I don't know. Oh my god. We'll get started. Please take your seats. Settle down. >> Good evening. Today is June 3rd, 2026, 5:00 special uh regular board meeting
for the Binland Board of Education. Roll call, please. Mr. Merrell >> Obiore. Hey, >> Mr. Bono, >> present. >> Mr. Fokei, >> here. >> Mr. Harris, >> here. >> Mrs. Perez,
>> present. >> Mr. Santiago >> here. >> Mr. Silva >> here. >> Mrs. Vasquez >> here. >> Mr. Rivera >> here. >> Mr. Holmes >> here. >> In compliance with the New Jersey Open Public Meeting Law, commonly referred to
as the Sunshine Law, the Vine Board of Education has caused notice and posting of this meeting to be sent to the following announcing time, place, agenda, etc. The Daily Journal, SNJ Today, the Press of Atlantic City Vista Bueno, the clerk of for the city of Violin, and the office public bulletin
board. Please rise for the flag salute. Duran will lead us. America for it stands nationy and justice for all. He's wearing red. There's tissue eggs right there. We're so nervous.
Thank you, Duran. School Scott, is there a resolution for executive session? There is. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the board of education of the city of Vland School District will convene executive session for the following reasons as outlined in NJSA 104-12.
Discussion is about pending litigation, employment matters, and any matters falling within the attorney client privilege to the extent that confidentiality is required in order for the attorney to exercise his ethical duties as a lawyer. >> Thank you. Motion and second.
>> So moved. >> Motion by Miss Perez, second by Mr. Silva. Roll call, please. >> Mr. Bono, >> yes. >> Mr. Fio, >> yes. >> Mr. Harris, >> yes. >> Mrs. M Perez. >> Yes. >> Mr. Santiago. >> Yay. >> Mr. S Silva.
>> Yes. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Vasquez. >> Yes. >> Mr. Rivera. >> Yes. Mr. Holmes. >> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. We'll go into an executive session after our special presentations. Going to ask the search committee um to
come down to the podium. Oh yeah. Try to be fancy, huh? >> Fancy. It is truly our honor to introduce the next superintendent of Violent Public Schools, effective July 1st, 2026, Dr.
Adel La. From the very beginning, we intentionally set a higher standard for this search. The process began in February, and over the course of six weeks, we received applications from 50 accomplished educational professionals
who have dedicated their careers to serving students, families, and communities. In Dr. LA. We have secured an innovative turnaround leader with a proven record of driving instructional excellence, fostering meaningful community
engagement and exercising strong fiscal stewardship. He possesses the vision, expertise, and leadership necessary to optimize our central office operations and position violent public schools for unprecedented success. Dr. Lahada is a
leader who does more than articulate a vision. He delivers results. His career reflects a consistent commitment to accountability, student achievement, and organizational excellence. He is a leader who not only walks the walk, but he talks to talk, demonstrating
measurable success at every level of leadership. We are confident that his experience, integrity, and commitment to students will move our district forward in meaningful and transformative ways. It is with great enthusiasm and unwavering confidence that the search
committee recommends Dr. Adel Lahada for approval as the next superintendent of Violin Public Schools. Scott, I'll ask for uh first a motion and a second to approve the resolution that is on the agenda.
>> I make a motion. >> Second. >> Motion by Miss Vasquez, second by Mr. Silva. Roll call, please. >> Mr. Bono, yes. Mr. Fio >> the recuse
>> Mr. Harris. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Perez. >> Yes. >> Mr. Santiago. >> Yes. >> Mr. Silva. >> Yes. >> Do you recuse? >> I have to recuse myself, but it's a yes. If I could vote.
>> Mrs. Vasquez. >> Yes. >> Mr. Rivera. Yes, >> Mr. Holmes. >> Uh, yes. >> Uh, without further ado, I will now introduce the superintendent of Violent Public Schools effective July 1st, Dr.
Adel La. All righty. All right. Good evening. >> Good evening. Uh, good evening, President Holmes, members of the board, our dedicated
educators, support staff, families, and the resilient and vibrant community here at Vinland. Let's give the city of Vinland a round of applause. Let's start right there. I stand before you tonight to accept the appointment
as your superintendent of schools. I do so with profound gratitude. I do so with absolute focus. To the board of education, thank you for your trust,
for your partnership, and for your vision tonight. Tonight we turn the page. Every leader carries a map of how they arrived to this microphone. Mine began in Harlem, New York
in the 1980s, right in New York City. It's a path that took me to the Dominican Republic after I was born here and then returned for kindergarten and eventually moving to Philadelphia for middle school. My cultural upbringing shaped the entire
core of who I am today. In the Dominican Republic, I lived the reality of rural poverty. I carried water from a well before I carried books into a classroom.
When I returned to the States, I didn't speak a single word of English until about I was 7 years old. But I'm not standing here by accident. And I did not get here alone. I'm standing here because of the immense
power of public school teachers. I am here because of Miss Lee, my kindergarten teacher, who didn't speak a word of my language, but cared for me so deeply that she gave me a safe harbor when the world around me felt completely foreign.
I'm here because of Miss Aart, the absolute best, the most transformational teacher I had in first grade. She was a public school educator who went above and beyond, stayed after hours with me, and ensured that not only was I acquiring the language, but I was
also developing the content that I needed to be successful in life. I share this because I want you to look at me and know exactly who's standing in front of you. I do not look at students experiencing poverty, our English language learners,
or our working-class families through the lens of a spreadsheet. I don't see demographics as a statistic. And when I look at educators in this room, I see Miss Lee and Miss Aart all over again. My professional life
reflects the same ground floor level reality. I did not drop from an ivory tower. I began my career in the trenches as a paraprofessional. Through that, I was able to become a teacher, dean, director,
assistant principal, principal, senior, executive level, and now the amazing opportunity to come lead such a transformational community like Violent. So, super excited about that. I'm here because I believe in Violent. I
believe in a community rich in culture, families grounded in faith, and an untapped reservoir of talent waiting to be unleashed in our students. Tonight is about identity and gratitude.
Thank you for welcoming me. Thank you for your extraordinary opportunity. Thank you for entrusting in me your children. I am Ariel Laara. I'm a product of the struggle. I am a veteran of the
classroom. And I am entirely ready to lead and serve the families of Ireland. Thank you and have a powerful evening. I'm going to ask our board members to come down. Let's get some pictures. Dr. Lahada, let's sign this contract. >> Yes.
>> All right. Perfect. back in. >> Yeah. Dr. Laad, I believe central office has a gift for you. Though Dr. Spieman has something from
central office. >> Central office, please come up for a picture. >> Does he get a lunch box, too? Yeah. Yeah. >> No, she did it. That's why I better come on
Thank you. That's his We had a good representation family. >> Absolutely. >> Any qu uh Scott, any questions or comments on minutes? Public comment, you mean or comments on minutes?
>> That's not what my cheat sheet says. >> We'll do special presentations. >> Yeah, let's do that next. >> Doc. >> Yeah, >> Mr. Holmes, I'd like to make a special presentation from Dr. Christine Speakman. District recognition as a
lighthouse awardee cohort number five. Is that on? >> I'm usually louder, it seems. >> Good evening, everyone. >> Two minutes. Speakman, >> maybe three. So, good evening members of the board of education and the Vinland public schools community. Tonight is
truly an exciting night in Vinand public schools as we welcome our new superintendent. And tonight, I'm proud to build on that momentum and share that Vinand Public Schools has been recognized by the New Jersey Department of Education as a 2025 2026 Lighthouse
Award District. Earlier today, it's been a very busy day. Susette Deari, Terry Godlooski, and I had the honor of representing the district in Trenton at the monthly New Jersey Department of Education meeting where we accepted this
recognition on behalf of our students, staff, and community. What makes this award especially meaningful? It's it's not an award based on test scores or academic rankings. And in fact, we did not even apply for this award. The
Department of Education reviewed multiple years of district data from 590 school districts in our state and identified school districts that have demonstrated measurable progress in advancing equitable outcomes for
students. Violin Public Schools was the one and only school district recognized in the category for increasing diversity in our teacher workforce. So, I'm going to let that sink in. the one and only district.
