Good evening. The Sparta Board of Education regular meeting is called to order at 6 6 PM, excuse me. And Emily, may you please have the meeting notice announcement read. The New Jersey open public meeting laws 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 provisions of this act, the Sparta Board of Education has caused notice of the time and place of this meeting to be published in the New
Jersey Herald, the Star Ledger, tap into Sparta.net and notice of the meeting has been posted on the Sparta Township School District website. >> Thank you, Emily. May we have a roll call, please? Mr. Lakaruba >> here. >> Mr. Lowry >> here. >> Dr. Martinez
>> here. >> Miss Null >> here. >> Miss Saraphino >> here. >> Miss Williams >> present. >> Mr. Wood >> here. >> And Miss Gagnon >> present. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you so much. And may you join us in standing for the 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 at this time, we will be convening into close session, whereas section 8 of the open public meetings act, chapter
231, public law 1975, provides for the exclusion of the public from a c from a meeting in certain circumstances. And whereas the Sparta Township Board of Education is of the opinion that such circumstances exist to discuss attorney attorney client privilege matters which
are exempt from public participation pursuant to New Jersey Public Law 1975 chapter 231 open public meetings act. Therefore, be it resolved that the Sparta Township Board of Education shall enter executive session on January 22nd
at 6:02 p.m. The board will re reconvene in public session at the conclusion of the executive session. We estimate an hour, so we should be back right around 7:00. The information discussed during executive session will be disclosed to the public as soon as it is determined by the board that the information is no
longer confidential. May I have a motion to convene and closed? Thank you, Michelle. Second. >> Thank you, Chad. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any absentions? Any discussion? Okay, seeing none. Thank you. That was really funny.
>> Hello. Again, resolve that the Sparta Board of Education closes executive session and enters back into the regular portion or excuse me, public portion of the meeting at >> 7:16. >> 7:16 p.m. Sorry, we're a few minutes late. May we have a roll call, please?
>> Dr. Hankle. >> Mr. Lacarova, >> here. >> Mr. Lowry, >> here. >> Dr. Martinez >> here, >> Miss Null >> here, >> Miss Saraphino >> here, >> Miss Williams >> present, >> Mr. Wood >> here, >> and Miss Gagen
>> present. >> Quorum confirmed. >> Thank you. Uh, I don't believe we have anything for district recognition this evening. So, we'll be starting with item 5.1, our BS smart presentation. Hello. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to be here. So, uh, first
we'll just introduce ourselves really quick. I'm Nicole Howard. I am a mom of two children in town, a six-year-old and a 10-year-old. And hi, I'm Elizabeth, uh, Sanchez. I also live in town and I've got three kids and two of them just graduated from Spur School District.
So, tonight we want to just present the BS Smart program to you. BSmart is a uh program that was created by Every Town for Gun Safety. Um we did not create this ourselves. It's a nationwide program that's really focused on spreading the importance of secure gun
storage. So when we start talking about guns, things start to feel political. And tonight, rule number one is absolutely nothing is political. So we have three rules about this presentation that everyone in the room can agree on. One is we want all kids to grow up happy
and healthy. Two is that we each have the right to make responsible decisions about how we protect our home, our families, and our communities. That may include a gun, it may not include a gun. And both of those things are okay. And number three is if we can prevent even one child from a gun death or injury, it
is absolutely our responsibility as adults to do so. So that is as far as this conversation is going to go. Okay. So, I will also call out that this program um especially when you're considering about the context of it, it is very focused on adults concerned
about kids, guns, and safety. It is not a program intended really for uh children. It's okay for children to see it, but um important to note that it is not directed at them. And just a little context for you, um
BSmart has been very active in Sussex County. We started in October three years ago. So, October of 2022 and um we have been very active in the community and have been in really close partnership with the Sparta Township
Police Department. They actually received this presentation and invited us to um go to Sussex County Day with them and table with them and we're always at the Hanging with Heroes and you'll see a slide later that shows that we are now providing free gun locks at the Sparta Township Police Department
because of this presentation. So with that, I'm going to hand it over to Liz. >> So firearms are the leading cause of death for children in the US, and that surprises many people. It's ahead of cancer and ahead of um motor vehicle
accidents. Um in incidents of gunfire in school grounds, up to 76% of the shooters that are under the age of 18 obtain the guns from the home, their home or the home of relatives or friends. And we know that this is a very tragic
problem. These are all headlines. The one from USA Today is recent, I think it was about last week in Pennsylvania, an 11-year-old shot his father while he was sleeping over a fight over a Nintendo. Um, so it really is about keeping guns out of the
hands of children. So the BSART is an acronym for secure, model, ask, recognize, and tell. So we're going to go through all of those. So to start with the S, the importance of securing guns in homes and vehicles. So for those of you who do not know, the
laws in New Jersey have changed dramatically over the last two years. um a lot more guns can be carried um uh in public much easier and they are also in vehicles a lot more. So we have seen
road rage shootings skyrocket in New Jersey uh tremendously over the last two years due to law changes. So 13 million children live in households that contain at least one gun. And the majority of those children in gun owning homes know
where those guns are. We most of you I'm sure have children and you know that they are so much smarter than we give them credit for. They pay attention to everything. Um so it's really important that we're storing those guns securely and inaccessible to kids. So that means that hiding a gun is not securing a gun.
