e e e e e e e e the sparta Board of Education regular meeting is called to order at 6 o'clock
even um Chad if you can please read the meeting notice announcement the New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the rights 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 sparta or in the new New Jersey Herald this Star Ledger tap into spa.net and notice of this meeting has been posted on the sparta Township School District website thank you Chad Barbara can we
please have a roll call Miss CER here Dr hle here Dr Martinez here miss McMichael here Mr Morris miss seraphino here Miss Williams here Mr wood here and Miss Gagnon
present Forum confirmed thank you if everyone can join me standing for the pledge uh 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 the public from a
meeting in certain circumstances and whereas the sparta Township Board of Education is of the opinion that such circumstances exist to discuss legal matters as well as referendum matters which are exempt from public participation pursuant to New Jersey Public Law
1975 uh chapter 231 open public meetings act therefore be it resolved that the sparta Township Board of Education shall enter executive session on February 20th at 6:02 p.m. uh we will Rec convene in public session at the conclusion of the
executive session we estimate uh by 7:00 we're going to try to keep that uh tight for the presentations that we have this evening 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 motion enter closed thank you Kurt second second thanks Lauren all in favor I any opposed good to go thank you e e
e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e e e e e good evening everyone and welcome to the
February board meeting resolve that the Board of Education closes executive session and enters back into the public portion of our meeting at 7:03 yep 7:03 Joan can we please have a roll call oh excuse me Barbara so sorry
it's okay Miss Coler here Dr Hinkle here Dr Martinez here miss MC Michael here Mr Morris miss sarafino here Miss Williams here Mr wood here and Miss gagman present Forum confirmed thank you
Barbara I'm so sorry um we're going to move on to District recognition and we'll be starting off with the governor educator of the Year Awards presented by our building principals and Dr Beck good evening everyone I was just telling the Board of Ed downstairs that this is
by far the best board meeting of the year the February board meeting is the best board meeting of the year because that's when we get to honor uh our best teachers in each school but also not just honoring the best teachers in each school but the way I look at it is the teachers that you the teachers and Ed service professionals that you see
tonight and that you hear about tonight um that's just a snapshot of what we have in our district the great teaching staff and support staff that we have in our district so uh it's a great night to to honor all of our staff actually but uh specific staff this evening so uh
what I will do now is I will call up we're going to do all of the buildings and we will start we'll go in uh grade order so Alpine will be first so I will call up uh Mr Miller perfect all right good evening everyone I'm Mr Miller I'm the principal of Alpine
elementary school and I have the honor of recognizing two of our staff members today uh the first one is our Educational Services professional and that is Danielle Drummond if Miss Drummond can come up currently Miss Drummond is a uh
preschool classroom Aid uh instructional Aid um it's kind of a lifer in the education World whereas she's been working for a family member who owned a preschool uh or a daycare center so that's how she kind of got into all of this um she started working in Sparta in
2020 and we've had the benefit of her services for the last couple years she has an associates degree from Mars County as well as a bachelor's degree from Montclair State University um but her real passion is exercise and she does CrossFit so she's always kind of
working out I I ask well why would you want to work in the preschool world and um one of her answers kind of I kind of had that aha moment as you'll see in a minute it's she says it's the simple things especially for our pre preschool
students our youngest students uh spending time with them going over the life skills teaching them something on a daily basis and as they finally get it even as simple as doing a jacket zipping a jacket up and all of a sudden they get that aha moment that's the things that
she really loves about being and working with our preschool Cu uh the students are saying I did it I finally was able to do something they accomplished something one of the big things that uh Miss Drummond does as well is she works for our school in the Summer she just doesn't work in our preschool she works
with our custodial staff in the summer cleaning the school and I always laugh because she always has a smile on her face no matter what she's doing in the summer or even during the school year and that's one of the big benefits that I feel that she brings to our school that smile and that just that positive
energy on a daily basis walking through the hall and there's some tasks she has to do uh being in preschool walking through the hallways and she knows what I'm talking about because it seems like every time I see her she's walking down the hallway with a bag going to the garbage because she needs to throw it
out um she's always willing to do anything for everyone she's just a big benefit for our school if you did walk into a preschool classrooms there's three things you'll probably see her doing she's sitting on the floor working teaching and playing with with our students she's cleaning up up one of the
fun activities that they were doing or she's always preparing for the next activity she's always doing something she's a workaholic and we're just very very honored to have her in our school Miss Danielle Drummond bear with me I apologize I didn't bring my reading glasses as I'm
getting older I need them and I don't think this is long enough um I didn't enlarge it enough our governor teacher is um Mrs Amy Dolan if Mrs Dolan can come up
Mrs no Mrs Dolan is a proud alumnist of Alpine matter of fact our custodian has a picture of her sitting on the steps of Alpine when she was actually there as a student so the other students can see that so she's also an alumnus of our Sparta School District currently she's
an instructional intervention reading teacher which is like a basic skills teacher and previously in District because she's been in Sparta District her whole teaching career I'm sorry to say this but for 26 years she's been in our district uh we've had the benefit of
having her she's taught kindergarten in first grade her big passion is kindergarten but now lately it's the reading teaching reading it's teaching our youngest students who struggle with reading on how to do that she's also a mentor for our non-tenure teachers so
she's working with those people getting them into the profession she is uh has her bachelor's degree from Kutztown University and then a master's degree from aravan University in curriculum instruction and a big honor I think for our school is she also from Fairley
Dickinson University she has her Orton Gillingham certification and we train all of our teachers in Orton Gillingham to uh help that with uh multisensory reading but she has the certification that is above and beyond just the training that we give so that's an honor
and I just wanted to give her the that recognition uh one of the benefits that we have for Mrs Dolan on our staff is she's part of our Sunshine committee she's kind of like always trying to do something fun for the staff always trying to make them um either their breakfasts or anytime we
have a staff meeting she's trying to come up with something to kind of help with the morale why did she get into education and I thought this was one of the big reasons uh that I thought kind of touched me when I heard this she wanted
a teacher she wanted to teach her students and be the teacher that she needed when she was a little girl so she wants to make that difference in the lives of those students and that she want uh she had a teacher like that at one point so I thought that was pretty
telling of her because she wants to make a difference and again she does that with our youngest students the kindergarteners as well as now you're working with our first and second graders and another part of that was every child deserves to feel special so I always feel the honor of being at
Alpine because I always feel like our staff members are there for the right reasons and uh Mrs Dolan is kind of epitomizes that some of the quotes that people have said about Mrs uh Dolan students are held up to high
expectations but she's also a warm she makes out a warm place that offered a safety net for the students to take risks makes mistakes and explore their education and learning her love of learning and her and her students go beyond just the hallways of the school
building her students truly become her best friend and all they although they may be there to learn they know they can go to her for anything she is fun and loving I look forward to seeing her every day to see what exciting things she has going she has for us and what
we're going to learn next she's always there for a helping hand for all of our staff members and I must say that we're lucky to have Mrs Dolan on our on our um staff and this is a well-deserved honor after 26 years so thank you so
[Applause] much good evening I am Katie Madson I'm the principal of Mohawk AV I would like to call call up Miss Caitlyn schweigart who is our education service professional of the
year it is with great joy and honor that I stand before you tonight to recognize an individual who has gone above and beyond in supporting the students staff and mission of our school as many of you know par professionals play an essential role in ensuring that our students
succeed and today we are proud to celebrate one exceptional member of our team Miss schweigart is someone who consistently demonstrates dedication compassion and an unwavering commitment to making a difference in the lives of our students Miss schwart is not just an
assistant but a true partner in education she brings creativity patience and enthusiasm to every task large or small what makes Miss schwart Stand Out is her genuine care for each student she works with she doesn't just help students learn she empowers them whether
it's providing support in the classroom offering guidance during difficult moments or encouraging students to believe in themselves Miss triart goes above and beyond in every way in addition to her work with students she is a valued team member among our staff
she is always willing to lend a hand share ideas and offer support Miss schwart truly embodies the spirit of collaboration that makes our school such a special place it's because of these qualities and more that we are proud to honor Miss schwart tonight miss schwart
thank you for your everything you do for our students our staff and our community your hard work and dedication do not go unnoticed and we are lucky to have you as part of our [Applause]
team I'd like to call up Mrs Shannon Sullivan our governor educator of the year it is an absolute privilege to stand before you tonight to honor one of our most outstanding Educators this award is not just about recognizing excellence in teaching but about celebrating someone
who has G gone above and beyond to inspire Challenge and support our students in ways that extend far beyond the classroom Mrs Sullivan has shown a Relentless commitment to her craft and to this students that she serves Mrs Sullivan's passion for learning is
contagious sparking curiosity and excitement in every lesson she makes the complex understandable the challenging achievable and The Learning Experience truly transformative for her students what sets Miss Sullivan apart is not just her skill in the classroom it's her
gen genuine care for every student she teaches she knows that each child is unique with their own strengths challenges and dreams and she meets each one where they are Mrs Sullivan believes in her students she encourages inspires and celebrates every success no matter
how big or small Mrs Sullivan doesn't just teach lessons she builds relationships she creates a safe nurturing environment where students feel valued heard and supported her impact is felt far beyond the lesson she delivers it is in the
self-confidence she instills in her students the growth she helps Foster and the Lifelong Love of learning she inspires beyond the classroom Mrs Sullivan is an invaluable member of our school Community she collaborates with colleagues contributes to school events
and continuously looks for ways to make our school a better place for everyone Mrs Sullivan exemplifies the very best of what it means to be an educator it's my honor and privilege to present her the governor educator award Mrs Sullivan thank you for your dedication your passion and your unwavering commitment
to the success of every student you teach you make a difference every day and we are incredibly lucky to have you as part of our school [Applause]
family I'll introduce next up Mr Doug Layman from Helen Morgan School [Applause] uh thank you my name is Doug Layman I'm the principal at Helen Morgan school I want to congratulate um all of tonight's
recipients I'm going to start with um our Educational Services professional of the Year and that is Candace Jan come on up so whenever a new student registers at Helen Morgan school probably all of our schools we we strive to make that student feel welcome I don't know if any
anybody here has been in that situation where your child has started in the middle of a school year I imagine is very difficult though we tried to make them feel welcome we assign a buddy we give them a tour we meet with the parents and um when I have the opportunity to meet the student I'll
shake their hand and I want to tell them how proud I am of them and it's the first time I'm meeting them but I'm proud of them because getting out of bed today getting in that car getting to school this strange unfamiliar Place must have been very difficult for you um and I tell them that today is going to
be hard and but tomorrow is going to be better and the day after that it's going to be even better because you're going to be surrounded by adults and people that are going to make this place home to you I give them a lot of credit for doing what they do to those students now
imagine that student is not able to speak English or has a limited English skills and how challenging that would be and making that child feel welcome and wanted and comfortable requires a highly motivated compassionate Advocate and we
are fortunate to have Candace Serv as that person presently K serves as the K8 multilanguage learner uh provider uh it's a population that she serves in four different buildings managing the logistics of that probably deserving of
this award in and of itself but I think what's important to highlight about Candace's role isn't that she's just helping students develop English language skills that allow them to succeed academically but more importantly she helps them build the
confidence to become active participants in our school Community to form meaningful relationships with peers and teachers to go from a Stranger in a Strange Land to being a proud Spartan Candace our hope my hope is that this award demonstrates to you how much we
all value your contributions effort and advocacy for this unique population students thank [Applause]
you our teacher of the year at Helen Morgan school is none other than Kelly [Applause] d so for the past approximately 5 years
we've made a significant effort as a district to focus on something we call our inclusive classroom model and the goal of an inclusive classroom not unlike any other classroom really is to provide a learning environment in which all students are empowered to succeed
and to achieve this we use something called a co- teing model and there is no better example of what a highly effective co- teer is and should be than Kelly DH Kelly is a dedicated and enthusiastic special education teacher who strives to create an engaging
environment for all of her students she truly goes be above and beyond in creating lessons that meet the diverse needs of her classroom and she does it always with a smile as a sign says in her room because nice matters Kelly is a trusted colleague a
Dependable teammate a passionate student Advocate a worldclass shopper and one of those thing and one of those people that brings light to the world her every day is a bonus outlook on life is contagious Kelly I state with
confidence that the staff at Helen Morgan School believes that you represent the best of what we are and what we hope to be and congratulations [Applause]
next Mr Frank chori principal of Sparta Middle School well thank you everyone uh my name is Frank jabori building principal at Sparta Middle School and tonight it is my sincere pleasure to introduce to to introduce to you tonight the governor
educator of the year and the educational services professional of the Year from Sparta Middle School I will begin with the SMS educator of the Year Mrs Charlene [Applause]
AR so miss molar currently teaches English language arts to eighth grade students on the Jade team at Sparta Middle School throughout her years at Sparta Middle School she has consistently demonstrated a commitment to Excellence in education making a
profound impact on both students and colleagues Miss molar is the the type of teacher who challenges her students while instilling in them the confidence to meet her high expectations she provides excellent models for learning adapts her teaching
to best suit her students and always finds something positive in every child whether it be their kindness humor or talents outside the classroom her classroom is a place where students feel valued supported and encouraged to reach their full
potential beyond the classroom Miss Miss molar plays a vital role in the bigger School Community as the SMS yearbook adviser she leads a group of motivated students who take pride in organizing preparing and producing one of the
