thank you i'll repeat that uh the emails that I had shared with the board uh regarding policy 5756 were the board correspondents we've received since the last board meeting okay um committee reports education filling in
the education committee met on March 31st at 3:30 in attendance were Lisa Deagio chair Carol Pasa Janine Potter Bob Morrison Susan Ober Elizabeth Jwitt Nicole Caro Tim Sty Marie Ellen Failen
and Mr labbera um we discussed a proposed new club dr jw informed the committee that this is the time of the year where students propose new clubs for the next school year a new co-curricular club dance competition has been submitted for the 202526 school
year dr jw explained that this is a very costly club which would involve competitions in and out of state mr sty spoke about the costs high competition fees costumes transportation and costs associated with out of state competitions in addition an unfair labor
practice charge was filed by the WHREA regarding advisor club stipens that stipens that while aligned with the contract are paid outside of schedule D of the contract as they have been added over and above the existing clubs in the
contract via board approval over the years the committee discussed the proposed new club costs and the ulp and felt that new clubs should not be considered until the ulp has been resolved uh we next talked
about AI for education whrhs partnered with Bernard's Township School District for AI training on March 26 for teachers teachers administrators and students from both school districts some students spoke on the creative ways they are
using AI such as creating study guides and preparing for SATs or tests teachers are starting to incorporate AI and teaching in the in the classroom this was the first of what will likely be many more um professional development sessions focused on AI the committee
discussed the use of AI and the future development of a course or courses on AI dr jw also indicated the AI will likely be part of the new strategic plan we also spoke about flag football and United flag football we have started two
new flag football programs this spring both with ties to the New York Jets who have provided equipment and other funding our new girls flag football team is an NJSIAA sport and recently won their season opener on our turf play
play unified is a hybrid of the sport involving special and gen general education students playing on the same team the New York Jets donated funds to be used for expenses associated with the establishment of the unified flag football program which was accepted by
the board at the last meeting articulation by the end of April we'll have met in every content area at least once in addition to visiting Longill for tested subjects learning walks we were able to host social studies math uh
English language arts world language and science where the teachers were also treated to a visitation in the new design lab we're looking forward to hosting one more workshop class on close reading with ELA teachers and then we will meet the arts teachers from the
four K through8 districts on April 9th where we anticipate showcasing our ceramics and photography renovations along with our design lab and we anticipate that the robust com conversations will continue one significant change this year was the
teachers themselves suggested more problems of practice and the middle school and high school teachers shared innovative ways they are incorporating AI into instructional planning summer reading update the English teachers are still narrowing down summer reading
which will be finalized for approval at a future board meeting the texts for the rising ninth graders will be shared with the middle school principles to disseminate to present eighth graders and the choices will also be posted on our eighth grade transition web page uh the May board of eds strategic plan
presentation the strategic plan update will be presented at a at our May 13th board meeting the format will be the same as in the past with students and staff present to highlight a particular programmatic accomplishment assigned with each goal
does anybody have any questions anybody have anything to add who was at the meeting i would just like to add that the flag football won their second game also i heard thank you um and they play again tomorrow night six o'clock so anyone's interested uh
also I just want to make a general announcement because we do see some people in the in the audience this evening um the first opportunity for public comment is for agenda items um and if you don't see the item on the agenda then it'll be at the end of the
meeting uh policy 5756 is not on the agenda this evening so those comments will be at the end of the meeting uh that being said we we can move pretty quickly through the meeting but you get to hear all the good updates that are happening school in the meantime personnel
that most of that Yeah that'll do an executive after the meeting okay operations All right the operations committee uh met on April 2nd in the morning via Zoom we had Mr galla Mr mayor Czech Mr morrison
myself Dr jwitt Mr sty and Mark Snowden should be Mr snowden everybody else's construction update uh Mr sty commented that our new director of operations Mark Snowden was joining us for a few minutes and we met him thanked the committee for
allowing him the opportunity to share his experiences during his first week at Wong Hills he sp said he spent time getting to know the facilities and the staff and was looking forward to working with everyone mr snowden spoke about the ongoing construction products projects
and provided a brief update on each project track said the asphalt in the area of the track will be redone but the plan is to have it done after graduation he also said the drainage fix fix behind the bleachers is also being reviewed the
