This meeting is being videotaped. Anyone wishing not to be seen on television may be excused. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. No. Okay. Okay. Where's my agenda? Hold
on. Just go back to my agenda. Sorry, I lost my agenda. Yeah, but I I like to look at it. Here we go. I was on the HIPS thing, so HIV reports May 13th. Okay.
Okay. Um, we don't have any presentations. Two items under discussion. Um, can I have a motion to approve items one and two under discussion? U, I'd like to make a
motion to bring back off a leave the superintendent, Dr. Hibs. Okay. So, we'll do that motion. Okay. Is there a second for that? I second it. Any discussion? Yeah,
I um you know, we we have a a superintendent. We're paying him. Um that's why I'm motioning to bring him back. Nothing against the candidate that that we have. I think he's very qualified, impressive resume,
interviewed well. So, this is purely just what I think is uh the right thing to do in a financial issue. Any other discussion? I have a Elaine. Okay. Um I just have a u something to add for
the financial end and I have a lot of respect for you Dr. Vespie. However, um $750 a day, 15 thou $15,000 a month is money that we could use for our students to bring back the
green club, to bring back the uh middle schools. um after school activities and to also use that money to help support our support staff who are desperately in need of better
um pay, better um benefits. So, that's just something that I'm adding right there. It's a lot of money we could use for our kids. Any other discussion? Seeing none, roll call. Go ahead. Okay.
Um, Mrs. Chillow. Yes. Mrs. Hartong. I can't vote. Right. I have to abate. Right. You should abstain. Right. Yes. Mr. Li Liberty. Yes. Mr.
Serrano. No, Mr. Ross. No, he's locked. Mrs. Baker, no. Mrs. Bloom, abstain.
Mrs. Clancy, yes. Miss Kazmple, abstain. Motion fails. Motion to approve items one and two under discussion. I also want to make a note, I should have said this at the top of the meeting, um that Steve Srano was
on the phone. He has been he's calling in for the meeting. So, did we agree on that? We don't have to agree. He reached out to me and explained as I said in executive his situation.
But what about the policy? Are we not? Is that not Are we not enacting the policy 0164.2? We are. We're enacting the We're enacting policy. Correct. So, I'm not going to talk about his
health and personal life on the phone in front of everyone, but I've given him approval to to phone in as others have done in the past. Can I get a motion? I make a motion. Can I Can I get Can I get a second?
Second. Any discussion? Seeing none, roll call. I have a couple things. Um, so with the vote for the actic superintendent, uh, I think I've expressed, you know, my views that I've wanted to bring Dr. Hibs back. I think
it's the right thing and I think it's a financially responsible thing, but that's not going to happen. I've made the motion multiple times and it continues to fail. Um, you know, I then look for what's the next best available option that um could be low cost to the
district. Um, didn't see any feasible. There appeared to be no feasible options internally that we could use. So, at this point, I feel like I've exhausted all options that I have at my disposal as a board member. And I also feel like I can't leave the district without a
leader. Um, I feel like doing that would be irresponsible to the district, to the employees, and to the kids. Um, so I will be v voting yes. And all of my hesitancy has nothing to do with Dr. Vesby. Like I said, I think you're very qualified. Your resume was very
impressive. Your interview was very impressive. Um, so I just wanted to give my reasoning behind that. The other item is the budget, and I think everybody knows where I stand on the budget. I've talked about it several times, but just to summarize, I think the budget um is
is irresponsible. It's going to create a budget hole for next year. Again, may maybe I'll be wrong. I hope I'll be wrong. I wasn't this time. Um, and also, I think the tax increase of 7.4% 4% is too much to ask of our residents.
Thanks. Any other comments? Yeah, I'm just going to reiterate the respect that I have for you. So, that's the way the reason why I'm I'm my issue is the money that could help our that the money that could help
our kids that could help our support staff. Um, and I have no idea where we're getting this money from with our budget crisis. So that's the reason why my vote will be my vote. Um I just I don't know if I need to make
a motion for this, but um these are two pretty big items. I think maybe we should consider separating them. Making a motion to approve number one and then separately number two. That's just my opinion. Um if I have to make a motion to amend the motion, that's fine. If you want to keep it the way it is, that's
fine, too. Um that's my one um point I wanted to make. And then I also wanted to make a point that um I would have liked to have heard from the public first prior to making this vote. Um although we don't have to. I feel like it was important. We just got a bunch of cards and a lot of them say
budget. But um it's fine. We decided to put it this way on the agenda. I just want to make that point. So if do I have to make a motion to amend the motion to separate them if the board if wants to do that? If not, you can keep the way it is. Um well point of clarity two cards
say budget and also if there's no superintendent of record then we can't even vote on the rest of the agenda but I'll toss it to Aaron to uh I suggest yes you just make a motion to do the two separately. Okay. So I
want to make a motion to amend the current motion and vote on item number one and then separately vote on number two. I'll second that. You can just do all in favor or All in
favor? I I I. Okay. So, motion to approve item one. Under discussion. Can I get a motion from someone? Are we just not making motions or can I have a motion to approve item one on the agenda? You just had Oh, thank you,
Scott. Can I get a second? Second. Second. Any discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, roll call. Mrs. Hartong, we're just doing number one,
right? Abstain. Mr. Liberty. Yes, Mr. Serrano. Yes, Mr. Ross. Mrs. Baker. Yes,
Mrs. Bloom. Abstain. Mrs. Clancy, abstain. Miss Chillo, abstain. Miss Kazmple. Yes. So I don't everyone I'm saying four. Yes. Yes. Five abstain.
Motion failed. Y yeah. Congratulations. Great. Okay. Congratulations. No, it didn't pass. It didn't pass. No, because four people abstained. Well, I have to. Five abstained. Wait a minute.
One, two, three, four, five. So, go home. I'm going home. Two of us up there. I got to tell you. I can't. I'm going home. Good luck, guys. Wait. I count five. I'm out. I'm out. I kind of thought you can't You can't There were not five. You can't do that. I'm done.
You can't do that. There were five. Sit down. No, I'm leaving. There were four. Yes. Five. Abstain. Wait. I I abstain because Dr. best be working with me. It's the only reason I abstain, but his qualifications are
excellent and he's would do an excellent job as a superintendent. So, if I have to change it in order to put him in, I RA, I really appreciate you doing the right thing, but that is the right thing to add. Well, I'm not sure it's the right thing. We need a superintendent.
Does the board want to make a motion to recess? Um, yeah. I'd like to make a motion to recess for 15 minutes. Sure. Yeah, I second it. Just sir. All in favor? I favor.
[Music] Uh I also the public the board is going to take a 15minute recess and uh we should be back in about 15 minutes. I just want to say too I also abstained because Scott and Carol had indicated that they were voting for him. I have
known. Well, your vote shouldn't be depend on the meeting second. Okay. What is the motion to reopen the meeting? Reopen the meeting. I second it. We have a discussion.
We don't need Do we need a discussion or are we okay? I'm afraid. Okay. Okay. Now you have to make a motion. Is that a roll call or is just All in favor? All in favor? I I Okay. I'd like to make a motion that we
go back into executive for legal advice. 10 minutes for about Yeah. For about 15 minutes. No action will be taken. No action will be taken after we return from action. Action will be taken after. All right. So, make a motion that we'll go back to executive for about 20
minutes um for legal advice. Action will be taken when we return. Second it. All in favor? I I All right. We're an executive. What' you do? Breathing.
Motion to close executive. So moved. Second. All in favor. I want to wait for Lori to sit back down. Good evening, ladies and gentle. Gentlemen, how are you?
I know it uh may um I wasn't supposed to be here tonight. Uh my girlfriend graduated from Rowan University today and I was spending time with my family and uh apparently, you know, we can't do that if you're a part of this board. So, that's why I'm here.
Steu, we're going to vote on the budget. Motion to approve. So, we're voting on the discussion section, section C. Motion to Can I have a motion to approve item number two, the budget for the 2526 school year? I make motion
to approve the budget. Can I have a second? Can I have a second? Second. Roll call. Mr. Liberty. No. Mr. Serrano. Yes.
Mr. Ross. Yes. Mrs. Baker, yes. Mrs. Bloom, yes. Mrs. Clancy, yes. Mrs. Chilla, no. Mrs. Hartung, no.
Miss Kazmpa, yes. 6 to three carried. Motion carries. I'm going to go down to item number F. I'm not going to skip, but I'm going to let you know all of you know where I'm going to stop because I'm leaving when we get to public comment. So, I was home
and that's where I should have stayed. Motion to approve item D, school community relations number one. Motion second. It's not. Okay. He's not here. Okay. All
right. So, we're good to skip that. Correct. All right. Any old business? Okay. All right. I'm going to a motion to open up to the public.
Um, we had talked back in executive about possibly limiting the time because of the emotional end that's going on with everything tonight. Could we think about maybe limiting the time to three minutes as opposed to five minutes?
Would anyone like to place a motion on the floor to do what uh Mrs. Blum is suggesting? Okay, then I withdraw it. Okay. Motion to open to the public. So moved. Second. Second.
