##VIDEO ID:EV_k5PUk_XA## good evening everybody Welcome to our regular board meeting scheduled for Thursday December 17th happy holidays to everybody i' would like to call the meeting to order and ask everybody to please rise for the salute Tuesday oh well whatever I pleas flag of the United States of America stand indivisible andice Mr Boyce can we have a roll call on this Tuesday December 17th please yes Mr Mrs Van Horn here Mr seril Happy Holidays to everybody and present Mr Jess here Mr Carlson here Mr pontillo Mrs crasa here Mrs Dale here Mr kimik here Mr Garcia he's absent and Mr Shaw is absent thank you please uh be advised at adequate notice of this meeting in compliance with chapter 231 of the public laws of 1975 entitled the open public meetings act has been provided by action of the board of education at its regular meeting on January 3rd 2024 and notices of Courier News and Star Ledger circulated in the school district and a posted notice to this effect on the board of education website and building bulle board administrative headquarters 51 West Cliff Street Somerville New Jersey at this time we are open to the public for comment on both agenda and non-agenda items please limit your comments to three minutes we ask if you have a comment to please go up to the microphone state your name and your address hello Lauren hon and I live on West Street in Somerville and also I have a daughter in the district and so first I want to say thank you to the Board of Education um especially our volunteers from Somerville because I realize it's a volunteer position and so thank you for watching and keeping care of our students and our best what our students have for their best interest and also keeping um also in mind taxpayers dollars so I think those both things are important so I really want to thank you and you know just reflecting on a couple of so I am a longtime listener firsttime caller and and I just wanted to say I I usually prefer to watch from home on double speed just because it takes a little less time um however you know I think that what really made me speak today is due to hearing the recent audit and so you know and and also seeing the mission on every one of our agendas where it says we want to make sure our students are we're doing datadriven solutions that bring up reading as well as math scores and dist so Mr Garcia who was not here today asked what can he be doing as the board so as a community member I want to ask what are we doing to follow the progress of our students on reading as well as math and can we discuss it and give updates during uh the board of edge Ed Ed meetings because I would like to know and I believe it was uh the the man who was doing the audit who said many times if there's something in sports people will show up and I just want to let you know I'm a person that shows up for science that shows up for um curriculum and who who shows up for how our students are achieving so as a community what we talk about and what we spend time on our values so I want to make sure that we're spending the appropriate time on those things so that was that's my only comment so thank you and make sure that we're keeping up with it and our resources are fin it and time is fin it so let's make sure that we're spending our time and energy on the right thing thank you thank you anybody else good evening everybody my name is davage I'm the superintendent of the Sumer County Educational Services Commission I'm here to recognize Dan patella tonight Dan served I got a long list I keep it short though Dan served as Somerset countyc board director at Somerville represented from March 2013 to December 2022 and Dan you probably forgot a lot of this stuff but I'll refresh your memory he also served on the executive committee from February 2016 to December 2022 he was my negotiation chairperson from February 2016 to December 2022 and he served as president of the commission from 2019 to 2021 he also was with me when we had major incentives uh for example the building of the career center which houses shop right autoshop combin build and TR in cosmology Labs he was very instrumental in building that career center for all the students in sumers state county uh one thing I remember most that Dan really cares about kids that's his main priority and I was very humbled that he took three trips with me across the country um for lack of a better word the esc's are all through the all through the country and we had meetings every year Dan has been to Texas Colorado and Arizona where he dedicated his time and efforts to go to all the workshop and seminars to come back with new incentives to help me build a commission and then I want to thank you for that that was um a great experience just to spend that time with you and and how serious you took it how much you really came back with new ideas for the career center and he was also involved with our new dorm program he he started with Rucker's health and our psychiatrist for the students and he also did the pathways program which serves 18 to 21 year olds I think you know how valuable he is and he's going to be deeply missed Dan your inspiration to me I learned a lot from you on behalf of the commission I want to thank you for your service to keep it short thank you say very thank you congratulations he was also my racket ball teacher along the same lines I'm Barry Walker I'm on the board of education r i served with Dan at it services for over seven years and as you as you going as you find it as you're a new board member you find a mentor some of to help you and what you did Dan was an aid and an asset there help me move forward in decision making and you go through some times and that Services he's been great because um a little different the educational services functions as a business versus a school so we were Revenue driven so it's kind of a different way to look at things he also got me started golfing more often so I had that bad hobby from him so Dan has been a pleasure thank you for all you've done for the service to the community in many ways Somerville as well as that service as other areas I wish you all the best thank you I'm sure I'll see you on the golf course and as Mr Boyce can understand he drag you out there too your superintendent should try golfs too thank you all thank you what you've done he didn't teach youls right yeah he's right he's really good he putts well yeah we always thought it was a put anybody else for public session comments please no at this time can I have a motion to close please moot thank you Mr patillo can I have a second thank you Mr Shaquille any discussion all those in favor I any opposed extenstion so move um may I have a motion to approve the minutes from the November 12th regular and executive session please thank you Mr Carlson have a second thank you Mr seril any discussion all those in favor I I any opposed any extension so move all right so I'm going to turn I'm going to forego my report just for a minute to go to the second item uh to have it with the second item under the superintendent's report but I'm going to turn it over to Mr lisco for item number one of the