Welcome to a meeting of the Board of Education of Somerset Hills 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. Formal action may be taken and the public will have an opportunity to be heard as shown on the agenda. 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 3:00 p.m. on July 9th, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. on June 8th, 2026, and at 10:00 a.m. on June 11th,
2026. If we could have a roll call, please. >> Ms. Ballard. Ms. Ballard. Ms. Clark-Henry. Ms. Cooper. >> Here. >> Mrs. Gomez. Mrs. Hoppy. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Hunt.
>> Yes. >> Mrs. LeBrera. >> Here. >> Mrs. Santoro. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rye. >> Here. >> Mrs. Frienda. >> Here. >> You have a quorum. >> Okay, thank you. We are going to move 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 clearly be 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 in executive session for the purposes of discussing the following: personnel, student matters, contracts, and litigation. Can
I please have a motion to go into executive, please? Ms. Santoro and a second, Ms. Hunt, and roll call, please. >> Ms. Cooper. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Hoppy. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Hunt. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Santoro. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rye. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Frienda. >> Yes.
>> The motion carries. >> Okay, thank you. stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. So, we have an abundance of special people to recognize this evening, and we are going to hand it over to Dr.
Brotschul for the report of the superintendent, where we are going to be able to do just that. >> Thank you, Mrs. Frienda. Uh as always, we're going to kick it off tonight with our two middle school student representatives, and um we're also going to honor our high
school student representatives tonight, and we're also going to honor the middle school student representatives that uh came in throughout the course of the year. So, um a lot of thanks going on. We're going to start with um Addison Aden, um who
represent our uh sports teams at the middle school, as well as our culture and climate um team at the middle school. So, Addison and um Aden, come on up. >> [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Aden Fairley,
and I have I'm in eighth grade, and I've been in Penn State for 4 years. I'm a member of the I've been a member of the BMS Culture and Climate Committee for 3 years. I'm a member of Peer Leadership, Student Council, Literary Magazine, and our Earth Science Team.
This year, five of our beloved teachers are retiring, including the following: Mr. King, who teaches eighth grade science and runs the eighth grade Earth Science team. Mr. McMillan, who teaches seventh grade literacy and eighth grade forensics. Mrs. Wells, who teaches sixth grade
social studies. Mrs. Frida, who supports students in literacy, science, and study skills. And Dr. Rizzuto, who teaches multiple grade levels of math aid and mentors the BMS culture and climate committee. These astonishing teachers have supported so many students in the
school, and we wish them the best farewells. During the year, our culture and climate committee, made up of seventh and eighth graders and mentored by Dr. Rizzuto and Ms. Pascarelli, have come up with multiple events from Jeopardy to house days. Some big events include the fifth grade
house sorting day in the beginning of the year, where the fifth graders were put into their houses. In December, we started our annual door decorating contest, where students worked together to decorate their teachers' door. In May, we had movies for students in each grade level after state testing was
finished. And we also had a student versus teacher kickball tournament. Overall, another very successful year filled with great events. Thank you for allowing me to speak tonight, and I'll now turn it over to Addison. >> [applause] >> Thanks, Aidan. I'm Addison Knauss, and
I'm in seventh grade. I'm also in Penn State. This year, I played soccer and was a member of the art club and the culture and climate committee. We have so many fun events throughout the year, but students look forward to the end of the year pool parties that we have so much fun at. Every grade has a pool party that has
food, games, swimming, and more. The students get to have a field day the same day, and at field day there are many games ranging from sports to water activities. Thank you to our PE teachers and our HSA for these fun end of of year days. All grades have finished up their grade
level class trips. Fifth graders visited Lake Hopatcong and participated in a floating classroom exploration activities, discovery discovery hikes, and learned about the watershed model. Our sixth grade field trip this year was to Camden Aquarium. Students walked
through the shark tunnel, pet stingrays pet stingrays, and watched enormous hippos splash in the water. Seventh grade went to Philadelphia to the Franklin Institute with many exhibits like Body Odyssey, Wander Space, Sports Zone, and Your Brain, and more. Lastly, eighth graders participated in
our annual trip to New York City. Students played at Dave & Buster's, enjoyed the cruise around the Statue of Liberty, and walked through Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, where they saw many famous people at art to work. Wrapping up our school spring sports.
Spring track team has had a fantastic season with three broken school records and 20 medals at their last meet. Softball officially ended with eight to five including with the playoffs. Baseball was in a rebuilding year with some younger players as for a breakout
season for next year. Great job, student athletes and coaches. Wishing everyone a wonderful summer. Don't forget to do your summer reading, BMS. Thank you and have A GREAT NIGHT. >> [applause] >> AND NOLAN AND SOPHIA are here, unfortunately for us for the last time.
Fortunately for them, they're moving on to college. So, we're going to bring up the gang from THE HIGH SCHOOL. >> [applause] >> HI, EVERYONE. IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU ALL. Before I get into the report, I want to thank all of you. So, coming to these meetings in the beginning of the year,
it was a little nerve-wracking and a little intimidating, especially coming up for the first time. But, it was all of your kind words, encouragement, and smiles that have made us have such a positive experience here. I'm so grateful to have this opportunity to come here every month.
Um you make me and Nolan truly feel valued valued and welcome here. And it has been such a great opportunity. Um I know I'm speaking for both of us when I say that me and Nolan have learned so much from this experience and it's honestly made us into better students.
So, I just wanted to thank all of you for that. Um just seeing you every time we're speaking so engaged and so smiley and it just makes makes us feel so good. So, thank you so much for this opportunity to even be here and we've had a great year coming to these meetings and I know I'm speaking for
both of us again when I say that we're going to miss this and we're going to miss all of you in college. So, but thank you for just having us here every month. We've we've enjoyed coming every month. So, thank you. So, next in the reply we have We seniors
have had their last day of school already. So, it's just finals time. Um and then we have graduation on Thursday. Um we last week seniors were excused from their last two periods to for a yearbook signing. So, we got our yearbooks and we had 2 hours of just
having all your friends sign it and it's so nice because you get people to sign it who you don't really see during the school day. So, you really had a chance to get everyone and there was an ice cream truck. So, if you wanted ice cream and there was music. It was great. And a bunch of the teachers were there, too. So, it was just a great time.
Um next we have our senior breakfast on Thursday before graduation. Um it's kind of one of the most last moments together before we graduate. So, it's very bittersweet. We also have a senior luncheon on Wednesday with all the teachers. So, since we're already done with school, it's a great way to just
see them again. Um say goodbyes, wrap up conversations, all of that. So, I'm very excited. I'm looking forward to it. Um next we have graduation practice on Tuesday and Wednesday and hopefully it is not going to rain on graduation. So we're on standby right now.