All in favor? I. All right. Cara. Carara. Eva. Wait. Hold on. Before anybody talks, I have something to say. Um, working on this board. I was on this
board for 7 years before this most recent term. I've never seen anything this toxic in my entire life. I spend the entire week on the phone talking to people, answering emails, trying my best to stay above the fray. And every single
time, every single time we have a meeting, we're railroaded. Two hours of executive before we came out and you just watched the superintendent walk out the door, right? We are there is one common denominator in all of this and it
is you [Applause] Carol and anybody associated with you and I don't care what you want to say come up Sean Lindsay come up Nicole Lenudi come up Brandy I I don't care what you have I don't care what you have
to say because you are all operating you what's your point I get to say what I need to say. I'm a parent in the district, too, and a taxpayer and I get to explain why I had to get up and leave the room when that just happened. Sir, I
get to explain that if you don't mind. Brandy Williams just said that, just so you know. Um, there will be an opportunity for the public to speak. Right now, the president has the floor. I'm being honest about what I'm saying right now. I actually the only reason I'm here is because my son was at home
watching the meeting. My 14-year-old son who just got an award at Chestnut Ridge because he knows that there's a time and a place for everything. And I'm embarrassed that I had to get up and leave in the middle of that. But everyone up here should be embarrassed, especially you on what happens and what
goes on and all the backdoor deals and phone calls that you all do. It's disgusting and not and no one associated with it cares about what's happening to kids. We have to hear about $750. Where are we going to pay for a superintendent? Well, maybe if we didn't have to deal with the issue that we were
the position we were put in, then we wouldn't have to pay for an interim superintendent. How about that? How about the people associated with that? So, if you plan on getting up to the microphone, I really hope that you have knowledge in what you're saying and you're not just reading anonymous emails
and things of that nature. It's very difficult to cut positions. I got an email earlier that was disgusting to me because my son's best friend's little brother just passed away this week. And I got an email from someone in
this district saying that that's why we should save a central administration counseling position. That's disgusting that you're going to use a tragedy to save to talk about saving a position. Does anyone understand how gross that is? It's gross. And that's the that's the tip of the
iceberg. Nicole. Nicole, come on up. Nicole. Oh, no. No. No. You have something to say. Here's your card. I'm calling Nicole Lenudi. Okay. Well, I'm going to speak because I'm allowed to do that. Um, so I'm going to say this because I'm not going to stoop to that level and be unprofessional because you
attacked me in executive session. Now you're attacking me publicly. Um, I didn't cause you to get up and leave. What caused you to get up and leave is because there was a vote that happened that you didn't expect to happen with Ralph and that set you off and you left.
So, you're not going to sit here and accuse me personally. I'm not going to take your bait to comment on anything going on. And so for you to say that I'm the common denominator and anyone associated with me, I don't have any associations with anyone. I'm my own person. I make my own vote. I said that
over and over again and I'm going to keep saying it. I don't call anyone and ask them how to vote. And Pat, if you can also speak, it's not a lie. How many times have I said your vote is your vote? If anyone ever asks you how you're going to vote, know right then and there it's a flag that should go up. You've
said that several times. I don't ask anyone how they're going to vote. Whatever they want to vote, they can vote. You didn't like it in executive session when I wanted to uphold a policy that we had about Steve coming in. I said, "We have a policy. This is the
these are the merits of the policy." And that created an enormous thing. All we had to do is suspend it. There's there's a process that you have to follow. And if we don't like the policy, put it in committee and let's abolish the policy. That's it. It's it's there's a process.
I don't make it up, but that's what it is. And when we don't follow a process, this is what happens. Everything goes crazy. That's all I suggested is that we follow policy. And you attacked me personally, executive. Now you're attacking me out here in the
public again. And my kids are watching, texting me, wondering what's going on. So, you know, it's not just your children. I'm attacked continually and so are my kids. I'm trying to be professional. I don't attack you. And I said it when you left and before you came back. I said we need to stop making
this personal. This is business of board. That's it. It should not be personal. It should be business. That's all I want to do is business. How many times have I said when you say I feel this way, I feel that way. Feeling should not be a part of anything that we do. That's what I say. But there's only
so much a person can take where you're putting in so much work and you're just constantly going up against the wall. And by the way, I've acknowledged in the emails I've been very professional and I've said this is this, this is that. I communicate with you right away. I let
you know exactly where I stand on things cuz I don't like surprises. When I sat in the seat, I didn't like surprises. I'm sorry that you don't like the way I'm going to vote and what you think. you know that I'm like talking to people and who's with me and associated and I'll have time to associate with
everyone. I have my own family and my own things to do. So, this started an executive session. It was very unprofessional to be attacked. There was no reason for it at all. That job that you have sitting there as president is very stressful, but there's no reason to project that stress on me. I'm not going to take your bait. I'm not going to
comment about anything going on because I'm just not going to do that. That's it. we can move on with the meeting, but I felt the need to have to at least defend myself a little bit. I would really quickly like to remind people that there are high schoolers in this room. There is currently 851 people
logged into the YouTube and there are definitely families with elementary schoolers and middle schoolers and high schoolers watching these. And I just wanted to remind people, thank you. Nicole Ludy. Um, I want to know what the policy was in the beginning that it was you
talked about a policy saying that there was some kind of policy. They questioned it about Steve being on the phone and then it was kind of dismissed and I want to know if you overrode that policy by a personal decision. Um cuz that's what
you said. Um so I'm just curious to know what what that policy was and how you make the decision on your own to override it without going to the board. Um you also just lied about why Steve wasn't here. You said it was a health problem. You don't have to explain him.
He does deserve to be home. That's Everybody deserves that. That's that's a great accomplishment, but you don't have to lie about it. I think that's a lot of the problem is that there's a lot of lies. Um, and it's it does that there are backdoor deals that come from you. It's all opraid. It's all public
knowledge. It's all opred. It's on paper. There's it's we've seen it. And not everybody maybe has seen it, but I've seen it. And there's people here that have seen it. So to say that it comes from somebody else and not
acknowledging your own backdoor deals is another irresponsible thing. Um I'm not going to touch on anything else, but um I do want to know what that policy was. Policy 164.2, which is electronic participation in board meetings. Again,
not talking about Steve's health history. He had a surgery recently and was standing up wrangling a toddler in the rain for hours and didn't feel as if he could make it. Carol said that she didn't think that was fair. I cited
Elaine missing a meeting back when they were trying to vote down um the theater teacher. She called in because she was on vacation. Now Elen says she was sick when she was on vacation. Excuse me. So I'm just I'm telling what happened. I'm telling what
happened. You need to clarify that because I was on vacation and I was going to drive in from the shore. That's what I just said. I was sick. So, let's not say that I just didn't come and make a meeting. I Okay. I That's what I said, Elaine. I'm not repres misrepresenting
anything that you said. That's exactly what you said. Um Nicole, back door deals, whatever you're talking about, I I don't know. Yes. Everything about me is out there and in the public. I've been very open about any of that. And the way it gets misinterpreted online just shows ignorance. Dr. Cara EA.
So excited to be the first one to talk here. Um, hi, my name is Cara Eva. I am a professor at Rowan University in the counseling and ed settings program. I am a former teacher administrator counselor in several states uh and have been in education for over 25 years and in um
part of a neighboring district. However, some of you have not been on the school board. I have spoken uh quite a few times. I have been a consultant since about 2016. I also supervised several interns um who are a part of this district and then had a formalized
partnership between Rowan uh and the Washington Township School Counseling Department. I also have provided PD for all of your teachers in returning uh from uh COVID as I specialize in the intersection of education and mental health. So, one, I do want to pause and
say uh uh give my condolences to this community who has seen its share of tragedy in the last couple of weeks um several times. I am here tonight on behalf of that partnership. While I've been here uh in and out of the district for since 2016, I have watched it grow
uh in what we provide to students. One of the things that you talked about is our students. And so, I'm going to say to you right now, one in four kids right now are diagnosed with mental health. and one in four adults are diagnosed with mental health or substance abuse disorder. And that also means uh that
those are teachers and parents who are also raising our kids. One of the things that I got to see over this time is specifically uh Jen Grimmaldi as the director who started out as guidance to oversee all of the school counselors, the Sachs observed nurses, was
responsible for school climate and a year this year after years of fighting. Just so you guys know, we now have 60 credits, which is more than most superintendent as school counselors um and also um uh directors of curriculum. And so they come out licensed clinical
counselors now. And so we watched uh Jen bring together a group who was not unified at all to be able to come together collectively P through 12 and work together to support your students including summers, right? Including
offering counseling services. We are in the day and age as you can see right now, right? Mental health affects everyone. How we communicate, how we grieve, how we see the world. and by uh I'm here specifically because I was really concerned about what happened uh
a couple weeks ago in cutting that position because she was instrumental and here's what I will say. She increased services, access and partnerships to everyone uh for both families and students alike. She has advocated at both the national and state level. She has presented and represented
your district with me uh as a co-presenter and a co-ressearcher uh nationally. And when I say this as someone who provides professional development across this country, she's the best person from an administrative standpoint who understands education,
law, and legal aspects and how that intersects with how your district functions, but also how to support kids. And right now, we're in a day and age where we need to find ways to be able to support kids. And she knows it. She does it. She embodies it. She embodies
integrity. And I feel it disgraceful in some ways. what happened to her a couple weeks ago given how much she has given this district and has never pushed back once. This year her superintendent asked her to take over testing. Do you know that she fought for eight years to remove that from our clinical counselors? Because why do they have to
be locked up in a room doing testing when they have clinical skills and can provide more to multiple people and their group skills to be able to be out in front? and she decid she worked single-handedly with one other counselor so she didn't have to give it back to them and without sharing that knowledge
with anybody and so you guys are talking all out in the open about how you feel about one another so I'm telling you exactly how I feel about this human she has bought so much to this school to this to all of the schools to all of the districts and she has stepped in when anybody has ever asked and she has never
said a word to any of you and so I'm here on her behalf because I am sad to lose the partnership I am sad to see what our students have been getting uh through this experience and the supervision that she has been provided because I do see this as a reciprocal relationship. We consult all the time
about what's happening not just locally but what's happening nationally and how we can support our communities and our schools moving forward. And so I urge you to reconsider what it is that she does because I am not sure that you all know even beyond the lines and beyond paper about what it is that someone that
like her does. So, I appreciate you taking the time. I really do wish a healing vibe for all of you as uh you move forward. Thanks. Thank you, Christy
White. Is Christy White? Hi, Mrs. White. I can do this with so many students, but I'm going to try really hard with all of you. Um, so good evening members of the board of education and thank you for allowing me to speak this evening. My name is Christy White and I'm the school
counselor at Wedgewood Elementary. I'm speaking to share a great concern with the elimination of the position of direct director of counseling services and assessment which was held by Jennifer Kumaldi. Jennifer is an advocate for our counseling department.