Putting it in your underwear drawer, your nightstand, under the bed, in a shoe box, that is not securing a gun. So there's a variety of ways to secure a gun. Um so I have my handy dandy um showand tell that I was joking with my husband. and it fit in my handbag. So,
there's no excuse for not securing your gun. So, I bought this on Amazon for $50 and it's a a biometric. You can use your fingerprint and it's not going to work now and easily unlocks. So, there's a wide variety of gun safes that can range
up to thousands of dollars down to free cable locks, which um as I noted are given out at the Sparta Police Station. So this is free and is very simple and it is a key which anything is better than nothing but ideally you'll have
something that is biometric or has a code because kids are so smart in the instance of um the Nintendo shooting the Nintendo Switch shooting um the kid knew where the key was unlocked it and he used it on his father. Um, I when I'm
giving these presentations got into a conversation with a gentleman who said, "I absolutely cannot secure my weapon. If someone comes into my house, I won't have time to unlock the weapon and get it ready to protect myself." And so we
had a long conversation and over a period of time he ended up buying two of these exact gun safe. He now keeps them next to his bed and within 30 seconds he can have it unlocked, loaded and ready. And so now he does have grandchildren and previously those guns were unsecured
and now he's he's convinced that a simple securing of the weapon is made possible. The other thing is that guns are the number one thing that are actually stolen in home invasions. So by securing the weapon, you actually are saving the uh investment yourself as
well. And then this is just a QR code on the left there that takes you to a free cable lock which is that the cheaper lock I showed you. And then the Sparta Police Station has partnered up with Project Child Safe and they are giving
out free gun locks right in town as well. So the the M stands for model responsible behavior and as always it is the adults responsibility to model the behavior that we want for our children. We can't just tell our children do this,
don't do that. We have to ensure that they have, you know, that everything is secure, that they cannot get to the gun even if, you know, because curiosity can really take hold with a young child and they can do things that you would never think they would do or that you told them not to do. So, it really is up to
the adult to take all the necessary steps to keep the guns away from their their young children. So, this this a is ask about unsecured guns in other homes. This is what got me involved in the BS smart program. I heard Nicole present on it and I thought
I never asked when my children went to sleepovers if there was a gun in the home. And I considered myself very vigilant about sleepovers. I was not a big fan of them. I like all my chickens in the nest. And I would ask about allergies. I would ask about, you know,
you know, and I would talk to my children about, you know, pool safety and this safety. And it did that had not occurred to me back then. And I thought that is a that is a question. And I went to one of my daughters and said, "Have do you think that any of your friends homes that you know I only let them sleep at families that I knew?" And they
were like, "Oh yeah, yeah, they definitely have." And I'm like, "They what?" And I'm like, "That was how did that not occur to me to have that conversation with the other parents?" And it can. And I thought, "It's going to be awkward. I know it's going to be awkward, but it's not because as I said, I ask about all the other safety things
that are important to me. So why would I not ask about this?" And when I started to make it a habit, even though it felt awkward at first, I was never met with a a poor reaction. And you know, most of the time they would either say no, there are no guns in the home or they would say yes and this is how we secure them.
And then everybody felt better. So that was, you know, an really important thing to to bring awareness to that I think we just or at least I was not aware of. Um, this is just talking about normalizing the ask ways to text it, you know, when you, you know, and I would
kind of do it in a list of, oh, hey, my kids are really picky eaters and, you know, this, that, and the other. Oh, hey, and are there any guns in the home, you know, or are they secured is really a nice way to ask it, you know, how do you secure weapons if there are any? Um, and I've never had a bad reaction.
