Welcome to a meeting of the board of education of the Somerset 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 in the following manner. Posted on the bulletin board
reserved for announcements in the board office at 25 Alcott Avenue in Bernardville. posted in the main office of Bedwell, Bernardville Middle School and Bernards High School. Mailed to the Courier News and the Bernardsville News and posted on the SHSD website followed the clerk of the burrow of Bernardsville, Far Hills, Peepack in
Gladstone and Bedminster Township. Delivered to the 10 duly elected board members. Um, Mr. Lori, roll call, please. Mr. Baker here. Miss Ballard here. Miss Clark Emory. Miss Cooper here. Miss Gills here. Mrs. Gomez, Mrs. Hoppy
here. Mrs. Santoro here. Mrs. Ry here. Mrs. Frenda here. We have a Okay. Thank you very much. Then at this time, 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 specific 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 an executive session for the purpose of discussing the following student matters. 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 with will no longer endanger the public interest. This time can I ask for a motion to go into executive please? Mrs. Santoro second. Miss Cooper, thank you very much. Miss Madame President, could we just
make one amendment to that that we'll also be discussing negotiations and executive ne Okay. Student matters and negotiations. Okay. So, we have a motion and a second. Thank you very much. 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 as is our norm, I will hand it over to Dr. Branchel for the report of the superintendent. Thank you, Mrs. Frenda, and uh welcome
back to the board of education. It's great to see everybody uh once again and it's great to be here. Uh the first item on our agenda as we typically do is a recognition. Uh and tonight we have one
recognition for Connor Flynn. And I'm going to ask Connor to come on up here. Uh we want to embarrass him a little bit. Come on up, Connor. So Connor has been very busy in the last uh year or so since we hired him. Um he
has been developing our new website which was launched earlier in August and he did such beautiful work. Um, and I felt like very strongly uh that we finally have a forward- facing website that um that has great content, that has
sharp images, uh that is factually correct, uh that has functioning calendars, uh we have a website that uh meets the needs and the desires of the public. And Connor did that and Connor wasn't alone, but Connor was uh the ring
leader around the web master. Uh Connor demonstrated a tremendous amount of leadership uh and and frankly in a difficult space. He had to he had to interact a lot with me. Uh so and I mean that um both humorously and seriously.
Sometimes it's hard to pin me down. I'm pulled in a lot of different directions. And he just has such a great way about him uh with me and with the rest of the district that uh we really were able to he was able on behalf of the district and the board to put forth uh a website
that uh was a great soft opening uh and continues to get better and more refined every day. So uh I I thought it would be fit us to recognize Connor for his work. Um, and we do have a resolution here, Connor, that I'm going to read for you and uh share with your parents and your
sister that uh this is going to be refrigerator material uh later, maybe tonight when you guys go home. Uh so the board uh tonight is going to be acting on a resolution uh to honor Connor Flynn for his role as our web master as demonstrated by the new Somerset Hills
School District website. Whereas the Somerset Hills boards of board of education gives special honor and commendation to those who perform a dedication, motivation, organization, and perseverance. Whereas Connor Flynn is part of the district technology team
who uses his knowledge and expertise to help district staff and district stakeholders. Now therefore, be it resolved by the Somerset Hills Board of Education that the members of the board hereby commend Connor Flynn for his project management, implementation of
migration, and continued maintenance and support of the district website. When the Somerset Hills Boards of Education adjourns this day, it does so in honor of the achievements earned by Connor Flynn. The board of education secretary is directed to have this resolution
reflected in the permanent minutes of the Somerset Hills Board of Education on this 27th day of August 2025. Connor, this is for you. This is for a job very well done. I shared with his parents that uh when I
hired Connor uh he told me, "My mom was just telling me this morning I had to get a job and he was in my office and uh he got a job and uh and he's done a terrific job. So, thank you Connor. Uh we do have a
few slides here that demonstrate some of the features of our website uh that the community felt very strongly about. Um and I've asked Connor to talk for about a half an hour about about this. Just kidding, Connor. Uh you see that the the
images are vivid. Uh we wanted clear paths for parents to um connect with Bedwell, the middle school, the high school, and the board immediately. And that's at the top left. Um off to the right uh there are a host of resources whether you want to connect with the
board, any of our schools, our departments. Uh there's staff resources, family resources, and school counseling. And on the bottom left is our um some graphic organizers in order to direct folks uh certain places to be. So uh the
look is much refreshed. Uh the look is relevant and uh we're finding that it's easy to navigate. Um, so we wanted to kind of point that out. Uh, moving along, one of the absolute non-negotiables from members of the community that we surveyed and we got
together a task force that gave us direct and immediate feedback uh was the importance of calendars and the importance to have a website that has a high level of functionality when it comes to calendars. So in our top left uh there is much increased functionality
when it comes to calendars. you can filter. Uh so if you have a child at Bedwell and and in the high school, you can only get those calendars. You don't have to get the middle school. Uh you can choose what calendars you would like. Uh you can also
um arrange to have those uh calendar up updates sync to your um your tablet, sync to your telephone. So you'll get uh as many calendar invites as you wish to receive. Um if you find that you're getting too many, I would uncheck it. Um
but uh the information and the content is there. Uh the community really was thirsting for that and so uh we wanted to have that. Um Connor adapts really well to curve balls. Um and I shared with him that uh I've been getting some
some feedback around the district about a desire for an athletics count. That is a challenging ask. Uh we're not yet ready uh to roll out an athletics calendar. Uh but Connor's been working with a third party and that's why it's
so challenging. Um many of you um parents whose children um have participated in our athletic program or do participate currently understand that there's a third party uh that coordinates the athletic calendar on
behalf of the entire Skyland conference. Uh so Connor is now interfacing with a third party to get our athletic calendar up and running. Um not quite ready yet. Uh not because of anything that Connor has done, but he is working through uh
some challenges technologically on um with that third party. So soon we're hoping uh we'll have an athletics calendar up there as well, but there are just some additional challenges because you're working with a different entity. um the schoolbased calendars, every all
the folks that coordinate on that are in-house. So, it's it's significantly easier. Um but that's just an example. Connor doesn't give up. Walks around uh the district with his iPad and showing me little things and asking me what do I like, what don't I like. Um
so, all good things are coming. Uh District News is still on there. Connor is also in the process of developing an app. Uh the app is built off of the website. Um, so we basically check boxes. What do we want on the app that's on the website? Uh, so that's kind of
like Connor's next level of work. But, uh, I told him that I wanted to be ready by July 31st. And wouldn't you know it, about 3:00 on July 31st, he came in my office and he said, "Dr. B, I'm ready." And I and he said, "Are you?" And I
said, "No, I'm not, but I appreciate that you are." And so I'm sure that was a couple sleepless weekends that got him up to the 31st. Um, but he really did a great job. And uh, so our our app is our next level of work. And finally, at the
bottom of our website, there's a grid there of photos that uh, direct people to specific areas of the website. Uh, whether it's performing arts or machios or student services, athletics, um, you name it. Um, we're able to do it. Uh some of the
functionality that you see on the website today is the result of people trying the website out and sending us messages and saying, "Can we think about this? Can we think about that?" And um I like Connor because he always says, "No
problem, Dr. B." Uh so and and he he gets it up there. So um very nicely done, a beautiful website, a great start, and uh what a great great team member here.
[Applause] You want to do a picture, Connor? He's like, "No, sure." Come on. Let's bring the whole family. You want mom and dad with you?
He's good. Just to be sure I get it right. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Congratulations. Next up is a school board's association training. Uh, and the title of our training is referendum communication best practices for board of education
members. And we have Miss Charlene Peterson, uh, who is a great friend to Somerset Hills here. And Charlene, I did share with them that you are hours away. Minutes away. So, um, come on up. We
have, uh, we have an eager board and, uh, and a great board. So, welcome I mean, why spend my last night before retirement home with my husband, right? Getting plenty of opportunity to do that. So, when they were looking for
someone to go out, I'm like, "Okay, that's me." Um, so just wanted to say what a pleasure it is to be here and to be able to um, you know, talk to you tonight about referendum communication. And I was thinking about the link between, you know, the presentation we
just had and Connor getting your website up and ready to go cuz think about how important the communication tool your website is going to be through this process. And I'm like, okay, all of these tool, all these things are kind of falling in line. Um, but I really wanted
to start out. But I was looking at your agenda tonight before I came and I have to say that you were the first board that I've ever seen put your board norms on your agenda and I just thought that that was so amazing. Like I, you know, I thought it was good. I've seen the board put their goals out there and you have
both. And you know, I thought, well, here's a group that already understands, right, what it means to um put it out there to the public what you're doing, how you're holding yourself accountable, what things matter, and public, we want you to be part of this, and we want you
to understand this work that we're doing. And so I'm like, okay, this is going to be easy tonight. I like these guys already get it and understand what it, you know, what this work entails. So, I'm just going to kind of take you through briefly just a PowerPoint
process here um to just kind of talk about this and really, you know, if we think about it, you know, here we are sitting at the board table recognizing that we represent the community and in doing so, we have to make sure that we have the information that we need to
make informed decisions. So, that's really then kind of we owe that same responsibility to the community, right? we are going to ask them to make a decision when we ask them to vote on this. So we want to make sure then that we are providing them the information
that they need to make an informed decision. So really that's kind of what this work is about, right? is giving them the information that they need, giving them the understanding of this work that we're that we're asking of
them. And then what can we do to help them um have their voice be heard by helping them, you know, encouraging voter turnout, right? Because we recognize the importance of the community's voice in this process and we want to make sure that we're doing it kind of within, you know, all within a
legal framework. So that's kind of the the different elements that I'm going to talk about. So I'm going to start off kind of talking about the legal piece of it. Um and this was looking at this case and this is kind of the first case um that kind spelled out kind of what the
requirements are for a school district. Um so and it was from 1953. So even before I was born. Um and so it said that the PCIe um school district had put out an 18page booklet and it said that 17 pages of it
were perfect factual information but then said in one of the pages it started kind of talking about what would what would be the consequences if this referendum if the referendum failed. And it talked about like a student that was going to sit on the bus for a really long time and talked about the fact
that, you know, that some of the like some of their learning would would be impacted. And so kind of was really kind of playing up what these consequences would be. And then it said that in three different places it told the suggest
that you should vote yes. So then the said that the court distinguished the reasonable expenditures to present the facts is within the board's implied power. And at this time when I was looking at the case, the board spent $450. So that was but I at that time you know
it's like that how much it was to you know have someone design it to to print it to mail it. Um so that was the what was considered a reasonable expenditure at that time. So they're saying that arguments to persuade the voters that only one side has merit you or not is
kind of over you know being overdramatic and that the board's responsibility if you're using public funds you have to you know and the the work that you do is based on public funds that all we can do is present the facts give the member
give the community the information that they need and then kind of you know trust us that we have done our work right that we are not going We're not coming before you to ask you for this if we have not done the work to identify that this is what's in the best interest
of the students. So we're only coming to you because that we need you. We need your help to help us help the students. Um so as we kind of look at it then so in addition to that case um we know that you know the we also held accountable to
the accountability regulations. So there it talks about you know kind of the funds that we can spend on district public publications and said that we can only um distribute them in the most costefficient manner. Um and said that you know again goes back to an enabling
the school district to inform and educate not persuade but inform and educate. And then saying then that within 90 days of the election that we can't send out any publication um that has pictures of board members. you guys are all off the hook, right? None of
your pictures can go out there, right? And then saying that within um 60 days of the election that the publication has to be reviewed by the county superintendent. Again, goes back to making sure that we're spending public funds in a reasonable and a cost-effective manner.