superintendent's report absolutely very excited uh to introduce our chamber choir uh I had the pleasure of going to their concert last week and what a performance it was from top to bottom all our different groups really uh uh did a tremendous job uh displaying all their hard work and dedication um so I'm going to turn things over to uh Nick Noah to introduce uh his students and bring them in here for everybody to hear another number so I appreciate you guys taking the time out of your busy schedules to come out uh for this holiday celebration so thank you thank you Mr lisco uh it's the Board of Education and it's the public Thank you very very much we're very excited to share with you some holiday numbers to get you in the holiday spirit uh we would like to invite you to um if there are any seats available once the chamber choir comes in to please feel free to come back here so you can get the optimal viewing for the performance uh thank you for letting us come here and spread some holiday cheer we're really excited so going to Bethlehem going to bethleem going to bethleem go to bethleem go to bethleem see that baby to bethleem see that child to bethleem see that baby [Music] to going to be look over and see the wise men on a journey they [Music] over by bright to beem see that baby to I'm going Sing Sing going Hallelujah hallelu I child to see that baby to Beth child tothem toley to bethleem take to to to to to good evening to you all yes as they're taking their next position my name is Nicholas Noah I'm the director of chirs at somville high school and it is a privilege to be able to work with these students this is the uh chamber chir at Somerville High School this is an auditioned extracurricular group that meets once a week from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and um we have a treat for you in terms of yeah just coming a little closer together um a really great song um called white winter Himel was originally popularized by an AC capella Group which was a cover of the Fleet Foxes song from a couple of decades ago so we have a special formation for this one and please enjoy can we have the f [Music] I was following me I was following me I was following me I was following me was F the was the the the was following theack all swallowed in their Co with scars of red their thr to keep their little heads from falling in the snow and I turn around and there you go and Michael you would fall and turn the i s a straw in the [Music] [Music] I was following the pack all swallowed in their coats with scares of red to keep their little head from falling in the snow and I turn and there you and you and strawberries in the summer [Music] [Music] [Music] I was the all swallowed in theirs with scares of R their to keep their little heads from falling in the and I turn there you go and Michael you would fall and turn the I sow red as strawberries in the sum and we have one final selection for you this evening uh this is the first time that we are doing this and uh we just are so grateful to be adding this to our list of all the places that we go throughout the holiday season we did a middle school tour at bcms SMS we sang at VNA hospice on East uh Main Street we sang at Laurel Circle last Wednesday we hosted our own Somerville caroling Festival last Friday which included schools from Bernard's High School Ridge High School Warren Hills High School Heist toown high school and fairon high school that was the 31st year of the Somerville caroling Festival which is held at the United Reformed Church on Main Street and uh we're so grateful that we could be here tomorrow we are on a field trip to danker furniture store and the Somerset County Senior Center and that round off our chamber choir caroling experience so thank you so much for sharing the night with us today we have one final song and we're wishing you a happy safe and uh Happy safe and have warm holiday season there's always a third word happy safe healthy there you go happy safe and a healthy holiday season to you please have a great rest of your evening here's our final song called ding a ding a ding d [Music] on the bells ring the heav sing Bells [Music] [Music] Dells ring the heavens singell ring the Earth d d thank you all very wonderful you thanks man help the cookies we thank you guys so much remember me got experience yeah you were the principal was friends with Jamie I Wass with hi Mom oh wait for the she for me all right let's reel it back in excellent performance by the chamber choir under great direction from Ni I mean always as long as we've been here they always do a fantastic job so we'd like to thank them as well um mron thank you for your comments thank you for your kind words about all of us I think we may not all agree up here all the time but I think one thing we all agree on is we want to do what's best for the students in the community of Somerville and Branchburg so we thank you for that um we are still working with Dr balandi Who is our curriculum expert that we have he's a consultant and the board um trusts all the things that he put into his support and he's been working with Mr liso and will continue for the rest of this school year and perhaps longer as well but he is um an extraordinary gentleman who has a lot of experience and we're hoping that by continuing to utilize him we're going to be able to provide more updates to everybody on how we're doing with our students and getting them all up to grade level and we're not using him to the extent we should be using him now but hopefully that will change and we will start to use him a little bit more in the future Dr dun Savage Mr Walker thank you so much for your kind words for Dan uh many people don't say kind things about Dan and I don't I don't know why um but we truly appreciate and you've hit everything on the head I've had the pleasure of serving with Dan for I believe seven years now and um as a school business administrator who's been in the profession for how many years um I have to say that I have dealt with many many board members over my tenure but none quite like Dan who um gives his all not only to the board but to the community you know founder of Middle Earth Marine um overall good person who has nothing but um kind words and affection for everybody within Somerville Branchburg bridgew everybody he's worked with on the ESC it has certainly been my pleasure to learn from you and to have you as a mentor Dan and I know that there are everybody else here with the exception of Luke is going to say something because Luke can't keep his comments very short so he's on a tight leash this evening um but I I see wait you get your turn don't worry um but thank you we do have a resolution for you we have a cake for you as well um but I'm going to ask the other board members if they would like to say something this evening about Dan before we read the resolution so if anybody will start uh yeah when I got first elected to the board the first uh person that reached out uh that we I connected with was Dan and we went out to breakfast and again we l l and whenever had any questions he was there and he's just been an awesome