e good evening everyone the executive session of the Wayne Board of Education regular meeting of June 13 2024 was convened in the conference room of the Wayne Board of Education 50 Nellis Drive Wayne New Jersey statement of compliance setting forth datetime and location was read in accordance with the requirements of the open public meetings Act and the roll call was taken the meeting was recessed and is now being reconvened please stand for a moment of silence and followed by the flag salute 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 thank you everyone please be seated today we're going to begin with recognition to our Eagle Scout awards Mr J Dano Mrs regosa thank you very much this is uh a resolution to recognize uh a couple of our uh a couple of our boy scouts who have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout something that's just unbelievable so we want to salute and congratulate them uh we have resolutions uh we'll start out whereas the Boy Scouts of America was founded in 1910 to teach boys to be good citizens and leaders and more than 5 million young boys are members of this organization and the purpose of boy scouting is to inspire boys with the highest ideals of of character conduct patriotism and service that they may become happy and resourceful citizens and sha Paris is a student and is a rais excuse me a resident of Wayne Township has completed the Boy Scout requirements for the rank of Eagle Scout for troop 130 now therefore be resolved that the Wayne Board of Education recognizes Shawn perus on this special occasion and congratulates him for his outstanding achievements and special efforts in fulfilling the striding character service and leadership requirements of the Eagle Scouts come on come on [Applause] congratulations let's get the parents over here because you got think come on come on up no no right over here come on let's go and the mom and wait wait that's right mom's got to be there too so this is for you sir we'll hold it up here two of us together here and then we'll get Mom and Dad in it all right Mom Dad come on up here yeah I'll give me the camera I got my mer pictures actually the cup SC okay Wendy I can see your face hi there we go close up here [Applause] congratulations conratulations I'm very honored to present this resolution whereas the Boy Scouts of America was founded in 1910 to teach boys to be good citizens and leaders and whereas more than 5 million young boys are members of this organization and whereas the purpose of boy scouting is to inspire boys with the highest ideals of character conduct patriotism and service that they may become happy and resourceful citizens and whereas Trevor Smith is a student and is a resident of Wayne Township and has completed the Boy Scout requirements for the rank of Eagle Scout Troop 130 now therefore be it resolved that the Wayne Board of Education recognizes Trevor Smith on this special occasion and congratulates him for his outstanding achievements and special efforts in fulfilling the stringent character service and Leadership requirements of the eagle scout come on up Trevor Smith and congratulations [Applause] congratulations thank you that's a big honor congratul very much I know teen wait hold on hold on one more for the [Music] newspaper with or without the microphone [Applause] that's we're done and at this time we'd like to recognize our business partners by reading a resolution whereas the Wayne Board of Education recognizes the overall well-being of virtu virtually every Community is defined in judged by the strength of its Public Schools whereas the Wayne Board of Education recognizes the most important stakeholders and every school system are students and their parents whereas the Wayne Board of Education also recognizes that local employers and their businesses also have a vested interest in success of schools whereas its policies and practices the district has sought to create appropriate arrangements enabling employers and bu businesses to support learning opportunities in and out of the classroom through direct donations contributions towards instructional programs and activities volunteer projects providing mentoring opportunities work study placements and occupational Training placements whereas many Arrangements between schools and businesses and employers that have grown out of this environment have brought about a profound change to the way schools and businesses work together as opposed to maintaining a traditional philanthropic resolu relationship whereas the Wayne Board of Education and the Wayne business Community recognize the benefits of true partnership that support the long-term interests of students and schools while providing for sub sustained business involvement now the therefore be it resolved the Wayne Board of Education recognizes the following businesses and employees employers for their efforts to recognize opportunities for the students of the Wayne schools we will we have a list posted on the website and I have to really say thank you thank you to all our business partners for their Vision their generosity and their belief in our students your partnership is a Beacon of Hope shining together with our schools to be the best that we can be in the Wayne Community I thank all of them and there's countless number of businesses that work with our students some that work with our special needs students as well it is a community that works together and I thank each and every one of them Dr toak so before I get to my report I'd like to take a moment to talk about our gifted and talented showcase so showcases are a great great way for members of the community and our board members to learn about important programs in our schools tonight we learn more about our gifted and talented programs and I wanted to take uh thank two of our teachers Sabrina Balin and Scott Reno for doing an amazing job with tonight's gifted and talented showcase you could tell just from speaking with them they have tremendous passion and energy for the work I believe we're very fortunate to have excellent Educators like Sabrina and Scott working in our schools so they're in the back of the auditorium thank you thank you for sharing your work [Applause] tonight um so now on to my report so this meeting is our final meeting during the Academic Year and I wanted to start our meeting today by expressing my thanks and appreciation for each and every member of our school Community our exceptional Educators our experienced and caring administrators our devoted support staff our amazing students our supportive parents all supporters of our school system and last but not least the members of our Board of Education who work tirelessly to support our school system as we reflect on this past Year's accomplishments we also look forward with optimism to the opportunities ahead our journey continues after a short summer break but we're going to talk a little bit more about our goals for next year in a few minutes so now on to a little bit about the class of 2024 so first of all congratulations to our valedictorians and salutatorians Ang God Singh is the valedictorian at Wayne Hills and he will be attending rener Polytechnic Institute where he'll be majoring in biology and participating in their physician scientist MD program with Albany Medical College to eventually become a surgeon ishan Cena is the salutatorian at Wayne Hills he will attend Cornell University where he will double major in biology and computer science and minor in either mathematics or political science in the future he plans to attend medical school or become a software engineer anaka sakar is the valat of Wayne Valley she will be attending Princeton University this fall to study history and economics she plans to attend law school and eventually become lawyer and Milan mystery is the salutatorian from Wayne Valley Milan intends um intends to study biomedical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and attend medical school with the hopes of also serving as a surgeon so to further celebrate our senior class the district publishes a final newsletter for the year which is really a salute to the class of 24 um so we're very excited for the community to read this year's Edition which will be available starting tomorrow the newsletter includes dozens of stories and articles about graduating class members and highlights of their many achievements it also includes lots of information about where our seniors are headed After High School and includes a new section that spotlights some of our outstanding student athletes also related to the class of 2024 our College acceptance list is very impressive that's also included in our newsletter our seniors have been accepted to several very competitive colleges including many IV league universities including Harvard Cornell and Princeton we have several graduates who are staying local and attending schools like Ruckers Satan Hall William Patterson Monclair Stevens Institute NJIT While others are staying in the New York area attending the City University of New York St John's and itha college some of our students will be attending large universities such as the University of Michigan Penn State State University of Connecticut and the University of Maryland and many of our graduates will be attending schools at quite a distance including the University of Washington the University of Colorado University of Michigan and the University of Oregon Southern schools continue to be a big attraction for our graduates many will attend schools like the University of Alabama Louisiana State University of Florida University of Miami Vanderbilt Emery University University of Mississippi and the College of William and Mary so again our end of your newsletter will include all this exciting information and more about our graduates so please check your email social media or our district website download a copy also I'd like to give an end of year Athletics report our Athletic program has always been a point of pride in the community and everyone knew Wayne had great Sports programs most Mo uh most people probably did not realize just how impressive our Athletic program is until niche.com started publishing