Just figuring out when the ceremony is going to happen, but crossing our fingers it's going to be outside. Next we had our senior prom a couple weeks ago and it was at Forest Lodge in Warren and it was such a great night. It was from 6:30 to 10:00 and it was an
outside venue. So it was all of our first times being there and it was so great. Food was amazing, DJ was amazing and it was such a fun time to just spend it with all the seniors and all together. I'm going to hand it over to Nolan but thank you so much and it's been so great speaking here for the past year. So
thank YOU SO MUCH. >> [applause] >> FORGIVE US IF WE SOUND A LITTLE BIT GROGGY TODAY. We drove home from prom house this morning. So I want to start by as she echo what she said thanking all of you and I also like to thank the board for the wonderful senior awards
night where I saw and might please give thanks to Mr. Lagory for the human child scholarship and the Alcott major. I was I'm so beyond grateful that I had the opportunity to receive those on on my last Thursday and I'm I'm truly going to miss this school and this home
community that I've been able to forge. I intend to move back here send my kids to the school system here one day. So in my quest to become a politician this is this is the constituency I want to represent. >> [snorts] >> Yeah and it was a great night for so
many kids 70 seniors getting awards all of us up on stage in the pack nice precursor to us walking across the stage this Thursday. Speaking of this Thursday I'm going to give a little little background about a big thing that's also happening on Thursday other than graduation and that's the release
of Toy Story 5. Toy Story 3 is my favorite movie of all time. When I was in fifth grade and I wrote a letter to my eighth grade self, that was the day that Toy Story 4 came out. Back in freshman year, the day we wrote letters to our senior selves was the day Toy Story 5 was announced. And the day I
graduate is Toy Story is when Toy Story 5 comes out in theaters. I have tickets for a 2:00 p.m. showtime with my whole family and my cousins. So, really really hoping graduation doesn't get moved. >> [laughter] >> Dr. Igle said I can make it to the 2:00 p.m. showing and be back in time for
6:30. So, I'm just I'm hoping for that. Really hoping. Um Also, going back to couple weeks now, I want to mention the Bedwell Field Day, which every year Miss O'Connor brings high schoolers to
go down and help run the events and stuff. Make sure there's no little ones here, but I may have dressed up as a certain someone in a costume by the name of character dad. And it was an absolute blast. I love like stuff like that that brings the district together. I know I
mentioned earlier this year when we got to have elementary and middle schoolers in The Wizard of Oz. Reason I love Crimson Cafe so much, we get to play on stage with the middle schoolers. Same goes for Pops in with the choir. So, it's I just I had a absolute blast getting to, you know, fly around all the
kids, play games with them and stuff, and seeing the joy that all my fellow classmates brought to them as well was really special. Also, I've been narrating our Growing Rivalries Madison all year. And I don't know if you guys saw, but even though Lacrosse may not have won the
state championship, we beat Madison 7 to 6 in a very tense game. Like, there was a lot of bickering beforehand on social media, and I heard I from what I heard during the game and afterwards, there was it was tense, but we even though
they may have got the last laugh in fall with golf and Lacrosse here, I think we got the last laugh in the spring. And with the pending transfer of divisions from the Skyland Conference, It's possible we'll be playing them even more so that we can continue to develop that rivalry and
show them who's boss. Uh, as for the senior prank, which was recent, I believe uh, Dr. Brosch will be showing a picture of the parking lot. Last year, there was a tractor in the parking lot as we did a little frenzy in there and this year we upgraded to a dump truck
from a friend of mine. So, that that was pretty cool. And yeah, >> So, did you touch upon the yearbook signing? Yes, you did. I was sorry. >> Yeah, uh, well, I guess that's all for me then. Thank you guys so much for wonderful four years at
Bernards High School. Even though I didn't go to Bedwell and BMS, I know all and speaking for all my fellow students, we are so grateful for the time we have had in this wonderful school district. I know you will continue to impact the lives of so many people in your volunteer role here in this school board
and we I'm just so grateful and I I'm going to I'm going to really miss this place. >> [applause] [applause] >> Okay, um, so we're going to I I do have a picture of the parking lot, but uh, before I get there, uh, we need to
appropriately thank you and and launch you uh, out of the district and I'll tell you before every board meeting, I have a I have a bingo card and I think about the things that I might be asked uh, at the board meeting and I write them down and I think about
the things that might come up at the board meeting uh, just based upon current events, etc. And you guys hit a lot of my bingo card. I knew Toy Story was coming up. Um, I was certain Madison was going to come up. Uh, but what wasn't on my bingo
card, uh, Sophia, was that you were nervous. I was I was just shocked to hear this because you carry yourself so beautifully and you're so passionate and you're just so energetic and uh, you
have just such a beautiful way of articulating uh, with people and really connecting with people. And um, what was on my bingo card, the first time I ever met Sophia, she had a My Little Pony backpack on and I thought it was just
like she was going to wear that for one day or a few days. That's like your backpack. >> [laughter] >> And I love it. And she comes in the office, we we usually meet um, before board meetings just to kind of have a check-in and and we really didn't do a
whole lot. We just kind of chatted and um, he came in happy, My Little Pony, and walked out there smiling going down the hall and I I really really adore that about you because um, sometimes uh, we tend to take um,
ourselves and our situations too seriously and we don't just stop to laugh and smile and have fun and you really instilled the importance of stopping and smiling in me. And uh, you know, I'm I I want to
thank you for that. On um, on behalf of the board, it was uh, just a pleasure to be able to get to know you. Uh, your passion for this school and this district oozes and and I love that and it's just you're going to be a
very difficult uh, speaker to replace. So, thank you for um, all of the work that you've done here. Um, and Nolan, um, it is just I I told you the other night that I've
never been more proud of you uh, than I was that night. And uh it was just so great to be able to see you uh earn um so many great recognitions and and great awards. And the the the awards that you were granted don't come easily to
anybody. Uh there's a lot of work uh that went into uh all the awards that you earned. And um I really loved watching you develop into a young man. Um uh Dr. Naegle at one point and I spoke
about you uh during the winter. You had talked to the board about your favorite day of the entire school year uh was prior to the winter break where and uh I I believe if my scorecard is correct, Dr. Naegle canceled that on you. And I
said, "I feel terrible for Nolan because uh you were really looking forward to that." And um and you and I spoke about it afterwards and I I I want to convey that it's because the passion that you share about the high school um
there's such a wide level of connectivity uh between between you and the school and the school board and me and and this whole community. So, really was refreshing to have you um partner with Sophia and and be a great speaker. Um I
tried over the weekend to articulate a speech around Toy Story 5 in your honor. And um I couldn't do it. >> [laughter] >> Um but I wanted noted that you were in my head at my computer on Sunday really
trying to spin that together because for those of you that don't know, I Did you mention that you you wrote your college entrance essay about Toy Story 5? >> I was thinking that. >> Oh, okay. Okay. So, if any of any of you all want to be
dazzled with all the different connectivity and all the different layers in the Toy Story cannon? Um Nolan's your guy. So, uh so we do have some awards from the Board of Education to honor you uh for all the great work and uh and certainly
for leaving the prom house. Right. Okay, so Sophia, we have a certificate of special recognition for you on behalf of the board. Uh this is what I call refrigerator material, right? And uh Sophia is going to be going to Boston University
uh in a few weeks, right? Not too long, couple months? Okay. And uh we know that you're going to do us proud and uh this is on this is from the Board of Education. >> [applause] >> And Nolan is headed to Notre Dame and uh
he too is um on to greater pastures and uh we're going to hold you uh to your word to come on back here and and represent us in this legislative district and uh you know, let let's see uh let's see you back here sometime soon. Uh so we too
have a certificate for you and a gift from the Board of Education. >> [applause] >> I said, "Is that mom taping?" >> [laughter] >> Okay. Uh moving right along, we have uh some honorees here from the middle school
that um Ms. Garofalo is going to help us uh recognize and support. Um Ms. Garofalo brings our uh student leaders from the middle school to come to the Board of Education uh every month and they do such a beautiful job uh, reporting out on a
variety on a variety of items um, that are connected to uh, the middle school. So, we have um, some recognitions uh, Ms. Garofala. >> Ms. Garofala. >> Yep. That's okay, perfect. I am grateful and appreciative for all
you do and bring the community together by conveying the goings-on at the middle school. Great job. You are our BMS rockstars and for those of you heading to the high school, I've told Dr. Nigel he is one lucky guy. Okay, when you hear your name, please come up. JULIE CALVERT.
>> [applause] >> DARCY CANBERG, Cato Consola Katsuna, Genevieve De Grandpre, Xander Demar, R.J. Donato. >> [applause] >> Charlotte Fazio. Gwen Finnerty.
>> [applause] >> Aidan Fairley. >> [applause] >> Grace Flaherty. >> [applause] >> Joey Gomez, Addison Canales. >> [applause] >> Titus Canales. >> [applause] >> CALI MCCORMICK.
