e e e reate good evening everyone Mr pazooki good evening the executive session of the Wayne Board of Education regular meeting of April 18th 2024 was convened in the conference room of the Wayne Board of Education 50 NIS Drive Wayne New Jersey statement of compliance setting forth datetime and location was read in accordance with the requirements of the open public meeting act a roll call was taken the meeting was recessed it's now being reconvened I'd ask everyone to please stand for a moment of silence followed by a flag salute I pledge alance 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 thank you everyone please be seated tonight we have our uh recognition award Sarah Rogers come on up rguez rguez I'm sorry oh I'm looking at the wrong yeah do you let me I'll get start I'm going call you off I'm sorry good evening everyone uh Dr Tobak is attending a conference this week so he won't be joining us tonight um for those of you who entered um a little bit early we had our counseling showcase I hope you were able to enjoy it this was presented by our supervisor of Health and Wellness Jen Montana and our school counselors William chel Christine Corda Katie laviola Felicia Michelson Karen OA Franchesca Russo and Christen Valencia we were happy to Showcase a few areas of work the counselors focus on throughout the district some high from tonight included the work to influence HIV and conflict resolution what our counselors do proactively to support students what counselors do to support students from the intervention perspective and what we do for College and Career planning um these people are um a truly dedicated group of individuals who are on the front lines every single day supporting our students so um I want to thank you and I think you deserve um a round of applause we also have a special guest that uh Mr pavlac mentioned um Wayne Valley student swimmer Sarah Rodriguez is here with us she won the njs AA state championship in the 100 backstroke and broke the state record with a time of 5259 seconds Sarah also placed second in the state um in the 200 freestyle just miss the two championships by 18th of a second this amazing female athlete holds many school records and we have our athletic director Mr Dave draak and our swim coach Monica vyv here with us tonight we also have Sarah's parents proud parents um and they are going to come up and share a little bit more about her amazing accomplishments congratulations [Applause] I'd like to start off by thanking you're good you're good use my fette voice fette i' like to start off by thanking our administration of our board of education for uh recognizing and um and uh celebrating sar's remarkable achievements um over this past season so uh besides being one of the top sporters in the country Zar is also one of our top students at will Valley she maintains a 4016 GPA while putting in countless count countless hours in the pool s broken pretty much every swimming record at w Valley and pay County and broke a state record this year in addition what I love about Sarah is that when I see her in the hallway she's just like any other student at way B so humble always a smile for you and just a great day to tell you more about s's incredible accomplishments I'd like to introduce our swim coach at wne Valley Monica Bo now over the past Four Seasons Monica has transformed our swim program with her dedication her passion is instilled in our students invaluable lessons of teamwork perseverance and sportsmanship I do want to just thank the board for inviting us here this evening to celebrate Sarah's accomplishment thank you Mr for your kind words um as was mentioned by Miss frond and Mr GAC uh Sarah had an incredible season and not just this year but Sarah this is Sarah's third season with us and all three have been spectacular um I have to refer to my notes because Sarah has broken so many records it's hard to keep track of um so has been espcially Crow season sh showcas her talents at the County as well as the state level and has pretty much cleared the record board at way Valley as well as the county she's up to five County records and for those who aren't as familiar with the sport of sing is a sport where you win and lose by hundreds of a second sometimes to put that into context Sarah broke the 200 freestyle record the counties which was held by a former way Valley athlete that was held the last 10 years record stood four and a half seconds yeah Ian that's ridiculous um she broke the 100 freestyle record by over a second and a half um again clearing the board to for our Valley Summers who have broken many records at theel um and she also angered our Championship County record for the 200 freestyle really um Sarah also as Mr mentioned has the record in the 100 back 50 freestyle 100 Frey 200 100 butterfly I think that's next year's another season so we joke about what record will break next year and like that Sarah wrote um the state record this year in her prelims and the 100 facts wrote and um also wrote that record by just of 61 of a record at the state level which is just unbelievable so we're incredibly proud of Sarah Valle sing and can't wait to see what she does next year so thanks for ucn exrain thank you on thank thank you congratulations at at this time I want to draw your um eyes to the presentation screen next week we celebrate administrator Professionals Day April 24th this day recognizes and celebrates the work of secretaries administrative assistants and other Professionals for their contributions to the workplace we are so grateful for Administrative Professionals and their ongoing dedication and commitment to our schools students and staff uh tonight we have the special video that showcases our administrative staff and celebrates all they do and we will be sharing it on our administrative um social media I'm sorry our social media channels and the website um begin tomorrow so you'll be able to enjoy that um as required I'm reporting out on the HIV incidents um there have been seven incidents of HIV investigated since the last report and none of these cases were deemed to meet the criteria of HIV this represents a 41% reduction compared to April's reported incidents last year we've been very successful with our district goal to reduce the number of reported cases of bullying by at least 10% when compared to 2023 through parent student and staff educational programs and it was important to share that because we have our counselors here tonight who represent and do this very