##VIDEO ID:78-r8a3D2g4## e e e e e e e e e e e e e MO this morning yeah to the VP not speak not to speak before we break dark e good evening good evening and welcome to the township of Union Board of Education organization meeting I am Yolanda I will be facilitating this meeting until such a president has been nominated at this time I would like to call this meeting to order can we please all stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and to salute the flag our Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the for stands Nation indivisible withy andice for all at this time which we all been waiting for we have our honorable Senator cryan to administer the oath of office to our um elected officials I will call their names in no particular order first up is Mr Greg NASA so I call your name please come forward do you have anyone here to hold the Bible or do you have anyone wishing to and here you go come on team yes sir someone wants to hold the Bible as he n can hold the Bible all right okay yes sir I I Greg n Greg NASA solemnly squar solemnly swear that I will support that I will support the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I I Greg nasta solemnly swear solemnly swear that I possess that I possess the qualifications the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office for the office of a member of of a member of a board of education a board of education and that I am not disqualified and that I am not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to pursuant to RS RS 19 19 colon 4-1 4-1 nor disqualified nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime due to conviction of a crime or offense or offense listed in listed in njsa njsa 18a 18a Colon 12 colon 12-1-1 and that I will faithfully and I will faithfully impartially and impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties all the duties of that office of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank you very you may take your seat thank you thank you thank you you can p oh leave the Bible there next up we have Mrs chassid Santana [Applause] [Applause] I'm left-handed I'm ready yes sir I I Chastity Santana solemnly swear solemnly swear that I will support that I will support the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of and the constitution of the state of New Jersey the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same and to the government and to the government established in the United States established in the United States and in the state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I I Chastity Santana solemnly swear solemnly swear that I possess that I possess the qualifications the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of for the office of member of a board of education member of a Board of Education and that I am not and that I am not disqualified as a voter disqualified as a voter pursuant to pursuant to RS RS 19 colon 19 colon 4-1 4-1 nor disqualified nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime due to conviction of a crime or offense or offense listed in listed in njsa njs a 18a 18a colon 12-1 colon 12-1 and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of that office all the duties of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank you so [Applause] much and last ly but not least we have Mrs Kimberly Scott [Applause] Hayden come on want to hold yes I I Kimberly Scott Hayden solemnly swear solemnly swear that I will support that I will support the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of and the constitution of the state of New Jersey the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the government and to the government established in the United States established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I I Kimberly Scott Hayden solemnly swear solemnly swear that I possess that I possess the qualifications the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of for the office of member of a board of education member of a board of education and and that I am not disqualified and that I am not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to pursuant to RS RS 19 colon 19 colon 4-1 4-1 nor disqualified nor disqualified due to conviction due to conviction of a crime or offense of a crime or offense as listed in as listed in njsa njsa 18a 18a colon 12-1 colon 12-1 and that I will faithfully and that I will Faithfully impartially and impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties perform all the duties of that office of that office according to the best of your ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank you [Applause] sir all righty okay so at this time uh we're going to allow for 5 to 10 minutes for any kind of photo ops with the dignitary Aries um or our uh Senator cryan we'll give you about 5 to 10 minutes thank [Music] you e e e e e e e no near gy okay and at this time Mrs capiello can you please take the official roll call Miss caranel yes Mr Cohan here Mrs K macki here Mrs FIA Mr McDow present Mrs Beni here Mr nasta here m Mrs Scott Hayden here miss Santana present Mrs capella please read the mission statement the mission of the township of Union Public Schools is to build on the foundations of honesty Excellence Integrity strong family and Community Partnerships we promote a supportive learning environment where every student is challenged inspired empowered and respected as diverse Learners through cultivation of students intellectual curiosity skills and knowledge our students can achieve academically and socially and contribute as responsible and productive citizens of our Global Community okay thank you open public meeting act notice in accordance with the provision of the New Jersey open public meeting act the township of Union board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the DAT time and place thereof published in the Star Ledger and Uniontown uh County local sources posted in the administrative building of 2369 saon Union New Jersey filed with the Township Clerk and mailed to all persons if any who have requested said notice the Board of Education offers members of the public an opportunity to address issues regarding items on the agenda or on any issue individuals need to identify themselves by name and address public comments are limited to three minutes issues raised by members of the public May and may not be responded to by the board all comments will be considered and a response will be forthcoming if and when appropriate the board ask all members of the public to be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals when speaking comments regarding students and employees of the board will not be responded to by the board at this time we would like to have our attorney provide a brief synopsis of the nomination of office of presidency board councel well hello hello all right that's better uh thank thank you Miss uh so the following is taken from board policy 0152 the Board of Education shall organize at its first regular meeting by electing one of its members as president and another as vice president any board member May place a board member's name in nomination for board President and Vice President a second on the nomination is not required election for each office will be conducted by a vote when the nominations for that office are closed voting shall take place by verbal roll call vote after nominations are closed when more than one person has been nominated for a single position the board will vote on candidates in the order in which they were nominated the person with the majority vote of all of the memb members of the board shall be elected in the event no candidate receives a majority vote of all of the members of the board the procedure shall be repeated until someone receives a majority vote of all the members of the board if the board is unable to elect a president vice president the executive County Superintendent shall appoint from among the members of the board of President Andor vice president thank you at this time the floor is open for nomination for office of presidency misson I would like to nominate for president someone who has worked tirelessly to drive the Su the success of our school district her plethora of endless knowledge in the field of education is sure to Champion what our district needs it has been a pleasure leading with her this past year and I look forward to continuously uh work with her under her new Direction with that I nominate dixiana calbel okay hearing and seeing no others nomination for office of presidency is now closed Mrs capella please take the roll call please miss carbonel can she vote for herself yes Mr Cohan yes Mrs Conte macki yes Mr McDowell yes Mrs Mani yes Mr nasta yes Mrs Scott haeden yes Miss Santana yes congratulations and please take your chair and I will defer to you madam president conratulations hello okay I thought I was going to have to use my teacher voice good evening distinguished members of the board Senator cryan mayor Bowser committee woman Frasier and committee woman Terrell School leadership and District leadership staff guests and family it is both an honor and a privilege to address you this evening as the president of this esteemed board together we represent a collective committed to the vision mission and values of our school district and community at large I am deeply humbled by the trust you have placed in me and I'm excited about the opportunity to serve our schools our staff and our students as I assume this great responsibility I pray to God for the courage to do what is right wisdom to discern the best path path forward and the compassion to listen with an open heart and open mind while our tenured as board members these past couple of years has been met with a number of challenges we are steadfast in our resolve we will seize every opportunity afforded to us to create policies and opportunities that help engage multiple stakeholders raise academic standards and student performance support a thoughtfully ex excuted District realignment cultivate a safe and inclusive learning environment maximize our our material and human and professional capital and improve our overall organizational structure operational efficiency and accountability thank you for your confidence in me I am excited to move forward with all of you United in making a meaningful difference thank you once [Applause] again now I will open the floor for nominations for Vice President are there any Madam president um I would like to nominate for vice president someone I have worked with on many committees has dedicated many years to educating our youth and is now working tirelessly with those that we entrust our uh students to to educate transport maintain our buildings and all those who are dedicated have dedicated themselves to our youth she is a voice of reason and a wealth of knowledge bringing important and valuable information to our board so at this time I'd like to nominate Kimberly Scott Hayton as vice president [Applause] hearing and seeing no others the nominations for the office of vice presidency is now closed Miss capiello roll call please Mr Cohan yes Mrs K macki yes Mr McDowell yes Mrs Mani yes Mr nasta yes Mrs Scott Hayden yes Miss Santana yes Miss carbonel yes [Applause] I look forward to working with you Madame vice president I Echo that Madam president now would you like to say some words please sure good evening name students parents staff elected officials Senator cryan committee woman Frasier and committee woman Terrell and mayor Bowser Community stakeholders and District administration it is a prestigious honor that I hold in high regard as being elected and looking forward to serving as the vice president of this amazing board and involving institution of educational Excellence I thank my husband Eric and my loving family who honors and supports my passion for community service and public education we meaning the president carbonel and my fellow colleagues we look forward to a year of moving this District forward to establish great public schools for every student in the township of Union we the board alongside this Administration will work hard to continue to Foster the very relationships required to ensure that the success of our students and that of the staff who give so much of themselves day in and day out you guys are commended for the reassuring that you give our students and reaffirming their potentials but also holding them in a high to high expectations cuz we know that they can do it whether it's in within the halls of our school buildings or within the streets of this Vibrant Community we will work to build a collaborative Partnerships necessary to ensure that every child has the tools that he or she needs to be successful in their educational Endeavors we are expected to have a productive yet challenging school year but we welcome every aspect of the so that we can prepare for educational Excellence here in the township of Union for this to be a successful year we will continue to work hard and diligently to build trust unity and a sense of belonging with our families who entrust us with their most precious asset their children to the UTA and the administration we