As a district that serves more than 10,000 students from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and experiences, it's important that we have been recognized for showing purposeful and meaningful progress in recruiting and retaining a
diverse group of educators and for creating our own homegrown pathways into teaching. Through stakeholder feedback, strategic planning, and intentional recruitment efforts, Vinland Public Schools has focused on ensuring that our workforce
increasingly reflects the students and families that we serve. While that increase is important, the real impact goes far beyond any beyond any numbers. Representation matters. When students see themselves reflected in educators
and role models around them, it strengthens relationships, fosters belonging, and helps create learning environments where all students can thrive. So, this recognition comes as the result of very intentional work across the district, aligned with our
strategic plan and our portrait of a graduate. In order to accomplish this, we've expanded community-based recruitment efforts, and you can see Makima here is one of our uh recruiters that we rely on in the community. We've hosted in-house
job fairs, which we will be expanding, and strengthened our hiring practices and developed our innovative grow your own pathways to teacher certification. These programs create opportunities for our current power professionals and support staff to become certified
teachers while remaining connected to Vinland public schools through partnerships with local universities such as Rowan. And I'd like to acknowledge we have two staff members who are getting a fully funded teacher scholarship uh in two years paid for through the gains grant uh an elementary
and a preschool. Um, we also work with Bloomboard as an alternate pathway to certification with PARS. We'll probably have about 10 PARS in the next year certified. We're building a sustainable pipeline of future educators who already know, understand, and are invested in
our students. We're also especially proud, and we received a shout out not only for the program, but for the title of the program, thanks to Terry Galooi over there, of our new Vinand Inspires New Educators Program, or Vine. It's our in-house firstear teacher mentoring
program designed to support and retain. We want you here and we want you to stay new teachers as they begin their career careers. Together, these efforts support both recruitment and retention. So, as a lighthouse lighthouse district,
we're now tasked with sharing our successful practices, programs, and our equity story with educator lead educational leaders across New Jersey. And this is definitely a collaborative effort. It's not a single effort. And
it's through the support of our board for our hiring and retention efforts through our administrators, our students, and our staff. We have a commitment to building a workforce that reflects, supports, and inspires every stu student that we serve. So, thank you
for listening and we are very proud of this recognition. We're in a two-year cohort for this, so I'm sure you'll be hearing a little bit more about our award. Thank you, Mr. Holmes. The following presentation, Dr. Ross Stanganger, supervisor for curriculum and instruction along with
Jstone students present project citizen. Good evening, members of the board of education and the Vinland community. Project Citizen is a nationally recognized civic education program that empowers students to identify realworld
public policy issues, conduct research, evaluate solutions, and develop proposals for change. Students in all four of our middle schools incorporated Project Citizen into the curricula for the first time this year as a way to integrate our portrait of graduate
competencies and help foster active and engaged adults. We also wanted to provide students with the tools and the knowledge of how to identify problems in the world around them and create a series of action steps and then develop potential solutions.
Through this process, our students have learned that their voices matter and that they can play an active role in improving the community. Tonight, I'd like to recognize four of our outstanding social studies teachers at the middle school level. Although, I do
want to say that all of our middle school social studies teachers have been involved and have done a tremendous job. I'd like to recognize Miss Danielle Criggler, Miss Olivia Cavalero, who I know is somewhere in the back. There she is over here. Mr. Craig Trainer
and Mr. Brian Davis. Their dedication truly has helped guide the students through this very meaningful learning experience. Tonight, you're going to hear presentations from three groups of students who identified separate problems that were important to them, and they then explored potential
solutions. First, I'd like to call up Malia Alvarado, Lexi Santiago, and Jaylen Via Via Noeva to talk briefly about their idea of a 4-day school week. And then we're going to hear from the other two groups. Good evening everyone. As Dr. Sanger
said, I'm Malia Alvarado. This is Lexi Santiago. And this is Jaylen Villanoa. Our friend Sydney Garin also worked on this, but she is in Georgia and can't make it today. >> What is the pro? Oh, what is the problem? We would like a
4-day school week. Why is this a problem? Because of students mental health. 61% of our students agree with this. Student success and teacher well-being also skyrocketed within a year with this in Texas, but with hours
instead of days. These are graphs that we had on tests that we let other students take on if they wanted a 4-day school week. We know you guys may not be thrilled by
the idea of a 4-day school week. So, we came up with two alternative policies. Alternative policy one being a longer school day with shorter breaks, and the second alternative policy being that the fifth day would be a catch-up day/ a sports day for students. Some pros to this would be easier to get into the
routine, more time to plan lessons, students will be able to keep their grades up, and students who have their work done will have a free day. And on this fifth day, there will be tutoring available for students who need extra help. Some cons to this may be not enough time to plan lessons might be tired due to the longer days and
students who have their work may goof off and teachers might not want to come to school on the fifth day. Who would support this proposal would be students, teachers, parents, and who may opposed to this proposal would be principles and teachers due to kids acting out. This pie chart is based off of an online
survey that asked parents and students in our school what the school week would should look like. The majority said that the school week should be four days. The Idaho Senator Dave Lent said, "One superintendent told me that four-day school weeks were a motivation for them to retain highquality teachers. Those
things contribute to a more positive culture in your school system." Panel three, our policy. The fifth day of the school week will be a work day for those who are behind in school or need extra tutoring for those students who struggle in their math, ELA, science, or social studies classes. Taking the fifth day
off will help students who are behind in class catch up to kids who are way ahead of them in school. Students who have their work done will have a free day and this will motivate the students who don't have their work done to finish their work. Advantages to this will be that the kids could catch up to the rest
of the class so the students do not fall behind. It will promote student well-being and mental health and take stress off of them. It will advance academic achievements and it will keep the 180 school day law that NJ has. Disadvantages to this would be parents concerned with their children's playing
games instead of learning, keeping order within the classroom for kids who have a free day, and students might take advantages of teachers on Friday by acting up in class. In Texas, they have had a lot of schools who have a 4-day school week. This has improved grades,
attendance, and many other things. Our action plan will be put in wait our plan that we will put into action is the fifth day will be mandatory if and if students are finished with all their
work then they will be able to have a free day for the students that didn't finish their work it will be a catch day for them to finish all of their work for the teachers who work throughout the four days will be a will get that f that fifth day off and there will be a
different set of teachers that will go on the fifth day. People who people who may oppose to the who will be in favor with the will oh my god people who will be in favor will be the students and teachers because students
will have that that free day off and it will get be able to get their work done. For the other students that didn't get their work done, it would motivate them to be able to finish their work faster and just for them to learn more.
For the teachers, it will have less stress on them because they will only have four days to work and they'll be able to have more time to teach those kids that are that were behind who might not support this idea will be principles be um but we will convince them by
explaining how much money can be saved on how much the teachers and students uh >> morale will increase. So these are more graphs explaining that with this in play that teacher retention
will increase by 1.1%. And the student and teacher morale will increase. >> Thank you and have a good rest of your evening. Thank you. Next, I'd like to call up Dominic Lopez,
Clarence Chard, Evan Doble, and Nick Wayright, who will discuss the impact of artificial intelligence on violent students. As Mr. Stanger said, we're doing the impact of AI on public schools. Our
slide in public policy intends to ban AI in schools, which should help grades and improve academic honesty. Our problem. We have noticed an issue in the
way AI is being used in schools. A lot of students use it as an easy ticket out of hard work and copy whatever it says fully. This prevents them from learning how to think critically. This isn't just a problem with our school, but a worldwide problem. It has changed the future course of our educa education in
a big way. For the time being, nothing has been done about this. Some teachers encourage students to use AI to find a start in work instead of having them use their imagination. Currently, there are no school policies regarding AI use. There's only a policy describing what plagiarism is and banning plagiarism.