highlights of the school year Miss molar is Additionally the team leader for the Jade team and acts as the go-to person for that group of teachers one of her colleagues shared this about Miss Mard she has been an integral part of my growth as a teacher she immediately made
me feel welcome at SMS years ago offering her guidance in developing lesson plans learning the curriculum and meeting the high standards of our district and my favorite part to share is what the students have to say about Miss
mner it's all good one student mentioned that Miss molar is awesome she is so nice and caring and I really like talking with her another student said I never really liked Ela until this year here miss
molar has made it really fun as you can see Miss molar is a very valuable member of our SMS family she has made a positive impact on both the student body and the SMS staff and at this time I would like to congratulate her and introduce Miss molar as our governor
educator of the year next I would like to introduce to you the Sparta Middle School Educational Services professional of the Year Miss Colleen [Applause]
gettis Miss gettis has been a dedicated social worker for 22 a school social worker for 22 years making a profound impact on the lives of students families and colleagues and in a field filled with challenges
having a compassionate and skilled professional like Miss gtis is invaluable she has had an in she has an incredible ability to ensure that every student feels heard validated and supported Miss Gus's expertise in
building trusting relationships motivates the student she works with to succeed not only academically but also socially and emotionally she approaches each day with a positive outlook despite the everchanging nature of her role no
matter what the Day brings she remains committed to her students and families ensuring that they have the support and resources needed to thrive Beyond her work with students Miss gtis is the go-to person in our child study team for both administ the
administration and her colleagues her depth of knowledge patience and willingness to help make her an invaluable resource in our community in our school community whether it's from problem solving offering guidance to a colleague or providing insight to
Administration she is always ready to step in and support those around her her selflessness and dedication to the team do not go unnoticed she consistently puts others before herself offering her time expertise and encouragement
whenever needed it is not uncommon for Miss gtis to be the last one to drive out of the SMS parking lot each evening over the past last five years this department has experienced significant turnover yet miss gtis has been the glue that has held everything together she
has gone above and beyond to maintain stability ensuring that students staff and families Contin to receive the highest level of support despite these challenges we are incredibly grateful for Miss Gus's commitment to and fortunate to have her as a vital part of
our school Community she is not only an outstanding professional but also truly a remarkable person and it is with great admiration that I at this time recognize Miss Colleen gtis as the SMS Educational Services
[Applause] professional and last and certainly not least Sparta High School and the principal Dr Ed laera thanks sir good evening everyone uh let me first start by
congratulating all of our recipients this year and let me explain just a little bit about the process uh for uh educator of the year and Ed Services professional of the year we collect nominations and then we put together uh a team of Administrators and teachers
former recipients a parent uh in the district and uh as you can imagine uh we have a big high school we have about almost 1100 kids there and we have a big staff so to win this award is it's a pretty big deal it's a pretty big deal and uh we have a great staff well
respected staff so um I'm proud to honor uh the people here tonight so first up is our ed services professional of the year and that's Laura Amin so what I did was uh took some of the nominations and letters of nomination and put them together what
what teachers and people were saying about um our recipients in her role as a classroom Aid she successfully supports students work completion academic performance and organization however while this may be
her job description her impact on the student goes much deeper than that as she seeks to support struggling students to successfully move forward in their educational programs as well as in their personal growth her authentic nature p patience intelligence and innate ability
to understand and connect with those she works with has been transformative in so many of our students Lives Many of these students struggle with motivation lack confidence in their abilities and did not find school to be an easy welcoming
and comforting place however Laura's gift is to connect with them gain their trust help them to believe in themselves she accepts and respects them not only for who they are but what they are where they are in their Journey she se's the
best in them and this creates an opportunity for uh disengaged Learners to begin to believe in themselves and see their potential gain confidence in their strengths and their talents it is through this sharing of our heart that the students begin to take growth
focused risks they face fear of failure they reconnect to school they take on challenges and they put effort into the learning and schoolwork and we were so fortunate uh to work with Laura she positively touches and changes the lives of every student she works with Miss
Works tirelessly to ensure that every student feels seen heard and supported her ability to build meaningful relationships with her students is unparalleled student Daniel K shared Miss amine was a great advocate for me and helped me get through the times the
tough times I had last year another student Jamie remembers Miss Amin's kindness and support sharing she's always listens to me and guided me and another student Nick shared she always helps everyone at the school every day she listens and always makes us feel
good about ourselves Beyond her work with students Miss amine is a model of collaboration she does so with the spirit of cooperation that Fosters a positive and productive environment she's earned a trust and respect of her peers parents and the community thanks
to her consistent professionalism and genuine care for all of those that she works with her efforts have made Sparta High School a better place for everyone and her students and colleagues alike are fortunate to have her as part of the school Community Laura me
[Applause] congratulations and next our educator of the year is Miss Tina Johnson [Applause]
Miss Johnson joined sparter high school over 10 years ago as a self-contained teacher for West Mountain Academy A specialized program within the high school for students who struggle socially behaviorally academically and emotionally Tina set a high standard as a teacher mentor and colleague and she
quickly became a tremendous asset and advocate for the students and families she worked with graduation rate for students who were at risk of not meeting State requirements have steadily risen under her watch it is not unusual to hear her students and parents Express
they couldn't have done it without her on graduation day when she started with WMA there were four students in the program this year there are over 20 she has created an environment for students to feel safe accepted comfortable and successful in a setting where they have
previously struggled it is common practice in her classroom to celebrate celebrate students receiving their driver's license honor rooll first jobs College acceptances birthdays and the list goes on and on as her students move through high school she becomes a mentor and a life coach many of them continue
to reach out to her to share their successes and challenges and seek her guidance she has been included in their baby showers graduation parties weddings and going away parties for those serving in the military for many of these students she had become a constant and a
confidant Tina is a positive force in the SP Sparta High School Community seal or climate committee she's a member need someone to set up Pi Day create bulletin boards of Staff baby pictures or their favorite shows and movies staff prom
picks she organizes that Tina's uh organizes trivia nights denim days staff breakfast in The Faculty loung all attributed to Mrs Johnson staff birthday announcements she goes and sends an email for every
birthday of a staff member throughout the year and when the the summer comes she lists 30 people that have their birthday throughout the summer um Sunshine Club organiz organizing graduates to come back and speak to students that's her prom and dance
chaperon need a food truck or a gift card to local restaurants ask Mrs Johnson she's well connected want to talk Yankees or Giants you found your girl she knows her Sports need a volunteer you guessed it ask for
Mr Johnson countless hours of her prep time is taken up helping colleagues or students she's always seeking ways to advance her skills knowledge and continuing her education she goes beyond the hours of the school day her knowledge of academic content social and
emotional development ability to incorporate life lessons into her planning and her belief in every single one of her students creates an incredible learning environment at spider high school and we are certainly lucky to have her as our educator of the Year Tina
[Applause] Johnson I'm really I'm really proud of you because usually you're a crier so how about one more round of applause for all of our recipients
I would also like to thank the principles um who came up with uh put together those great narratives that's really a reminder as to why our teachers do what they do not not for the award but for the reward actually which is uh helping students so those narratives those narratives are very nice and one
other thing I noticed while I was standing up here is not only the family members that are here which is great because uh none of these staff members get where they are without the support of their family but looking through the audience and seeing all the staff members that are here uh just really Uh current staff members retired staff
members uh just really drilling home the idea that um again none of these staff members no staff member can do this alone we are a team but also that we are a family so it's great to see everybody out in the audience tonight so what we will do now as much as I'm sure you came for the ethics presentation we're going
to take no offense we're going to take like a a really brief recess to those that want to clear out I'm sure miss derck wants to get some pictures out in the hallway um so we'll take a brief recess and then we will get right back into the board meeting in about two minutes
um I had Miss M molar yeah really like the wrong answer my quiz I this off Match [Music] I know right hello out
it's nice there we go you were leaning no I [Music] love Tennessee volunteer that's it volunteer wow rock rock wow that's awesome
californ Carolina F better for her [Music] [Music] all right good how it go right yeah yeah no put [Music] friend that all right
all all right for the yes yes I'm I said I overstepped I I took the President's duty the recess I hope that's okay it was F we were planning on doing it anyway you did it the way it was good though that's a veteran move
the first year it was like I'm never going to get out of cuz now the people that want to stay here well not only that it was funny CA anyway no one's going talking but I think it was perfect yeah it's good and it cleared out
I got remember princi it's like two minutes per teacher come on oh okay all right there a lot of pressure yeah I don't know if I can do it now last thing they get they get a lunch in in the spring um all the teachers can't go anywhere it's going nowhere and they get honored there and
they get a plaque so they get they get multiple honors right have not seen this room that crowded in a long time yeah nice yes crowded for a positive I was I was actually going to make that comment I was like nah I would have laughed takeing easy take it easy I'll just make fun of Mark
instead I'll at Mark a hard time instead yeah moving on to presentations probably didn't need the gabble uh 5.1 presentations we are going to have our uh board attorney Mark zider present on board ethics take one and pass it down sure Mark the clicker should be up there
the clicker should be up there for you oh okay hey good evening everybody members of the board members of the administ thank you Kurt appreciate it uh I'm hurt and offended that everybody seems to have left for the most part but I guess that's uh
that's to be expected um now nice to see everybody members of the board members of the community members of the administration uh we're going to talk about the New Jersey school ethics act it's a requirement that every year we discuss the the ethics act and I'm going to talk about some of the code of ethics provisions and some of the cases over
the years that have interpreted these laws and I try to keep this interactive as well keep everybody on their toes so I always feel that a good place to start as the preamble to the school ethics act and it really talks about why we have this law in the first place and what it
says is that in our representative form of government it's essential that conduct of members of local Boards of education and local administrators hold the respect and the confidence of the people officials must avoid conduct which is in violation of the public trust or which creates some justifiable
impression among the public that such trust is being violated what does all that mean it means that you have to act in the best interests of the sparta School District not in your own personal best interest not in your own Financial interests not in the personal interests
of family or friends or businesses that you're involved with and I always tell board members if somebody can reasonably question that you perhaps may be acting for some other reason than something that is in the best interest of the school district you need to take a step back and you need to say does this pass
the smell test is this something I should get legal counsel on is this something we should go to the ethics commission for an advisory opinion before I jump into it and take action and I'll talk about uh The Advisory opinion um process in a little in a little bit so who does the ACT apply to
the ACT applies of course to to board members um but some people are surprised to to learn that it also applies to school administrators as well not just board members but the superintendent the business administrator assistant superintendent and so forth now we have the code of ethics which I handed out to
everybody um that only applies to the ethical conduct of Board of Education members so this the ACT essentially is broken down into two parts you've got the prohibited acts again I handed it out to everybody the the prohibited acts essentially deal with conflicts of interests things like board members
shouldn't act in a matter where they have a direct or indirect personal or financial involvement that could somehow compromise their objectivity and then you've got all the code of ethics Provisions which I'm going to go through now that apply only to Board of Education members and so section A says
that board members are supposed to essentially follow the law follow court orders pertaining to the school and so forth section B is you're supposed to make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of all children you're here for everybody regardless of race religion Creed sexual orientation
and so forth section c really defines what it is to be a board member people say what is the role of a board member you're a policymaking body that is essentially the role of a board member you set policy for the school district policy you plan for the future and then you
appraise you take a step back and say how are we doing um we have a poliy company as you all know that that pretty much gives us the templates of our policies however we have discretion within a lot of those policies to to shape them to what we feel is best for the sporta school district some are
mandated policies some are discretionary policies um our policy company usually will tell us which are the ones that we have to have by law set forth in statute and some of the others where we have discretion um section D and this is an area where board members frequently get
themselves into trouble if you read the decisions from the school ethics commission uh because sometimes board members don't fully understand the difference between being a policymaking body and being an administrator and they get into the school district and all of a sudden they think they're going to run the place that's the role of the
administration board members are to not administer the schools but together together with your fellow board members make sure that they are well run not to run the schools but to see that it is well-run the administration is the responsibility of Dr Beck and and Miss
Decker and Miss Rossy and the entire administrative team that's their role the daytoday operations of the school district and if you go on further in the the New Jersey Administrative Code it talks about if somebody were to file a complaint what would they have to show to prove for instance that somebody
violated that particular provision somebody would have to show that a board member became directly involved in activities or functions that are the responsibility of school Personnel or the day-to-day administration of the school district and and here's an extreme example but one I always like to talk about from 2005 a real case where
the SEC referring to the school ethics commission found that a board member violated the administration of the schools provision uh when he went into the uh guidance office started requesting documents and sat reports from the director of guidance then decides this is in the middle of the