member uh an awesome partner and we'll be missed I agree been been wonderful working with you Dan and uh enjoyed our rides to AC going down to Workshop the few times that I carpooled with you and uh great mentor and person to learn from thank you appreciate our time Dan I'm really grateful uh to have met you and I'm really grateful for your guidance as the newest member on the board I'd often look to you because you have a lot of experience and wisdom and often times you take what are very sometimes complex things and then just still it to its simplest and at the base of it all is what's best for the kids and it shows in every decision and I'm really grateful to have worked with you um I also had the most fun with you and Denise in Atlantic City um out of anyone else on the board I didn't I never I never expected that to happen and I will always remember that I have a great photo with the two of you at some party and it was weird and it was fun so thank you it was a party you were so thank you you're welcome I'm GNA make com I didn't go to Atlantic City so I just want to make that very clear from but I I I do want to Echo what everybody's saying and also you know um having a chance to get to know Dan off the board has also been something that's been a great pleasure of mine I I think um some of the sents that I re with tonight around him really meaning about putting kids first and keeping that as a priority and and you know when you deal with complex issues and you distill it down to that and it's like really what's best for kids sometimes that simplifies things a bit and it helps you see things more clearly and you know Dan is often quiet at meetings but you know I think he has strong opinions that um he will share outside the meeting and he'll have discussions with people about what he feels and and there's never any doubt about that but you know I just want to thank you for everything you've done um since I've known you but also I also know your history and everything you've done prior to that and and it's just something again that we should all aspire to be like you and and give back to the community and way you get back to the community so thank you for all of that thank you I just would say everything don't want to repeat but sitting next to Dan it's kind of comical he brings some comic relief in tough situations I'm going to miss him sitting next to me yeah and come to the next meeting it's been a pleasure getting to know you these past three years um before when I was running for the board I heard how wonderful you are and it definitely proved to be true um I think you are a man of few words when some of us well talk and talk myself included but when Dan talks we listen it's we value your your judgment because you're that good and you know we we want to know what you have to say so thank you for everything you've done for the board and for the community thank you yeah I sit back and think um 12 years ago In This Very Room there were two board seats open and three candidates you myself and um saden who eventally joined the board also and since I went first I was able to sit in on you and Melissa and you were the next one up and just listening to all your accomplishments the first thing I said to myself was I have no shot at this right so and luckily I was you know we were chosen to serve in those seats um you know the 12 years has just been a journey of of knowledge I you're there are very few people in the world who do what you do as far as taking what you know and sharing it because you want other people to know what you know because you know your life and we bumped into each other at the mall for lunch today he saw me walking by and we had you know a quick little reflection I'll say on on your past and what you have accomplished and everything and you know when they say he who saves One Life Saves the World if you think about when you founded Middle Earth to everything you've done that everyone here has mentioned um you know just think of all the lives that you've changed for the better so please when you reflect on your accomplishments you think of that because that is the whole uh you know and you know and you even said that you know I started I joined communion service in 16 I was 16 you know and I think the most important thing and I'll end it here is that you've dedicated your life to making sure that every kid has a shot every kid has an equal shot to go as far as her talents want to take can take them and that when new board members come on uh and if I'm still serving on the board I'm sure everyone else here also will make sure they know who Dan ftill is um because it's a bar that's set um extremely high so I just want to say thank you for those those 12 years not going to say goodbye because we'll see each other in the golf course you'll see my you'll see my slice of my hook or you'll see me cursing at my divot so uh you know but thanks thanks again for everything you do thank you you know Dan and one word that comes to mind when when we think of you is respect because you and everything you have done on the board and in your life it has been with respect for others you know you how can we treat the children we treat the children with respect well how do we respect the children by giving them a good education showing them that we care when we we were in our last teachers negotiations the word that you kept saying was respect we need to respect them they're professionals we need to respect and so that respect well I don't know if we're talking about Sharon but we're talking about but but that respect is evident and and you've treated everybody that's here now that was here before us with respect members of the public and everybody and we truly thank you and there's no way that we'll ever be able to replace what you have nor are we looking to replace it but it will always be a reflection of you and Somerville and all the children that have come through the system all the staff members that have come through the system and we thank you let me share one learning I got from being on the board because of negotiations I learned that people that we didn't necessarily agree with had valuable insight and that we can't dismiss people that don't see things our way because parts of what they're bringing there's some validity so you can't totally dismiss people we need to be good listeners and that's been my number one when I would do job interviews I'd always ask what is the number one skill set you need to bring to the table and listening is what I'm looking for and that's not easy especially when you got ADHD like me yeah we did say Merry Christmas when we parted today not realizing we're seeing each other later so but I you know I got on the board because I didn't know what I was going to do with myself and my question to me was how am I going to help kids and this seemed to be the natural the natural outlet for that and what an outlet it was we truly appreciate interesting and so I would like to read this resolution then we'll have the board pass it so it's a resolution honoring Daniel J pentilla Jr for his extraordinary service and leaders ship on the