Plagiarism is explained as you not using your own words. And according to our policy, you can't get in trouble for it. If copying another If copying another's work is plagiarism, wouldn't that be the same as copying work from AI? This is a graph basically saying uh this
is a graph that students filled out saying, have they ever used AI tools as a student? You can't read it as well, but it says 88.49% of students said yes with 11.51% saying no. I'm going to give you an example of what can happen if we don't make any policies
about this. This is the Massachusetts uh high men high school. This was a court case. A high school senior used AI to write notes and an outline for a history project. They were given detention and a low grade on the assignment. This is a typical response found at JSON for AI use. This disqualified him from the
National Honors Society. The parents sued, arguing that the student handbook did not explicitly forbid using AI at the time, making the punishment unfair. The court was in favor of the school district. However, many schools across the US are rewriting their handbooks and
policies to specifically include AI. Some alternate policies for these are AI should be allowed, but to outline responsible use and adding a rule against plaguring plagiarizing AI. Some pros are that students can use their own critical thinking skills. Two, helping
the ecosystem by reducing water usage. Three, students will be forced to learn the material instead of copying answers. And four, the need for AI data centers would go down to help the environment and improve the community. Some cons though are one, students will still find
a ways to cheat such as using AI AI as some apps are very easy to use. Two, investors would be mad as many people who use AI are children. Three, for teachers, there may be more human errors and longer grading times. >> All right. The actual policy proposed is
that all teachers and violin NJ must use AI ethically ethically determines that it will not be used in any form that is direct copying especially for work that requires critical thinking. In fact, checking usage must be par paraphrased
or used as a van as a as vantage used as a vantage point for further research. All AI usage with students in violent is hereby banned unless specific specified by a teacher and followed with the above criteria.
Advant advant um some advantages is cheating in school decrease. The new rule could allow teachers to write to student up more easily since there would be an actual rule for this. Provides protection against a potential lawsuit. Students will also be using more
critical thinking. Some disadvantage. AI is all around and students should learn how to use it appropriately. Students may need AI in the f in their future careers. Students will still be able to use AI on personal devices. There's only so much that can be monitored
in per And 83.3% of participants weren't able to quote an essay at the and most of them are using chat GPT. We are going to enact the policy by attempting to create an official bill or
rule. The second step after that would be getting approval from the board of ed and enact the policy and send out notices. The step right after that would be adding this rule to all student handbooks and require signatures of
understanding from teachers. People who would support the policy are obviously teachers. Teachers wouldn't have to deal with disciplining students if caught cheating with AI and grading would become significantly easier for
some subjects as repetitive AI checks are no longer required. Some students may also benefit by this as they no longer have to fear a whole class punishment for one student's wrongdoing. Parents will also benefit because they
can rest well knowing that their children aren't cheating in school with AI and do not have to meet with principles or any educational figures about it. People who would oppose the policy are most students. Most students
use AI and if we ban them, they cannot easily pass lessons with them anymore and will obviously cause backlash. No AI will help them use critical thinking skills, however, which is vital later in life.
Some teachers use AI in their lesson plans, which may cause some backlash from them. The way we wrote this policy, however, AI would be allowed for teachers ethically. >> Thank you, gentlemen.
Fantastic job. I apologize for the tech issue. Last, I'd like to call up Haley Anderson, Kylie Ryman, Abigail Adams, and Kaylee Morero, who are going to discuss their proposal for the nightlock
door barricade and an overall plan to improve school safety. Hello everyone. I'm Haley. This is Kai. This is Kylie. Kaye, and Abigail. Um, we have a huge problem with our school security, most of it being school
shootings. There were around 923 gun-related incidents in grades kindergarten through 12 schools in the United States within the last 3 years. Mechanical malfunctions have also occurred where shooters have been entered have been able to enter through doors that are unlocked. There can also
be intense force on the regular basic doors we have now which can which won't prevent anyone from entering. There is also instant lockdown. So instead of teachers having to walk out into dangerous hallways, these locks will prevent the teachers from having to open the door because you can lock them from
the inside. These are headlines we don't want to see in Binland public school district. Our solution is to have night lock door barricades which are strong, simple, and secure. They are inserted into the floor with a sliding hook on the base of the door. They are discreet yet dependable.
They lock from the inside and they cannot be seen by any potential intruders. The installations could also provide possible hands-on training for students in high school during the construction trade program, which would not mean that we don't have to have any labor. So, you're probably asking what are we
going to do about this problem? We have came up with a couple alternative policies that could be considered for this issue. First alternative policy is >> The first alternative policy is hiring more armed security guards. The pros of this policy is that it's safer because
there will be more people to watch the school and monitor students activities and do things like check our bags every morning that can help protect our staff and students. Parents would support this proposal because it adds support and
makes their them feel more safe bringing their students into school. The cons of this is that it's expensive because you have to pay the security guards um a lot more than if you would just buy things like one time with the other policies
and the parents might complain and feel nervous about the number of guns around their children. >> So if you're not a fan of that alternative policy, we have a second option for you. Our second alternative policy for this issue is steel doors.
What we mean by that is, as we mentioned before, a couple of the doors in our school are completely unsafe whatsoever. You can easily push through and get in easily if unlocked or even if locked. So, we are thinking about investing in better doors. For example, steel doors. A pro for this would be safer. Again, a
lot of the doors in our school are very beat up and they're very old. So, getting new steel doors, it' be one, basic maintenance, and two, it would be a lot safer than the old busted up wooden doors that we currently have. Who would support this proposal? The principles would like this because it would give students a safer door with
bullet resistant steel. Again, for lockdowns or school shootings, if someone were to get in, they shoot bull at that door. Well, were un well, luckily safe. A couple cons to this. It's extremely expensive to replace every single door in the building. That would cost a lot of money as well as for
the whole districts. Well, that's kind of an issue. We are currently on a budget. Also, you want to get the same school vibe with big steel doors, which isn't quite an issue because we're more worried about safety than aesthetic, but
you can kind of see our point there. There's a lot of different costs for the different um solutions. So, for the armed security guard, the average salary would be 50,000 a year. So for one school to have three security guards is $150,000.
And so for the entire district to have the same amount would be $2.1 million, which is a lot. For steel doors, one steel door can cost around $1,000. So for one school to have it, which would be around 75 doors, it would be $75,000.
So for the entire district to have it, it would be a little over a million dollar. But for the door locks, one door lock equals $75. So for one school it'll be $5,625. So for the entire district to get it, it would be under $80,000.