school rankings and organizing schools in a variety of ways including best schools for athletes so once again in the 2024 Niche best school rankings number one best school district for athletes in New Jersey Wayne Township Public School District so in addition to the number one ranking um the other thing that's really impressive and something that gives you a sense of just how dominant our athletic teams are so we had 1,663 total participants in our athletic programs in our high schools that's more than half of our student population we won 16 I'm sorry 15 League championships we have 134 student athet athletes that earn First Team all League honors 18 of our coaches earn Coach of the Year honors we won 11 County championships we had 110 athletes receive First Team all County honors we have 13 coaches who won the county Coach of the Year honors we have four team state championships we have one individual state champion in girl swimming we have um 41 graduating seniors who will be participating in college athletics in the fall and we have 12 Community Service activities with hills and Valley sports teams working together so that's another nice part that we've added over the past few years all these community service projects for our student athletes also some very exciting news Wayne Valley girls flag football will be looking to make it five state championships this year for Wayne Township as they play Ridgewood High School this Saturday Sunday the 15th at 7 p.m. at medlife Stadium admission is free if you'd like to attend and board members you've received instructions to if you'd like to receive some Advanced tickets you're able to do that um with regard to the Hib report I'm reporting the following data related to harassment intimidation and bullying incidents in the Wayne Township Public Schools there were 15 incidents of HIV investigated since my last report five of those cases were deemed to meet the criteria of actual HIV incidents okay that concludes my report thank you okay District gos District gos okay you want me to go up there ask started last year I think it was around the same time presented our goal for theol I'm going to the goal and then I'll share the year update updates along the way number one was for the CL various plans for addressing the projected sech in student enrollment due to community construction projects that are in progress goal number two was the district learning management system to build on the work of the learning management system committee and move ahead with an implementation plan for both high schools during the 2023 2024 school year the year end update all of our high school instructional staff um in all grade levels have been trained in the canvas learning management system we have additional training and work sessions set up throughout the summer there'll be coaching they'll be drop in office hours and we will have an asynchronous professional development course developed that's um staff can drop in at any time they want to repeat something or they're new to the district we're going to continue to offer training throughout the school year to ensure successful implementation and leverage all the canvas instructional resources available to enhancing learning Middle School will maintain a pilot for next year and we continue to gather feedback and consideration goal number three was the youth mental health goal the goal was to continue to find ways to provide counseling and training to ensure student wellness and support while recognizing the loss of federal covid relief funds as a large part of this goal 150 staff members were offered youth Mental Health First Aid training um the staff was intended to learn skills that they would need to assist students experiencing mental health challenges students will be provided strategies to assist a peer who may be experiencing a mental health Challenge and how to encourage their friends to reach out to a trusted adult um as of today the district goal was met and we exceeded the anticipated number of um staff members who completed the training we had over 150 staff members do this and we will maintain our Partnerships with NJ fors to offer additional support to our students as needed goal four was year two of the special education and mtss multi-tiered system of student supports uh this goal was to evaluate our inclusive programs for students in grades 1- 12 and make recommendations to enhance opportunities to help students meet their learning goals in the least restrictive environment recommendations will also be made to build capacity with general education teachers support staff and offer a power to teacher program the year end update uh LMS Consulting educational Consulting reported um and highlighted the district strengths particularly the robust and thoughtfully crafted components of our IEPs such as as the present levels of academic and functional performance and the associated goals the report also commended our commitment to professional learning among the recommendations were to enhance our efforts to increase inclusionary opportunities for all students in their least restrictive environment further develop our mtss processes districtwide and continue our focus on professional development goal five was profile of a graduate the goal was to develop a graduate profile for students first at the School level and at transitional levels in the future um we work with a committee of 50 stakeholders we convene several times throughout the year to share input and ideas for a logo and supporting um posters which detail the six core competencies that we value and consider most through all areas of instruction and student development and socialization during their K to2 education um the Committees worked parallel we had secondary and Elementary working and we came together together as a group and agreed on six core competencies accountability adaptability critical thinking communication empathy and perseverance uh the The Next Step which Dr toak will talk about soon is to start developing profile projects um showing how our students use each of these core competencies to work through um and persevere goal six was bullying prevention and education program this goal is to develop and Implement a comprehensive plan to reduce the reported cases of bullying in the 2023 24 school year by at least 10% compared to the 2022 23 school year through parent student and staff educational programs um the plan was based on an analysis of the current and past Hib statistics our year-end update um we're very excited the district goal to reduce HIV was successfully achieved um at the last board meeting in May the district has reduced HIV cases by 36% this is really great the district put in place a number of proactive parent presentations and student support measures and secured additional training to achieve the goal there's also an Hib and climate stakeholder committee which reviews Trends discusses professional development opportunities and shares Community Resources the committee um was comprised of Administrators teachers counselors child study team members parents and members of faith-based organizations here in way so that concludes the um final end of the year goal report for 2324 and now we're going to move on to our district goals for 2425 um these are in draft forms though y okay so let's get started um for the past 10 years the Wayne schools have been guided in part through the establishment of District goals these goals are developed over the course of the year and the result of input from a variety of sources including parents students staff members but they're also driven by data and statistics about our school system they always address real needs in the district and they're always achieved our system of District goals led to a number of improvements including our in-house professional development center the renovation of pris school full a kindergarten kindergarten rap l Childhood Program a school marketing program High School block scheduling one toone Computing a comprehensive review of our special education programs and a host of other improvements so if you were to Google School District goals and just take a sampling from around the country you would immediately notice that our goals are very different from the goals you're likely to find most school systems have very general goals such as um some I pulled today one goal was to implement kindergarten through fifth grade English language arts series to increase student achievement or improve communication efforts sharing good news about our schools goals include monthly presentations for boarding Community uh coffee and conversations with the superintendent improved School website appearance supported by website liaison so those are just um a few goals that I pulled from other school districts they're very different like I said from our goals and ours are very much specific they include lots of details to make sure that all parties involved in the goal are aware of their responsibilities and the timelines in short our goals are also good change management practices I es and that's why each one is always achieved okay so let's get to our goals um again keeping in mind board members these are draft goals there are six of them they are not there's no no resolution tonight not asking you to approve them we're just sharing them with you for now this is what the administration developed and there's plenty of time before we get to our next meeting to talk about goals but it's important to have them established so we're ready to carry them out for the upcoming school year okay so to get started our first goal is something we talked about previously let me get my notes here okay so I believe you have copies of the goals if you wanted to make reference to them because it's hard to read some of what's up there because the letters are kind of small when you look at them from a distance but um so this goal is ultimately a goal that is in some fashion or another being considered in just about every Forward Thinking School District artificial intelligence is here to stay it's important and it's important for the future of our students to have some understanding about it to get started