Mrs. Hill School District. Please be advised that this and all meetings of the board are open to the public and media consistent with the open public meetings act and that advanced notice required therein has been provided. This is a meeting of the board of education of Somerset Hills at which formal action may be taken. The public will have an
opportunity to be heard as shown on the agenda. The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, the public notice
of this meeting, which included the time, date, location, and to the extent known, the agenda of this meeting was distributed at 3 p.m. on July 9th, 2025, and at 11:00 a.m. on November 12th, 2025 in the following manner. Posted on the bulletin board reserved for announcements in the board office. 25
Alcott Avenue, Bernardsville, New Jersey. Posted in the main office of Bedwell, Bernardsville Middle School and Bernard's High School. Mailed to the Career News and Bernardsville News, and posted on the SHSD website. Filed with the clerk of the burrow of Bernardsville, Far Hills, Peepac, Gladstone, and Bedminster Township.
Delivered to the 10 duly elected board members. Mr. Lori, roll call, please. >> Mr. Baker, >> here. >> Miss Ballard, >> here. >> Miss Clark Emory, >> here. >> Miss Cooper, >> here. >> Miss Gills, >> here. >> Mrs. Gomez. >> Mrs. Poppy >> here. >> Mrs. Santoro >> here. >> Mrs. Ry,
>> Mrs. Frenda >> here. >> We have a quorum. >> Okay. Thank you very much. And at this time, um, we are going to go into executive session. The Open Public Meetings Act authorizes a public body to exclude the public from that portion of a meeting at which specified topics are to be discussed under circumstances
where the public consideration of such topics will clearly endanger the public or where the personal privacy or guaranteed rights of individuals whose activities or affairs are to be discussed would be clearly in danger of unwarranted invasions and the matters about to be presented for discussion clearly meet the circumstances test of
such act. The board of education of Somerset Hills now adjourns its public session to reconvene an exe executive session for the purpose of discussing the following collective bargaining and be it further resolved that the discussion in executive session be disclosed when the board's consideration of the subject matter has been closed or
that such matter does not adversely affect the rights of prospective current or past public officers or personnel of the board unless such individuals have in writing requested the disclosure of such discussion at a public meeting and provided such public disclosure will no longer clearly endanger the public
interest. May I have a motion to go into executive, please? Miss Santor and a second. Miss Cooper. Thank you. I >> pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> And we will hand it over to Dr. Bil for the report of the superintendent. >> Thank you, Miss Frenda. Uh, tonight is a uh the night that we uh will uh be
honoring some great student achievement at um at Bernard's High School. Uh and tonight we have our National Merit Scholar Award winners in and certainly it's a significant achievement and uh we
are going to um recognize a host of students from uh the high school and uh our first is I have a statement to read uh for all of them and we also have a have a resolution uh for each of them. So, I'm going to uh read a resolution
and embarrass them a little bit on their stellar academic careers here and uh call them up um to receive their resolution from the board. Uh so, our first honore tonight is Hannah Venegra.
And yep, congratulations Hannah. She's a dedicated and well-rounded student whose leadership, creativity, and compassion make her an extraordinary representative of Burners High School. She's a member of the soccer, ski, and track and field teams, and contributes
to numerous clubs, including peer leadership, jazz band, tech and robotics, green team, science league, art club, chess club, and the AAPI club. As a peer leader, Hannah promotes kindness and inclusion, helping to
create a supportive school culture. She also serves as a liaison to the Burnersville Burough Environmental Commission and green team, coordinating sustainability projects and managing community outreach. She's a Girl Scout working towards her Gold Award. Hannah
uh her project focuses on reducing textile waste through education and creative reuse. Through her many roles, Hannah exemplifies leadership, service, and environmental stewardship. Hannah, come on up. Next up is Lucian Spiteri.
Lucian is highly motivated, community-minded, uh a community-minded student whose leadership and initiative have made a lasting impact on Burners High School. As both an EMT and an active member of the tech and robotics club, Lucian blends technical expertise
with a passion for helping others. Since joining the club as a freshman, he became a confident leader who mentors peers and founded the school's annual STEM competition, which continues to grow each year. His leadership extends to the performing arts, where he
contributes to band and jazz band, leading rehearsals and supporting his sections with enthusiasm and precision. He also revi revitalized the math league, inspiring greater student participation and collaboration. Whether in robotics, music, or community
service, Lucian embodies teamwork and curiosity and a genuine commitment to making a difference. Uh on a personal note, uh we had a member of our staff uh at the Olcott building uh last summer have a medical event and Lucian was one
of the very first responders um that uh cared uh for a dear member of our uh of our team. So uh all of us always remember that and uh he he really performed his job with such grace. Uh so Lucian, come on up.
Robert Lopez. Robert is a passionate and insightful student whose deep concern for environmental issues and sustainability drives his academic and his personal pursuits. As a second generation immigrant with roots uh in Spain, he brings a unique cultural
perspective that enhances his empathy and understanding of global challenges. His inspiration to study environmental or civil engineering stems from his long-standing commitment to addressing climate change and promoting responsible innovation. In the classroom, Robert
excels in steam subjects and has earned recognition from the National Honor Society and the American Scholastic Press Association Review. Beyond academics, he volunteers at the Burnsville Public Library and contributes to the Pinnacles award-winning editorial team, reflecting
his dedication in both learning and community service. His resilience, thoughtfulness, and global awareness will no doubt make him a last make a lasting impact wherever he goes. Robert Joseph Kalinowski. Joseph is an exceptionally bright
disciplined and kind student whose curiosity and commitment to excellence define his success at Burners High School. With strong interests in biology, chemistry, and medicine, Joseph approaches every challenge with persistence and integrity. He is a
varsity fencer and tennis player, chess club treasurer, and a top competitor in science league and ridge hacks. Always modeling leadership and collaboration. His volunteer work with the New Jersey Ottabbon Society, Great Swamp Refuge,
and Raritton Headarters reflects his deep respect for nature and community. Eventempered, creative, and compassionate, Joseph represents the very best of Bernard's High School. Joseph, Our next honore is Jack Ecklund.
Jack is an academically outstanding and socially conscious student whose passion for learning and service makes him an exemplary representative of Bernard's High School. Deeply interested in STEM, particularly biology, and neurobiology, he hopes to pursue a career in medicine,
biomedical research or law. A top scholar at Governor's at the Governor's School. Jack has earned numerous honors through math league, science league, and the physics Olympics. Beyond academics, he serves as a peer leader, a member of the robotics and technology club, and a
dedicated athlete in swimming and Irish dance. His service at Overlook Medical Center and through tutoring programs highlights his empathy, initiative, and leadership, qualities that make Jack a true role model. Jack
Our next honore is Rowan Eckle. Rowan is an outstanding student whose intellectual curiosity, perseverance, and kindness make him a valued member of the Bernard's high school community with a strong passion for technology and science. Rowan plans to study computer
engineering with a possible minor in cyber security. He is known for his thoughtful questions, strong work ethic, and a genuine desire to understand the world around him. A member of Bernards, the tech club, and the first place physics Olympic team, he also gives back
through volunteer work in the local community. Rowan's drive, integrity, and humility truly embody the best of Bernard's High School. Rowan Elizabeth Chen. Elizabeth is an exceptional scholar whose love for science, technology, and
leadership defines her success at Bernard's High School. She leads with purpose as president of the technology and robotics club, the AAPI club, and captain of the varsity tennis team. Modeling teamwork, discipline, and humility, Elizabeth thrives at the
intersection of engineering and creativity. Always seeking to use technology to improve daily life and to strengthen human connection. Her intellectual curiosity is matched by her kindness and quiet determination, inspiring others to aim higher.
Elizabeth plans to pursue engineering and business in college next fall. Elizabeth Julian Bon is our next honore. Uh Julian is an intellectually curious and driven student whose analytical mindset and friendly demeanor distinguish him among
his peers. A talented scholar and athlete, Julia stands out for his kindness, always willing to greet or encourage others. He serves as captain for the cross country, winter track, and spring track teams where he leads by example through humility, focus, and
teamwork. Known for his calm and composed nature, Julian is respected by classmates and teachers alike for his dedication in sportsmanship, he plans to pursue economics and finance in college next fall, fields that align perfectly with his curiosity and competitive
spirit. Julian Sixon Alstrom is our next honore. Sixton is a remarkably curious, determined, and creative student who thrives on challenge and discovery. His record of high academic and athletic achievement, as well as his leadership,
reflects both capability and character. As captain of the swim team and tennis team and a dedicated member of the physics team, Stixton always leads with a team first mindset. Known for his intelligence, work ethic, and kind nature, he contributes daily to a
positive and six. has guided the team through ambitious projects including building an arcade machine, coding VEX robots, and organizing coding. in place. He also leads a cyber
security education team at the New Jersey cyber security and communications integration cell where his work on quantum computing tools has been adopted statewide. That's an extraordinary accomplishment. A varsity athlete in swimming, tennis, and cross country, he
balances a rigorous academic schedule with humility and teamwork. His innovation, perseverance, and generosity make him a true ambassador of excellence that Bernard's High School represents. Mr. Thiagi, one more round of applause for our
honores tonight. Uh we're going to make a transition to our student representatives and true to form uh we're going to uh invite our representatives from Berners Jillian per invite them up uh to the podium.