Eliminating this position removes our voice of of of as counselors at the table where decisions are made and policies are formed. It leaves our professionals without coordination, guidance, and district advocacy. We
respectfully urge you to reconsider this decision. In the middle of mental health awareness month, our district has a great opportunity to put our students needs and safety first. There was a statement at a recent board meeting that
talked about those at central administration as being further furthest removed from our buildings. I do not feel that that at the elementary level. It is not accurate for us. While she Jennifer may never promote
herself as such, she re regularly comes to our buildings, helps us execute our plan, and helps me as a counselor. It's alarming that this action took place on a day where our district was struggling with its own crisis. Our crisis team was
able to swiftly react overnight and provide s services to students and staff and parents by the very next morning. That is because the director of counseling has worked tirelessly to provide our team with procedures and
training for emergency response. If you look into other districts, they consult. They bring in outside agencies. Because of Jennifer's experience and leadership, we are self-sufficient in helping our school community at a moment's notice.
There is nothing more important than mental health for our students. Everything that a student achieves hinges directly on that. The director of school counseling has a direct impact on our school community. A school tragedy
is just one example, but she has helped our our community understand that our students needs our diverse experiences and altogether make us one. Without a trained counselor leader, our ability to
maintain a standardsbased data-driven program is compromised. One of the most significant issues counselors face across the district is a great misunderstanding of our role. On several occasions, staff members will
say to me, "I wasn't sure that's what you were supposed to do." Our director of counseling bridged that gap, helped us develop advocacies throughout the community, helped us all lot our time to work effectively and ethically with our
students. Our elementary program is once again on the chopping block. There's so much discussion of doing more with less. I am somebody on most days that has a case load of over 500 to one individual. I am certainly doing
less. I feel we need to apologize to the community in advance. We do believe in your children's safety. We do believe in mental health and we're not able to do more with less. In closing, I respectfully ask you
to reconsider this proposed cut. Let's lend an ear to the seasons dedicated, zealous staff in the buildings who do work tirelessly day in and day out to ensure that Washington Township
continues to pro prioritize a comprehensive highquality school counseling service to meet the complex needs of our students. Our children deserve nothing less. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. White.
Rob Scardino to the members of the Washington Township Board of Education. As you're aware from an email I sent to the full board, I've withdrawn my ethics complaint in regard to Dr. Eric Hibbs, Dr. Pamela Nathan, and Miss Chilla. My
decision to withdraw was due to my personal inability to gather sufficient evidence to continue with said ethics complaint. I'd like to apologize to all respondents at this time. Thanks, Rob. Adrien Choma.
Hi, Adrien Choma. Uh, middle school vice president of the WTA. I just want to take a moment to acknowledge that last week was teacher appreciation week and our PTOs as always really knocked it out of the ballpark. They spoiled us every single day and it's not just the parent
volunteers that come in. It's the coordination with the building secretaries and the administrations in each building that just make that week amazing for us. So, they really deserve a shout out. Thank you. They do. I'm glad you said that. Thank
you, Beth Marches. Good evening, members of the board. I was going to talk about the budget. It was originally after the discussion on the agenda, but I feel like it needs to be said anyway. I'm here tonight because I noticed an item on tonight's agenda regarding the
allocation of funds for support staff positions. While I was pleased to see funding applied across many positions, I noted the exclusion of specialized assistance. This prompted a question. Did you amend the original plan to reduce hours of approximately 75 staff across the board with the support staff
meaning specialized assistants are the only ones who will lose their hours or pensions or benefits? I work for those benefits. Certainly not the pay rate. Keep in mind, add insult to injury, many of us live in this town. You're going to raise our taxes and cut our pay. I would like to remind the board
that our hours were reduced before by 15 minutes a day. That knocked us out of the pension. And what was the consequence? I was asked to stay an additional 15 minutes a day at the end of the day to manage our frequent end of day
challenges. I was supposed to voucher for it, you know, no more pension, cut our hours. They still needed me to work that time. They're going to need that of many of us because bus duty is the heaviest challenge. It is it is hard to
do that without full staff. I mean, some kids don't get off the bus. Some kids can't even leave the classroom unless we know for certain that bus is there. The behaviors, I wish you guys could see how we handle these special kids. I
mean, we love them. We watch them grow up. We They mean the world to us and they need our support. So, I urge you to reconsider any decision that disproportionately impacts specialized assistance. Our consistent presence, our teamwork, our deep understanding of these students are
invaluable. Cutting our hours isn't just a reduction in time. It's a potential disruption to the very foundation of support these students rely on. Our commitment commitment to special ed students doesn't stop just because our hours end. You don't understand what you're asking of us. We don't want to
simply clock out and leave because our time is up. Often it's the middle of a stressful situation. Our colleagues and these special children need us all to stay and provide the necessary support until we get them safely on the bus. It's really hard to be like, "Oh, I gotta go. They cut my hours." You know,
you deal. I mean, literally, there's We're a strong team. We are. We really work together so well, but you're fracturing that. Not to mention the number of assistants that can't afford to lose the benefits. Our pay isn't what some people make
babysitting. And we have the toughest job. We are the front line. We see these kids all day. We know they're precursors. We just know how to avoid situations, how to work together, how to pivot. We pivot every day. And we're teaching these kids how to go with the
flow and like not, you know, increase all their behaviors. It's just I wish you could see it for yourselves before you make that decision because these kids deserve so much more. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Mar. Go ahead.
Uh yeah, can you guys silence your phones? Like whatever that chime is. Um Mrs. Thank you, Mrs. Maresy. Um and all I can say is that we have done everything absolutely everything within our power to make sure that we retain as many people's hours as
possible. Dina Leonard, can I add something really quick? Okay. Consistency and continuity. These children need a classroom aid, a special ed aid all day, not cut in half, split
the time. It's very important that there's consistency and continuity for these children. I'm just adding that. Okay, this is a little intimidating. Hi, good evening. Um, my name is Dena Leonard. I am a school counselor at
Chestnut Ridge Middle School and a parent of both a Washington Township graduate and a current student at WTHS. Tonight, I'm here to speak on behalf of the middle school counselors and the position of counseling director.
I've been proud to serve Washington Township Schools for the past 32 years. My journey began with 10 years of teaching at the high school, followed by the last 22 years as a school counselor at Chestnut Ridge. Throughout my career,
I've had the opportunity to work under many supervisors and superintendants, all while staying focused on what matters most, our students, your kids. Education runs in my family, like my father before me and alongside both
of my sisters. I chose this profession because we genuinely care about kids. We put in the time, energy, and heart to give your children the same care and opportunities we'd want for our own. And
I'm here because it I'm a 50-year resident, almost 50 years of Washington Township, and I am retiring this year from Chestnut Ridge. And I want a face for the people in the schools every
day working with your children. We care. We care, but we need to be heard. Much has changed over the past three decades in schools, in families, and in society as a whole. What hasn't changed is the
commitment educators and counselors bring to their work each and every day. We show up with the goal of making a positive impact in students lives. In Washington Township, counselors work collaboratively and receive ongoing
training under the leadership of our director. Our director is a strong advocate for the well-being of both our students, your children, and the staff who support them every day. Last week, a motion was made and passed
to eliminate the director of counseling position in an effort to cut costs for the district. This decision has only deepened my concern. This decision deepened my concern as now more than ever we need the leadership and expertise of a supervisor who
understands our role, someone with experience in the field, which I'm not sure that I had prior to this. um someone who is well-versed in law that impact our work, the laws that
impact our work, and who has actively advocated for the removal of state testing responsibilities from counselors. None of the nine middle school counselors were able to assist at Burchches last week because we were required to serve
as school testing coordinators at our own schools. To be clear, our director has consistently acknowledged that test coordination should not fall under the responsibilities of school counselors. However, the district assigned our
director to oversee testing this year. In contrast to previous years when testing was supported by stipens, interventionists, and administrative staff, this year the responsibility at the middle level has f fallen directly
on counselors. These duties require months of planning and once testing begins, they demand early arrivals, focus on testing logistics throughout the school day, and late departures to ensure everything is in place for the
following day. All of this comes on top of our ongoing student centered responsibilities. It's not what we got in the counseling for. Fortunately, our principal and supervisor recognize and appreciate the time and effort we devote. Still, the impact of these
additional duties is significant, and it underscores how vital, experienced, informed leadership is navigating these growing demands. I invite you to visit our schools. I ask you, please come into
the schools, see firsthand the work we do every day, talk with us, ask what resources we truly need before making decisions that add responsibilities or reduce positions. I urge you to take a
closer look at the impact of assigning state testing coordination to middle school counselors. This responsibility pulls us away from the very students we are here to support. The cost of this shift is not just time. It's connection,
guidance, and care that our students lose when we are redirected from our core role. It's a big ask, but our students deserve nothing less. Thank you, Mrs. Leonard. Patty Sucallis. Hello. Good evening. Um, so my
name is Patty Sucalis. I've been up here before, but um, I wanted to make a statement about there were comments last year. Sorry, my phone's blowing up. Um there were comments last week or the last of the last budget meeting in the past suggesting that the board may not
always have the full picture. Um so I wanted to make take a moment to provide you with some context regarding a point that some of you raised last week about additional pay for staff taking on responsibilities from the recent eliminated positions that you were making um with these budget cuts. Over