The conclusion. Overall, we would like to make our school shootings make sure school shootings do not occur after hearing what other schools have gone through. Our nightlock door barricades would be installed into the ground and on the doors positioned so that when the door closes, they latch locking from the
inside. community. We s we surveyed our school for their opinions on whether our precautions and are currently safe and if they would install door locks and they agreed that door locks would be the correct way to go. Also, as you could
see, you can't put a price tag on a child's safety. >> Okay. Thank you so much, Jstone students and teachers for the wonderful job that you did with Project Citizen this year. Uh, I really appreciate the effort and time
that went into Project Citizen. I see Mr. Pierce here as well, the building principal. I wanted to thank him for his support and putting on a wonderful uh display for the parents and the community uh as they rolled out Project Citizen this year. Uh it's a project
we're going to be incorporating next year uh building off of the momentum that we created this year. Uh thank you again to uh all of the parents and the community who came out to watch their children tonight. And um thank you again. We do have certificates for the
students. So if you would come forward, we will present you with a certificate. interest. >> Yeah. Okay. I think it's your certificate. Just >> Leah Daniels, >> Abigail Adams,
>> Kaylee Morero, >> Margo, >> Jen, >> Malia Alvado, Thank you. >> Good morning. students, before you leave, I know uh Mr. Rono might have a question or
comment and any other board member that might have a question or comment for our kids. >> I don't have a question but I have a uh some comments to make. I happen to attend the event and I just wanted to give a special shout out to all the students that were involved. Your
wellthought uh ideas and innovation were inspiring to somebody like myself and I can guarantee my fellow board members uh would agree. Um again the the innovation that I saw and witnessed by all the
projects uh were amazing. So special thanks again to Principal Pierce. Uh phenomenal job. You guys were very welcoming and it was an awesome community event. There were several other community members there in attendance and um I think everybody was
wowed by by your students and their great ideas and their real life solutions. Uh that that door lock again, Scott, I'm sure you heard it. Uh it's pretty inexpensive for the district, you know. Hint hint. Um but again, great
ideas and kudos to all that were involved, including the educators and administrators. Uh it was great thing for our district. So, thank you for allowing us to be a part of it. Thank you. >> Any other comments?
>> Yes, I I am so impressed. Um I didn't you know I reading the agenda you you don't get the full effect until I see the kids present um passion behind their solute the problem and the the the solution to it and you thought about
even the financial impact you are doing uh highlevel work in creating policy to make things better for you as a student and so I I am so proud and you left me speech speechless and that's difficult to do and today you left me speechless.
So kudos to you all. >> There's nothing further. I'll ask President Obakaor for his presentation. Happy birthday. Can someone from it help Mr. Oapore, please?
>> Feel old right now. >> Sorry. Yeah, >> that's okay. >> Is there a way I could put it on here? >> Yeah, let's pull it up here. Let's do this here. It >> should be on the agenda. Hang for one second. Let me disconnect. Yeah.
15 seconds. Where we at here? Okay. Good evening, distinguished members of the board. My name is Shimobi Okafur and I am the senior class president. Today I'm joined by my speaking partner, Elila Faulk. Hello, I'm Elila and I'm the
senior representative representing the student government association speaking here for you all today. >> And today we are presenting on a dress code policy change where research conducted by ourselves along with other student leaders were done. There are many parts of fostering a
healthy student life >> such as helping with behavior and supporting a positive learning environment, >> promoting attendance >> and supporting education. But how well does our dress code achieve these purposes? >> Our research showed that students in
schools with required uniforms do not exhibit better behavior than those without uniforms. As cited by educational researcher John Hattie, conclusions drawn for schools with uniform policy seem to be the same for those with dress codes. No effects. >> Furthermore, professor in the sociology
field, Dr. David El Brunma argues that there is no evidence after conducting his own research. He goes on to say that there that the uniforms do not have any discernable effect on the schools. With this in mind, the difference between our dress code and color code becomes hard
to distinguish. Along with evidence for uniforms having little to no effect on student life, through our research, we found the harm of our student dress code policy. It's been proven to waste class time and add stress to students as not all of them can easily afford or find items that fit
into our riggered uniform policy. More flexibility with colors specifically could be beneficial. >> The policy currently allows for various nonuniform attire. So loosening the the color restriction could only bring more consistently consistently consistency to
the current policy which would make things clear for both students and administrators. There has been a loss of class time through the enforcement of the dress code policy. Just this year, there have been 771 infractions, which amounts to 4,266
hours spent loss of student time with an additional 1,422 hours on administrators enforcing this process. We conducted our own research in November for more current feedback and received responses from 753 students
which is 30% of the students and 121 staff members which amounts to 27% of staff. We also heard from 153% sorry 153 involved parents. Our research consisted of five questions per survey with optional open-ended questions for more
detailed insights. We collected data from the three most important demographics, students, staff, and parents. To start off, we asked students how they felt about the uniform policy. And an overwhelming majority, of 93.3% of students held negative or
neutral views. Next, we asked students if they felt uniform should be changed to a standard of dress where students can wear what they choose, as long as it's school appropriate, of course. and an overwhelming 92% of students agree that there should be an amendment to the
current policy. >> An overwhelming majority of the student body clearly feels as though our current dress code is not the most viable option we have available when it comes to promoting a positive learning environment. >> And inevitably, the student body is one of the most impacted by an out ofstate
dress code. If the main stakeholders in this situation are calling for amendment to the current dress code, it should be taken into consideration. However, we also gathered information from more people who are involved with the enforcement of the current dress code policy. The staff, we asked how the
staff feel towards the school uniform policy and as you can see, an overwhelming 89% of staff expressed neutral or negative views towards the current dress code. and less than 20% even indicated support. >> When asked how the current policy
contributes to the educational setting in the building, over half of our staff expressed sentiments that they believe the current student dress code provided little to no meaningful impact on students. >> But of course, we recognize that the school dress code is not only going to
impacting students, but involves the safety of the entire school. So, we asked staff how the dress code policy contributes to school safety and we found a majority believing it had little to no impact on safety. >> With all this information in mind, it becomes clear that change needs to come.
Staff, the people who are usually the mo the most in support of the dress code feel as though it is it it is not fulfilling its purpose. And if our outof-date dress code policy isn't positively contributing to safety or education, it is abundantly clear that a
change needs to come. That change should come in the form of a looser color code that promotes a positive learning environment. Having stricter rules has already proven not to be beneficial, and each party involved feels as though the dress code should be amended. So, we should work towards that.
Finally, we asked the parents of VHS if they believe the dress code policy should be changed to a standard of dress where students can choose what to wear so as long as it's school appropriate. And an over 75% of parents believe that the dress code should be updated.
At this time, every party involved in the dress code, students, staff, and parents feel as though an update to the dress code policy is warranted. With 92% of students and 75% of parents supporting an update to the student dress code, >> and 89% of staff hold neutral or
negative views, most respondents and stakeholders do agree. The current student dress code policy does little to uh improve the school environment. However, instead of reading it here, we have a video where you can hear the opinions of staff, students, and
parents. >> I feel as if I feel confident to be myself if I had to be told what to wear. >> The clothes don't deterine how well you A member of the staff knows that
uniforms may make everyone look the same, but they do not teach students how to treat each other with respect. These are the voices of violin. Not just policies and rules, but real authentic voices. And finally, our own dress code
proposal. The principal will prevail in all matters regarding the application of these rules. And as an update to the current dress code, the following shall not be worn at school at any time. This list includes any clothing or accessories that denote affiliation with any gang associated with criminal
activity. Excessively oversized clothing, but not limited to trench/ester style, >> excessive midrift that reveals the belly button, clothing with vulgar language, and skirts and shorts above mid thigh. These updates would mean key things like allowing d uh jeans and removing
restrictions on color choice for all students while still maintaining appropriate dress. We appreciate your time here today, members of the board, and implore you to consider our dress code policy change. Are there any questions at this time? Thank you very much.