And this is, you know, I attended a presentation where I learned about the importance of securing gun storage. And you know this is a very common reaction that you would get. Actually we do own a gun and I assure you that it is locked in a safe and the kids never see it. Thanks for asking. So um the next one for R is recognizing
the role of of guns in suicide. So this is really important and I want to take a moment. We've brushed through till here. Um so most people who attempt to suicide and do not die unless they use a gun. 90% of suicide attempts using a gun are
successful versus 4% if someone uses any other method. 4% versus 90%. To make that even crazier, a person who is not successful in their attempt, they 70% of them will
never try again. So if you can avoid that moment when they've reached for a gun, you could completely change the course of their life because they may never try again. It gives you the moment to intercede and provide help. So when you
think about this, it's really important to think about the fact that gun violence does not affect all Americans equally. And I want to call this out specifically because of the type of community that we live in. When you think about gun violence in Sparta, you're not worried about shootings on
Main Street. You're not worried about things happening outside. We live in a safe town, thankfully. But there's a secret in our homes. White Americans represent 62% of the population, but 84% of
firearm suicide victims. When you think about that and you know that it's uniquely fatal, we have an obligation to make sure that our children don't have access and that our parents have the opportunity to intercede in that 70% of
time that they'll never try again. And that's really important because there's a massive rise in firearm suicide among young Americans as low as 10 years old. Between 2020 and 2022, 10 to 14 year olds, the increase in firearm suicide
rate increased by 126%. That's since evened out quite a bit, but you can still see that the second largest growth is 10 to 24 year olds. So, I'm going to take a breath and slow down here, too, because I don't want to
talk about this. I don't want to think about this, and we really do have to. A survey of high school students found that 20% had seriously considered attempting suicide within the last year. And one study showed that 41% of adolescence in gun owning households reported having easy access to the guns
in their home. I think we would all love to think this will never affect us or anyone we love. And we just have to be realistic that we need to think about it. We need to talk about it. Um, these are signs to look for and I these are all sign signs to look for,
but no one of them is going to give you an actual clue of what is ahead. And you can't rely on any one of them to to be something that you should have seen or could have seen. They're just signs. But prolonged sadness or depression,
changes in mood or behavior, hopelessness, sleeping too much or too little, withdrawing in isolation, increased alcohol or drug use, showing dangerous or self harmful behavior, talking about wanting to die, giving away belongings, or making final preparations.
Any one of those could be seen in a teenager at any given point, but I think it's important to still have them in our minds collectively as things that might ring a bell and might help us seek out help if we need it. And this is the
resources that you could contact. And I think this is a very important page. Um, it has the Trevor Project and the 98 suicide and crisis lifeline. I think that you just no one can think that they're immune and I think it's really
important that we all think about it and make sure we can talk about it which the last one the T is tell everyone um to be smart you know to keep guns secure and away from our children that will protect them in in every way and that is our job
as the adults to do that for them. So with that, thank you for the opportunity to present this and I hope we can collaborate more to get the word out to parents in the district. >> Thank you so much. Does anyone have any questions from the board? Any >> feedback?
>> Sure. >> So I wrote a little something. I just wanted to thank you both for presenting here tonight and helping to promote responsible gun ownership. The attempt to reduce deaths, injuries, and trauma that can result when a child or teen is able to access a gun is definitely an
important cause and one that everyone can agree on with. >> So, thank you again. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Uh the one question I have, you know, you mentioned collaborating. What ways, if any, can either the board or the district uh support these efforts, especially given your collaboration with I know Chief McCarrick speaks very very
highly of this program uh and the uh alliance you guys have with the Sparta Police Department. What are ways that we can consider supporting this initiative? >> So, I have a dream. My dream is that when I'm standing in the gym or auditorium for back to school night that
we could give this presentation quickly when we have a captive audience to the parents. That might be a lot to ask. Um, but I do think um potentially we have lots of handouts. maybe having some of the handouts on Genesis for parents to sign off on, especially before the kids
go home for the summer in their home in their houses for the whole summer with potentially an unsecured weapon could be a really nice way to do it. Um, but really it's we're open to presentations anywhere and um any sort of education.
>> Awesome. We'll probably have our administration reach out in that case. I don't know about anything for back to school night in terms of presenting because attention spans are limited those nights. There's valuable real estate, but uh you know there are tables, there's there's definitely opportunities. So uh thank you so much
for presenting and does anyone else have anything they want to add? >> Appreciate you. Thank you so much. >> Thank you for the opportunity. >> I think that was a bless you. Uh with that, we're moving on to our student representatives report.
>> Okay, so we have quite some news in uh sports arena. Um so our senior basketball guard, Lashm Little recently scored his 10,000th career point. Um additionally, our senior wrestler, Ryan Hernenko, achieved his 100th career win.