>> [applause] >> Miles Olechnowicz. >> [applause] >> Jillian Poller, Teddy Quinn. >> [applause] >> Charlie Saxel, Harper Wyatt. >> [applause] >> And Ricky Mawellington. Thank you.
Thanks Dr. Brosseau. >> One more thanks again for the student representatives from the middle school. They did such a great job. >> [applause] >> The moment uh that you waited for and uh So last year, I just got a kick out of the fact that we rolled in on senior
prank day and there was a there was a farm tractor there was farm equipment in the parking lot. And I thought it was great. I talked to the student who um at the time who brought it and he told me he was he really wanted to study agriculture and he was going to do that at Cornell and I just got a kick out of it. So
um I knew the day was coming. I was actually talking about this the night before. I said, "You know, the seniors haven't done anything yet. I think it's coming." And then lo and behold, um there's a dumpster truck of some sort, dump truck, dumpster truck in the lot
and uh you know, sometimes to Sophia's point, you just have to stop and smile, right? So I get a kick out of it and um you know, I have some ideas. Um I know Dr. Nygu has some pretty significant rules about um what types of uh pranks
qualify, but um I just thought it was great and um so please pass the word along. Um But to Dr. Nygu's point, you can't break a law and you can't break a school rule. So Uh we're welcoming back uh Jess McGinn
uh to the school district. She uh was with the school district for a significant period of time. She was a health and physical education teacher and um she uh a few years ago did, uh, make her way to, uh, grow her career base a little bit, uh, in the area of
athletics administration and she is returning to us as a supervisor of health, PE, and physical education. Uh, so we're looking forward to having, uh, her back and she starts, uh, on July 1st. Uh, Nate DeNicola is one of two
students, uh, who were nominated for awards at the Central Jersey Marquis Awards. Uh, this was a ceremony held in May. There were 27 high schools that were recognized from Somerset County, Hunterdon County, and Middlesex County. And, uh, this is the fourth year of the
ceremony and the third that the high school received nominations. Uh, in 2024, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat received five nominations and six honorable mentions followed by Legally Blonde: The Musical in, um, 2005. This year we congratulate,
um, a few high school seniors for their roles in the high school production of The Wizard, uh, of Oz. Uh, Madeleine Hall A was nominated for best hair and makeup and Nate DeNicola won for best supporting actor. So, uh, a
very big deal, uh, for Nate and a and a significant honor. Our marching band was, uh, very busy, uh, in late May. Uh, they've been very active throughout the Somerset Hills communities. They supported the Bernardsville and and they supported Bernardsville and Bedminster by
participating in their Memorial Day parades. Uh, 21 high school students and their four directors, uh, had been, um, eager to to participate here and, uh, certainly the weather, uh, was not pleasant those days, but they really
did, uh, a great job for Bernardsville and Bedminster. And then again on, um, March 30th they did the same, uh, for for Miles for Matheny fundraiser. So, uh, really great um, to see them out and about in the community.
Bedwell had an event. Um our fourth graders have big dreams and in Alan Thurlow's tech and design class, our students combine presentation skills, public speaking, slide layouts, digital animations, and transitions, and word processing to create slideshows in
Google Slides, all while exploring future career decisions and pursuing their dreams. It was a great event and you know, some more beautiful things coming out of Mr. Thurlow's classroom at Bedwell for sure.
The middle school climate and culture team wrapped up a very successful school year with a lunch celebration and they also planned for the upcoming school year. Some legacy members of that team received an award for their dedication and for their years of service, some of
whom are in still in this room, Teddy. Right? Any others? Okay, Mr. Filliere. Very good. There is a vast and far-reaching collection of things that they have organized in their tenure in this role in climate and culture.
Summer greetings for our new students, school-wide Jeopardy, holiday name that tune contest, a healthy heart scavenger hunt, a teacher pumpkin carving contest, door decorating contest, grade level movie days,
kickball tournament with houses and teachers and I understand Mr. Filliere did a one-handed cartwheel at one of the kickball games. Although I don't have any actual video evidence of that, but I will take him at his word. He did verbally confirm with
me that he performed that. House spirit days, French week activities, they established guidelines for school costumes on Halloween. They offered suggestions and guidance to the school administration for the handbook and they participated in
National Compliment Day. So a lot of great things came out of the climate and culture work and I want to honor honor that. Um with this slide. The high school hosts after the fire on a yearly basis. They welcome in Alvaro
and Shawn who were two college roommates at Seton Hall University and were victims in a tragic fire in a dormitory. So they were 18 at the time and they have a story to tell. So they travel to high schools and colleges all
over the country to talk about their experiences and they've written and produced movies, you know, about being burn survivors and they're advocate advocates for fire safety and fire prevention. So they're survivors, they've persevered.
They are certainly inspirational to all of us and it's always a a powerful message when they come and speak with our um with our rising graduates.
Throughout the spring we have been providing a grant update that through grant funds that have been availed to the district from the Somerset Hills Education Foundation. We have a $5,000 grant that we will report on this month.
This was the grant step into learning an outdoor sensory path for whole child development at Bedwell. And the grant focuses on new recess and movement based activities that were installed under the front awning at Bedwell. The spaces include hopscotch, a
sensory path, a four square court and a mirror me movement area. These additions transformed uh, the covered front area into a purposeful play space uh, that supports movement and creativity and coordination. Uh, this slide completes our monthly updates
of the Chef Mini Grants and I'd like to thank Chef for their support of the district and uh, all in this year uh, they awarded $15,646 in grant funding. Uh, so we're very uh,
fortunate to have that partnership. On um, June 2nd, five high school student to student ambassadors of the Jewish Federation of Greater Metro West New Jersey uh, again visited Bernardsville Middle School. They met with eighth grade students uh, to share
their stories of their faith, their cultures and their experiences as being Jewish students in New Jersey. Uh, their visit is a culmination of the Holocaust unit from the social studies class and a continuation of a February visit from third from a third generation Holocaust
survivor. Um, students were afforded an opportunity to listen and learn from their peers in a smaller more casual setting that welcomed uh, dialogue um, and I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to thank uh, middle school social
studies teacher Brett Cox uh, for arranging for uh, these great experiences for uh, our students. Let's take a moment and um, just enjoy the artwork from our middle school
students. Uh, we have watercolor, graphite and acrylic examples here from our seventh and eighth grade students uh, in Miss Chaffee's class and um, we have some examples here uh, from the
high school with a acrylic paint and graphite um, in um, Miss Chrismans classes at the high school. Uh, there will be more coming from um me and my office uh regarding communications uh with respect to the
high school um art program. Um so I'm looking forward to that. Uh Nolan pointed out that we did indeed beat Madison in golf and there's a photo up there proving it. Uh won the state championship. Uh we have a um
uh the girls qua ran the 4 by 800 at the sectionals and qualified for the group championships on our track team and we had a uh young lady on our high school softball team who reached a milestone of 100 hits and she only needed 3 years to
do that and um great accomplishment there. Um on the boys side in track, we had um folks that placed in a group two um meet in the javelin, the 800 m, the 1600 m,
and the 4 by 800 uh relay. And our boys tennis team won the Skyland Valley Divisional Championship this year with a 9 and 6 record and uh Mr. Bedrosian um is doing such a beautiful job with that team. Uh currently our courts are in the process
of um being newly constructed and we are uh right on schedule for the fall season and we're looking forward to having them up and running uh in about uh 8 weeks. Isabella Nodes is the everyday hero from
Bernards High School and uh if uh she looks somewhat familiar, her twin uh was recognized last month. Uh so she is kind and mature and looks out for her peers and offers help and encouragement and patience whenever someone is
struggling and she does so uh quietly and she does so without any recognition. She's always willing to help and that's what sets her apart um from many of her peers and she inspires those around her. In late May, we hosted the Somerset
Hills Education Foundation. They hosted a teacher tribute campaign and we invited they invited families and students and community members to honor educators that have made a difference in their lives and
this year they are looking at the 30th anniversary of SHED and they're going to host a an event on September 26th up at at the complex at Seni Drive. So look for more information regarding that.