That's doing. >> Good evening. My name is Jillian Per and I'm part of the culture and climate committee at BMS as well as part of the fall play and green team. We have enjoyed many fun activities this fall from our culture and climate committee including French week, a staff
jackalanter carving contest. Shout out to Miss farms. There they have a farming program where they donate their produce to local stores and to people who can't afford to buy vegetables at stores. We spent our time at the farm harvesting turnups. And
by a collective effort from us and other student volunteers from other schools, we gathered over 4,000 lbs of turnups for the community. Not only was it a fun experience, but we learned the importance of helping the community and the best strategy on how to harvest
turnipss. The seventh and Wednesday Adams, Gwen Finery as Fester Adams, Noah Flynn as Gomez Adams, Poppy Picket as Mortica, Al Alicia Moffett as Alice Bicki, and myself as Grandma Adams. We have many
other activity. We have many amazing crew members who without them this production show. If you plan to attend, you will not be disappointed. Now, I will turn things over to Calie. And I represent BMS girls soccer and
girls basketball as well as peer leadership. For soccer, we finished the season with one win and two ties. Our team showed incredible dedication and hard work this year. Best wishes to all the eighth graders, Grace Healey, Elenia Sasso, Katherine Douglas, Hannah Martin,
and Alistair Joyce. Additionally, thank you, Coach Spouts, and grateful for the positive environment you've created. We have had so much fun playing. Now that it is time for winter sports, we are looking forward to our girls basketball season. Our coaches
this season are Coach O'Connor and Coach Brown. Our first practice was held Monday, November 17th. We had 13 girls participate and the energy was great. We are looking forward to another awesome season. This will be my last season playing basketball for BMS. I was on the
team last year and had so much fun. group where we demonstrate leadership and positive mentoring to our younger classmates. We have 19 members this year, which is a great turnout. We had our first meeting on October 30th with our adviser, Miss Pascarelli, to start
planning our activities for the school year. We came up with many great ideas such as a getting to know your teacher bulletin board, podcast for advice, a future letter toyour yourself wall in the cafeteria, a bridge builder competition, fifth grade study and
capturing kids hearts activities, and springtime tours and classroom lessons for fourth grade Bedwell students. As you can see, we are having a busy fall season as we transition into winter at BMS. Thank you for allowing us both to speak here tonight.
Thank you, Callie and Jillian. Excellent job as always from our middle school students. And we have Nolan and Sophia. Sophia will do ladies first tonight. >> Hi everyone. It's good to see you all. This past month has been very busy with fall sports ending and many school
activities. But before I get into that, um, a little senior update. Um, all early action and early decision applications are in. So, this is just the waiting period, which is a little nerve-wracking, but we start hearing back beginning to mid December. So, hopefully by next meeting, me and Nolan
will know where we're going to college, but we'll see. Um, but starting off, we had our homecoming last month. We had 420 students come which has been the biggest turnout in the last couple years and we've noticed
every year. So students are really starting to take advantage of these school events which is amazing. And I know a lot of students DJ and um student council also raised a decent amount of money for our school which is amazing and it was a great
turnout. Um next with our NHS induction ceremony it was held last week in the pack. We had 82 inductees and actually every student got to select their favorite
students and um favorite teachers and teachers that they wanted to just share this special moment with. So um it was amazing. All the teachers were able to make it and it was a great event and also with NHS we are hosting a blood
drive next week in the community room. Um it is actually full and we have a waiting list. So this is very popular amongst the students. I myself am on the waiting list. Hopefully I get in, but we'll see. Um so I know a lot of students enjoy doing this and being able
to give back and it's very rewarding in itself. So to it and with more events, we have our dodgeball tournament tomorrow in the lower and upper gyms. This is the sixth annual dodgeball tournament and this is
very popular amongst the students. Um, students are able to form their own teams with their friends and a lot of people follow a theme within their group. I know one year a group of senior girls painted their whole bodies blue for Smurfs. So, a lot of people have fun
with event and I myself am looking forward to it. Um, and it is just so fun going against your friends and playing. So, I know we're all looking forward to it. And also fall sports officially ended. Um it
is very sad to see it go with field hockey. We won nine games, lost 11 games, and tied once. Um I know I'm sad to see the season end, but um all good things must come to an end. And it was a defin it was definitely a very memorable
season for the seniors. Um we are a very close group of girls and we're all going to miss the environment but fall um winter sports actually are starting soon. So that's exciting. Swim and ice hockey actually started this week and I
believe the rest of the sports are starting when we come back from Thanksgiving break. So we are all looking forward to that. And with um we have concerts coming up, instrumental and choir that'll be held
December 11th for band and jazz and December 16th for the choir concert. So right now band, jazz, and choir are just prepping their music for the concert and just working hard to get it all done and perfect it and be ready for the concert dates, but Nolan will take care of the
rest. Thank you so much. All right, I'll uh piggy back and wrap up some points about fall sports. Uh, three of our fall sports teams were eliminated by Madison High School. So, safe to say we have a new rival here in Bernardsville. Uh, I mean, the football one was truly heartbreaking. Them
driving down the field, getting the two-point conversion, then us coming back down, kicking the field goal, and just missing by a hair. I mean, us seniors are going to miss Grace in all cop, but we had a wonderful time winningest class in Burns High School history with uh three undefeated seasons
and one season with only one loss. So, we're we're very proud of our time here. Uh cross country was very successful. Brody Watt recently committed to the University of Pennsylvania for uh track. So, he's very fast guy. He placed eighth
out of all runners at the meet of champions for New Jersey. He's destined for a lot more greatness in his future. Um, and tying into music as well, the Magical's Christmas album is currently being recorded. It will go on sale soon
for $20. This year, they did both singing and instrumentals. So, me being a sax guy, I uh recorded with the wonderful Scott Leferge from Beminster Township School, if any of you have had the privilege of knowing him. Um, then, oh yes, so marking period one ended
fall. We got all our grades posted, no problem. And the fall play was a very big success. Arson, Nick, and Old Blaze bringing lots of laughs to all that attended. And so on uh November 10th uh
with Thanksgiving approaching and with the hysteria back then with the government shutdown and worry over people not being able to get their SNAP benefits um our class the class adviser for the seniors Miss Lauren Volid would be a good idea to start a food drive and
we got a bunch of classes together the life club student council and so we have boxes in the media center's room and Senora Pasco's room collecting food and monter donation, food donations through this Friday. So, started last week
through this Friday. And so, the large amount of the proceeds from the dodgeball tournament tomorrow night will be a monetary donation to the Somerset County Food Bank where we'll be donating that money. Uh, and lastly, uh, to talk about Veterans Day. Last year, we had a
very nice, um, event for the class of, believe it was 1964 and some Vietnam veterans. This day wasn't quite This year wasn't quite as big, but we still uh did our flags outside the school and we had a lot of participation in the red, white, and blue jeans spirit day. Lots of folks wearing that. Uh we did
some announcements. Uh each of the three days we had announcements that week given some fun facts about World War II veterans who remain alive and why we celebrate Veterans Day and a schoolwide fundraiser for the GIO fund with teachers and students participating alike. So yeah, it's been a very very
involved month this past this past time and next time you will, as Sophia said, hopefully know where her and I will be going to college. So thank you for your time tonight. Excellent job once again, Nolan and uh and Sophia. Thank you.
on October 21st, just to begin to fill you in on um some news from around the district, it was louder and much more colorful uh at night on Ceni Drive as the middle school held a color run. um where we had parents and guardians,
students and siblings running for their health and for a great cause. Uh we had our fizzed teachers at the middle school uh Ashley Alivera and Elizabeth St. excuse me who uh established uh this
event and did a great job uh working with the American Heart Association uh and they collaborated uh across the district and across the town. Uh so it was held at night uh and it was um it allowed for a greater level of participation.