Summerville Board of Education and whereas Daniel J pontillo Jr has faithfully and diligently served as a distinguished member of the summeral board of education for 12 years and whereas during his tenure Daniel J penello Jr has consistently demonstrated unwavering dedication to the educational success growth and well-being of all students in the district and whereas Daniel J pentilla Jr has exemplified strong leadership and dedication through his involvement involvement on numerous key committees including nine years on the negotiations committee serving as chairperson throughout seven years on the finance committee including four years is chairperson seven years on the Athletics and Student Activities Committee three of which is co-chairperson five years on the buildings and grounds committee with four years as chairperson two years on the curriculum committee two years on the technology committee one year each on the policy committee and The Residency committee and whereas in addition to his local contributions Daniel Jake pentilla Jr has provided exceptional Service as the board leaz onto the Somerset County Educational Services Commission for 10 years where he served as commission president for 3 years years contributed as a member of the executive committee board for seven years chaired the negotiations committee for seven years played an integral role in opening a career center implementing the new dawn Academy therapeutic center and establishing the pathways Academy program and whereas Daniel J pontillo Jr has earn the respect and admiration of his peers staff and the community for his ability to listen carefully to all perspectives thoughtfully evaluate issues and Foster collaboration support and encouragement among all stakeholders and whereas his steadfast leadership wisdom and service have left an indelible mark on the sual board of education and the greater School Community now therefore be it resolved that the sual Board of Education expresses its sincere gratitude and profound dedication to Daniel J penello for his years of exemplary leadership service and dedication to the student staff and families of our district and be a further resolved that the sumerville Board of Education extend its heartfelt best wishes to Daniel J pentilla Jr for his continued health happiness and success in all future endeavors may I have a motion please so move sir thank you Mr sh may have a second thank you Mr Carlson is there any discussion Mr Boyce may I have a roll call please yes Mrs Van Horn yes Mr seril absolutely yes Mr Jess absolutely Mr Carlson yes Mr pontillo Stay Mrs CA yes Mrs Dale yes Mr kimick yes Mr Garcia yes excellent motion carries thank you Dan once again now we do have cake I appreciate the uh recognition um but you guys already know the motivation with the absolutely absolutely and the the best two tools is listening and respect are you Corner the mark of those and we do have cake for you but we're not going to take a break now because we're hopeful that we're going to get through this since we don't have an executive session so we'll be finished sooner rather than we we'll be done way before that we do have one thing on behalf of the Board of Education First of all uh since I've come on in August uh you've been nothing short of wonderful and helpful and informative I've learned so much about the district uh from you and I really appreciate you welcoming the your board and helping me my transition with that said on behalf of the Board of Education uh we'd like to give you a little token of our gratitude thank you for your service not only uh to the board of education but to the Marines and uh to Middle Earth so thank you for always serving people that's yours that's yours is it ticking what is it ticking well that's why it says that's why it says Christmas as a matter of fact it is I was saying it was a land mine well thank you for everything I appreciate it thank you and thank you on behalf of all our students up to you put it under the tree there it'll be a nice surprise right it'll be a nice surise be the only present I get I told you I got I got Co one Christmas my parents were teaching me a lesson all right then moving on we have another thrilling presentation Mr President ask that maybe we have our student rep maker presentation would that be okay and then maybe we get you mean he not enjoying the camaraderie and the jocularity that's happening this evening they told you oh okay well wow I definitely don't know how to top any of that but um obviously I'm running solo again today as Riley has her um home opener and immaculada um so they are playing tonight at 7 o'clock and the boys are also having their first game actually at summerbell against Delow so um we also have fencing and swimming starting their season so they're going to start off strong as boys wrestling has um opening night tomorrow so feel free to come out and support them um JB will start at five and varsity will start at six and they are um they have a match against Wares um so in the school we have um class t-shirts going around so all the um Junior and senior class officers are selling shirts um for your classes for $20 um so you can order those by the end of tomorrow if you're interested in purchasing one and you can contact Mr Bly or Mr Clark for more information about that we also have cosmetology Club um which has a meeting this Thursday in room 303 so if you're still trying to find the perfect gift go to cosmetology club and make your own makeup they will be making hydrating facial spray and lip balm um and no experience is needed and new members are always welcome we have the Winter concert coming up on Thursday December 19th at 7 a at 7 pm. geez I won't kill you guys at 7 a.m. the sympotic band and win Ensemble will be taking the stage for their concert on Thursday um we also have Genesis Club tomorrow Genesis Club is um they are collecting items for the elderly to bring them Joy if you have any gently use um they had stuffed animals or Christmas decorations that they love to see feel free to drop them off tomorrow morning um as they are going to visit um a elderly Community um thing that they have going on um they also are looking for um cookie Bakers so if you can make two dozen soft cookies for four service hours you can drop those off tomorrow morning as well um the late bus Branchburg um transportation offers a late bus to students who live in Branchburg and are staying after school for either Club tutoring or also Sports um please note if you would like to take the bus home you must sign up and if you have not signed up you will not be able to do that on of USS if you have any questions please see someone in the M office um Men's Choir so Men's Choir is open to all students at Sommerville High School even if you are not in the choir class um they meet every Tuesday 2:30 to 3:15 in room 102 by the auditorium um if you have any questions email Mr Noah um with any other questions um for yearbook we have senior yearbook ads which are now on sale so the um link is on J's that you can find and the last day to place a senior ad is February 21st 2025 we also have um more