>> Board members, any questions or comments for >> I have I have a comment. I do remember when my children were younger when the policy was first implemented and that was a big battle and one of the main arguments was that the students who uh
were living in poverty could not afford the certain clothes fashion trends and because of that they stood out and to minimize the mocking and the bullying of the kids who uh were suffering economically
uh that was one of the main reasons why students were just told if everybody's dressing in the same colors, you can't really identify the kids that have between the kids that don't have. And so this is excellent. I appreciate all the
effort that went into this. And I think that the conversation, we should re revisit the conversation. Maybe things are different now, but I do remember as a parent that was probably the greatest argument for the policy and it was
supported by parents across the board who felt maybe their kids were being singled because they couldn't afford the latest and the greatest. And so definitely a consideration, but I do see overwhelmingly that people are not in favor of it. So, you know, we don't know everything. We don't have all the
answers and uh things shouldn't continue per in perpetuity forever without another conversation. So I think this is worth another conversation for sure. >> Thank you for Can you hear me? Thank you for your presentation. Um and I agree
with LSE absolutely to a a degree that that was the original purpose of dress code policy and again things may have changed. I'm, as you can tell by the white hair, much older than you all. But what I would be concerned about, and I I think you guys are on the right track. I
really do. I think it just there's some tweaking that needs to be done, is you know, when you look at slide five and you see the infractions and the hours of uh lost instructional time. Do you feel that would increase if we had a
a different type of dress code? This is a pretty stringent, you know, you have to wear this color, you have to wear these color pants, you have to and we're getting that. Imagine if we brought in that and it's kind of a little bit of a nilly willy. You know what I'm saying?
So, I think No, go ahead, please. >> I'm sorry. The main things that we're trying to ask for and the main things that we're bringing up is loosening the color restriction and then the addition of jeans when it comes to like whether they're wearing things that are school appropriate. Like obviously you can't show up in like crop tops and minikirts
to school. That's not what we're trying to advocate for. I think that if we allowed people to wear different colors, whether they're wearing green or they're wearing purple or they're wearing pink, I think that it wouldn't add any like time taken away from class time because
people are wearing what they want already. I see lots of students, the ones that are the smartest and brightest, the ones that go out for everything, they try for everything and they're not always in dress code, but they have a 4.8 GPA and they're doing great. And I think if we allowed
different students to wear what they wanted, even if it's like not red, black, white, and gray, I don't I think it would like there would be opportunity for people to feel better expressing themselves along with the opportunity to not feel like
you have to wear the same two colors every day. >> Right. Right. And so, and jeans. You want to add jeans? That's what you was. >> Yes. >> Thank you. Thank you. And just to add on, um, the address code proposal that we have on the last slide, um, we did our research, you know, looked at neighboring schools to see like what
they use, you know, cuz a lot of these other schools near us are starting to get rid of like color codes. Uh, so with with that in mind, like we kind of did look at like, oh, are the schools able to handle, you know, this? Are they having like a large amount of infractions and stuff like that? um and
a lot of the other schools were able to implement the dress code proposal that we have and not have like that many um infraction that we have. Um of course it is different by school but I do think we should at least give the chance to you know pursue this and if it doesn't work
then why not but yeah >> good presentation thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Any further questions or comments for the presidents? >> Thank you both. Thank you. >> We're going to switch our agenda around a little bit so we can go into executive session. I'm going to ask for public
comment on agenda items or any other matter. Please limit yourselves to three minutes. >> Cadet Major Josiah Santenno. Good evening board members of central administration, members of community. I
am cadet major Josiah Centenno and I am the safety superintendent for unit NJ209-1 AFJ ROC of the violent high school. On behalf of AFJ ROC unit NJ20009-1, we would like to express our sincere
gratitude for your commitment support to of our program and our cadetses. Your commitment has helped provide opportunities for our students to develop leadership, citizenship, character, and service. This year, our
unit proudly served 138 cadetses who collectively completed 254 community service hours, making a positive impact throughout our school district and local communities. Our cadetses also participated in several meaningful
events including competing in the Baton Death March in the Baton Memorial Death March alongside cadets from Brristen High School, Washington Township and active military uh personnel. Uh some of them cadets are here with me today. Um
the Baton Death March, it was a 65mile march to prisoners of war uh in World War II in April of 1942. And this past Sunday, um, along with myself and cadetses from the different
schools completed in a 16-mi walk through Bridton, um, we also, um, did some community service hours by collecting trash alongside the streets. um the current Alpha flight leaders.
Additionally, our cadets proudly represented our school and community by marching in the Memorial Day parade to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. The current Alpha Flight leadership team would like to thank the board of education, central administration, our instructors,
parents, and community service and community members for your unwavering support and dedication. As we prepare to select a new Alphalight leadership team tomorrow, we are confident that they will continue the proud traditions and legacy
of unit of AFJ ROC unit NJ20009-1 for the years to come. Thank you for your continued support of our cadetses, our mission. We are honored to serve our school and community. Thank you. Thank you for De'arra Maku.
Kia Maku. Okay. Is there anybody else wanting to speak? Public comment. >> Miss Mac, are you coming down to the podium? >> Okay. >> I apologize. Hello, my name is De'arra Mack and I'm
here tonight to advocate for my daughter, Alia Mson, and for other students who may not always have a voice when something happens that leaves them feeling unsafe or unheard. On May 22nd, my seven-year-old daughter, Alia Epson, who attends Dr. to John Winslow
Elementary School came home and reported that her teacher teacher Mrs. Hammer grabbed and pulled her arm while directing her to apologize to another student and since that day she has consistently maintained the same account and I believe my daughter and I believe
that it is important that her voice is to be heard. What has concerned me the most is that throughout this process um it is not only what my daughter reported but how deeply it affected her. She told me that she felt scared, unsafe, and
uncomfortable. And as a mother, hearing those words from your child is very heartbreaking. When I send my daughter to school each day, I am placing my trust in the adults responsible for her care. And I expect her to be protected, respected, and supported when I am not
there. After the incident, I met with the school to discuss my concerns. During the meeting, the teacher denied grabbing my daughter's arm and reportedly state and repeatedly stated that she does not put her hands on children. And I understand that there are differing um accounts of what
happened. However, I was not asking for an admission of guilt. I was asking for empathy. I was asking for acknowledgement that my daughter reported feeling scared and upset. Even as simple a simple statement such as I am sorry that you felt scared could have
validated my child's feelings and helped to restore her sense of trust and safety. Instead, the focus remained on denying my daughter's account. And during that same meeting, when my daughter's father began to express his concern, the teacher stated that she did not feel safe and she left the meeting
before it was completed. As parents, we left feeling that our concern had not been fully heard and that our daughter's emotional experience had not been meaningfully addressed. And what I believe was lacking was empathy, reassurance, and child- center approach.
When a child reports feeling frightened or unsafe, the priority should be understanding what happened, how the child was affected, and how to help that child feel safe again. And I am not here to seek punishment. I am seeking acknowledgement of my daughter's emotional experience, accountability,
and commitment to ensuring that childrens feel safe, supported, and heard when they raise concern. And my hope is that no child who reports feeling afraid will be dis will feel dismissed or overlooked, and that every student can trust that the adults responsible for them will respond with
compassion and with care. and thank you so much for your time and for listening to my concern on my behalf of my daughter. Just a brief point of order for the board members to the extent that any board members are inclined to um comment on the um on the statements that we just
heard the uh there were staff members that were mentioned by name and this on uh in that public comment. So um just we have to refrain from discussing that staff members. Nobody was rised for tonight's meeting. So that's of course no commentary of the substance of these comments. It's just a brief um cautionary note. Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> Okay. And oop sorry. Hello everyone. Um I'm Ka Mack. I'm the grandmother of Alia and I came in here um representing an educator. I've been an educator for 23 years of my life. Amen. And so I understand how the school system works.