with this goal we actually used an AI tool from thought exchange called a um thought exchange interview and what that does is that allows you to conduct with any person an artificial intelligence-based interview including follow-up questions so we have some basic information that leads us to some conclusions and also helps us understand why this is an important goal for the district so there are 199 people that agreed to be interviewed these are staff members administrators different people from around the district and to provide just a quick summary um there were basically two schools there was side a there was a number of people who ultimately participated in this interview who felt that AI is a valuable tool in the educational sector they believe that AI can be used to enhance student learning assist in lesson planning and providing personalized learning experiences so this is all based on the responses that people wrote right it was put together by the artificial intelligence engine they also see the potential of AI and automate automating teacher tasks alleviating grading and recordkeeping burdens and differentiating text for students however they emphasize the need for proper use and ethical consideration side B so another side emerged from this um interview this group of participants Express concerns about the potential misuse of AI in education they worry that AI could encourage cheating plagiarism and inhibit critical thinking they fear that AI might replace human creativity and personal connections and could lead to laziness and Reliance on technology some participants also Express concerns about the potential of AI to replace jobs and the impersonal nature of AI so the common ground so if you took all the responses and added it together the engine determined that both ad Advocates and critics agree on the need for proper use of Education or I'm sorry the Need For Education about the proper use of AI they believe that students and staff should be taught how to use AI ethically and effectively to enhance learning not to replace it they also agree on the need for guidelines and policies to prevent misuse both sides see the importance of critical thinking skills and believe that AI should not replace those skills but rather serve as a tool to enhance them and so you have basically this goal that reflects very much the same thing the goal is to harness the power of artificial intelligence to enhance educational outcomes for all students streamline operations and support teachers in delivering effective instruction and implementing a new District AA policy so our policy writing service stes stes is expected to release a new AI policy during the summer and so we'll need to implement that and that'll also serve as some guidance for us as far as what we need to do for next year okay so that is our first goal is Richman do you have anything you'd like to talk about related to it you're good yeah okay so how are we going to get there okay so you could basically see that we need to form an extensive committee so an executive committee to consider the outcome of what I just shared with you and then a larger committee that basically will gather information at the building level provide feedback and plan for professional development this year and for next year okay and um so that's basically that goal District goal to to two I'm sorry I can't talk is the Gathering Spot so this is a special education goal and this is basically rooted in something that already exists at our prist Early Childhood Center and it just started this year but it was super beneficial and so the department student Support Services Department is looking to expand the goal and expand it to other schools and to other grade levels okay so um this is basically a parent group there's an educational component but what's different about this compared to cpeg and our other special education parent Association is that it is far more social and so the idea is it's a fun way for parents to get together to learn something and to also support the school system but do it in a fun environment so the other organizations we have are more business-oriented um this is more of a social Gathering and so that's a nice way for parents to get together and talk about issues of common interest okay how are we going to do that okay so the first thing is a need survey to understand what parents would like to learn about and then setting up the structure set up dates schedule guests speakers plan some activities and move ahead with the program okay goal three is the evaluation instrument update Okay so you could read there I I don't want to bore you to death but for 10 years ultimately the state uh well 10 years ago the state required every school district in New Jersey to come up with a new program for monit or for evaluating teachers so some of it is based on student performance some of it is based on a teacher practice instrument okay in other words an evaluation form and so there were essentially four models that were offered to school districts Wayne chose the strong model and we've been using it ever since the whole reason behind this goal is that 10 years have passed since the implementation of this model and education has changed in those 10 years so the idea is that the staff itself is comfortable with the strong model the administrators are used to using it but are there certain parts of the evaluation instrument are there certain indicators that we should consider are there changes that make sense the answer is yes after 10 years it makes sense to look at just about everything um because the world changes rapidly but this evaluation instrument has not okay so that's basically how we would get there same thing through committees through uh and making our principles and our teachers major Partners in this process because the principles are the people who use the instrument the teachers are the ones who ultimately they see their evaluations is obviously very important to them so we think that's a really good goal for the district okay so Mrs Richman a few moments ago spoke spoke about profile of a graduate and so we have a nice foundation and she's going to talk a little bit more about what's the next step th this was a really fun process this year uh I had an individual from the community a parent or soon to be parent um in the Randle Carter Community who is a school principal in Ramsey and has successfully been um very engaged and part of this process on an ongoing basis in their schools uh so he agreed to come and with uh he's a middle school principal with the high school principal and engage with our administrators and just talk about the work they've done the successes they've had um how it's evolved over the course of the years and they made some really really great recommendations that were very helpful um they also were able to share and and point out that they thought that the work we did because once um you get an opportunity to learn from other people um was even better they liked what we came up with in terms of our logo and and the collateral um but really the whole point of having and developing a profile is to Pro provide a clear and unified vision of skills and knowledge and attributes that you want students to possess upon graduation so the next step is how do we implement this and what does this look like um as part of instruction what course work is it in is it in a math class is it in a social studies class what will the projects look like and and how are all of these um core competencies implemented and demonstrated through these projects um next year will be a pilot year we're going to be working um with somebody who has a lot of experience in the field there's a consultant um who work with the Ramy schools uh we vetted out u a number of people out there who do this work it's done Nationwide attended um many conferences where people showcased and shared and and we found something that um really suits and um compliments the work that we're looking to do so next year we'll be piloting in the elementary and middle schools there will be um again a a committee smaller committee last time we had 50 people but we'll be able to involve um our Administration and teachers media specialist counselors and we'll frame out the projects um we'll launch them and then we'll have a chance to evaluate them before we expand to more students at additional grade levels um and then um the following year we'll bring it up to the high school next year we're going to let the high school focus on the canvas implementation and and really um leveraging all the tools that are there lots of them okay so we could wrap this up quickly goal five is a foundation for our future technology growth so bottom line is during the pandemic and afterwards the district moved ahead rapidly with technology purchasing and the other part is that we also have a number of systems that are older and really in need of replacement so the goal of this particular goal the goal of the goal right is to basically come up with a very specific plan that will help us with our budgeting when it comes to the replenishment of devices um software licenses access points all the things that make our Network work are the things that we would need to consider for this goal and that helps us like I said with planning with budgeting and making sense of making sure that all the purchases that we will need to make are planned out in a very careful and thoughtful way okay our sixth goal is something that has been a topic in the district for a while okay so ultimately we have a situation where since the pandemic our intervention and referral services teams have received ferral referrals well beyond their capacity to address okay so you can see there's a definition of intervention and referral services for those of you who are not in education it is ultimately a team of people at each school that come up with services and supports for students who may be experiencing difficulties and then also making determinations about whether to refer the student for special education evaluation okay so we also have mtss multi-tiered system of supports that's a model that exists in our schools that's something we have