So, we also, you know, are accountable to making sure that our students are not being brought into this process incorrectly. Um so saying that students may not be given literature or be asked to engage in any kind of an activity that promotes favors or opposes any
public question. Um and and again the importance of student record information if groups were you know wanting to ask for information you know related to something that might be in a student record recognizing that that would not be possible. Um so then we now we come
to you as board members and so here you are on the board but then we recognize that you are also a private citizen also individuals right so we know then that we don't lose those rights that we have as individuals but we also know that we
are an elected public official and as a result of that then we have to exercise our individual rights within the confines of the the code of ethics and the school ethics act. So that means then that we can't do anything like that's um you know giving out
confidential information. We wouldn't be able to do anything that would um not be presenting accurate information and also not do anything that would um cause undue harm or you know take independent action that might impact the work of the
board. So, you know, kind of saying that we can still kind of voice our thoughts as long as we're making it clear that this is me, an individual. I'm not speaking on behalf of the board. I'm not authorized to speak on behalf of the board. Um, this is this is me speaking
as an individual. So, kind of making sure that we are, you know, kind of remembering what our role is as an elected public official um and then how to carry that out in the way that's in the best interest of the board.
So, just wanted to make you aware that New Jersey school boards and we have it well, we could use Connor for our website for the have it well hidden on our website that have some information about the the referendums and just kind of showing you goes through the past
history of all the past years and goes through and shows you all the referendums, what the dollar amounts were, which ones passed, which ones failed. Um, so just so that you know if you, you know, were interested or thought that that would be helpful as you were planning yours, um, just to let you know that that information is out
there on our website and I did provide the link for you there so you can find it easier. Okay, let's see. There we go. Um, so now as we look at kind of the the board's role and saying, okay, so you know, so you've already
kind of told us what we can't do. So kind of not saying what can we do right saying that the board's role is to be a trusted source of clear factual information and a facilitator of community dialogue. So what does that mean? That we want to be able we should
provide opportunities right to hear our community for them to hear information about this. So we need to provide the spaces, provide the ways for them to have that dialogue and for them to get the information that they need. Um so
you have kind of three good words there. Educate, inform, and listen, right? Prepare and share factual materials, engage in two-way um it's always important two-way, right? Public engage voter participation to hold public
information sessions and and to be visible, right? And and that's one of the things that is really important that you know that the board as the kind the representatives of the community your support makes a big difference. You know I had one superintendent tell me that he
was convinced that the reason that their referendum failed is because he said the board was just kind of like eh like some board members are really poor and some weren't. And he said I think that really made a difference. Like he said I think it hurt the credibility. So sometimes as a board we don't always understand the
impact that we have in terms of our you know the message that we send. So making sure that we if we truly believe that this is what's in the best interest of our students that that should be the message that we are sending as a board.
So again okay so what can't we do then? So we can't advocate for a yes vote. um we can't persuade, right? We can't use district resources that would urge or promote a particular outcome. Um we can't collude. So, as much as we might have outside groups that are going to
help us us in this process, we can't kind of like be feeding them in. Like, we can have public information that's available to the public that they can find useful, but perhaps not prepare something specific for them that they're going to use in their persuasive
messages. Um, and then can't put pressure on employees, parents, or community members to support it. So again, it's kind of that difference between informing, right, and then kind of advocating for a certain position.
So, and sometimes that can get a little fuzzy. And so that's why I just wanted to kind of show you an example of some of these messages where it said it is sign consequences based on um the outcomes. So sometimes saying that that can risk being seen as persuasive rather
than informative. some of the examples where our children's success depends on this referendum. So while I'm not telling you one way or the other, I'm kind of like sneakily telling you like right if this doesn't happen that this is you know so in a way I am persuading
you um and saying that the referendum is a must pass for our community's be future and without its students may be left behind. So kind of a you know a thought was okay if the message was on district letter head or sent by that superintendent
um would would a reasonable person think that the district is telling them how to vote. So again that difference between informing and advocating or persuading, right? So then you know we recognize then that
this is not something that we're just going to decide that oh okay let's do this that it has to be carefully planned and carefully thought out. Um so saying that we need to develop a clear and transparent communication plan and we need to do it early because of you know
the scope of the communication work that needs to take place. um and saying that you know ideally we would like to support um a if a student I mean a citizen advisory group or support group said you know what board we believe in
this too like if your PTA or other group said we want to help in this cause um so you know recognizing then that we would um have factual materials and things that they may be able to use um that we would have a dedicated referendum page
on our new website, right? That would have like FAQs, what's the scope of the project and um you know, kind of looking at like the tax implications, the cost, trying to provide people with as much
information as they can and they so they kind of need one go-to place, right, where know that if I go here, I know that this is what I'm going to find and I shouldn't have to look to find it. it should be clearly um visible to me. Um
and then again kind of hosting those sessions or you know providing forms for people to come and get informed on um on the referendum offering um facility and building tours and open houses so that they can actually see firsthand things
that perhaps need to be upgraded and why, you know, and that's one of the things we'll talk about in a minute that essentially we're telling a story here, right? Well, this isn't really about dollars and cents or numbers. It's what is our story? What is our need? And how
are we best able to tell this story? Um, so and then also want to make sure that, you know, we can't do this alone. So, we need to connect with local officials and key communicators so that other people are helping us tell this story. So as we kind of look at the
communication again, you know, one of the things that is emphasized over and over is how important it is to listen, right? And that we may have a plan. We may think that this is right and we may think that this is the way to go, but then the community may tell us something
different or have another thought or an idea and said that it really adds to our credibility if we make adjustments and we make changes based on feedback that we receive from the community. So saying that we're not stuck in this thing that
we think should be this way when really as the community you you are telling us it should look different. So, we need to send the message that we hear you, we're listening to you, and we're willing to make adjustments based on the feedback that you provided for us. Again, that
telling the story. You know, people always talk about all of the kind of the buzzwords and things, but that in education, right? And so, saying how important it is to keep it clear, keep it relatable, and that you just can't say enough like saying repeat that. We
have to communicate often and and then often and then just kind of you know make sure that we're continuing to do that and then saying that it's accessible by all and you know kind of that term of meeting them where they are like we can't reasonably expect that just everybody's going to come to our
website right that you know we talk about the fact that in in a typical community about like 20 to 30% of your community has children in your district and the rest do Not. So when you have something like a referendum, you have to
think about how are we going to approach the rest of that community and it may be differently than expecting them to come to our website. So we need to be mindful of that and mindful of how are we going to reach them? What is the most
effective way? Um so if we you know so it's not only how are we going to communicate but what are we going to communicate so talking about again that purpose the why why do we need to do this why is this the best solution to benefit our students and
then making it clear to everyone what are the projects that we're doing how did we land on this why are these why are these the things that we're going to ask you um to support um because I think the importance to illustrate the future kind of have models, have graphics, you
know, and again, your architect would be a good help in helping make sure then that the community can visualize where their dollars are going and why you're asking them to support this and then making it clear what the financial impact will be. And in some of the
referendums, you know, they say how important it is to make sure that the community understands that, you know, if your project is qualifies for for state funding. um making it clear how how important that is that you're saving the community dollars um as a result of this
so that you carefully selected projects and you want to make sure then you know that that message gets out there as well. Um and then from the community standpoint making sure that they know how if I have a question how am I going to get that answered? So again, making
all of those things um clear and then you know another piece of this and you know we see this a lot in boards right is misinformation right that it um gets out there a lot. So this is a time when we really need to get ahead of this
and we have to know then prepare for the fact that misinformation is going to be a part of this process. So I'm saying then that we need to plan for it kind of say okay you know some things you can kind of guess and say you know just based on other things that are out there
that you hear in the community and right away start addressing if you've got those FAQs out there they said you should like a live FAQ where it's updating so may have it out there once and I heard another question come in so I'm going to go in right away and update
it so that it's a a living document that is continually updated. Um and then saying you know the importance of kind of right before the vote when there's kind of more of a frenzy that that could be the time as well where there's you know a greater chance of misinformation spreading and
then again making sure that we are always only sticking to the facts. So if we are if people are you know have some kind of an emotional plea you know we can't get involved in that all we can do is provide the facts.