Uh the girls basketball coach Patrick McCartney recently attained his 100 100th career win as well. Um for upcoming senior nights, both the boys basketball and KJS hockey team have senior nights tomorrow. And we would like to recognize two of
our girls soccer players, Riley Malbury and Adriana Dolinsky for being recognized this past week by the New Jersey Girls Soccer Coaches Association. And for other news, last month members of our peer development program attended Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Alpine Elementary to play with the children during their
indoor recess period. The high school students are planning on going again in the near future. Also, Njac leadership conference went very well. Thank you to Leu. That happened today and 13 schools were able to attend and it was just a very fun time altogether. Uh this year's
winter pep rally went well with the students bringing good energy and high levels of participation. Also the rehearsals for the high school musical Greece are in full swing and are excited to take stage in mid-March. Additionally, our peer development program will be hosting a Valentine's
Day dance on February 4th for the elementary schools and all are welcome to attend. Thank you so much. That all sounds awesome. Um, with that, may I please have a motion to approve the minutes? >> Motion. >> Was that Don?
>> I'm not used to your voice yet. I'm sorry. Thank you, John. Second. >> Thank you, Andrew. Uh, may we have a roll call, please? >> Dr. Hinkle, >> Mr. Laruba. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lowry. Yes, >> Dr. Martinez. >> Yes,
>> Miss Null. >> Yes, >> Miss Williams. >> Yes, >> Mr. Wood. >> Yes. Sorry about that. >> And Miss Saraphino? >> Yes. >> Miss Gagnon. >> I'm abstaining from the regular meeting minutes for December only because I wasn't present for that meeting. Uh but
yes to January 6 for York. Uh thank you. And with that, our superintendent's report. >> Thank you. Uh just like to formally welcome our new board members who are in their first official board meeting this evening. We've already gone through one
round of committee meetings with all the new members and returning members of course and I can say that I look forward to the continued collaborative spirit of the entire board of education. Two retirements on this evening's agenda that I would like to recognize. First,
we have Virginia, who is the speech language specialist at Alpine Elementary School. Ms. has served the district for 26 years. And Christian Wessles, the German teacher at Sparta High School. Miss
Wessles has served the district for 25 years. Congratulations. I'm proud to announce this evening that Sparta High School has earned a place on the AP school honor role for the 2425 school year. The AP school honor role
recognizes schools that have done outstanding work to welcome more students into AP courses and support them on the path to college success. Research shows that students who take AP courses and exams are more likely to attend college and graduate on time. The
students who enter four-year colleges with credit from AP accelerate their path to graduation and build confidence for college success. And the last item was going to be to promote the Harlem Wizards game on
Sunday afternoon at Sparta High School. Um, with the impending storm, the game has been rescheduled. I have a tentative reschedule and we'll get back to you with an official notification, but it is now not going to take place on Sunday due to the snow and tentatively
rescheduled for February 1st at 4 p.m. Um, that's where we're at right now. That's the information I have right now, but when it becomes official, we will get it out to the community. So, looking forward to that. That's always a fun time and a very good fundraiser for our PTOs. And that's my report. >> Thank you, Dr. Beck. Uh, for board
president's report, I don't have much. I also want to welcome our new board members. Uh you'll see on the agenda the delegate and liaison roles that have been appointed. We also appointed our committees of course. Um and a quick recap, we have Dr. Martinez leading
finance with Rebecca and Miss Null. We have Emily leading uh personnel and policy with myself and Andrew. And we have Chad leading us in curriculum with Michelle and Dom. Uh first meetings were excellent. very much looking forward to
the collaboration as well. And uh I always like to call out that last month for December, we also had zero opra requests. I got out of the habit of announcing that, but always like seeing that. So uh always a good sign. With that, um we will also be covering our
board goals and norms this evening, but we'll hold off on that until old business. So, may we please have a motion to approve the HIB report? Uh, accepting that there are actually no new HIP filings for this period. >> Motion. >> Thank you, Rebecca. Second.
>> Second. >> Thank you, Dom. Any discussion? >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any oppose? Any obstensions? >> Seeing none. Communications. We don't have anything to report on that at this time, although uh that ad hoc committee
is getting back up and running, so we should have more shortly. Delegate and liaison reports. Does anyone have anything they'd like to report out for their first >> I do. >> Go ahead. >> Um I attended the first board meeting of the Sussex County Ed Services Commission.
um they are uh planning to purchase the building next to them. So they'll have double or maybe even triple the amount of space they currently have. So they'll be they are
starting to ask districts for any potential students that could go in there as soon as it's open. So, um, and there was a small rate increase of 3%. Their average yearly tuition is $60,000 as opposed to hundreds of thousands to
other schools. So, I greatly would ask administration to reach out and see what students we could possibly use their services for. Um, that building they expect to be online within six to 12 months.
um they they have about $5 million in the bank, so they have plenty of funding. They're not going to need state funding. And um I think that's about it. But it seems like they are expanding and again they
only increase their fees at about 3%. So, it's um compared to some of the other schools that do this, it's considerably uh for the same amount of services uh a better deal for for the district.