difficult work so thank you again that concludes the report next on the agenda's of reading of the official results my office is in in receipt of a certification from the p uh County county clerk uh with the results of the bond proposal question from March 12 2024 and the official yes votes in total is 3,329 and no votes are 5,341 they'll be recorded in the district minutes thank you Mr President good evening on Tuesday March 19th the Wayne Hill symphonic band traveled to West s West Essex to perform in the north Jersey school music association's region concert band Festival the band earned a gold rating and won awards for outstanding brass section outstanding woodwind section and outstanding percussion section we are very proud of the students in their hard work and effort 22 Wayne Hills young women student leaders attended the Junior Achievement women's future leadership Forum on March 20th at PCC BC in wanu New Jersey these young women worked in groups with mentors from different prestigious companies and discuss the key foundations of leadership as well as key qualities to help them succeed in the business world and Beyond Wayne Hills High School's English educator Keith Perkins transcended conventional teaching methods with an Innovative approach in a recent virtual poetry session Mr Perkins facilitated a remarkable crosscultural cultural encounter students had the opportunity to engage with counterparts from Riva Ukraine fostering an exchange of perspectives and insights approximately 30 Ukrainian students along with their instructor and an ad and an administrator from the International University of economics and Humanities participated in this enlightening experience across two immersive sessions the scholas IC arts and writing competition is a prestigious award that celebrates and recognizes the exceptional talents of young artists across the country winning works are produced by students who have demonstrated student voice and vision creativity originality and skill in their photography this year we are thrilled to share that wean Hills photo students collected 91 Awards including one highly coveted American voice and vision nominee 1 gold keys 21 silver keys and 53 honorable mentions Wayne Hills Athletics have had a quick start to the spring season track and field thrower Elizabeth Dana threw for a School record record of 369 in the shot put in her first meet of the season the golf team has opened up the season with a 9-3 record with teams scoring averages in the 150s yesterday the team shot A4 48 with Jimmy ve shooting a 33 Richard grineer at 34 Joseph Calon at 39 Brady Drey with a 42 Jasmine Clement with a 46 and Cole Gus beckeld with a 50 Jimmy ve is currently ranked ranked number 11 in the state the baseball team has had a hot start after spring training in Florida and has a 6 to1 record in boy lacrosse Dean wilky tallied his 100 point on April 14th Boys Tennis has started fast again with an 8:1 record congratulations to Shawn Mobius for being named our Paya County unsung hero this award goes to a student who goes above and beyond for his school and his community Shawn is both an EMT and a paramedic a leader in marching ban and the master of all things electronic in the auditorium and gymnasium at Wayne Hills his selfless dedication to our school keeps it running thank thank you Sean and thank you for your time the Wayne High School culinary competition is happening tonight the 18th to celebrate Cuisines from all around the world student chefs from both Wayne Valley and Wayne Hills will gather to create flavorful dishes in an effort to win different Awards attendees will be able to taste all the dishes and vote for their favorite Cuisine good luck to these aspiring chefs on March 21st Juniors dazzled the dance Flor at the annual annual Junior formal the students had a blast at the beautiful event hosted by The Brownstone the French three four and five classes won second place in Montclair State University's film contest for their student made movie the film which was set in the former French colony of Togo was based on Frederick bazil's painting LA Reunion with a scenario and dialogue written to match the painting the classes enjoyed this opportunity to learn more about French culture congratulations to them for their excellent film making skills AP photography student Abby katanzaro received an exciting award in a national photography contest her entry was a dipt pH photograph called As Above So Below she received an honorable mention in the photo illustration and manipulation category making this her second award this school year additionally 15 Wayne Valley photography students won a total of 24 Awards in the regional Scholastic art Awards despite this being only the second year that our program has competed in this competition out of the winners the 12 who won gold medals are advancing to Nationals congratulations to these young photographers and good luck to them at Nationals Wayne Valley held our annual March Madness tournament in all of the gym classes during the month of March PE students had the opportunity to form their own teams and show off their basketball skills creating bonds and a great competition each team also chose a real life college or university from March Madness to represent in the tournament the winners of each period included teams from all grade levels Italian one students won on a field trip to Flushing Queens to enjoy the musical s Verde at the Queens theater in the park bilingual actors gave an exciting performance in both Italian and English telling a story that raised awareness for plastic metal water and air pollution in the environment complete with songs visual effects and dancing the musical was an incredible opportunity for students to immerse themselves in Italian culture some students even sang along to the Italian songs we have many Wayne Valley athletes that won all County and all comp confence titles skiers Gabriella batelli Colin kchek Sophia Barack and Khloe kch achieved All County titles on the girls swim team mateline voov Kyla Fitz Simmons and Avery durstein won all County and Sarah Rodriguez won both All County and All Conference as for the boys Swim Team Max Matthews Max Carter Matt pantini and Jake Ryan achieved all conference on the competition cheer team we have eight accomplished athletes who won all conference all County or both for winter track Sarah Paul Ava Maher Megan tombach Robert lipet and Milan mystery all made all conference on the girls basketball team Sophia