whether tackling challenging assignments or collaborating with peers Mia approached every task with determination and a strong work ethic She was always striving to excel More recently I also
had the opportunity to chaperon a Latin club trip where I enjoyed getting to know Mia as a young adult It was fun spending non-academic time with her Mia is a dedicated writer for the Falcon Flyer always eager to get involved Her enthusiasm and commitment to storytelling shines through Mia's
curiosity and drive make her an essential part of the team bringing fresh perspectives and keeping the school community informed Mia has a great attitude towards learning Her assignments are always over and above what is required She is always smiling and is a pleasure to have or was a
pleasure to have in my class in eighth grade as well as this year I had Mia in fourth grade She was a role model to all and an exemplary student Everything Mia did she gave 1,000% She had a work ethic like no other She demanded excellence in
herself and it showed with flying colors Her writing was always organized and exceptional Because of her sweet disposition Mia was a friend to one and all Having seen her recently I can see that she is still that lovely and wonderful student I had in grade four I
was Mia's kindergarten teacher She was a hard worker then and it sounds like it continued through her time in Saddlebrook schools She was always kind and quiet and a pleasure to teach It is a joy to hear all the wonderful things that Mia is continues to accomplish Mia
Kosvski is an excellent student and has been a pleasure to work with I am looking forward to what the next few years will bring So Mia congratulations on being recognized in exemplary falcon Come on up Large
small paper Okay And then our next one is Rebecca How do you pronounce your last name good Goody Thank you Rebecca Goodoy Rebecca has been working with my first graders since September as a tomorrow's teacher To Rebecca comes every day with
enthusiasm for learning passion for helping each student and kindness When she walks into our classroom the kids light up with excitement to see her It is special for me to have Rebecca in my classroom because she was also my second grade student Rebecca was my student at
Long for many years Always helpful in class but her enthusiasm was wonderful too I'm so happy that she continued with music at the middle school and high school as well under the direction of Mr Ortega and Mr Cudin Every year I love to visit them and watch how Rebecca has grown musically over the years Kudos to
Rebecca Rebecca was my student in fourth grade She was just a sweet young lady who tried hard every single day and gave her best She started and ended each day with a smile Her enthusiasm to learn was contagious Seeing her blossom in the play in the plays makes my heart sing
with happiness I can't wait to see where she goes from here I am very lucky to have been Rebecca's teacher last year She always came prepared to class ready to work and gave her best effort She is a consistently dedicated honest and kind student who is always a good friend to
those around her Rebecca has been a pleasure to work with over the last 3.5 years She has intentions of becoming an elementary school teacher and plans to attend Bergen in the fall Congratulations Rebecca Here she is [Applause]
Okay that concludes my superintendent report Thank you Mrs Violet Mr Karate you have anything for us yes So just quick I just wanted to say that it's been u two years since we
passed the referendum and like Miss Vietty said the field is looking great Uh if you didn't see I think it was last month she did a presentation on all the projects Everything's moving along well We started um back in the summer of 23 We did some more projects in the summer
of 24 and we're hoping to finish up with the last uh group of projects in the summer of 25 But um everything's been great with it and the buildings are are looking really good and we thank thank all the uh residents That concludes my report
Thank you Okay So um we are we can open the meeting for agenda items only Does anyone want to speak on agenda items only okay And we will not open to the public Okay You want to read your statement
first about the board action Okay So before the board takes action on um item B2425.33 we're going to add to the statement So it's approved a long-term suspension uh for student ID 202539
3945 per the res resolution as listed on exhibit 03192025B which the board discussed in close session Thank you Mr Kate Okay So for board um action items
B2425.32 and B2425.33 Can I get a motion motion Second Thank you Do roll call Any questions anybody roll call please Miss Rolloloff Yes
M Traverso Yes Miss Aarelli Yes to 33 but I'm abstaining from 32 I was not at that meeting Which one Mr 12th 20th No 12th Sorry It's the 12th I'm abstaining from It's a one two and three Just one two three One