So the other thing here then then is okay so we've kind of talked about the communication so the other important piece of this is encouraging voter registration and voter turnout and I really can't emphasize this enough. Um
when I was on my board, um we were going through a referendum and one of the things that we learned, you know, again, you think how important it is to have the the support of the the parents and the people in your district was that only 25% of the parents in our district
were registered to vote in our town. So when you think about that, all of a sudden that like So we're like, we have some work to do, you know? So, so you, so you have really have to be mindful of the importance of that. Um, and so what
can we do then to help make sure then that that the the parents and the people that live in our town are registered to vote in our town? Um, so that so that we can um inform them and bring them and you know that they would be one of the
people that would be you know eligible to vote on this project. So again, getting out the vote and getting people registered to vote are also important aspects of this work. So we've talked about the fact, you
know, that we can't always just do this alone and it's important that there are other voices um in our community that can help and we always we call them key communicators, meaning the people who have a lot of credibility, right, in our community. either based on their
position, their role in our community, based on their expertise. Um, it can be somebody who's lived here a long time. Um, so these are the people then that this is where the board can really be helpful, right? Because you as
representatives of the community, you know who these key communicators are. So you could be helping the administration by telling them, "We need to connect with these people. We need to connect with these groups." If we want to really, you know, reach a large segment
of of our community, it's going to be a lot of times the relationships that you have formed as community members that are going to help with this process. Oops. So as and again as we look at key communicators again while we can only
provide factual materials you know we can give them factual material to work with but then the key communicators can take that information and then use it to to advocate a position to facilitate conversations with other community
groups and they can also share feedback that they learned with you so that we can take that into consideration. So kind of like another feedback loop. Um and then you know mentioned that there are other groups who can advocate
who can have those signs that say vote yes, right? And who can be the ones to to support this process. Um so um again making it clear that it's outside groups not related to the the board of education, not related to the district,
but outside groups who are choosing to assist in this process. So they can fund raise recognizing that if they you know earn a certain amount they have to claim those funds you know but um they can organize events. So as much as we can bring people in forformational things um
advocacy groups can have things in their homes and have you know community things and just kind of really reach out to the groups that they are part of. Um, and but again, they have to make sure that there's not a connection between what
they're doing and bringing it back to the school district as if you were part of this. So saying like they shouldn't use a school district email, they shouldn't use like the district logo and anything that would make it look like that that this is the district doing
this as opposed to another group. Um, and then the importance of using, you know, leveraging your local media and how important they are to help get the word out. So, making sure they have the information they need and then just continuing to to build a strategy with
the local media and considering them to be an important resource in this work um to help get um, you know, the community to be informed. So, I just wanted to share some practices of, you know, some districts
that had successful referendums and kind of some of the things on their websites that would say help contributed to this. Um, so like in one of them they said they had kind of like a referendum 101 video of kind of making it like suggesting that this is clear. I'm going
to take you through everything. I'm going to break it down for you so that there's no surprises. Um and then you know using clear and easy to read language, clear and easy to read fly pliers and graphics. Um taking kind of a multi-prong approach of having different
conversations. Um again that value for your dollars based on how much money is coming from the state. Um in one district they uh had a really strong collaboration um with their their teachers union. As a
matter of fact, the the place I found the article was on the NJA's website talking about how the how the teachers union and as a result of that collaboration, you know, what an important role their support was in this process. So again, just recognizing, you
know, different strategies that have proven to be effective. And so just kind of showing you here, as you look at kind of all the here was anformational night in a district and all the parents and there were different displays up and all kinds of different information. So again, making sure that our parents had
the information um available or our whole community actually available to them. Um, and then there were some lessons learned from some districts where the referendum did not pass. And this was kind of their reflection after it happened and said that our outreach
was too technical and said that in in like postreerendum surveys, the community said it was cold, they didn't feel connected. Um, in another case, the community said like you were great. You you told us, you informed us, but you
didn't ask us. And so it's important that you ask us what we want and listen to us. You didn't consult us. Um, one said that the group only focused on parents thinking that that was going to be enough to carry the referendum. And
then an example of a community that said they used a professional fir firm to help them do communication and messaging, but they said they didn't localize it. The community didn't connect with it. Didn't feel like it was talking about them. So all of those
things um are all important. So in terms of a timeline for the the communication of this is that it's pretty much about 6 months or so. Um so just said that you should kind of take the the referendum vote whenever that is
and then work backwards. So as you're planning your timeline start at the end and say okay well then two months before that we got to be doing this, two months before that we got to be doing this. So, and kind of use that then as the the guideline as you look at this
communication work that you need to do. Um, and then you know once the referendum we're going to be positive that it has passed, right? And saying that once that's happened that we can't stop communicating that, right? It's important that the community understands
what you're doing with with the with the trust that the community placed in you and passing this properly, keeping them up to bate, up to date, keep, you know, keep bringing them in the loop to support you so that the next time should this ever need to happen again. um you
now have people that can trust you and under you know and will remember the fact that um that you were um keeping them in the loop and that you were were open and um you know appreciated their support. So kind of to sum things up
saying engage early and often we have to be clear and saying that we have to build trust right that's what this is all about. So saying the key isn't just what you propose it's how people feel about it. um and saying that even the
best proposal can fail if people feel excluded. So just again making sure that from the board's perspective we're doing the work that we can um to make sure that we're earning our public's trust in this process while we're informing them
throughout that process. So that I think that is pretty much the last slide. So I don't know if you have any questions for me. Okay. to see you guys are going since this is my last night. Thank you very
good luck in your retirement. Congratulations. Thank you. Good luck in your refer. Thank you everyone. Thank you. Good night. Good night. That was great. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Peterson.
It is my pleasure. Certainly gave us some great feedback. Um and uh we're able to apply a lot of it. Good. Thank you. Good night everyone. Uh moving along, we have um some news section from our superintendence report.
Um although it's old news at this point, we do have a new head baseball coach um that we're getting ready um for uh the spring season with Phil Malik from um who's a phys teacher at the middle
school is will be appointed as the head baseball coach at the high school. Um he has coached at the middle school. He's won multiple playoff games and he reached the middle school championship in 2022. Um he has a significant presence in the youth and travel baseball team circuit. He's done a lot
of coaching there. Uh he has coached soccer, tennis, basketball, and hockey at the middle school and the high school levels just since I've been here. I'm going on my third year. So he's always an active presence. Uh not only coaching our children, but also cheering them on on the sidelines when he's not coaching.
Um develops relationships in the classroom and it shows out on the athletic field. um and has a significant passion for the game. Uh Phil balances culture and strategy uh which are really important uh touch points for the
athletes of 2025 and we feel very strongly about that. He's high level technical skill coaching, understands the game, but more importantly to me is that he understands kids and um so we're thrilled uh to have him and um and uh I
know the community is as well. The high school um has a um has a green team and they earned a river friendly school and they spent all year last year through the great leadership of Claire Taylor and others um to earn that
designation. They worked closely with Mr. Young who's their adviser and they completed a comprehensive checklist of actions to help protect our rivers and waterways uh to support wildlife habit habitats and to support um or educate their fellow students. So they tested
the quality of drinking water. They cleaned up and enhanced the rain gardens uh here at the high school. Installed bluebird nest boxes uh at the high school. presented a program to fellow students about upycling, which is turning used clothing into new products
instead of throwing them away, and organized a plastics collection for recycling. And uh they did a lot of great work, and these are not easy designations to earn. So, uh well earned um by the high school green team. Um
great news there. Dr. Butler and um her team have been busy all summer long through the Somerset Hills Professional Development Institute. Uh there are 25 courses uh that started running this summer and we
have a fall session uh as well that runs in October through December and there were courses in differentiated instruction, special education, technology and social emotional learning. Um, and we have some great photos here of of teachers uh doing some
great learning uh in the summertime. So, I want to thank Danielle Strazza and Dr. Butler for uh their great work this summer. Our technology team is I'm sorry, Colleen. We did let Mia take a picture of us.
It's a great picture. It's adorable. Great picture. Thank you, Mia, if you're watching. Mia takes great pride in highlighting um the district far and wide and uh certainly uh Danielle Strazza is someone that works closely with Dr. Butler and
uh she does just terrific work and um puts puts the teachers in the position to be successful. Our technology team has been very busy this summer preparing um a variety of areas in and around the district. uh
whether it's Chromebooks or iPads, um upgrading our workstations, uh certainly migrating a website, rolling Genesis over, um doing some um infrastructure work with our copper wiring and um etc,
etc. The job is never done for a technology team and um they've done a great job. So, congratulations to them or thank you to them. We've spent uh parts of August in an administrative retreat and also welcoming new staff members. Uh we
hosted uh review preview which was an administrative retreat for a team of our administrators and supervisors. Uh we had a variety of trainings and breakout sessions in a variety of topics regarding school leadership team planning, lesson planning, software that
we're bringing online, um student assessments, uh harassment, intimidation, and bullying practices, uh student cell phone usage, climate and culture, uh school law. uh we bring in uh the board's attorney for a presentation on um important topics of
the day and uh believe it or not had some discussions about fiscal year 27. Uh we're beginning that work um believe it or not in earnest. So I'll start talking about that. We have brought on
our new educators uh this week. They were in for a 3-day orientation and uh were apprised of a variety of areas in technology, classroom management, student staff wellness, uh lesson planning, title 9, HIV, genesis, and
more. Uh they got school tours and um are starting to become assimilated to their own schools uh at this point. And uh we have a host of new team members here across um across the entire district. It was a heavier year for
retirement uh this past spring. Uh so we have a host of new people that you all have approved throughout the springtime. Uh so thank you for that and welcome to all of our new staff members here.
Fall is alive and kicking. Fall is alive and spiking on our volleyball courts and running on our football fields. um making music uh in what has become our uh marching band practice area in the parking lot and uh
creating uh this year's marching band show. Uh if there's anybody that's in the area tomorrow afternoon at 2:30, uh we do have a preview of the marching band show out on Field. Um, and moving
along, we have uh kids blocking on our soccer teams and building team spirit on the soccer field. Uh, we do have a great collection of student athletes right now that are uh participating in our programs. Eight cheerleaders, 45 in
cross country, 51 in field hockey, 63 in football. There are 24 in our marching band and color guard. Um, and uh, do stand corrected. Tomorrow's preview show is at 2 o'clock on Old
Field. Uh, there's 48 players on the boys soccer team, 38 on the girls soccer team, 33 girls tennis players, and 44 girls volleyball players. So, um, always an opportunity for kids to, uh,
participate at the, uh, in our variety of sports, which is a great thing. This summer has been the summer of lights. Things are starting to get illuminated uh all over the district. Uh so you see uh some cranes doing some
significant work um installing LED lighting on Okodot Field. Uh and there also are two uh great shots uh from the performing arts center. Uh this year out of capital reserve uh we did apply uh
significant funding for a uh upgrade in the performing arts center and that follows a multi-year commitment that the board made. Um they previously upgraded the audio system in the pack. So, uh, everything looks great in there.