Dante memorial we are awaiting for pricing from Speasel Architects dr jwitt discussed a dedication in the fall as well as a ceremony for the official opening of the design lab rooftop units mr snowden said the current plan is to
replace the you rooftop units over the superintendent's office and the business office he said "At this point we're waiting for the co-op pricing to come in chiller replacement." Mr snowden said "It is anticipated that the chiller will be starting uh over the upcoming spring
break." Sack office/the former's nurse's office mr sty shared that the change orders have been received for this project he said the two change orders total approximately $185,000 and recommended approving these items mr stay briefly discussed the
rationale behind the change and said it would benefit the students to have the sachs in one location sidewalk project mr sty explained proposed joint project with the Warren K through8 district he said he met with representatives from Warren
K through8 and the township regarding installing a sidewalk and crosswalk for students who are residing at the development across Sterling Road off of Lind across Sterling Road off Lindberg Road mr sty commented that we currently have a bus stop there but students are
not using the service he said the plan is to add a sidewalk from Woodland School up to the high school so students have a safe place to walk and are not walking along Sterling Road mr sty said the township engineer provided a drawing and estimated cost to be to be between
250,000 to 400,000 the he's proposing the final cost be split evenly between Wong Hills and Warren K through8 district he also said the addition of the sidewalk and crosswalk should mitigate liability on
both districts in in the event a student was to be injured while crossing the road committee discussion followed after discussion the committee recommended against funding the project tuition policy change dr dr j
explained that in response to an issue in a specific district the state recently issued guidance that districts may no longer allow out of out of district students to attend or any cost outside of the tuition rate approved by
the county exe executive county superintendent prior to this change our tuition student policy allowed for students leaving the district after specific dates to remove in the district to remain in the district even though even sorry even through the end of the
school year at no cost additionally we have discounted rates for children of employees as part of our CBA the state has since come out with clarification that we may set discounted tuition rates as long as they are uniform for each category we establish and are approved
by the executive county superintendent we'll be working on a rate sheet that aligns with our prior practice to be effective September 1st 2025 we will share this rate sheet with the board for approval prior to seeking
executive county superintendent approval dr jw discussed an employee who lives out of district no so Mr that part was supposed to must be out okay for closed i'm sorry didn't get highlighted on there so you can share that during uh closes okay yeah thank you
uh this makes it a little shorter it's a long report sorry okay um and then there was I don't know why there was one final construction update on the back and I still do that one mhm okay uh Mr sty I mentioned one additional update he said
there was a new sound system being installed on to Field Committee discussion followed and the meeting adjourned at 9:45 a.m thank you Mr core uh finance committee so the finance committee met on April
the 2nd um first thing we talked about was an athletic study mr sty explained that a request for information regarding what the district is spending per athlete uh has come up and that we need additional time to compile the actual cost is the staff member in the athletic
department who can provide some of that information is out on leave till the end of April uh we then moved into a discussion about the Hall of Fame uh Mr mr sty uh discussed a request from the Hall of Fame committee that they were asking the board to contribute funding
to cover uh the cost of the plaques mr galla said that he was supported the request with limits and asked if we knew what the cost for each plaque would be um discussion followed we really didn't have that particular information um there was some concern brought up about
the the cost and possible design options uh and it it ended up where after further discussion the committee was open to supporting the cost of the plaques but we did want to get more information to understand kind of what both the cost for the individual plaque
and just an estimate of how many plaques on average you know we should anticipate you know if we're going to budget for this over the long term so it's uh I think something that in general the committee was supportive of uh but wanted to get just some some more information so we could have it um have
the specifics in place uh we then talked about the transportation study mr stay reviewed the request for information in the transportation study and he also introduced the committee to Miss Kelly Shien who is our transportation coordinator uh Miss Sheen spoke about
the process and reviewed information that was in the transportation report which kind of looked at what are some of the options that we can use uh in order to both reduce the number of potentially reduce the number of bus routes uh and
also consider the timing of when we actually open the school so as as many of you know we've talked about wanting to find a way to open um school or open the high school later based on the the research that's out there showing the positive benefits that has for students