benaquista and Olivia Isaacson both earned All Conference as for the boys Omar Ali Hudson Divine Kaden flower and Anthony appicella all made all conference and boys basketball coach light won Coach of the Year additionally both Noah zandi and rafat alar cardali made all conference for wrestling congratulations to these hardworking athletes and coaches for a successful winter season thank you would you mind reading the donations on April 4th Anthony Wayne Middle School received a donation from the Anthony Wayne PTO in the amount of $1,960 to be used toward the seventh grade field trip to Medieval Times also on April 4th AP tun Elementary School received a donation from AP tun PTO in the amount of $200 to be used for buses for the fifth grade field trip to the town pool also on a April 4th Ryerson Elementary School received a a donation from the r Ryerson PTO to be used for the offset cost of kindergarten field trip in the amount of $580 thank you thank you at this time we have a special uh presenter here with us tonight uh Miss Kelly Mitchell comes from New Jersey school boards Association uh Miss Mitchell is our field representative for North Jersey and tonight she's going to give a presentation on the roles and responsibilities of a board member and this is training for both board members and the community as well M Mitchell welcome thank you so much um as well as a document in there about uh 13 things that board members wish the Comm Community uh new Sometimes some board members have that at the table with the agendas just so that the community understand some of the things that uh you know are uh important that a board member would want them to know and uh I I think it's great to have along with the agenda so feel free to do that so when we think about our board's role we think about what is our oversight that's our that's our role and this is actually the view view so basically you're thinking about being like 30,000 uh feet in the air we always say it's like a blimps View and we're providing that oversight notice that we're not down there on the Dance Floor we're not rolling up our sleeves and getting into the day today because that would be a possible violation of the code of ethics so we have to be mindful of that when we're in our role as board members so these are actual the four functions of a board member and a board of education it's policy planning appraisal and that communication piece that we have with the community and that's done only when we're at the board table as a full board so if you think about appraisal that's the evaluation of our superintendent who is the one employee of board members and uh we're going to be doing that uh quite soon and then the planning is the quality instruction uh to advance student achievement and the policies we're policy making body so this is really it when you think about what a a board function is those are the aspects that you're working towards and that is in um the tenants in the code of ethics so this is a really good uh visual on the role between the board and the superintendent uh and the board has a vision mission goals and policies and if you notice the superintend really has that how piece the action plans the regulations the procedures the objectives uh a lot of times when board members are doing um setting goals they think that they're responsible for having those action plans like who's going to do it when it's going to be done and that's really not the case uh board members are there to say the what the why and how much but then the superintendent then takes that and makes that the how when where and by whom so we vote and we evaluate as board members but the superintendent does the recommendations and the implementations as well so this really gives the three aspects of a role of a superintendent and if you notice uh in the executive officer uh bucket it he is running he or she is running the school uh he administers uh he or she ad ministers the policies so board members are not to do the day-to-day operations they're just that oversight piece also when we talk about uh you know Communications with staff that would be on our superintendent that's their role uh not the members of the board itself you have to kind of flip through just keep flipping so these are the actual uh you know who owns what oops sorry uh who owns what so the board would approve the Strategic plan uh the board would evaluate the superintendent the superintendent would oversee instructional programs and um administer contracts we we don't get involved in that as board members the board though would establish and adopt the policy and um the superintendent would then recommend and Implement that policy and then the board would approve any uh curricular materials but the superintendent would oversee the district in that leadership piece so these are important aspects to keep in mind as we go along with our board service so the most effective boards are boards that work together to advance student achievement so the board is that governing body and the community representative and then the superintendent is the CSA and the educational leader so they should be having a really nice relationship together and of trust and respect moving forward to move student achievement and then the board we always say there should be no surprises so we should we should communicate between each other the board and the superintendent so that all of a sudden at the board table you're not surprising the superintendent with something that uh they were not prepared to speak to so that they can come with as much data as the Board needs and vice versa the superintendent shouldn't do that with the board so that is a communication agreement that there will be no surprises at the board table so how to stay in your lane uh the code of ethics really governs that and it gives us a really good road map um but board members are basically just citizens that accept for in their Quorum at at a a board table that's when they have the authority no single board member has any Authority without the full board so when we speak about individual board members individual board members can't make decisions for the full board they can't take action for the board they can't speak for the board that is based on policy and it's usually the president that speaks for the board uh they can't give any kind of directive to a staff member or an admin ministrator and uh they they do uh work in conjunction with the superintendent that's the one employee that