So, >> does anyone else have anything for delegate leaison? >> I do for Sparta Education Foundation. They are having a Sparta mania or basically a a wrestling match. These are semi-professional wrestlers that are coming. It's on March 1st and the doors
open at 2 o'clock and ticket sales have started. Thank you so much. Anyone else? We did send out the introductory emails within the last week or so. So, um we'll probably have more to report next month. Uh municipal alliance also met today. Um
I had to leave early so I wouldn't be the best to report out. I was only there for about 30 minutes, but it was a very productive meeting. Great recap. And with that, we will move on to public comment number one. Public comments are invited on matters pertaining only to action items at this time. Please state
the action item number as well as your name, municipality, and group affiliation if appropriate for the record. Each participant will receive three minutes to speak. Once you have had your allotted three minutes to speak, you will not be permitted to speak again until public comment number two. All statements should be directed
to me as the presiding officer. The border administration may or may not respond to any questions or comments after the conclusion of the public participation. Anyone for public comment number one? Okay. Motion to you. Sure. Motion to close.
>> Thank you, Rebecca. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Dom. All in favor? I. Any oppose? Any absention? Discussion. Okay. May I have a motion to move personnel and policy items 15.1 through 15.25? >> Motion. >> Thank you, Emily. Second. Second.
>> Thank you, Andrew. Discussion. >> Um, so I'll talk a little bit about how that meeting went. So, we met last week. Um, and I just want to call attention to two big things that happened during that meeting. First of all, we started talking about the policy audit, which was something that is one of our board
goals. Um, and it's going to be a huge undertaking to review every single policy we have on the book and make sure it's up todate. um and go over especially with any legal changes that might have happened in the past couple years. Um so we talked a little bit about what that process looks like as a
committee and the timeline of completing that. Um which we're going to start in the next few meetings. Um I also want to say that as a result we have to reapprove a lot of policies even if there's not really any changes but just to say we've looked at this hasn't been changed since 1999 and we've checked to
make sure everything's still valid. So don't be alarmed when you start seeing a lot of policies on the agenda because we're just updating or saying that we did examine this policy. Um and the second thing I just want to point out is uh our two retirees like Dr. Beck had pointed out. Um and congratulations and
view to Miss Creek and uh Fra Vessels who I had in high school. She's a solid one. >> Well said. And one other point I would like to make on the audit, uh, we do intend to utilize the NJSBA's policy manual, which is a new initiative that they're planning to launch. I believe we
said January, we might be looking at February now, uh, to help offset not just some of the workload, but also some of the potential legal costs that might be associated with adopting policies. Uh, so we are staying mindful of that. We obviously want to respect Jackie's time as well because that would be a lot of work on top of her already busy
schedule. Um, anyone else for discussion? Okay, maybe A roll call, please. Dr. Hankle. >> Yes. >> Mr. Laruba. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lowry? >> Yes. >> Dr. Martinez? >> Yes. >> Miss Null? >> Yes.
>> Miss Williams? >> Yes. >> Mr. Wood? >> Yes. >> Miss Saraphino? >> Yes. >> And Miss Gagnum? >> Yes. >> Motions carry. Thank you. May I have a motion to move curriculum instruction and special services items 16.1 through 16.19.
>> Motion. >> Thank you, Chad. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Dom. Discussion. >> Yes. So, we actually had some really relevant conversations in the recent curriculum meeting that I really appreciated. Um, first and foremost, we talked we had a discussion about the AP
pre-calculus course proposal. Um, and I think this was a really relevant conversation, especially for anybody who is familiar with like the calculus situation that happened with honors pre-calc a few years ago, but I think there definitely is a demonstrated need for a course like this. And if all conditions are met, then um the next
steps would be to include a formal course proposal in writing um for curriculum approval. So, I'm really liking the steps being made there. And then we also had a very thorough conversation in terms of the our grade skipping and acceleration policy um in terms of how it's how it lays out and how it's functioned. Um and I don't want
to get too specific um as no action was taken but there was a lot of conversation and consideration that was taking place and there's more change to come and you're you know final products are on their way but uh this is not being handled lightly and we understand how significant and how parents do care
about things like grade skipping and acceleration so we are taking the time to review it thoroughly. >> Thank you so much. Anyone else? May we have a roll call, please? >> Dr. Hingle. Mr. Lakar Ruba. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lowry, >> yes.
>> Dr. Martinez, >> yes. >> Miss Null, >> yes. >> Miss Williams, >> yes. >> Mr. Wood, >> yes. >> Miss Saraphino, >> yes. >> And Miss Gagnen, >> yes. >> Motions carry. >> Thank you. Uh, may I have a motion to move finance items 17.1 through 17.19?