the past few years, because I've been in the district for 25 years, we've experienced significant staffing reductions. And in many cases, employees have been asked to do more with a lot less. To illustrate this, I'd like to share with you just two examples from the high school because I could give you many, many more throughout the district,
but I think just these two is enough to give you a um a picture. So, previously, we used to have two 12-month attendance secretaries. That staffing a couple years ago was reduced to one 10-month position. This individual now has to request extra days over the summer just
to complete the essential task of assigning home room to 21 to 2200 students. Um we also have a clerical assistant in the IMC who used to work solely with the librarian. she after the budget cuts last year was now tasked
with supporting multiple department supervisors in addition to her role as um the librarian clerical assistant. So, as I said, there are so many examples. I can give you a ton. As I always say, I'm the numbers person. I can give you a ton of things that have been going on that
we're all doing more with less. And I just wanted to show you that there are a couple examples, but they reflect a broader trend. many staff members have been taken on additional responsibilities without any increase in compensation. So when you were making those statements, I agree that as we get
task to do more, there should be more pay, but this hasn't happened consistently. And we're talking about people that are on the lowest end paid of the district. So I hope this context is helpful as the board considers decisions moving forward. And as I said, if you would like to speak to me about any of these, I'd be, you know, more
than happy to share things. But right now in these budget constraints, we are all doing a lot lot more with a lot lot less. Thank you. Thank you, Patty. Guy Cwley. Good evening, Washington Township Board
of Education. My name is Guy Cwley and I'm a school counselor at Chestnut Ridge Middle School. This is my fourth year in the district and a few weeks ago I was non-renewed because the board has yet to pass a budget for the 2526 school year. I understand that it may be frowned upon to speak at a board meeting unannounced
and as a non-tenured staff member and that many staff members fear retaliation. However, as I watched last week's meeting, I was in disbelief when this board voted, excuse me, to eliminate the director of district school counseling services position. Uh, I will not be a bystander while the
board votes on a budget that seeks to eliminate this position. I believe this decision would have far-reaching consequences for our students, families, and schools. The need for comprehensive, coordinated school counseling services has never been greater. We support our students through challenges they face
not only in school but also at home every single day. And while our federal government cuts $1 billion of mental health funding, I can't fathom the negative and irreversible impacts this will have on our youth as they are our future. Our students face increasing
academic pressures and mental health challenges that directly affect their ability to succeed in school and in life. Over the past few years, we have seen a stark rise in anxiety, depression, social isolation, and trauma amongst students of all ages. National data, as well as the lived experiences
in our schools, confirms that these issues are not going away. They are growing. The director of district school counseling services plays a pivotal role in ensuring that we, as a district, meet these needs systematically, effectively, and equitably. Without this leadership position, we are placing our
infrastructure at risk. The director coordinates counseling programs across all grade levels, ensures alignment with best practices, and advocates for resources that allow school counselors to do their jobs effectively. They provide critical oversight in areas such as crisis response, mental health
programming, college and career readiness, and datadriven decision-making. Perhaps most importantly, the director serves as a bridge for all stakeholders to ensure that every student has access to the support that they need to thrive. Without this leadership and coordination, gaps widen, services
become fragmented, leaving counselors isolated and underrepresented without clear guidance or cohesion. Our ability to be proactive and serve all students equitably is compromised. Let's also remember that our services are aligned with the district's goals. Cutting this position
undermines the foundation of student success that we all work so hard to build and maintain. Just one day after our community experienced an unspeakable tragedy that required the immediate coordination of services by the director of district school counseling services. Excuse
me. This board voted to eliminate that position. During the last meeting, the term bumping was used when the motion was introduced. If this budget is approved tonight, we understand that these critical responsibilities may be reassigned. I've emailed each of you a
copy of the job description of the director as a reference. If there is any uncertainty about the role of school counselors, I strongly encourage you to take the time to fully understand the scope of our work. School counseling is not managing 504s, state testing, scheduling, lunch and bus
duties, or sitting at a desk. It encompasses comprehensive academic, social, emotional, and crisis support services for all students. I know who I am as a counselor and I know how hard our department works every single day to support our students and to build and maintain relationships with
stakeholders. I'm so blessed and grateful that I get to work with such an amazing group of professionals, we will always do what's best for our students, knowing full well that no matter how passionate we are, you have the board have the ultimate say in how we can help our students. I urge you to consider not
just the immediate budget line item, but the long-term impact this will have on our students and community. Investing in social emotional health, academic planning and future readiness of our students is not optional. It is essential. The director of district school counseling services position is
not a luxury. It is a necessity. I respectfully ask you to reconsider this proposed cut of the director of district school counseling services. And let's please lend an ear to the season, dedicated and zealous professionals in our buildings who work tirelessly day in and day out and collaborate to ensure
that Washington Township continues to prioritize comprehensive highquality school counseling services that meet the complex needs of all of our students. Our children deserve nothing less. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Cwley. Madison Ambrose.
Good evening everybody, members of the board and members of the community. Um, I've gotten up the past few weeks to speak um about what's going on in our district. Um, the first time I got up and spoke, I spoke about my employment and my situation specifically, and I want to elaborate further on that. I was
born and raised in this district. I've gone to Grenlock Terrace, Burch's Bunker Hill, and I graduated from Washington Township in 2018. I started working in the district when I was 21. My first day here was June 1st, 2022. Fortunately, during my time here, I did
face harassment and discrimination from my supervisor, Jim Sternolo, and my director, Joseph Gfredo. There was always evidence of favoritism and alienation tactics. Then, this was made obvious when a former co-orker of mine was routinely left out of communication and would not be at our meetings when
they started since he was not informed of them. Excuse me, Miss Ambrose. Are you still employed by the district? I am not. Not even for SAT or anything like that? SAT is for college board. It's not through the district. I would just ask you to refrain from
talk specific employees in that way making those accusations. They're true. Okay. Am I allowed to continue? Yes. Okay. I just wanted to make sure. During this time last year, one of
our department supervisors left suddenly without warning. It is my belief that he was pushed out the same way that my coworker and I were. I bring this up because I have legitimate concerns for how the IT department is being run. I've seen a lot of criticism for other departments and where to cut, specifically with administration and HR,
but I've not heard one person mention it. The only mention of technology has been that we're only refreshing one grade of devices, no other student or staff devices. We criticize Dr. Hibs for the purchase of rocks out front of the central building during a budget crisis. Then I hope you reserve the same amount of judgment when the director of IT when
he purchased new nine new iPads with cellular connection strictly for the purpose of clocking employees in and out of each building within the IT department. This is even more damning considering that there's already an established time clock system with Chromos and the program that we use could be accessed from our cell phones
or laptops. Our director just wanted the control of the cellular iPad so that he could clock us in and out between buildings. This is great in theory when you're not in the midst of a budget crisis, but of course the iPad system failed due to our director insisting on the digital fences at each building be as small as possible. They were so small
that if you were clocked in at the 910 side and you walked to the core, you would be clocked out. I want to finish this by stating the events that occurred from February 4th and 5th at Central and Washington Township High School. On February 4th, I had a panic attack on my way to work. This was something that had become increasingly apparent issue for
me. I've always struggled with anxiety, but since May of 2024, I've had more panic attacks in this time frame than I've had in my 24 years of living. This has affected my sleep. Did you know that you could have panic attacks in your sleep? I had a sleep study done because they weren't sure if it was sleep apnea or if I was possibly having seizures in
my sleep. Thankfully, it's just panic attacks. Panic attacks for now. I had two medical professionals suggested I leave work or find another job since this was clearly a significant cause of stress in my life. My primary care physician expressed concern for my heart and that the amount of stress could lead to long-term effects down the road. At
8:26 a.m. on February 4th, 2025, I arrived to the high school and I vomited in the parking lot. I was so fearful of being late that I called my supervisor. He escorted me to the 112 nurse's office and I spoke with the nurse and I informed her I had only had a panic attack. After some time air and water, I
felt back to normal normal and she even took my temperature and confirmed everything was fine. My supervisor then informs me that I must go home because I'm sick and since I do not have sick time that I would not be paid for the day. This was said to me in front of two other staff members and students in the
1112 nurses office. I pleaded with my supervisor and asked him to have HR check the policy to see if that was okay. We had two other callouts within our department that day. He stated my supervisor stated he would have our director ask the director of HR. And for what felt like an eternity, I sat and
waited in the nurse's office. It was humiliating and I felt like I was being held hostage. They even I even made a joke and said that I'd wait in my car since I wasn't allowed to go wait in our office. I realized that they had not asked our HR director and since my income was at stake, I decided to go to
Central. Once I arrived here, I was informed by my supervisor that HR and my director was waiting for me back in Mr. Anderson's conference room. I drove back to the high school and spoke with Mr. Sweeney, and I relayed him the events that have happened on that day exactly as I have to you. Mr. Sweeney and I
agreed that I would head home and clean up and meet with Mr. Dillio here at Central at 10:30 a.m. Throughout the day, we decided that I would come back at the to the high school at 6 p.m. to collect my belongings from my desk. It is my understanding that it was requested by Mr. Distillio to Mr.
Goffredo as though it was a request at as though it was at the request of Mr. Dillio and not me. Since Mr. D and I met at the high school at 6 p.m. And at 6:30 p.m. my supervisor, Jim Sternolo, comes into the office claiming that he was out driving and left something at his desk.