two and three Okay Miss Belli Yes Mr Archello yes Missyello yes Mr Laurentino yes Mr Torbick yes Okay Education and curriculum Mrs Ianelo
Okay At the recommendation of the superintendent I make a motion to approve the following items E2425.41 through E2425.45 Second Okay I'll share some of the field trips that
are on for approval We have a business math trip for our students here to visit Ramipo College They'll get a tour of the trading lab the business department classrooms a campus tour and have lunch in their cafeteria Students in our sculpture class here are going to visit MoMA in New York City There's an exhibi
exhibition on cycllatic art Students in Spanish 3 will be visiting Felician University to be immersed in a celebration of Hispanic cultural art history by viewing the Hispanic Flamco Ballet Grade one students at Long they're actually doing a pizza making class at Brothers Pizza So each class is
going separately Um and grade two going to the Newark Museum There's a safari exhibit We have we're having our students that are in grade six in our MDABA classrooms at our K to6 buildings They're going to visit the sale program here at our middle school to help them
with their transition for next school year Our steam club is scheduled to visit Liberty Science Center We have some grade level trips to the Turtleback Zoo and the Wax Museum Adam to Saurat Wax Museum which our grade five students do the wax museum here Um Kids Empire
and Pramis is a new sensory place that opened up So some of our special education students will be visiting that Um grade six students will be visiting this building for their middle school orientation We started doing that earlier in the last few years maybe last year was their first year So that way while they're in sixth grade here they
come up to our middle school and they get their orientation Um where am I students in environmental club they're going to visit grounds for sculpture exhibit I believe that's in Hamilton New Jersey National Honor Society students are going to assist the preschool students
at Washington School with their spring egg hunt as their one of their service projects Our middle school high school band is scheduled to perform in the Greek day parade in New York City and our preschool students will be visiting our public library Thank you
Any questions roll call please Roll Yes Miss Traverso Yes Misselli yes Mr Akamando yes Miss Barelli yes Mr
Archello yes Missel yes Mr Florentino I'm going to vote yes to all but in E2425.41 I'll abstain from number 162 Miss Torvvic Yes Okay Budget and finance M Traverso
Before I go on with the vote I'm going to read a quick summary Um just telling you how we got here and how long of a hard process it's been Um the administration puts together the staffing pro staffing projects and items needed for next school year budget of 2526 The superintendent and business
administrator review the items with the administrators Revisions revisions and cuts are made until a budget is presented to the budget committee which consists of board members myself Mr Akamando Mr Archello and Miss Torb The committee has met with Mrs Vleti and Mr
Karate approximately five times to review all aspects of the budget When the budget was first given to us it was approximately $3 million over the tax levy cap of 2% We are facing high projected increases in large areas of areas of the budget 15% for health
benefits 17% for utilities 8% in property and other insuranceances 6% in workers compensation insurance These increases along with contractual salary increases and required special education costs put us far over a 2% tax levy cap
Many revisions and reductions were made to reduce the amount we were overcap In the end the budget committee did not want to lose some current programs or even current staff positions We actually need more staff in some areas So to balance the budget we had to increase the allowable tax levy cap with
state approved adjustments for enrollment and health In doing this the tax levy would increase a projected 4.61% for next year's budget The impact of the average house in the township of $473,300 would be $277 for calendar year
25 After the budget approval tonight it is sent to the county office to review After their approval we are scheduling a full presentation of the budget at a public hearing meeting on May 5th at 7 PM At the recommendation of the superintendent I apologize Did anybody
have any questions on the board no No Thank you for that At the recommendation of the superintendent I make a motion to approve the following items BF2425.74 through BF2425.91 second [Music]
Any questions for 2425.77 the professional development workshops I just like to highlight some of the ones our staff are attending These include social anxiety and perfectionism behavioral threat assessment and management best practices
practical interventions for classroom behavior problems um challenging behavior in the school setting There's also CPR training and uh school counselor association the spring conference and a scheduling workshop as well