at the high school level to have a later start time um discussion then followed the committee suggested that the transport that um that we seek waiverss from 12th grade parents in an effort to reduce the number of high school routes
given the fact that we have so many students that actually drive that if we end up with some sort of potential waiver that may allow us to reduce some of the high school routes um and more information is going to be u uh reviewed before we make a determination on that
uh we then discussed food services shock that Pmptonian is coming with a price increase um for the school lunch program uh also the fact that we have an increasing number of students that are qualifying for free and reduced uh lunch
um that is increasing so that's some something that we have to keep in mind as well and that was all that we covered so anyone on the committee have anything else to add um I'm sorry I was not at the meeting but my understanding is based on last year's costs the plaques
were $160 a piece um but I think they've placed the order so I'm not I can find out Yeah I think what they'll be this year and how many um I think four okay i mean and traditionally is it some was like usually in that kind of three four
range every year or Well yes this year it's the two groups and I believe two individual two individuals so then I guess you know rule of thumb you know would be plan on four plaques at you know whatever that amount is i think that's within I I think that's well within the comfort range that we talked
about in the committee other other question no $8,000 plaques that's it oh yes just shout out to the uh new transportation consultant she was great she did an excellent job and the data she provided was really really
helpful so Tim did you find her who found her that was really good good find oh is that it to Liz the credit for that i check in with her frequently to make sure she's happy i hope so she really
did uh negotiations i think we no news on negotiations um and if anything we'll bring it up in executive session at this point uh strategic plan you uh we met tonight uh at tonight
this afternoon at 4 o'clock uh before this meeting in attendance were myself Miss Ober Miss Pasa Miss Lee Mr sty Miss Carol Dr jwitt and Anthony Maluso our director of technology
um so this was our first step in the strategic planning process um we met with three candidates um to discuss um you know who we were going to go with uh we discussed and asked questions regarding their process
the number of districts they um have worked with and if and how many uh were regional 9 through 12 districts trying to get as close as ours to ours as possible um and uh we're we did this to determine the best candidate so that is
something that we'll have to continue to discuss we didn't have time to discuss we really just had time to to uh to hear the presentations before this meeting so that's where we're at thank you that concludes our committee yes oh
yes a regional just real quick for on the regionalization shared services um uh there was a town hall on Thursday at 6:30 uh p.m uh in this location refreshments will be served for those that are coming food free food and so we
encourage uh anyone from the public anyone from the community to please come out it's going to be very much a an open session lots of questions and answers come feel free to come with whatever you want to ask regarding the work that's going on with the committee committee
members will be there we'll also have the team from Rowan that is conducting the study be able to share some of the things that we're beginning to see that may inform um kind of some of the recommendations that will be in in the report but it's really an opportunity to
get a Q&A from the public so that we can answer their questions hear what their concerns are and make sure that um we're able to incorporate the information that they provide into the work as it progresses yes ma'am
we are going to we we're not going to we're not going to stream it live we are going to record it so that it can be played back afterwards thank you Mr morrison any other comments on reports committees seeing none move on to the
first opportunity for public comment this comment is for uh limited to agenda items for this meeting the second comment uh time will be for non-aggenda items uh all comments are limited to five minutes anybody want to talk
about how great our bus consultant is um seeing none we'll close this portion of the meeting and move to future action items any future action items anybody wants to bring up katherine you sure you don't have
anything seeing none close this portion mr president I'd like to move items A1 through A5 second roll the roll okay miss Lee yes mr mayek yes mr
morrison yes miss Ober yes mr potter yes mr proa yes mr trump yes and Mr galla yes carry mr president I'd like to move items C1 through C7 second
all roll any discussion sorry seeing none call the roll okay miss Lee yes mr mayheek yes morrison yes sober yes m potter yes m proa yes
trumpour yes and M gallic yes i'd just like to um point out that our health care costs went up significantly and that's on page 12 just we just keeping a watch on our budgets for next year and this year it's
just it's incredible how much our expenses have increased and what a great job uh Tim and Liz I'm sorry Dr jwitt and Mr size did the budget uh Mr president I'd like to move items D1 through D5
any discussion seeing none call the role uh Miss Lee yes mr mayor check yes morrison yes ober yes otter yes proa yes trumpour yes mr galla yes