>> Motion. >> Thank you, Rocky. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Dom. Discussion. Uh so in finance uh transportation we will be receiving the bus that we purchased. It will be retrofitted with all the additions that are needed for it
to work properly in the district. Um there's been uh request for more aids and more tech on the budget on the buses and unfortunately at this time there is no budget to um either
provide more aids on buses or retrofit more technology on those buses. Um there was an estimate out there was was well well over a million dollars which is there's there's just zero budget for that. So the reason I mentioned that is if there's anybody in the audience who's
made a request and may feel that it's not being addressed, it has been brought to the board. Unfortunately, there is no budget to um to service that. The uh extended school year esicated
to be filled completely and whatever bus aids will um follow soon after that. uh hitting buildings and grounds. Uh as I mentioned in the last meeting, um our buildings are old and we are starting to
hit lots of maintenance issues. Uh there was a outage in Alpine with the with a a m with a control board for the sewer. Fortunately, that was covered under insurance, but there are other uh
maintenance issues that we've approved uh in the district, and this is just going to continually get worse and worse until we figure out how we're going to fix the buildings that we need to fix. Um we have to tasked the district had
asked us to allow them to investigate the ASES program, which is uh meant to offset the 40% increase in electricity bill. the district has had over the last year. Uh, and as you can imagine, a 40% increase in hundreds of thousands of
dollars is a lot of money. Um, and ACES, uh, will hopefully claw back some of that 40% increase that we had. Uh, two big dates for the board that we should be anticipating. uh one is the date of state aid which is next month around the
end of the February and we will be getting our h health care increase uh percentage either at the end of January very beginning of February. So as a board that's kind of we'll start discussing what that means to all of us
in the district. And finally we um we've approved for Dr. back to recall any vacation days due to weather at his discretion. And that's all. >> Thank you. Anyone else? May we have a roll call, please?
>> Dr. Hel, >> yes. >> Mr. Laruba. >> Yes, but please abstain from check number 21574 and resolution 17.1. >> Thank you, Mr. Lowry. Yes, but please abstain from check number 21553
in resolution 17.1. >> Thank you, Dr. Martinez. >> Yes, >> Miss Null. >> Yes, but please abstain from check number 21589, I think it is, in resolution 17.1. >> Thank you, Miss Williams. >> Yes, but I abstain from check number
21607 in resolution 17.1. >> Thank you, Mr. Wood. >> Yes. >> Miss Saraphino, >> yes. and Miss Gagnon. >> Yes. >> Motions carry. >> Thank you. Uh operations, we only have one item and it's 18.1 that is school board recognition month. Um unless
there's in-depth discussion on this, I just want to thank the members of this board. Uh this board has certainly come a long way. I am beyond proud of the partnership that we have with our administration. Uh and I'm very proud of the great start we're already off to month one. So, thank you all for your
service. Um >> can I add one item? >> Sure. Go ahead. >> I I apologize. I missed I uh missed the donation to the Alpine School from uh Fidelity Charle that. Thank you for that. >> Thank you for mentioning it. Uh with
that, any other discussion? Roll call, please. >> Need a motion. Oh, excuse me. >> Good call, Jack. Motion, please. >> Thank you, Andrew. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you. Uh I jumped right into discussion, so we'll skip that unless anyone has anything else. Roll call, please. >> Dr. Hinkle.
>> Mr. Laruba. >> Yes. Mr. Lowry, >> yes. >> Dr. Martinez, >> yes. >> Miss Null, >> yes. >> Miss Williams, >> yes. >> Mr. Wood, >> yes. >> Miss Saraphino, >> yes. >> And Miss Gagnen, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. And moving on to 19, old
business. Uh, I think it was most appropriate for us to dive into our conversation uh related to our board goals and norms. Uh, last year we began the process of adopting formal board goals. Uh I was a little disheartened at the time to learn that we this wasn't a
regular practice for the most part in our district. It wasn't something that we were doing year-over-year. Uh so we've decided to make this an annual initiative and that's something that we're very proud of. Uh Chad did a phenomenal job as vice president reporting out on our goals uh fairly regularly and letting everyone know
where we stood with those. During our last board certification training with our field service rep, Kelly Mitchell, she helped walk us through some uh new goals that we can achieve or hopefully adopt this evening. Um we'd like to review those. Just for the record, uh we can I'm thinking we'll start by going
around and having each board member maybe one reads the mission statement, one reads the goals, and then we also have adopted norms. These are really just kind of a code of conduct more or less for how we would like uh the expectations of how we expect to treat each other at this uh in this capacity
and and adopting those to make sure that we all understand the standards of conduct uh both at all times before meetings, during meetings, and after. Um so with that, I'm actually going to ask our vice president, Miss Saraphino, to read the Sparta Township Board of
Education's mission statement. The mission of the Sparta Board of Education is to ensure the alignment of fiscal resources, policies, governance, and leadership to provide every student with an exceptional educational experience. The board will uphold cold code of ethics, foster collaboration
with the administration, staff, and community, and maintain compliance with the New Jersey student learning standards by promoting policies that support the mental, emotional, and academic well-being of all students. The board is committed to preparing them for future success. as well-rounded,
