##VIDEO ID:aBf01p-QYaE## board member will Meyer here board member shaaka Gable no board president Coe tford here board member run VOD lman here board member Caitlyn Whit letter here all right please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance Al to the flag of the United States of America indice please take notice that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided in the following manner that written notice was sent from the office of the secretary of the board at 7:59 a.m. on August 13th 2024 that said notice was sent via email to Maplewood and South Orange Township clerks in the editors of the news record Star Ledger The Village Green and tap into start this presid the school board meeting is a business meeting in public and not a meeting with the public oftentimes it may appear to members of our audience the Board of Education takes action with very little comment and in many cases a unanimous vote before a matter is placed on the agenda at a public meeting the the Administration has thoroughly reviewed the the matter with the superintendent if the superintendent is satisfied that the matter is ready to be presented to the board of education is then referred to the appropriate board committee the members of the board committee work with the administration and the superintendent to assure that the members fully understand the matter after the committee discusses discusses the matter it is then shared with the other board members for consideration only then is it placed on the agenda for board discussion and action at a public meeting all right we're going to have our hearing of individuals and delegations thank you for coming in person and dialing in by phone this evening South orang Maplewood Board of Education certainly respects that you've taken the time out of your busy day to address the board at tonight's meeting we value public involvement in our school district and we are eager to hear what you have to say the board does have time limits by policy and it will be enforcing those to enable as many people to speak as possible this evening each individual will be given 3 minutes to speak please do your best to stay within the time afforded to you the first public comment period is usually limited to 1 hour and the second public comment period may be limited to 30 minutes all input chair with the board of education is taken very seriously and will inform future deliberations and work by the Board of Education and as committees i' like to call Beth Constantino good evening I'm Beth centino I live in Maplewood I have two children in the district and I'm here tonight as the president of CAC Soma and I'm speaking on behalf of the CPAC executive board so on the heels of our recommendations uh that CPAC Soma has shared with you in the last couple of months I'm bringing to you a few suggestions as you work on the district and board goals tonight the first one is about being preventative we like to say that the district is reacting to challenges or difficult situations and that it needs to be more proactive but I don't think proactive is the right word for what needs to happen anymore now with every decision being made by the Board of Ed and the administration the question to ask is in what ways are we preventing a negative outcome for students again and again there are students who are not achieving their greatest potential due to inadequacies of the system and the lack of a preventative approach specifically as it relates to special education and tier one curriculum for early literacy I've heard Dr Fergus refer twice now to curriculum based learning disabilities if we don't have not only the appropriate teaching strategies for our Educators but the necessary tools to assess whether or not a child is actually learning the skills they need in order to read we will never close the achievement Gap the next suggestion is recognizing that interdependence is needed for meaning people change to be mutually dependent on one another makes us accountable to the greater good which is in this case the student it also gives us insight to one another's strengths and challenges so as not to tear anyone down but to learn from one another and the last suggestion would be the result of the previous to and that is sustainability how do we do the work for our students while understanding where we've been wrong what was try that didn't work and what was done that was good and did work how do we do the followup how do we sustain the work it has been ongoing and it's time to make it happen so that for the future of this District um and for right now for right now thank you thank you like to call up the Joshua good evening everybody my name is ther Joshua and I have two children in the district as of today we are less than two weeks away from staff reporting to our schools to get ready for another exciting school year as of this evening the district and SOA have yet to reach a deal on a new contract as you know SOA represents counselors School workers clerical staff and others in addition to our wonderful teachers also the district's acting business administrator MRE doio is set to retire on September 1st with over 10 years of service I might be selling short I apologize um which includes multiple district and Union negotiations she has more background and experience than anyone else involved in these negotiations so it behooves both the board and SOA to take advantage of her experience and reach a new deal before she retires it is in the best interest of our school staff our school district leaders and most importantly our district students if the board and SOA can reach an agreement on a labor contract before the school year starts I recognize the delicate nature of contract negotiations but also know from sitting back there for 16 hours a couple years ago that things can happen very quickly when the both sides are committed to a new deal so I ask both the board and someo Leadership they're not here but them two please do everything you can to reach a deal before September 1st I know it can be done and I really hope it is done our community and our students are counting on it to the board as always thank you for your time and thank you for your service we have one online public speaks uh Aaron sax that Comm be memb is not online all right guess that concludes our public [Music] speaks right we're going to move on to new business anyone have any new business all right okay the Board of Education will meet in public session on Thursday August 29th 2024 at 6:30 p.m. in the district meeting room at 5:25 Academy Street in Maplewood New Jersey immediately following the opening of the public session the board will move to go into a closed session in the superintendent's office at 5:25 Academy Street in mwood New Jersey as well as using an online video conference platform to discuss Personnel matters within the attorney client privilege legal negotiations and other matters that may arise and required discussion to be announced at a later date immediately following the closed session the Board of Education will meet in the public session estimated to be at 7:30 p.m. in the district meeting room at 525 Academy street map New Jersey in person utilizing an online video conference platform which will include hearing of individuals the community can view the meeting by following the steps which will be listed on the agenda if there are members of the community who would like to attend the meeting in person please note that the masks and social distancing are optional in accordance with the guidance received from the local do and the CDC action will be begin will be taken that like to make a motion to adjourn to have a second thank youan all in favor all right we're going to be moving into our Retreat so if you'd like to stick around and observe please do um and thank you for coming e e e e e for