And, uh, last night we commissioned the, uh, lights out on Alcott Field. And, uh, we have two significant photographs here that I just want to alert, uh, or call your attention to. Uh, the first to the top right, the larger of the
photographs, shows uh, that the field itself uh, is illuminated uh, as planned for. uh and you'll see that as you move away from the center of the field uh you do see the light level decrease. Uh so
if you recall the the multiple presentations that we made and and in working with our engineers, they talked about what uh type of illumination we would be behind the press boxes, right? And you see that certainly it's it's less. And then as you get closer to
Avenue, you start to see um frankly dark darkness um as well. Um our bottom left is a photograph taken um from the driveway uh coming into um into the high school parking lot uh by the old
building and um you see that certainly the athletic field is well lit and then there is a uh decline and decrease as lighting um in the lighting as you move towards Avenue. So um we are consider ourselves prepared. We do have our first
athletic contest on Friday night. Uh we are prepared and ready to go. Uh we know how to work the software that works the lights, which um was uh a bit of a hike to to figure out, but we're uh little bit of practice and
uh we're all good. Uh so um Mia always likes to have good fun uh in our presentations as well and uh she is looking forward in our quest at the high school to pummel Cranford on Friday
night. So um 7:00 um the story is yet to be told whether or not we pummeled. Um but there will be a well-lit game. So I'm looking forward to that. Um so from a perspective of informing
the public certainly uh we like to have a multi-pronged approach. I found over um my time here and I found over the course of my career uh people don't necessarily like one lane um predominantly. So we provide multiple lanes. So messages from the
superintendent will um be distributed at least every third Thursday of the month um and others as needed. Um district news is ongoing and that goes through um my office and through MIA. Uh superintendence reports are posted after
each board meeting for the public to peruse. They are also included in the board brief which um gets uh sent out and distributed and posted the Monday following each board meeting uh as well. So there's multiple ways to get
information there. Uh we have our district pathways which is our newsletter that gets distributed every month. We have a YouTube channel uh that uh collects content for board meetings and also we have our school Friday folders and they are distributed every Friday except during winter and spring
break. So um that's on top of the classroom level communication. So uh we do have multiple lanes in which to communicate and we do take that uh rather seriously. Uh speaking of referendum communication uh information and dos and don'ts, uh
the administration on behalf of the board has been working on a communications plan and we have a bonafide plan and bonafide content and a structure moving forward. Uh I I have worked with SAM to develop a an ad hoc committee for uh referendum
communications and they were able to give us some great feedback and great insight and you know we've been able to apprise them of different materials that are being created on their behalf as we move forward. Uh so uh what you're looking at here uh ultimately will
become a um a banner um that will be distributed throughout uh the district and um I will speak to specifics uh towards the end of my comments regarding the referendum. Uh so just to bring the board members uh back up to speed
regarding referendum 2026, uh we are planning for a March 10th, 2026 public vote. That puts us in a great spot from a communications perspective. We have plenty of time. Uh we're going to uh start the implementation of distributing
information out to the public uh shortly. Uh and um so there's plenty of time there. Um, we are seeking to replace expiring debt uh with the same debt over the next 20 years. We do have state aid that is
available to defay overall costs. Uh the total projected costs are 38,24,257 and that would be the total bonded amount. Okay. Um, we are projecting to receive $12,578,787
[Music] in state aid. That will come to the board in 20 installments uh once you receive your state aid notification. So, you don't get that upfront. Um, you still bond for the total amount. Uh, and
then, uh, we do receive state aid on a year-by-year basis. Okay? So, it's not 12 million up front. Total tax impact, total current tax impact to the Somerset Hills taxpayers is zero dollars. Uh regardless of a municipality that you
live in, Bernardsville, Peepack, Gladstone, Far Hills, 0 impact on your current year tax um situation. At Bedwell there is there are plans for security infrastructure, security vestibules, uh science, technology,
engineering and math classroom. Um roofing various sections, ADA toilets, kindergarten access and overall branding. At the middle school uh we have security infrastructure planned uh science lab renovations uh roofing
various areas and branding. And at the high school we have security infrastructure, uh science lab renovations, science, technology, engineering and math spaces, robotics spaces, uh culinary arts lab, uh
technology enhancements and branding. There are a host of project categories that we have worked closely with the board's architects on and those are under the umbrella of enhanced learning environments. Those are in the arts,
those are in learning and those are in wellness. Uh we do have a safety component in our in the bond referendum and also an operational component as well. Our priorities in this referendum uh
were science labs, chemistry, bioysics, uh STEM labs and technology classroom space, a media center upgrade at uh Bedwell, um kindergarten classroom renovations, uh special education and stars programming renovations, uh and
the creation of a culinary arts classroom and visual arts classroom renovation. ations. That's what we sought out to do from a perspective of examining our district-wide capital projects. Um,
we're looking to upgrade and expand our camera systems and implement school notification and school lockdown systems, new ones at all schools. Um we are looking to provide a secure vestibule uh with lockown capabilities but lock down doors and hardware at
Bedwell. Okay. Bedwell does not have a dedicated security vestibule. So uh that is included in here. All schools will provide ballistic window film um on all first level uh spaces and u muchneeded
replacement of leaking and deteriorated roof sections will commence at all schools. All building wide fire alarm systems will be replaced at the middle and high school. Uh there will be bleacher replacements that have ADA compliance um
at the high school as well in the um lower gym and in the upper gym. And uh we also have some measures to enhance school community through some branding um measures as well. Diving a little deeper here, the high
school um looks to renovate its STARS program space uh to include a culinary arts lab um for um uh for the school as well. Um there's great integration um with our STAR students. Uh great possibilities for integration there. Uh
science labs renovations which we spoke about um TV broadcasting and studio renovations. uh various uh sections of our roofing to be um replaced. Um upgrading and expanding our existing camera and security systems and installing
ballistic film on all of the lower level windows at the middle school. Uh those science labs may be originals. Uh so we are going to renovate them. Uh there's various sections in in our roofing that we're looking to renovate, upgrade and
expand our camera and security systems and enhance uh through branding and uh installing ballistic film on all first level classrooms. And uh Bedwell does have a renovation of kindergarten classrooms uh that does
include ADA toilets. Uh it also includes an exterior corridor to provide direct access to kindergarten classrooms. Uh there's a security office that we're looking to tie into the security vestibule. Uh that will be on the main floor. Um some camera and security
enhancements, ballistic film, and some roof work in various sections at Quebec. Typically, there are anytime you have a referendum, it comes with questions. Uh here's a question. Will my children be
impacted by construction? So we take the safety and security of um our students into consideration when planning out uh what projects to do and when they will do it. Um most cases we plan those uh projects to be completed during the
summer months or during times when students are not in schools. So sometimes in a third shift at the end of the school day, sometimes during our extended breaks. Uh we will kind of work around u those schedules. In this referendum, we are not building a new
school. We're not building an addition. So, it's it's really isn't a scenario where we're away from kids. Uh so, we put everything into um into account there. So, uh children will not be impacted by the construction itself.
Another popular question is can we can more money be spent than the amount approved by the board in the question? Short answer is no. You bond for what you bond for. If you want to go and do something else, then the board uh can work with me and the
and the business administrator through like our capital program on an annual budget, but you cannot spend more. Um they cannot exceed the amount approved by the voters. So um we develop a reasonable budget uh
that does offer contingencies um but you cannot exceed the budget. So the number is the number. Why hasn't the board done any of this work over the past 20 years? So the board utilizes our capital reserve funds
and our maintenance reserve funds and we use that funding um to address repairs and upgrades on an annual basis. Uh so in my short time here we have utilized uh our that funding to address uh the
pack, our athletic facilities, um our media centers. Uh so the board has done uh a lot of work uh since its last referendum. However, we are also constrained by um caps and how much money the board can spend every year.
And um frankly, there's only so much money to go around and you don't want to spend down your capital reserve balances too much. Uh so the board has made sensible decisions over the past 20 years. Uh the board has applied capital and maintenance reserve funding over the
past 20 years, but it only gets you so far. Uh so this allows um this allows for greater work to be done um with that. How will my taxes be impacted? If I am a
part of the New Jersey senior tax freeze program. So if you're currently participating in the senior tax freeze program, your taxes will remain unaffected by the bond. If the bond passes, your taxes remain the same. If
the bond does not pass, your taxes remain the same. It's a good question. May I ask a question? Sure. Since I don't know what the New Jersey senior tax free
Yeah. So, we will make some efforts to uh inform the community and and perhaps even yourself on how to apply for the senior tax senior tax, right? So, it's a so it's a program. So, You're not old enough. Certainly not. Right.
So, Brian Brian, I'm I'm giving a seminar on how to fill out the booklet on September the 15th at the Burnersville Library. Okay. And I am all Yeah. So, so if you come,
I will even fill it out for you if you had struggles because I I filled at least 40 of them out so far. and um thinking about when work would begin. Uh the schedule is yet to be told. Uh
but we would potentially begin some projects as early as summer of 26. Those would probably be like your easier projects, your lowhanging fruit. Um but we would be um our job is to put the
projects out to bid. Our job is to arrive at the lowest possible cost for the board and for the taxpayers in the event that um the referendum vote is successful. Uh so it's yet to be told um
what would start when. Um so we're up against um kind of some timing um as well when it comes to what's the best time to bid workout. So um that is yet to be told. Um we would have projects in
the summers of 27 and summers of 28 as well. So uh we have some tax impact implications here which is a separate uh flyer um that I wanted to include here. Um so we
have some debt that is coming off of the books and expiring after March of 2026. Uh we have a total project cost of 38,24,257. We're expecting state aid. We're expecting about 33.09%
state aid. Um you can you can qualify for up to 34%. Uh we have one project that we're anticipating will not receive state aid and that is the construction of a security bedwell. Uh everything else we're anticipating qualifies for state
aid and that aid figure is 12,578,787. Um if you live in Bernardsville, we have the average assessed home value at 975,586. U Bernardville Burough will not have a
um the current tax impact will not increase. Far Hills, we have the average assessed home at,293,740. Current tax impact will not increase. People Gladstone average assessed home
we have at 956,693. Current tax impact will not increase. Uh we have uh we utilize uh financial planners um and we use Phoenix financial and they have been calculated to assume
a net zero net neutral zero um tax scenario for the taxpayers. Um cost projections are based on a 4% interest rate over 20 years. So that depends on the bond market. So, in the
event that um the community supports the referendum, uh we will then you will authorize the superintendent and the business administrator to engage in a bond sale. And that's um that's actually a lot of fun. Um but it's, you know,
it's it's very interesting. Um and it goes right down to the last second as far as what kind of rate we're going to get. Um and uh you have a breakdown here of costs per school. Uh how much is um you
know how much are we getting you know overall out of each school. So um good information to have. we are looking at and and kind of consistent with my uh belief in communication overall is um certainly
you know we'll have largecale presentations to the community but I also believe in um in many smaller uh smaller venues in order to educate and have authentic discussions with uh variety of stakeholders. Uh so we're going to actually start that in earnest
tomorrow. uh we will begin to discuss uh the board's referendum intentions with uh the mayors in the Somerset Hills region. Uh so I'll sit down with the board president and with Mr. Lori and kind of talk about um high level what
are we what are we looking to do and then um and kind of educate them as key stakeholders for their own communities. Uh we fully intend on having a presence at uh a a lot of largecale um activities
and community events throughout uh the fall and as we dive into the winter. Um our initiatives and our schedule really was informed by the ad hoc uh committee. So I want to thank you all that uh provided some great feedback. Um we have
a Hispanic family welcome back um session next weekend. um that we'll be at. There's a football game Friday night that we'll have uh presence there with um some branding um and things will sort
of go live between now and then. Um there's back to school nights at the middle school uh Bedwell and at the high school throughout um throughout September and we have reserved a table at the Bedminster Fall Festival uh as
well. So that's a big event and um we do intend on um showing up at a host of things throughout the community as well. Um so I have a whole list that I think I've shared with the board uh in the past. If not, I'll send it out. But um
so we will mix large scale presentations um where architect will be there. Uh we will also mix in smaller uh more intimate settings that I'll handle. Um and uh we have uh reached out to various key communicators uh whether they are
business owners, realers, um you know, parents, uh uh folks that don't have school age children, and I've gotten a lot of great feedback from the board about uh different groups that I did not think about. Uh so thank you for those particular board members that were able
to come up with some good ideas. Um there's a QR code here is any community group can schedule a meeting um you know with me and and a team and we'll we'll come to whatever your group is you know we'll come to you and and um you know we'll
talk about what what the goals are and why we're doing things and um and how we're going to do them and what the overall costs are. So, uh, we want to take a very targeted approach and by doing that, um, I feel like we need to be very, um, very open and very
intentional and very accessible to the variety of folks in in the various towns that we're serving. So, um, as far as, uh, the when goes, uh, we are ready to to go live. So, uh,
meaning that we have, uh, through our good friend Connor Flynn, um, our website is live with content. Um, our website does a very nice job breaking up, um, the referendum presentation. We have a slide deck of like 60 slides. On
our website, we have about eight different sections that are highlighted on our website. So, if you if all you care about is the financial section, you can just hit the financial slides. If all you care about is bedwell, you can hit bed well. So, um so we are ready to
go live with our uh website. Uh we are kicking off with our mayor meetings tomorrow morning um in near moments. It feels like um on Friday morning uh we will send a letter
out to the community um indicating uh that tonight I spoke with the board about um our longrange facility plan and our intentions to go out to referendum. Um the community will have access to a dedicated email mailbox in which to send
questions to. They will have access to Instagram and Facebook accounts that have been created. uh they will have access to our website. So whatever your way of learning and communicating is
outlined in that letter. Um we have branding that will be um visible on old field on you know during the fall season. uh we have branding that will be visible at all the schools um when
community members uh approach the schools as far as uh when the vote is and how to access information. So, um, y'all have been working on this for well over a year, whether it's looking for an
architect or examining, uh, what your what the status of your schools are, examining, um, a lot of different projects and you you've narrowed this down. So, uh, we're taking the next step on your behalf. Um, an informed board
member is a valuable board member. So, we want to be aware of that information before it goes out. You all ready? Okay. Ready? Uh, moving along to some curriculum work. Um, we have a new program that's
called Atlas. It's a curriculum resource for staff and parents. Um, it's curriculum management. Um it facilitates uh alignment amongst um different areas of the curriculum. Um it provides a greater level of staff articulation and interconnectivity.