Um as an added bonus uh parents were also were also able to join in the runs and they were able to earn double house points for the middle school houses. As you know we have four we have four houses at the middle school. Duke, Penn State, Princeton and Ruckers. So uh kids
are always competing for house points. Uh we had 101 participants that lace up their sneakers and participated in this event. Uh all in they they were able to raise $75. Uh all of which was was donated to the
American Heart Association. Uh we work very closely with Katie Fina who represents the American Heart Association as the development director for school engagement and we're starting to do more and more work with her particularly at the middle school and at um Bedwell. So, we really had a a great
event there. Um, so looking forward to more of that from the middle school and that was such a great event. Um, we have a lunch and learn activity at the high school that's being sponsored and led by Lauren Cava and Abby Alves who are supporters of equipping students
with tools to reduce their own anxiety and their own stress. uh they plan monthly brain breaks where they can uh learn to let go of stress and acquire new skills in new and different ways. At the end of October, Alves and Cava orchestrated a collaboration between uh
the hidden opponent club uh and the yoga club. Um the hidden opponent club is a club focused on raising awareness of mental health for athletes. Uh the event yielded uh a large turnout. I think I see Sophia in the photo there. and a
very big success uh during lunch in the media center and um they had additional support from our counseling department and um a host of Red Ribbon Week celebrations. We have an art teacher at Bedwell, Miss Terry Johnson, who has a teaching
philosophy that reflects collaboration and community, and the kids have really embraced it. uh at Bedwell. Um those students are were invited to participate in a schoolwide project. Um and they were asked to design unique feathers and students explored lines as an element of
art u playing with different types of thickness and different types of patterns. They used uh different mediums as watercolors, crayons and markers um to contribute to this project and it resulted in an expansive mural house across from the Medall Library. Uh so
that's um another great thing taking place at Bedwell. Anaki is a junior at the high school and you all you all recognized her last week for some great work that she's been doing in the community. Uh she has been recognized by the high school as the
everyday everyday hero for October. Uh she is has been described as a selfless student. uh she leads as a contributor to our drama program at the high school. Uh she mentors younger students. Uh she's very very positive. Uh and she's a
founder of the nonprofit organization called Rice Kids, which is um how we um first recognize her for her work. She focuses on raising awareness, collecting food donations, and providing resources uh to those folks in need. uh she has
led uh Rice Kids and she's inspired others to join this cause demonstrating the impact of youth driven social change. Um and um congratulations to Tommy as our October
um everyday hero at the high school and we give you a double dose of everyday hero. Um Patrick Rawi is a senior at the high school and he is November's honore. Uh exemplifies heart of gold that bleeds
respect uh through his presence in the classroom, in the hallways. Uh he's kind, he's cur he's courteous and uh his nature just speaks volume about his character. He models uh for his peers what it means to be like to treat others with dignity, not through gestures, but
in countless small ways that reveal character. Um, in a world that often re rewards the loudest voices, this young man reminds us that respect, kindness, and integrity can shine just as bright uh through humility. And he he is certainly um one
to be recognized. Uh we have um some more great things coming from Bedwell. Um, in our second grade enrichment class, Melissa Leonard um had the students completely engaged in Bedwell, I'm sorry, in Shakespeare.
Uh, she works at Bedwell. Um, and she's been blending history and literature as they acted out scenes from a midnight summer's dream and even created their own puppet show. Uh, we also celebrated fire prevention week. Uh, we had the fire chief and firefighters took time to review uh, safety tips with students and
staff alike. They encourage students to speak with their families about their own fire safety plan in their own homes. Um about the proper use of smoke alarms and how to exit um facilities, schools, homes, and buildings uh during a fire.
Firefighter firefighters also dressed up as staff and demonstrated what students may see and hear from firefighters masks and tanks if they ever had to uh enter their home. And you'll see that our assistant principal, Jasmine, is also dressed up as a firefighter. Um, so
great day at Bedwell there. The high school has a book club. It's led by their adviser, Peg Doulson. Uh, they're on their second title of the school year already. Uh, November is Native American Heritage Month, and the club brainstormed a large selection of
titles about Native American life. Uh the book club has 18 members who share a love of reading. They engage in a lively book talk each month and they analyze and critique each book from a variety of lenses. They often share about
additional titles they are reading outside of the school curriculum and outside of the book club. Uh the high school book club is currently hosting a fundraiser to raise money to install a little free library in the community and
shirts uh can be purchased. Uh so we will uh send that out and I'm sure the high school has sent that out to um to all the folks. Some beautiful work taking place in our digital art program. Uh we have a new teacher there, Christina Rovar, and uh
she is teaching digital art and uh the kids are in full creative mode experimenting with surrealism and advanced Photoshop techniques. And uh the work that's being done in there uh really is uh spectacular.
uh towards the uh we're we're at the end of the fall season as we transition to winter and uh we have a few action shots here. Uh girls volleyball in the upper right and uh lower left and lower right and on our left is our soccer um program
for boys and girls. Um and we have a recent newsletter that was sent out that uh certainly you can um continue to look at and uh we again have a host of different ways to stay informed with different areas and different items in
our um from the district level and from the school levels. the cast and crew tomorrow night um at the middle school will be presenting the Adams family and um that starts at 7
o'clock and it is in the cafeteria. Over the past few years, the board has allocated some funding and some equipment to our cafeteria over at the high school. So, uh you may notice an uh improved sound system and lighting system. And so, uh we're looking forward
to um hosting that. Uh by way of reminder, we are starting our IND district presentations for the referendum for 2026. Our first um in-house community forum will be on November 25th. That'll be at 7:00 here
in the media center. And December 18th, we will have a follow-up. And January 27th of 2026, we will have a third presentation as well. Um, as a reminder for the board, we do
have uh as our um annual uh calendars up for approval for 2627 and 2728. Um, just as a reminder, those calendars uh did increase our extended school year program from 4 weeks to 5 weeks. Uh we
moved staff orientation up from the last week of August to the week prior. Uh the first day for students is prior to Labor Day, which does provide advanced instructional time um prior to standardized testing. Um we do certainly expect that to be multiplied over time
um K to 12. Uh we have um also announced our back to school nights uh in advance for alignment with Bedminster. Um and uh we do have a brief winter break um around President's Day um that we have
identified through uh these calendars. We recently held a u joint meeting with the Bedminster Township Board of Education and uh tonight on the agenda is a motion to approve um the Sweeney Center to conduct
a regionalization study and um you know we're looking forward to conducting that work. That work takes about a year and uh that work certainly will examine uh what the facts are behind um all of the different variables around
shared services and around you know any potential merging or regionalization. Um so at this point both boards are doing nothing more than their own due diligence uh regarding um identifying all of the different um components and factors around uh regionalization. So,
we're going to start that work uh once the once the board approves that. And our upcoming present upcoming events again, we have our referendum presentations uh one on November 25th. And for the board, we start our December
meeting cycle on December 2nd, 3rd, and 4th with a regular public meeting on the 17th. And then, uh we will wrap up um board level items on December 18th with a referendum presentation. So that culminates my report.
>> Okay. Thank you, Dr. Brochel. I'm going to pass it over to Miss Ballard um for some recognition for retirees this month. >> Thank you, Mrs. Brenda. So, the board uh recognizes retirees
whereas Rufus Boy has been employed from September 1989 through December 2025 as a maintenance worker. and whereas he exemplified expertise, commitment, and professionalism in his duties. And now therefore, let it be resolved that the
Somerset Hill School District and Board of Education recognize Rufus Boyd's retirement effective January 1st, 2026, and extend to him congratulations and best wishes for a happy, healthy, and enjoyable retirement.
Whereas Mark Nunan has been employed from September 2001 through December 2025 as a music teacher. And whereas he exemplified expertise, commitment, and professionalism in his duties. And now therefore, be it resolved that the Somerset Hills School District and Board
of Education recognize Mark Nunan's retirement effective January 1st, 2026, and extend to him congratulations and best wishes for a happy, healthy, and enjoyable retirement. Thank you, Miss Ballard. Um, we are going to move into the public comments
section. Um, we very much welcome input from the public. Public comments are welcome at this time on any actionable agenda item. That means something that appears on the agenda that will be voted on this evening exclusively. Towards the end of the meeting, there is a second public forum on any topic. Please state
your name and address. Comments are limited to three minutes. At 3 minutes, you will be interrupted and asked to pause to allow any other members of the public who would like to speak an opportunity to do so. An individual may return to the podium to complete their statement after everyone else has had an opportunity to speak for a total of two
times at the podium. Please understand that our public forums are not structured as question and answer sessions, but are offered as opportunities to share your thoughts with the board. In instances where the board feels there is a misunderstanding or inaccuracy, the board president or superintendent may address the comment.