a um board member has and has that oversight piece too and then like we said individual board members really have no Authority they they have to work in a majority everything circles around that majority vote um and of course the minority opinion is always respected and uh and listened to but that majority uh uh opinion is always what governs over um the actual vote itself technical issues so uh so here is a a summary of the code of ethics and and when you look at the code of ethics it it's really interesting because it really gives you the road map on what a board member's role is so you can see in letter see there it says confine my board action to policymaking planning and Appraisal so we talked about that earlier that's really the only role of a board member and then uh there's some others in here that you will not administer the schools but together as with the fellow board members you will see that it's run well so that's that oversight piece that's that balcony view that we talked about and that's in the code if we have a board member venture out of that type of role then they have uh run the risk of having an Ethics violation against them so it's really important that the community understands that this is really the only role that they have and they they if they go out of that leane that it could put them In Harm's Way and the board In Harm's Way so uh some other aspects is that they refuse to surrender their independent judgment um or to use schools for personal gain so if there was a vendor that was involved in something as far as a contract goes or what have you and an individual board member spoke with that vendor on their own that could be a possible violation because they're um working you know as an individual and they have no authorization to do so so these are all those codes that govern uh you know our road map unto the proper conduct for a board member and then we're um communicating with the community so at the board table that's why we have uh the zoom and we have everything you know the minutes and things like that so that we can communicate and be the ambassadors of of the school district to the community chain of command is something that sometimes uh board members struggle with because most of the time when you run for the board you're a fixer you you want to fix problems for the community but truly uh that would be a chain of command issue so when a board member uh runs into a Community member in the supermarket and they talk about the struggles they have with a child or what have you they the board member should not solicit any of that they should uh listen and then give that member of the community that lowest level of chain of command so they should be saying something like you know how did it go when you you talk to the building principal or the teacher something like that so that lowest level of chain of command that's appropriate for a board member to do so it's not that they don't want to fix the problem they certainly would love to do that but that is uh you know they are governed under that code of ethics and chain of command is part of that I think you have to flip like a little bit more yeah so uh like I said uh the board members are there to see that the school is run well so that's that oversight piece and then of course when they uh do have an upset parent or or let's say an upset um staff member they can they can listen but then that chain of command piece has to go in they cannot resolve any of the problems unfortunately so a couple of tips about communication with board members uh you should be using your District email uh sometimes board members will forward that to their personal email you run the risk of having your personal email uh Oprah so just be mindful of that also when you post on social media be really careful with that uh you know it is uh the advice to to have your own personal account and not have a board member account sometimes when we uh go ahead head and and um in campaign mode we do have a basic board member campaigning social media site if you do have that once you're part of the board you should shut that down and not post using that because that could give the impression to the community that you're speaking on behalf of the board so um that would be problematic for you and could put You In Harm's Way of a a violation of the code of ethics and if you are going to post from your personal site you should use a disclaimer uh I think it's on the next uh slide here uh this disclaimer um will help uh show that you're speaking about you know in your own personal site and it's your own personal opinions uh however even though you have this disclaimer on your social media page keep in mind that it's that content piece that um could be troubling so so if you you know put this disclaimer and then all of a sudden you're posting like you're a board member and the member of the public would have a justifiable impression that you are speaking for the board then that can open you up to a possible ethics violation so post from just your personal site put this disclaimer on that will be helpful and then just be mindful when you have that content that you're not speaking um you know on behalf of the of the board that the public wouldn't think that and then uh also you know just be mindful that every policy that the uh Board of Ed approves every action that the Board of Ed takes needs to be based on what's the best interest of all students that's in the code of ethics as well and when we are sitting here at the board table we should be very mindful of that all students piece so that's a quick overview of what the board's responsibility is if anybody has any questions any questions no okay well thank you so much for having me in I could do board self- evaluation or any type of retreat if you if you yeah we're we're going to have you back okay great thank you thank you very much Mr mafit revisions to the agenda please yes we have two this evening uh under X urgent school resource legal X number one approval of settlement agreement the action reads as follows resolve that the Board of Education upon the recommendation of the superintendent hereby approves the settlement agreement dated April 18 2024 between the Wayne Township Board of Education and the Wayne custodial maintenance Association regarding unfair practice charge docket number co223 d52 as attached by reference and further authorizes the board president and secretary to execute same on behalf of the board the business administrator