will continue to work through superintendent benaquista and his team to make sure that we are honoring the careers and the expertise that you bring with you to our district every day with intentionality and around professional growth and maintaining a growth mindset we will build excellent educational spaces for our students to thrive through collaborative um collaboration and creative thinking we will build a sense of belonging where all Educators including esps are respected as they contribute to the success of the whole child to the parents who take the time to be involved in their children's educational Excellence we thank you we welcome you and we hope that you will come out to support the initiatives but we also hope that you will continue to challenge every one of us as board members to think outside of the box bring forth new ideas for programs and student growth to make Union the shining example where every student is seen welcom and met at the level of where they are for who they are regardless of their makeup I believe in this board I believe in this Administration I stand firm with this community and support every parent who holds us accountable in moving this District upward and onward to achieve great Public Schools we are union thank you okay uh we would be remissed if we didn't offer uh opportunity for our mayor Bowser our commit uh committee councilwoman Fraser and Township committee uh councilwoman Sandra Terell to please uh come and say a few words thank you good evening and happy New Year I just before we get started I just want to say I have Patricia G Frasier here and S Terrell here with us representing the township committee I know I speak for the township committee when I say uh 2024 was a fantastic year in some regards and a challenging year in others and I want also say I want to congratulate the the new members and newly sworn in members to the planning board and the new officers as I was alluding to 2024 was a tough year in some instances but recognizing that this is a partnership between the township and the board and that we definitely there for for you guys when you need the support so and if you guys need anything let us know but again Dr Vista knows this he and I met on numerous occasions last year and kind of talked through some of the problems and as as your Lis on I I stepped in on a number of meetings and listened and brought some of the information back to the township committee to review and kind of assist you guys so feel assured that you guys have the opportunity to come to us and uh present your issues and concerns and we'll do the best we can to help you through it so again happy New Year and uh and we're looking forward to supporting you guys as much as we can thank you congratulations Madame President and Madam vice president um I look forward to supporting you in all of your endeavors um best of uh luck and best wishes for your shared vision for the students and our education professionals and it is beautiful to see such a diverse group of members representing our diverse Community blessings and best of luck uh congratulations uh you know it's a big deal 2025 is a great is going to be a great year we are looking forward as Jim said and Patty said to working with you making sure Union uh continues to be successful so good luck and we're here to help thank you and we have the honorable Joe cryan good evening I also want to just take a moment and congratulate Greg and Kim and chasy for your re-election and special uh swearing in tonight and thank you for the honor of being a privilege of being a little part of it as well congratulations dicks congratulations Kim for your leadership roles and the selection of you tonight um it was mentioned and frankly Kim did as well in her talk mentioned collaborative Partnerships and the mayor and the members of the township committee who chose the opportunity to come tonight I just want to reinforce that from the state level as well we are own going to continue to undergo tremendous challenges whether they come out of a new regime in Washington DC frankly what we do in Trenton and right here locally so together we're stronger and just wanted to make sure tonight to reiterate to all of you as I say to folks often I work for you and let's make sure we work together because when we do that we do what we all want we watch children be successful in their academic achievements and lay a foundation for a successful future it's a privilege to be with you all look forward to working with you along the way to the best of 2025 Miss before we continue with public comments is it possible that I could take a picture with my family so that they can go out and Miss Kim as well absolutely thank you you're the president oh all right you know I'm going to drop this or something two of them by we need can we get the two of you by yourself real quick sorry Joe thank you family and friends look she's so mad it's all right have a wonderful day want now I'm standing straight telling her is this staying here like this now oh I'm sorry yeah yeah yeah oh I'll come over there I won't bring the mic okay we're going to resume comments from the public on all resolutions and all all other matters David armeno happy New Year Mr Happy New Year that's too high for me happy New Year everyone and congratulations to president vice president and the elected board members uh first two announcements one uh next Saturday July uh January 18th the Union County wrestling tournament is being held here at Union High School uh we've been hosting the Union County wrestling tournament for decades uh so this is uh just another year for us and uh it it certainly highlights Union and everyone comes here and knows Union when they're here to wrestle in the tournament secondly this coming Sunday a the 12th is open house at the parsonage the Union Township historical society has an open house all the students are invited through the school and the UTA I know supports it greatly with little giveaways for all the students who show up and their families most importantly the second project is underway right now for the semi Quin Centennial the 250th anniversary of our country we through uh Dr Rodriguez we have initiated a logo contest here in Union where all the students in grades 4 through 12 are eligible to submit a logo that will represent the town for the 250th anniversary and that's underway now and the final uh submissions are due in March the committee will select it and that logo the winning will be used by the town and the 250th committee for its projects for 2026 thank you Madame President I'm sorry if