In accordance with New Jersey statute, the board will not discuss matters regarding specific personnel. Public comment public comments will be limited to 30 minutes. A reminder for all parties in attendance to remain respectful and that there should be no interaction between the speaker and the audience. No members of the audience
should interfere with or interrupt the speaker's comments. Thank you in advance for your input. I will direct you to Mr. Lugori's timer which will be set to three minutes so that while you're at the podium you can keep track of the time you have remaining. Um, and I believe there is a sign-in sheet at the
podium for when you speak to please um, enter your name and municipality. Is there anyone who would like to take the podium on an actionable agenda item? No. Okay. Then can I get a motion to close public comment, please? Miss Hoppy
and Miss Ry. Thank you. We are going to move into the approval of the minutes. Um, I would like to ask for a motion to approve the public input and action and executive meeting minutes for October 15, 2025, as well as the public input and action and executive
meeting minutes for October 29th, 2025. May I have a motion, please? Miss Santoro, and a second. Miss Cooper, is there any discussions related to any of those minutes? >> No. Okay. Then roll call, please. >> Mr. Baker, >> yes. >> Miss Ballard, >> yes. >> Miss Clark Emery,
>> yes. >> Miss Cooper, >> yes. Miss Gills, >> yes. >> Miss Gomez, >> yes. >> Mrs. Hoppy, >> yes. >> Mrs. Santoro, >> yes. >> Mrs. Ry, >> yes. >> Mrs. Frenda, >> yes. >> The motion carries. >> Okay. Thank you very much. We are going to move on to the report of business
operations. Mr. Baker, >> thank you. Um, the business operations committee met on November the 3 for about an hour. All members were in attendance along with Dr. Brochial and Mr. Lori. Uh we talked about five items
but I can only talk about three. Two items were for executive only. Um first item was our demographer uh Mr. Ross Taber could not make her a meeting as planned due to a family emergency. Uh he will be at our next meeting in
December. However, Dr. Brochel distributed the table showing our current enrollment. Our current enrollment is 1543 um and 28 out of district special education students. The high school has
700 students. Uh BMS has 387 and Bedwell has 456. Um Mr. Mr. Hab plans to give us a five-year projection which will include all multiple dwellings that are under construction around all all five all
four towns and any projects that are in the works. So, as you've read in the paper, there's a lot of projects that are may be built but may not, but some are always going up. So, we want to see what is going to happen to our demographics for the next
five years. Um, just to put a little context in this, if you look at our board, uh, school enrollment, um, we had a a high of 2,10 students at the max. So, we're down
about 400 and change. So, as you can think about that, any um extra housing being built will not impact us immediately. It might in the long run, but not right now. we have plenty of room to take in more students. So hopefully we'll have some more
information that next month. Uh the next item was on the referendum and a lot of you have heard about, you know, we're we're um that once we've submitted all the
documents to the Department of of Education in New Jersey, they had to approve every one of the projects that are in that's in the $ 38 million referendum. and you can get 34 34% state aid on that $38 million. Well,
unfortunately, they've now excluding furniture and some equipment that doesn't qualify for the project. So, they are going to give us 28 I'm sorry, 29.8%
of the 38 million um of the bond as state aid. So what that does is we've talked about this would be a a tax a tax neutral um bond referendum for the next for the next 20 years assuming we use a
a 4% interest rate. So our bond council recalculated it with this new percentage and so on years two and three it won't be tax neutral. Homeowners will see a little bump in their taxes the
second and the third year, but on an average home, it's only $12 and for the first year, 16 for the third year. I think um most of us could afford the 12 or $16. So, it's not purely tax
neutral. Then in the fourth year, it starts dropping precipitately over the 20-year period. So you get through that amount and then the taxes for for the dead service are going to drop. So um we will revise how we
explain it to the public and I'm explain it to the public who is here and and our and our reporter. Uh next item we talked about was our uh request for proposals for our healthc care benefit broker of record. So far,
we've only got one back and uh we're expecting a couple more and we'll hear more about those proposals at our next committee meeting. Um I do want to point out on on the agenda, we have besides what Dr. Brochel
said, we're voting on the regionalization study. were voting on the referendum, but I want to point out we had a wonderful anonymous donation of $2,000 cash and Shopright gift cards of
$4,000. And so I I want the board to thank those anominous donors to help people who are in need for food going forward. So I will turn it back to the president. >> Thank you, Mr. Baker, and thank you for
highlighting those items. Um, I would like then to ask for a motion to approve action items number 1 through 13 on the agenda. Can I have a motion, Mr. Baker? And a second, Miss Cooper. Um, and is there any discussion for the business operations items?
>> No. Okay. Then roll call, please. >> Miss Ballard. >> Uh, yes. Abstain on number four as it pertains to me. >> Miss Clark Emory. >> Yes. Miss Cooper, >> yes. >> Miss Gills, >> yes. >> Mrs. Gomez,
>> yes. And abstain of number four as >> Mrs. Hoppy, >> yes. >> Mrs. Santoro, >> yes. >> Mrs. Ry, >> yes. Abstain on number four as implies to me. >> Mr. Baker, >> yes. >> Mrs. Frenda, >> Mrs. Friend.
>> Yep. One moment. >> Oh, okay. Um, yes. Then abstaining from number four. The motion carries. >> Okay. Thank you very much. Okay. So then we will move on to the report of the curriculum committee. >> All right. Um the curriculum committee met Wednesday, November 5th for a little
over an hour. All committee members were in attendance and we were joined by Dr. Brochel, Dr. Butler, and Miss Kansky. First, Miss Gransky joined us to review our preschool program, which currently consists of two inclusive classrooms staffed by one teacher and one pair professional in each class. Students in
these classes are also supported by a speech and language specialist, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, a behavioral analyst, and a and a case manager uh school psychologist. Each uh class includes um both students with disabilities and
neurotypical students. Students can join our full day preschool program by entering the lottery or through uh referral by physicians, therapists, private preschool, or daycare teachers and or parents. The preschool uses the tools of the mind curricula which
includes uh opening group meeting time a make believe play and play centers age appropriate instruction in literacy, math, science and social social strategies. Um, for example, literacy instruction focuses on story labs in which students listen to a story and
answer questions about the story and pra and practice active listening, vocabulary, um, story extensions and uh, predictions for phonics instruction. The preschool program uses an adapted version of Bedwell's phonics curriculum, Foundations, which focuses on letter
sound correspondence in the first and second semesters and letter formation in small groups later in the year. Students also practice motor skills, uh, speech and communication and social emotional skills in groups, and learn classroom rules, practice strategies for attention
focusing and refocusing, and physical self-regulation games such as freeze dance. Um, given the significant interest and in impact of this program, Miss Cransky proposed adding a third preschool section. The committee fully supported
this addition. Uh the cost will include the salaries of an additional teacher and pair professional. While the program does ch charge a monthly fee to eligible families, the costs of this program are largely borne by the district. Next, Dr. Butler then presents one course proposal
for the uh BHS course proposal for the 2025 2026 academic year that was also recommended by the staff. She proposed that the comparative world religions uh class, a current class at the high school, switch its designate designation from the from the academic level to the
honors level to better align with the rigor of the course and to encourage more students to take the class. The committee supported this proposal. Uh given the number of proposals, course proposals we've considered in previous years, it's a bit unusual that this is the only course that we that uh or course change that we've considering
this year. However, it's important to note that we've added a wide variety of new classes in recent years, including multiple dual enrollment classes. The depth and breadth of the current curriculum is is already remarkable, especially considering the number of students at high school. Unfortunately,
considering our current level of enrollment, adding multiple new classes might uh necessitate removing other courses given staffing constraints and the size of our student body. Dr. Butler then informed the board that the district will be adjusting our social studies curriculum to address new New
Jersey student learning standards that ensure that the rich contributions, history, and heritage of Latino and Hispanic people are taught in New Jersey public schools. These new instructional requirements align with other efforts to ensure that our students receive a holistic education that reflects the
strength and diversity of New Jersey. In our discussion of these standards, a board member recommended that we avoid using the term Latin X whenever possible, even if it's included in the standards because Hispanic people could be offended by this term. Instead, instead, she suggested using Hispanic or
Latino. Finally, in honor of the 250th anniversary of United States, uh, Somerset Hills School District will be participating in the New Jersey Department of Education history happened here program. This program highlights local history and calls on students to get involved in learning about local
history in their own communities. To connect students with lo local history, the the high school uh social studies department is collaborating with a variety of local history or organizations including the historical society of the Somerset Hills uh Peep and Gladstone historical preservation
society, Bedminster Historical Preservation Committee, and the Farmstead Arts Center. These organizations are looking for volunteers to help with upcoming historical events, digitize materials, and transcribe audio records. Sophomores in particular are encouraged to connect with these
organizations to complete their community service requirement, though all students are welcome to join as volunteers. At the end of the year, sophomores who participate will give a presentation about their work, which they what they learned from volunteering and how they impacted their community in
their US history class. Uh the committee fully supports our students involvement in this program and encourage students to participate. And that concludes my report. >> Thank you very much. Um so then at this time I would like to ask for a motion to approve action items numbered one
through four on the agenda. >> I'll make a motion, >> Miss Cooper. And a second, Miss Hoppy. And is there any discussion related to curriculum? >> No. Okay. Then roll. Oh, please. Yes. Miss Gills, >> may I add something in the bucket or after the vote?