school day by the way then he decides he's going to walk down to the locker room and start instructing the PE teachers about how they should better supervise the kids in class did an inspection of the locker room and just basically thought he was running the entire place and somebody got smart and filed an Ethics complaint against him
and clearly he was found to have violated the administration of the schools provision again that's an extreme example but it happens believe it or not um section e as you recognize your Authority rest with the board and you're not to take personal uh make not make personal promises or take private
action that could compromise the board I always tell board members you have the authority to act when you're sitting here at the deis through your various committees and so forth but once you're you know at the local supermarket you don't have the authority to speak for the board you don't have the authority to bind the board you shouldn't be doing
your own Private Investigations into matters affecting the school district those are all examples of taking private action that could compromise the board and the code goes on to say it doesn't actually have to compromise the board it's enough that it had the potential to compromise the board section F you're to uh refuse to
surrender your independent judgment to special interest groups partisan political groups are using the school for the personal gain uh of yourself or friends I think that's pretty obvious and it uses the word surrender your independent judgment so that doesn't mean for instance that you can't
advocate for instance if you're uh involved with special education parents that you couldn't advocate for certain groups the key words are key words in that sentence are surrendering your judgment so that you've lost all objectivity that's when it becomes problematic um section g has two
components to it it's got the confidential ity provision and it's got the accuracy provision so I'll talk about confidentiality first and there's a drum you've heard me beat probably many times before and Clos session which is that as board members you're going to come upon a lot of confidential information confidential student matters
confidential Personnel matters litigation matters those are all things that are properly discussed in Clos session and I always tell you as you know uh your friends are not bound by confidentiality in terms of what we do here your your family members and it's really important that everything that we
talk about in Clos session all the updates that you get from Dr Beck and so forth remain confidential um because if the board doesn't have confidence that what we talk about in Clos session stays in Clos session it really undermines our ability to Be an Effective body because
quite frankly nobody's going to want to have a conversation for fear that as soon as we leave that room these folks respectfully are going to find out what we're talking about it's going to appear on social media so uh it's imperative that what we talk about privately remains private you shouldn't share it
with again family members friends spouses because ultimately if there's an Ethics violation it's on you it's not on them the other part of it is accuracy and we're going to talk about the first amendment in a second as as you have rights as board members First Amendment rights but you have to be accurate so
when you speak at the deis on social media it's important that what you're saying is correct so uh you could say for instance I'm voting against the budget this year um because I I think you know it's we're spending too much money whatever the
case may be that's your opinion that's fine you can't say I'm voting against this the budget this year because we're adding 10 new administrators to the district if that's not a true statement that's inaccurate that's a violation of section g so it's very important that when you speak about school district
matters you're speaking accurately H voting to appoint the best qualified Personnel after considering the recommendation of the superintendent Dr Beck as you know is is the one who makes Personnel recommendations as a matter of law board members can't appoint Personnel without Dr Beck's
recommendation uh you are to appoint them after considering the superintendent's recommendation does that mean you have to be a rubber stamp no it doesn't does it mean you get to ask good questions of course it does and we'll talk in a second about what rights do you have to see some of the backup
information that goes into Dr vex's recommendations uh section I uh supporting and protect ing School Personnel in the proper performance of their duties um you're supposed to respect your Administration your teachers your staff you're not supposed
to publicly evaluate them um to prove a violation somebody would have to show that a a a a respondant meaning a board member took deliberate action which resulted in undermining opposing compromising harming uh School Personnel in the proper performance of their duties and believe it or not there's
lots of cases uh where board members um violate this provision and by the way if you go to the New Jersey school ethics commission they have their own website where they have all their cases listed all of their advisory opinions listed so everything I'm talking about today you
can certainly read up on if you'd like um section J I like section J because to me this is a great opportunity for the board member to punt when they're when they're in the local Stop and Shop and some parent comes up to them and says uh oh I understand you're on the board Mr wood um I'm complaining to you because
my child's teacher is giving too much homework and I want you as a board member to solve the problem for me section J says thank you you're supposed to say Mr wood thank you for bringing that to my attention I'm going to refer it to Dr Beck and I have your name I'll give it to him you're supposed to refer the complaints to the chief schooled
administrator and then it goes on to say act on those complaints only after the failure of an administrative solution and with Dr Beck we would never have the failure of an administrative solution so you don't have to worry about that but bottom line refer the complaints to the superintendent your opportunity to say thank you very much but I can't deal
with that's not my role as a board member it's also perfectly acceptable I've been asked this question before can you refer to the chain of command can you say to the the parent hey have you spoken to your child's teacher did you speak to the principal before even going to Dr Beck so referring somebody to the chain of command I would say is also
proper um who can file let me I don't want you to see it who can file a complaint alleging a violation of the school ethics act or the code of ethics who can file a complaint anyone anybody anybody can file a complaint um is there a period of time by which you have to
file the complaint or it's stale or what's called time board do you know is there a statute limitations what do you think yes there is yep anybody want to guess somebody said it out here very good six months there's a six month statute limitations it used to be a year
but I think the school ethics commission was getting so many complaints they decided you know something we were have shorten that statute of limitations down a little bit so there's a six-month statute limitation um after that it's it's time barred um a board of education can't file a complaint against one of its own members
but individual board members could sign onto a complaint um let's talk a little bit about the school ethics commission part of the Department of Education they're an administrative body that's responsible for enforcing the school ethics act uh they're the only ones who
could determine whether a board member's conduct violated the ethics act or the code of ethics and what the penalty would be um does anybody know who's on the school ethics commission and I don't literally mean their names but does anybody know who it's who it's comprised of anybody anybody want to
guess Caitlyn you look like you wanna well I know cther wh is Kathy Wayan's a director they have a director yep your mic is off oh yeah I was saying Kathy Wayan I met at one of the njsba conferences and she was great I believe
she's the director and then if I'm not she used to be the director and now she actually works for school board she used to be the director y exactly um but I know that it's they're elected are they not um they're appointed by the governor appointed excuse me okay so I'm were you done or I think it's four or five people and it's dep isn't it dependent on
County or there's different locations yep you're you're get warmer yep y four or five people that are appointed by the governor so everybody's appointed by the governor there's about nine people five you're right so five are citizens uh two are administrator superintendents
usually and there's also two board members believe it or not that sit on the school ethics commission so you could be a board member on the school ethics commission obviously you couldn't rule about cases in your own District that would be a conflict but it's comprised of of those nine people the the deputy attorney general also is sits
on it as their lawyer you've got the director now I forget her name but it used to be Miss whan who now works for school boards um if somebody violates the ethics act what are the penalties you got the reprimand at the lightest end it's like a slap on the wrist a centure is a resolution at a public
meeting you could be suspended or in the most extreme cases removal um can you file an Ethics complaint against somebody who's no longer on the board what do you think yes as long as it's within the six-month statute limitations the only constraint is that um suspension or
removal are obviously not an option for somebody who's no longer on the board and um for cases that actually go to hearing um it could take like a couple years believe it or not before these cases are adjudicated so it's it's a long process
process I want to mention indemnification so New Jersey Law this is outside the school ethics act but New Jersey Law essentially says that if a civil administrative criminal or other proceeding is brought against um a
person for anything arising out of their duties in the course of the performance of their duties as a board member the board has to provide them with a defense we have to provide them with an attorney at our expense and you don't have to be innocent of the ethic eics violation believe it or not to be entitled to
indemnification it's not a guilt or innocence thing the question is did the complaint was the complaint brought against you for something you did as a board member somebody filed a complaint against you because they think you violated the ethics and voted to appoint your brother to be a teacher in the district you'd be entitled to
indemnification on that whether you did it or not the only time you actually have to be innocent is if it's a criminal matter if it's a criminal matter you only get indemnification if you're completely exonerated with civil or administrative uh actions the question is did it arise in in something
you did as a board member and it's very broadly construed in favor of indemnification and the legislature wisely realized that nobody would ever run for a volunteer position if you knew that you could be out of pocket you know tens hundreds of thousands of dollars in
legal fees if somebody chose to sue you for something or filed an Ethics complaint so you know you could put your head on your pillow at night knowing that there is this indemnification and I know we have uh insurance for it also so so board member Free Speech issues you have First Amendment rights as board
members you don't lose your first amendment rights to speak your mind and speak freely on issues with certain caveats and we already talked about them you're not allowed to publicly disclose confidential information you're not allowed to divulge um inaccurate information and you're not allowed to publicly evaluate staff so those are
some limitations right off the top um I also want to bring your attention to board policy 0146 and that's basically when you're outside this room when you're writing a letter to the paper when you're posting on social media um when you're giving a speech you're not
allow you're not allowed to represent your opinion as the opinion of the Board of Education in other words you have to make it very clear that you're speaking as an individual and not on behalf of the board the board president is the spokesperson for the board everybody else needs to have a disclaimer and I'm going to talk about what that disclaimer
says and this is like the model disclaimer and I can if anybody wants it by the way I can em email it to all of you but this is what the school ethics commission says really should be the standard model when you're writing a letter when you're posting on social media whatever it is and it's that the following statements are made by me in
my capacity as a private citizen and not in my capacity as a board member these statements are also not representative of the board or its individual members and solely represent my own personal opinions you should say that and if you say that in a prominent place um you're covered it doesn't mean you can't be
found to have violated the ethics in other ways and talked about that already but that is an absolute requirement um I also wanted to bring your attention to our board policy 069.0 2 and I'm smart sorry sorry about the small font but this this policy is available on our website and it talks
about the fact that board members have a right to use social media I would say be cautious because this is another area where board members frequently get themselves into trouble but here are the requirements of of our policy okay so we shouldn't post anything that would violate our policies
number one uh number two we shouldn't make defamatory statements about our fellow board members or administrators or teachers or anybody else in the district students parents ETC number three not disclose confidential information uh not use their board titles if you're soliciting business on
behalf of a business that you're affiliated with or a family member is affiliated with we shouldn't have communications with each other on social media where we have a majority talking about board business that implicates the open public meetings Act um we shouldn't respond to postings on social media we
should refer those to to Dr Beck and we shouldn't post information that the school ethics commission has already said is a violation of the school ethics act so those are the limitations um set forth in our policy any questions about anything I've talked about so far before I ask you a couple questions based on
some recent cases we good I have a random one on the note of social media the school um the spring School update that I attended last year they were very specific that this doesn't mean that for every post that has nothing to do with the school
district you have to include the disclaimer so would you say that that's accurate as long as it's not an egregious or political or you know exem I would say it's fine quite for I I totally agree with that as a matter of fact even if it is political for instance if you had a Facebook page and
said something like uh I'm voting for Joe Biden or Donald Trump because I think they're the best candidate for the presidency of the United States if you called me and said do I need a disclaimer on that I would say no if you said that same statement but you said because I believe they would be best for the sparta School District then to me you now hooked it to to Sparta and I
would say you'd need a disclaimer but if you're talking about a movie you went to or whatever no thank you yeah okay true or false there's an advisory that came out um this year a board member is permitted to review the resumés of all candidates who were within the candidate
pool for a position that was being recommended by the superintendent of schools uh do you think you can go in and review the resumés if Dr Beck's recommending John Smith to be the new lacrosse coach what do you think Kurt says
yes anybody else Rocky says false just to be just to be contrary to Kurt um Kurt's been on the board for a while and Kurt is right that should have blown up I don't know what happened but it's a true uh I mentioned before that board members can are required to
appoint the best qualified person after considering the recommendation of the superintendent what that means is you have a right to see the backup that went into that you shouldn't just show up at the board office and start demanding documents but you can make an appointment I wouldn't suggest that they leak out of the office because people apply to jobs with an expectation of
confidentiality you shouldn't even tell people who applied here obviously for the same reason that when people apply they want to feel secure that if they don't get the position their current employer is not going to find out but true you have a right and that's what the advisory opinion said A1 14-24 you have a right to see the backup
um how about this one a board member violated section D of the act and and this is the um the school ethics act not the code of ethics um when he continued to serve as a volunteer football coach after being appointed to the board until the football season was ended which was
approximately two months after he was seated as a board of education member so basically he gets he was a volunteer coach before gets on the board and then continues to serve as a volunteer football coach for about two months while he was was a board member do you think that was a violation of section D
is there an extra copy of the uh I thought I of the code of ethics I don't want to take anybody's but I think oh there we go thank you thank you what do you think true or false Kurt what is it all right I had a
feeling Rocky I heard it true from Emily and Lauren it was a violation um our board member so let me just see if this works no it's not working it's supposed to get really big the true um