yearbook information so if you're interested also go on to Jon's buy yearbook I prefer buying them now as they're cheaper as they're $95 and then after Fe February 25th they go to 105 so we also have the V Valkyrie um and that's a fall edition of the school's newspaper so that's always interesting to look at um with pop culture School news any the pop topics and lastly we have spirit week this week as we're getting into the holidays so student council will be hosting a festive Spirit Week um in preparation for winter break today we had um we had a twin day so you dress as twins with a friend on Monday we had ugly sweaters um tomorrow we have dressed as your ideal vacation either ski holiday or an Island Getaway on Thursday we have dress of PJs and on Friday we have a um little pepper rally for like battle the classes kind of so each class will wear a different color so that should be fun um but yeah that's it so I'm hoping everyone has a great um winter break coming up and happy holidays thank you too have a great holiday happy New Year Mr pres May quickly add her comment because we had such a wonderful time listening to the choir and then the winter concert's coming up um one other concert that will be coming up tomorrow night to get everybody also in the spirit is the Middle School uh Winter concert led by St Lett and I think we have a young lady who may even be uh even be seen in that so I'm looking forward to all three I think Mr Mr Boyce and Mr gisco earlier heard my daughter practicing just through the phone very excited thank you apprciate thank you gentlemen appreciate you coming down and celebrating Dan I've been in up board meetings I leave now don't blame you not offend I can always a room I've been able to clear a room my all remember just remember the timer's on the look at I'm setting a timer for me no pressure no pressure 30 seconds left 30 seconds left audit great there we go how about that Derek that great thank you no just so you know we have completed our audit for this year and it has been F and it will be filed after tonight's resolutions everything will be filed it's within our statutory deadlines and everything is um done I just want to give you a little bit of some financial highlights um obviously maintain a general fund budget of approximately $52 million and a Debt Service budget of an additional $2 million you received and expended a little over $5 million in your federal state local grants and additionally within that 5 million additionally on top of that 5 million over the last since 2020 you received almost $4 million from the federal government under the cares the Carissa s One S 2 S 3 all those grants happy to say that money has finally been fully spent as I'm sure everyone in the business office is thrilled to have spent all those funds um this year during the school year you did receive a very large $2 million preschool expansion Grant um so that initial has started during that project expanding your police preschool program your food service fund actually had a great year actually generated a little over 100 Surplus so it is doing well um I want to say that you do have a few you do have an your allowable state fund balance that you're allowed to hold is 2% plus any allowable adjustments is a little over $1.1 million um you have your capital reserve which is that Reserve that is set aside for local portions of your um contributions if there's any state grant funding going into as you're planning on having a referendum coming soon to start discussing having reserves will help you on the bond rating side so that is a bonus for it this year and additionally obviously that money is always there for an emergency when all is said and done you have an excess Surplus which will roll into support the 24 the 25 26 budget that you're building which is also $1.1 million which is actually $200,000 less than it was that you were using to support this year's budget as for the uh management report we have no formal recommendations is a clean AIT with no formal recommendations so no corrective action is required we do as always have suggestions to management that we always like to encourage our biggest one for suggestion is obviously tagged back to those federal grants where there are federal grants of large there can be Federal Auditors I assume as you go through them as we've audited them over our course the last couple of years if they were to come out and do any desk review you would be fine through those desk reviews so that is keeping it brief anybody have any questions I'd be glad to answer any thanks much appreciated appreciated and good luck on your endeavors thank you thank you and have a great night everyone you all right so uh that being said thank you for the presentation now we have two resolutions the acceptance and the filing of the annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year end of June 30th 2024 and acceptance and the filing of the ORD management report on administrative findings Financial compliance and performance for fiscal year ended June 30th 2024 may I have a motion please thank you Mr Van Horn and thank you Mr Carlson is there any discussion Mr Boyce please yes Mrs Van Horn yes Mr seril yes Mr Jess Mr Carlson yes Mr pontillo yes Mrs crasa yes Mrs Dale yes Mr kimick yes Mr Garcia yes awesome thank you back over to you Mr Lis all right thank you sir first of all thank you to Nick Noah and me chamber cire really wonderful to hear them and to open a meeting with that uh was truly great I want to thank Brian and his team for having a successful audit there with no recommendations thank you very much uh happy holidays to everybody here in in the room but also to everyone in the district um it's really been a wonderful transition and I appreciate everyone's support uh not only in getting up the speed with everything going on here but in uh what we've been working on which um you know Stephanie and are going to talk about during her report um academically besides that some highlights to point out and some things uh to to mention uh first of all we had a a really special day uh probably my favorite day since I've been here when we went around and awarded all of our governor uh teachers of the year and educational Specialists of the Year U again it's a great opportunity to get out and and get to know folks and and really get to celebrate the special ones that are doing hard work each and every day in the classroom so uh I want to celebrate and we'll bring them back later in the year for a more formal celebration uh but at Vander we have Miss Joelle Kesler and Miss Jessica Myers uh at the middle school we have Miss Christina Edelman and Mr Patrick mana and at the high school we have Miss Sarah Lori and Gary kople um tremendous job by all them uh I was lucky enough to know all them you know even before I got to go celebrate with them they were some of the folks that sat down with me during my entry plan so it was really great to see them recognize in that way and we have some truly special people throughout the district I found that out obviously in my transition everyone that sat down and talk to me really got to