carry is there anything further second opportunity okay second opportunity for public comment so now's the time um I have a list of six individuals who um are listed here if anyone would like to
add their name to that that's fine you could do so at the end of these so state their name yeah state their name and uh their address or the town you're from the town yes just the town okay well you can hear me okay from here right sure you want to speak into the mic a little bit more like here there you go oh okay
great okay okay my name is Katherine Ryder i'm from Warren uh coincidentally I go here i'm a Wong Hills uh senior and um I just have to ask what was the end goal of repealing uh 5756 because if you pride yourself on a
school that protects kids then why'd you get rid of like a policy that protects them nowhere in the rule that that did it state that information was being kept by parents nor did it state that it puts kids in danger this was simply a rule that protects kids from their aggressors which sometimes sadly happens to be
their parents or guardians these kids who often cannot come out to their families and see school as a safe place have their safe place be school and you want to formally repeal it some parents may find it distressing to find out a fact like this thinking their kids are hiding secrets from them and that
schools are trying to drive a wedge between parent and student i feel that schools are also there to help the student gain a sense of self and students should be able to do so in a safe environment that is it okay thank you thank you
hello oh sorry hello my name is Emilyn Dalton i am a senior at Watching Hills as well welcome and uh I live in Warren esteemed members of the Watching Hills Board of Education i have come here to speak with you about the repeal of policy 5756 regarding trans students it
has come to my attention that some of you are attempting to repeal this policy when you discussed the repeal of this policy it was not placed in the agenda and directly went against the district attorney's advice in the last meeting of the board of education a member was not present which did not mean you had a which meant sorry you didn't have a full
board to vote with this could have pushed the vote to an unfair direction so I implore you to please revote while giving everyone adequate time to prepare and placing it on the agenda i know this is an incredibly controversial and stressful issue and I would hope you would wait
for all members to be present so the revote can be fair not to mention the students that this act helps to protect have as much right to a safe school environment where they are respected and cared for and protected as any other student one which can help promote growth and achievement by repealing this
you are going against the strategic plans that were established for 2020 to 2025 and agreed upon by this board the goals are as follows: social and emotional growth and wellness pathways to educational success for all promoting imagination creativity innovation and critical thinking and finally diversity
equity and inclusion i understand that some of you have misgivings about this policy because you believe it will encourage students and your children to hide information from parents that could possibly affect their lives this policy does not prohibit the sharing of information it merely gives students the same level of confidentiality with
teachers that they would have with counselors where as in information shared with teachers unless it could directly harm the students like thoughts of suicide or self harm does not have to be shared with parents as they are supposed to be safe space for
students i know students who are afraid to tell people about their identity including their parents because they're worried about being judged or hurt i know some people who would be hurt if they told their parents or guardians in 2024 the rates of suicidal thoughts were
at a staggering 47% for transgender women and with 24 with sorry um I get a little tongue tied okay take your time with 14% attempting suicide for transgender men it was 52% with suicidal thoughts with a rate of attempting
suicide being 18% and for those who fall under the umbrella such as non-binary students it was 42% with suicidal thoughts with an attempting rate of 13% and these statistics are from the Trevor Project which is a nonprofit specifically designed to help those in the LGBTQ community in
distress in fact sometimes by forcibly outing people you can cause them to become homeless 40% of homeless youth are LGBTQ plus community members these are statistics from the National Coalition for the Homeless which pull statistics from other research um I would hope that you would want to prevent innocent people children from
being thrown out onto the street for attempting to just be themselves so please protect them it's what you're supposed to do as the board of education and I hope you make the right choice thank you just want to remind the audience um we're not responding to you because this
is the time for public comment we'll have a chance to respond after we hear the public comment any other further Hi my name is Christina Rodenti i am a resident of Warren Township i've actually been a lifelong resident of Warren watching in Greenbrook um I have
a daughter sorry this is very spotty um a daughter who is a graduate of Watching Hills from last year i have a son who's a current student of Watching Hills i want to thank the students who actually spoke i know it's really hard to stand up here um and stand up for your peers
so kudos to you guys um I do not have a transgender student i do not have that skin in the game but I just thought it was really important as a parent um of a student and just to support these kids to let them know that we are supporting them i think it's really ill timing to