Amen. And so I'm saying amen cuz I'm a preacher too. So y'all got to forgive me. But nevertheless, um just the way that it it's not so much like again, we're not seeking punishment on the teacher. We're just in other words, we didn't like the way everything was dismissive. Um and it was like
overlooked. And every child has the right to come to school and feel safe to come to school and the parent knows I'm sending my child because I know they're in in the right space, in the right place, and they going to come home feeling safe. That is our job, not to make a child feel afraid. And so that's
why I stand here with you guys today as an educator because I know what it looks like in a school system. I know what it's like to deal with children on a regularly basis. But I just want my granddaughter quickly to uh speak here be before my two minutes is up and just to give us a little bit of account of
the story if that's all right. >> Go ahead. >> Just tell them what happened. >> Hold on one second. Miss Mack. uh per per uh Robert's will and applicable district policy, members of the public are not permitted to yield their time to anyone else. So, I'm I'm
gonna have to ask you to not move forward with that piece of your comment, please. >> Okay, that that's fine. And so I just ask you guys uh as the board uh to really um look into the situation and the matter again because I don't see
anything wrong with a person asking for you to just apologize and to say you know I'm sorry that you felt unsafe. I'm sorry that you feel scared that she feels like she doesn't even want to be in the presence of the teacher and and and a child that should not be that
should not be. We all been children before and I'm sure everybody up here done that have children or grandchildren. I got 17 grandchildren and I do whatever I can to protect them as any parent or any grandparent would do. And so because Aia is feeling unease
even though it's the end of the school year, she should be able to go to school every day and to feel safe. So thank you. >> Thank you, M. Would anyone else like to speak the podium? Please limit yourselves to three minutes.
Mr. President I apologize. I don't want to take up too much of your time. I forgot earlier to make my, you know, uh, traditional speech, my monthly speech, and I guess this is, this is my last time. I should probably do it. So, let me go ahead and do that. Sorry. Oh, there's a timer.
This thing is this. No, it this. Okay. Let me just skip that part. All right. Uh, it has been an incredibly busy and successful month. Our music department hosted multiple concerts, each with impressive attendance and performances.
Bilingual seniors were also recognized at the CIA by literacy ceremony where they received graduation cords in recognition of their proficiency um in multiple languages. Um, at the Moving Up ceremony, which was last week, honors graduates uh were recognized, juniors
received awards, and our classes um had the opportunity to come together. Next week, our highest achieving students will also be celebrated at the Suma, Magna, and Kumla banquetss. Last week, our seniors attended the merit assembly
where students received scholarships um which all accumulated up to $300,000 in scholarship. Of course, one of the highlights from last month was prom. Our seniors had an amazing time celebrating together and we
were proud to crown Kalia Reyes as prom queen and David Hernandez as prom king. We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to all the chaperoons who came out that night as well. Thank you. As I stand here tonight, I honestly
can't believe I have reached the end of this journey. It feels like just yesterday I was walking through the hallways getting lost in the buildings. Didn't know which one I was in. And over the years, I have grown alongside the school. And just seeing how the school has grown like the past four years has
honestly made me like so happy. Like I feel like this school has been my baby. I'm not going to lie. Um before I leave, I would like to personally thank all the teachers who have had an impact on me. Miss Patel who's out here, Mr. Masonette, um Miss Wolf, Mr. Andrews,
Dr. Martha St. Gene, all these people have truly made an impact on my journey throughout the school year. While it is bittersweet moving on, I'm excited about the future of the school. I am confident that Violent High School will be good in the hands of Jaru Aru, the next senior class president for the next school
year, who unfortunately cannot be here today cuz she's at a Rucker's um internship program. But today we are joined by our student government association senior rep for next year, Karina Pominari over here. Yep.
And um we do have our current uh officers. We have Kamura Gray, vice president over there. We have Secretary Anastasia Marray Cruz. And we have Karen Lopez Alves.
And this is informal, but shout out to Miss uh Madrid. Uh she's truly been remarkable this year helping us out with all the senior activities. Uh we love all our class adviserss. They really put, you know, their foot into helping us plan all these great activities. And
yeah, you know, once a Fighting Clan member, always a Fighting Clan member. Um, I miss you guys. Thank you guys for everything. And I'm sure you guys will be in good hands with Dr. Laara, if I'm saying it correctly. Thank you guys. Have a great night. >> Thank you. The board will now convene
into executive session. We will come back out no later than 7 o'clock. Um, thank you all for your patience. We know we had a lot of presentations tonight, but we want to give space to our students because that's why we're here. So, uh, thank you and we'll be back out before 7.
Yeah, I wish I could run through. All right, folks. We're back in session. Thank you for your patience. Any questions or comments on the HIB or suspension reports? Seeing none, uh, let it be known for the record Mr.
Bono left at 6:30. Approval of minutes item six, April 27th, public hearing, May 6, combined meeting and uh, adoption of the budget and the executive session for May 6. Any questions or comments? Motion and second to approve.
>> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Miss Perez, second by Mr. Fio. Roll call, please. >> Mr. Fio, >> yes. >> Mr. Harris, >> yes. >> Mrs. Perez, >> yes. >> Mr. Santiago,
>> yes. >> Mr. Silva, >> yes. >> Mrs. Vasquez, >> yes. >> Mr. Rivera, >> yes. >> Mr. Holmes. >> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> Committee reports are linked to the agenda. Public meeting report by the board solicitor.
>> Nothing to report at this time. >> Thank you. Congrats to Sandra who might be watching on the arrival of her baby, but we're glad to have you with us. Moving on to motions and resolutions.
Dr. McCann, >> Mr. Holmes for discussion and approval regarding the personal items 1.1.1 through 1.10. >> Questions or comments.
Motion and second to approve 1.1 through 1.10. >> So moved. Second. >> Second. >> You got that. >> Pick one. Whatever you want. >> Pick whatever you want. S. >> It's all good. >> All right. Got it. Roll call. >> Mr. Fily
>> recuse on 1.5. Yes. On remaining items. >> Thank you. Mr. Harris. >> Yes. Mrs. Perez. >> Yes. >> Mr. Santiago. >> Yes. >> Mr. Silva. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Vasquez. >> Yes. On everything except 1.2.
And I just have a major problem with higher raises than we would offer our educators. Think it says a bad message. And I'm an outright no on 1.2. to yes on the rest. >> Thank you, Mr. Rivera. >> Yes, >> Mr. Holmes.
>> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> Mr. Holmes, discussion and approval regarding Hold on, Doc. Let's congratulate Mr. Schneider who's here. Miss Mcabatti. Very nice. Two new
our two new uh assistant principles at VHSL. So glad to have you. Any other comments on that while they're here? >> All right. Go ahead. Yeah, I worked with these two assistant principles for many
years and um we we really couldn't get two better individuals to come to the high school. >> Congratulations. Congratulations. Go ahead, Mr. Holmes. Discussion and approval regarding procedures and operations
items 2.1 through 2.5. Questions or comments? 2.1 through 2.5. Motion and second. >> So move. >> Second. >> Motion Silva. Second. Fio. Roll call. >> Mr. Fio. >> Yes.
>> Mr. Harris. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Perez. >> Yes. >> Mr. Santiago. Yes, >> Mr. Silva. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Vasquez. >> Yes, >> Mr. Rivera. >> Yes. So, I'll recuse myself from 2.3. >> Thank you, Mr. Holmes.
>> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> Mr. Holmes. Discussion and approval regarding building and grounds items 3.1 and 3.2. >> Questions or comments? 3.1 and 3.2. Motion and second for approval.
>> Second. >> Silva. Motion second. Miss Perez. Roll call, please. >> Mr. Fio, >> yes. >> Mr. Harris, >> yes. >> Mrs. Perez, >> yes. >> Mr. Santiago, >> yes. >> Mr. Silva, >> yes.