are board members allowed to volunteer in other capacities can a board member be on the PTA PTA president can you go into a class and read a book can you be involved in the school play what do you think I'm saying yeses so why is this problematic for the people that said it was true which it was why is this
problematic if being on the PTA is okay why is it what what is the distinction that the school ethics commission makes in volunteer type cases do you know I believe it's supervision I'm sorry I'm sorry I believe it's supervision like your level of involvement I didn't mean to speak is that what you were going to
say KAIT no I'm saying an appointment as well it's a board appointed rle other words approve doesn't that have no the board appointed role is not really the dispositive issue Lauren was right the issue is the level of interaction that you have with staff and so what the school ethics commission says if you're going to be in a position where you have
a lot of interaction with staff students direct being a football assistant football coach or Volunteer football coach lot of interaction that's why it's a problem but being a PTO mom and or reading a book in a class or being involved in a car wash that's totally fine so there's no bright line test you
look at this issue of level of involvement with the uh with the um staff and students um I would certainly say Caitlyn to your point that if you're a PTO person and you're being approved by the board you should obviously abstain on yourself and that sort of thing um how about this one a board
member violated sections B and G of the act and sections CDF and J of the code lots of sections alleged to have been violated here um when she picked up a letter from the home of a friend so this was the friend of a board member uh regarding the employees disciplinary
discussion which was going to take place in exec session gave it to the ba asked them to make copies for the board members didn't give it to the superintendent and then question the superintendent's position regarding the employees actions in executive session is is that a problem yes does anybody think that's okay all right well then
we're doing well okay the answer is true that was a problem and this was a case called um Hudgins and what the school ethics commission said was that if respondent believed that her friend needed assistance she could have picked up the letter delivered it to the superintendent as required and then
recused herself from the matter so the board and the superintendent could have discussed the issue without respondents influence following her direct involvement on a close friend's discipline matter however respondent instead advocated on behalf of her friend questioned the superintendent who did not receive a copy of the letter she
personally represented her friend's interest in the matter before the board and even further the superintendent who was responsible for making recommendations and then by disparaging the superintendent's recommendations based upon the superintendent's limited time working at the district so this was
a lot of no NOS taking place in this case how about this one a board member violated section e of the code when she texted staff member and said did you ever receive a rice notice which is the notification that we've talked about before that you have to give to a staff and we're going to discuss the person in
close session um so she she texts a friend who's a teacher I think and says did you receive a rice notice uh I could accuse the board president or secretary or chief School administrator of Mal Fein if you did not receive the notice and they want to discuss you in executive session was that a
problem yeah I mean clearly trying to undermine the superintendent the rest of the board private action the whole n yards how about this one a board member violated sections A and C of the code when he voted against amending the board agenda to swear in a new member who the board had previously agreed was going to
fill a vacant seat so basically the board holds interviews at a meeting and they decide at the end of the meeting we're going to appoint John Smith at our next meeting where he that's the person we want to fill the vacancy but they decide at the their process is they have to amend the agenda at the next meeting to include the person's name and this
person votes against amending the agenda to include that person's name does that make sense so board agrees at the last meeting this is the person we're going to hire somebody says I make a motion to put John Smith on the agenda so that we can swear him in tonight and this board member votes against that um and
somebody files an Ethics complaint against him for voting and kind of trying to obstruct the person being um sworn in that night is that a problem what do you think no no why do you why do you think no Rocky you shattered that out first I'll put you on the spot
you put your mic on oh yeah you you're entitled to me in my still haven't gotone through my training I'm doing this through Common Sense here but you're as a board member you're entitled to make your decision and um and if the rest of the board members say yes it's carried
anyway so yeah and you're you're spot on with that and um there are a lot of Ethics cases that are brought against board members for voting on certain things or not voting on certain things and the school ethics commission pretty much universally holds that how you vote is not an Ethics violation and I'll just
read briefly from the case um the school ethics commission said that board members are permitted to vote in accordance with their beliefs and as such it was within respondent's prerogative to vote against amending a meeting agenda includ including one regarding swearing in a board member who may not be eligible to serve and that
was the board member's kind of complaint he said I don't think this person is eligible accordingly by voting no responded and did not take board action to effectuate policies and plans without consulting those affected by them or taking action unrelated to the respondent's duty as a board member therefore the school ethics commission
dismissed that um couple more two more I think okay how about this one board member owns a spiritwear company uh and volunteers and gives away a lot of his Goods to the school okay so here's what this board member does he owns a company uh and the question is did he violate C
of the act those are the prohibited acts the conflict section when he sent emails to the school principal asking him to send emails to students and families to promote the sale of spirit wear from his company even though he donated the materials and did not profit from the sales do you think that was a problem or
not a problem so Rebecca thinks that was a problem anybody think that's not a problem you want to articulate a little bit on that or say even though it would be donated he's still advertising his business and profiting in non-monetary ways yeah I spot on that's that's
exactly what the school even though he's Vol he's he's pretty much promoting his business right he's getting his name out there he has an advantage because he's a board member and that sort of thing and that was a problem you know I talked at the beginning in the the section about actual conflicts but there's this
appearance of impropriety it may not pass the smell test and I kind of think this case falls into that um final final slide Okay Madison Board of Ed a board member violated sections D and I of the code when he publicly stated at a board meeting during a discussion about a plan
referendum so the board's thinking about a referendum in this district and he says publicly board member at the deis uh I'm going to continue to repeat this loud and clear so the taxpayers can hear this I encourage our community to vote no on this I encourage them to come talk
to other board members and tell them to back off is that okay or is that not okay Chad saying not okay anybody think it's okay why do you think it's not okay Chad I'll put you on the spot since you nodded first well he uh immediately hearing
them say uh to encourage board members to back off is clearly not okay they're trying to serve some interest okay and that's where I'll leave it as um for me it it it feels wrong I'll be the first to agree with you on that does
anybody think it was okay protected speech I was going to say while it seems like it would be in poor taste or ill advised I don't know that it would actually constitute a violation because I'm sure that the first amendment was broadcasted for that response you're correct and it kind of goes back to the
example that I gave before about telling people to vote no uh I'm voting no against the budget in some towns they actually vote on the budget you can go out and tell people if you're a board member vote no as long as you're providing accurate information and this was not a violation and what the school um ethics commission said was that um uh
the the complainant's disagreement with respondent's position regarding facilities maintenance does not render it an Ethics violation um additionally respondents suppor of position contrary to the opinion of the District administration is not administering the schools it's not giving direct order
it's not becoming directly involved in administrative functions or activities that are responsibility of school Personnel um and it went on to say basically that this was his opinion and it was protected speech and as long as it was accurate in his mind and not giving confidential information it was
okay so these these cases are hard and in terms of sometimes trying to figure out the outcome so if you are in a situation yourself and and you're not sure about what to do talk to me through the board President we can always request an advisory opinion um the one
time that I had to go to the ethics commission and then I'll sit down um was it was a unique case I represent a school district where an 18-year-old senior got elected to the board uh which was really unique a little different to Chad Chad had already graduated but this was an 18-year-old who got on the board and the question was what could this
person vote on could you vote on his teachers and his students and just what were the limitations it was a really unique case it's not often that an 18-year-old senior gets elected to the board of education and I I scratched my head and I said we better go to the school ethics commission for an advisory because this you could read the ethics
cases all day long and you're really not going to get a direct answer to that question and they wrote us a very detailed opinion letter back in terms of the dos and the don'ts so anybody have any questions thoughts concerns Lee a qu well I guess a concern if you could speak into um the financial implications
that these ethics charges have on a district the financial burden yes so the question is what is the financial burden that these ethics cases have on the district um the answer is they do because I mentioned before we have insurance um so even though we have
insurance um there's a deductible so the board has a deductible Barbara would know better than I would five or $10,000 on cases so the first five or $10,000 are coming out of the board's pocket um the insurance has exclusions too Lee so for instance I I'm not even sure I want to say publicly what they are there's
exclusions so not every case is covered by our insurance and in those cases and I've had to handle them representing the board before because it's not covered by Insurance the board is paying me or some other lawyer to defend the whole case and I have literally seen ethics cases not my own fees don't get worried but that that the fees can could hit six
figures believe it or not because these cases I mentioned before they first go to the ethics commission if there's going to be a hearing the ethics commission doesn't actually hear cases they assign him to an administrative law judge and there's a full trial and then it goes back to the school ethics commission to give the thumbs up or some down and then they're appealable and you
get the picture they could be long and protracted um does anybody else have any other questions okay thank you thank you uh moving on to our student Representatives
report hello to to begin student council is sponsoring a districtwide Wear Yellow # Daniel strong day on Wednesday February 26th any donations collected will go towards a gift for Daniel and his family um assemblyman Mike and Gort
visited Sparta High School last week where he spoke with model un student council and AP government classes we had the opportunity to get to know him both as an Sparta High School graduate and a state representative we have invited him back for future conferences
SP Sparta High School student council is planning logoff days where everyone does their best to use limited or no um Electronics readin days schoolwide activities and an intensive leadership training in June for student leaders the senior class student student council is
planning a day trip to Six Flags for the senior class girls basketball is playing Pope John tomorrow night in the hws finals and on the Sparta High School girls basketball team Molly Chapman uh just reached her 700th point on girls
basketball Deca is preparing for their competition um coming up soon robotics is thriving and the model un Club just went to Washington DC this past weekend thank you so much um can I have a motion to approve the minutes please
thanks Kurt second second thanks Rocky um excuse me one sec yeah I already checked it thanks so all in favor or excuse me discussion first okay all in
favor okay any oppose any exstension abstain okay please abstaining and moving on to our superintendent report thank you I would like to start by but now she's leaving uh congratulate our newest uh Tennessee
volunteer she committed to Tennessee as you could tell by the sweatshirt or should I should be I should be congratulating Tennessee for getting a great student all right um all right there's something a little different in the superintendent report tonight um from
Helen Morgan School Miss Bernardo is a library media specialist and she has tasked me with an activity for the board um so HMS is continuing its biannual tradition called one book one school for those that may be unfamiliar one book
one school is designed to be a community reading initiative in which all of our students and their families read the same book at the same time and Pace at same time and Pace in the comfort of their own homes the students are immersed in the book and have many meaningful activities
centered around it during the school day the school gets decorated there are daily mystery readers and even family prizes for participation this time around the books were generously donated by the sparta Education Foundation although the title remains a mystery
until March 3rd the HMS media staff led by Stephanie Bernardo and Sue gon sent some clues about the book when a whole book when a whole school reads a book there is a lot to talk about a reading Adventure awaits please open your bag
and let us know what you have inside so we cannot well you wouldn't know the title anyway but the title will not be revealed tonight but you can open the bag and maybe draw Clues as to what the book might be about this is a bit of a teaser for the one book one school initiative we uh yeah why not I don't
even know what's in them so we'll start at the end with Michelle go ahead um I have a magnifying glass I have a Lego bike Compass notbook good Che
a combination lock I have a pocket map I have an air horn you really need to use that during public comment um I have a pass to the national parks I have a bookmark with a mountain
range I have a bike light So based on that we will allow the families at home and the audience to uh hypothesize what this book might be about out and on March 3rd um be prepared for the unveiling of what book
will be read uh I have had the fortune of being here for the last time around and it really is uh an immersive Community uh event and uh I know some of you will be guest readers I know Miss Rossy and I will be guest readers looking forward to that so uh just some clues for the one book one school for
Helen Morgan school so thank you for that Miss Bernardo uh moving on to honor our retirees he ing on tonight's agenda we have Angela Feldman who is a fifth grade teacher at Helen Morgan
School Ms Felman has served the district for 28 years Roseanne Griner sixth grade math teacher from Sparta Middle School M Griner has served a district for 2 25 years Susan Lael fifth grade teacher at
Helen Morgan School M label has served the district also for 25 years and Joan chupan the fifth grade teacher at Helen Morgan School Miss chupan has served the district for 26 years Mr Layman and the admin team will
have some big shoes to fill at Helen Morgan with a couple of retirements uh just a quick update on the referendum process all of the compon components are still proceeding as discussed previously you will notice on this evening's agenda that we have amended a proposal from our architect
the original proposal included an optional Communications component and we have decided to move forward with a public relations firm to in order to assist with information dissemination to the community leading up to the September vote next month's board meeting will
include a tentative budget presentation as we keep as we continue to keep the community informed on each Year's budget Ms Decker and our business office staff have been working alongside our administrative team to create another budget that continues to provide a highlevel educational experience for our
students while keeping our financial responsibilities to our taxpayers in mind on Tuesday the governor will give his annual budget address we will then receive our state aid numbers two days later the following Thursday that will provide the final piece of information
we need to complete our budget which again we will present the tentative budget at the March board meeting and that is my report thank you so much Dr Beck I don't have anything for the board president's report any um updates I have will be covered at a later portion of the agenda Oprah let's see can I have a