and superintendent are authorized to take all further steps required by the terms of the settlement to further Implement same uh and lastly X number two again in the same section emerging school resource legal we have uh approval uh x two is approval of hi determination that action reads resolve that the Board of Education affirm the superintendent's decision on Hib case number 101-2 23-22 four following an appeal as required by njsa 18a colon 37-15 parenthesis B parentheses 6 parentheses e uh and that concludes the two additional items on tonight's agenda thank you at this time we'll open the meeting for the public to speak on agenda items only this portion of the meeting is open to Citizen for comments on agenda items only residents are asked to State their name address and subject matter comments may be limited to 3 minutes per person members of the public are discouraged from speaking negatively about an employee or a student the board Bears no responsibility for comments made by the public comments regarding employees or students cannot be legally responded to by the board other comments may be responded to tonight or at a subsequent meeting under old business do I have a mover move Mr Jano second Mr BHA anyone from the public wishing to speak on an agenda item seeing no one speci Mrs wch okay moving on uh committee reports Mr Janam thank you uh the facilities and transportation subcommittee met today April 18th uh in uh members present were myself uh Mr Bad show Mr pavlac Miss Tibbits Mr raain Mr skitzki and Mr Moffett under the facilities uh we reviewed the previous meetings uh minutes and approv them uh under uh agenda items we are working on uh an award for a contract for the paving for our generator right now it's a a big move for uh upgrading that uh we're waiting numbers on the electrical upgrade for uh Nellis Drive uh under operations and projects um pness the building skin roof and window replacements they have tentative dates uh we discussed that have been set up for the roof for the windows and for the brick we are still moving forward with these uh projects they are very very important under our Rod Grant projects um we have the AP roof the TD roof and the Ryerson roof going out to bid we do not have a starting date for the Wayne High School Wayne Hills High School chimney as of yet um under those that were not approved for uh SDA grants the James Fallon facade skaret cax Communications uh situation and the preist ad upgrade Ada upgrade are all being put on hold for funding reasons um we also discussed reviewing the fees and the new class designations for all of the facilities being used by uh non board ofed entities um and possibly moving around uh scheduling and advaned scheduling also uh under transportation uh we had improval with the transportation agreements with both NRC and with sbjc these are uh two Services we're working with we do have uh a need for a dispatcher for the buses uh we're posting a help wanted for that soon if you know of anybody who would be interested in uh being employed by the Board of Ed as a dispatcher for the buses um forward information to probably to anybody on the board anybody in the executives will'll get it to the right person but we're actively looking for a new bus dispatcher we're also looking ahead and we're going to need a mechanic also uh we have 95 plus buses and we've got a lot of uh a lot of stuff that's got to be taken care of um state inspections are starting soon we want to make sure these buses are up and running um and we'll be looking for a possible mechanic in the future so if if you need to know somebody who is interested in uh bus mechanic or is a bus mechanic themselves you can reach out to any part of the Board of Ed and they'll be happy to send it over to the proper people and then we can start that process up we' love to get that taken care of um we're looking for an alternate location for all of these buses we have a combination of flooding issues and also where they're parked right now at the Town pool area they're going to be taking that parking lot cuz we're going to open the pools up to the public so we got to find a place for those buses um these are all things that we're planning and working on right now and they are vital to um the educational process and vital to making things run smoothly um I also want to tip my hat to uh the facilities people there was a pipe burst at Anthony Wayne school and there was a lot of cleanup that had to be done and I believe the members of Union will testify that there was no interruption in educational time uh they worked through the night they worked on it very hard and um I thank them very much for their efforts and I tip myat and for a very good job done that's all thank you thank you Mrs wch hello Personnel committee met today at 4:30 in attendance were Mark Faber Miss rashman and uh Mrs Clark um we discussed or we reviewed the March 21st Personnel committee minutes uh and approved them we also reviewed the agenda agenda items um for today's meeting uh the HR section review the non-renewal of certified staff members and anticipated reduction in force for 2020 2024 2025 school year um also reviewed uh changes to the single unit contracts um 10year eligible staff and uh that concludes my report thank you thank you any other committees I miss uh just to our luck we've been waiting two years for a school bus a new school bus that's how backlog they are the bus was being dropped off by the company the engine seized in our driveway you talk about bad luck but all right at this time I ask for a mover for the agenda Mrs wch second Mr Paul he be any discussion on the agenda roll call Mr Buffett Mr Bill yes Mr Faber yes Mr Giordano yes Mrs leandry yes Mr Paul yes Mrs wck yes Mr Pacos yes and Mr pavlac yes motion carries we have retirements I will start on the right with Mrs lamandre thank you you're very welcome good evening I'm going to speak about Gail Conway after 19 years of dedicated service to the Wayne Township Public School of which Gail Conway spent the last eight as a quarterstone of our athletic department it is both a joy and sadness that we announce the retirement of our highly respected Administrative Assistant Gail has been an invaluable asset to our team embodying professionalism efficiency and a tireless worth work ethic in every task she undertook Gail Conway has been a vital member of our athletic department effortlessly managing a myriad of responsibilities with poise and precision we have a saying in