For 78 I explained during caucus um how we are proposing a cooperative sport for wrestling for next school year with Loi High School Loi will be the lead and um it as I explained it would benefit both of our districts to kind of join forces
with for wrestling next school year Anything else anything else anybody any other questions we went over a lot of this but any other questions roll call please Miss Rollolof yes Mr Traverso yes Miss Adarelli yes Mr
Akamando yes to all but I'm going to abstain from uh where is that my finger hit the screen BF2425 number 74 checks number 66654 and 66655
Yes to all Okay Miss Barelli Yes Mr Archello Yes Missel Yes all but I'm going to abstain from BF2425.74 check numbers 9336 and
6679 in BF2425.77 I'm going to abstain from item number 133 and then in BF242 25.78 I'm going to abstain from that one Yes to everything else
Okay Mr Laurentino Uh yes to all but I'll abstain in BF2425.74 check number 1012 and 1388 And I'll abstain in BF2425.77 workshop number 124 Okay Miss Torbick Yes
Okay Facilities and operations Mr Archel At the recommendation of the superintendent I make a motion to approve the following items F2425.7 approval of school facility use reports for April 2025 Second
[Music] Any questions roll call please Miss Roloff yes Miss Traverso yes Miss Aarelli yes Mr Akamando yes Miss Bali yes Mr Archello
yes Miss Einelo yes Mr Laurentino yes Miss Torb yes Okay We have no policy We have no negotiation So personnel Mr Laurentino Okay At the recommendation of the superintendent I make a motion to
approve the following items P24256 through P2425.66 Second Any questions roll call please Miss Roloff yes Miss Travero yes Miss Aarelli yes
Mr Akamando yes Miss Barali yes Mr Richello yes Miss Einelo yes to all but I'm going to abstain from P24259 item number two Sorry there's another And then I'm going
to abstain also from P2425.61 Okay [Laughter] Mr Lorentino I'll vote yes to all but I'll also abstain from P 2425.61 And Miss Torvbeek Yes
Okay Um committee reports I don't think we have to do budget and finance again because that was fun right facilities and operations I have something for facilities Thank you So the facilities committee met on March 13th where we discuss projects currently being completed as well as upcoming projects
as uh Mrs Vleti mentioned the turf field was delivered and laid out over the last week It looks fantastic Check it out on social media for new pictures I think taken by Ray Karate himself or Mrs Vleti herself Um the lights are about 95% installed and the uh visitor bleachers
will be completed around May We are looking forward to seeing the work completed Uh Koolage School the work at Koolage is progressing nicely and currently floors are being installed Electric is being hooked up to the building We are hoping to have the building completed soon Uh we're using rod grants to do boiler and HVAC replacement throughout the district this
summer And uh as approved today tonight in the budget uh Franklin Long and Smith School will be getting new playgrounds We thank the old playgrounds for their 20 plus years of service Thank you Okay We had no negotiations We have no policy Correct Mrs Okay Does
anybody have any liazison reports long school I have Washington Okay If you don't mind Uh I have Mrs Traverso You want you want to start yeah I'll start Pretty simple Go ahead Go ahead Okay Uh Smith School Okay Um
teachers and faculty at Smith School received a special surprise from Double Good Popcorn They won a contest and received 100 bags of popcorn for the staff Uh Smith students sold chocolate from Gertude Hawk Delivery will be on uh the week of April
7th They're also hosting their annual VIP dance next Wednesday March 26th at the Fiesta Uh they have a good night of fun uh for the families planned and Smith PTO encourage any graduating seniors that
are Smith alumni to apply for the Smith PTO scholarship The deadline is uh April 1st and their next PTO meeting is April 15th at 7 p.m on Zoom Thank you Thank you Franklin School
During March Franklin PTO had an Irish soda bread fundraiser where they sold loaves from a crumbs bakery They also completed their annual Girtual Girtroot Hawk chocolate sale which is used toward the sixth grade activities The PTO has
been assisting with funds toward field trips for the various grades The next event will be Falcon Funday at Humdingers on 3:24 This event is open to everyone and they had their meeting tonight so I don't have anymore
Mrs Traversa band long schools up uh upcoming programs Friday March 28th they will be doing their duct taped fundraiser to benefit the sixth grade class of 2025 The sixth grade committee is hosting breakfast with the bunny for LMS
families on Sunday April 6th at the Paramis Applebee Yours truly will be the bunny So if your kids are you know out there bring them in from long school please The LMS color run will be held on Saturday May 17th Spirit sale continues Please join the website to see those uh