>> That's after the vote. >> Thank you. Um, roll call, please. >> Miss Clark Emmery, >> yes. >> Miss Cooper, >> yes. >> Miss Gills, >> yes. >> Mrs. Gomez, >> yes. >> Mrs. Hoppy, >> yes. >> Mrs. Santoro, >> yes. >> Mrs. Ry, >> yes. >> Mr. Baker,
>> yes. >> Miss Ballard, >> yes. >> Mrs. Frenda, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Okay. Thank you. And um before we get to curriculum, I just want to make sure I skipped over if there was anything new or old business for um business operations. Nope. Okay. Then if there's anything for
curriculum, I would like to add discussion next month for a second grade bilingual self-contained classroom. I don't know if we're working toward that or if we have the numbers to justify it. And I
also want to discuss changing the opt out for the sexed ed portion of the health curriculum. Put it more on us rather than putting the most of the onus on the parents. I have um I don't know if this is in
curriculum or um business operations uh for a counselor for college. not when I was thinking um that focus on first time first generation the students because it's very different for um for parents that have come here and they don't
understand the process and can be behind or they don't speak even the language >> so is is the to um have that include have our counselors include that or are you >> even to look for someone so I don't know right now if it was in business like to have someone focus on that or train
>> okay uh something. Thank you. >> Is there anybody else? >> Yeah. >> Okay. Then we are going to move on to the report of the personnel committee, please. >> Uh we'll handle the u the counseling piece for policy and personnel.
>> The policy and personnel committee uh met on November 3rd at 6:20. Um in attendance was myself, Miss Gil, Mrs. skills, Miss Santoro, Miss Renda, Dr. Brochell, and also um Adam Weiss
Esquire. Uh there are two mid-year retirements as we had discussed earlier. Advertising will start immediately for Mr. Nunan's position. Uh other personnel issues discussed were the resignation of a permanent sub, approval of overloads, approval of various leaves of absence as
well as approval of athletic positions, co-curricular positions, instructional observation, translator interpreters and substitutes. Uh there was also a discussion of fiscal year 27 uh the demographic study as Mr.
Baker had mentioned implications. Um Dr. Dr. Brochel presented the committee with the demographic and enrollment projection study. He ran through various scenarios designed to maintain our class sizes pursuant to district regulation 2312 while considering meeting various personnel
needs. The analyst analysis and discussion is ongoing. And that concludes my report. Okay. Thank you very much. Then I would like to ask for a motion to approve action items number one through 21 on the agenda. Miss Happy and a second, Mr. Baker. And is there
any discussion related to the personnel items? >> Okay, then we'll do roll call, please. >> Miss Cooper, >> yes. >> Miss Gills, >> yes. >> Mrs. Gomez, >> yes. >> Mrs. Hoppy, >> yes. >> Mrs. Santoro, >> yes. >> Mrs. Ry, >> yes. >> Mr. Baker, >> yes.
>> Miss Ballard, >> yes. >> Miss Clark Emory, yes. >> Mrs. Frenda, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Okay. Thank you so much. Is there anything for new or old business for personnel? Um I was just wondering if next month we could add to the to talk about the phone policy just to >> Oh that will be in policy for that one
was personel but we'll make sure they have it. >> Okaybody >> sorry. >> Okay. Um Miss Ballard for policy please. >> Uh so then we moved into the policy part
of the meeting. Uh Miss Gills requested a discussion of the Mahmud versus Taylor case which was not on the agenda. The chair advised that it was not an agenda item. It was not going to be discussed. At that point, Miss Gills left the meeting. We moved on to talking about the food service policies. We discussed
revamping our food policy to reflect our breakfast offerings in accordance with the USDA audit. Uh there was also a lice policy discussion uh about requested updates to policy. New protocols would bring us in alignment with the American Academy of Pediatrics. Parents would
receive information uh the management of particularosis information packet and this policy in the event their child has lice. Uh we also discussed the acceptable use policy as related to technology. There has been extensive damage to Chromebooks specifically at
the middle school. There will be information pushed out to parents to let them know how pervasive this is. Uh then we moved into follow-up items. Uh these items were not discussed in committee for the reasons described. Uh the board bylaw discussion. uh the board committee
bylaw due to a lack of majority support among the committee or the board for either a committee structure or committee of the whole structure. The matter did not move forward. Um the board member civility pos policy is being tabled for further consideration. Given the fact that we would have at
least one new board member in January, we will revisit it in January and decide whether to bring it to the wider board. This will enable the board to move forward in a cohesive manner as needed. Uh future items to be discussed are artificial intelligence uh fiscal year
27 budget priorities and also cell phone policy. Um our next meeting will be December 4th, 2025 at 4 p.m. in Alcat 106. And that concludes my report. Okay. Then I'd like to ask for a motion to approve action item number one on the
agenda. Miss Ballard and a second, Miss Santoro. And is there any discussion related to the agenda items for policy? >> No. Okay. Then roll call, please. >> Miss Gills, >> yes. >> Mrs. Gomez, >> yes.
>> Mrs. Hoppy, >> yes. >> Mrs. Santoro, >> yes. >> Mrs. Ry, >> yes. >> Mr. Baker, >> yes. >> Miss Ballard, >> yes. >> Miss Clark Emory, >> yes. >> Miss Cooper, >> yes. >> Mrs. Brenda, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Okay. Thank you very much. Is there anything for old or new business for policy?
>> Miss Gills. Um, again, Mimood B. Taylor, I would like to discuss that. >> Um, >> can you um >> the implementation of it by policy through uh by the board through policy? >> So specifically you're asking
the ask of the committee is to develop a policy. >> Is there anything >> started? >> So is there anything else in particular regarding the current? >> So just policy development. >> Yes. Um, also I don't think it's a I think it's a bad idea to drop the civility
policy. I think it should include no lying, no yelling, and I think what would be beneficial is to start recording these meetings so there are no misunderstandings later on down the line.
Those are my contributions for policy. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Oh, and one last thing. I'm sorry. I left the meeting with five minutes left and I had requested Mimmu through an email. So that was neglected and that's
why I left. I left with five minutes left on the meeting. Thank you. >> Okay. Is there anybody else? Yes, Miss Ballard. Um, just to clarify, despite requests to put things on the policy committee, it's a decision made by the chair and in coordination with the
superintendent and I just wanted to note that. So, it was not on the agenda. >> Okay. Then we will u move on to the report of the student services committee. >> Okay. Thank you. Student services met on November 3rd. All um members were
present. The first thing we discussed was revisiting moving the start time of school back the start during the day by 15 minutes next year. We had discussed this last year and postponed it for
another year to allow everyone to prepare um in particular Bminster. We discuss it again and we do feel as a committee we would like to see that move forward next year. Again that was to accommodate train schedules. Um we also
discussed it from the impact that that would have after school. Uh Dr. Brochial feels that we have a lot of options for kids after school m much more so than before school. Um kids can go to the media center. Um many of our kids
participate in co-curriculars. So after school there may be an adjustment but there's a lot more options for kids. Even the Bernardo library is open um at that hour of the day. So the committee does feel like we would like to move forward with that adjustment next year.
Then we talked about the um various areas of surveying and introspection that the district is undertaking this year. Um and this is going to help us understand our baseline and prepare for
the next strategic plan which will encompass 2026 to 2029. Um so the first um survey that we talked about which we've discussed for the last several months is um the New Jersey um Rucker
Climate Culture Project that's going to survey all parents K through 12, all staff and our students grades 3 through 12. Um and then we will review the results of this. The uh the the second
process we talked about was the labor management surveying process which will look at relations and collaboration in the district between between staff administration and the board of ed. It will give educators the opportunity to
express their perceptions of climate and collaboration norms within their schools and the overall district. Um and then the third one that is undergoing um at a building level is the quality school review where our school leadership teams
are looking um within their buildings and that is um being guided by Dr. Brochial. Um and finally, we did talk about Care Solstice and um what a valuable resource that is to our students and families
that allows people to um call co care solist and get immediate assistance in finding um mental health resources. So we you know the committee strongly endorses that program.
Oh, I will mention this lastly because we did not discuss the calendars because we've been discussing those in earnest since August and every month since although they are finally on the agenda this evening. I did just want to point that out but we didn't have another
discussion because we've already you know talked about that as a committee and a full board. >> Okay. Thank you. Then at this time I'd like to ask for a motion to approve action items number one through five on the agenda. Miss Cooper a second. Miss
Ry and is there any discussion regarding student services? >> So I was there for the um discussion for 15 minutes morning when will that end?
Um I'm sure you went into negotiations to figure out if this would be viable. >> Yeah, it's a good question. Um from a from a contractual language perspective, the teachers contract, the education association's contract has a um a window
of when school can start. Um and it's within that window. Uh specifically what we're looking to do is to afford students that take the train from Far Hills and Peep Gladstone. Uh as as you
know, the opportunity to uh perhaps take a later train if they desire. Um so that's the impetus. We're talking about a 15-minute shift at high school and middle school and somewhere in the 5 to 10 minute shift at Bedwell. Um so which
we feel like is manageable. Um and um I think that this discussion has uh certainly predated my um my beginning in the district and uh really the intention is to provide that window. Uh but there
are some there are some complicating factors, right? First and foremost, there are some complicating factors with Bedminster. Um it uh to be fair to the board members in Bedminster and to Gabby uh the board should know that this does
require Bedminster to uh contract additional bus routes because what we're doing is we would be compressing the window. Uh they do a thing called they tier their buses. So uh they do the high school run then they do the Bedminster runs with the same drivers same buses.