a start with and the idea is that ultimately um it is a way of hopefully addressing these issues in a classroom in a very regimented way right so a very specific planned way and so the question is can we do a better job with essentially looking at the merging of these two important operations can we align our mtss model with our inrs are there ways that we can improve our effic efficiency are the things that we could do to help our students in a more um comprehensive way with data is there are there commonalities when it comes to students who are referred for special education services are the things that we need to know more about when we do our data analysis and so that's the general idea behind this goal and this is the information about how we would go about doing that okay it includes visiting other schools like Mrs Richman noted that if you go out you talk to different people about what they do um and find out about other practices there's certainly a great benefit to that and we would also like to bring in an external consultant to work with our teams to look at Best Practices and consider new models because there are people out there that have great expertise in this particular task this particular goal can be supported greatly by having an external consultant but within a reasonable cost okay so um those are our six proposed goals for next year again there's nothing on the agenda this is something for the board to consider if there's more to talk about if there's suggestions please send them our way and um what we would like to do is if it's okay and we're in position we'd like to have the board vote on these goals at our next meeting okay any questions Pi okay board members questions any questions okay thank you Mr Moffett revisions to the agenda please yes uh the first of the evening under T emergent human resources number five approval of appointment of District staff we're going to add under number seven and number 14 pro-rated after the salary amount um we'll be removing T3 and T14 uh from the tonight's agenda those are two employment contracts one for the assistant superintendent and one for the school business administrator that's still under current currently being reviewed by the county office uh we do expect that to come back to the board at a future board meeting um we are also going to add under T emergent human resources number 21 approval of Examination for cause and administrative leave and that reads as follows whereas the employee ID number 5772 is employed by the Wayne Township Board of Education and whereas based on the information provided by the administration in the Judgment of the board the employe has exhibited evidence of deviation from normal mental health which is adversely affecting the employees ability to perform essential job functions and whereas as a result of the foregoing the board desires to direct the employee to submit to a psychiatric or psychological examination pursuing njs a 18a 16-2 njac 6A 32-6 do3 uh and Board of Education policy 3161 and further reads now therefore be resolved upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools employee ID number 5772 is hereby required and directed to submit to psychiatric Andor psychological examination by the school district's designated physician and a written medical report detailing the results of such examination is to be provided confidentially to the board and be it further resolved that the superintendent of schools is hereby authorized and directed to prepare and provide the employee with appropriate statutory notice of the board's action and the reasons there and be it further resolved that this employee has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending completion of the examination Andor further board Action Moving On To X emergent school resource legal we'll be adding number one X1 is approval of memorandum of agreement and salary guides that reads as follows resolve that the Board of Education upon the recommendation of the superintendent approve the memorandum of agreement and salary guides with the Wayne Education Association for the period of July 1 2024 through June 30 2025 and further authorizes the president of the Board of Education to execute the new Collective negotiations agreement reflect the memorandum of agreement and incorporating the salary guides as discussed in executive session we'll be adding number U X2 and that is a continuation of suspension for two students and that reads as follows resolve that the Board of Education upon the recommendation of the superintendent continues the suspension of students ID number 5768 45184 and student ID number 25850 66374 for with the provision of home instruction pending a psychiatric evaluation and be it further resolved that the student the students are not permitted on any Board of Education property during the period of his of their suspension and is not permitted to participate in any sport extracurricular extracurricular activity or any other school sponsored event During the period of their suspension that concludes the additions to tonight's agenda thank you at this time we'll open to the public on agenda items only this portion of the meeting is open to Citizens for comment on agenda items only residents are asked to State their name address and subject matter comments may be limited to three minutes per person members of the public are discouraged from speaking negatively about an employee or a student Bo the board Bears no responsibilities 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 all business do I have a mover Mr jordano Mrs wch anyone from the public on agenda items three minutes start the now is it on testing thank you Mrs Kazan okay Kathy Kazan I live in Wayne um this is old business I want to talk about the last meeting uh which I observed I uh sent an email to the board it just was meant to be a private email with my thoughts and concerns about that meeting but I did re receive one response that just gave me further questions and that was about the discussion that ensued about selling off school property I I was a little taken aback by that uh I find it uh interesting that that was mentioned at a meeting where there was no presentation or any further discussion on that topic so that would lead people to have more questions and fear that you know we're going to sell school buildings in this town um the email that I received back said that this was part of a board full board discussion uh so my question is where's a full board discussion taking place about the future of our schools and the referendum if not in public if it was happen in executive session then I would assume that that would become sacran and not brought up in public public or in a committee uh where it would be only mentioned by the chair if in fact it were ready for prime time which I sincerely doubt considering how uh new this information seems to be but more importantly this was from you Mr Faber where where exactly was this conversation taking place uh again that's my concern uh was it at exec was it in committee or was it outside of the board offices with a quorum and violating the open public meetings act I have to wonder uh but thank God and I want the public to not be concerned uh nine board members can't make that decision thank God uh the department of Ed would never allow it so uh if you are going to have these discussions please be careful with your comments and if someone send you an email about it don't say it's not something I can share when you've already shared it that makes absolutely no sense so uh that was I won't get into the rest of it it was meant to be a private email and I'll keep it that way there's been enough criticism of the board and I don't think it's helpful in this community to continue down that road so thank you thank you anyone else from the public on an agenda item good evening Suzanne put up Wayne New Jersey um I always enjoy the district goals for the following year it's always thoughtful and very professionally organized and presented and I know that there's a lot of research and thought put into the goals but there's something up there that I'm really concerned about there's no goal that addresses the overcrowding on the elementary level that we're experiencing in the school district and I would hope that there would have been something mentioned about dealing with the explosion of students we have and where we're going to put them I know at one school there's a third grade with 26 kids and the other third grade has 27 students well that's higher than I ever remember when I worked in the school district the number of students having on that grade level so I am truly concerned I know there's a hangover from the referendum not passing but I really would like to see something about where the district is going how you're going to reapportion our physical plan and Facilities to make room for students because if you went to the Forum back when we were discussing the referendum it was obvious that the crunch is at the elementary level and I have my personal I have my grandchildren who will be attending school in Wayne I've already seen the libraries being carved into little pieces which is like a stab in the heart having been a media specialist on the elementary level but where are the kids going to go so thank you for listening I appreciate it I do appreciate the goals but I was left a little wanting thank you thank you anyone else from the public on an agenda item seeing no one else I moov the close Dana Mrs W move on on to our agenda any committee reports Mrs wch I have two I am reading a committee report for the finance committee for Mr Pacos uh on May 30th uh myself Mr Faber Mr mafit miss miss liic and um Mr Pacos had met Mr Faber and myself were attending virtually uh we reviewed and approved the prior meeting minutes from April 30th meeting we reviewed agenda items for the board of uh Education meeting uh of I guess it was the last meeting so May 30th I pardon me I forget the date uh we reviewed Financial reports for April contracts for the 2425 fiscal years the appropriation of non-public funds for the 2324 fiscal year we reviewed the funds returning to reserve due to the regular