Um greater collaboration and it's a safe and a consistent repository with our curriculum. We were kind of like in the Google uh stone age uh the way we were housing and cataloging our curriculum. Uh so we move forward with with Atlas
and it's been a terrific resource thus far and uh we're just at the beginning stages of rolling it out. Uh Dr. Butler, I don't know if you want to add anything else um regarding this particular program. I would just say I think it's going to be a very um impactful and dynamic
resource, but we are growing into it this year. So you won't see all of the benefits of it in September. Um it will have a nice um parentf facing feature as well, but that won't be fully active until probably next summer or spring,
spring, but lots to look forward to. We're really excited about it. We have some dual enrollment announcements here that we were able to discuss with the curriculum committee, but it bears uh presentation here. Uh
Rare Valley Community College, we have dual enrollment opportunities for multivariable calculus. Kain University for tomorrow's teachers. We have an entrepreneurship program at the University of Delaware and then Satan Hall uh French 4, Latin 4, Spanish 5,
and journalism 2. Uh so over time we've been able to grow our dual enrollment programming and we're very happy about that. Um as well we facilitated the advanced placement uh testing on behalf of the college board last spring. uh students took uh the
high school 778 tests. Uh the mean score on those 778 tests taken by our students was 3.77 off of a fivepoint scale. Um the average mean on New Jersey subject tests taken
by high school students was 3.41 and the global mean was 3.24. So, um, we had tests taken in 26 subjects by high school students here. Uh, 21 of those subjects had an average score
above the New Jersey average. 22 of those subjects had an average score above the global average. And the high school students generally outperformed their New Jersey peers and their global peers. Uh, we also uh administered access uh
2.0 know that's for our English language learners and um we were able to get um some great information there. Our ELLL students, our ML students at Bewa Elementary School, 44% were expected to
meet the state goal and 56% likely did. Um, uh, the students in our bilingual kindergarten program met their proficiency goals with strong reading growth. And students who were serviced by our title one teachers um, saw 88%
met their growth standards and 52% of those students that were serviced by the title one teacher had 52%. Uh, 52% had double growth. That's great. So, very strong outcomes there. Uh, the
middle school uh 22% of those students were expected to meet the state goal and 21 likely did. Students showed strong growth in speaking after uh encouraging classroom strategies. And at the high school it was similar to
middle uh where 22% were expected to meet the state goal and 25% likely did uh SCEs uh need 8 to 10 years for full proficiency and 47% of them met that goal. Newcomer students showed strong
growth in all domains. There's a motion on the agenda tonight for the student safety data submission uh data system submission and that is a report that we have that we upload uh twice per year to the department of education and it's a it's a report that
outlines um incidents that uh transpire um and some of the incidents could be um range from a host of things um that are outlined on this list here. Uh just to be clear, this list does not entail everything that happened in our schools
from last year. So there was no arsenal. There was no, you know, just understand that those are the things we have to report. Um so we did have incidents that uh we reported and that uh by and large
we have um worked with the board on and communicated that with as well. So that got uploaded and that is on the agenda for tonight. Uh we continue to take an examination of cell phone usage. Um K to8 were in full
alignment with our partners in Bedminster. Uh we have a task force uh that includes pediatric physicians, district physicians, uh mental health professionals, a board uh representative. Um thank you Nicole. And it was led by Dr. Butler. And there are
also some researchers at higher ed that have contributed um to that as well. Uh at Bedwell Middle School, there are no changes to our cell phone um policy or cell phone procedures rather. Um at the high school, phones will be um phones
will not be permitted in classrooms. So they will be placed in what we're calling hotels, phone hotels. Um phones will be permitted during passing time, will be permitted during lunch. Uh we sought to strike a balance um for uh you know with that um at the
district level the gradebook tab in Genesis will open every day at 2:30 um and we feel that that's an important shift and um we will uh see how we do in the winter and and do do a a deeper dive if necessary uh regarding uh cell phone
matters particularly as it relates to the high school to be frank. Um so um you know we will we will see how it goes with our hotels and um what I know about the students in this district is they generally um are almost universally meet
the standard that we set for them. So um we're looking to see how that goes. Um but also we're looking to strike a balance um as well. We um have been granted through the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs
uh a grant in the amount of $130,000 to conduct what's called regionalization study. Uh that is done to assess the feasibility of merging Somerset Hills with Bedminster Township uh into one prek through grade 12 district. Uh so
our next step really is for the two boards to meet and we're in the process of scheduling a joint meeting. Um and the intention of the joint meeting is to uh avail the two boards uh with a greater understanding of how the study
will be conducted. Um we fully intend on recommending the Sweeney Center for Public Policy. Um and that is led by the Rowan University School Regionalization Institute. Uh they will present to both boards. Um the study to be clear will
determine whether or not regionalization is feasible and if the variables have changed since the last study was conducted and the last time this was conducted was in 2003. Uh the outcome of the study does not determine or
guarantee any future actions that either of the boards would make. The intention of this study is to inform the boards. That is the intention and that's an important point as um you may get approached by community members that
want greater depth. You know, at this point, uh, we are having a third party examine the two districts and look at a multitude of variables, uh, around, um, regionalization and if it's feasible. Um, need to thank Miss Gomez and the
Bedminster uh, board of education. They've been very receptive um, to this request and your superintendent has been a pleasure to work with. Um, and so, thank you. Um you guys have looked at this um with with with eyes wider. So
thank you. And uh wrapping up my report. Um looking ahead, we have the debut of field lighting. Uh staff returns next week. We have first day with kids uh which is always a great day. We start our back to school nights. Uh we start pitching and
and a explaining the referendum. Um there's a grand reopening and a 25th 25th anniversary celebration of the Burnsville Library. That is on September 4th from 5 to 7. Um, as many of you are
probably aware, the library itself took on some significant damage um in in a restroom and um I'm on the board of trustees there and uh what a um what a long project to to get those restrooms
back up and running. So, uh they're having a reopening event and they're also celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Burnsville Library. It's a beautiful space and uh we're welcoming everybody in there. So, come one, come all. Uh 5:00 to 7:00 next Thursday. Um we're
beginning our budget development and uh engaging with um the various committees now. We're starting with the business operations committee uh and I referenced a joint meeting with Bedminster on a date yet to be determined. So, that
culminates my report. Thank you very much, Dr. Brochel. A lot to digest and a lot to um undertake at the start of the school year, but a lot of exciting stuff. Thank you so much. Um
so, at this time, we would be entering into the public comments for actionable agenda items. Um, I just wanted to acknowledge um in light of the fact that um sometimes it is difficult for community members to make it to meetings
um or make it through a meeting that um this in these public comments that is not the only manner in which you can reach board members or the board as a whole. Um we encourage anyone with questions or comments to reach out
either directly to board members through the website um the new and improved website which is extremely clear and you simply click on our at our names um and you can send an email directly to us. However, if you wish to have an email
sent to the entirety of the board, you do not have to go through the process of emailing us each individually. You can simply send an email to Mr. Lori who is our board secretary with a note that you would like this correspondence to be disseminated to the entire board for
their review. Um it's important um communication with the public is uh of paramount importance to us and we just want to make clear that you always have a mechanism for getting in touch with us and sharing your thoughts. Um, so with
that being said, for the in-person public comments, 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 is a second public forum on any topic. Please state your name and address. Comments are limited to 3 minutes. At 3 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. In accordance with New Jersey statute, the board will not discuss matters regarding specific
personnel. Public comments will be limited to 30 minutes. A reminder for all parties in attendance to rem remain respectful and that there should be no interaction between the speaker and the audience and members of the audience should interfere with or interrupt a speaker's comments. And we always thank you in advance for your input. Um
I don't think there are any public comments. So if I could ask for a motion to close public comments, Miss Hoppy and a second. Miss Cooper, thank you very much. Okay. So then moving on to the approval of the minutes, I would like to
ask for a motion to approve the public input and action and executive meeting minutes for June 16, 2025. Can I get a motion to approve the minutes, Miss Ballard? And second, Mr. Baker, is there any discussion regarding the minutes?
The roll call, please. Mr. Baker, yes. Miss Ballard, yes. Miss Clark Emory, yes. Miss Cooper, yes. Miss Gills, yes. Mrs. Gomez, yes. Mrs. Hoppy, yes. Mrs. Santoro, abs. Mrs. Ry, abst. And Mrs. Friend,
yes. Motion carries. Okay. Thank you. Um, as we do every year at this time, we need to have a public hearing on our annual um nursing services plan. Um so
we at this time we would open the public hearing for discussion among the board as it pertains to the nursing plan if there is any discussion to be had. No. Okay. And um we would then follow that with public comments and invite the
public to comment if they have any. But um we do not have any members of the public here with us this evening. So, I would like to ask for a motion to close the public hearing. Miss Cooper and Miss Santoro. Is that a second? Thank you. Um
and then I would like to mot make a motion to approve action item number two. Um the summer school district school district nursing services plan for 2526. And I please get a motion, Miss Hoppy. And the second for Miss Ry. Thank you
very much. Um and roll. Miss Ballard. Yes. Miss Clark Emery. Yes. Miss Cooper, yes. Miss Gills, yes. Mrs. Gomez, yes. Mrs. Hoppy, yes. Mrs. Santoro, yes. Mrs. Ry, yes. Mr. Baker, yes. Mrs. Frena, yes.
Motion carries. Okay. Thank you very much. Um, the next item before we get into our regular committee reports uh is related to negotiations. Um, and there is one action item to approve the me memorandum of agreement with the Somerset Hills
Administrators Association dated August 27th, 2025 and covering the period of July 1st, 2025 and June 30th, 2028. So, may I have a motion to approve that Miss Santor in a second, Mr. Baker? Thank
you. Is there any discussion related to this item? I would just like to say thank you to the administrators association as when we always reach the culmination of um a negotiations process. It is um it is a
very good it is a very good time for us and um we are very grateful for their collaboration and being able to reach this point. Um so if there is no further discussion we can do roll call. Miss Clark Emory. Yes. Miss Cooper.
Yes. Miss Gills, yes. Mrs. Gomez, yes. Mrs. Hoppy, abstain. Mrs. Santoro, yes. Mrs. Rody, yes. Mr. Baker, yes. Miss Boward, yes. Mrs. Friendley, yes. The motion carries. Okie dokie. Then we're going to go into
business operations. Mr. Baker. Okay. Um, the business operation committee met um August 12th for just under two hours. All members were present. Um and we discussed 20 items.
Uh out of the 20 items, there's several confidential which I will skip and I will also give audience to mention items that Dr. Gel has already talked about because uh he did an excellent job informing us.
So I'll just bring those up. So um uh first item we talked about was the lower gym improvement project will start this fall. We're going to uh refinish the entire um lower gym floor and we're going to purchase a vinyl floor covering
so you can hold events um people walking on the floor with normal shoes and and moving things around that will not hurt the gym floor. And that's being funded by an anonymous donation of $50,000 plus $600,000
$6,000. Sorry about that. I'll give you $6,000 from capital to fund those two items. Um it shouldn't affect physical education classes too much because uh we can move them around.