Uh this compresses that window makes it more challenging. So it is a fiscal matter on their end. Uh so um in in discussing this with the uh with the administration over at Bedminster um I first brought it up like as they were cutting their budget a year ago and that
timing was it was unfair. Uh so um but I I I did share that this was a goal and a desire of ours and it has been for some time. Um so um so that's one complicating factor. Second complicating factor is internal um and that's in the
area of of athletics. We already have um a somewhat later start time in comparison to the our peers and who we play against. Our uh sports teams um start later than typical. So it's a little you know there's some
complications there. Not an impossibility but not you know there's some some coaching considerations there. >> Is there consideration of sharing busing within I mean is that >> so yeah uh they haven't asked they
haven't asked but um I I know Bedminster yeah I know Bedminster's aware that we now have our own fleet which has given us the flexibility to do this uh so um you know I would say that uh we're always willing to listen and to learn
how we can help um so busting is a challenge and uh for sure Um, we have our own fleet now. We have our own drivers. And when you have your own fleet and your own drivers, you have more flexibility. Uh, and you're able to operate uh at a lower bottom line for
the district. Um, so I I I would welcome, you know, an inquiry. We haven't gotten one to date. Um perhaps a few years ago, but uh not recently. >> One more question. Sorry. >> I know we talked about adding last time
Would that is that consideration or discussion with this? >> Uh so >> we're just shifting. So yeah, so the school schedules are going to shift >> you're not adding an additional, >> right? You're moving the start line and
the end line. >> Yeah. So you're not compressing it by 15 minutes. >> So the the end of the day is moving 15 minutes also. >> Yeah. First I just want to say thank you very much for considering B minister. I I know about the freedom like it has
been brought to discussion and I think the schedule was a problem. So probably now seeing the changes it can be brought to Visa. I will share with them but um but yeah the schedule probably you know is sticky. So
>> probably I will abstain but thank you very much. Maybe you guys could shift too. >> Yeah. No, we will I we will bring it to discussion. We will >> Thank you. But thank you very much for for >> taking us. Is there anyone else for
student services? >> So back by 15 minutes and start earlier >> later. Okay. So, the intention is currently the the train schedule >> um kids either get here very early to
the high school uh or they're sprinting from the train station and we'd like to give them a little bit more breathability if they take the second train in. >> It's the difference of about 30 minutes
between that early train and the late train. The early train leaves I think at 6:43 or 6:47. I should have this down by now, but >> 647. >> 647. Yeah. Okay.
And then they could take a 7:15 train. >> Could we consider a shuttle for those children at the train station? >> Uh, so we have the flexibility on a shuttle when we have delayed openings.
Um it's not really something that we're able to absorb. Okay. >> Um we find that um not every child from Far Hills or PG takes advantage of the shuttle, although a good number do. Um it it's not something I don't think we could sustain on
>> I mean from the train station, right? Like >> from our train station or from their train station >> like when they get off. >> Oh um yeah, we've never considered it but we could uh >> I think we have talked about that. Maybe it predated you, Brian. >> Yeah, >> we did. We did talk about it.
>> I I think it was, >> but that was before busing was in house. >> Yeah. >> So, I think we're going back like five or six years. >> Okay. >> So, should we put that for next month or is it something Brian? Uh internally
I'll look at yeah I need to talk to my team about that and I can report back to >> uh finance uh or um and then um student services >> because Pat's right. We have our buses now. >> Yeah. >> I do want to just thank the
administration. This has been something we've been discussing for years and it's it's it's a lot getting there either 30 minutes or like sprinting and getting you know the best work out of their life um first thing in the morning. It's it's just really it's it's it's nice to have that little extra flexibility plus the
extra sleep in the in in the and it's just so important for our high school kids. >> I think this is one of those situations too where you're you know it's a small shift um but it's going to impact everybody. It's beneficial to all our kids because we know that that sleep is
important. You know, that's really how this all started. And teenagers, you know, their circadian rhythm tends to be later to shift as they move into the teens. So, you know, there is a benefit overall because everybody gets that
extra 15 minutes across the high school. I mean, even several years ago, we were you entertaining the idea of moving the start time back even farther to as some other districts are doing to um just for our high school kids just so that they can have the benefit of the extra sleep
which is so important to them at at age. >> So, is there anybody else? >> Okay. And we can do roll call, please. >> Mrs. Gomez, >> I would like to bring this to the this my board but uh I abstain right now
>> for the wait. Thank you for the calendar and for the >> for the school calendar. I >> thank you Mrs. Hopek. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Santoro. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Wright. Yes, >> Mr. Baker.
>> Yes, >> Miss Ballard. >> Yes, >> Miss Clark Emory. >> Yes, except for items number three and four are no. >> Miss Cooper, >> yes. >> Miss Gills, >> uh, yes, but a no for number five.
>> Mrs. Frenda, >> yes. >> The motion carries. >> Okay, thank you. Um, we'll move into board announcements. H the views and opinions that are may be expressed by individual members of the Somerset Hills Board of Education during board announcements are solely those of the individual board members and do not
reflect the views, opinions, policies, regulations, andor positions of the Somerset Hills Board of Education andor any other individual members of the board. Does anybody have anything for board announcements this evening? I want to thank um a woman named Gina
who rallied a whole bunch of people to collect money and this poor woman went to I guess shop right all on her own with the donations and bought a lot of food for those who were in possible loss of their SNAP benefits. So thank you
Gina. Um I just want to thank I think was a great meeting the one that we have together Ben Bminster and Bernnessville. Uh Summer said yes. Sorry. Uh it was very I think it helped both boards to get to
understand better what is the purpose and we and Bminister is excited to hear you know the result. So thank you very much for all the work. And if I could piggy back on that, I think that that was an excellent meeting
and I'd love to see that perhaps become an annual thing if possible. Um, depending on whatever issues we have. Um, the other thing I want to remark on, um, I went to the school play at the
high school and then with my free admission to the football game because it was a two for one deal, I was very impressed by the work that both the football team and the drama um, kids put together to make it a really kind of fun
and festive even uh, late afternoon into going Thank you. >> I would just like to add to that um I said it last month but this month again listening to Dr. Burchil highlight the
accomplishments of our students um graduating seniors um the mindblowing things they are undertaking um the organizations they're starting the work they're doing in their community. Um
support they have of their um educators and staff and families. Um it is really absolutely astounding. I celebrate celebrate all of our students and our staff that makes all of this possible.
So um I just another absolutely >> when anything quantum is discussed it's kind of mindblowing. So yes, congratulations to all of the kids. There were many words that I did not know and I you know the things that they
they're talking about as Dr. Burch often says careers and and areas of study that >> we could have never imagined. So um just massive careers. Um is there anybody else? >> No. Okay. So then we will move into our
second public comment section. Public comments are welcome at this time on any topic. Please state your name and address. Comments are limited to three minutes. At three minutes, you'll be interrupted and asked to pause to allow any other members of the public who would like to speak an opportunity to do so. An individual may return to the
podium to complete their statement after everyone else has had an opportunity to speak for a total of two times at the podium. Please understand that our public forums are not structured as question and answer sessions, but are offered as opportunities to share your thoughts with the board. In instances where the board feels there is a
misunderstanding or inaccuracy, the board president or superintendent may address the comment after public comments has been closed. In accordance with New Jersey statute, the board will not discuss matters regarding specific personnel. A reminder for all parties in attendance to remain respectful and that
there should be no interaction between the speaker and the audience. No members of the audience should interfere with or interrupt the speaker's comments. Thank you in advance for your input. I'm going to direct you to Mr. Lor's timer, which will be set for 3 minutes. Um, if you take the podium, please be mindful of
that countdown as at the when it expires, I will interrupt for the next speaker to take the podium. Um, and there is a sign-in sheet which we request that you fill out at the time you take the podium. So, if anyone would like to speak, please feel free to do
so. Hello. Good evening. Uh my name's David Brothers. I live on 6th Child Avenue, uh Burnersville. And um great job tonight. Um so I'm here first off, uh good evening
everyone again. And um I'd just like to let uh Dr. B know that I give him the utmost respect and um gratitude to everything he's done for me in the short time I've known him. and um he's really done a great job supporting our programs
in our school. Um and I really appreciate appreciate everything he's done for me um in that short time. I'm here this evening um because a lot of people have been calling me. Um a lot of people close to the lacrosse program and to myself personally have been reaching
out to me to speak on behalf of Coach Hemans who also lives in town, a neighbor of mine and good friend of mine and teacher in the school. And um I'm just going to just uh say some nice words about Nick. Um I've known him for 15 years. Um he came on as my assistant.