operating District Rod Grant approval transferred to reserve the June 30th 24 fiscal year end and emergent checks for May 30th 2024 meeting we also discussed potential future actions Mr mafit and Mr liik discuss additional if needed to use Surplus in the 2324 fiscal year the need need to move forward with regular operating District Rod projects that were not granted approved or the grant was not approved by the New Jersey Department of Education we approved two of the early childhood education grant application to the New Jersey Department of Education we uh appointment of the district's General legal counsel and the school physician solicitation for orthopedic medical coverage for athletics events solicitation for redistricting Services contract award for boiler breaching project at Wayne Hills High School uh pay County Improvement Authority PCI resolution for lease purchase agreement and the high impact Educational Service deadline extension we also reviewed the Food Service management company update where Mr mafit and Miss liic provided an update regarding the transition and the consideration with wet vended meals and consolidation agreements um in the business office Miss liik provided related update to the following areas review of the extraordinary aid process and related special education financial data the certificate of excellence in financial reporting was given again and awarded to the district and Miss liik provided related overview uh referendum related expenses were detailed by Miss liik and office staffing an annual update preparation was given uh the 2024 2025 District budget update Mr mafit and Miss liik advised the committee of the coming budget opening and related budget reductions and in recommendations committee recommended all school resource agenda items um and our next meeting will be held on July 11th at 5:00 p.m. in the business administration's office that concludes the report for the finance committee I also have a Personnel committee report where today uh miss regoso Mr Faber myself and Miss Paul Clark had met uh at 5:00 p.m. we reviewed the agenda or the minutes from the May 13th Personnel committee meeting review the June June 13th Board of Ed agenda HR items discuss the sidebar par professional sick Bank uh agreement and we're discussing the rates for substitute for 2425 Year and that concludes my report thank you thank you let just get a little closer here uh the uh facilities and transportation committee met today uh and tenants of course for myself Mr pavlac miss tibits Mr Roma Mr skitzki and Mr mfet uh we went over a bunch of different things this time of the year uh when facilities was get really gets going because we want to get stuff done over the summertime uh a couple of these things include uh the facilities department is putting out a number of uh submissions for Grants uh especially uh prek expansion gra uh grants excuse me uh specifically uh the chairlift and other Ada projects are being put out um we have a grant for a set of science lab tables this is not uh pursuant to the uh the withholding of the ngss ones this is a different one that's went out beforehand we're finally getting that back in uh we got successful bids for the boilers for Wayne Hills um June 20th uh the data center generator should be delivered June 26 the data center facilities building itself the parts of it will arrive um the custodians met for summer cleaning we've also uh met with uh various uh groups about the district solar panels and what's going on with those uh looking for uh people to take them off the building so we can do Roofing and then put them back on again uh it's an ongoing process to that um we also met and discussed the uh skinning of the pness building that's the uh outside surface of the uh buildings being updated so that uh they're weatherproof get rid of the cracks leaks Etc Etc uh from that um we did note that school any requests by schools uh looking for specific items um are going to be postponed indefinitely unless they uh pertain to a health or safety issue uh this in direct result of the uh lack of funding we are having due to um budgetary issues coming out for for ourselves uh for the referendum that did not go through etc etc etc excuse me uh the single use uh restroom and Fallon uh is going strong it's almost done at this point uh the uh clocks and the PA systems at JFK uh they are finished and uh we've been able to in the transportation department uh get settled the 28 routes that we use during the summer time uh for various trips and for various uh students going out for special summer programs and to top it off the Cherry we finished and settled up the dispatchers contract and we're looking forward to working with our dispatchers well into the near future that's it thank you anyone else do I have a move for the agenda I move the entire agenda in totality Please Mr Jano Mr Paul any discussion on the agenda seeing none roll call Mr Muffin Mr Bill yes yes Mr Faber yes Mr gardano yes Mrs lamandre yes Mr Paul yes Mrs raloo yes Mrs witin yes and Mr pavlac yes now abstain on X1 motion carries retirements want to go first Mrs regoso I have the honor uh about reading Miss Evelyn rinos um congratulations to Evelyn Lorraine rinos on her upcoming retirement from the Wayne Township Public Schools Evelyn has served our district as a par professional for the past 18 years throughout her time with us Evelyn has been a dedicated and caring member of our educational Community providing essential support to both students and the staff she has worked with students of varying abilities providing individual Iz attention that has helped them reach their full potential a prate professional plays a crucial and multifaceted role in the educational environment serving as a Cornerstone of support we thank Evelyn for all the contribution she has made to JFK and to the lives of countless students over the years her commitment and her hard work have been greatly appreciated and her presence will be missed as she embarks on this new chapter of her life we want to express our deepest gratitude for her 18 years of service to the Wayne Township Public Schools we wish her Joy relaxation and all the best happy retirement Evelyn thank you Mr J down thank you this one is for retirement is for Denise Carr Mrs Carr beloved special education teacher has poured her heart and soul and through her students at Rand carer since 2012 for over 14 years she's been a Guiding Light for countless students in their families changing lives in ways that are simply Unforgettable her unique ability to connect with the students on a deep level sets her apart she understands their needs their struggles and their potential like no one else Mrs Carr empowers the students to believe in themselves to strive for greatness with unwavering persistence and dedication but it doesn't stop there Mrs Carr goes above and beyond sacrificing her own time and energy to help her students succeed from lunchtime tutoring sessions to late night phone calls with worried parents she is always there offering support and guidance in every step of the way she's not just a teacher she is a pillar of strength and a Beacon of Hope for her students they trust her confide in her and look up to her as a source of comfort and wisdom Mrs Carr gives everything she has every single day selfishly pouring love and care into the lives of those she touches the impact she has made is immeasurable and the Gratitude we feel for her is immeasurable as well Mrs Carr you are truly Irreplaceable a shining of everything a teacher should be as you embark on the next chapter of your journey know that you will always hold a special place in our hearts thank you for the magic you brought to Ral Carter Elementary School we wish you nothing but the best as you continue to inspire and uplift those around you you are a true Gem and we are blessed have witnessed your incredible work thank you thank you and to all our retirees we thank you for your dedication and service to the district and our children of the district at this time we'll open the comment this portion of the meeting is open to Citizen for comment residents are asked to State their name address and subject matter comments may be limited to five 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 Mrs regalos anyone from the public wishing to speak all right me again Kathy Kazan Wayne New Jersey thank you for the invite Mr Paul uh I know you missed the sound of my voice um I just wanted to congratulate all the graduates and wish the teachers a happy summer for all their hard work and uh you guys enjoy your summer too but get busy on that referendum thank you anyone else from the public uh Gabriel nazziola 1260 Ratz Road and Wayne sometimes things pop up without you're even looking for them uh week or so ago I had the occasion to go and vote and since I moved from one place to another I now vote at the Lafayette school I don't know if any of the board members or the administration have had the opportunity to go to that school and pay attention to the flooring the voting machines are in the gymnasium and uh while I had way back in my life some limited exposure to carpentry I would invite you to get some qualified Carpenter to go there and take a look at this floor normally a hardwood floor has long running lens of board uh staggered as it will this particular floor has sections that are about 10 in by uh 10 in almost Square was it was if if someone was trying to duplicate paret flooring on a gymnasium floor uh I never saw a floor anything like that so my concern of course as a taxpayer is I would really like to have somebody from the board or the administration tell me as a taxpayer who did the job when when did they do it and how many tax dollars did we pay to do it cuz if you go and look at that you're going to say this was not done by a carpenter uh secondly uh some couple of meetings ago Mr pavick you announced that you're going to form a Citizens committee uh concerning the possibility of redoing a bond referendum and uh I was encouraged to to hear that because now with the mayor who initially spoke against the referendum volunteered to be uh helpful if you had a another Bond referendum around $100 million or there for if I remember his speech uh I'm I I volunteered to Mr Mett to be on that committee I have I think some ideas that would help make the presentation palatable and not only by its content but by when it's produced or put on the ballot and uh I'm waiting thanks for your time thank you sir hi uh Karen Murphy um I actually sent all of you guys an email about a month ago about class sizes at Lafayette um which actually happens to what Miss pup was also talking about and I believe Miss arbach uh forwarded my email to Dr toak um so hopefully you had a chance to to read that at some point um I have two sons that are at Lafayette Elementary School they're in first and third grade currently um and their class sizes are the only two grades currently that only have two sections of their grade instead of three or the current kindergarten that has four sections both of my son's classes started this school year very close to the board recommended maximum size and both during the school year went over by several students my third grader currently has 27 students in his class and my first grader has 23 which are both over the current recommended limit I understand that as the school year starts um that that's difficult to add another section if you had asked us to abandon our teacher that that our our sons had for a new teacher mid year I would have told you absolutely not because they both have fantastic teachers and we are very happy with them um but it's a very difficult position to be putting these teachers in at extremely crucial years of learning the basic skills of reading and writing and math um and the third grade in particular I'm highly concerned about the the class numbers because this is the group of students that during their kindergarten year were um learning mostly from home their current their kindergarten year which was 2020 and 2021 uh Wayne was still half day um and because of the virtual instruction which is what we had to do they were really not in school that much um they were in 2 days a week for that 2 hours and 40 minutes a day because it was still operating on the half day schedule and if they continued that way for the entire school year which I understand we came back in person at some point I couldn't remember exactly when but there were also periods of time where we were completely virtual and at home but if you compare the amount of time in person in school with the current kindergarten students if you remained two days at home um the current third grade students had 57,7 180 minutes less in-person learning than the current kindergarten students and now they have 27 students in their class next year um I was under the assumption that this would be remedied and that there would be a third section added because they went over midyear and the the recommendation for fourth grade is 28 students and with the amount of students that have been added to their classes every year I assume that this would be prea preemptively um remedied for next year where they would add a third section it is my understanding from talking to both the principal of the school as well as um miss arbach that that is not um scheduled unless they get three new students before the school year starts in September and I'm sure you have all seen that there are a lot of students that have joined the school after the school year started you know there's I just well I was sitting here looked on Zillow in Wayne right now there's 63 houses up for sale it looks like there's seven or eight in the vicinity of Lafayette are they going to sell and kids are going to move in and they're going to register and also be in third grade before you have another meeting with enough time to hire somebody I don't know but this is something that I I think is very concerning I understand the logistics of you know setting up um a new classroom of trying to figure out where would you get another teacher from I understand a lot of times they get pulled from another another class but 27 students in this particular grade that had such limited in-person instruction in kindergarten I think is is really detrimental for their learning and I understand that power professionals have been added to the class I'm a teacher myself and have worked with some amazing power professionals but the burden of the lesson planning and the implementation of IEPs and and the state testing and the you know reading evaluations all of that ultimately falls on the teacher and you can have the best power Professionals in the world helping you but but the burden of the education really falls on the teacher and I hope that that you consider eleviating the class sizes a bit for for Lafayette and keeping an eye on the current first grade that is going to enter second grade at their maximum capacity for next year thank you thank you anyone else from the public Suzanne put up Wayne Mrs wik parents are already feeling the pain is that good enough for you hello everybody Wayne I'm sorry Wayne I'm Ferris with tap to Wayne and um I don't know if you recall 10 months ago some of you weren't here but 10 months ago I made an announcement about our athlete of the Year program it's the uh Roco civella athlete of the Year scholarship Awards dinner that is happening on this Monday I'm excited so all year long we've been doing uh athletes of the month we've been announcing them and doing Special articles for them and each of these 18 Athletes are now up for athlete of the year the tap and Dwayne presents Roco calella athlete of the Year award and we're giving away three scholarships we have our winners chosen already but they're under wraps right now uh we're giving away a $5,000 scholarship to the athlete of the year a $2,000 scholarship to the runnerup and $1,000 scholarship for the second runnerup and in the running from Wayne Hills is Sasha abramsky a tennis player Sophia Bradley you may have heard of her before Sala alino a football player Cory mullholland a basketball player NBI veroa a fencer sienna Shuster basketball player Cara langbo track cross country Jimmy ve a golfer and Dean Kira a baseball player from Wayne Valley we have Brian Blake um a football player Riley crank a volleyball player mine voof for gymnastics Noah Zaki for wrestling Kaden flower for basketball Omar Ali backtack for basketball Sarah Rodriguez for swimming Ava Maher for both um Spring Track and uh flag football and our uh Wayne Valley salutatorian Milan mystery who's uh for uh track as well so of those 18 three are going to get chosen and three are going to get scholarships on Monday night and I'm super excited about that and I just wanted to brag a bit so thank you enjoy yourselves all [Applause] right thank you any any new business old Business board member comments excuse me Mr President did you want to close the the session oh I'm sorry I move to close the session Mr dud Dan Mrs wch Dr Tobak you want to address any okay so um I would like to address the issue of crowding and so I'll start with Mrs puup and maybe some of this will also help with my explanation when I get to Mrs Murphy okay um Gabe just real quick your comments and what you had to share is really a discussion with the business official he he would have the specific spefic but he doesn't have that here okay so but he'll he'll provide you with the information you're looking for okay um but as far as Mrs pup goes okay so part of our referendum planning although we kept it to ourselves it also involved planning in the event the referendum fails right there's a good chance any referendum will fail and so you have to plan for that as well and you do that within the parameters you have so I'm going to go over basically some of the things that are either either things that have happened or things that are in process or maybe some things that are things that we're looking at for during the summer okay um so the first thing I think you're you're aware of is the idea that we're going to continue to invest in preis school you heard a little bit about that tonight there's work that's being done there to make every classroom that we have there available for students and so that will take some time that's a project that should be done um so that's something that we're we're working towards and we should have that soon so that gives us a number of additional class rooms um we're also in the process although I hesitate to mention where but we're also in the process of researching and evaluating the rental of two facilities in the community and so that's something that um already happened there's another walkthrough that's scheduled next week and so we'll be able to report that back to the board and and maybe there's some options there in terms of rental space we're also looking at offering parents options so in other words if there is space in another school and the parent is interested in transferring their child there granted I don't think many parents will take that option but the reality is that that is one way of hopefully alleviating some level of crowding if a parent finds that it's objectionable and they'd rather just have their child in a in a smaller classroom environment although I will admit there isn't really much space regardless of where right so there are very few schools that have any great capacity um to help with that situation today we received our rfps back from some organizations that are going to be involved with a redistricting study and so that's work that we're already working um that is something we're already working to do starting the summer and into next year so a redistricting study will be done and shared with the public uh probably sometime later next year um of course the board is considering another referendum and so you heard a little bit about that um we are also seeking lease prices for portable classroom units in other words trailers and so but that that involves a little bit more than just um rolling in a trailer right the idea is that you have to have electrical you have to have Plumbing you have to have proximity there's a whole host of different things that are considered so it's a little bit more than just bringing a trailer in right and so that would involve um site work at each of our schools