>> Mrs. Vazquez, >> yes. >> Mr. Rivera, >> yes. >> Mr. Holmes, >> yes. >> Motion carries. Mr. Mr. Holmes discussion and approval regarding finance items 4.1 through 4.33.
Questions or comments? Motion and second for approval of 4.1 through 4.33. >> Second. >> Motion Silva second. Perez roll call please. >> Mr. Fokei refused on 4.26.
Yes. on remaining items. >> Thank you, Mr. Harris. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Perez. >> Yes, >> Mr. Santiago. >> Yes, >> Mr. Silva. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Vasquez. >> Yes,
>> Mr. Rivera. >> Yes to all. Recuse myself. 4.15 and 4.29. 1.5 and 2.9. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Thank you, >> Mr. Holmes. >> Yes. >> Motion carries.
>> Approval of bills April 2026. Any questions or comments? >> Motion and second for approval. >> Second. >> Motion. Silva. Second. Perez. Roll call. >> Mr. Fio. Yes, >> Mr. Harris.
>> Yes, >> Mrs. Perez. >> Yes, >> Mr. Santiago. >> Yes, >> Mr. Silva. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Vazquez. >> Yes, >> Mr. Rivera. >> Yes, >> Mr. Holmes. >> Yes. >> Motion carries. Very well.
Another opportunity for the public to address the board. Please limit yourselves to three minutes. Anyone that would like to speak. Thank you. Board member remarks. I'll start with Mr. Fio. >> Yes. Good evening. I'd like to welcome Dr. Laara to Vin Public Schools. Wish
you the best of luck and I know you're going to be a great asset to this district. Look forward to working with you. Dr. McCann, thank you for your dedication to the district over the many years you've been here and thank you for carrying us through this uh transition period.
>> Thanks, Mr. Fio. Mr. Santiago. >> Um, I wanted to thank uh Dr. McCann for stepping up and into temporary leaders leadership and this role is a massive challenge, but we asked you to jump on moving train. You did so with grace. So,
we appreciate your time here and we look forward to working with Dr. Laara and everything he brings to our district. Um, the diversity and and his background I think is going to be an impact in our school district for years to come. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Santiago. Miss Vasquez.
>> Thank you. Uh, first I want to thank VHS marching band and the junior ROC program for a wonderful job at the violin memorial day ceremony. There were so many kids that participated in that event and it's so important to have our students participate in these events to
hear the stories of those brave w men and women who sacrificed so much for our freedoms. Our city of violin goes above and beyond to build upon the memorials at Orlando Park. Freedom is not free. And it is a great moment to remember that. In the same spirit of honoring our
fallen, the importance of respecting our American flag and standing for the pledge of allegiance should be encouraged, never discouraged. Teaching our young people respect and honor fosters appreciation for the freedom that we have in America. As we prepare
to celebrate our 250th year as a nation, may we all be reminded of how blessed we are to live in America. Congratulations to all the recipients of scholarships at our merit assembly. The large crowd of proud family members was impressive and
very moving. I had the privilege of attending the sports banquet. My remarks at the banquet centered around the skills learned from participating in sports that are essential in adult life. perseverance, resilience, teamwork, time
management, and leadership skills. Best wishes to all of our senior athletes. You will be missed. Dr. McCann, this is our last official board meeting with us, and I want to thank you for jumping right in and ensuring the district continue to move forward in the right
direction through this transition. You are not new to challenges, and your experience gave me a great sense of security knowing we were in great hands. Our community has enormous respect and love for you. As a board member, I
promise to support the preservation of historic items so that we do not forget our history. I know that that is important to you and it is also important to me. >> Thank you. >> Finally, welcome Dr. Ariel Lahara, our new superintendent to Violin, the
greatest city in New Jersey, where culture and community are celebrated. I pray for a smooth transition and I look forward to great conversations about the future of our district. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Vasquez. Mrs. Perez, who is spending her 43rd wedding anniversary
with the Violin Board of Education. I got married when I was four. Let's not get it twisted, okay? I had the honor of attending the moving up ceremony and I wanted to say something. You know, we hear a lot of negativity coming out from the high school about
our students and their behavior and whatnot. And I have to tell you, it was a wonderful, wonderful ceremony. They were well behaved. They were respectful. Listen, they're teenagers and they're at the end of the school year, okay? So, who doesn't get antsy? But they they for
the most they were wonderful. And I was it was a great opportunity to see firsthand what is happening. We have some great students and great educators. and I was proud to be there and proud to be a part of it. So, I just wanted to throw that out there. Dr. Laara, I hope you're listening or maybe watch this
later. We are so excited to have you come on board and we're so excited to partner with you and collaborate with you. I know central administration is too and you could not have better leadership than our central administration. They are amazing and I
know that they will partner with him as well and it's just onward and upward from here for the Violin School District. Dr. McCann, we can't say thank you enough for stepping up. We appreciate you, your calm presence, the fact that you um love this district as
much as anybody in the city. We appreciate you. We appreciate your time and thank you very much. And don't go anywhere. I'm sure you'll be around. I'm sure we'll see you. So, the students look forward to >> I'll be at the Y. >> Thank you very much and everyone h Oh,
and thank you to our JSON students. Oh my gosh, how impressive was that? I wish everyone came to me with a problem, a solution, and how much it was going to cost. I wish, don't you, Scott? Don't you think that's the way it should be? Thank you very much. They did a great job.
>> Thank you, Mrs. Perez. Mr. Harris, just want to add thank you, Dr. McCann, for your service. I appreciate you stepping in keeping us afloat. Uh I appreciate your years of service. So thank you. Also want to say good luck to Dr. Lahar. I look forward to working
with him. Uh in speaking with him, one thing he said that stuck out to me starting as a par and moving up to a superintendent 21 years is amazing. But he said everybody in the building is important to him from the bottom to the
top. That means a lot. and uh that stuck out in my mind. Uh I think he has a wonderful staff and I'm sure he's going to do well. I'm going to support him. His success is now my success. So I look forward to working with you. Thank you for Mr. Thank you, Mr. Holmes, for
including me in the search committee. I learned a lot that I didn't know prior. So thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Harris. Mr. Silva. >> Yes, Dr. McCann. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir. We we go way back from these um halls at Lance Middle School
when I first came here in fifth grade. Didn't know any English and you were always there to support me. So, I thank you for always stepping in and we know the great love you have for Von Public Schools and I'm sure we'll I'll see you around. Uh Dr. Laara, welcome to our district. We wish you much success in
this new chapter. We look forward to working together to support our students, families, and community. And I also would like to welcome our two new assistant principles. Um, looking forward to working with you all. Thank you and have a good night. >> Vice President Rivera.
>> Good evening everyone. I'm going to think of something I really hate. Um, so I don't bust out into emotional stuff. So I'm thinking of the Phillies right now. So um, so first of all, thank you
to the students from Duran School for leading us in the flag salute. I have a personal connection to those to some of the students there. My two little boys were part of the group and it's always nice to see them participating um in things and as a proud dad makes me you
know smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. So I also like to thank the students from Jstone. It's so important when students take ownership of their educational experience. It's important. It's we it should be celebrated. It should be highlighted. It should be
because that they're the ones who are driving. They're the ones on the on the ground. They're the ones who who are experiencing the policies that we put into place on a daily basis and for them to come to us like you said or Miss Miss Perez said have a problem, have a
solution, how much it's going to cost, we should encourage more of that from our students. So, I would like to see more of that. Um so, congratulations. Well, job well done to our JSON students. Um this is the end of the year. We have so many celebrations going
on, you know, highlighted by our VHS graduation on the 25th. Congratulations to all our graduates. Job well done. Congratulations because you are graduating from the best school district in New Jersey. And I and I'm so glad because I'm going to be there and I'm
going to celebrate with each and every one of you. So, it's going to be a privilege and thank you for having us at that celebration. Um, a little personal note. So, my boys, >> you can do it.