see their passion for students and you can see their Excellence on a you know day in and day out basis um I also want to thank Miss hudon for speaking before great to hear from you and the public uh Stephanie and I are going to be speaking when she does a report about um some things that we've been working on um coincidentally but also um in my newsletter that is something that's going to be highlighted uh I put it in my Milestones of the state of the district as things that we're going to report out about and that'll be in my newsletter on a monthly basis um so I'll speak to a little bit about that um in a little bit and then there's another really special moment um in the history of um Somerville and I don't want to steal Luke's Thunder I didn't know if he was going to speak out about this so I'm not on the agenda but a very unique day Dan that's you're going away president Mr Tim Davis uh put together a celebration of four uh football players who will be attending college uh for free um Mr Jaden Lofton University of Tennessee Mr Josh Rodriguez Old Dominion University Mr Terrell Mitchell at Ruckers and Brady Shire at Princeton uh 20 2024 four division one uh scholarships for these students and Counting there may be some others that are still in the works I'm hoping that it works out for them but nonetheless this is a celebration uh not only of their Athletics but of their academics to be eligible uh for what they qualified for took quite a bit of hard work in the classroom as well and it's a celebration of the school district it's a celebration of the a athletic programs it's a celebration of these young men and their families um what's truly special is two of them are going to be graduating early uh with the support of the uh the board we had spoken about Mr lton earlier he is on his way to Tennessee already correct what's today's date 1 yes I think it was yesterday right uh and Mr Terrell Mitchell as long as he completes a few last items because of his great academic standing we'll uh be on his way to Ruckers over um and it's really a testament again to their hard work their dedication and the support they get here and the school the schooling they they received here at Somerville so just wanted to point that out that's a truly unique event and it was great to see all the families come together all the teachers that supported all the people that had a say it so great job uh to those young men um I will say a few more things when we Circle back um but speaking um of curriculum we have two people in this room that I'd like to introduce everybody um one that was approved in October one that's on the agenda tonight uh so speaking of curriculum our new director of curriculum who has started her uh tour of the district um her first day was on Monday Miss Mary K um and today we started uh meeting with all of the teachers uh during their team time uh tomorrow we're going to go meet all the teachers during the Vander grade level meetings and then after a break we have a department meetings set up with all the high school teachers and the idea is for them to get to know Mary of course but then also to set up regular meetings so that they can start their hard work on many of the uh recommendations found in the audit and in my state of the district so uh you know off to a running start we kept Mary very busy she uh provided treats for everyone and bribed them into uh you know their attention but no went really well on day one and and I so excited to have Mary on staff and uh really excited to have her come here you guys we had a conflict I think the last one but um welcome aboard um and we look forward to uh you know working on this together thank you uh and next to her uh Dr Jennifer cenes um who is coming to us uh as our director of HR and supervisor so thank you uh for joining us tonight um there are some areas that I'd spoken of in my state of the district and also Dr Bondi and his uh audit that uh we needed to work on in HR uh but also her expertise in uh a few subject areas particularly in science and World Language she has extensive experience in Human Resources not only in the state of New Jersey but in the state of Maryland and Arizona and she brings that expertise uh you know and many years of service and education uh and excellence in recruiting Staffing certification employment evaluation benefits PD uh and uh endless uh you know HR functions that she's handled in very large districts in some of these other states but then also here in the state of New Jersey in Anglewood so uh very excited to make that recommendation tonight and thank you for join joining us and I'm sure during a break I'll be able to introduce you to the bo so thank you awesome that's it that's it for now more round a quick rundown of some of the work we've been do all right so moving on to report of the board items and committee reports once again we're going to move everything on a consent agenda seeing that Mrs Shaw is not here this evening may I have a motion to approve Finance items 1- 21 technology curriculum items 1 through eight policy 1 and two and Personnel items 1 through 20 thank you Mr Carlson have a second second sir thank you Mr SE all right at this time before I ask for discussion I'm going to ask the committee chairs if they have any reports we'll start with Mr Carlson I do not I mean all security bills agenda great thank you m Dale okay so we uh our first curriculum meeting um of the school year I would say um December 4th um we had board members as well as um Mr gisco with us the first thing we discussed was qac we have a current qac assessment coming up on February 18th so we have been preparing for this in our district um we also have been selected for a special education um audit um as well so so that is complete correct very close very close to being complete um and then as I said qack February 18th um we did discuss our new curriculum director so welcome Miss Kane and we discussed the some reconfiguration of the curriculum Department we discussed the PBS pbsis um program at Vander and data is being tracked on this on that this year and we will be discussing that data in the coming months um we discussed some assemblies we discussed uh some staff training I believe they're getting linkid training February 18th um and multi-tiered system of supports is they training in that as well not on that date but they have been ongoing train yes so we discussed that training we talked about enrichment we talked about conferences and one of the other big things that we discussed was kind of a priority list and checklist of where we are starting with improving the academics in the district so I will turn it over to Mr lisco to discuss that a little bit more just a quick highlight and as I said in my newsletter uh following up on my state of the district with the Milestones that my team and I put together those will be uh what we're reporting out on uh in terms of progress some things to point out right now along with what Mary and I started today ahead of time and in preparation of that and then going forward uh going to be working with those grade level and departments and uh