try and repeal this uh especially in this kind of climate where these kids are being attacked i don't think that it's beneficial to the student body you know my daughter um she's a musician she actually sang at graduation for anybody who remembers she has a lot of friends
from the time she was little who are a part of the LGBTQ community she is also one herself and I feel that and she feels very strongly she's actually upset that she couldn't come here to speak but she's in school up in Boston um but she feels that it's really important as well
that these students be protected and a lot of this will trickle down not only with the transgender students but with all the students in the LGBTQIA+ community which there are many in this school um I also feel that this is a really bad message to send to our
students just as a whole i mean it seems very nonsupportive um and honestly I think the students should have a voice in this decision you know it's their lives it's their peers it's their friends um many of these students are
supportive so I think it this is more of a parental problem or grown-up problem than it is a student problem um especially in this day and age i mean you guys are very supportive of each other and this is a matter of life or death and I think it's really important
for us as parents to be supportive of these kids even if we don't have our own children as a part of this community I think it's really important to send the message to our students that we're supportive and we're not just going to exclude someone because we don't agree with the way they live their lives and
being transgender is not only changing your gender it's gender identity it's gender you know if someone wants to dress a different way one day and the next day you know it's it's expression and a lot of these kids should feel that
they should be protected to express themselves this is a time in their lives to do that in high school you know before they go out into the workforce and they have to sort of conform right so um I just want to thank you all i know what you guys do is thankless um but I do want you to think about the
impact this is going to have and the ripple effect it's going to have and you hear the quivering in these kids' voices we we shouldn't be putting them in this position i mean it's just heartbreaking to think that they're they're scared a lot of them are scared a lot of them in the LGBTQ
community are scared because they know this is going to be a trickle down effect you know this is the beginning of intolerance so if we can just hold tight for a while not make the decision yet especially in this kind of climate where they're already feeling attacked and afraid I mean I think we we owe them
that as their parents and the people that look out for them so thank you very much and thank you for listening thank you hi Nicole Gomero Warren resident um I'd like to start by saying that I unequivocally believe in and will use my voice to stand up for the trans and
queer youth in our community i 100% fully support policy 5657 protecting trans youth and denounce any efforts made to resend this policy there's nothing that I can add that hasn't already been said by the courageous youth in attendance thank you so I'd
like to take a few minutes to take a p look at the bigger picture when this policy was brought up for discussion at the last board of ed meeting one of the board members stated that resending this policy protecting trans students doesn't mean that the school wouldn't support them wouldn't protect them just that we
should remove the policy because we don't have to with so little words this said so much the Watch Hills vision statement specifically states and I quote "Through reflection and ethical decision-making we continue to learn and
grow embrace differences and prepare for an increasingly complex changing world i'd say the federal efforts to dismantle the Department of Education and create division rather than unity in our communities are certainly complex with deep impacts in our changing world some
have said that the federal dismantling of the Department of Education is an effort to bring control of schools back to the states and districts if that is the case then why are we letting changes in federal mandates steer our policy conversations in our local schools if policy 5756 protecting one of the most
vulnerable student populations is rescended because we don't have to I ask you board members what's next as we are seeing happening live before us there are efforts underway for districts to remove diverse curriculum mandates these mandates ensure that
students are taught about the Holocaust the history and contributions of African-Americans people with disabilities the LGBTQ plus community Asian-American and Pacific Islanders and more my question to you board members is are we teaching the curriculum above to
check off a mandate box or because it's the right thing to do are we doing it because it makes sense sorry are we doing it because it makes our school and community safer welcoming spaces where all students and their histories are valued or because we have
to over half of the regional offices that investigate civil rights complaints and education are being closed so I ask you board knowing that without investigation accountability we probably don't have to will you take bullying and harassment complaints seriously
will we wonder why our food insecure students are falling asleep in class and having a hard time focusing because they're going hungry and we don't have to provide school lunches and other resources for them when the beautiful diversity that students with disabilities bring to our schools is not