motion to approve the Hib report please thank you Kurt second second thanks Rocky discussion okay Joan can we have a roll oh my gosh I did it again Barba can we have a roll call
please miss Collier yes Dr Hinkle Dr Martinez yes Miss McMichael yes Mr Morris yes Miss seraphino yes Miss Williams yes Mr wood yes and Miss Gagner yes motion
carries thank you Barbara moving on to delegate and liaison reports uh we have quite a few from what I hear so I'll uh kick us off I just want to announce that through our ideas committee uh the committee met on February 11th as always it was a productive conversation that
covered a number of topics but I'd like to inform the public of one Topic in particular with unanimous support from our personnel and policy committee during ideas we invited our district media Specialists to curate revised versions of policy 2530 resource
materials and policy 9130 public complaints and grievances in accordance with the newly enacted freedom to read law considering Sparta's very own media Specialists have been selected to help curate sample policies for the state we believe this is a proactive Endeavor
that will Foster collaboration and compliance with state law when policy revisions directly impact our district professionals we believe they deserve to be part of that discussion so we look forward to updating the community on their progress hopefully as soon as next month after our committee has the
opportunity to review the proposed changes anyone else for I have an update uh the sparta Education Foundation it's um an upcoming opportunity and event to support them anyone interested can go to the website for information and details Sparta education foundation.org your
generosity helps fund Innovative programs for Sparta students they're truly helping to shape the future thank you Becca I'd also love to jump in for diversity and C3 a little bit uh just to touch on the meeting I had with uh Miss Rossy and Miss Barker
uh earlier this week or maybe last week um I'm feeling really excited I know that recently Miss Barker actually got the opportunity for this new position especially in terms of diversity and I think she's really suited for the role uh in the meetings we've had it's very obvious that she's very genuine and she's excited about the work and when I
was hearing her fill in primarily Rocky um and our new board members about the history of the committee uh she's very aware she has the history she knows what she's doing and what she wants to do and I'm really looking forward to the work that we're going to do um and just some dates to shout out um there is a C3
committee meeting coming up on February 27th I believe at 7 p.m. um and Miss Rossy jumped in with any details if needed um and additionally we're going to have a March 3rd meeting with the whole District anyone's allowed to come it's going to be at 11:30 a.m. um so yeah I'm really looking forward to the work that we're going to be completing
um in the future we have a lot coming up I think the only thing I would add to that is um there have been some emails that have been sent out and for anyone who wants to participate please just respond or reach out to myself or Mrs Barker so that we are prepared for spacing and servicing um everyone who is
going to be attending in person thank you Chad anyone else okay so moving on oh sorry I'm sorry Rocky go ahead yeah I'll do the finance real quick oh we're actually going to cover that during the finance portion of the agenda if that's okay uh I have two quick ones sure I'm sorry
Lauren go ahead problem um regarding PTO liaison I just wanted to invite any of you who did not have fast enough fingers to get a play and win ticket in person they do still have um virtual tickets available um and they're available on
Eventbrite that's for Friday April 4th and if you purchase a ticket for just $15 you can go be a part of all the baskets it's a huge fundraiser for Alpine and it really helps benefit our other buildings too because the PTO is very generous and sends um monies
forward um I also wanted to just report out about um Garden State Coalition of schools uh Dr Beck Emily and I had the opportunity to attend the vir virtual Garden State Coalition of schools meeting on Wednesday uh the meeting featured an educator legislator
conversation with assembly woman rosera boli I hope I didn't mispronounce her name um she's a lifelong educator and a a friend to Garden State Coalition of schools um who represents Essex County um and we appreciated just her
candidness um as we uh fellow superintendents other boards um discussed just some of the uncertainties of executive orders coming down May uh contradict with some of the state laws and mandates that we currently have in place um we also discussed how uh $27
billion of the state budget um does come from federal aid um and so there's just schools are looking just uh to plan ahead and potentially um mitigate if there's anything uh that would be different than what we're already doing
um I'm trying to think there was a lot that was discussed they also uh addressed some of the task forces regarding uh teacher evaluations and um jump in there Emily teacher evaluations and also the other part was
um I think looking at the pipeline there's a teacher pipeline programs how to support so a lot of legislative activity that can continue to support um teacher pipeline programs as well as state funding um they did also briefly address speaking
of budget that the State Department of Education notified school districts last Tuesday that the state aid for the 25 26 school year will not decrease by more than 3% of their state aid from the current school year um the assembly woman was quick to say that it wouldn't
necessarily be unilateral across all districts but um what was promising to to me in attendance was that districts that had been using their local share and going to the 2% were less likely to be affected by higher rates of state aid
reduction um so that was an encouraging note um and otherwise we are just continue to be appreciative for the Garden State Coalition as they continue to provide um advocacy and provide guidance uh to legislators as they um guide some of the important work that's
happening down in Trenton anyone else so moving on to public comment number one public comments are invited on matters pertaining only to or excuse me to action items only 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 board or
Administration may or may not respond to any questions or comments after the conclusion of the public participation okay seeing no one for public comment motion to close Mo thanks Curt second second thanks Rebecca all in favor I I any opposed
no can I please have a motion to move policy or excuse me personnel and policy items 15.1 through 15.30 motion thanks Emily second second thanks Rocky discussion just to discuss some things we talked
about in committee um along with the policy updates and changes we're also updating and changing the student rep policy to add the wording um students reps May participate in board discussions on matters directly impacting students included but not
limited to the curriculum educational policy student rights and school climate um we also discussed switching out of our policy services and going with njsba but it was only discussion and no decisions were made and that was
pretty much it Kurt I had a question if I could um do you know what the cost might be in switching from policy makers uh I do not I it's Caitlyn has it yeah we're in the process of evaluating it so one of the main benefits is that the
annual subscription fees for Strauss Esme are actually significantly higher than the uh cost for njsba there is an initial one time time fee however what uh the njsba offers is the opportunity to split that onetime fee over two years which would almost equate to what we
spend annually for the extra house ese um so we're again it's preliminary discussion we're starting to entertain whether or not this is something that could be a cost-effective option for our districts uh but of course we want to consider all implications of that um one other thing I want to mention to that point is uh the director of policy at
the njsba Kim Gaddy is uh willing to meet with our committee uh to present on that and just answer any questions that we might have so that's something that we might be open to discussing that's great and one other piece for this um although not part of this committee I do want to recognize that we have two staff
members who just received their master's degree um and apologies if I mispronounce any names we have Arthur agnor and Jacqueline pador both received their master's degrees um and I one last thing I'd like to add to the discussion I want to
commend and thank Chad for joining Us in policy and Personnel um Chad actually advocated for the student representative policy change and I think a lot of that stemmed from his direct experience as a former student representative uh he saw a need and he's advocating for the
student representative that currently sits in that chair so I commend you for that and look forward to supporting that um so thanks again for bringing that to us and and if I may along those lines that Chad was our first student representative he was the inaugural uh when the new policy the new um statute
was passed and when that happened we did not know how to navigate that exactly what that role would be so Chad helped shape that rule that role in the beginning and it has evolved through time um up to the point of now recommending um putting that into policy
but also what we're doing is I'm working with uh other superintendant in the county that have high schools and we are setting up a training with New Jersey school boards Association so New Jersey school boards Association is going to come in actually we're going to host it here in Sparta at
the end of the summer when we when all rep St all new student representatives are in place before the school year starts uh School Board is going to come in and actually train those students on what it means to be a board member and what their role would be as a student representative great we're set for roll
call Miss Collier yes Dr hle abstain 15.20 and yes to the rest Dr Martinez yes Miss McMichael yes Mr Morris yes Miss seraphino yes Miss Williams yes Mr wood yes Miss gagman yes
motions Carri thank you Barbara moving on to 16 curriculum instruction and special services may I please have a motion to move items 16.1 through 16.8 mot motion thank you Chad second second thank you Emily discussion all
right um to discuss uh some of our curriculum updates and if some of this sounds a little bit redundant it kind of is but it's just a continuation of the work we're doing um so to discuss and Miss Ross's here tonight welcome back Miss Rossy um to start off uh the district is moving forward with the hiring for their response to intervention the RTI positions that
we've been talking about um and the staff selection is underway uh at some point Miss Rossy I would love you to touch on that position a little bit because I think it is super valuable and the way you describe it I cannot describe it uh in terms of edge of climber um and in terms of implementation we just uh we have our new system and what's really fortunate
about this program is it's very streamlined and everything is together on one program and then that goes right into Genesis um on the parent side in terms of test scores or intervention plans or Star scores Etc um and uh now there's a demonstrated need for more staff training and that's going to be
supported through grant funding in I I touched on climate and culture a little bit but just to reiterate we have a meeting on Tuesday March 3rd at 11:30 a.m. at the Sparta High School I Believe Miss Rossy if it's not let me know but I'm pretty sure it's HS um and it's going to be to present the findings of our partnership with the St Elizabeth
program in the third year and in terms of the uh recommendations they're going to offer us moving forward um and just to touch on this as always any finalized surveys uh will be made available to parents and the community for twoe review before any Administration to students so anything you need to do promptly uh you'll be able to do when
you'll be aware of anything happening um and just in terms of the budget priorities we've been taking um through prioritizing RTI initiatives and exploring ways to support students in non-academic skills uh such as motivation and responsibility um it's we're doing a lot for our students and we're doing a lot of it through Grant
work so it's not hitting our budget super hard um and future surveys will be funded through Renaissance and potential grant funding I would just add to that if this is the right time to talk about those positions and I think it's a great opportunity to give a shout out to so many staff members working hard to help
us develop intervention programming at the high school level that's really not something across the state that is too prevalent um for a lot of different reasons there are different complexities there are not typical interventionists um students have schedules packed with
mandatory coursework and credit accumulation that they have to acquire um and also supporting their diverse needs which range from whether it's content related support or executive functioning uh supports behavioral needs so the two positions that we're looking
at filling which will probably be on the next agenda um that is a continued evolution tion of the services that we're putting in place and our Collective um collaboration to monitor those programs are is what's helping to drive this continued work and again the
investment of such a wide range of stakeholders who really believe in providing the right services for kids has really helped this to take off but those positions are um one that helps to oversee and coordinate intervention plans and the other position um that we
are developing is student mentorship so we are um looking for staff who have skills and interest in those areas they'll be training provided so that um we're clear about what that mentorship program would look like um and we're also looking to align peer mentors um in
addition to teacher mentors to provide one thing we know is connecting students with one adult that they feel connected to that that cares that can be um someone to keep their finger on the pulse of what's going on in their classrooms and you know how to support them with their stud IES is something
that we know and see through research can be very successful so it's great work it's um it's hard work and I'm just grateful for the team that works together to develop this and thank you for your support in continuing to evolve these programs and positions it's great
work so thank you anyone else for discussion Barbara may we have a roll call please miss Coler yes Dr hle yes Dr Martinez yes m m Michael yes Mr Morris
yes Miss seraphino yes Miss Williams yes Mr wood yes and Miss gagman yes motion carries thank you moving on to item 17 Finance uh first motion to move items 17.1 through 17.9 motion thank you was that Lauren
thank you Lauren uh second second thank you Kurt discussion uh all right here we go so we were busy um bus safety uh it's been determined from other districts
that having the stop arms and the bus sign lighted actually will help and increase safety for our students so we agreed for uh the district to go and look and inquire about that um also the depot where the buses are uh needs a little repair
uh we are we agreed to allow the uh ask the town for a quote um and before we proceed it is bus month so please if you have students taking the bus please be kind to them and wear yellow if you have
the opportunity to do that um this I find interesting the uh extended school year we've gotten all of the routes uh will be handled by uh internal drivers which uh keeps our cost down by not
having to contract um also the contracted bus routes will be monitored and um tracked to make sure if there are any penalties due to us because the lateness and we will uh well the district will monitor
that and make sure if there's any penalties that we actually um get them going on to buildings and grounds the solar program is almost at the end we have a final uh shutdown with jcpnl scheduled for
February 22nd at the middle and high school which would be the final check and then we could start fully un uh using our solar um and during spring break they're going to be doing lead testing for the budget um as we've been
saying the budget will be created with the 2% Levy cap um the state aid for extraordinary expens es will uh be increased to about 600,000 for the year uh
2026 uh this was a little bit of a shock I uh the semi program which is basically uh program the state allows us to use monies for incidentals when we're dealing with students was dropped from
35,000 to 4,000 so um and there was no explanation um as a proportion of what's going uh on long term the district is going to avoid any long-term leases or
contracts and again stay with that 2% cap um we have asked to see we do need a bus and a new truck uh because of market conditions we have asked that we could lock in the prices um on those purchases
um accounting software we uh agree to allow um the uh accounting software to be changed and to start uh for the fiscal year 2026 which basically allows us to uh
terminate the contract uh and prepare for that move uh our rating was has State at Double a uh standard and pores um even though we believe that that was going to be the rating that has become the rating um which is important for the referendum
because they'll keep our borrowing costs low um the there was a memorandum of agreement with the bus drivers which is good because then uh our bus drivers are under contract and we can keep our cost uh without having
contractors there was a request for technology purchase of 250 iPads not to exceed $128,000 that is because the current equipment in the school could not run the applications that we paying for so