sweatsuits and whatnot They're very nice this year Very very nice As a friendly reminder the LMS PTO members can join the Facebook page All LMS families and staff are encouraged to visit our website which is kept up to date with their upcoming events fundraisers etc Next meeting will be Tuesday May 13th in
the LMS cafeteria I have the high school middle school Thank you You're welcome Um on April 5th they will be hosting a spring popup day with a photo shoot There's various
themed stations plus a bunny station and our very own Mr Aamundo is going to be their bunny Oh boy Okay Uh details and forms are going to be emailed tomorrow Their next meeting will be after break They haven't set a date yet Thank you Mr
Chair Washington Yes please Great Washington school Uh as Sana said Washington School had a lot of read across America Mr Readers come come in So they do thank you for uh volunteering This month they will continue to study pets learning uh all about such thing as
natural habitats how to take care of them As the warmer weather approaches they're excited to get out and use the new playground equipment Uh next month the teachers and the PTO will be putting on a spring egg hunt for our students and the National Honor Society from the high school will be coming in to do another uh spring event with the
children Uh things that happened So March 12th uh earlier this month the PTO had a very successful paint and sip fundraiser where they raised over $1,600 Good job Nice Uh March 24th there's no school for staff development April 11th is movie night where the preschoolers
will will be watching Pulp Fiction Just kidding Making sure you're paying attention the the movie is to be uh determined and I'm sure it will be something age appropriate Um April 16th will be the spring egg hunt April 18th through the 25th is spring recess Uh May
5th through 8th is teacher appreciation Thank you Thank you Any correspondence he said none Uh old business I have two for old business Sure Because what's new is uh now old I'd like to thank my
colleagues on the board for uh coming to a successful conclusion with our contract for our superintendent Not sure if people are aware but before the superintendent we had about five superintendents in 10 years Uh I think bringing stability back to the district is extremely important because it's
really going to only equate to a better education for all the students in Saddle So thank my colleagues very much for getting that done Uh number two though technically not a board issue uh we had our first Saddak High School Hall of Fame athletic hall of fame meeting Couple of weeks ago that was a
tremendous success Also like to thank Mr Iella who's here and Miss Vietti Uh the work they have done is beyond and I could have hoped our response has been tremendous Uh I've talked to so many people over the last couple of weeks including Mr Gallow
Thank you very much Uh our next meeting is going to be April 6 So this is a project we're going to get off the ground So I'm very much looking forward to it Thank you Could I just mention something too sure Just uh I just wanted to congratulate our nurse Fontana on her retirement uh
at Long School Uh she's more than just a nurse over there She is nurse mom aunt whatever you want to call her She's a a light at Long and she'll be she'll be missed Absolutely We have some huge retirements this school year and um we will be
acknowledging our retirees and our teachers of the year The the plan is to honor them at the June board of ed meeting just so that we are all aware and I just would like to take a moment to thank the board for their confidence in me to continue as superintendent serving as superintendent public schools for Saddlebrook I appreciate it and to
the community I appreciate the support that you have in me as a leader here So thank you [Applause] Okay So for new business I just want to
add I want to say how happy we are that you will be uh continuing here at Saddlebrook We're very happy to have you Um I want to congratulate uh Mr Ortega Mr Cudin um everybody who worked on or was um part of the play I went on Sunday
and it was fantastic as usual Um that's it That's all I have to say Anybody else have any that's a 15-year contract for the superintendent right yes 25 year contract now
Okay How long to retirement so I'm going to assume there are people that want to speak so we'll open the meeting Okay Can I have a motion to open the meeting to the public no business Second Thank you Okay I'm going to read
my statement Residents are requested to state their names addresses and subject matter In the event it appears the public comment portion of the meeting may exceed 45 minutes the presiding officer may limit each statement made by a participant to 5 minutes duration Issues raised by members of the public