We have some openings in our district as we look forward to next year while we close out this year. At the district level, we have a bus driver vacancy, a bus aid vacancy, a science teacher at the middle school, a leave replacement for a full year for a
child study team case manager. We have a library media specialist that we're looking to fill from August to November and a special education teacher at the elementary and middle that we're looking to fill from August to November.
So believe it or not, we're closing the chapter we're closing the book on the current school year and then we're going to open up the doors for 2026-2027 and athletes return in 55 days.
New staff will be on will be among us in 63 days. We are engaged in an infrastructure project in the area of operations and security that will impact all of the facilities in the district. We do that while facilitating our heavy
clean cleaning process throughout the summer and we're wrapping up our tennis court construction as we spoke about. In the area of climate and culture, relationships matter and the work that
we do around relationships between the adults that we hire, the adults that we retain and the students that we serve is critical. This summer we will continue our work with the New Jersey School Climate Initiative platform. We will be analyzing data. We have teams at every
building that are developing strategic plans in the area of climate and culture that will speak specifically to the needs at in each of the individual schools. We are wrapping up a two-year implementation of Capturing Kids Hearts at the middle school and we are
transitioning that up to Bernards High School. And we're continuing to onboard new administrative staff that have joined our team in the last few years and we will be having five that will be attending a leadership blueprint training
which is an immersive 360-degree assessment of our own leadership strengths and our own leaderships constraints so we can be we can serve the district better and the communities better. Academically we are transitioning
good amount of work in the area of student achievement. Overall when we look at our achievement from a high stakes testing perspective, the the achievement at best is plateaued and we need to function
differently and be highly um highly proficient in data literacy on the staff side. So we're diving in to a lot of work there looking at our intervention and and
referral services programming at each of our schools to ensure that students are having their their needs met and that we are being nimble at the district level to provide professional development, training, and curriculum that meets the needs
as well. And you can lump in um diving into a more robust benchmark assessment process so we have local data in concert with state level data. Um as we work into through the summer,
we're looking at matters of policy and community engagement and certainly the use of internet enabled devices is going to be a policy matter for the board to be presented with and to adopt as far as the rules of the road to
that new law. So we'll talk about the timing on first and second reading um as as we move through June. We need to pin down artificial intelligence because it is
moving at a extremely rapid pace. I'm engaging with a task force of informed stakeholders around random drug testing specifically. We're examining the consequences for any positive test that may transpire so
we're doing that work and developing a partnership with our interfaith leaders, our local leaders, and our community members in order to combat hate speech and and any actions regarding hate speech. So certainly a lot
a lot on our plate from a policy perspective and from a community engagement perspective. So certainly a lot of ways for impacted community members to to engage in a variety of important topics. Um and lastly, uh, it's graduation week.
Uh, we have my my friend Christian from Bedwell on here, um, who as you may see uh, from the photograph is um, airborne. Um, he's so excited and um, you know, that was Bedwell's pre-K um, ceremony last week and uh, as happy
as he looks in that picture, uh, I mean, he Am I wrong? Did he have just the best experience from beginning to end? And um, again, if I could just bottle that up. Um, and um, Sophia, I feel like you may have jumped up and down. Right? [laughter]
Okay. Um, so prior to closing out, um, my report, you know, I do want to thank Dr. Butler. Uh, we did have a a moment last month where we um, you know, we
honored all of the retirees in the district. This is Dr. Butler's last meeting with the board. Uh, you are somebody that um, has touched everything that is great about this district, you've touched it.
And um, you know, as somebody that works alongside you, uh, is somebody that counts on you and leans on you, uh, for your counsel, for your friendship, uh, for your wisdom and for your knowledge, um, I wish you the
absolute best of what the world has to offer you, uh, and you have offered the absolute best experience to thousands of children of the Somerset Hills and employees.
Um, and your impact cannot be adequately stated. And with that said, Ms. Brenda, I have completed my superintendent's report. >> Thank you, DR. BURCHELL. >> [applause]
>> UM ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, um I want to thank all of our middle school reporters. And I um we are always amazed by your poise and your elegance when you get up to that podium. Um I don't know that many of us could have done that at that age.
Um and to Sophia and Nolan, I hope you know that the sentiments that you shared this evening are in spades returned to you by this Board of Education. We have delighted in every single time you have taken that podium. Your enthusiasm for
life, for education, for the well-being of your fellow peers and fellow students, for the respect and admiration you have for your staff, for the staff, and for the way in which you both embrace life.
It It comes through There are no words for how it comes through. I think I said to Dr. Burchell recently, "Sophia, there isn't any place that I go where you aren't." So you you the your level of involvement is off the charts. And I think that these
are the things that make us who we are. It's people like you. Nolan, same thing. The the number of ways that you touch this district and the way you engage, the way you share out information, and the way you dig deep. Um
It's a model. And we I think we all just truly want to thank you. This was an exceedingly special experience. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> [applause] >> AND I WISH WE COULD STAY ON THIS STUFF THE WHOLE TIME, but we are going to move forward. Um
>> [laughter] >> Bye. See you at graduation. Um we will move into our first comments period. Um, we very much welcome input from the public. Public comments are welcome at this time on any actionable agenda item. Towards the end of the meeting, there's a second public forum
on any topic. Please state your name and address. Comments are limited to 3 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 answer as answer 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 comments will be limited to 30 minutes in this section. 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 and as always, Mr. LaGory's timer will be counting down the 3 minutes so that you know how much time remains. Is there anybody who would like to make a public comment on actionable agenda items this evening? Okay. No, so then can I get a motion to
close public comments? Miss Santoro and Miss LaBrera. Thank you. Um, I would like to ask for a motion for the approval of the minutes for the public input and action and executive meeting minutes from May 20th, 2026. Miss Rye, Miss Hoppy. Thank you. Is
there any discussion regarding the minutes? Nope. Okay, then we can do roll call. >> Miss Cooper. >> Abstain. >> Mrs. Gomez. >> Abstain. >> Mrs. Hoppy. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Hunt. Mrs. LaBrera. >> Yes.
>> Mrs. Santoro. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rye. >> Yes. >> Miss Clark-Emery. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Frienda. >> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> Okay, thank you so much. Um, we will be moving into the report for business operations. >> Which one of >> It's >> Miss Cooper. >> Okay.
>> Thank you. >> All right. Business operations, is my mic Can you guys hear me? Can you hear me now? All right. The business operations committee met on June 8th for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. All committee members were in attendance and we were joined by Dr.
Broschew and Mr. LaGory. We talked about a wide range of topics including our plan for participating in New Jersey's energy savings improvement program or ECEP. According to Dr. Broschew, the district's work on ECEP is proceeding. The district will determine the projects
included in the ECEP after the fiscal audit which will begin this summer. We then briefly reviewed projected costs associated with unaffiliated employees for fiscal year 27. And uh next we discussed the status of our first referendum project, the replacement of the bleachers in the
upper and lower high school gyms. The district is planning the project now. Um, we'll also need to redo a small section of a floors that weren't redone last year because they were covered by the old bleachers. Uh, the bleachers with which will be custom The new bleachers which will be custom made will cost about 425,000 and
will take about 4 months to arrive once they're ordered. Uh, regarding referendum planning, um, the administrative team has also been meeting with the science teachers to gather information to help inform all the planned upgrades to the science labs throughout the district. Uh, moving on to the tennis courts,
to improve drainage under the court, the team uh the administra- the the team is upgrading the subsurface drainage by adding trenches and collection piping to enhance storm water management, reduce standing water, and improve the long-term durability of the courts.