we were losing double so we agreed to allow for that purchase like to thank FID Fidelity charitable for the $1,000 to help Alpine the yearly maintenance um and to everybody's happiness there is a food
Food Service biocurity management plan that's been put in place uh to ensure that if there's any issues we actually have a standing operating procedure thank you thank you thank you so much can we have a roll call please miss Collier yes Dr Hinkle yes Dr Martinez
yes Miss McMichael yes Mr Morris yes Miss seraphino yes Miss Williams yes Mr wood yes and Miss gagman yes motion carries thank you moving on to item 18 uh motion to move or excuse me operations motion to move item
18.1 man thank you Kurt second second thanks Rocky discussion you already covered so any other discussion pertinent discussion regarding our biocurity management plan okay we'll move on roll call please miss CER yes Dr
Hinkle yes Dr Martinez yes Miss McMichael yes Mr Morris yes Miss seraphino yes Miss Williams yes Mr wood yes Miss gagman yes Mo carries thank you moving on to 19 old business anyone have
anything for old business um I have something if anyone else does okay I would like to revisit the cell signal boosting technology topic as I fully intended to last meeting but was not in attendance as you may or may not recall I brought this up during new business at
the December meeting and did mention I looked forward to and still do look forward to working collaboratively with our entire board and our newly elected board members on the issue um for background early in December when I inquired with then board president Mr Morris about who would be tasked with
supplying the board with health and safety information he said we would quote consider it as it was received since that time we have had multiple experts from across the country Children's Health defense and Environmental Health Trust to be specific reach out to the sparta Board
of Education offering their expertise free of charge regarding the many well documented health and safety concerns regarding the installation of 5G technology antennas Towers repeaters substations Etc on school grounds all of which have been rejected by our board
president on behalf of the board as a whole um it has been relayed to me that we currently have antennas for radio and cell signals at Mohawk AV school and Sparta High School respectively whose install predates any current board
members maybe Kurt I'm not sure um this doesn't mean we need to consider collecting Revenue through the installation of four to five antennas or refrigerator sized units how can we put a price tag on
student and staff health and safety across the country and locally school districts struggle with breaking these leases these contractual leases as it's not not uncommon for the contracts to span approximately 30 years in some cases and they're nearly impossible to
back out of once they are signed this is why I keep revisiting it as elected officials we have due diligence to protect student and staff safety how can we as a board even consider any potential Pros which would be monetary in the face of such glaring cons very
well documented health and safety concerns the Crux of the issue here is that I do not believe we should leave such a huge safety concern unaddressed by simply just putting it off until we wait for a vendor reply which to my knowledge we have not received any
further feedback since November I really want to urge us to work together to put aside differences and to consider researching this practiv as a nine-person board it was welcome in previously undisclosed NOS to me undisclosed news to me that a majority of the board if
not all does not support cell towers on school grounds that's amazing I would like to open up for discussion and hear how the other board members specifically the newer ones who haven't had a chance to weigh in at previous meetings how do they feel about 5G signal boosting
technology not just towers as data we were provided shows concerns with antennas as well so in the interest of operating with transparency and educating ourselves as well as the public I'd like to get an idea for who would be on board with being ad meable
to inviting the aforementioned experts to a future meeting to just let us be knowledgeable on the topic let's discuss it let's learn what the terminologies are that we're even speaking about because you can't really debate a topic when you can't agree on the terminology you're discussing so would anyone be in
support of inviting in experts would anyone be opposed to it I look forward to discussion I mean you're inviting experts in to speak on something that we don't even know what we're talking about I mean we we have no idea what these vendors want to do we have no idea what
kind of equipment they want to use I believe it was stated that it was four to five antennas and a refrigerator sized cabinets yeah but we don't know what those antennas transmit we don't know how many what they call Micro Millers come off those that's why it would be great
to hear that's why it would be great to hear from people who do know well they these experts will not know not theing us they're not the ones supplying us with the equipment they don't know what these people want to do are you suggesting that c I'm going to ask
everyone to remain early while we have this discussion we're not going to let it turn into a full-fledged debate but I will absolutely say that everyone will have a chance to speak on this right now um so to I think what the point that I totally agree with Kurt to make it very clear in terms of timeline I believe it
was back in it was late might have been December but either way Barbara has submitted a list of questions to the vendor including what is the equipment you wish to install all four to five antennas do not give us an answer at all in terms of whether it's 5G whether it
what type of equipment are we even talking about so the issue that I've had is that when we're receiving you know to say the board was being reached out to yes we we did have a few experts all over the country how they came to learn about this I'm not sure reach out those
discussions range from anything to from 5G cell tower installations on our school buildings to how Bluetooth wireless speakers CL cause low sperm counts so there's a very wide range of information that we're receiving from those experts and it seems like the
arguments that are being proposed to us are kind of all over the place and I think to Kurt's point until we know what the equipment is I am totally willing to have anyone come in including the vendor and including an expert in a given field come in and speak to the potential of
you know other side or other opinion I'm fine with that we're not there yet and that's been my point all along and that's what I'm going to continue to reiterate when we're talking about again this this conversation has Nar this narrative has shifted from 5G cell towers to 5G equipment mentioning you
had mentioned I know a constituent raised this this week uh the radio antenna that is on Mohawk AV relates to Transportation correct which affects our students radio yes right but when you say antenna I don't know if that's included in that I said radio so and
same thing with the high school we have equipment that would affect our Police Department direct when we talk pros and cons we're talking about Pros being student safety so I again I caution us to tread lightly we absolutely can go around the room and hear how everyone feels I just don't what are we asking
how do you feel about cell towers how do you feel about cellular equipment how do you feel about cell phones what are we asking before I lose my thought because you brought up something very interesting and I'm I'm appreciative of the fact that you just communicated at the table um you said that Miss Decker submitted requests for information from
the vendor how did you become aware of that information and why didn't you share it as president with the entire board the last time that that was raised was the result of a finance committee meeting where we all had the discussion that was originally raised before this board was even present so I inquired and
we are under the assumption that the last update we received Miss Decker explained that she was UN she had relayed those questions and we were still awaiting an answer that's what's reflected in Rocky's minutes as well we are awaiting an answer sure great thank you I was trying to just be aware of so
can I ask again what question would you like each board member to answer regarding this topic how do you feel about cell towers how do you feel about 5G how do you feel so to back it up a little bit you keep using terminology and I'd like to reiterate that when I first mentioned this during new business
in December you can go back and look at the minutes I did not use the term cell tower I used every single all-encompassing term along with cell tower I said cell Towers repeaters boosters 5G antennas I was very careful
in my words and the semantics games are getting old the community has a right to understand what is being installed and what currently exists on school property and I would like to see if we could just have a conversation about that I don't
know why there is this attempt to Stonewall I don't think anyone's trying to Stonewall anything like I'm not for putting something that's on a building that's going to fry a kids' brain but we don't know what they're act looking to put on these buildings so how can you
have a discussion about something we don't know anything about an antenna is an antenna but if you'd like to suggest that certain antennas from certain vendors are different than other ones that's just not what the technology and the science suggests but I appreciate your ignorance to it and I think that's where an expert would help weigh in
there's not really any ignorance it's all how you look things up on the internet you can put anything in Google and get the search back that you're looking for I'm aw have these answers there's nothing really to talk about unless anyone has something pertinent they'd like to add I don't know would anyone like to weigh in
before I I think again if if someone feels in answer just go ahead I just want to so I'm a technical person so I went and so uh this is information that's available on antennas search.com if anybody's interested the two I'm
going I'm going to use the two technical devices that are on the schools are uh one is called a classo which is a mobile repeater which is a which uh is in the frequency of 450 which basically allows input and output from a mobile radio
like one that's in a police car or Transportation which has been there for a very long long time it has nothing to do with 5G or anything like that the other one is what they call an FB which is a uh class FB again you can find this
on search.com that just basically the mobile antenna for where the uh the radio would communicate to and the repeater just can be used to repeat so I'm not sure where the concern is these are
things that are actually all over the the the township right now if you go look um I personally think this is a waste of time because we haven't gotten anything from the vendor I rather be talking about our math scores where our English scores are great but
we need to get better math scores and how are we going to use all of this effort into something that's going to help the students um I appreciate your concern but there's nothing tabled there's no revenue or anything the vendor even hasn't gotten back yet and
I'm sure we're all going to be very transparent when the vendor comes back and we'll decide but right now we're trying to argue something that doesn't even exist but we know our math scores have to get better and that those are things that I rather be worried about
than bringing an expert on an antenna I want somebody who's an expert on math scores to tell us how we're going to get our math loss back up that's what I'm concerned about Rocky I appreciate you weighing in I think it's possible that as a board we can manage a couple of
issues simultaneously as we have for decades um the only reason I clarified what we currently have installed is because the board president brought it up last month at a meeting and said we Poss possibly have technology and people are concerned and it is my job to make
sure that relevant and accurate information is dismissed dis discussed at the board table so I was not personally harping on what already existed I was clarifying that we don't possibly have or what we do have that's
all just to follow up again because I've again we're going to end it here um when I said that there is a possibility the exact equipment that you mentioned is the equipment that I was referring to I didn't know what the purpose was but I did hear that we had equipment for our police before this that meeting I did
hear that we had equipment required for our transportation I was not insinuating that there was 5G equipment that exist I merely said it's a possibility we are supplementing existing equipment which if we were to proceed is exactly what we would be doing there are different types
of equipment and that is my entire point so again I think we are at a point where we can move on I agree with I have something else to add you can hold on one second if I can just say I do think that I I completely agree with Rocky I think that we've spent way too much time debating hypotheticals I would love a
robust discussion and debate when the time is right let's wait until we know what equipment we're going to debate over that's my proposal okay the radio um antennas that we have installed on the two buildings are not what the vendor was proposing to us just to be
clear they are not similar Technologies as you just discussed that's for boosting signals and that was not the intent of the proposal the verbal proposal I'm more than happy to table it obviously I'm outnumbered at this table and I welcome that um it's
just the nature of the Beast we speak for ourselves and we operate as a board of majority and so if the other members who haven't chimed in yet sit in their elected seats and would not like to weigh in on a topic that affects the health and safety of the students they
were elected to serve then have about it well I would like to weigh in um because call your microphone a little closer sorry can't hear you I I I appreciate the conversation and I appreciate your care and concern over an
important conversation and I am extremely supportive of experts providing information um and I I think as I'm listening to all of this I think that it's important to have a starting place and I think the starting place so that
we could be informed most accurately with what what what we are working with what we do have and what we are looking at and then be able to to widen that into other other areas as you mentioned because I do think that it's important I do um
because we need do need to make informed decisions um but I do think that we have to have a starting place thank you I appreciate your respectful dialogue Michelle I really do um it's nice to see it um I guess the the issue for me comes back to the fact that these contract are not like other contracts in that the
leases due span 30 years the board turnover as we have all seen in the past four years 5 years has been staggering so it's very likely that if we were to punt this down the road and not do our due diligence and investigate and at least make the public aware of what's been on the table that it can easily
just kind of go by the wayside and in four years five years we have a whole different board which is fine and it's the way the process works but I don't see the harm in at least becoming more aware I mean there's nothing wrong with learning and if anyone has experts to
the contrary that show that these this technology is wonderful and healthy and safe then I would welcome that as well I'm not looking to steamroll my personal beliefs I just think that we need to be Eyes Wide Open when we are discussing things that cause cancer and I'm not
just saying that I mean it's it's well documented I didn't just Google it we were provided tons and tons and tons of information through emails that were just kind of sloughed off and I find that to be kind of egregious I find it
insulting to say they were sloft off when I read through every single report detailed reports sometimes multiple pages and you can obviously know that when I can attest to the fact that there's allegations that again a wireless speaker causes low low sperm count that was in that report that you
sent that was very detailed I have sent read everything that you have sent over thoroughly the problem remains that it's very inconsistent in terms of what we are hearing it's a wide array of information and to Michelle's point I'd rather us have a starting point that we allow that to be the place where we
begin and then we expand from there I appr I'm totally willing to have you know an alternate view expert come in and kind of again a vendor might have intentions that you know won't disclose certain information I understand that completely and appreciate without
interrupting I understand that completely and I agree with you and I hope you hear that I agree with you that we need to have various opinions but we need to wait until it's the right time for that to just we can have an endless amount we can have 50 experts come in here with 50 different opinions on 50
different matters regarding safety but the point is we need it to be focused and I don't think we're there yet and the community will also be completely informed throughout as they have been that will not change I appreciate that and I just appreciate the fact that maybe you would consider as board
president before responding to emails maybe just getting a pulse from your membership let's see where the other eight people feel before you reply on our behalf because that's important we we'd have to do that at a
meeting obviously I'd be very concerned about doing it I'm not saying you're suggesting it but we couldn't do that by email I guess what I'm saying is that's why I'm bringing it up at the table because this is the appropriate correct and that's why I'm bringing it up at the table not to harp on things but because