responsible citizens. Through exercising fiscal responsibility and setting clear goals, the board will maximize the impact of investments in students and staff, supporting a learning environment that encourages creativity, critical thinking, and lifelong learning. >> Thank you. May I have someone to
volunteer to read the board goals? >> You got it. >> Thank you, John. >> Student Board of Education board goals to be adopted January 2026. The state board of education will continue its commitment to achieving board certification through the NJSBA,
strengthening our ability to lead with knowledge, integrity, and a deeper understanding of our responsibilities. Number two, in an effort to continue the policy audit process, the Sparta Board of Ed will execute consistent monthly
policy updates, prioritizing these updates to best align with the district needs and goals. And item number three, the Sparta Board of Ed will adopt the commitment to upholding board norms to establish transparent expectations and
promote a positive board climate. >> Thank you so much. And someone willing to uh moving on to our board norms which we will be adopting this evening. Uh anyone interested in volunteering to read our
expectations at all times? >> Yes. Sparta board of education board norms at all times. We'll communicate with respect and civility. Number two, foster positive relationships and strive to develop trust with board colleagues and administration. Number three, avoid
surprises at the days by raising concerns in advance of meetings through the appropriate channels, committee, board leadership, and administration. Number four, do not utilize your board position to air personal or parental grievances. And number five, continuously self-reflect to ensure your
words and actions align with the code of ethics, established norms, and effective board member conduct. >> Thank you so much. Volunteer for Sparta board norms before a meeting. >> Thank you, Chad. >> Before a board meeting, infor sorry,
inform board leadership if you are unable to attend a board meeting. Come prepared to board meetings by reading all relevant materials well in advance. Advise board leadership and administration in advance of any items you plan to raise for discussion during the board meeting. Uh this ensures relevant data can be prepared and all
colleagues are ready to engage in an informed discussion. >> Thank you Chad. Next, Rebecca. >> During a board meeting, participate in a board culture that promotes open and regular discussion. Two, engage in honest dialogue, keeping criticism
constructive and solutionsoriented. Three, ensure the information you are sharing is accurate, appropriate, and represented fairly. Four, respect the public. Listen with an open mind. Thank you, Rebecca. And lastly, after a board meeting. Thank you, Michelle. After a
board meeting, one respect of the vote will address the district. Three, utilize training to better understand Thank you so much, Michelle. And Kim, would you like to read the concluding
statement in terms of uh followup if there's any violation of provision? >> Sure. If any board member believes that another board member has violated any provision of this agreement, that board member shall personally raise their concern with the offending board member in an attempt to resolve the issue. If
the attempt fails, the board member who believes there has been a violation shall raise the matter to the board president. If the board president is unable to resolve the matter with the parties involved, the matter shall be publicly brought to the attention of the entire board at the next scheduled board
meeting. Any grievances that arise should be dealt with at the earliest practical opportunity. We the undersigned You want me to read the last thing? You can. >> Okay. We, the undersigned members of the Sparta Board of Education, the superintendent and the board secretary agree to abide by these objectives as a
commitment to v uh valuing public education, demonstrating good character, and leading our district with integrity. >> Thank you so much. Um, just to comment on this, I think I'm particularly proud of this initiative because I feel like not only is it something that's going to
foster great dialogue at the table, but it's also an opportunity for us to hold one another and ourselves accountable. Uh, so I encourage everyone to hold me accountable, hold each other accountable. Um, and again, hopefully this is something that becomes a part of the culture in our district uh for many
years to come. Any discussion? Well, I'll just say that I think this is excellent. Um, especially coming from someone who was part of the original drafting of our board goals. Um, say it was not easy trying to make board goals with people who you just have different goals in mind for the board. But I think this is a really encompassing and I
think it's very achievable and I think it hits what Kelly was looking for in terms of to give yourself objective actionable goals that you can achieve while also um not striving too far ahead. Um, so I think we're it puts us in a great spot. >> Well said, Chad. Um, and with that, any other discussion? I
>> I just want to say also that this doesn't mean there's not going to be disagreement. If we don't don't disagree and we're all saying yes at the same time, I think that's a dysfunction as well. So, um there there should be
passion here because we're representing a large district and um we should all civil as civil as you mentioned we should be asking why a lot because there is a lot of money spent in this district and we should be asking
why it's being spent and I don't think there's anything wrong with that and and it's not not being civil it's just these questions need to be asked because that's why we got voted in for >> I just want to be very clear that