athletics you need to be able to adapt adjust and overcome and that is what Gail does on a daily basis from coordinating schedules and handling administrative duties to working with student athletes parents and coaches whether it's staying late or arriving early Gail always did what was necessary to make sure our student athletes were ready to compete Gail Conway has not only been an outstanding assistant but also a trusted friend to all who have had the privilege of working alongside her Gail's unwavering dedication and commitment to Excellence have set a standard that will will be difficult to match whether it was an opposing team an official or at times a bus arriving late Gail routinely made others feel better about any situation that may have Arisen and she handled them with poise and dignity Gail has truly been the glue that held Us Together We Wish Gail a retirement filled with joy frequent trips to see her family in Florida and many years of relaxation and joy lastly we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Gail Conway for her years of dedicated service to our school our athletic department and the school district all the best Gil Conway thank you Mrs wch yes thank you retirement notice for Abrahim Moore Abraham Moore is retiring from the Transportation Department as of March 29 2024 Abraham became a bus driver on October 20th 2010 and over the course of his 14 years of service Abraham quickly became very popular with staff and students alike he was a parent favorite with many requests made to the transportation office for him to take the same route each year Abe remained at the North Cove each day between his routes and could be seen sitting outside enjoying the nice weather his easygoing Manner and lowkey attitude were the key to his success and he will be missed the transportation department Department staff and Wayne Township Public Schools wish to express our sincere thanks and appreciation for his years of service and dedication from all of your friends and co-workers congratulation Abraham we wish you nothing but easy days good health and good times in your retirement thank you Mr Gano yes I am proud to read the uh retirement statement for Eda fan Eda fante dedicated her last 25 years to the Future generations of Young Americans she started a career as a social studies teacher at the high school level ID was able to bring her passion for learning about other cultures to her classroom one of her favorite classes was AP Human Geography where as a result of her background and extensive travel around the world she was able to share many personal insights to the various cultures and people during years of work at Wayne Valley High School Eda began to take on a leadership role this quickly led to her involvement with her local education assciation she was a Fearless advocate for those who often needed assistance her leadership roles in the county and state associations reflect this drive here in Wayne she served as president of the Wayne Education Association for the last eight years when the pandemic struck our schools partnered to work together to find Solutions and Aid those in need Eda secured a $30,000 njaa Pride Grant to work with the school district the mayor the County government and other leaders of the community through this grant the waa was able to provide Wayne students and families with the necessary items and tools to stay healthy and safe especially those affected by the virus through the grant money the waa also provided iPads to patients who needed to communicate with and sometimes say goodbye to their loved ones the WEA also provided baby monitors so that nurses could monitor their patients while limiting their exposure the WEA also sent meals to our First Responders Eda and the WEA provided personal safety equipment out for our students and staff including desk Shields and masks Ed is going to work for the New Jersey Education Association where she works to support and encourage the next generation of future Educators here and in our state and as a personal statement uh from one former local union leader to another one AA good luck uh you're a definite asset to the state of New Jersey to the njaa good luck God bless Mr Paul Mr Robert Yos prior to his teaching career in industrial Arts and Technology education spanning almost 27 years spent 13 years as an Industrial Engineer designing and building industrial control systems in this capacity he used his Drafting and CAD experience and Technical mechanical abilities to design and build supervisory control systems for the petrol chemical transportation and Wastewater Industries in addition he applied his extensive knowledge of machine shop and electrial practices to manufacture different aspects of control panels in 1997 Mr yoast with his Bachelorette of Science degree in industrial technology and education began his teaching career first at westm Central High School in Chester New Jersey and then sequenced to Montville Township High School and then on to Wayne Hills High School from February 20 uh 200 2 to the present at Wayne Hills Mr Yos taught Robotics and control one two and three Cad and Fabrication technology he was the adviser of the robotics Club in previous years he also coached the FTC robotics team number 9921 to go on to compete in two FTC World title competitions and his student team members won many prestigious Awards and received College uh scholarships last May Wayne Hills robotics competition team won the North Jersey robotics competition and as a reward for their student engineering and programming Excellence Mr Yos gracefully awarded his students with the charge to shave his head a promise made at the kickoff to build the competition robot in January of the previous year Mr Yos would like to thank the Wayne Board of Education Administration students and the win Community for the more than two decades of teaching service afforded him in retirement Mr Yos plans to travel the continental United States with his wife of 38 years in a retro style trailer and visit family and friends adopt rescue dogs and hope to be grandparents someday soon Mr Faber way tab Township's Public Schools hardworking custodial and maintenance team are entrusted with the essential round-the-clock Operations Security care and upkeep of our district facilities their service throughout the year provides safe and effective learning environments for our students and places of work for the distri for District staff today we recognize AP tur Hune Elementary's head