Uh, next uh the security upgrades. Uh, Graymatter is the company doing the improvements to our security system at all three schools. These projects have already kicked off and the team will be very busy doing this work throughout the summer. They'll be working around the rec programs that use the facilities and the deep cleaning work of the custodial
staff that takes place every summer. The committee was then informed that the administration has approved a request from the local Boy Scouts to perform repairs and improvements to the Gaga court at Bedwell. The committee expressed appreciation for the Boy Scouts willingness to contribute to the school community.
Uh we then talked about working with 108 Educational Service Commission, the ESC, to lease a 52 passenger bus, Chromebooks, and H-back controls. And just as a reminder, the 108 ESC administers a cooperative purchasing and leasing program that enables school
districts to acquire equipment and services through competitively bid contracts, often streamlining procurement and improving pricing. Um next we talked about a few items related to our annual school boards meeting, including room reservations and requests for presentations. Dr. Brochu
informed the committee that he and the board president have been asked to give presentations on the development of of our new website and capturing kids hearts. Uh we then briefly discussed uh 50 uh fiscal year 28 priorities and the need to balance operational costs,
academic needs, and tax implications, and concluded the meeting with a discussion of the process involved in field trip budgeting. And that concludes my report. >> Thank you very much, Ms. Cooper. Um I would like to ask then for a motion to
approve action items number 1 through 33 on the agenda. >> I'll make the motion. >> Okay, and Ms. Hunt a second. And is there any discussion regarding business operations? >> No. >> Okay, then we can do roll call.
>> Mrs. Gomez. >> Yes. I just don't know if I need to abstain on any of the eight. >> 28? Okay. >> Yeah, because you know what I mean? >> Oh, for K through 6. >> Yeah, um
Yes, abstain from 28A. >> Will note it. Thank you. Mrs. Hoppy? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Hunt? >> Yes. >> Mrs. LaBrera? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Santoro? >> Yes, abstain from four. >> Mrs. Rye? >> Yes.
>> Ms. Clark-Emery? Ms. Cooper? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Freda? >> Yes, and I'm also going to abstain from number four. >> Motion carries. >> Okay, thank you very much. Does anybody have anything for new or old business for business operations? Okay, then I will throw back over to Ms.
Cooper for curriculum. >> All right, let me get the mic here. I think I got this now. All right, uh the curriculum committee met on June 10th for approximately an hour and a half. All committee members were in attendance and were joined by Dr. Brochel and for the last time, sadly, Dr.
Butler. Um Peter Craft and Tracy Howe, two representatives from the AI in education company Wisdom Circuits, also attended. Uh we began the meeting with a presentation by the Wisdom Circuits representatives who provided a demonstration of their AI-powered
learning platform designed to provide personalized academic support aligned with classroom instruction. The program utilizes academic standards and district instructional materials, including resources available through Google Classroom, to provide course-specific learning support tailored to local curricula and
learning objectives. The platform also incorporates student interest to personalize learning experiences and engagement. Uh the district plans to conduct a pilot of the software with or the the the platform within the I and I RS program
in around uh grades 4 through 10 to evaluate its potential to support individualized learning, student engagement, and academic growth in this population. Uh the committee had a robust discussion regarding the implementation of this program. We first discussed student privacy and
data security. A number of us had questions regarding how student information is collected and used, including whether student interactions or data are used to train the underlying AI models and when safeguards are in place to protect protect student privacy. The committee also discussed
instructional considerations including the accuracy of AI generated responses, alignment with district curriculum and standards, and the extent to which the platform encourages critical thinking and and problem-solving rather than simply providing answers.
Members emphasized the importance of ensuring that AI serves as a tool to support support learning rather than creating over-reliance among students. Additional discussion focused on the role of AI within the broader educational environment, including questions related to screen time, how teachers monitor and manage student
interactions with the platform, and the appropriateness of the technology for students with learning disabilities and and other specialized learning needs. The committee generally supported a targeted pilot within the INRRS program in the grades identified, recognizing
the opportunity to evaluate whether the platform can serve as an additional tool to support student engagement and academic progress in a population that continues to be an area of focus for the district. Next, we approved all we we went over and approved all professional
development and field trip requests and reviewed this month's curricular agenda items. We then spent some time identifying topics that we'd like to explore in greater depth during the upcoming year. A significant part of that discussion focused on student achievement and academic growth. In particular, the
committee expressed interest in continuing to monitor achievement at Bedwell and reviewing the impact of recent changes to our middle school math placement procedures. We also discussed the need to revisit the master schedules of BMS and Bedwell and to consider
the findings of the master schedule task force in an effort to increase math math instructional time and improve student outcomes in grades K through 8. Uh the committee also identified several topics related to program evaluation and continuous improvement. These include updates on the quality school review
process at all three schools and a review of all of our world language curriculum. We also discussed the importance of how of examining how district the district balances student interests, curricular offerings, and enrollment trends as we plan for the future. Student support and access to learning were another area focus. The
committee expressed interest in the continued discussion of dyslexia and early literacy, potentially in collaboration with the student service committee, as well as updates on our bilingual program and the next steps for supporting multilingual learners. We also identified chronic absenteeism and strategies to address it as an
important topic for future discussion. The committee looks forward to exploring these issues in greater depth over the coming year as a part of our on of our ongoing efforts to support student student success and continuous improvement across the district. And lastly, since this was Dr. Butler's final curriculum meeting prior to her
retirement, the committee recognized her many years of service to the district and thanked her for her dedication to students, staff, and the community. Um we reflected on the tremendous impact that she's had on the district and expressed appreciation for her the enormous heart, kindness, and care she has brought to her to her
[clears throat] work each day. And that concludes my report. >> Okay, thank you very much, Ms. Cooper. Can I please ask for a motion to approve action items number 1 through 28 on the agenda. >> I'll make that motion. >> Okay, and Ms. Hunt to second. Thank you. And does anyone have any discussion for
the curriculum committee? Yeah. >> Um with regards to the wisdom circuits, how long do we plan that pilot to be? How long will that pilot be ongoing for? Is it a full school year or
>> Uh yet to be determined. I think we're interested to see how a group of students, particularly at our second and third tiers inside of our RRS program how do they how does that benefit them?
Uh so we need to we need some time in order to assess that. >> Okay. >> Um so I might be able to give you a better answer like in December. >> Okay. >> are in that. >> And just one other thing on the Wisdom Circuits. So I know we talked a little bit about
this, I think, in Business Operations. This is a relatively new um platform. Or would we consider any other Are there any other packages that are like it and would we give that consideration? Or is this kind of stand-alone at this point?
>> program. It's a start-up. I haven't seen anything like it. >> Okay. >> Uh um I'm intrigued by it. Um it's not the driver of instruction. It doesn't replace a teacher. Uh it's a supplemental
>> tool. >> It's a supplemental tool. Uh I think there are some real significant opportunities for deployment >> Okay. >> uh that could emerge. Um they are local, you know,
I kind of connected with them through a net through a local network and was like I said, very intrigued by their platform. Haven't seen anything like it. >> Okay. >> Um so um the I think it was fortuitous to be able to see if there is
applicability here. Uh I think that we all you know, we're we're feeling the need to be able to offer services to all of our students. Uh particularly those uh that are struggling, those that are
on the cusp, um to see if there's some some connective tissue there. So. >> Okay, thanks. Like what I did I mean I have questions about it and I I think it's a good I think it's a pilot program is the way to go. I I just want to emphasize what I what I found appealing about it is that it's trained on our
curricula, our our materials. Um I think that was really encouraging for for me. Um >> Yeah, and to follow up on that also, you know, we discussed and I I think on the board side of things it should go without saying that it would be a closed
AI system, but I think just for the public and understanding that if we're piloting something like this it is a closed system um that the data is for us and um that that is not being generated it's not being generated out into a
larger ethos and I just I think that's very important and to um Ms. Cooper's point is it's based on our curriculum, the resources that we use, and how to um that the information that students have access to are based on that. So, I just
that closed piece I think is just important especially in the larger discussion of AI, but um I agree with you. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Also, what was
encouraging is that the teachers get to get to feed the information that they want presented through the AI platform. You know, that's that's huge. >> Yes, they can create their own settings within their circuit.