teams you know each school has their own name for it but basically these are common times we can get with everybody and do some of this good work uh the grade level curriculum audit excuse me inventory looking at what's being done on a grade level basis for that hor horizontal articulation I've spoke about on many occasions identifying the resources the materials U and the pacing that's being used um curriculum utilization assessment you know what being what's happening consistently in each of these grade levels um is it where we need it to be is it what where we want it to be uh is it effective in how it's being implemented um there is going to be vertical articulation as well on the 18th as well as that data uh training that we talked about from linet and some other uh in-house folks on our uh we have a districtwide data team as well as building wide data teams that meet regularly to support those um you know implementations of the data system that I've been talking about for a while now with you um upcoming meetings with Ela after uh the new year um in which we'll continue some work and some conversations that started looking at the curriculum particularly at the elementary level um program programmatic and application analysis what we're looking at are what are the current challenges that uh we we are facing with the programs that we have in terms of the students that are in the seats right is there a connection there is it meeting their needs there are uh in some cases some very diverse needs and when I say diverse meaning academic standing where students stand and if that array is too wide how are we going to meet their standards uh especially with um you know some of the needs that they might have and the data collection and Alignment we've been working since the summer on getting that in place the system was uh not um comprehensive uh in how it was set up it was not comprehensive in what it was collecting and what we did was uh take a look at the assessments that were being implemented removed redundancy set up consistent application of them and collection and then what is going to be done with that data is now being implemented by those data teams that I mentioned so those are some of the early works that we're doing we're going to continue to to build build out on those uh as well as some of the other Milestones that were mentioned um so I'm uh excited to be able to report those out they'll happen um at board meetings they'll happen in newsletters so that we can continue that open dialogue um with everybody as we move forward together and like I said very happy to have Miss Kane here um and we'll be working hand inand on all these items there was just one more thing I wanted to add to that um for anybody not in education there's anybody here um or anybody listening it's there's been a lot of discussion on the data the data the data the data it's like how is that helping the academics and that's kind of the first step is making sure we have reliable data and then taking that data and next looking at okay which areas are weak which areas are strong and then looking at the materials and resources to support that so I think that's important to explain to everybody who may not understand or be in education um that those those next steps will be coming in the next few months but just right now it is a lot of focus on the data because that's the first steps well we want to be able to make inform decisions based on how our students are performing and the materials that we're using so absolutely thank you aw thank you Mr shil I know that you're not on the agenda but would you have anything to report out well I think I think I think they and superintend bisco are very good and obviously obviously the help in the spirit of our um extracurricular programs we still in real time here today I I just really quick I'll ahe I want to give a shout out to coach Blom who was a for his achievement as coach of the year uh and then also for most of you know we had we went to the group three sectional semifinals and I was in the corner watching that game winning touchdown um that broke our hearts but still hats off to a year that was was unexpected but pleasantly you know really we LED bill by example I also just want to quick add um congratulations to all the educators of the year I do just want to highlight my dear friend um Miss Joel kler Jo pal my that was definitely our favorite deserv when we walked in that classroom uh it was wonderful to see her response it was absolutely the best one that we delivered and she's been at every football game and and standing next to her and watching all the kids young and old come up to say hello to her fate to that her contribution absolutely it's a well deserved for her and all the other educators of the Year all right so we've had our uh committee chair reports now we're going to ask for any discussion before we do I'm going to ask Mr Boyce if he would explain item number 11 under Finance yes thank you Mr Jess I got a good question on this this afternoon so I would like to elaborate uh resolution number 11 is a is a withdrawal from capital reserve to PID for pre- referendum cost in the amount of $30,000 the $30,000 is made up of two pieces the first piece is for Bond counsel Bond council's uh legal services to navigate through the the legal requirements of of considering a referendum and then preparing for a referendum the second piece to the $30,000 is a $220,000 fee estimate to to produce a video about the referendum the reason why we would consider doing this or would even have a resolution on the agenda at all withdrawing from capital reserve for this purpose is because it's a way to educate the public it's a way to educate the public about the projects that are included in the referendum the cost of the projects any de service Aid we're getting towards those projects and also of course the tax impact so this resolution Pro makes funds available for those two purposes the first piece the $10,000 we will be paying to bond councel however the second piece that consideration of a $20,000 video the board will formally entertain at its January meeting so in the interm um Mr lisco and I will provide additional information about that video what it will do the exact cost and you'll make a we'll have a formal vote in January but this resolution just makes the funds available should the board decide to move forward with with that video and with the ref and with the referend right and ref right so tonight if item number 11 passes it's authorization of the funds and then in January if there's another resolution on there for the video at that time that would be the approval corre at that time to expend the funds but the funds for the video will not be expended between now and when the resolution appears but the funds for the bond Council will because Mr salamini who is our bond counsel from uh willin has already started and done so that's correct okay so just want to make sure that everybody's we that so that being said does anybody else have any other questions about any of the other items on the agenda else no all right so we have a motion we