and making sense of what make you know what trailers we can bring in what size could be brought in what purposes they would be used for there's a lot that we could do with that but that's also an expense and something that um we we expect to be quite costly to be honest because you are running electrical and plumbing and all those other things right um so that's that um with regard to the comments made by Mrs Murphy I certainly we appreciate the class siiz concern it is a concern across the district and I appreciate you coming to the board meeting tonight and shows the sincerity of your concern and so we work very hard during the summer to really track enrollment and any increases that we have although we generally don't plan for changes of enrollment at this point we usually do that in August we do have a number of elementary teachers in August that we are able to hire so that has not been an issue in Prior years and we do look to basically um you know to make sure our schools are properly staffed and we do recognize that there is a tremendous burden that is placed on teachers when you walk into a classroom of 25 students 26 students particularly students at the elementary level so we do address these issues and we have and the board also receives updates from the administration regarding class sizes at each of our schools they Reed that throughout the summer so it is something like I said the administration the board of edit very sensitive to but it also involves some difficult decisions some of those decisions include putting art and music on a cart okay so that's definitely another step in the progression at lafette right there's things that we could do like that but that also affects other students so um and I agree with you 100% is very difficult when classes go over our limit during the middle of the year because it's only usually by one student maybe two but most of the time it's it's generally by one the other thing is um understanding the nature of the construction here so um I know that during the referendum process we talked a little bit about this but maybe Mak sense to go back and talk about that a little bit more so we do not expect any students in the district next year as a result of the construction that's going on in the community we expect small numbers of students to start trickling in next summer and so really it's the following year where we would probably start to see more students coming in and that's why the timing of the redistricting study is super important because no matter what those buildings will have to have an attendance Zone that's also an opportunity to perhaps um if we lease property if we have rentals that will also help us with accommodating additional students so there is a plan in place there are things that the district is pursuing to try to um create options and look for every last bit of space that is available to accommodate students and of course the other part is the Staffing um you know we have a budget and um we have to look I guess um you know we have to dig deep to find additional positions and that that will be a challenge we do have some additional positions that are built into the budget but not many so like I said I don't think as far as next year is concerned that we'll see that kind of explosive growth but in the following years next two three years that's where we're going to start seeing that and that's when we'll have to have um more in place to to accept all those students thank you now we go to any new business old Business board member comments Mr Bell hi so I'd just like to go over I think we spent a large portion of the Year talking about many different things but probably not enough on specifically education uh today with the uh Gates presentation we had outside I think that really starts to set a good tone of how we invest in our children from the beginning um working all the way up through at this time of year when graduation is starting to occur and it is a very positive time for everybody in the district to be able to go through and look at how the elementary clap outs are working how they're getting their Awards how we're moving up for the end of year shows how throughout Middle School we're getting to graduations and being able to move on up to high school and ultimately with the culmination at the end of high school with the graduations that are occurring there um from the 4.0 breakfast where we've recognized over a 100 students this year who achieved 4.0 or better throughout all four years of their education the scholarships the honor societies and the graduations from the Honor Society and obviously leading all the way up to the um the graduations themselves and going on to their their future education or choice of careers that they are going to be moving into and I think that is a great way of being able to look back to the teachers that have supported them from the time that they've come in in kindergarten and work throughout their entire careers throughout their time but mostly for those students who've persevered over that period of time who've really worked over some of the things that we see in the profile of the student as well to you know and embodied the sort of things that we expect in Wayne to actually produce themselves into something that we can all be proud of so I want to say congratulations to the students and thank you to all of the teachers fa so as a parent who had you know few of my children go through the gates program it is a wonderful program it's definitely um helped my children a lot in getting ahead and learning a lot so I'd like to say thank you to the district and to the teachers who you know set that up and make that happen addressing all the comments that are relating to a very specific situation which relates to class size um buildings you know the pain that parents are feeling as a parent with four students in the district I feel that pain myself and relating to miss kazan's commentary about what I had said about selling school buildings it's a very difficult position that the district is in right now you have a very limited budget that can only increase by a certain amount we're seeing tremendous growth in the number of students that we have and we have 15 buildings that require a tremendous amount of upkeep and maintenance that was really going to take up the vast majority of that referendum so when you put all of those things together you start to think well did the people who designed the district and built the buildings the way they did you know 20 30 40 50 60 years ago think about the potential growth of where we were going to be 30 years from now or 50 years from now because right now if we sign it on for another referendum whether it's 100 million 170 million if the vast majority of that goes to fixing the buildings that we have it doesn't give any room to really address the potential growth that we're going to experience or where the district may be in 25 years but we're going to be paying that bill for 25 years and we may have to come back and ask for more money to do expansion on schools which the going rate seems to be uh expected to be about $50 million per school to expand so if we have to expand out all of those buildings I mean 50 * 15 you're looking at a lot of space to consider what you're going to be looking at that long from now you know 20 30 years from now so maybe you know my suggestion was maybe the IDE you know we should look into expanding some of the schools a lot and making them big enough that they're future proof to a certain degree and getting rid of some of the smaller ones so then also you cut down on the amount of roofing that you have to do you cut down on a lot of overall expenses you could build them more state-of-the-art so whether or not that actually is going to happen I don't know but when you're faced with the budget constraints that we have a referendum that failed people who are very concerned about raising taxes and the potential of having to go out for another referendum that may not address the problem at hand and give people the extra space that they needed cut down on the classroom size you have to kind of start thinking about things from a different perspective and coming up with creative ideas of how to deal with where we're going to be in 5 10 20 30 years so you know I feel like coming up with new ideas like Dr tobac addressed and the board is trying to come up with they may or may not come to fruition but at this point shouldn't we really look at every possib possibility that would benefit the students because that's what we're here to do so you could critique all you'd like but this is trying to be creative to do what's in the best interest interest of the town the taxpayers and the students and that's what you put me here for and that's what I'm going to try to do so thank you very much thank you Mr Paul you good Mr Jano thank you I just want to uh wish the class of 2024 congratulations best of luck in the future you are the results of years worth of dedication from the finest teachers uh counselors Education Service professionals secretaries custodians uh mid-level upper level Administration uh members of the board past and present and to all of from all them to all of them thank you very much and to those students who are going on to Make a Better World congratulations and best of luck to you Mrs wch thank you um I'm sorry Mrs pup that you got upset by the words that I used I didn't mean when I said that they will need to experience pain in order to change the mind about how much money they are willing to spend it was just a stating a fact based on conversations that I had and genuinely people will change their mind if there is a pain point I don't know what it is it may be the classroom size it may be something else I don't say that I agree with it I don't have all the solutions either but unless people parents Wayne Community is aligned with the same direction that the district needs to be going the the referendum is a hard sell for many and that's really what I meant it didn't mean that you know I I want you to or anyone in the children teachers anybody feel any kind of pain but it's just stating the obvious based on the feedback