They'll be outside a lot. So, um they'll work around it when it's a rainy day and things like that. And hopefully it will be done before it starts snowing. Um uh next item, we we uh cleared um old
equipment and equipment that's been stored in lower classrooms in Bedwell. There's uh an item on the agenda number 31 to uh approve discarding various equipment, sort of like cleaning out your attic or
your basement. Um so now we can use those for instructional space. Uh we received extraordinary aid from the state and they're going to give us $293,843. um we don't budget for this amount
because it changes every year based on on on the number of special ed students that we have and they change the formula too. So we're quite happy with that number. It's a slight less than last year, right? But it's still a significant amount to help us
uh provide services to all the students. Um the high school football team will be spending will be not practicing all the time on all cut field. They will be using the lower grass field to give field hockey soccer a chance to use arut
field for practice. But they were going to be if you're familiar with the lower field you got your baseball and your softball field and they're going to be way in the far corner trying to stay off the renovations and improvements that that we did. So that will happen through
the fall and they've scheduled that out. Uh we we uh Dr. Brochel mentioned that we found a um a bubble on the running track on Alcott Field that um was a surprise and they got the company to come back and repair it. So that's taken
care of. Um the several departments in the Alcott building have moved uh to different locations. So, the business administration office is now back on the second floor in its entirety and the um
the registration office is on the first floor. This is to give the public better service when they come in to get things from us. Um, we got a surprise rebate of $7,000, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it's still $7,000 from Amera Health
Insurance Company for uh excess premium charge for 2017. Now, we can either we discussed we could either give it back to every employee that we could find and how much they paid. Um, that would be very complicated and a lot of employees
are no longer here. So we can also use it for any way we see see fit. So Dr. Bolf and Mr. will find a use for the $7,000 healthcare cost. Um
next item we talked about we're going out for a request for proposals for our healthc care benefits broker. We we it's good practice to go out for um you know RFPs for every service provider whether
it's an architect um uh your auditor your your legal team. So we haven't done uh our broker for well over five years. So we're going to go out and ask for that and that doesn't require a resolution to do that.
Uh Dr. both uh we talked about the allcon field lighting and I'm not going to talk about that. Um I feel bad that I'm not going to see the game on Friday. I'm going to be on vacation, but I will certainly find the game the next game or it will come down when it's on again. I
don't know. But I'll miss that. Um we talked about the about the pack improvement projects and uh we we saw the pictures in Dr. Brochial's um report. The only thing left was um we got more we got more more body mics with
the new sound system. They were they have to sync up the old body mics and the new body mics to work on on the software that gets it up into the speaker. So that's going to have to be done or it's it may be done already. I don't know. So otherwise it looks great.
Um, we we talked about the grant we got for the regionalization study of $130,000. So, I'm going to skip that one. Everything that we talked about was in Dr. Brochial's um information. Um,
we every year when the school year closes, we do the reconciliation of the Bedminister tuition and that's been completed. It's higher than we thought it was going to be because the healthc care costs are higher and the amount of capital projects at the high school was
larger than we normally have in a specific year. So, Dr. Bosch will commun communicate that to Ben Mister shortly if he hasn't already. Um the Adaha committee on the referendum
has developed a calendar and you saw a lot of that information here. So we're going to be doing a lot of public information as as was shown in tonight's presentation. We had several parents who are concerned
about uh the safe walking on B Colony Road and Charles Avenue as a hazardous route to walking to Bedwell and and Middle School. We got input from the police department. They feel it doesn't rise to that category and
the committee agreed. But Dr. Roshual is going to do more research on that before getting back to the parents. There's an item on the agenda tonight for the um for the SLEO contract uh number 26 where there's no change in the
hourly rate for the three officers uh that will provide security service um for the coming year. Um Mr. Mr. Lori uh presented the budget calendar and that's number 29 on the
agenda we're going to vote for. It's pretty much the same as last year except the budget retreat is now fixed for March the 14th, 2026. You can put that on your calendar. March the 14th
um on a Saturday. And um I I may still come. It's a social event of the season. I know. it wouldn't be the same. Um we hope you do. Thank you. And the last item um is
there's u there's agenda items 17 and 18 is to designate Dr. Boil as the back of board secretary for the coming year and retroactively to June 16th because there are sometimes Mr. Lori cannot be in the
executive session when we're um talking about certain things. Okay. And that's my report. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Baker. Um so then at this time, I would like to ask for a motion to approve action items number 1 through 38 on the
agenda. Would someone like Mr. Baker and a second? Anyone like Miss Ry? Thank you. And is there any discussion regarding business operations? Okay. Um I just wanted to reference the um item number 30 which is we're approving the NJS30 workshop fee. Mr.
Lori was kind enough to hand out a sheet to us and how that relates to um action item number two in the curriculum for those of us who will be attending the workshop. So I just kind of wanted to point out um how those overlap um
before we move to will call if there is no further discussion. Then roll call, please. Miss Cooper, yes. Miss Gills, yes. Mrs. Gomez, yes. Mrs. Hoppy, yes. Mrs. Santoro, yes. Mrs. Ry,
yes. Mr. Baker, yes. Mrs. Ballard, yes. Miss Clark Emory, yes. Mrs. Frena, yes. The motion carries. Okay, great. Does anybody have anything for new or old business for business operations? Nope. Okay, great. Then we can move on
to the report of curriculum. Miss Cooper, curriculum committee met Wednesday, August 13th for 2 hours and 15 minutes. All committee members were in attendance and we're joined by Dr. Brochel, Dr. Butler, Mr. Catelli, and Dr. Ed. We had
a really packed agenda this month and discussed a wide range of topics uh of which many were previewed by Dr. tonight. I'm gonna I might discuss those just just to add a little additional color. So, um Mr. Catelli began the meeting with an update of on the
progress of our multi- language learners as assessed by access testing. You know, Dr. Bchel will review those results earlier. Um but just to give a little bit more background, access 2.0 is an annual test required by the NJ DOE to measure English language proficiency in
reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students can score from 1.6 and exit the program at 4.5. Each student has an individual growth goal that's set by the state. At Bedwell, 56% likely met this growth goal. All students in the exploros are bilingual
kindergarters met their proficiency goals with strong growth in reading. Among Bedwell students who reer received services from our title one teachers, 88% met growth targets and 52% showed double growth. And the committee was thrilled of the progress in this population and thanked the
administration and the staff at Bedwell for making this progress possible. In BMS, uh 21% met growth targets. BMS stu students showed strong growth in in speaking, but improvement in reading was slower than expected in the future. MLL
goals will be targeted using elevation to ensure consistency of support. In the high school, 25% likely met the state goal. Um approximately 65% of our MLL students are students with interrupted formal education or cy according to Mr.
Patelli Mes typically need 8 to 10 years to achieve proficiency in English. If the goal was modified to account for the additional time needed that sites need to achieve her proficiency, 47% would would be expected to meet the unpaid goal.
While our newcomers uh high school students showed strong growth, growth was slower among upperassmen and long-term MLS, which is prompting the team to re-evaluate supports and curricula for these students. Uh and to accommodate evolving MLL needs, Dr. Brochial informed the committee that the
district will be hiring additional pair professional support at Bedwell. Uh next, Dr. Edertton joined us to discuss plans for increasing math instructional time at Bedwell and in the middle school in response to student needs and the board board's request. Starting this
academic year, the math cycle class previously offered to grades uh students in grades five through 7th only will be extended to include grade 8 students. The class the class meets every third day and when averaged out provides approximately 20 additional minutes of
math instruction per day per student. Instructional topics will include probability and statistics, select geometry topics, and other areas determined collaboratively by the grade 8 teachers based on student needs and curriculum prior priorities. Students will be grouped in small, mostly
homogeneous cohorts that take into account their current math placement. The structure is designed to support differentiated instruction and allow for more focused skill development. In addition, bed at bed well students will be receiving 15 extra minutes of
instruction and math per day. Um, some committee members asked uh whether a more holistic approach to enhancing math time at the middle school might be more effective. Like for example, changes to the master schedule to accommodate additional math time with the same teacher. Recognizing the complexities of
scheduling, Dr. Rochelle explained that adding additional time with the same teacher would require additional teachers and a possibly a possible reduction in ELA time. One committee member asked of how other neighboring districts were able to provide additional time and math
instruction with the same teacher. The committee hopes that discussions on math time and BMS scheduling will continue. Uh Dr. Butler then shared the additional good news regard regarding dual enrollment classes. Um, the district assigned an MOA with Satan Hall, which
will allow the high school to offer dual enrollment French 4, Spanish 4, Latin 4, and journalism 2A courses this academic year, and a music theory course in 2026, 2027. Satan Hall has less stringent requirements requiring um high school
teachers eligible to teach these classes compared to other institutions. And students are eligible for these um new dual enrollment classes if they're juniors or seniors and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Tuition is $330 for a three credit course such as journalism but will be more expensive for the world
language courses since they are fully year six credit courses. And just as a recap, the high school as um Dr. Brochel just presented now offers seven dual enrollment courses and then up from z just zero just a few years ago. So yay that's great. Um next uh Dr. Butler
informed the committee that the district is is moving forward with uh using Atlas as a repository for our curriculum. he discussed that earlier. Um she said that by next September all lesson plans will be stored in atlas which and this will
enable greater curricular alignment articulation and collaboration between teachers as well as safer repository for district curricula and as Dr. Butler said um parents will also be able to access and search curricula using these platform um later on this year. Um Dr.
Burchil and Dr. Butler then presented the results of last year's AP testing to the committee as you know they they discussed earlier this this evening. Overall uh high school students performed very well on these tests with passing scores considerably higher than New Jersey and global averages on almost
all tests. In at least seven content areas all students who took the test passed it. Notably all 28 students who took the AP English language test earned a four or five. So congratulations to the the Miss students on that that function.
Uh we then transitioned into a discussion of the school leadership team and the quality review school review initiative. The goal of the team and the review is to advance instructional leadership of the district and to inform the strategic plan. The quality school review initiative represents a
school-based analytic approach to examining student achievement using a variety of different data sources. During our discussion, Dr. Brochel reviewed progress made by the school leadership and in the quality school review. The committee fully supports this work. Uh, next, Dr. Brochel updated
us on the AI policy. This broad policy, which was drafted last year by multiple stakeholders in the district, has been sent to Dr. Brochel and is now headed to the policy committee for review. Dr. Butler then discussed the memo from the Bush Law Group regarding the recent Supreme Court decision regarding
religious freedom and reviewed our opt out processes. We then discussed the outcomes of the recent meeting of the cell phone task force. The initial committee of the cell phone task force which included Dr. Butler, social workers, um counselors, community members, and a board member reviewed the
district's current policies regarding cell phone use. An expert on the impact of social media on and technology on students, the school physician, and sergeant from the police, the Burnersville Police Department also said feedback by email. The committee agreed that the district's policies regarding
cell phone use should be re-examined given the potential benefits of cell phone free schools and the success of the new policies at Ridge. Potential steps included um next steps included community meeting, community education, a deeper examination of current practices, consultation with Bernard's
Township Schools, and turning off access to grades during the school day. Thanks to the administration for making meaningful changes to the cell phone policy at the high school and modifying access to to Genesis for this year as an interim first step. Work by the committee and task force will continue.