custodian Victor Negron Mr Victor as he is affectionately known at affectionately known at a has painstakingly cared for AP turun School our school has been immaculately Clean safe and cared for thanks to his unwavering dedication and attention to detail over the years our students and staff have enjoyed a spotless School quick response and incredible work ethic from Mr Negron we are excited for him to embark on the next chapter of his career spending time with his family and hopefully doing lots of fishing after 38 years of unwavering commitment tireless work diligence to the health and safety of our students and staff we thank you as you step into retirement we want to express our deepest gratitude for your service your dedication to Wayne Township Public Schools is commendable and we wish you all the best in your retirement Mr Bon Matty shisha began her career in education at New York Public School school system as a teacher of both Elementary and high school levels after after giving birth to her second set of twins with a Singleton between Matty took several years off to raise her family while also working towards a certification of School counseling in 2004 Matty was hired by one of the as one of the original epis Elementary prevention and and intervention counselors and worked at Ryon Elementary School for six years while there she created a program that paired general education student vol ters with their Learning Center peers that program became the root of what is now known as the districtwide stars club during this time she began to work towards her doctorate in special education which she completed in 2014 and also co-authored two academic papers focused on bullying and food allergy published in Pediatrics in 2013 and the annals of Allergy Asthma and Immunology in 2010 Matty's work at Wayne Valley and Wayne high schools began in 200 and 2015 respectively during this time Matty drafted propos drafted a proposal to introduce a therapy dog program to the district since then this this proposal has resulted in ongoing therapy dog visits from local therapy dog organizations as well as the introduction of several resident therapy dogs including her own two German Shepherds sge and Louie in 2017 using her knowledge of School counseling and special education she's created a program to teach Wayne Hills College Bound students with diet diagnosed learning AB disabilities the advocacy skills and awareness that would help increase their chances of retention at college level this work resulted in a 2019 book published by rotal AG press entitled college for students with learning disabilities a high school counselor's guide to fostering success followed closely by her next book in 2020 called the elementary school's councelor guide to supporting students with learning disabilities a comprehensive program she continued to use her knowledge to educate her peers and enhance the profession by speaking at multiple professional conferences including the LDA International Conference in 2018 the NGS the njsca conferences in 2017 and 2023 and the njacac conference in 2019 as well as publishing articles in multiple National counseling journals her dedication to inclusivity and advocate for all students resulted in her being awarded the human rights advocacy award from the New Jersey school counselor associated in 2016 as well as the school counselor of the county award in 2020 in 2022 she was also nominated for the njsca scholarship award for which she was nominated by for one of her students Matty has been working as a couples and relationship counselor in the private practice for the SE for the past several years and plans to spend her time after her retirement growing her practice honoring her expertise and continuing to help help as many people as possible for as long as possible I really thank you for that long and storied and impactful career in our district Mr pakus Mill Sanu Mill sanu's dedication and impact on the Wayne Township Public Schools Community are truly remarkable her 25 years of service as a power professional exemplify a commitment to Excellence and compassion that has undoubtedly touched the lives of countless students and staff members from the early morning shifts to her warm presence in various classrooms throughout the district Milla has consistently embodied kindness and positivity her V versatility in working with students across different grade levels speaks volumes about her adaptability and passion for Education whether she was nurturing Young Learners in preschool or providing support to older students in fifth grade milla's unwavering dedication to their growth and well-being has left an undeniable mark on the Wayne Public School District as Miller transitions into retirement it's clear that her absence will be deeply felt her infectious smile and tireless commitment to fostering a nurturing learning environment have undoubtedly left a lasting Legacy as she embarks on this next chapter of her life Milla hopes to spend more time with her husband travel and enjoy time with a grandson and children the Wayne Township Public Schools Community is immensely grateful for milla's contributions and while she will be greatly missed her impact will continue to inspire for years years to come congratulations Miller on an incredible career and best wishes for fulfilling retirement ahead finally I have Mrs Tamara conforth Mrs Tamara conforth is retiring from Wayne Hills uh this year after serving the district for 26 years prior to teaching at Wayne Hills she spent 12 years working at St Joseph's Hospital as an outpatient counselor Mrs conord switched her career when she had children and spent all of her 26 years teaching special education English and reading at Wayne Hills it was a pleasure every day for her to be able to work in both Departments of special education in English Tammy's classes were always a space for respect for individual Learners encouraging and supporting students with a variety of needs and abilities a model of differentiation Mrs confor always sought resources and materials to meet each Learners need finding adapted text audio books and leveled reading to challenge students to grow to their potential throughout her career she enjoyed supporting students outside the classroom by being an adviser for SDA and by being a member of the INR inrs team this work with extracurricular activities was just an extension of the impact she had on her students and colleagues alike who always took who always look for her her for