mandated will we return to segregated classrooms or special needs students are not given the opportunity to learn and grow with their peers when ICE comes knocking on our doors to remove our undocumented students will we greet them with a welcome in a hall pass or will we hold the physical and emotional safety
and well-being of all students paramount i'm here today to ask each of you where is the line how do you choose what or rather who gets protected do we support our bipox students our students with disabilities our LGBTQ plus students our low-income students our bullied and
harassed students because we have to or because it's the right thing to do let me be clear these are not rhetorical questions as a taxpayer and a Watch Hills alum I expect an answer i hope the answer to these questions and to policy
5756 at hand is an unmistakable commitment to integrity to ethical decision-making and an unwavering commitment to protect all our students but if that's not the answer I want to know that too because when residents of our communities have the honor to elect
our school leadership we have a right to know which side of the line each and every member of this board falls on as we cast our votes thank you thank you my name is River Perez Walters i live in Long Hill i believe that school is meant to be a safe space for my fellow
students to feel safe and express themselves without fear of being harmed if this policy is revoked then harm could come to many many I hold so dear to my heart so I urge that this policy remain in place to keep my fellow LGBTQ plus people safe from any and all harm
that could befall them if they are outed by this school this policy is meant to keep them safe and if any harm could come to people I hold dear I genuinely could not live with
myself the policy is to keep them safe and if that means keeping a bit of info from parental figures then that's what that means thank you thank you any further public comment seeing none we'll close this portion of
the meeting and open up to uh final board comments oh you can oh oh oh we got current status i'm sorry um currently policy 5756 has not been repealed and will be further discussion uh there'll be a
matter of further discussion at the board level right we we can do the question answer after the meeting but right now we're still in the middle of Thank you though we'll get back okay uh any board
members okay i believe Oh go ahead other business oh yeah sorry other business so um you know obviously because we're also we're in the budget process right now um and our next meeting will be to
adopt the budget um everything that we are reading seeing hearing and feeling from all areas whether it's the Department of Education whether it's USAID uh whether it's funding for positions at
the New Jersey Department of Education whether it's tariffs uh you name it everything is driving costs and it's driving costs up uh we're just beginning to get a sense of some of the impact of some of the decisions that are being
made at the federal level and the potential implications that they have not only for uh schools across the country but schools here in New Jersey and obviously here at Watchon Hills i I bring this up just to say that this is a
very difficult budget situation for this particular year i think the administration and particularly Mr stay and his team have done an incredible job of putting together a budget that allows us to move forward keep programs intact
make sure that we focus on student centered needs and and provide uh the diverse opportunities that our students expect to have when they come here um but that said uh the next budget process
is going to be a bear and just it's important for the public to understand that as the costs that are going up for you they're going up for us as well construction costs new materials new Chromebooks remember we spend lots of
money on Chromebooks every year chromebooks they're going up everything's going to be going up and that's not taking into account the hidden costs of what's happening to the food uh the the the SNAP program the student nutrition program and the cuts
that are happening there the cuts that are happening uh to other aspects of education the recision of the ESSER funding for states so we are going to be getting hit from every conceivable angle and I think it's important that the
public understand that we're doing everything that we can to address this but the next 12 months from a financial standpoint I'm just telling you are going to be challenging for us so just be prepared for those conversations as we try to determine how we navigate what
is going to be a very difficult financial situation probably the most difficult financial situation since I've been on this board and probably as long as a superintendent has been u leading this district so that's just something to to keep in mind because as as
difficult as this is this is going to be a picnic compared to what we're going through on that happy note uh any other comments concerns I think we're going to have to go back into executive session so um thank you all for all the
attendance for coming we're going to we'll do that afterwards we'll do about five minutes we are going to go back into executive session to uh finish up the work that we have to do um so thank you for attending as we go into executive session I'm going to be asking you to leave the room
so that we can Do you want to specify no action will be taken oh no action will be taken during the executive session or when we come back or when we come back we will adjourn as soon as we come back so there'll be no more further action okay so I entertain a motion to
go back into executive so moved second second all in favor say I i those opposed eyes