Um I met him through um a real turnown Jill Cannon who sold him his house small town and she reached out to me um said you know I met this nice guy coaches lacrosse. Long story short we got connected and 15 years went really fast. He's got tons of experience and
expertise. Um he's a he's a total pro. Um he lives the job every day of the year. Uh not just the three months. He's involved with the youth program, the high school program. He's with these guys in the summer. He's with him in a fall. Um his his heart is with Bernard's
lacrosse um through and through. He's a family man. I know him very well. Great father. He's got two young boys who adore him. Um and uh he's a great husband. He's got a fantastic wife. Um prominent community member. He's
involved with everything in town. Um always trying to help people out, always trying to help out other sports teams. Um he's just a very giving um gentleman. just an amazing young young gentleman. Um he um he loves his team and he loves
what he does. He's a popular uh professional teacher at Bernard's High School um liked by all and um as far as where he lives, he's right in the middle of town, proximity to school. He's he's at the bu he's at our school constantly.
Um all always doing great things behind the scenes. Um he's as loyal as they come, dedicated to the program. Uh he knows the blueprint on how to win. Um he's been with me 15 years. Um he's done a lot for all of our programs, freshman
team, JV team, varsity team. Um with our huddle program, that's our software for filming. Um he knows most of uh most if not all the other coaches in the state now. He's respected by all of them. Um and he he can really do great things
here. Um and um you know um he's got so much passion and knowledge and he's as technically sound as they come. Uh losing Coach Hemans would be a colossal loss to our program, to our alumni. Um to me personally, of course, um he's
100% connected and committed to Bernard's High School lacrosse. Um I believe he's our man and I'm really hoping that you'd renew um his his uh position as head coach. It's a hard job. There's a lot of pressure and the pressure comes with the schedule that we
play. We embrace the pressure and we believe that pressure is a privilege. He knows what's going on. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Mr. Brothers. Thank you. >> Appreciate it. Okay. Thank you. >> Hi everybody. My name is Al Shawler. I'm
at 109 Manorary Road in Barnersville. Um 40 years. Been around the lacrosse program pretty much my whole life. Um started coaching when I was about 23 years old. So, uh I've seen the the good, the bad, and the ugly. Uh when it
comes to coaches, um I have to echo Coach Brother's words. He's he's a tough act to follow. Um everything he said is just so spot-on about Nick Hemans. Um, and I respectfully ask the board to consider Nick's proven 15-year history
of improving sportsmanship, academic performance, and team cohesion here at Burns High School. I've worked with Nick from from the little kids to to last year with the varsity. Um, wonderful experience. Um, like coach said, toughest schedule we've ever had. If you
ever been to Dell Barton and their campus, it's it's pretty impressive. and uh they're nationally ranked. Walking on that field is isn't a lot of fun, but we did and we competed and I we owe that to coach Hemans. Absolutely. He I think he
uh he he got as much as he could out of those players last year. Um and loved coaching with him. Um heard a lot of words from coach brothers, dedication, passion. Um my biggest word for coach is energy. He brings so much energy to the
field every day. Uh he lines the fields. He makes sure everybody's got enough lacrosse balls. He does everything. He does absolutely everything. He fills the water bottles. It's just um I'm so impressed with what he brings to with to the program. So again, I I ask you to
consider, you know, if you if you are weighing different options, um his for 15 years here and the loyalty that he's shown here at Bernard High School, and maybe we could give a little back to him. Okay. Um
um my son AJ, he is an NCAA compliance lawyer, uh BHS alum, 05, I think. He's spoken here at the high school a few times. And I was talking to him today and he he said that um um very rarely at
at the college level do they ever not reappoint a coach after one year. Okay? You know they they always give at least two, you know. So I I would hope that that could stand here at the high school. Um and uh um again, I don't want
to go go over my time, but um thank you for your consideration for Coach Hmons. He's a wonderful man. um just a great guy and uh I think he'll do great things here at Burners High School for the lacrosse program. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Chopler. How you doing? I'm uh Matt Feminella. Um been a volunteer assistant coach at Burns for 15 years. Um thanks to Dave and Al for starting. I
prepared a little something here. Um I had the privilege of serving as a volunteer assistant coach for Burns High School boys lacrosse program for the last 15 years. and I'm writing to express my strong support for Nick Hemans to continue as head coach of the varsity boys lacrosse team. This
district's mission statement calls for an authentic and balanced learning experience within a worldclass educational environment and to cultivate students who are empowered, inspired, and engaged as thoughtful global citizens. In every respect, Nick exemplifies these values as a teacher at
Burns High School, a longtime resident of Burnsville and a coach deeply connected to the community who volunteer coaches at the youth level, runs a youth camp in the summer. He creates a team culture that promotes integrity, resiliency, and personal growth. These
are the exact qualities this district seeks to instill in its students. This is also exemplified by the numerous student athletes that have spoken out and supported Nick and what he has meant in their respective journeys. Nick has been an integral part of the lacrosse program for 15 years. A
program that he and coach brothers has built from next to nothing. While I could sit here and reel off the 70% winning percentage, we've had countless division championships, conference championships, sectional finals, state championships, that's not what it's about.
It's not about wins and losses. Because to me, this isn't about wins and losses. This is about the role model Coach Hemans is on and off the field. Not not only is a fabulous teacher, coach, friend, father, husband, um someone we can all look up to and we can only hope
to emulate with how he lives his life day in and day out. He is a steady mentor who supports the whole student body academically, emotionally, and athletically. I respectfully urge the board to consider the profound impact Nick has had on our student athletes. He
embodies the district's mission by empowering students, strengthening community engagement, and maintaining an environment where young people can strive towards their full potential. Nick has earned the trust of the players and families, and he demonstrates the ability to lead this program with the
professionalism, passion, and heart it deserves. Now, I want you to step back for a minute and think about something that you love and are passionate about. How would you feel if that was taken from you for no reason? and how might that impact you? That is what is happening
here. You're breaking a man's heart and for a reason we still don't fully understand. Along with that, you're breaking the heart and soul of this program, a program that Nick has poured his heart and passion into for the last 15 years. Thank you. Good evening. Ed Caldwell, 71 Mindmount.
For the last 26 years, I've been in this community. Um, married for 33 years. And we, some of us know how long how hard that is. Uh, being in a relationship. Um, when I hear someone getting engaged,
I always take them by the shoulders. I go, it's a lot of work, but put the work in. I want to thank everybody on the board. Some of you know me, some of you I'm hopefully get to know. I want to thank you for your commitment for um, e
excellence and education. I know that you take the time every month, every day to field questions, to understand the community. And it does take a village to raise a family. I have four boys.
First one is Ethan, graduate of 2019, college athlete. Patrick, 2021, college athlete. Jake, 2024, college athlete. and soon
hopefully Max's 2026 hopefully college athlete. We all learn a lot a lot about athletics and the board has done a great job finding that director of athletics and
finding that person that can hire those really really good coaches and those coaches that surround those head coaches. Nick Hemans had a really tough task of following Dave Brothers coming from a
state championship. But what some of you might not know is if you have a really, really good season in sports, especially lacrosse, they will put you up into a higher conference, a tougher conference. When I
say tougher conference, we're talking about Delbarton, Satan Hall, Bridgewater, much bigger schools than our smaller school. I believe we're group two, very small school, but we're competitive.
After winning the state championships, they put us up into the upper bracket, upper conference. It's hard to compete. Last year's we fel we fell a little bit short, but still had a winning record.
I hope that you all consider reinstating Nick Hemans as a head lacrosse coach for what he's done to the community and what he can do for the next generation. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. >> Hi there. I'm uh Matt Vicaro. I live at 200 Post Kunard Road in Burnersville. Um I'm also here as a parent in support of Coach Hemans. I also had few boys come through the program over the last five
years and I've had the privilege of of knowing him and getting to know him over those over those many years. Um you know, you take a lot of pride in the in the in the people that are leading your children, right? And I just I can't say
enough about about Nick and how he formed a bond with my kids, how he made he made them he he held them accountable for the things at the beginning of the season. He said, and this is I'm talking about pretty much this past season. I had
twins on the team and that we had a huge shoes to fill because we had just won the state championship and and what are we going to do and you know one of your best players is hurt and there's only four seniors now and you know this job is just really difficult because you never know at what time in at each year
you know how many how many kids you're going to have and and are these kids you know putting in the time you know with the program throughout the year you know and one of the things that Nick does is He he works at those lower levels and he encourages the kids to to play year
round if if they want to, right? Um and you know, we've got a we've got a formula that worked. You know, we had a a amazing head coach for so for I don't know how long we head coach for a long time, right? and he had a son in the
program that he he told all of his son's friends and my my sons included, "Hey, you guys want to be good at something, you need to put the time in. You need to be dedicated. You need to stay together and stay home." You know, staying home was like our mantra in this town. And it's a
wonderful thing because Nick has the opportunity to do that for us. He's got his two young boys and you can see when they look at him, they love this man, you know, and I saw personally and, you know, through through lacrosse that that
he's a good he's a good person, you know, and he really he made my kids love him and they respect him and they listen to him and he would follow up on them with their um with their school and what's going on in your life and things like that and he would ask me, you know,
how are the boys and he still does, right? So anyway, as a as a parent of three boys who've gone through the program under under coach, you know, brothers and coach Hmons, I I fully endorse him as a as a qualified candidate and someone you should really really strongly consider giving another
opportunity. Thanks. >> Thank you, Mr. Cl. Hey everyone. Um, my name is Reed Zerlo. I graduated um, Bernards in 2014 and was both a student and a player for co Mr.