we can't you know open public meetings we cannot do these things um as a Comm we don't have committees as a whole we don't have a board situation where we can discuss this and we can't discuss it in executive session because it's not attorney client privilege so I'm bringing it to the table to try to get a
pulse of my fellow board members since our board president neglected to do that that's all so I'd like I don't know if I need to make a motion me like that if that's possible motion a motion what are we motioning for what I don't know I'm trying to end it you're trying
to end okay okay I would like to make a motion to see where the board stands if we can get a straw poll see if we have majority but that be that's not really a motion okay so if you could help me with the wording since you're the lawyer you're just asking for the board's opinion on the issue so I guess
everybody was free to weigh in or no or I guess everybody was free to weigh in on on whether we want to have a uh an expert come in in the future uh based on the information that we gan from the so yes I would like to make a motion to invite in and experts at what point in time uh we
could see what the earliest at the next available board meeting oh you want to do it now before we get the information before we get the vendor I think what I was hearing from some people was that people are not adverse to having experts come in once we get the information back that we're seeking from the prospective
vendor and at that time when we have a better handle on what it is I didn't hear really any opposition at the table to bring him in but I think some people felt and I don't want to speak for anybody but that it was premature to do it now so are you suggesting we do it now I guess the conundrum here is that likely the vendor has been spooked off
from the publicity and or what not I don't know we haven't heard from the vendor so if they don't come back to us then we just leave this GI I me that's my concern I don't know whether we've heard from the vendor or not I'm not sure I don't think we've heard from them yet and really I think I can speak for everybody when a vendor
does come to us or if they do respond and they say well this is what we're going to put up there a b c and d that is when we bring those experts in so I don't want to have it wasted expert time to come in to speak on something that might not even be irrelevant to us
I think it's just being proactive I don't think it's a waste of time to educate ourselves as a board on listen this technology is not going anywhere people don't want it in their neighborhoods they don't want it on their houses so they come to the school boards this is what they're doing across the country it's a huge Money Maker for
schools huge not really huge but it's a huge money maker and it you know it drops property values I just that's the discussion I was looking to have so I'm glad that thank you for the two new board members who did weigh in I appreciate it so if I could just speak
up for a minute um ver the company Verizon is supposed to it's your microphone yeah it is so they are supposed to get back to us they did not have everything for the last as we reported out the last committee meeting that we've met in finance in February they are they know the mid date of the
next board meeting or the next committee meeting and they are supposed to have drawings proposed as well as information and responses to everything that was submitted to them which was a collection of a number of board members that had concerns but we have received nothing from them yet nothing M Decker would you
clarify who they was because I think your um mic was not on when you mentioned it so the the company the company yes Verizon thank you I'm sure they have a vate interest in the health and safety of our kids if I can just recap and just say I appreciate the consensus it seems of of
bringing in experts I do see the difference of opinion when it comes to whether we do this proactively or after a proposal is reached I do appreciate the idea of having um that proposal information but I can also fully appreciate what Miss Michael is is
bringing forward to us as far as you know when we look at other policies for instance we're we're saying hey it's not this doesn't come into effect until December however we're going to proactively look at a policy and look at revising that um so I think when it comes down to we committed to every
student every day Sparta is a district that doesn't just look at academics and even though we yes absolutely test scor student achievement I mean that's what we're all sitting you know student achievement not just test scor is what we're all sitting here for but we are a district that has been uh if I dare say
blessed with the ability to support the whole child and we've made a commitment to support the whole child and that includes the the health and safety to our staff and students and as we continue to have more technology ol in our classrooms and more technology in our homes and in our pockets um I think
it is important we have a referendum coming and you know there's enhancements to buildings it doesn't mean it has anything to do with this but I'm saying just as we're considering technology purchasing and having the right infrastructure I think it I I do really appreciate that everyone is is supportive of having experts come in um
whether the timing is before or after um so thank you for bringing it up and if I could just jump in quickly I just want to make a distinction from what I understand is the thinking uh when you were speaking Lauren it almost made it seem like you were describing us as being proactive versus reactive and I
think this is more about being a little too proactive versus being pragmatic um being pragmatic is doing the right thing at the right time and I think that's what Kurt has been harping on and what Caitlyn has been harping on and I think it is about doing the right thing at the right time and I think that if we are a little too proactive it's like what Mark
said at the last meeting when it's like if we're trying to establish a policy or start considering a policy and then we might have a first reading or create a draft and then Verizon comes back with their specs and we totally miss the mark it would set us up to kind of waste a whole month of our time so I think it is
important to think about being pragmatic versus proactive versus being reactive in that I don't think we're being reactive can I add something I totally would want to hear from experts like I'm totally on board with that um and going along with what Chad said I think it's
important to at least have that information and maybe ask those experts to come in to say this is what Verizon proposed can you tell us about this and other things as well so we can like have our scope but make sure we are focusing on what we are going to be dealing with as well like I
think bring up a great point of like we should be well informed and a lot of different areas right because this might not be the first proposal there might be other proposals right and we'll be in in the same area um I just think we need to make sure we are talking about what we're going to talk about with this company um and then open it up more from
there as well but make sure we at least are that is definitely we called the right person who's going to talk about what we need to debate thank you Emily for weighing in and and uh Lauren and Chad as well and to that point definitely now that we know that the vendor is Verizon I think that it's safe
to say that their technology that they employ Nationwide on schools and antennas whatever you want to say I I think it's safe to say that that technology is not variable within their business model it's like a car is a car a 5G antenna is a 5G Anna Anna so I
don't think we need to wait on a specific model in order to be considered being too proactive so that's my opinion on that matter uh we are proactively considering the freedom to read um bill which has passed and that's
great and we have until December 2025 to look at implementing that new policy and we're looking to do that in as soon as two months so it's it seems a little bit hypocritical um just real quick to speak to that and we're going to move along uh because Lauren had also mentioned or
referenced that and now you have uh there was a law that was passed and it is incumbent upon us to make sure that we're in compliance with that it's important and also our media Specialists have been recognized to help curate draft policy for the state so why we wouldn't Foster the collaboration with
them on a local level unless maybe we have a problem with the law that's not what I was saying my point is is it's not hypocritical it's totally appropriate and it's actually our role I was talking about Tim Tim we have until December 2025 to implement the new policy and I completely support
so we want to be proactive tow but not we're moving on now I support our are you trying to stifle me I support our staff for weighing in in curating these policies I truly do I think that's wonderful um I'm just saying that we
have until December 2025 and if we're talking about revisiting policies let's just make sure that we're doing it across the board okay great are we ready to move on does anyone else have anything like I just wanted to share one thing if that's okay about the math scores which I'm so glad that you brought up because that's a really
important topic that we've been spending a lot of time on and I don't know if it was mentioned but it did come up in our curriculum meeting so I think it's worth mentioning that we um do use Universal screeners multiple times a year to check in on student growth so we did just have our um winter screener that we met as
data teams to unpack that data every school in the district is making adequate to high levels of progress which is exciting but we're still trying to unpack we typically have after the last few years have a large population of students who continue to fall at approaching standards on our
standardized tests which is different information that than we see on our Universal screening tools so we did put a math committee together an exploration team to look at how some of the other districts there are several like us that are just taking certain grade levels are taking longer to bounce back as expected
um and that's kind of a universal understanding that's come out of this but there are some districts that are bouncing back faster and so we're going to connect with them and see if there's any secrets to things that they're doing or practices or resources so I just wanted to speak to that a little bit because that is a big priority for us so
thank thank you Mr R thank you for that breath of fresh air we needed it okay so we're moving on anyone else for anything for old business no we're okay okay new business anyone have anything for new business new business go for it um approximately a year ago ethics charges
was filed against my myself and several other board members um by a Heather Stout Mason um so ultimately it was dismissed with no probable cause so in the future hopefully you know it's ironic that we had the ethics tonight so
maybe before anyone files ethics complaints you maybe watch this meeting over second guess before having our district pay thousands of dollars for we're not going to open it back and forth with constituents I will say it it behoves us and we've talked about that
exact incident uh which I appreciate and it behooves us to even try to avoid the appearance of impropriety um however congratulations on the ethics result of being ethical very good um is that did you want to did you have more on that or okay all right thank you anyone else for
new business no okay moving on to public comment number two the board uses the second public comment period to invite comments on all matters pertaining to the school district please state your name municipality and grp group affiliation if appropriate for the record each participant will receive 3
minutes to speak once you have had your allotted 3 minutes to speak you will not be permitted to speak again all statements should be directed to me as the presiding officer the board or Administration may or may not respond to any questions or comments after the conclusion of public
participation hello Patty Sparta um I was not planning to speak tonight so my notes are a little rough but during the back and forth I did take a few notes so the subject of student safety
obviously we're all very concerned about our our kids our the our community um but I just wanted to redirect because I think what we're talking about with the 5G Towers while some may think it's important um the focus let's redirect
the focus to a real and Urgent um sorry real and Urgent threat which is gun violence in schools I am um a local group member of our mom's Dem Man action um chapter here in Sussex County and I
just wanted to read off a few facts so there's no credible scientific evidence that 5G poses a health risk to students or staff in fact the World Health Organization and the Federal Communications Commission have confirmed that 5G technology operates within safe exposure limits meanwhile Firearms are
the leading cause of death for children and teens and instead of Deb debating unproven risks we should be addressing the real and immediate threat to our students which is gun violence um we have spoken to multiple people across
the county um multiple schools about getting our B smart program I think Dr Beck you were included on some of those emails um in schools to talk about safe storage and I don't know if anybody's seen the local news but just recently we
we had um a resident in Sparta who uh was arrested and 17 unregistered guns were found in his residence and he has two children in this District who are very young um any one of those guns one
which was loaded and accessible to um his children could have been taken to school could have been taken to a play date could have been fired off at any time accidentally at home so while I appreciate us going back and forth about illegitimate concerns like 5G cell
towers that are everywhere across the country and there hasn't been any Rec recorded death because of them um we are talking about a real threat in our community right now and nobody has brought it up which I just I I that I just felt like I had to talk about this
today um what's my time limit am I almost there okay because I can't read with these on um so just a few more stats in 2023 there were 348 school shootings in the US more than 356,000 students have experienced gun
violence in schools since Coline in 1999 and the psychological impact is immense 57% of teens worry about a school shooting happening every day our kids are going to school and having to be really tormented every time a lockdown drill happens I have three kids in this
school and they come home and ask me what would happen so I just like to redirect and maybe we can focus on on something that actually matters in our community like gun violence thank you thank you hello uh I'm Dana Galino 26 Valley
View Trail um I'm actually going to be talking about the budget but before I do I'm just going to say that I find it highly insulting for one board member to insinuate that other board members do not care about the Health and Welfare of their children just because they aren't weighing in on a topic you feel like
discussing right now anyway regarding the budget um I believe that somebody mentioned the budget before uh Miss gagnan I think it was you and um I listened to Rocky's a finance report and I didn't hear this mentioned so I figured I'd make my annual request
tonight um I've made this request for four years now and I believe it has not been done for five maybe even six years but here it goes I uh respectfully request that the board bid out the legal contract at this time refusing to do so
is fiscally irresponsible to our district and our taxpayers thank you so much thank you misso and any else hi Scott null from Sparta um first I want to thank all of
you um for your commitment to our town and our community I I know that this is hard and listening to us is is hard you got a million things going on so as I say this I'm going to ask you to do more work but I appreciate the work that you're already doing
um I I'm here tonight to ask about the PO potential Financial impact of the to the to the school board due to Doge and Elon Musk it's safe to assume Sparta might have delays or even elimination of federal
funds um Chad talked about grant money right like the source of those grants could go away um there was another program mentioned it was a state program but other funding comes from other programs and it's likely that those will be slowed reduced or or you know go
bye-bye um so my question is or my request is that you guys look at what the potential impact is and what that would would mean because it could be nothing or it could mean disaster and I don't know right and I think it's it the
responsible thing to do is to check it out um when I was thinking about it I thought there's basically four areas um one I already mentioned Direct loss of financial support um you know specifically to programs and grants um
another is the loss of tax revenue which funds most of us um due to businesses being impacted that support the tax base because the work they do is no longer available right we have a community like pitini down the road right that's
potentially paying for a lot of people which is the other one people employed by the government they lose their jobs um that's potential impact and then uh the last one is um the loss of agencies that support our
schools um that provide things and now those aren't available so we have to pay for some outside source to get them again I don't know exactly what those are but it it seems imminent to me um so if you could look at that and get back
to us so we understand what the potential impacts are what our exposure is um I I I think that that's prudent so thank you thank you very much hello I'm Kim null and um what a wonderful night to be here right it's so