>> Yeah, I mean there's I was pretty impressed and you know I asked some negative questions, but I I really am impressed by it. >> Is there anybody else? Nope. Okay.
Then roll call, please. >> Mrs. Hobby. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Hunt. Mrs. Librera. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Santoro? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Wright? >> Yes. >> Ms. Clark-Emery? >> Yes. >> Ms. Cooper? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Gomez? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Frienda? >> Yes. >> The motion carries.
>> Okay, thank you. Do uh does anyone have anything for new or old business for curriculum? I know Ms. Cooper she gave off a good list of the things that we're looking to delve into. >> I'm sorry about that. >> No, that's fantastic. I think I think it there was a lot of really great discussion and things that we want to look forward to. Um
but is there you know, is there anybody else that has anything? Yes, Ms. Wright. >> Just that I really um very much appreciated in both the committee meetings that I attended this year uh in this month, I'm sorry, that we're
looking forward into what we maybe lost track of over here or that we need to move forward somewhere else. So, we spent a good time of our meeting planning for what lies ahead and and that was very good.
>> Agreed. Is there anybody else? >> I don't >> So, a lot of times when we have folks that come in and provide professional development >> Um >> sometimes their models are a bit different, but they are on based upon a certain number of staff.
>> Um >> so, that's kind of how we historically have done it. For you, we can parse out like high school share, uh middle school share, but that's kind of the general model. >> some of these things?
>> I mean it's So it it's it's part of the tuition. It's not an additional you like Bedminster isn't receiving like an additional bill uh for this, but um you know, we can kind of I maybe I can
lay that out in committee reports. Um but Yeah. Right. I understand. >> Okay. Is there anybody else? No? Okay. Um then we are going to move on to the
report of the personnel committee. Um Ms. Ballard is the chair of that committee and she unfortunately is unable to join us this evening. The committee did um meet on June 9th and the meeting began at 4:15 p.m.
Um we covered some topics re including um the new job description regar- for the registrar, which is going to be um retitled as the assistant to the
director of operations um to create an operations assistant where the role will expand um there. For um we discussed um the superintendent evaluation and uh that it will be
completed as of this evening and that the board will be voting on that this evening. Um we discussed the art position at Bedwell Elementary School and that the uh um the art teacher that is in that position
right now is on the agenda this evening for um a permanent position um approval and then we discussed the unaffiliated positions and the 26-27 salaries and um the head custodians
um and the different Bedwell personnel allocations. And we as always reviewed the personnel agenda for June 15th and all of the action items that we will be voting on this evening. So Yes.
>> Yeah. Uh I just want to offer one area of clarification that transpired after the committee meeting. So we we we lent additional consideration to the uh job description in for the registrar and the operations assistant. So we're
going to keep district registrar uh in the title. Um and there's also going to be operations uh assistant administrative assistant there. So uh we will uh correct that for the purposes of the minutes. Uh but on that job description, it'll be district registrar
and operations assistant. >> Okay. Thank you very much. Um so then at this time I would like to ask Oh, Mr. Lagory to read in. I believe we have two walk-on motions for this evening.
>> Yes, Madam President. Uh item 36 under personnel will read as approve increment withholding. Resolved that the Somerset Hills Board of Education upon the recommendation of the superintendent approve the following increment withholding for the 2026-2027
school year. Employee ID 8016 effective June 29th, 2026. And then item 37 will be to amend an increment withholding. Resolved that the Somerset Hills Board of Education upon the recommendation of the superintendent amend the following
increment withholding for the 2026-2027 school year, employee ID 8546, also effective June 29th, 2026. >> Thank you very much. So then I would like to ask for a motion to approve action items number 1 through 35 and
walk-on motions for items number 36 and 37 as they were read into the agenda by Mr. LaGourie. Can I have a motion? Um Ms. LaBrera and a second. Ms. Hunt, thank you very much. And is there any discussion?
Okay. Then roll call, please. >> Mrs. Hunt. Mrs. LaBrera. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Santoro. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rye. >> Yes. >> Ms. Clark-Emery. >> Yes. >> Ms. Cooper. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Gomez. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Hoppe.
>> Yes, but I need to abstain on number 15. And you mentioned the superintendent that you Is there any I have to abstain there as well. >> I guess number >> It was number one, I think. Yes.
>> I'm looking for it. I'm like, where is it? Here. >> Yes, it's number one. >> it's number one. Okay, that one too. Thank you. >> And Mrs. Brenda. >> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> Okay, thank you. Does anyone have anything for new or old business for personnel?
No? Okay. Um Moving on to policy. The report of the policy committee again, Ms. Ballard's um the chair of that and we um covered a lot of
a lot of policies in that meeting. The first thing we did refer back to the random drug testing research that we had discussed um prior and this summer the superintendent task force will be taking place as Dr. Brochu referenced in his report for a full
presentation to the committee and as referenced task force members will include SAX community and crisis representatives, nurses, principals with the focus again being on consequences. The June 2026 policies that went into
first reading this month. They many of these policies are being updated to reflect changes in code and then we receive updates from our policy advisers and the board policy changes because of code changes but there as those code changes come through
there is an opportunity to reflect and there were some additional updates that were made to particular policies. So um policy 0162 and 0162.1 notice of board meetings and legal notices that all information will appear
on the district website going forward no longer requires a notification through a newspaper. And we do have a special section on the website it's under the BOE tab and there is also a tab on the home page so that you can easily access those legal notices.
Policy 1643 there has been an expansion of the FMLA um This has all this has already started employees can receive FMLA after 3 months employment rather than 12 months employment. Policy 2260 equity in school
and classroom practices member asked about the lack of black faculty members in our district and Dr. Brochu spoke to the hiring efforts and having accomplished black applicants who have chosen to a to apply but you know did go on to
accept positions in other districts and of course our efforts continue in that area. Policy and regulation 5111.13, choice school districts. Um, we are not a choice school districts. These typically pertain to much larger
districts than our own. Um, policy 5460 regarding graduation allows for some flexibility within the district for graduation requirements. Um, and uh, as reflected on the agenda, a number of other items in first read, and as a
result of the updated um, code items and consolidation of policy and regulation, regulation 2200, regulation 2460.30, and regulation 2411 are all being abolished. Um, and that concludes the
report for the policy committee. So, if I could ask for a motion to approve policy action items number one and two on the agenda. Ms. Happy and Ms. Librera, thank you. Is there any
discussion regarding policy? Yes. >> And uh, or the brochure, or curriculum content, you know, that type of thing so that it's not as black and white as some as it may seem. >> Sure. Uh, so there's a
motion to abolish regulation um, I'm sorry, regulation 2411, that's for guidance counseling, and that's being essentially being retitled uh, career education and academic counseling. Um, there's um, an abolishment for
curriculum content that's being retitled as curriculum. Um, those are connected to um, administrative code modifications at the state level. >> Um and then um additional compensatory
special education related services is being abolished um because uh it's um captured um elsewhere. >> Okay. >> Yep. >> Thank you. It's captured elsewhere? >> Um I mean it's in
>> Mhm. >> So that these I I kind of sped through it, but these regulations that are being abolished you'll see if you look on the first reading for the policy list policy 2411, which corresponds is now career education and academic counseling.