Uh then Dr. Butler reviewed the title 1A, title 2A, title 3, and title 4 part A grants that we just voted on along with changes in funding since last year. um you know concerns were were raised regarding professional development or field trip requests and uh given the
length of our agenda the committee had little time to discuss theformational items on our agenda. Briefly, Dr. Butler provided the committee with online access to severalformational items to review prior to the meeting, including the curricular items on the August 27th agenda and the district's mentioning plan, professional development plan,
opening day schedule, and new educator schedule. Dr. Butler also informed the committee that the guidance office will be operating under the new name of the school counseling counseling office which is more in line with current practice and terminology. She also let the committee know that the school
calendar will uh the you know the uh discussion of the school counselor will be moving to the student service committee. Finally, we learned that Dr. Brocher will be representing the district in Revolution New Jersey. An initiative designed to plan, encourage, develop, and coordinate the
commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States and New Jerseyy's pivotal role in the American Revolution. And that concludes my report. Thank you very much, Mrs. Cooper. Um, if I could please ask for a motion to approve action items number one through
15 on the agenda. Miss Cooper and a second. Miss Hoppy. Great. Um and any discussion on curriculum? I just have a couple curriculum. You are always a busy group for sure. So thank
you for all your hard work. I'm thrilled to hear the Oh, sorry. Okay. So I'm thrilled to hear the wonderful results with regards to the MLS to our AP results. These are all outstanding academic achievement by our
students. Um, just a couple things I wanted to mention and maybe get some clarification on. Let me start. So, the math, I know we've been working really hard to get that extra math time and I'm so glad that we've taken the step to do this. So, thank you Dr. Bzer and the
curriculum team. I know it's it's hard to work that schedule. So, I appreciate that. I am, and I don't know if this is just a thought or an observation, but I am going to be interested to see cuz I know Nicole, you mentioned a more holistic approach to the master schedule and whatnot. I'll be interested to see
as um our principles kind of proceed with that quality school review if that is a driver too for kind of considering a different approach to the overall master schedule and math. I think that quality school review work will tie in
nicely to that. So just kind of an observation and I'll be interested to kind of see how that plays out. Also how you think those that extra times whether it is enough to benefit the kids. So just you know I appreciate those steps
to get that done. I'll be looking forward to kind of seeing the results of that as we go forward in the year. Um and then the cell phone task force. Thank you for the work. Again, I know everybody's, you know, on a lot of committees and doing a lot of ad hoc
work. Um, you know, the the steps that we're taking at the high school. I'm um I'm happy to see. I do also appreciate though that there is more work to do and um you know look forward to those next
steps particularly the community engagement because I think we've had those conversations that that is paramount in really seeing any shift we have to get parents on board with the school to make this a
cohesive effort and really bring um the benefit to our students. So, wanted to just kind of point that out. I am looking forward to what those next steps are and how that's going to inter play with the community. So, thank you. Yeah.
Does anybody else have anything for your observations? Anybody else? Ask a question. Can you just I'm sorry about the holistic approach to what what does that oh well I was I think I was just suggesting that you know a few years ago
when we first um learned of sort of the discrepancy or the the between them at the time that our middle school teacher high school students were receiving in math versus what our current you know other neighboring districts are. um they
seem to be receiving ma a certain number more math instructional minutes with the same teacher. Um so this new appro what we're adding it's great that we're adding a new uh math time um for our middle school kids um but we're doing it
in a separate cycle class with a different teacher. So, but unfortunately I think the only way we can do u add additional math minutes with the same teacher is to really just reorganize the middle school schedule. And so that's what I was thinking looking at it the whole schedule holistically to see how
we can sort of address that goal. Thank you. Anybody else? With that being said, I can't hear you. I'm going to roll first.
Yep. Old business, new business. Yeah. Okay. So then can we do roll call, please? Miss Gills, I'm voting yes or no, right? Like this is what we're doing, right?
So if there's any if there's anything on the agenda like any agenda number that Right. We're about we're voting now. Yes. Sorry. So wait, I have to see what I'm not voting on. Okay. So, yes, except for
two DD. Did I get that one right? I'm abstaining from that one. Um, and also number nine is no for me. The rest
Mrs. Gomez. Yes. And I abstain from 2E e as is it abstain is pertains to myself Mrs. Hoppy. Oh my god.
The cheat sheet cheat sheet. Okay. So yes except for items Whoops. Sorry. 2 through 2 J through 2 Q
page 16. That's my teaching and I'll abain from that. So, Mr. Lori, anything that pertains to Michael Hobby? Got it. Sorry, Mrs. Santoro.
um abstain from item 2 FFF and yes to everything else. Mrs. Right. Yes. With the exception of 2 GG abstain. Mr. Baker. Yes. Miss Ballard.
Yes. But uh abstaining specifically as it pertains to myself. Uh item 2 A. Miss Clark Embry. Mrs. Cooper. Yes, but I'm abstaining from item two. Mrs. Frenda.
Yes. But I will be abstaining from action item number 2 CC. The motion is passed. Okay. Thank you. Now, if anyone has anything for new or old business for curriculum. I do. I Holly. Oh, I'm sorry.
That's okay. No, no, go ahead. No, I'm sorry. Okay. Um I just wanted to um as a parent and obviously a board member a concern for us a few years back was our rankings um that were slipping uh at least that's
so what some of us thought especially myself and I'm a very follower I guess of US world news report which I think and believe is one of the gold standards. I am overwhelmed and just very excited just to let our community
know, our families know. The board has been working hard. They've been diligent. They've listened. And maybe this is something always in the works as far as things that we're hearing and we're seeing, especially from the reports that we're getting, but we literally have gone from 2022, which we
were we're number ranked number 49. In 2023, we went to number 65. 2024 we're 59 and at now in 2025 which I am so pleased as far as what we've you know they've accomplished really um we're
back at number 45 I mean 49 excuse me and we will I'm sure continue to you know grow in the rankings as far as where we are as a community and um I just wanted to say thank you all and Dr. Virgil, Sam, Heather. So, great job
and and and applause to our staff and students as well for the for the Sorry. No, no, no. I just wanted to say for what they are and and if I could point out that's for the high school and if you take a
cursory look at that list in the top 20, 15 are essentially private schools. They're test to get into high schools. And I think it might be more than 15. So was it? Yeah, I looked at it. It's
hard sometimes to tell whether it's a test to get in school. And it's easy to be in the top when you only accept certain students. So I I too applaud, you know, the the progress that the
students at the high school and the faculty and the administration has made in um achievement for our students. Thank you. Oh, I'm sorry, Dr. Want to add to that if if you don't mind. I just wanted to take one brief moment because it does
pertain to your comment. Um, and maybe I can indulge the curriculum committee at at our next meeting. Over time, the graduation rate at the high school um has improved, particularly with our
ML group, and that metric um has influenced the US News and World Report me uh outcomes in a good way. um and the historical data that US News refers
back to is improving over time as far as the graduation rate. Um so when you reference um like the future results um it does stand to reason statistically based upon the graduation rates that
they refer back to are on the uptick. So it it is looking promising as far as like where our rankings uh lie with US News and World Report. Um but yeah, I just wanted to take a minute to show
you. Thank you, Melson. I want to add Nicole if you don't mind for next meeting um the opt out for the health curriculum to have it handed
passed out to each student individually rather than than just assuming if they did not opt out that they are the parents are interested in their children receiving that type of education.
So, uh, I'll examine if that's a curriculum committee item or policy and personnel as far as the right committee. Um, just for both chairs. Okay. And you're on both. So,
is there any We did discuss that briefly in the class as well. Um, is there anything else for new or old business workers? Can I just add something to what um Dr. Rochel said and I think you know regarding graduation rates for our ML center improvement I
think you know some of the initiatives we've just t we just starting this year with you know expanding access to graduation I think that's really going to help that's that's going to help as well I think so it's great great news thank you for sharing
um okay so then we can move on to the report of the personnel committee seller All right. So, we met on August 19th uh for about an hour and a half. Um so, started off with a review of the the
public meeting agenda and attachment um which included a list of updated salaries under the new contract effective 827 which is codifying the terms of the new agreement. Teachers will receive salary letters in their mailboxes on the first day of school. Other agenda items included the
resignations of two paraprofessionals, the hiring of a new science teacher and a lead replacement, and the assignment of non-certificated paraprofessionals. Uh, additionally, overloads for marking period one, special ed at the high school, and coverage of extended time
maths classes, summer work, recision, and approval of co-curricular coaches were also included. um administrative assignment. Uh just a note, currently under evaluation is the K to2 supervisory structure. This is due
to the burden on supervisors during the testing season for about two months. This results in a loss of their services during those times. They are pulled away from the actual job, losing that layer of connectivity with students and faculty. As such, Dr. Brochel and the administration are looking at new ways
to manage that. and that is the personnel committee. Okay. Thank you. So then I would like to ask for a motion to approve action items number one through 27 on the agenda. Miss Ballard and a second, Miss Gills.
Um, and before we enter into discussion, I just wanted to take a moment that we are going to be amending action item number 3B, um, the effective date to close on
6:30 26. Um, and if there is any discussion related to personnel, sorry, S what you're amending. We're amending action item number 3B. The effective date there should be closing
on 6:30 26. Thank you. Um, and is there any further discussion on personnel? No. Okay. Then roll call, please. 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. Miss Gills. Yes. Mrs. Frenda. Yes. The motion carries. Okay. Thank you. Do we have any new or old business for personnel?
Okay. We're moving on to policy. Miss Allard, let's go. Uh so we continued on and talked about policies for review. Um it was uh group of revised administrative codes. Um of particular
note was P5339.01 01 which is student sun protection which is a sunscreen law. Students will now be afforded an opportunity to apply sunscreen at school. Also um policy and
regulation P5239 relating to open campus. This is a policy that's currently being developed including intended protocols and processes to effectuate this policy. Um also policy to abolish uh just adding
P1648.15 the recordkeeping for healthcare settings and school buildings. Uh cell phones which um Nicole discussed a little bit just the this is kind of just a description of the current policies which might be helpful to uh folks
watching at home. Grades K to 8 cell phones have no access. Uh middle schoolers put their phones in their lockers. grades 9 to 12 bring it to class and put in so I need to use the word the hotel which is the phone hotel and students can take phones into their
next class for instruction and repeat repeat the hotel process students have phones for passing and for lunch the goal is that students should be locked in and present for instruction not locked in on their phones willing to adjust and grow as Miss Cooper said as it relates to passing time and lunch but
currently not an issue there have been no discipline issues no trends towards bad behavior, there's not uh a problem to be fixed, although seems like there will be continuing discussion. Uh Dr. Nigel also offered the possibility of a tech-free day. Uh additionally, access
to Genesis will be limited for parents and students during the school day. Uh policy discussions, uh we continued our discussion of conduct of board meeting, uh which basically is how the agenda is ordered and when public comments occur.