beautiful to see what a lovely how great our teachers are what a lovely Community we have and obviously we want to keep that that going and I feel like that Dodge and Elon musk and what's happening with the potentially getting rid of the Department of Education is very
concerning um also concerning especially to folks in our lgbtqia plus Community is and is the direct attacks by the federal government on folks in that Community um I know that might seem like oh they're far away they're down in
Washington DC I don't think their intention is to stay in Washington DC and not uh impact us in our states um so some of the things that maybe folks aren't considering about the Department of Education and what they do is the
impact and the funding that they provide to folks with disabilities um they are one of the main groups that do Title One and so we have a lot of students in this District who use Title One Services have
IEPs have 40 504s Etc um so I'm very concerned about what might happen to that funding and those students also um finally I'd also just like to mention that pel grants if anybody has a student who's going to go away to college
eventually if you don't have money sitting in the bank for that to happen pel grants could completely go away completely recognize that's not something necessarily you could do something directly about um but just something that we need to be um thinking about for our students there's
potentially a lot fewer people that we'll be eligible to go to college if they can't get a grant um really concerned about equity and making sure that we remain a district who accepts all including the lgbtq plus
Community um and I know this board will continue to stay informed I heard that somebody folks are already considering what's coming down um from the federal government at this point um so I welcome all the discussions potential impacts I'm sure there's things that I can't
even imagine are potential imp PS um so thank you so much and please keep us informed thank you very much good evening how are you I'm Michelle patrio to Evergreen Place in
Sparta um I'm here tonight to represent the Sparta baseball program as a parent and as a booster club member during my tenure with the baseball uh booster club there have been several requests made to improve the program the grounds and and the
equipment um first and foremost let me just address the condition of felder's field from afar it looks beautiful all right but there are a lot of problems with the field itself um there are dangers within the infield um because it
is clumpy hard as hard as a rock all right it needs regrading it needs new soil it needs new dirt um and it needs to you know all of that needs to be implemented in order to prevent uh danger or further injury to infielders playing um you know just playing the
sport um bad hops from the hardened clay have caused numerous injuries to our players in the Outfield there are ruts in the Outfield uh in the grass um again problems with the field itself so again it looks beautiful from afar but it's really
struggling um ultimately the drainage issues from the field face uh from the field um there's a lot of problems after severe and heavy rains one storm puts the field out of commission for the whole week so
it really affects the season and their players but those are just that's one of the major problems that we're seeing and to our disappointment these requests have been declined over the years um because this is like what you guys have said the uh the can gets kicked down the line and uh it doesn't get addressed but
I do want to make mention of two things that were requested recently to help alleviate some of alleviate some of the problems that the program has faced a home plate cover was requested to help mitigate the puddling issues that occur during wet weather the cover had been uh would help Salvage the field for
Gametime and practice sessions it is a temporary fix to an ongoing problem that field location has had over the years in my time on the booster board and as a parent of a player I've never seen a home plate cover it only came to my attention that there was a cover and it was
destroyed by rodents and storage and was never replaced another request has been made to prevent to help prevent the amount of foul balls lost to the wetlands during practice primarily naturally foul balls are part of the sport the dense brush standing murky
water and excessive tick population makes it unsafe and impossible to retrieve the fou balls a portable cage that is I'm sorry a request that was made to purchase a batting cage also known as a turtle is a portable cage that is moved on and off the field
during batting practices to prevent foul balls from leaving the field in the past the booster club has assisted the program to the best of its ability about four years ago the boosters do you mind if I finished yeah absolutely take another take as long as you need thank you after
four years about four years ago the booster purchased a pitching machine and before that the booster club recruited the help of a local business business to donate the scoreboard traditionally boo booster clubs are intended to support teams by providing fundraisings fundraisers for
events and Gatherings such as team dinners end of end of the year Banquets and senior night the booster is also intended to encourage team members to participate in community outreach for instance our baseball players will be volunteering their time to support the
sparta little leagues opening day we're collaborating to run clinics for the eighth graders to help them prepare for entering B Bas High School baseball and we're volunteering to attend their little league baseball games to help teams warm up so this is what all of our players are going to be doing in community outreach ultimately the
booster's responsibility is to promote sportsmanship help build and maintain a reputable program and fully support student athlete recognition as much as we would like to fund the aforementioned items we just cannot cover the entire cost nor will we set a precedent that
the that the booster club becomes the sole responsible party for such purchases however we have contacted the District administration proposing to work with them to reach a resolution and after several attempts I have not received any communication since February 3rd the reason is fast the
season is fast approaching with March 10th tryouts I have three quotes for different vendors available two out of the three are vendors that work directly with the High School athletic department according to the December 2024 board secretary's report on page under page
eight under the school sponsored Athletics category there was an available balance of $1 4,669 for the supplies and materials line as well as $119,000 UH 60
$1,669 for the line item other objects my request today is to ask the district to work with the booster club to make these purchases we ask that you review the funds available and make a concession to to work with us we ask for communication and
collaboration if assembly for the if assembly for the cage is a concern I can assure you that there will be several parents players and coaches that will be ready readily available to volunteer their time to assemble it if concerned about destruction of another home plate cover the booster club will be happy to
provi provide a storage bin to prevent rodents from getting to it again we will also provide sandbags as needed to keep the cover secure during harsh weather if you would like to reach out to me at any time I'd be very happy to give you
my direct communication my direct uh information contact information but I do really appreciate your time and I do hope that you take this information um into consideration I've also provided here the three quotes I only have five copies but I'd like to leave yeah just
if you can leave them with our our business administrator that would be wonderful thank you so much appr appr no problem thanks for being patient hi everybody how are you my name is Joe Daly 37 Timberline Drive um I've been a volunteer baseball coach for the last 10
years I had coach at the high school level with uh level with Sam Sloan uh for a number of years Michelle did a great job I'm not going to I'm not going to talk about that I wanted to talk to you guys I want to talk to Kurt and tell them thank you very much I'm also a wealth adviser in town and it's been my
mission to try to educ educate kids on Personal Finance so I was really lucky enough I I hunted Kurt down he got me in touch with Ed I stalked Ed for about two months and we finally made it happen I got a chance to teach the business classes at the high school uh for two
days and having kids understand how important it is personal finance at the ages of 16 17 18 years old um that makes a lifetime of changes in someone's life um you know try to educate them on kids who work part-time who make
$14,800 a year do not pay federal income taxes if they're living with their parents imagine what happens when that money is put into a Roth IRA over a course of 45 years um so I would love to work with the Board of Ed and help work on a you know a curriculum to educate
these kids on Personal Finance I know there's something going down the path of they're doing something in school right now and um it's not where it needs to be so I want to thank you I really appreciate it and uh it was a really good day so my again my name is Joe D
I'm here to help I'm here to volunteer anything you need to do okay thank you thank you so much I'm gonna bring some Joy I'm gonna bring it good evening my name is Angela Delia and I am the very proud president of the
Sussex County Education Association and Sparta Education Association once again we would like to congratulate all the governor's Educators and education support Professionals of the Year tonight's recognition is just a glimpse at the dedication and hard work of our
members last week we marked the 100th day of school we are more than halfway through this school year our elementary schools celebrated this Milestone by encouraging students to demonstrate their favorite interpretation of the number 100 they also practice random
acts of kindness in a week dedicated to building relationships and Community we all know that these skills will serve our students well beyond that week librarian media specialist Stephanie Bernardo is busy preparing
Helen Morgan's program one book one school experience I for one cannot wait to see who will be the mystery readers maybe you'll see some familiar faces David gki and Mark Miola are leading our SMS and shs robotics team
both teams into robotics history both teams are setting and breaking records across New Jersey Doug Krauss Pascal burn and Jennifer da are organizing their next trip to Quebec for middle and high school students Emily Scott is planning in the planning stages of an
educational Excursion to Japan our members want to ensure that instruction travels far beyond the traditional walls of the classroom Katie sackowitz has stepped up to advise the new dance club see what I did there right
okay the club has hosted a fundraiser to help aid children's cancer research and hopes to achieve their goal of a Dan Aon the club encourages students creativity and movement without the stress of competition Deca is preparing for its next round at their conference Sandy
chapini Will Anderson and Craig Merill and the students are ready to take on Atlantic City last but not least Sparta High School Musical Theater will be performing The Little Shop of Horrors on March 14th 15th and 16th with
a preview for schools and senior citizens on the 13th and we would be remiss if we did not publicly thank those who helped the staff prepare with the Strategic prowess of the maintenance staff and shs custodial team we would not have been able to create the magic
of the shs spring musical we hope to to see everyone there February is a very short month but packed with many accomplishments we look forward to March and many great things to report hi Jenny Derek um Dr Beck I'm
actually asking for um some discussion not here um as a member of the municipal Alliance you and I have both served on the municipal Alliance for years as well as some a number of your staff and administrators the Town Council is
considering back and forth the um introduction of Le re retail cannabis in Sparta and in part of their discussions they're talking about pulling back the drug-free school zone limits that have been in place
since 1987 that's a th000 feet from a school as well as some other facilities the the council is considering pulling it back I've heard numbers 400 300 and even lower and I would ask that um not only
as the chief educator of the dis of the township but also a member of the municipal Alliance that you might consider having um a statement to share um supporting re retaining the thousand foot the traditional thousand foot drug
free school zone limits there's a reason why they've been there our students should have access too close to the schools if they have to have access at all I appreciate your consideration thank you thank you anyone else
thank you sir Madame President and members of the board Dr Beck um thanks for all your time for our kids uh Dennis mudri 47 shaie Trail Miss patrio touched on several baseball items I just want to talk on one in my
38 years in public education as a teacher as a coach as a building principal District administrator working in nine different districts I have never in all my years
seen such a deplorable infield an unsafe infield as in feldner field I started my career as a high school social studies and coach in the Dennis Tobin Chris jent basketball era coaching with Coach
Tobin and in the gene Mendes baseball era when our baseball field in 1986 and 87 was in better condition than it is in 2024 2025 it is a egregious that we would allow if you
have a son a nephew a a a student athlete that you're aware of all I ask you to do I'll go with you it'll take 20 minutes walk on that infield at feler field the ruts in that field are unsafe for our student
athletes we have D1 D2 and D3 players in our program with a new coach who's revived a program in one year it's absolutely unsafe I played Semi-Pro baseball I'm not talking
from China someone's going to get hurt I I I ask you I beg you on behalf of our student athic I put three sons through this school district one now is currently in his
junior year and he's an infielder I am concerned for his health I ask you to please if your buildings and grounds or could authorize looking at those that infield nothing nothing else not from 517 not from right
field in a golf cart when a visiting person says the field looks beautiful and rich green Dr Beck's a bright man I ask him to take a walk on that field I ask our building and grounds chair to walk that infield and I assure
you you'll see what I'm talking about we have the most disgraceful field of any we could only play home games for conferences because our coach who re is rebuilding a program can't take our student
athletes to play home games against non-conference contenders really appreciate all your time volunte you know volunteering and Madame President you got my vote because you handle things very well in a classy way as do the majority of you uh member
Morris and the rest several other you not all thank you thank you sir anyone else for public comment okay motion to close thanks Kurt second thanks Rebecca all in favor I
I okay moving on for the good of the order please keep it brief no one I have something Dr hle and I both were here just the other night uh for the science fair just wanted to give um a a shout
out to the PTO to miss Madson and of of course all the students but it was really a phenomenal event and I'm sure you could speak to it as well I no I agree I agree it was a phenomenal event and the kids were all very excited to share their science
projects and their um their innovative ideas and it was great to see and so many staff members teachers were there in support as well thank you wonderful anyone else I just want to wish the girls team good luck tomorrow against Pope John and congrats to the
boys team who just beat Pope John tonight by 29 Points so good job I just wanted to say uh you know about the since the dance club came up tonight what a great thing that we had a student come forward with an idea and
that as a board we we were able to quickly you know thank you Dr Beck and administration for meeting with the student to get that idea and then to bring it forward to the agenda to approve it and then to see Katie Switz uh you know move forward to uh be the
adviser it's just really great to see such a quick turnover of a student L idea and I think it kind of reminds us you know just really our purpose in supporting the students and um I when I did my training for New Jersey school boards there was a a wise older member
who said you know every time he would end a meeting say what's in it for the kids what we do for the kids and just as a reflection to the last meeting you know I think how great is it that we submitted schematic plans to the state to potentially you know help uh have
great buildings you know great spaces for learning for our kids um tonight we approved um the funds which we know every tax dollar is very important and we don't take it for granted we pay the taxes ourselves but we um we're putting efforts forward to making sure our
communication is very clear in what our ask is for as a district to help get our students and staff what they need to continue um to have such a great reputation our schools and finally to keep it brief I just really appreciate the public participation tonight it's not easy to come to the mic um it's not
easy to come and talk about different ideas in public and I appreciate the public bringing things to light that need to be brought to our attention so that we can refer to committee and look into things so thank you all for your collaboration well sad Lauren and I also want to thank the community members it
was a long one tonight so we really appreciate your patience to stick it out for public comment number two thank you um seeing no one else motion to adjourn thank you all in favor I I oh excuse me second give me a second Chad thank you all in favor I okay any any
objections any extensions have a nice night all thank you for