may or may not be responded to by the board All comments will be considered and a response will be forthcoming if and when appropriate The board asks that members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals when speaking Specifically comments regarding students and
employees of the board are discouraged and will not be responded to by the board Students and employees have specific legal rights afforded by the laws of New Jersey The board bears no responsibility nor will it be liable for any comments made by members of the public Members of the public should
consider their comments in light of the legal rights of those affected or identified in their comments and may be aware that they are legally responsible and liable for their comments Does anybody want to speak okay I was like I hope so I just heard
that whole damn thing Take it off the stand We We got to hold the computer though All right Thank you Hold this for a sec Nick Videll Brandon Booza
Jaden Gatis Good evening My name is Nicholas Videll and sitting next to me is Jaden Gatus and Brandon Booza We are all captains of the football team and we are here tonight to say farewell to our coach To be honest my teammates and I are shocked that our coach was not voted
back as our head coach for the 2025 season We put an effort to show how much we care coming to the board meeting reading his statement and even trying to push for another vote It's not every day that you see an entire football team show up to stand behind their coach And we did it peacefully with nothing but
respect for the process because that's the kind culture our coach built As a team we created a petition and supported and support we received was overwhelming People from both out inside and outside the community stood with us and not a single negative comment was written Yet
despite all of this our votes our petition and the board did not take action That's disappointing to say the least We are the players We are the ones who put the uniform on who play for the love of the game who work hard towards opportunities at the next level Me and
Nick have both been on division one college visits made possible from the help of our coach That alone shows the dedication he has to his players We ask the board to stand with us to recognize what he has done for this program When coach took over this
program it was broken He gave everything to rebuild it He gave us hope not just as athletes but as people He pushed us to be be more than average to expect more from ourselves One comment from the petition really stood out to us I'm deeply disappointed by the
situation unfolding inside regarding coach Having been around many coaches in my career I can confidently say that coach is the one best one of the best I've ever seen He really cares about the kids the community and the program in a way that is rare in today's coaching
world With the challenges schools face in finding and keeping quality coaches allowing some of his caliber to walk away would be nothing but a disaster It's frustrating and embarrassing that a few individuals in town believe their opinions outweigh those of the
administration the athletes and the major majority of the community The people have spoken They want coach to stay So why is this still being debated why are we allowing a couple voices to be hold so much power over something that affects so
many sodber should be doing everything in his power to retain an amazing coach not pushing him away If this decision goes the wrong way it will set a terrible look and hurt the people this is supposed to be about It's supposed to be about the kids Another comment it's
nice to see a group of young men coming together to fight for a cause they that they believe in there are the they're the ones playing the game not anyone on the outside The grass isn't always greener on the other side That's just two two people's comments but it echoes what so many of
us feel In a total there was 25 comments and 158 signatures If this truly is a farewell to our coach then on the behalf of the team we want to say thank you coach for making us stronger both physically and mentally and for dedicating the countless hours to our
program that needed that we needed We won't forget all the long hours dedicated to us Thank you coach and thank you board members Does anybody else wish to speak should I close it first okay Could I have a motion to close the
meeting to the public thank you All in favor opposed Nick Jaden and Brandon thank you for representing Saddle Brook High School so well Um we the entire I speak I'm I'm going to say that from the board
that we thank you um for expressing your thoughts and opinions with us Um as far as a football coach goes as you're aware we are receiving applicants at this time and we are going through the interview process and we will move forward from
there Thank you I have a motion to close the meeting All in favor opposed thank you Okay [Music]