Uh just a brief followup from June's discussion. Um we have an action plan. We're going to review board agendas from other boards in next month's policy and personnel meeting. Uh some discussion points that were raised during our meeting were that New Jersey and Strauss
as may affirm our agenda as it exists. uh the idea of offering was offered of offering a topic ahead of time to submit to the board to maybe gather a spokesperson for a group interested in a certain topic and have that added as an agenda item earlier in the month and put
on the agenda. Uh another suggestion was adding a third comment section. Um and also adding a statement that all board members are accessible by email uh which Mrs. Brenda did at the top of the meeting. Um, dress code continues to be under discussion by the school
administration and the school uniform discussion has been tabled and that concludes my report. Okay. Thank you very much. So then at this time I would like to ask for a motion to approve action items number one and two on the agenda. Would anyone
like to make a motion? Mr. Baker and a second. Mr. Ry. Okay. And discussion regarding policy. That roll call, please. Mrs. Hoppy, yes. Mrs. Santoro, yes. Mrs. Ry, yes. Mr. Baker, yes. Miss Ballard, yes.
Miss Clark Emmery, yes. Miss Cooper, yes. Miss Gills, yes. Mrs. Gomez, yes. Mrs. Friend, yes. Motion carries. Okay. And is there any new or old business for policy? Um, Felicia, next month I'd like to
discuss 5756, the specific part of it. making a note of it. Thank you. Can if there's anything that you want the administration to repair to prepare regarding a specific part of 5756.
Okay. Thank you. Just so the committee's up to speed. Just to remind me to remind myself. Okay. Anybody else? No. Okay. Then we will move into the report of the student services committee.
Okay. Um student services met on August 19th for an hour. All committee members were present. Um I'd say the the bulk of our conversation centered around the calendar. This has
been going been an ongoing discussion for many years um through many iterations of board members. So, um, you know, for for quite some time, we've discussed the merit of moving our calendar start date
um earlier in the month or or moving it up into August potentially. And the committee, you know, really got down to the simple reason for doing this is it benefits our kids academically. It allows our staff additional
instructional time leading up to um all forms of standardized tests, whether it's NJ SWAT, which our kids start taking in third grade, the access test, um SATs, ACTs, APs, every across the
board, all standardized tests. And um you know I I haven't checked this in a while, but um according to information we had received in New Jersey school board several years ago, New Jersey is one of five states left in the country
that does start school after Labor Day. So um you know it it provides us additional instructional time. Therefore, we have had some changes that will allow us to consider that option as a board. The committee is going to
recommend a conservative approach to taking these steps and Dr. Butler has been diligently working on calendars which no matter what always generates a lively conversation. So um what we are
recommending and we would like to um have two calendars approved two um school year calendar sorry over the next couple months. So, we're going to fine-tune those. The boards the board will continue to see the iterations of
that, but we would like to take a conservative approach for um the 2627 school year and we're looking to start school on August 31st. There were a couple of um weeks that and days that
Dr. Butler was going to work on just to give kids the breaks, you know, in regular intervals. And so, uh, we plan to have I think Dr. Butler, you're going to let us have that calendar at our next meeting. We'll take
a look at that. Um, so we did spend a lot of time discussing that. And then the following year, again, we're working out the details, but for the 27th 28th school year, um we would move that start
date to August 23rd. So recognizing a full week of time in August. Um, in addition to this, starting next year, the administration is going to work on moving the time of the school day, um,
the time we start for the high school back to accommodate the train schedule. So, Dr. Brochial will be determining what that would be exactly, but we're talking about in the realm of like 15 minutes approximately, give or take. that will allow um our students taking
train as transportation to school to all make a train that's slightly later but gives them enough time to make it to school on time. So, we're going to um be letting everyone know what that time will be exactly in the upcoming months.
So, that covers the calendar. Um, we then moved on to athletics and the committee had discussed in the spring that we wanted um to to have a look at our athletic uh department from a
holistic standpoint o regarding the culture and what the goals and objectives are. So, our athletic director did a lot of work this summer to develop um a handbook that's going to be board approved and um that hand we
had some time to to go through that and you know it looks like it's meeting those goals. We're really looking to get a consistent approach to athletics to how coaches are interacting with students and parents, communication from um co from coaches to students, coaches
to parents, parents to coaches, students to coaches. Um so it was a lot of great work. We really appreciate the feedback um that we had provided was taken and a lot of good work was done on that. Um
on the agenda are the school handbooks from all three schools. Um Dr. Brochial went over the uh residency process just giving us a highlevel overview of that process and
um the committee feels that the process is clear. It's well established. we have our new register that is um able to really help us from a residency perspective. So that all seems to be in working order. Um
then we briefly touched on the climate survey that is going to be administered this year. Um we had talked about this last spring. We're going to be using the New Jersey school climate improvement
platform through Ruckers University. Um that is going to go out to students and parents and staff right Dr. Prochel as well
probably during the week of respect. Um that is what we're targeting. And so it will be students um 3 through 12, parents of all students K through 12 and all staff members. And then additionally
um I'm sorry Dr. Brusho, correct me. The staff will have an additional portion of that survey or it's the staff will be doing theirs a little later in the year. No. Um I'll just to clarify
clarify please. this the Rucker um school climate initiative survey does administer the survey to students in grades 3 through 12. Uh it administers the survey in um to all parents regardless of grade and then to all
staff. Thank you. You're welcome. There's a parallel there's some parallel work that um we're discussing amongst our school leadership teams um that's more a um
staff only um survey regarding uh things like um educator voice workplace democracy um and the manner in which um educators are supported by our decisions. Okay.
Yeah. very different topics. Okay. And just to cover some of the um topics that will be covered that in the um the what will be going out to parents and
students are going to be include the academic culture and classroom practices, supportive staff student relationships, support for student social emotional learning, behavioral expectations. Um, negative student interpersonal
behaviors, pro-social student interpersonal behaviors, student voice and involvement, sense of physical safety, leadership support, which will be going to the staff only, organizational resources and supports, and some of these are for staff only.
Um, collegial support for staff only, and then family support and engagement, and a student sense of belonging. So, so it's going to give us a really good overall picture of the climate of our school district so that you know we hope to hear wonderful things, but we can
also take what may not be um working as well as we want and really put, you know, whatever we need to in place to improve that. So, we're looking forward to that. Um and then finally
we discussed um the student safety data system report that Dr. Brochial touched in his superintendent report and is been uploaded and on the agenda. So that is all I have question but we
didn't we have to make a motion. Oh sorry first. Um okay so thank you very much Mrs. Santoro. I am going to um ask for a motion to approve action items number one through seven on the agenda. However, we are going to be amending
motion number three to reflect a change in um the restraint seclusion numbers where the numbers for B for bed and BMS were inverted. So the minutes will reflect that change and the appropriate
designation. Um so if I could get a motion to approve action items. It's number one through seven with that amended um action item. Mro and a second Miss Ballard. Thank you and discussion.
Um for the survey Heather, how are we going to get the Spanish speaking parents involved? Good question. They don't have a language written language. Their survey is conducted in multiple languages. So
assuring but what about the mom language? Yes. So that's something that we'll connect with uh Michael about. Okay. Thank you. I have another question about the service. Sorry. um just for the special education like
that I know it's for all the students but is there any particular you know questions where they can talk about I don't know that is a different topic yeah without um without revealing a student or parents identity um there
there are mechanisms set forth in in the results to have a breakdown of as an example students that are classified for special education services. Thank you. This, you know, I again just to reiterate, I think that this is such a
great step for our school to really understand, you know, how kids are feeling, how staff is feeling, how parents, you know, experience the school because everybody experiences the school differently. And you know this is a great opportunity for all stakeholders
to give real good real honest feedback to us that then we can just use constructively to to make sure that we are improving the experience for all of our students. Is there anybody else? Yes. Hi.
Um, I just wanted to thank you, Heather, and the rest of the board members who put together this wonderful um, guidelines, the book, uh, for coaching. And, um, I just think it's it's it's about time. And I think that you know
some things are not always perfect but it's not always about winning and it's about the integrity and the ethical um manner in which students you know behave whether not just here on our fields and how they treat and how we interact with the other um you know athletes but when
we leave here when we travel on the bus and when we're competing you know with the other students at other schools. It's really important that we have a whole, you know, congruous, I guess, attitude that other schools who meet us, compete against us, whether we win or
lose, that we at Burnsville, you know, at Somerset Hills, I should say, just have a good feeling with the others that we interact with. And I just I just think that that's great that we have, you know, we have excellent coaching staff and now we have a guided support
which is in writing so that they can do their best in teaching and training our athletes combined with the right attitudes that reflect how fantastic our kids are in our community both here and you know out there when we're out here. So I just wanted to say thank you and this is not AI generated. This is from
me. Thank you guys. So there might be some errors in there but great job. So, thank you. I wholeheartedly agree and I I I just want to make the the committee didn't do the actual work to prepare it. We we certainly this was definitely something
that we charged our um administration with and they came through very very well there and I'm sure there was a tremendous amount of work that went into that over the course of the summer. So, um absolutely kudos to everyone and I wholeheartedly
endorse Yep. Is there anyone else? No. Okay, then. Roll call, please. Mrs. Santoro, yes. Mrs. Ry, yes. Mr. Baker, yes. Miss Ballard, yes. Miss Clark Emery?
Yes. Miss Cooper? Yes. Miss Gills? Yes. Mrs. Gomez? Yes. Mrs. Hoppy? Should I vote on that? It's a good question. Uh, you can. Yeah. Yes. Mrs. Frena? Yes. Motion carries. Okay, great. Is there anything for new
or old business for student services? Okay, then we will move on to board announcements. 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 just want to say how lovely it was to
have Mr. Flynn honored here tonight for all of his hard work and he's an alumni from Bernard's and a proud representative of one of our graduates doing really great work and he it it's just a pleasure to see that. So, I want
to give him a shout. Another shout out. [Applause] Is there anybody else that has anything for board announcements? Oh, I'm so sorry. Yes. Um, I just wanted to give a shout out to Bedwell and their community garden
because I got some tomatoes from there this summer and they had a bounty and it was overflowing. It just is wonderful that that is something that our school sponsors and is a wonderful resource for our community. So that's awesome. Thank you for
highlighting that, Miss Ballard. Is there anybody else? Okay. No. Well, um, we don't have here, but, um, I am going to reiterate in case anybody has tuned
in later or is skipping through and watching this that, you know, I'm going to do this at the top of public comments. We just want to really encourage people who are not in attendance um to not hesitate to share their thoughts, ideas, feedback with the
board and that that can always be done to individual board members through our website directly. Just click on our names um on the BOE page or you can send your communication directly to our board secretary, Mr. Lori, um with a note to please disseminate to all board members
for review and consideration. and um he will happily do that and we will all get that communication so that you don't have to reach out to each of us individually. Um I will read the public comments um note because that is uh
standard for what we do. 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 a comment 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. We always thank speakers in advance for their input. Um seeing that there are none. Can I have a motion to close public comment? Miss happy in a second. Miss Gills. Thank you. And that leaves us with the simple matter of adjournment. If I could get a
motion to adjourn this evening's meeting. I'll make a motion to adjourn. Mr. B. five to 10 and Mrs. Sanur second. And can I get an all in favor, please? I I everyone. Yeah. Okay. Have a great
night, everybody. Thank you. And good luck that back to school.