that I have received um I would like to congratulate our Eagle Scouts who were honored today also thank our retirees and hopefully you will enjoy great retirement also want to congratulate to all of the students for their successfully finishing the their school year and of course our seniors good luck you did it and everyone have a great summer thank you Mrs Rosa first of all I want to say congratulations to the class of 2024 and um it was an honor to attend the ceremonies at both Wayne Valley and Wayne Hills um celebrating the accomplishments of the students and recognizing their hard work and dedication it was truly inspiring um it's the part of being on the board that I like the best especially in the midst of challenges and turmoil in the world these ceremonies not only acknowledge the achievements of students but also highlight the support and encouragement they receive from their parents teachers and the community events like these serve as a reminder of the positive impact that education and Community involvement can have on shaping the future generation they provide a platform to Showcase their talents skills and efforts to the students motivating them to strive for excellence and reach their full potential such ceremonies also Foster a sense of Pride and unity within the school Community bringing together everyone the parents the grandparents the students the teachers the administrators just to celebrate their success and creating lasting memories they reinforce the importance of recognizing and appreciating appreciating the hard work and achievements of individuals promoting a culture of excellence and continuous Improvement in a world filled with challenges and uncertainties moments like these offer a sense of hope optimism and inspiration they remind us of our students resilient determined and I am so proud um to be part of this Wing Community congratulations to all students parents teachers and um thank you for inviting me I will continue to visit the schools because I truly enjoy it and one last thing I have to say because I promised a certain student that I met Gina Marie Greenhall is the first ever girl in Wayne to receive a scholarship to play flag football in college she has received three offers I think that's amazing she recently surpassed 100 catches and a th000 receiving yards she was also awarded for the third time first team all division player congratulations to Gina Marie all the seniors the great coaches uh Roger kutash Grant feraldo and Andrew parator and please please come support our girls flag football team this Saturday Met Life and uh bring your pom poms and your bells and they're playing Ridgewood so let's go Wayne Valley Mrs leandry hello there um well first of all I'd like to say congratulations to the Eagle Scouts as well hours and hours of hard work and success at the end it's amazing you saw all those badges on their shirts it was amazing but anyway so congratulations to them and to their parents for the support they provided congratulations to Wayne's graduates um their parents their families the teachers who supported them all along the way and dedicated hours and hours to supporting them um continue reaching for the Stars working hard and striving to do your best contributing to your communities and giving back you've been well prepared um with regards to uh different presentations that I've had the opportunity to attend first of all I'm so grateful to get all these emails and you think to yourself well how can I be in three different places at one time but to attend some of the presentations and to see the success and to see the pride and to see the teachers rallying around these students is amazing and the district is amazing the teachers the administration everybody working together supporting the success of our students and at the end of the day that's what it's all about being on the board I have to say every single discussion that we have matters because you get from point A to point B and to your goals through discussion and everybody's opinion matters and we respect one another we respect the community um um and that's what I'll say about that um with regards to overcrowding just a little comment the board is it's these little things and that we talk about this keeps coming up over and over and over again we talk about the referendum and that it didn't pass how do we get to where we need to get for the community for the district to be to enable every single student here to be successful and to have taxpayers dollars used wisely it's so carefully considered and there's so much effort put into coming to the conclusions that we come to do we get it right every single time no but we try really really hard I will say that we try really really hard and we try to meet the um expectations of the community um but that's about it for my longwinded but I just wanted to say um I'm proud to sit up here on the board and I'm really really proud of the success of the students in Wayne I don't care if you're a senior graduating or moving from kindergarten to first grade kudos to you and congratulations to your parents keep supporting the students and we will too thank you thank you um first I'd like to start off by welcoming one of our new principles Patty Monaco who's with us tonight Pat is the new principal at the ear Childhood Center Patty is not new to us she's been with us for a number of years doing a great job as a vice principal in Special Services implementing a number of new programs that will surely continue to grow as she has U Been a force and bringing them all together um to Gabe the committee is going to be September can't too much in the summer trying to coordinate everything uh and with the cleaning of the schools and everything the facilities Department would not be happy with us um class sizes class sizes are an issue and we know that and I Mrs Murphy I understand what you're saying 100% especially about opening new classes after school start s we did that one year at James Fallon and just what you said happened everybody who wanted them didn't want their child moved so yes we we keep an eye Administration keeps an eye on that uh one thing I will tell you is tonight uh as we usually do we pass a resolution which gives the superintendent the authority to hire without a board meeting and it will be approved at a subsequent board meeting whether it be August um or September or August or July the superintendent does have that Authority with consent of the chair of Personnel in the board president so we can hire at that point um the gates program wonderful I remember when I first got on the board and there was a lady named Donna rman came in to talk about Gates I thought she was talking about Gates and I've learned and grown from her and the program has too from what it was when I first got on this board 20 some years ago uh Wayne Valley Football uh girls football great see the girls uh Saturday night at MetLife I'll be there um but as as we end the school year there's so many great things happening now we so many great events that all board members have been to and shared and yes it it is a shuffling the deck to try to figure out where you're going to go and how can you get to this place and get to that place and all around but we try our best and we do and this is the time of the year we everybody as a board member loves is graduation time in the end of the year going to move up ceremonies in the elementary schools the middle schools you know our graduating class in the high schools on behalf of the board we extend our sincere congratulations s you know these students will begin new chapters in their life armed with the skills and experience that they've acquired in our hallways their achievements are far beyond the classroom they've excelled in academic academics Athletics arts and Community Service as we saw tonight with our Eagle Scouts but perhaps the most importantly they've grown into compassionate responsible and forward thinking young adults are ready to have a positive impact in the world I also thank our teachers our administrators our support staff without them nothing happens if it doesn't happen in the classroom it's not happening and we need to thank our teachers for what they do our taxpayers the backbone of educa of the educational system is on you too we as a board we assure you that your investment in education is yielding results our students not only are achieving academic Excellence but also securing their future this year the graduating seniors were awarded over $5 million in Scholarships in two high schools they're going to be attending places like Boston University Auburn Clemson Maris SE Savannah College aard Temple Syracuse Stanford University of Alabama Princeton ruers those scholarships are Testament to the caliber of our students and the quality education that they get here in Wayne furthermore a significant number of our graduates are choosing to pursue technical careers that we have prepared them for they'll enter into the workforce as skilled technician trades people contributing to the economic growth of this community and the country so the next time you see a politician throwing a dollar bill up there and showing how much that most of that dollar bill goes to support your education and the school system in Wayne we're not we're not merely spending money we're investing in the future and that's quite obvious from that that short list that I just went through if you look in the um in the uh bulletin going out you'll see pages and pages of colleges in there I i' take me a half hour to sit here we're nurturing the next generation of leaders innovators entrepreneurs and problem solvers we're preparing students to complete to compete in this economy and address the complex challenges for all of them and what they're going to face in Wayne We believe that education is the great equalizer the key of unlocking human potential and the foundations of a thriving Society we're proud of our our students we're grateful for the support of the community and the commitment to providing a worldclass education that prepares every child for Success on that I thank you and I for a motion second Mr D Mrs W good night everyone thank you