nowhere in the norms or anywhere would there be any attempt to discourage questions related to our budget. Um this is more about the way in which we raise the questions that we have and I think developing that standard as a team and understanding that yes we are absolutely
voted to represent but we also need to make sure that we are representing this district as best as possible. Uh with that comes civility. It comes uh responsibility and also order. There's a protocol. There's uh expectations of us. And the more we can uphold not just our code of ethics but the expectations we
have of ourselves and one another, I think the more uh the stronger our functioning will be. So uh thank you. Anyone else? Okay. May I have a motion to adopt the Sparta Board of Education's mission statement, board goals, and board norms
for 2026? >> Motion. Thank you, Dom. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Emily. Since we already covered the majority of the discussion, may we have a roll call, please? >> Dr. Hankle, >> yes. >> Mr. Lacarova, >> yes. >> Mr. Lowry,
>> yes. >> Dr. Martinez, >> yes. >> Miss Null, >> yes. >> Miss Williams, >> yes. >> Mr. Wood, >> yes. >> Miss Saraphino, >> yes. >> And Miss Dagger, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. Before we move on to new business, I realized as soon as we left
our reorg meeting, last meeting, uh, in the process of announcing our new vice president, I failed to celebrate the efforts of our departing vice president, Chad Wood. Um, Chad, I can confidently say, and I joke about this all the time, I was nowhere near doing the things that
you're doing at your age when I was your age. So, uh, we not only commend you, uh, as a former student, we commend you as a board member. you have led as like uh vice president so well uh between strategic planning, board goals, uh getting involved on the NJSBA level. You
continue to inspire me and uh yeah, I'm very very proud of the fact that our um the person I ran with ended up being the most impeccable vice president. So, I I'm sorry that I didn't call this out last meeting. Uh and that said, Emily has very large shoes to fill, but she's
doing a great job already, too. So, thank you for your service as vice president. >> And moving on to new business. Anyone have anything for new business? >> Well, this I might have maybe should have snuck into old business, but um I also wanted to give a shout out to Miss Vessels, which Emily, help me clarify
because I didn't have her personally, but I think she spoke English, German, and French. um which my friend hearing from a lot of my friends who took um other languages because I was a Spanish person um she was very inspiring and I thought her ability to and I think her
husband was also in the school as well but I think a lot of students oversaw them switching between English, French and German the three languages all in a conversation and I think that ability like that unique ability from Sparta teachers to do things like that really has a different inspiration for students and I think you can even point to I want
to say our middle school where we have Mr. Krauss who can speak like nine different languages. I just I think we have some really excellent professionals and it's always sad seeing them leave but I think they do deserve the recognition. >> Well said. One of my favorite things about Mr. Krauss is that he convinces
his students during the first marking period that he doesn't speak English and they all believe him. It's fantastic. Um so absolutely love that. Well said. Uh with that nothing for new business. We'll move on to public comment number two. The board uses the second public comment period to initiate, excuse me,
invite comment on all matters pertaining to the school district. Please state your name, municipality, and group affiliation if appropriate for the record. Each participant will receive three minutes to speak. Once you have had your allotted three minutes to speak, you will not be permitted to speak again. Oh, that's right. Again, uh
any statement should be directed to me as the presiding officer. The border administration may or may not respond to any questions or comments after the conclusion of the public participation. I'm already signed in. Don't worry. Don't worry. Good evening everyone. My name is Angela Delucha and I am the very
proud president of the Sparta Education Association. On behalf of the SEA, we would like to welcome our three new board members, Andrew Lowry, Dominic Laaruba, and Kimberly Null. We look forward to partnering with you and the rest of the board as we work together to
strengthen the Sparta School community through our work in the ideas committee and beyond. Our members remain deeply committed to their work, ensuring that every student can find their own version of success, pursuing meaningful professional
development to strengthen their practice and collaborating with colleagues to provide exceptional instruction and support. And as always, the Sparta Education Association advocates for all of its members, our students, and the greater
school community. It is essential to state clearly that we believe in safety, dignity, and support for all. In a time of uncertainty across our state and c and country, we hope that our administration and our board will
continue to engage in open, respectful, and reciprocal dialogue as we navigate this path together. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone else for public comment? Okay, seeing no one. Motion to close,
please. Thank you, Rebecca. Second. Thank you, Michelle. Discussion. All in favor? I. Any oppose? Any abstensions? Okay. Uh, we will not Excuse me. I'm skipping over for the good of the order. Please anyone for the good of the order?
Anyone have anything? Okay. Uh, we do not have to reconvene into close session uh nor resume open session. So with that, may I please have a motion to adjurnn? >> Motion. >> Thank you, Rocky. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Dom. Any discussion? All in
favor? >> I. Any oppose? Any absentions? Thank you. Have a great night, everyone. Stay safe on Sunday.