>> So, okay. So, they're fifth graders, right? So, they're going to be transitioning to middle school next year. And we have the best elementary schools by
far. try to convince me otherwise. We have the best elementary schools. But in particular, I want to thank Marie Durand Elementary. They have watched over my boys for the last 5 years. They have made sure that my boys were
safe. They were educated. They became well-rounded young boys. And I cannot thank the staff, teachers, administration,
more my wife and I cannot thank you enough for watching over our babies for the last five years. In particular, I wanted to thank Mrs. Scotty, Mrs.
Kardo, Miss Godfrey, Miss Patch, Miss Giblin, Mrs. Fio, Mrs. Divers, Mrs. Propert, Miss Lobondo, Mrs. Bailey, Mrs. Cologne.
You have watched over my boys at every grade level. You have instilled your knowledge and your expertise that have helped my boys grow. Mrs. Mrs. Maldonado, Mrs. Lampo, Lampo, Lampois,
excuse me, you have allowed my boys to be creative in the arts and the music, something that they they love and adore because you have cultivated that. To Mrs. McManis, you've allowed my boys to participate in the TV crew. When they're
at when their athletic careers are over, they're going to be TV broadcasters. I'm convinced. And I want to thank give a special thanks to the leadership of the Rand School. Miss Tomlin, who was there for a time, Miss Armstrong,
Mr. Greco. Thank you. Thank you. Because never did I feel that I was receiving special treatment or that I was ever re never I felt like
one of like every other parent. They never treated me differently. I never got favors which I appreciate. I was treated like everyone else. And that is just proof of the professionalism that we have at Bland Public Schools.
I thank you for that. I thank you for treating my boys like everyone else. I thank you for disciplining my boys when they had to be disciplined. Thank you. Not that it was often. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to Marie
Duran Elementary School. and I will finish because I know my five minutes are up and I even though I didn't attend Marie Durant Elementary School in elementary school
Johnstone I will always my family we will always consider ourselves part of the Duran family and that'll be for the for the rest of my life I thank you. I appreciate the time that you have given to my boys. Fins up the Rand family. And
lastly, almost lastly, excuse me, Dr. McCann, thank you. Thank you for taking the baton and and leading us in this time of transition. Thank you for saying yes. Um,
you're you we had a you guys are leadership, but you you're you're you're a violent man. You're a violent guy. You love violin almost as much as I do. >> And I don't think so. >> You got me beat. >> And and and and I really do appreciate
you taking of your time of your your retirement. You're you could have been doing something else >> out in the beach somewhere, >> but you you decided you decided to take the baton and lead us. And I thank you, Dr. McCann. I appreciate for your service. And Dr. Laara, um let's get to
work. Let's get to work. Let's get to work. Let's lead this district to the next level. Let's lead this district to the position that I know it already is, and that is the best school district in in New Jersey. Thank you. Have a great night.
>> Thank you, Vice President Rivera. Dr. McCann. >> Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Holmes. Uh the Mr. Holmes, you you're nailing it right on the head. We have a lot of very very great principles here in Violin and there a lot of young
principles but they're really they're really driving at home as far as structuring their schools the way they need to be structured. But the Duran what what Greco does at Duran School is one to be modeled.
You know, you're right on target with that. I I think that if I had one recommendation for the district that would really resonate for everybody is if the principles and assistant principles would stay in their school
and the grass always looks greener and then when they leave I don't know how many times it's happened they look back and say I should never left my principles that stay put like I Dan Greco had a lot lot of opportunities to
move on and move around, but he stayed with the school and it's that strong consistent leadership that he has that just keeps everybody intact. I've been in the school a lot and I've been in all the schools a lot and I was in his
school often. Now, the the advantage I had not being principal von High School and being taking care of my own business, I got around the district and we have remarkable people and I I I've never been a guy to look at the point scores and they say that the
state says you didn't reach this and then when you do get reach reach it, here's what happens in the state. They they take the bar up higher. So, they all they're always changing the rules. We have great schools and we have great great teachers and I gotta tell you
these guys are land students. These two guys, president, vice president. So we did all right. Then Silva and then LSE, they're all Lisa students. I guess they never left either because here we are at Landis, right? But it we're we're we're
very we're very very lucky. I'm very lucky and thank you for the opportunity. I loved every day. >> Thank you, Dr. McCann. Bear with me. I have a lot of people to thank. Congratulations to Miss Mcavatti and Mr. Schneider. Mr. Schneider was my
former uh English teacher. Phenomenal, great sense of humor. Uh one day we walked in the class and he literally took all of our book bags and was throwing them out in the hallway. I'm like, what is wrong with this man? did like his wife piss him off or something?
Now he's taking out on us. And he said, "This is just an ounce of what people went through in the Holocaust and genocide." And that really stuck with me. Phenomenal teacher. Congratulations on your promotion. Uh I need to thank uh folks for the superintendent process.
Thank you to Dr. Bill Adams and Miss Stacy Adams and Miss Karen Shaw. Um their professionalism and investment in finding a qualified and suitable superintendent for Vinand was second to none. Dr. Adams was a superintendent for over 40 years. Miss Shaw was a board
president for many years as well. So their expertise in this process was very beneficial to the search committee and to the board for their final for our final approval. Need to also thank our focus groups which comprise of teachers, building administrators, central administration, supervisors, city
officials, parents, business developers, past superintendent. They all laid the groundwork for this important work that we've done. need to thank Scott and Cara for spearheading that coordination as well, the coordination of that initiative. Thank you to Doug and Gia for keeping our website up to date um so
that the transparency of the process would remain at the forefront of this initiative. If anyone felt like uh they didn't know what was going on, that was a choice of their own. We were right on it every time. So, thank you for your diligence and keeping the public informed. Uh thank you to our alternate
council as well, Kart and Scatcher for their professionalism and responsiveness when negotiating the contract. Also, thank you to uh Rowan College of South Jersey for agreeing to allow us to use their facility to conduct our uh interviews at no cost to the district. I
also want to thank uh director of security, Mr. Lenny Wolf, Eddie and Freddy who take took time out on a Sunday um for us to conduct interviews as well. Thank you. Thank you to cabinet uh superintendent musterel
Kristen uh Ish Terry Susette for all of your hard work the past few months uh for keeping things in order and making sure we stayed on track. You all took on a lot of responsibilities and for and we uh that work does not go unnoticed.
Lastly, I need to thank this board probably the best board that Vinland has seen in many many years. uh we were united, we uh stood the test of times, we endured till the end and in the end
it's a unanimous vote across the board. Lastly, I So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, search committee, every single one of you, you caught the vision and you ran with it. and we did not. Besides a few things, of course, there's always hiccups in the city of Vinland,
but we we we muddled through it and this is the outcome. I'm so proud. Uh lastly, to Dr. McCann, I want to thank you for your leadership. You've let this kid uh kind of be your boss, but you were always respectful and you call me Mr. Holmes, which I don't like all the time,
but uh >> Okay, Mr. Holmes, >> but you you've absolutely been uh everyone loves Dr. I can. And when he comes into schools, he's at the lunch table with the kids. He's talking. He's as we told him to do. Be the politician
that you are. >> Shake hands, kiss babies, >> and just be the the uh guiding force and lead us through the next months. So, thank you, Dr. McCann. >> Okay, Cedric. No problem. >> Not until July 1st.
>> Okay. If there's nothing else, I'll ask for a motion and second for adjournment. So move. >> All in favor? >> Thank you. Have a great night. >> Yes. I'm serious. Another one. Yeah.