Um, thank you, Mrs. Ambrose. It's been 5 minutes. Can I have a motion to close to the public? Motion to close. Oh, are you putting card in? Okay, go ahead, Jerry. Go ahead, Jerry. You're the last one. Thank you. Good evening everybody and uh as I
normally would say I didn't plan on speaking this evening but I have to respond to a couple things that I heard. Uh I am Jerry Teresi. I am the president of the WTEA and I have a great deal of respect for the counseling department in this
district. But I would be remiss if I did not make reference specifically to I believe it was 18 letters that were delivered to this board of education not that long ago uh from members of the counseling
department as well as former members of the counseling department. not necessarily in support of our present counseling director, but this evening I was a little bit taken back because I'm
hearing a lot of accolades for that particular individual. That being said, let me move on to Mr. Scardino. When Mr. Gardino came to us at our executive meeting last week and announced that he was stepping
down from the WTEA. He specifically made reference to the fact that he believed that there was a mole in our organization. A mole in our organization that was reporting the events and the
exact dialogue that took place both at our executive meeting as well as at rep council. And as a result, he said that he felt undue pressure because that was being released
to a member of or multiple members of the board of education. At one point, he actually said that he was called into his administrative building principal's office and was confronted with almost
the exact words that he cited at our previous meeting the night before. Subsequent to all of that and then reading the letter D sent to the board of education and how he was under
duress in signing the uh edict if you will also puzzled all of us because it was Mr. Scardino who initiated the vote of no
confidence about a year and a half ago. It was Mar Mr. Scardina who spoke regularly at this podium in critical analysis of what was happening within the district of some of the tactics that were being used. It was
Mr. Scardino who now claims that he was under duress to participate in this whole thing. There was no duress. There was no one that, and I don't want to use the term or phrase, but there was no one that had a knife at his back forcing him
to say anything at this podium. So for him now to all of a sudden assume that the public who has witnessed everything to believe that he was coerced into participating is a
boldfaced lie. Perhaps we should look at the individual or individuals on the board of education that he had a personal relationship with that might have put pressure on him to resend his support in
the first place. Thank you very much. Uh thank you, Mr. Tashi. Can I have a motion to close to the public? Just real quick, he's not here to defend himself. Can I have a second? Second. Joyce. Oh, did someone else have
a card? Karen Carpenter had a card. Is Karen Carpenter here? Okay. I don't have it, but I don't have any other cards. Is there anyone else who put a card in? Okay. Can I have a second to close to the public?
Where's the letter? He gave it to someone. Who has it? Oh, is someone gonna come up and read it? Okay. To put a card in, right? Have to put a card in. Yeah, we we would need a card, but I mean, it could have been when I collapsed my stuff and threw it
in my back seat. In anger in the rain that the card is in my car. So, go ahead. Thank you. So, it would need to be somebody that hasn't spoke already and they need to put a card in. Oh, yeah. Need to be somebody. I got No, no. He They want to read something
from Karen Carpenter, but it has to be I mean, you could also You can give it to us. I'll give it. All right. Sean's gonna have to fill out the card then so that we have a record. I mean, it doesn't matter to us. We're
just trying to do what Aeron's telling letter to position. Yes, it's a farmer's stand. Leave me alone. Press edits. So I'll show you what's Okay. Stop. Just start reading up to here. Up to the
school district. Okay. All right. I'll try to read as fast as I can. Um, good evening, Washington Township Board of Education. My name is Karen Eert Carpenter. I've been an employee of the district since 1984. I was hired as an HPN H&P teacher and became a school
counselor in '92. In addition, I am a resident of WT and our children attended the Washington Township School District. Four of my grandchildren will also attend our school district. Tonight, I will speak to you about the cut of our district counseling director at the meeting last week. To say that our district counseling family was slash is
stunned, saddened, and in complete disbelief is an understatement. Mr. Bolandorf, Mr. Bolandorf appointed Miss Ms. Germoly from the high school director to the district director of counseling eight years ago. This was long overdue and very necessary for our students, families, our community, and the Washington Township counselors and
staff. Miss Grimmaldi has brought continuity to our counseling department. She was the first person to hold frequent meetings in person and virtually with all direct counselors, preschool through high school. Miss Grimmaldi is extremely knowledgeable and has brought so many positive changes to our students, schools, the counselors,
and community. She affects every school and student in this district. Um, she has implemented the school counseling programs at the school district and state levels. What Miss Grimmaldi accomplished for the students or what has Miss Grimmaldi accomplished
for the students of our district? You're the best. Thanks, buddy. She has she has hired qualified, diverse, and compassionate counselors. She has advocated for students based on real data, removing barriers to access, promoting equity, and creating opportunities for all learners. She has
encouraged professional growth among counselors and empowered them to serve as leaders within their buildings. The systems and protocols she put in place ensure that every student in our district benefits from a consistent highquality counseling program. Miss Grimaldi has also been a champion for mental health. She has implemented numerous programs to support students
and families in this critical area. Programs that have proven to be invaluable resources to our community. Her efforts have helped countless students navigate challenges, find stability, and thrive. I've heard it said time and again that the counseling department and its leadership are the lifeline of our schools and community. I
couldn't agree more. In my role in the district crisis team, I have witnessed firsthand Miss Grimmaldi's ability to lead with compassion and competence in our most difficult moments. Just last week, following a tragic event in our district, Miss Grimmaldi immediately activated our crisis response plan. By 3:45 p.m. on May 6, she had mobilized
support, communicated with staff, and ensured our students emotional well-being was being addressed. Other responsibilities of the district counseling director are 504s, home instruction, state and direct testing, AP testing, development of a counseling curriculum. Please refer to the counseling web page. The items on this
web page have been created by Miss Grimmaldi. This is only a small snippet of what she does. To lose this leadership and to eliminate the position entirely would be detrimental to our students, our counselors, and our entire school district. Miss Grimmaldi's work touches every building, every staff member, every student, and every family.
Her presence is not optional. It is essential. I respectfully ask you to reconsider this proposed cut. Let's lend an ear to the seasoned sorry faded uh dedicated and zealous staff in the buildings who work tirelessly day in and day out of work together sorry together
to ensure that Washington Township continues to prioritize comprehensive highquality school counseling service that meet the complex needs of all students. Our children deserve nothing less. Thank you. Thank you. Motion to close to the public.
All in favor? Um we'll move on to um committee reports. First is instructional affairs. We didn't meet. Oh, that's right. You didn't meet. Um Steve's not here to do business committee, but I was in that
meeting and we basically talked about the budget the entire time. Um, outside of talking about the budget, I don't think Yeah, there was just a couple purchasing items. Everything's just been
budget, budget, budget. Um, student activities and communication. Do we have a report from that or were you guys just budget focused? I don't think that met this month. That was supposed to be last week, I think, when we had the meeting. Oh, when we had the meeting. That's right. Okay. Um, I'm going to read since
there's no superintendent at this meeting, um, that the acting superintendent have previously recommended all agenda items that require a superintendent's recommendation. So, can I have a motion to approve the HI report under report of
the superintendent? Motion to approve. Second. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Mrs. Clancy. Yes. Miss Chill. Yes. Ms.
Hardong. Yes. Mr. Liberty. Yes. Mr. Ross. Yes. Mrs. Baker. Yes. Mrs. Bloom. Yes. Miss Kazmpo. Yes. Motion carries. Um motion. Nothing under
instructional affairs. Few items under policy. Uh, can I have a motion to approve items one through four under policy? Motion to approve. Second. Okay, Scott. Second. Any discussion?
Roll call, please. Mrs. Chilla, yes. Mrs. Hardong, yes. Mr. Liberty, yes. Mr. Ross, yes. Mrs. Baker, yes. Mrs. Bloom, yes. Miss Clancy, yes. Miss Kazmple.
Yes. Motion carries. Motion to approve items 1 through 16 under human resources. Second. Any discussion? I would just like to say there is one retirement on here. Congratulations to Elizabeth Davis
retiring as a food service worker. Mrs. Davis has worked for the Washington Township School District for 20 years. Any other discussion? Seeing none, roll call, please. Mrs. Hartung,
yes. Mr. Liberty, yes. Mr. Ross, yes. Mrs. Baker, yes. Mrs. Bloom, yes. Miss Clancy, yes. Miss Chilla, yes. Miss Kazmpo, yes. Parries. Motion to approve
item number one under special education. Agenda items. There is no agenda items. Oh, sorry. I have a print out. There's nothing. There's nothing else. Okay. Um, any new business from the board?
any I'm just hoping that not this not tonight but maybe next week we can start talking about next year's budget because I have a lot of things I think we need to talk about in preparation for that one I'd like to just say is we've talked
about setting this building and I think that's something that we need to work on. We also need to work on having people come to our big auditorium over there. we that had come out of the session that we had, but it didn't go
any place. I was hoping that we could get a committee together with that. And I really want to get people in the public involved, not just business people. We need staff involved. We need community members involved. This district has got to start pulling
together because some of the things that we need to do, we we need to do with a referendum when it comes to boilers and things like that. Not now, but in the future. But we have a lot of things that we need to start working on next week in preparation for next year. Thank you.
Thank you. I mean, I think we all agree with that, Pat. Um, and next week, as a reminder, is when we're working on our goals with Lori Banlow from New Jersey School Boards, one of the um things that I want to discuss, and everyone can think about this until then, um, is putting out a survey to the taxpayers,
the parents, the staff, the every level of staff that we have. um with also capturing some data with that that we can disagregate. So we can say here's what middle school, you know, just as an example, here's what middle school teachers find as the top three priorities. Here's what high school
teachers, high school parents, high school students, and then we can really have something, you know, because I don't think it should just be the nine of us determining that. I think we should have some public feedback on that. So think about if uh you know that's something that you're interested in doing. I think that that data would
be invaluable for planning. And I also had um someone write to me in the public. They had said that last year at this time I brought up a board self-evaluation and a board retreat. I really don't think after tonight we're quite ready for the self-evaluation, but
I think we ought to work on a date that we want to do that. Maybe not maybe in the fall, but I really think these retreats for some training and therapy need to take place. I agree. When the nine of us can meet together and talk,
we accomplish things. But it's I I don't know if people from the public know this, but when more than five members, when the majority of the board get together, it's a public meeting. It has to be advertised 48 hours in advance. You have to have at least one public comment section. You have to have an agenda. Um you have to have have a
superintendent ideally. And so sometimes that, you know, by time, like I said, I've said this before, you know, it's midnight before we can go back and talk to each other again. So I think a retreat would be fantastic because that would be a special meeting. It would only need one public comment section and
we could go and into executive and talk about personnel and um things like that. But anything else would have to be in public, right? Which is fine. Okay. Anyone else? Yeah. Um, I'd like to suggest that we put policy
0164.2 into the policy committee, you know, and clarify that and have it reviewed and go through the process. Thank you. Can I guess who will do that? Let's put it in all of the committees for this month. That's the
policy for participating electronically. So, as a reminder, anyone else? All right. Motion to open to the public again, please. Motion to open to the public. A second.