That's the integration of the regulation into the policy. That's all that information is now contained in the policy and regulation 2200, which is now which is now reads in policy curriculum. >> Thank you. >> Um and those are all available in our
folders this evening. >> So I have a couple questions. >> Mhm. >> This is regarding uh school choice eligibility of residents. Um so we are not in the school uh choice of school district, but I remember some uh figures about we have someone
from Spain like they can come and pay uh um tuition or not? Nothing? >> No. No, we're we're neither a school we're not we're neither a choice district nor are we a tuition district. And we do get that question fairly often
where um folks from Bedminster want to attend our schools from kindergarten. Um we get that it cuz they want the consistency uh and we tell them you're Bedminster through eighth grade and then you come to us for the high school. >> Yeah, but for high school like exchange
uh students, things like that doesn't happen. Okay. >> Okay. >> They don't. No, you can't pay tuition if you don't live um in the residential boundary of the school district. >> Okay. Thank you. >> I think she's referring to the exchange students
around the other state. >> I wasn't hearing that. >> I yes from other states. I can't remember someone >> We do accept on occasion exchange students and we have I think since you've been on the board we've had less than one a year.
>> So that has the so that's in that policy or has different things. >> So that is built into the resident non-resident eligibility policy and there's a very clear guidance there. I can point you to it. I'll
the exact language in that policy. >> Thank you. People ask me that's why I'm Mexico, Spain. Thank you. >> Is there anything else? Anything else for policy? Nope. Okay, then we can do roll call, please. >> Mrs. La Brera. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Santoro.
>> Yes. >> Mrs. Rye. >> Yes. >> Ms. Clark-Emery. >> Yes. >> Ms. Cooper. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Gomez. Mrs. Hoppy. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Hunt. Mrs. Brenda. >> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> Okay, then we will move on to student services, Ms. Santoro. >> Okay, thank you.
Um, so student services met on June 9th. All members were there and um, like curriculum, we had a productive meeting discussing topics that we would pri- like to prioritize for upcoming meetings and the
2026-2027 school year. Um so the following areas um are topics that or or the following highlights the areas that we would like to focus on um
and they include special education program development, special education innovation, special education compliance, and intervention and referral services, as well as athletics and um extracurriculars.
Within each of these areas, members of the committee had an opportunity to kind of drill down into some detail as to what they would like to see under the overall topic. And we're going to use this information to determine future
agendas. Initially, based on the feedback and some thinking that Dr. Brosch had put into it, it looks like in September we're going to do an initial review of the NJ side data.
In October we will we'll work to integrate that information into the strategic plan. As that as the strategic plan development will be going on and then in November we'll take a deeper dive into our
ML and special education outcomes. So that'll kind of get the year started. As always, we welcome feedback from anybody. If you have topics that you want to see specifically on an agenda, just reach out to me. And that's it.
>> Thank you very much. Um At this time I would like to ask for a motion to approve action items number one and two on the agenda. Ms. Rye and Ms. Hoppy, is there any discussion regarding student services? >> No.
>> Okay, then roll call, please. >> Mrs. Santoro. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rye. >> Yes. >> Ms. Clark-Emery. >> Yes. >> Ms. Cooper. >> Yes. >> Ms. Gomez. >> Yes. >> Ms. Hoppy. Ms. Hunt, Ms. Labrara. >> Yes. >> Ms. Brenda. >> Yes. >> Motion carries.
>> Okay, thank you. Okay, so then we will move into board announcements. The views and opinions that are maybe 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 and or positions of the Somerset Hills Board of Education and or any other individual members of the board. Um I do believe, Mr. I, that you have something specific for board announcements this evening. >> I do, and thank you for giving me the
time to report out on this. If you would look in your packet um on the pages that say key takeaways from the presentation um it might help you a little bit. So, um the law forum was last week. Um and
um it >> Jersey School Boards Association, yeah. >> Boards Association law forum. And um as a participant I was handed a massive amount of information to kind of drill down it.
There were actually six fairly long segments, and we did not get finished until 4:00 in the afternoon. So, I wanted to report out on some important pieces that affect our our district, our budget, and us as a board.
So, I've broken it down into two buckets. There's some big school law updates. And uh I want to give you an important refresher on how board members legal protection works.
So, um first up, what's changing in our schools? We know about the bell-to-bell. We've talked about it. We've been proactive about it. It was stressed to us that this had to be um decided and um in effect when school
starts on, let's say, September 1st, right? Um Also starting this fall, as we've discussed multiple times, we're legally required to add two things to our classrooms. Cursive writings for grades
3 through five, and I know as a member of the curriculum committee that we have discussed this and we have prepared for this. Um the other thing which I wasn't aware of was there's a slight change in um
how we teach and what we teach about opioids. Um there was there's an addition of a couple of specific opioids that weren't in the original uh policy that we got from the state. Um
also um on the financial side, which you just heard of, family leave puts us perhaps in a very expensive position. Before you had to be a 12-month employee
of the district, now only 3 months. So, we should be looking forward a little bit and think about how that's going to affect our budget in terms of um substitute teacher costs. Um it could be that we're going to get a
lot of people taking that leave and they're they're allowed to by law and they should take it if they need it. Um on a brighter note, and Dr. Brochu will be happy to hear this, the state has simplified the
hiring process for CTE, which is career and technical education teachers. Um so, it should be easier for us in general to fully staff um our votech aligned curriculums.
So, here comes the heavy legal stuff. Um there was another Supreme Court decision that happened recently um and it the the court is very heavily weighing in on the side of protecting
parents' rights regarding student gender transitions. I know that there's sort of a disparity between New Jersey state law and federal law, but I also know that we've been very good as a board to keep on top of this
um and to make sure that what we're doing is legally safe and transparent. This is going to continue because there are more cases coming up to be an issue. So, it's something that we should be looking towards in the future.
Um another one we talked about and I did mention it earlier today was the Horner ruling. The court decided that school districts can be held legally responsible for staff misconduct even if it happens outside of school
hours. And And the key thing here, if it looks like a lack of district oversight quietly allowed to happen. So, boundary crossing behavior it that goes unnoticed
can put the district in a bad place. Just putting that one in there. The second topic I wanted to share is about board member indemnification. I chose this because it it absolutely affects everyone sitting here who's a
board member. New Jersey law says that the board will cover our legal defense costs and financial losses if we as board members get sued as long, and this is the key word here, we are acting in our official
capacity as board members. Okay? The recent rulings have made the legal timeline for this incredibly strict, and I mean incredibly. If we don't follow them, we lose that
protections. There are two things we have to remember to do. If you are ever faced with a legal matter related to the board, you have to notify the board immediately. You can't say handle it privately for a
couple of months, and then say, "Well, this is too big for me to deal with." Because you will receive no indemnification on that. The second thing is if our legal counsel or insurance carrier
denies a request to cover someone on the board, that board member has exactly 90 days to appeal it to the Commissioner of Education. And the minute it's denied, the clock starts ticking. And we were
stressed over and over again that if you come up on day 91, you are out of luck. You really got to pay attention to these timelines. The big takeaway for us as a team is if an
issue arises, flag it immediately. We are well protected, but we can't let the clock run out on us. So, our next steps will be working to finalize our cell phone policy, continuing to monitor step oversight in
light of the Horner case, and prepping for family leave budget adjustments. That that the material that I sent out or Dr. Brosch will send out on my behalf, if there is one deck you really pay
attention to, I would say it's the school law one. It's number six. And it's very, very dense, and there's a lot of good information in there. I appreciate the ability to go to this and I would recommend that board members
attend next year as well. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Um, is there anybody else that has anything for board announcements? Yes, Ms. Emery. >> Hi, I just wanted to say um, piggybacking on you Pat. Um, I had the
um, undeniable privilege of >> [clears throat] >> Sorry. I had the undeniable privilege of being able to go to a seminar with Strauss Esmay, which is our legal team that helps us. Um, I also was able to meet up with Ms. Hunt and this is LaRare
and Sam and Dr. Brochu. I cannot tell the community how unbelievable this was and eye-opening and what a learning education in order for me to be able to learn more about having the privilege of sitting up here. The main thing that stuck out with me aside from
learning and being able to engage with other people throughout the state was at the end we had a luncheon and we still had another seminar to learn to listen to and when it was over there must have been over 200 people across the states that were there.