have a second I'm going to ask Mr Boyce for a roll call if there's any items that you would like to vote no or abstain on I would just ask you to please say the section that they're under and the number so that way we get an accurate vote okay Mrs Van Horn yes Mr seril yes Mr Jess yes Mr Carlson yes Mr pontillo yes Mrs crasa yes on everything except no on a20 a20 yes the finance okay Mrs Dale no on A1 20 and B number seven okay yes on the rest okay Mr kimik yes Mr Garcia yes thank you everybody entertaining all that it's much appreciated moving on we are now into Old business does anybody have any old business we before the see none they have a motion to close Old business please sir thank you Mr Jim second thank you Mr Van Horn any discussion all those in favor I any opposed any exstension motion carries new business is there any new business uh yeah I just want to um on behalf of the Somerset County regual Farmers Market thank the board for allowing us to use the facility for 32 weeks it was a long season but it was very successful and um the town re we've gotten a lot of feedback from the town and they loved it so thank you so much for allowing us it's great you've done fantastic between you and your husband you guys did a fantastic job with the organization well it wasn't just us it was a whole committee but I know that two of you were involved and I just want to say thank you because we've attended it many times and it was well-run well organized great vendors um and so thank you for bringing it to Somerville because I know that there are a lot of people who um enjoyed it I can't believe it was 32 weeks but I know there are a lot of people that was great um anybody else new business yes Mr vanor I attended the uh New Jersey school boards Association delegate assembly on December 7th um went in hesitantly uh at the beginning because they were originally 16 resolutions to consider and last time we only had 11 and we were there past noon so uh this time however nine of them were withdrawn by the districts that submitted them which gave everyone a lot of relief um so there were seven proposals to the assembly six passed one did not one that passed was that uh the subcommittee needs to get their reports done in a more timely manner in fact they wanted them uh back to us in no less than 21 days in advance of each meeting so that boards have time to consider them the second one that passed is that um boards should be permitted to publish all meeting notices and requisite reference materials through Electronic media instead of publication in physical newspapers because so many areas now have no physical newspapers available especially with the Star Ledger ceasing print and only going electronic yes um the third resolution I passed was that the Department of Education needs to include a limited number of absences per school year for students who SE seek to participate in military enlistment and the uh time that's required to be miss school in order to U in order to fulfill all their obligations to enlist into the military service uh the fourth one is one that we've been very involved involved with and talking about for a long time and that is that uh the school boards believe that municipalities should be required to include the Board of Education in the consideration and development of any pilot programs and they further believe that the board should be a member of the municipal negotiation committee with equal rights and decision making authority to provide input and receive appropriate portions of the community benefits and they are working with the league of municipalities on that um problem the next resolution that T is there's actually two that are very similar and they're close enough that I really can I can re read just one of them um they have the authority to develop the local Boards of Education have the authority to develop curriculum that is aligned to educational standards and reflect the diversity and needs of all the students residing in their communities as long as they do conform to the state standards and the one that was denied was um one that where the they wanted a certain District wanted the school boards to work with the Department of Education to rename all public schools that were named after individuals who supported slavery and to initiate the renaming of all the schools in favor of other names that reflect values inclusivity equality and historical Justice and that that did not pass there were just too too many things that were involved with that and in finances and and uh that one that was the only one that did not pass and I look forward to the next meeting in I believe it's in March or may may no May you're right thank you they are interesting better you than me more interesting so um I have a couple things first I want to congratulate Dr Apprentice on your appointment and uh look forward to joining the district and just the good work and um Miss Kane as well over there she's hiding behind Mr Poley but um so excited for that I I would ask that that the administration consider can consider actually we we've made a lot of administrative changes uh over the past few months and having a new uh order chart might be helpful because I think just uh making that clear for everybody in terms of just uh what the roles are what the chain of command is and just how that's all kind of um functioning right now because I think that would be good information for the board to have the other thing I just wanted to ask in terms of uh future agenda items or future agenda presentation is uh we include our mission State and our district goals and I'm thinking about the comment that was made earlier about achievement and we did establish a board goal um a couple meetings ago just around academic achievement if that could also be included on the agenda as a specific board goal that's separate from District goals U you know we talked about that I think we're going to have future disc discussions around board goals as well but um you know highlighting that is something that is a priority to the board and having that front and center on our agenda I think with our mission statement and with what those District goals are would be important um because I do agree with the comment that was made that you know that that has to be a priority of the board and it has to be something that uh we have front and center in terms of the discussions that we're having so excellent thank great suggestion thank you anyone else seeing none may have a motion to close new business please move thank you Mr Carlson have second second second thank you Mr Jal any discussion all in favor I any oppos any extensions it has come to that time where it's time to adjourn we'd like to wish everybody a very happy holiday a very happy safe New Year healthy enjoy it with your families recharge come back stronger get ready to kick into high gear with Miss Kane Dr sentes we so happy that you're here so with that may have a motion to adjourn please thank you Mr Carlson have a second thank you Mr Jil any discussion all those in favor I any oppos extenstion so move we adjourned at 7:41 cake time for cake