Second. All in favor? I. James Msadi. Good evening, members of the board. Um, you guys have a really tough job. Has anybody ever told you that? I'm thinking you probably know that you've been doing it for a little
while. Um, so there's been a lot going on and sitting here tonight like I can I can see visibly you guys are holding a lot of tension. So I'm going to use some of my time just to encourage you to take
a deep breath. Like it or not, we have a budget now. So, that's past us. There's obviously a lot going on tonight. It's going to make for some interesting uh YouTube watching. I think we should try to monetize it. Not going
to lie. Just take some take some get get revenue into the district, right? Like, it is what it is. Just have fun with it right at this point. Um but uh but seriously, like take a breath. Uh there's a lot going on. you guys have a lot on your plate and it's a thankless
job. Like I I I don't doubt that. Um so I think it's important that uh you know I just wanted to say that and acknowledge that. Um that said, I do echo the fact that you have a real opportunity. You've heard a lot from the public. Uh I wasn't paying attention
last year when we had budgetary issues and there were staff issues and we we repeated that again this year. Um there's a huge opportunity now not only to start planning for next year's budget but to make a plan for two years, three years, four years, 5 years. Start with
what you can, but start building on it, projecting expenses. Janine has fantastic access to resources and information to project a lot of the things that you guys all know. I mean, 80 plus% of our budget comes from four line items. like it's not that hard to
project those four items and get a general direction of where expenses are going to go. Um we don't know where all the money is going to come from. I fully understand that we don't always know how the state's going to change the funding formula or uh again there's these adjustment factors that they vote every
year that influence how it gets calculated and we don't know what those are going to be. But when we know what the expenses are, we can start engaging the public. we can start having conversations and educating people on what's potentially coming so that we can create context for Julie you talked
about like you know engaging the community. A lot of people just like they don't understand like a lot of people don't run budgets in their own homes let alone the impact of $165 million that we have to deal with, right? People don't understand that, you know, when a boiler or an HVAC unit goes
down, it's not $5,000 like it is to fix one in your home. It's a quarter of a million dollars to have to replace that, right? So, when we have nothing in the capital reserve, I don't know that people understand that it's not like you can just go swipe the credit card and be okay. Um, and maybe they do, maybe they don't. I don't know. But I feel like
there's an opportunity to create a plan and to be able to communicate that. And, um, I really valued being a part of the budget task force last year. I think we had a lot of great dialogue and discussion. I would love to see that extend to other areas. Um, and it's for that reason that I wanted to kind of
also then question you guys just voted on um, making changes to policy 8505 which included the elimination of the district wellness committee. Um, so I was definitely just curious. Uh that was a committee uh as I understood it that
was to involve principles, parents uh members of food service uh around making sure that we were you know providing a uh food service choices to our students that met the needs of the community. And so just you know understanding that
maybe part of that I don't know who puts these changes to the policies forward or who recommended that or whatn not but you know there's an opportunity to engage the public that also was just removed from a policy and maybe that's because of more of the staffing issues because obviously we've just made cuts and maybe we can't support that anymore.
Um but I I just wanted to share you know maybe it's you know hey it's in the policy but we actually haven't done it for 10 years and it's just kind of cleanup right. So, uh, maybe just some context on what exactly kind of drove that because there is a little bit from my perspective of you want to engage, but you also just eliminated an opportunity for engagement, uh, both
with staff and the community. So, uh, thank you very much. I appreciate it. Uh, I just want to respond real quick, which is you mentioned a couple times how difficult the board members jobs is, but I just want to remind everyone they're not paid anything. They're volunteers. Um, and they, you know, they
receive no no pay for this and they're doing it their own time. And finally, for the the policy you mentioned, I just want to clarify that it's I I believe what's on the agenda is a first reading of an amendment of the policy, not an abolishment. Well, the we would need to show the attachment. If you if you look at it
online, you can see did you see the attachment? Okay. section. I need a computer in order to explain this. I don't know if anybody I don't have a computer. Understood. Okay. Got it. Just want to clarify that wasn't
the whole policy that was being correct. Do you want to look at it? Sure, I'll look at it while Angela talks. Angela Truso, I'll follow back up on Let me just orient. Good evening. Um, I hadn't expected to talk either, but I just want to say
tomorrow and Thursday and Friday will be a very difficult day for support staff. Just so that you all know, there are people who will be losing their time by 15 minutes or an hour or a little bit more. And not only will they be losing their time, they'll be losing their
health care. These are people who need their healthcare. They're currently undergoing cancer treatments, waiting for transplants. We have pe parents whose kids are at CHOP right now. And the story goes on. Everybody has a story. You all know that. I've gotten up and
talked about it. you hear our members get up and talk about it tomorrow. It becomes real. It becomes real tomorrow. And there's going to be a lot of unhappy and very sad people walking around in this district, the people who work with the neediest children here. And it's not
just the assistants. It's the food service workers. It's the people who serve our kids food. It's the custodians. It's the entire support staff, union and non-union. It's not a union issue. It's a human issue. We have to remember that it's a human issue. We
all have feelings and we all watch this and we watch people criticize us online. It's horrible. People don't want to come to work. And tomorrow I'll be dealing with all of those problems and that I know that's a me problem, but it's also a you
problem because it affects people. It's real. It's not just feelings. It's real. So, I just want you to keep that in mind that this week will be a very difficult week. Thank you. Thank you. Um, I just wanted to say that your
group of people in this room, anybody else that's been a cut with, I can look them in the eye right now, but I really can't look your group in the eye. And I'm very sorry. It's devastating. I'm sorry, Sean Lindsay. Mr. Ms. These look like Strauss
Esme deletions, which is like the company that sends us policy. I'm not sure why they would take it out. Sometimes there's like a state, you know, maybe because there was payment involved in one of these positions. We're trying to figure it out, but absent a superintendent, I'm not exactly sure why they removed it, but we'll look
into it. Go ahead, Sean. Um, don't really know how I'm going to say this without really trying to lose my temper, whatever, but uh, you know, we talk about, you know, people have been saying, "Oh, you know, ethics are getting thrown around and this and that." Well, there's a reason that
they're being thrown around because they're being violated. Ethics violations have been getting thrown around constantly and ever since the reorg. It's what's been happening. Um there's a reason that now it's getting called out is because it's so blatant that the ethics violations are happening and charges are being
filed, but everybody's like, "Oh, just let it go. Let it go." The problem is it's setting an example for everybody else. It's like rules for thee, not for me. You know, you guys can get away with it, but other people can't or there's ethics charges that are pressed against this person or ethics charges press.
Yes. Because when you take this oath as I did, when you stand up here and you swear that you abide by that code of ethics, you're supposed to adhere to those codes of ethics. Does everybody do it? No. And that's why ethics violations are being filed. I don't care what anybody says. Back door things happen.
Ethics violations get thrown out there. Stuff happens up here in front of the board. Ethics charges are going to get filed. It's just what it is. And as far as, you know, the other part of my card was card was etiquette. I don't know what I did to you, Miss Gazemple. What did I do to you that you
call me out? I'd love to know. Did I secretly do something that that ticked you off? Did I kick your dog? Did I dent your car? I don't know. What did I do to where you can call me out when I've done nothing to you? You've called me out three times
already and I've been very calm about it. You called Don't even try it. You called me out when I was on the board telling me to turn in my union ticket. Remember that? He called me out again saying I I gave Hibs $40,000. No, I
didn't. And now you just called me out again. Why? You have no You What? Why are you attacking me? That's That's all I want to know. Why are you coming after me when I've done nothing to you? I've never I haven't called you. Lord knows I've never called you. Never texted you, emailed you, nothing. So, in the words
of a lot of people, please keep my name out of your mouth. I've done nothing to disrespect you. I've done nothing to do anything to you. So, please, let's stop that. And my last point is, why is Dr. Hibbs not back yet? I don't care about the groans from
everybody else. We have an acting superintendent who's being paid to stay at home. Why is he not here doing his job? Where did you find the potential 200 grand for an acting interim superintendent? You just raised taxes 7%
on us and yet you're cutting positions on support staff. I'm on board with you, Mr. Russo. Sorry, I'm not supposed to direct it to you. I'm on board with her. You just raised taxes seven and a almost seven and a half% on the public and yet you're cutting jobs. You're cutting positions.
You're cutting benefits to people who can go to McDonald's and get benefits and make more money. Now, I'm going to Miss Miss Chill, I'm sorry. I'm going to use your name real quick. She asked for some data to see if these people were being paid fairly or higher or lower. Has that been
done yet? Has that data been produced to anybody? What about for administration? What about for the teachers? Has any of that data been shown yet? No. So, how how again I'm going to I'm just trying to think about the logic in
my head. How are you raising taxes and cutting? I just don't understand that. And again, this board is split. I don't care what anybody says. It is split. It is divided. It is angry. Everybody's ready to bite everybody's head off at the slightest statement.