reassurance and guidance originally raised in Pennsylvania Mrs confor chose to raise her family in Wayne due to the wonderful school system her two children Courtney and Corey both are products of the Wayne schools and have gone on to be successful adults she would be moving full-time to her Shore House Down in Brook New Jersey with her husband Jim whose roots and careers were also in Wayne having retired from the Wayne Police Department 13 years ago she will be missed very much at all and all her friends she is made at Wayne Hills the students but she will also continue to always be a proud Patriot uh on a personal note uh i' known Mr Mrs conforth I've known Mr confor my entire life we were neighbors we were together in the police department and Tammy was the model teacher that you wanted your student to have your child to have she went over and above as our teachers do um I thank her for her service I thank everyone for their service on behalf of the entire board we extend our heartfelt gratitude for the years of service and dedication that each and everyone has put into the district their commitment to education and the well-being of all our students we wish you all the best of luck in your new chapter in life at this time we will open the meeting to the public this portion of the meeting is open for Citizens for comment on any topic residents are asked to State their name address and subject matter comments may be limited to three the limited to five minutes per person members of the public are discouraged from speaking negatively about an employee or student the board Bears no responsibility for comments made by the public comments regarding employees or students cannot be legally responded to tonight by the board other comments may be responded to tonight at a subsequent meeting under old business do I have a mover move Mr Jana second Mr B anyone from the public wishing to speak seeing no one I move to close Mr faor Mr Judo any old business new business board member comments Jano yes uh first I want to congratulate Sarah on Her awesome career I can't believe she's a junior still she's got another year of blowing records out of the water good luck young lady keep going with that I want to uh acknowledge and thank our counselors for the presentation they gave outside um they are really the unsung heroes uh when you're in a classroom teaching I can tell you firsthand you don't know the things that are going on uh that will help them learn not help them learn sometimes they need somebody to talk to uh sometimes you need somebody to cry with cry on or help other people out with and they really do do Young's work for that so I I thank them for the presentation and I thank them for their efforts and I really do appreciate it um all of the retirements up here I think one of the things you'll notice is they are all people of very very different backgrounds we had somebody who has their doctorate and right after that somebody who was a power professional somebody who was a union leader somebody who's a teacher it takes all kinds of people to be uh the true leaders of our children and I thank them and I thank uh all the staff and all of the uh Education Service professionals all the Paras all the teachers all the secretaries all the custodians it really really is a group effort here and I'm top to bottom there's nothing but Allstars at every level of this district and that's why I consider myself proud to uh serve this community and will do so for this year and next year so congratulations to all the retirees and thank you for your time Mrs wch yes thank you um so I know we just came back of spring break and I hope everyone had a great happy and healthy Spring Break um again echoing on Mr Gano congratulations to Sarah on Her amazing accomplishment it's really great to have athletes in our district um who are able to accomplish such things so again thank you and kudos to you I would also like to thank and acknowledge all of our administrative staff who were recognized today as well and and on my last note but not least Wayne Valley has SDA planned for next week and I'm really excited so both teams will be um competing and Performing for separate dances and I know a lot of our student athletes have been working very hard on getting this all done so if you have a chance please try to um go see all the tickets may be hard to get but so blue and white team go Valley I'm really excited to see you next week Mrs L well um I guess we're going to Echo a lot but I wanted to congratulate Sarah as well what an amazing accomplishment she's like a human mermaid right so that's wonderful um I also wanted to thank our school counselors um they provide support for Wayne's students and this evening they set up a nice display in the front um with various tools that they use and each individual is so different and has different needs and I think it's wonderful that they are creative and using their knowledge and their skill are able to work with students on an individual basis to provide the needs that they have um so thank you very much for your effort I also wanted to thank the administrative assistance I know that that work is not easy and sitting in this seat um over the past what several months it's nothing nothing nothing in the school dist district is easy and it doesn't work unless everybody works together and supports each other and um you know I I just think it's it's pretty amazing how things run here so I thank the administrative assistants and the counselors and um and everybody thank you thank you Mr Paul yeah again to echo on everybody else um thank you to administrative assistance thank you to the councelors for putting um the presentation together um and Sarah congratulations um you should be proud of yourself keep up the hard work um let's see what next year brings for you anyone else um and thank you everyone for coming um we did have a meeting our PWS meeting which was held at the board Ed building a couple weeks ago um we had a discussion over moving forward after the bond referendum um the one thing uh that we did agree to is we're going to be reforming the citizens committee and look on our website for information uh coming forward with that um and we're back from spring break as my students told me today 42 days of school left it's running down real quick and it's going like a flash so to everyone thank you for coming tonight we appreciate you all coming and I'll take a motion to adjourn motion Mr W um Mrs wch Mr jodano thank you everyone