I may make a comment thank you so much uh Mr arm minu for bringing forth uh January 18th I just might happen to have a baby that might be wrestling in that tournament I went last year and one of the things that I realized is how great it really is and I wish every sport would come to Union but wrestling comes in it comes in strong and I'm going to be honest I wish we had more of our Union wrestlers in it but uh uh it's a great event I will be there proudly and thank you for for uh bringing it to the Forefront I appreciate that thank you Miss and Margaret Shannon good evening and Margaret Shannon 2591 spru stre and Union Township Education Association president the Union Township Education Association congratulates Mr nasta Mr Santana and Mrs Scott Hayden on their reelection to the Board of Education uh the UTA is also pleased to welcome incoming President carbonell and Vice President Scott Hayden uh the UTA does appreciate the notd from the vice president as a partner because we are a partner to this board and the district leadership and to the community and as a whole and we expect great things to happen working with you going forward in the future so happy New Year thank you okay we clap for all of all right um good evening uh Virginia Jeff Miss Virginia Jeff happy New Year uh Virginia Jeff 236 Brighton Avenue East STS New Jersey good evening to all in attendance congratulations to reelected board member Scott Hayden and Santana and newly elected board member nasta congratulations to elected board president caranel and VP Scott Hayden the concerns on the agenda are as follows when do these appointments become effective that are on the agenda and when do these contracts take effect three what are the Caps the maximum amount for the following Taylor laa group arui mcdermit Mastro and Murphy and willin Goldman and Spitzer four when will the mandatory political disclosure forums be filed for a Taylor Law Group b abuy c w d Supply ly and Company the Auditors and E Fairview Insurance Brokers also the board of councel is only to attend board meetings and not be a participant at board meetings as the board council is not an employee of the board nor a government official the board attorney only has a Professional Services contract act and they do not hold any Authority with the board or outside of the board in and that the board should stop this practice of having the board attorney participate in any way at a board meeting thank you thank you Miss Jeff any other cards no okay now we're going to move to the reorganization um part of the meeting May I have a motion to adopt and approve the following resolutions adopt the njsba Cod of Ethics Robert's Rules of Order approved meeting nights policy manual designation of official newspapers designation of internet website for official notifications designation of depositories for funds of the TW wpe authorization of depository Banks to honor in charge accounts of the township of Union Board of Education authorization to school business administrator to approve payment of bills between meetings approve list of financial vendors approv General councel and special education Council tailor law group special labor Council approv proes ma dermat Mastro and Murphy approved Bond councel approved Architects approved Engineers approv auditor approve Phoenix advisors approv insurance broker approve 504 committee coordinator ratino approved public agency compliance officer approv affirmative action officer awarding contracts approved custo custodian of Records Miss qualified purchasing agent Miss approv affirmative action officers approved designated person Ada facility coordinator integrated Pest Management coordinator n a approved treasurer of school monies and I believe I got them all so moved second any discussion Miss capiello roll call please Mr Cohan yes Mrs K macki yes Mr McDowell yes Mrs Mani yes Mr nasta yes Mrs Scott haeden yes Miss Santana yes Miss carbonel yes unfinished business no new business new business sorry um I just wanted to congratulate our uh reelected members of the board and congratulate our new president and vice president I'm looking forward to working with everyone again collaboratively um to move our district forward um our uh administration of course our teachers all the staff um it's going to be a a productive year fingers crossed we keep ourselves going moving and again congratulations thank you so much Miss Scott Hayden so very quickly um um I would be remissed if I didn't ask for a moment of silence for one of our esps who um suddenly passed away uh Kathy Gil Martin secretary special um Services who served um in that role for quite some time um suddenly passed away and I'm just asking for a moment of silence on her behalf thank you and I will also follow that with asking the community at large as well as those who are in attendance to um whoever you believe in and however you pray to say a prayer for her daughter Caitlyn um who um unfortunately at the same time uh suffered a medical episode and is currently uh recovering so that's a double thing that's going on with this family and at the height of 2025 where we often say Happy New Year and we have so many things that we look forward to in our lives with our families like this family is really going through something and it touched my heart when I read that first with Kathy pass and then getting an email today about her daughter um I just ask you to lift them in prayer whoever you believe in whoever you pray to to lift that family up at this time thank you amen any other new business um we would be remiss also if we didn't recognize um the individuals that were not only in Las Vegas but also New Orleans the you know families impacted um we're living in very interesting times and Ma Madame vice president I do feel that prayer is going to get us through um and of course um Jimmy Carter past president um we will be remiss if we didn't recognize him here tonight thank you um for new business um I do look forward to working with all of you thank you so much for your support and um I will be remiss again if I didn't mention that in February we will be celebrating and acknowledging Black History Month Career and Technical Education Month and in March March women's history month so I look forward to what the district plans and showcases to celebrate those groups and events so thank you may I have a motion to adjourn the meeting please so moved second is discussion no Miss Capello Roco please I am reading verbatim Mr yes Mrs K macki yes Mr McDowell yes Mrs Mani yes Mr nasta yes Mrs Scott heeden Miss Santana yes Miss carbonel yes