grow up. You guys are supposed to be the face of our district and a bunch of you are acting like kids, like spoiled little kids. You guys can't come to agreements on hardly anything. Oh, we agreed no on the budget. Wow. One thing out of the past 5 months that this board's been
together. You guys don't come together and you wonder why so many people are ticked off. I'm I'm the last person to be mad. I don't have kids in this district, but I'm a taxpayer. Why are my taxes going up and these people are losing jobs and losing benefits? That's my biggest
problem. I said it when I was a board member. I came up here for two reasons. I wanted to know where my tax money was going and I wanted to bring trades back to the schools. I failed on the second one because I didn't realize how financially strapped we were. So, I admitted that I could admit a failure,
but the first one, where is all my other tax money going now when you're when we're losing jobs? So, where's all that extra money going? That's all I have to say. Thank you. Um, the two instances you're talking about was when you were a board member and I was commenting on the fact that
your campaign promises were in opposition to your actions as you do to me. And tonight when I mentioned your name, it was because you were screaming out of the audience at me. Nicole Lenudi. I just wanted to um understand something
a little bit better. Um from what I understand, and correct me if I'm wrong, I'm really asking. Um when you take away a director position, the salary stays and it bumps down and down. Um so essentially at the end of the day, you're cutting from the bottom, which is
something that we are trying to avoid. Um, after looking at the list that was posted on our agenda, salaries, there are a lot of teacher salaries that aren't too far under the director positions that were cut. Um, teachers go
well, well, well above any written job description day in day out, and they go above and beyond any scope of work for a child every day. But that's not to say that
administration doesn't do that too. I have heard for years administration's topheavy or topheavy. I said it myself because not being educated on that it was something that
was I perceived I could say after hearing factual data and doing research and hearing things that um Mr. Msadi had said and we are under administration but also from hearing from everybody that spoke tonight of what a director
position offers somebody. It's not fair that teachers that are making a certain salary which do not get me wrong they deserve every penny of it. That doesn't mean that somebody else doesn't deserve it as
well. So from cutting her position her salary stays. I want to know without her position who actually loses their job. She stays. Julie said it last week. We're not losing a person. We're we're
losing a title. So, who is the person or people that lose their job after she gets bumped? Um or after she does the bumping or however it works. I don't know. I just heard that term. Um, I'm just curious to know out of that
removing her who it is. Does it come from support staff? Does it come from untenured teachers? Who is losing their job when she takes her position away? Um, no. I I I that's what I want clarification are because from what I'm
understanding, it's support staff who we're trying to save. Um, and just the way that support staff supports the teachers, it seems to me from them, she supports them. It's like the opposite
that a director or an admin can support her staff just the way support staff supports their teachers. I don't after listening to them talk, how do they operate without her, without that position? um after our support staff came up and spoke and said that they don't clock out
when there's 15 minutes left. On paper they do physically, mentally, emotionally, they don't do that. What would happen if they did? If all of them did that, what could physically happen in that environment?
What can happen to the teachers? What can happen to the children? What can happen to the principles? just an environment of chaos. Think about dismissal or arrival. If that happened and they all left, you would find some money
somewhere for a lawsuit. There's been settlements made in special ed for many years. That money has to come from somewhere. If that happened now and every single one of them said, "It's time to clock out. I lost my 15 minutes." and they all left, I can
guarantee you there would be a lawsuit over non-compliance, over a child getting hurt, you have that money somewhere. Pay them and avoid that. We can't have that. And for you that got up and spoke, I don't know where she is, and who spoke
on behalf of what all of you do from a parent of a child that needs you, thank you. Because what they're doing makes it seem that you're undervalued. all of you. And that's not fair to the children who can't operate their day without them
physically cannot. One other thing about somebody losing their job. I I didn't see the secretaries that support our special ed um supervisor on the list of jobs to get saved. Our teachers are leaving. Our
support staff is leaving. Annette's on leave. Our director of special ed is leaving and now you're taking away the support of the secretaries to the person that runs special ed. This is not good. Um I can explain bumping. We can't talk
about personnel obviously. Um and we don't even make those recommendations. A superintendent would. But like a like a principal would never you like if you eliminated a principal's position, that person wouldn't bump like a support staff. That's not what you mean from the bottom. It would bump the most newly
hired principal. So whatever unit you're in, non-tenured, newly hired is what gets bumped, not someone from a completely separate union. [Music] Um Joey, didn't we also wasn't last week the point of what we did? First of all,
we don't really put together the budget. The only thing that we did to change the budget was what happened last week. The budget was presented to us as it was. We did not have input into when it was originally presented to us. There were some people that tried to make changes
along the way, but we formally didn't change anything until last week. And my point for that was, you're right, you're not getting back all the money, but we worked together for a change and we were able to bring back health aids. And when
we talk about children and what children need, to me that was a really important thing to bring back because we have very needy children anymore and we need the help in the health offices. So between Janine coming up with a little bit of
money and making a few of those cuts that were actually cuts that allowed us to bring back health aids. Yeah, these are really difficult decisions, but I mean 100% of us always made that point. You know, someone who I
mean there's no good way to do this. you know, everyone's hurting from this and it doesn't make us happy at all to be the people dealing with what we've been left with to deal with. But, um, if you interface with a child on the
dayto-day, you know, we were attempting to protect that think like a child's day, thinking about what they do during the day. They get on the bus, they get greeted when they get to school, they have an aid, they have their teacher, they have their lunch people, they have their guidance counselors. I mean, I
personally I think probably everyone here agrees and you guys have heard me say that before. I think it's terrible we don't have any sacks in this district anymore. We had six sacks and we have none. I don't know why that happened. I think we could have, you know, six guidance counselors at each middle school. To Mrs. Leonard's point and Mrs.
Leonard, Mrs. White were both my kids guidance counselors. So, they know I support that. I personally support that as a parent. I think we need guidance counselors more than anything. Um but our again like our it's a board so one person can't do anything. There's
nine votes. Did you want to say something? Uh yeah just kind of piggybacking on that. Uh that's very very clear. uh we're just one person and I do want to say that uh I am very concerned with this budget that we have
individuals that have worked here and um I tried very hard for at least people that had 20 years or more experience that they keep their benefits because what happens is after 25 years you're going to have benefits in retirement and
now we have those people just got wiped wiped out and I really feel very bad about that. Okay. So, I'm just going to reiterate from personal experience having um wonderful special ed aids,
regular ed aids that worked in my classroom when I was teaching um you are undervalued. You deserve more. and and the raise to taxes that really basically went into trying to save some benefits, saving three guidance
counselors and saving other positions. It wasn't enough, but that was what we did with that money. Some people think that's foolhardy, thinking it's only a one-year fix, but that was our attempt to try to keep things moving the way that they should, at least for this
year, for our special education students in some of those areas where you're saying they need somebody for the full amount of time. That was part of the the tax increase. I'm going to ask Aaron to explain the difference between carefully
negotiations and collective bargaining and the budget process and being supporting one thing and not the other being if you want to pay aids more money which one of those things do you need to support
right so I I think I think what you're talking about how the two often work against each other and so often I see it as an attorney who sits at these board meetings night after night is that I see the public uh in a lot of these meetings be upset about
different issues and some of the issues are the lack of pay and the lack of benefits and the and then some of the issues are cut jobs and the reality of the situation is that the board has a set budget and you know this year they went and did a little something extraordinary to increase the
budget even more than they normally could but within that budget they have to make those decisions about where the money goes. And to the extent that they use it to give higher wages to the staff that they have, that means that there's less money to go to additional staff or
to retain additional staff. So those two goals, the goals of compensating the staff that that the board has fairly and uh appreciating the their true value and sufficiently staffing the district are often directly conflicting with each
other. So, I I I think that's I hope that makes sense. I I was just sitting here thinking I wish we could do like a freaky Friday or something for board where like or like board takeover where like other people just come in and be the board for like just a month, just one month to to learn what the how this
goes. Um, April Renzetti, that was good, Aaron. Thank you. I hope that that people understood that. I just want to know when the aids are going to be told they're being cut and I want to know what the what how because the one that I work
with needs to change her retirement date if she's getting cut because she's been here almost 40 years. So I want to know when they're being told. I want an answer and I'm not leaving without one. And I'll email you Julie so the people don't have to bother Oprah or
I'll tell you. I want an answer or I'm gonna email you. So for the people that gonna see if I email you, I will. I want an answer because she's been here 40 years. I want to know when she's being told. The board can't share details about any
I can't tell my 40year veteran aid who is 72 years old when she's got to go because if she is cut, she will lose her benefits in retirement. So your answer, sir, does not wash with
me. I needed Well, all right. So you're done, right? So we can Yes. Okay. Not stop back and forth. Why don't we just explain the Oh, Sean's not here. All right. There's literally like no one. You can see now why I got up and walked out. Okay. All I have to say
is Angela Teruso is trying to explain, but the people that were voted on tonight are tenured folks that now that the budget is approved, their jobs will come back. Non-tenured people who are going to lose their jobs are going to I guess they would
find that out after what, next week. Doesn't have to. I mean, I don't they I don't want to misspeak, but there's no employees here to answer the question, sadly. I think Mrs. Teruso he left. He left. I don't know. Mrs. Teruso, can you answer
that? Do you know when they have to know by what? Not tomorrow. April, I'm going to call Jerry up and I will I will ask someone tomorrow. I think it's tomorrow. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's by the 15th. May 15th. What people have to know by May
15th? Yeah. Is that tomorrow? Well, today's May 13th, right? What is the function of the administration to answer this question? And there's no one here to answer your question. I apologize. I I can I can It's been represented to the board that all of the necessary notices
have already been timely sent. Can you repeat that? it the so my understanding is the ones that legally had to be sent by May 15th were already sent and the reason why non-tenured and non-unit staff were
given a non-renewal notice is because we didn't have a budget. So now that we have a budget, we can start working on who is falling into what place and begin contacting the employees and having as many as we can on the next agenda. So
there is a set timeline, but I I can't sit here again it is it is a function of HR. I do get involved with that, but like I can't sit here and say like tomorrow it's going to be this person and the next day it's going to be this person. They're not. It happens.
They're not tenure, though. The support staff's not tenure. So, does that mean they're all So, that Well, as of right now, they've most likely all gotten a non-renewal notice, but that was simply because we didn't have a budget. We have a budget now. So, people will start to
be contacted and then we'll show up on the next agenda. Where are all the people that are under contract that sit over there? HR left six figures. You just asked You just asked why we don't have sack counselors, but I can't talk
personnel. Email me. I'll let people know. We're going to email. They don't have to bother opening it. I'll let you know why we don't have sack counselor. Jerry Tarashi. What? We have one. We have one sack counselor. We have one. But we
Okay. Thank you. Somehow I I feel like we're avoiding one of the big problems that have plagued us for quite some time. And it's evidenced by
what April just made reference to, the fact that there's so many six figure salaries that aren't in the room right now. People who got raises in the past year, significant raises, I might add.