Hemans. Um, both in the classroom and on the field. He is an exceptional role model. Um, a few of my former former classmates and teammates are here. Also, many more are
watching online. They're all spending their evening tonight to support him, not because he's a close friend and not because they are his next door neighbor, but because he had a lasting impact on them. Um,
so I think our collective hope is that we can continue to see uh, coach Hemans continue to succeed at Bernards. And um, in my experience being coached and taught by uh, Mr. Heman's, he exemplified what it means to be a quiet
leader. Um, and this is done in his way through consistency. Um, he's consistently treating everyone exceptionally fairly. uh consistently listening to his students and players with intent uh and
consistently showing up every day and putting the work in to craft, you know, future leaders. Um in my opinion, he's given more to this community than has been given back to him. Uh and it would be a real severe
disservice to um you know the students and future students um to take away a mentor um from this school. I feel really fortunate to have grown up in Bernardsville and and live here. Um
thankful for this town and this school uh and all of you for spending your time um to make sure that everything operates smoothly. This is my first time sitting in on a meeting like this. Obviously, there's a ton of work that goes into it.
Um, you know, it's my goal to eventually raise a family here and I'm in an interesting position as I was both taught by coach Hemans and also have the potential hypothetical situation where
he could be coaching and teaching my kids. And it's um you know I uh I feel very strongly that the principles that I learned at this school and that I learned through coach Heman's I would
love to um see passed down and continued. Um you know he's an exceptional coach, a great teacher and a really good person. And then the last thing I'll say is that you know I think a lot of this is not about lacrosse. It's not really about
school, but there's so much else that goes into um being a student at Bernard's and being an athlete on any sports team or student at any school. And it involves inclusion and um understanding diverse perspectives and
generally working for the common good. And I think he represents that very well. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Good evening. My name is Robert Schoffler. I grew up at 109 Mount Air Road in Bernardsville. I spent grades 3 through 12 in the Somerset Hill School
District and graduated Bernard's High School in the class of 14. I, like some others here, are here to advocate for Nick Hemans to remain the BHS boys head lacrosse coach. I had already written a letter and sent a letter to all of you at the board of ed um as well as ad Mike Hoppy, principal Scott Nigel and
superintendent Dr. Brochial, but I thought it important that you hear hear the support rather than just read it. Uh I've known Nickmans for 14 years before I spent playing for him on the Burners lacrosse team. And I knew him to be a fair and tough coach that prepared my teammates and I in the p pursuit of the
ultimate goal which was a state championship. Um, and for us that wanted to to play college lacrosse at the division one, two, and three levels. For that, he gave that to me. I went on to play division one lacrosse. We came up short of a state championship. But aside from what
he gave me as a player, I am most grateful what he gives us as alumni. Some of you, um, you some of which you see here today, um, he gives us a lifeline back to the program we love so much. We wouldn't be here if we didn't care about Bernard's lacrosse and more more importantly, what coach Hemens
means to our program. In the consequent years, he's become a mentor, a friend, a confidant. In college, he'd regularly check in with me to hear how my career was going. Um, he'd attended games of mine, um, and some old teammates. He gave us he um, out of college or he gave
me an opportunity to coach a JV team. All the things, all these things are unnecessary for him to do, but he did them anyway because he cares about the kids he coached well into their adulthood. We alumni feel so strongly because we personally know the people
who built this program. A lot of them are here in this room and Nick is one of them. If Nick Hemans were to leave, it would be a tear in the soul of Bernard's lacrosse. I've been around Bernard's lacrosse since the beginning. My father helped start this program. My brothers played on the very first
Bernard's lacrosse program. I've I've seen this program at its best and its worst. And a common factor of the best times being when Nick Heman showed up to coach a freshman and assist coach brothers. To question his credentials as a head lacrosse coach is nothing short of ignorance. And to question his character
would be diminishing the reason we stand here today to speak on his behalf. Coach Hemons plays a great part in my life and our lives and the reason we love the great sport of lacrosse because at the end of the day it's about making the kids excited to play this great sport and he does exactly that. I hope he has
the opportunity to co continue to spread his passion for the game to the future students and players of Burner Thai. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. >> Good evening everyone. My name is John Diamond. I had the opportunity of
playing under Coach Emans as well as coaching with him. I was part of the 2010 team when Dro started out this program. I'm not going to go into all of Nick Heman's skills. It's no doubt that he's one of the most qualified candidates for the position. What I want to talk about is what I saw is he's
probably the most inclusive coach I've ever experienced. I played youth level, I played high school, and I also played at the D1 level. When I got to watch Heman's coach, he was coaching the freshman team by himself. And what I found most important, he knew, he got to
know every single player. And what you have to understand about the freshman teams, there's a broad range of players. You have the kids with a lot of experience. They want to be there. And then you have the kids who their parents want them to do something after school and not be home. Heans didn't care about
the skill set. He cared about the kid. Got to know them. Got to figure out what motivated them and brought out the best in each child. And that's what you want out of a coach. Now, you've heard everything about his skill set and why he's just as qualified as any other person to occupy this role. The
difference though is he's been here since we rebuilt the program. He's been part of the theater program. He's been part of the youth and more importantly he gets to know the community. You can't ask for a better coach and that's why we're all here today to advocate for him because frankly I don't understand why
this is a question. He should be our head coach. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. Hey everybody, Mr. D from PAPAC. And I have to say this gentleman completely changed what I was going to say tonight. I'm thoroughly moved and by what they
said about this man and seems like a travesty to lose somebody who's so committed to the community like this. And I I can't help but think about how many bad decisions were made by some of our leaders that could put this man's livelihood at risk and losing such an
important person to this district. You know, is I'm imagining it's a budgetary reason why this gentleman is at risk of losing his job. But again, I just think about all the bad decisions that were made, whether it be litigation with teachers, having to cause uh taxpayers
to pay a settlement, whether it be, you know, just an egregious amount of uh, you know, lack of financial stewardship that we could potentially lose someone as valuable to this community as this man. I mean, what he's done, you heard what they said in their voice, not just the coaching, but the the leadership.
And I certainly think we need leadership. Now again, if it is a budgetary reason, I can certainly point out some areas where we can certainly cut budget. And again, they talked to the this man's testament how important he is to this community. But I know uh recently there's been uh an incident
where I think it was an AP history teacher was, you know, giving students a very controversial, very disrespectful assignment uh very disrespectful uh relating to the worst terrorist attack on this country's history. I find it disgusting that uh nothing as far as I'm
concerned has been done to this teacher and certainly someone who's so disrespectful especially for those who lost family members on that terrible day is still employed at this district and we potentially might lose someone as valuable as this Mr. Nickmans. I find it
frankly a dereliction of duty. Uh, I certainly we could find budget and maybe remove somebody who's so disrespectful like that AP history teacher from this district and find the budget to retain somebody like this coach. You know, again, I really find financial
stewardship lacking in this district. You know, Mr. Brochel, you recently had a burrow meeting where you were stumping for the referendum for $38 million. And while uh presenting uh at that meeting, one of the residents asked you, would the money be used for woke curriculum? Certainly the lesson that was taught on
September 11th to our children, the most violent day in American history, the worst terrorist attack in this country, I think most people would consider woke. And you know, you're not doing a good job with the current budget we have. Case in point, we're about to lose someone so valuable to the community. I
recommend, and I'm promoting everyone, vote no on this referendum. It's not something that I feel you and most of the board members here are capable of managing. You talk about an extra $12 per month. Are you paying everyone's bill, Bob? I don't
think so. I think it's embarrassing. You're not doing a good job with the money you have, especially with the declining curriculum. We're losing students and you're asking for more money and we're losing someone as valuable to the community as this coach. Think about the bad decisions that you've made, those settlement cases that you've made. And think about who's
important to the community like this coach. >> Thank you for your comment. Is there anybody else? Oh, okay. Then can I get a motion to close public comment >> and a second, Miss Hoppy? Um, and then I would like to ask for a motion to
adjurnn. >> I'll make a motion to adjurnn. >> Thank you. And a second, Miss Ry. All in favor? >> I. Okay. Have a great night, everyone.