Dr. Brochu, Sam, Kelly and Allison, we all sat there and just kind of went through everything. We sat there until the the room was cleared. And the reason why I'm bringing this up is just to say that to our community, our parents, especially our students,
that everybody here on this board is so invested in what is going on and will continue to learn, to be educated in order to protect our children. And I just can't thank you guys enough for continuing to do that. We don't agree on everything, I can tell you that honestly, at least for me,
but I can learn and I can continue to make, you know, just good to honest, you know, decisions that we can all come to, you know, together. So, with that being said, throughout this past year, anybody, whether it's the students,
coaches, teachers, parents, anybody in the community can, please, please, if there's something going on, something that you need to discuss, Sam, Dr. Brocheal, everybody is here to listen, to be able to engage, but more importantly, make a change for what
needs to be in order to just for the betterment of the students here and just the parents, everybody that's involved. And the last thing I will say is that when I come to Sam or Dr. Brocheal, usually Sam, she will tell me if I have a question on anything,
the sign of a good leader is someone who doesn't think she knows everything, cuz if she doesn't know it, she will direct me to who will. And it's usually Dr. Brocheal. But she will tell me who to go to, you know, it could even be Heather or somebody else. And I I can't, you know, thank you guys
enough for that. So, it's it's a privilege and you guys, everybody here, whoever is listening, please continue to flood your questions, to be any concerns that you have, because you truly in this community, including our police officers, too, thank you. Um are here
for for them, who are everybody. And that includes you, too, Pat. Thanks for that. Thank you. That's all. >> Thank you so much for sharing. Is there anybody else for board announcements? >> I would like to make an announcement since I wasn't here last month. Um
and I'm just going to I get a little emotional sometimes, so I'm just going to look at Christian's happiness on the board and it's going to cheer me up, so bear with me here. Um I just like to take a moment to recognize Dr. Butler, who is attending her final board meeting before retirement. I know we celebrated her
last month, but since I've worked so closely with her over the past several years, I just wanted to make sure I had the opportunity to say a few words. Uh throughout her career, Dr. Butler has helped shape the educational experience of thousands of Somerset Hills students through her leadership in curriculum and
instruction. But, her greatest contributions cannot be measured solely by the initiatives she championed or her achievements in within the district. In fact, I think her greatest legacy is the countless students, staff members, and families who felt seen,
supported, and cared for because of her. When I think about her contributions to this district, what stands out most is the way she has always approached her work. In a profession that can sometimes become focused on systems and global outcomes,
Dr. Butler never lost sight of the people involved. Her extraordinary empathy and ability to collect uh connect with others have left a lasting impression on everyone for- fortunate enough to work with her. Whether working with a student who needed support, a teacher seeking guidance, a parent with
concerns, or a board member facing a challenge, she has had a remarkable way of making people feel seen, heard, and valued. Time and time again, Dr. Butler demonstrated that leadership begins with listening, understanding, and caring. Her expertise was unquestioned, but it
was her kindness that made people trust her and her compassion that made them feel supported. So, Dr. Butler, thank you for everything you have given to Somerset Hills. Your dedication has strengthened the district, and your kindness has made our community better. Thank you.
>> Thank you, and I'm going to miss you. >> Thank you, Ms. Cooper, and we all echo every one of those sentiments. Is there anybody else for Ms. Hunt? >> Um I just wanted to uh,
mention that, uh, Mr. Baker, um, Nolan, not Bob, um, was talking about, uh, being at, um, field day, and, um, there was a moment when, uh, students were dropped off from car rider, and all of the high schoolers,
uh, were, you know, created a tunnel, um, a high five tunnel, and it was just this the most beautiful moment. I think that probably every parent and car rider had to work put their sunglasses on really quickly, um, and it was just such a beautiful, um, Somerset school district moment that
everyone should probably just go peek at next year, so. >> Thank you so much, and it is those moments are so special. Same thing like Bedwell's last day of school, when they're all out there waving, that gets me every that gets me every year. Um, I just
wanted to highlight, um, something that Dr. Brocheau reported out on in his, um, report was the after the fire presentation, and, um, that has been here, um, a number of times over the last several years, and we thank, um,
Mr. Dill from, um, the PG fire department, and his efforts to make sure that at that presentation comes to our students, and, um, having a child in college, and having had the opportunity to sit through the presentation when she was going off initially, um,
such a valuable presentation, because every dorm that you go into, when they first get there, those fire alarms are going off like crazy, and the kids get tired of them, and they I heard it from my daughter's own mouth, "I'm not leaving anymore.
This is obnoxious. It's 2:00 in the morning. It's 3:00 in the morning." I'm like, "Oh, yes, you are. I'm like, you remember that presentation." I'm like, "There is no staying in." It was, and yes, it resonated with her, and all of the things that these students need to know. So, you know,
sometimes these are mentioned in passing, but the real world impact and the safety of our students and what these two gentlemen um and their experience bring to our district is just really, really um fabulous. And I think it's a great service to our kids, not just those
going off to college, but those who are going to be living in shared buildings um and even homes is, you know, to know how to exit your buildings safely um especially if you're being woken up at 3:00 a.m. and you're completely
out of it. So, I just really wanted to highlight that. I think it's a wonderful program. And I know that Mr. Dilworth put a lot of effort into making sure that it gets here. Um is there anybody else >> Actually, can I just add to that? I actually was in a My dorm caught on was on fire in college and like I I wish I
had heard had a presentation like that cuz it was terrifying. >> Exactly. And they like the things that's very practical information that they relate is just invaluable. So, major major shout-out on that and um is there anybody else that has anything for board announcements? >> Yes.
>> Yeah. Uh I wasn't here last month, so I just want to say I was so happy to attend the Golden Broom. What? Um I just want to say it was amazing to see the the students really enjoying. And I saw
the sons of some of my friends that, you know, you never imagine and it was like dancing, happy, serving, and everyone so happy. And I get to know people, you know, like I always like to see them and I say you will get to know someone. And I think it's just a beautiful event and to know that has been going, I think
that's the the true sense of community. And then listening to our two high schoolers, it was great, you know, like to what you said uh Ryan like about the the community that they built, right? Is this what they they are doing? And I just I'm so thankful. I wish the best to
the graduates. And thank you so much for all you have done. I have always heard all the great things and all We just want you to know that very Mr. also loves working and you know talking to you so they will miss you. Uh but thank you to everyone.
>> Thank you so much. Um if that's that's everything for right now. Okay. Um we have our second public comment session. Um I am not going to read the whole spiel because for those of you at home we don't have anyone except for the
wonderful Ricky looking back at us right now. So um if I could get a motion to close public comments Miss LaRue and Miss Happy. Thank you. Um we are not going to make a motion to adjourn at this point in time because we are going to return to executive session for the purposes of discussing personnel
matters. Um I think I'm going to be generous and say an hour and a half. I don't think we'll need that much time but just for the sake of the record. Um and then we will come and then we will come back. For safety. >> [laughter and cough] >> For safety. [clears throat]
Um It will not be that long. Um and then we will come back and adjourn. So thank you everyone. Oh. Yes. I need a motion to go into executive Miss Santoro and Miss Happy. Yes you do not but we have 1 2 3 4
[laughter] 5 6 Yes you're fine. Just from that.