Yes. Thousands of dollars of raises. administrators who are making well over $200,000 a year. Something's wrong. Something's wrong. And to be quite
frank, the planning, and I know that I believe Scott, you said it repeatedly, how can you come up with a budget for this year when you don't know what you did last year? I'm going to run some dates at
you. February 19th, March 3rd, March 26th, April 3rd, April 4th, April 7th, April
23rd, even May 1st. These are the dates that the NJA representatives have requested from our business administrator to have a copy of the audit, which by
law we're entitled to have. And as of May 1st, we still had not received it. We even got an email, I believe, from you, Julie, saying that the the audit was completed, but there were still some areas that needed to be tweaked a little
bit and because of staffing that no longer was in the district, that would be forthcoming once all of that was rectified. I still don't know if we've got the audit from last year, and yet we voted on a budget tonight.
My point more than anything else is this district is not being run competently. End of story. And until that gets fixed. And I heard I think Pat made reference to the fact that why
don't we consider doing something with this building? There are many districts that have taken their central administrative buildings and gotten rid of them. I I'm quite sure that Hollyell would be more than happy to purchase this building. And guess what? We could not
only save those people who are losing their benefits, but save from cutting anybody in the district. Save programs, save things that these kids need. Don't need pay to play. What you don't need is
this. Thank you. Thank you, Jerry. Uh Janine would like to address the I just just want to address the questions about the audit. So, as of right now, you're right, Jerry, the outstanding items right now. Um there's a last uh
one of the last things that are done is a legal letter is sent. So, all of our outstanding legal cases have to be analyzed to determine if any kind of um financial liability needs to be disclosed. So, we're waiting for that.
But I do want to stress, and I've said this a number of times. Um, when we close out each fiscal year, we know where we are financially in the fall. When the auditors come in, we have draft financial statements, so we're able to
determine, you know, that they match up with our figures. Um, we have met all the deadlines as far as what our finances are. there was um you know a rumor out there that we were supposed to meet a January 1 deadline. We did meet that. So
on January 1st there's a report um that's due to the state. It's part of um the same platform that we put um our budget software in. So all of our financials are uploaded by our auditor and then they're certified by us. So we
have all the financial information we need to approve that has also been reviewed with the board members. During committee meetings we reviewed budget to actual statements and all of our surplus. We compared prior year to this year so they could
understand the differences. We also had our auditor attend our last board meeting and come into executive session where he spoke to this process and spoke to the finances. He was specifically asked if there was any hidden money or
any surplus and the answer was no. Madison Ambrose just to cl the legal letter was sent in a while ago. Yeah. It's not on your end. It's on insurance. It's it's not on on your end at all. It has to go to our
insurance carrier because we have so many cases through insurance. Okay. Thank you. U just finishing my statement from the first public session. Um Mr. Mr. Dilio and I met at the high school at 6:00 p.m. And at 6:30 p.m., my
supervisor came into the office claiming that he was out driving and left something on his desk. This was another way to intimidate and harass me, just like they did earlier that same morning. I was offered a position at Central to take on additional job responsibilities without any extra pay.
I was ecstatic to do this because I felt like a black sheep in my department. I was not allowed to win and it felt like my bosses would set me up to fail whenever they got the chance. The next day, my department had a meeting to discuss me without me to discuss my new job
responsibilities. That was on February 5th, 2025. During this meeting, my director specifically states what is said is not to leave this room and then informs my co-workers not to help me when I call for issues related to Genesis, the software we use for student information. My bosses did not believe
that I was capable of these new responsibilities, and when I did not fumble, they went out of their way to make me look like I did. Additionally, during this meeting, they told the entire the department that I requested that no one from IT be there while I clear out my desk. My supervisor and director laughed when they mentioned
that I was at the high school at 6 p.m. Jim mentions that he even spoke with Mike about how much stuff I have and this interaction didn't happen. Additionally, at the end of the meeting, Joe Gfredo makes fun of how I had my desk decorated, stating that I had rainbows and unicorns. Thankfully, I've worked in it for 5 years now, and in
those five years, I've experienced my fair share of sexist comments. But that's exactly what it is. Sexist. No comments have been made about the decorations at my male co-workers desks. Furthermore, the next day my director and others watched the footage of me clearing out my desk and laughed like the harassment was a joke to them
because it truly is. You've been complicit in this and you've allowed them to get away with it. They have so much confidence and pride because they know that they'll get away with it. I think there's so much more that I could mention, but I've made my point. This is a director that is not focused on the well-being of his employees, let
alone the students in this district. I think we should reconsider which director of technology to cut because at least the other one has a certification in education. Mary McManus, I am the secretary to the director of technology. Joe Gfredo has been nothing
but fair and honest. I know the history, so shame on you. I know the stories that got Miss Ambrose to where she is. I'm If you're your
current employee, so I just want to caution you please not to discuss any personnel issues. I won't very unfair the statements that she's been making meeting after meeting. I was home ready for bed watching the
meeting tonight and couldn't take it anymore. She has been she's created a lot of turmoil in the department uh division in the department. I was there when Joe Kcki
hired her on June June 1st 2022 until the very last day that she was working in the district. And I think it's unfair during a very critical time in our district for her to get up here and bow
out the things that she's saying when we have more important things to focus on than a disgruntled terminated employee. And that's all I got to say. It's just wrong. Thank
you, Sher Hile. I um public speaking makes me physically ill, so I apologize. I'm going to be shaking and probably Okay, so anyway, my name is Sherry. I'm affectionately known as Miss Sherry at Whitman's school. I'm a power
professional and I love my job so very much. I'm a mother of a graduate here in town. I have a current student at the high school and I'm a taxpayer and I come every single week in person. People
are like, "Why do you go in person?" Because I want to focus on what everybody has to say. And I'm just so disappointed in so many things that I've witnessed, especially the last couple months. In the last couple
years, I always laugh that this madness falls during mental health month. You have no idea what it's like to have to go to school and be totally okay for our children because that's what our job is.
We have to be there for them. But then nobody's there for us and we have to pretend like everything's okay. And I want to let you know what my job will look like tomorrow. Last year,
unfortunately, because power professionals are sent in I'm literally shaking. I'm so sorry. Um, during testing week, we have to sit in the hallways because we're not allowed in the classrooms while they're testing by New Jersey state law. Last
year when this happened, I had an unfortunate position of seating where I got to watch all the support staff walk by me and have to go to the principal's office to know if they had a job or not or if they were
losing their benefits. It was so upsetting to see. I I actually brought in a box of tissues and had them sitting on the desk that I was sitting at because everybody that walked by me was crying or sad or just it was
devastating. And do you know what all those people did after they walked out of the principal's office? They wiped off their faces. They hugged the closest person and then had to go back in the classroom and pretend like everything was
fine. So, I appreciate that the counselors are there for the kids, but guess what? We're going to need the counselors tomorrow because this is killing us. Like, I swore I would not let this eat me up this year. And you people who know me know how much it just
took for me to get up here and speak because this is not something something that I'm comfortable doing. But I can't like it's the kids like at the end of the day. Yes, you you're gonna cut hours and what everyone else is saying. We
love our kids. We are going to stay even though our time is done. I know at the end of the day I see everybody trying to get kids on buses. They've been done. They've been done for a half hour, but they're doing it because the kids need
them. I don't know. I I I I've been talking to so many people and I don't know what's right anymore. I just know that you're killing the people who love and want to work with the children. This is something I I don't know what the
answer is, but please help us because we're people and this is horrible to see and horrible have to face. Like I I I'm going to see this tomorrow again and I know it. I know I'm gonna see it and it is awful. So, please, please do better.
I'm just begging. Please, please do better for [Applause] us. Brandy Williams. Hello. I'm sorry you broke my heart crying up here. Um, I just have a question. I have two actually.
um with the director that's getting her job's getting cut. How how does that work? So, she's still hired. She just doesn't do that job. Can you explain that a little bit more? The director of the social is it counseling? I just want to understand how that works. And then
the bumping. So, it bumps to the next person of Senari. Can you explain it because it's just we're confused over here at how that works. So, she's not losing her job, but she's losing her position, right? Okay. Yes. I just I just want some clarification on that if you can explain
it. And then I just want to state is the lawyer. I'm sorry you we didn't get your name. Aaron, can you come back more? Can we have you for a while? I really do enjoy you being here. You've been engaging. You've been professional. You've I don't know. It's definitely
different than what we're used to. And I think right now that we need this like can you please just start coming to our meetings? Thank you. I I don't think I'm going to be able to explain the tenure stuff in a way that really makes sense because it's incredibly complicated and but I'll try
my best to kind of simp uh the way it works is that uh school staff members have to be certificated through the do through the DOE in certain areas and there's different types of certificates and Uh generally
uh that when staff members who are certificated earn tenure which is roughly after about four years of service in that specific title or that c a title for which that specific certificate is needed. They get tenure
for that title or that certificate area depending on depending on whether that specific title is listed in this tenure statute. That's it's it's ridiculous. Um um and once a SAT person earns tenure
in that specific position, they are entitled to a job in that certificated area. Um even if the specific role that they are in gets rifted, gets reduced, uh as long as there's another position
that that's they still qualify for in that certificate for which they've earned tenure. um that's being occupied by someone who's less senior than them. So, uh if there's let's say five administrative c positions in a district that all require
the same five certificates and then one of those five positions is rifted. If reduced forest riff uh and and let's say the person who would that position that got reduced was the most senior of the five uh they would still they would move
to one of the other positions and uh whoever has the least seniority in that group would would be bumped. So, he can answer your question after the meeting because I'll be the bad guy and say he can't do it back and forth. Motion to close to the
public. Motion to close. Can I have a second? Second. All in favor? I. Motion to adjurnn. So moved. All in favor? Hi. All right.