PA my own person e e e e get started uh notice is hereby given of the regular meeting of the Board of Education of the town of Westfield in the county of Union New Jersey at 6:00 p.m. on the evening of Tuesday May 21st 2024 in cafeteria B of Westfield High School 550 Dorian Road West field New Jersey the purpose of the meeting is to transact the regular business of the board and to transact any other business to come properly before the board this is to advise the general public and to instruct that it be recorded in the minutes that in compliance with chapter 231 of the public laws of 1975 entitled the open public meetings act the Westfield school board on Thursday May 16th 2024 calls to be posted at the office of the Board of Education located at 302 Elm Street Westfield New Jersey and delivered to the Westfield leader The Star Ledger the Westfield Library Town Clerk of Westfield tap into Westfield and patch.com a meeting notice setting forth the time date and location of this meeting Patty may we have a roll call please rob bonio here Kent Diamond here Brendan gallagan here Charles jinus here Leila melli here sonel Patel Kristen Sonic schmeltz Julie Steinberg Mary wickens here uh let's begin with a flag salute Kemp would you mind leading all right we'll move directly to the section of the agenda report by District administration uh the first item under that is our uh is our board training uh we have with us from the njsba uh two Representatives uh Patricia Reese and Jean clear uh and I will uh turn it over to uh to you both for the presentation good evening and thank you for having us tonight I'm Patty Reese I'm a field service rep I currently handle uh middle sex Union in Hudson counties um I've been with the association almost N9 years uh I was been field service rep for almost three years I think but before that I was a county activities coordinator so if you went to any count Union County meetings you would see me before I was working for New Jersey school boards I served on my local board for 12 years in Somerset County and I did one term on my Town Council um and we're pleased to be here ethics training is important uh uh not only for board members to learn but it's also helpful to your public to know um that board members are held accountable to the school ethics act um I have with me tonight Jean clear and she'll introduce herself the association has recognized that um boards need um need more more help and have more questions and we've been in the process of hiring more field service reps so that we can be more available to boards and board members and that's um our new one of our new reps um right now is Jean so I'll let Jean introduce herself hi it's a pleasure to be with you all tonight I am uh Jean clear I live in Fanwood and served on the Scotch Plains Fanwood board of education for six years um worked somewhere else and then went and actually worked as the Director of operations in the school district I am with New Jersey school board since February um and have really appreciated working along the expertise of Patty um so we tonight are just going to go through and I applaud you for having this training tonight because um it's important that the public also has a sense that you do hold yourselves accountable and are trained for these important issues so um we will just begin I have a packet that I've left at each of your places uh both Patty and my cards are on there and there's a form on there that at the end after the training we just ask you to read over complete and there's a section that you sign off on and just give to you your business administrator board secretary okay iene if I could just add that we've also included a copy of the presentation for the board members in case they didn't want to Crane their neck around so if you look in your folder you'll you have a copy of the presentation as well thank you so much for that and also um if you need to distribute it electronically that's fine just so that the hyperlinks that are included in there would be available to them okay okay oh we're going to get used to that yes I'm sorry I was warned about the clicker so I'm sorry almost almost go back now it's not could you yep could you okay I had the kind offer of assistance this evening thank you so much I do need to start with the uh disclaimer that the content of this presentation is for your um informational purposes and New Jersey school boards is not in a position to give you legal advice especially when it comes to ethics uh decisions they can be very specific to individual cases so if you have specific questions that you're concerned about it's always wise to go to your board attorney um but this is an overall look to to provide the training that you would need okay next slide please thank you so much so ethics and accountability we know that Public Service as it's been said is a core value that can improve the lives and the world around you and you've all agreed to to be in that position whether you're a staff member or a board member um as staff members and board members your school officials who have the honor of serving the public but with that comes a very specific responsibility and that is to hold yourselves accountable recognizing that the school ethics Act is a set of minimum standards um ethical standards by which all school officials must abide so the school ethics Act is is essential to the conduct of members of local Boards of education and administrators to hold the respect and confidence of the people of the community so board members and administrators must avoid not only conduct which is in violation of the public trust but that which also would give a justifiable impression that um trust is being violated it's very important to maintain the trust the school ethics Act was established and and and under it it has the school ethics commission was formed um the development of prohibited acts which are spelled out we'll get to these things as we go through the slides mandatory training requirements for board members disclosure statements um that address personal and relative uh relationships and financial disclosures as well so the disclosure statements for new school officials must be completed within 30 days of hire um and returning school officials administrators must complete them uh by April 30th to file so for board members um under the section where the mandated training was formed um what what's required by the first 90 days of becoming a board member you must complete governance one um governance one is covering basic knowledge and skills discusses NJ qac for understanding the everything concerning Hib um the CSA also known as the superintendent evaluation the open public meetings act and of course the code of ethics that you are expected to hold yourself to by the end of year two you are required to take governance to which is actually a review of um finance and labor by the end of year three governance three is required that addresses student achievement and then if you are reelected by the end of every year following your reelection or reappointment you must complete governance 4 which is important because it provides updated legal opinions for you so New Jersey school boards provides training in multiple ways um inperson live virtual and self-paced online okay thank you I'm sorry did you um yeah no we didn't get to those yet so the prohibited acts um so below is just an excerpt and when you do get the electronic version you can use the hyperlinks to get even more information about this but it talks about um re Rec recusing yourself if there is a benefit to you as a school official and board members are included in that of course or your immediate family due to the following the business interest or professional activity would be in Conflict the use of your position to secure unwarranted privileges um Financial involvement that may impair objectivity service or employment that may Prejudice the independent judgment um any gifts or favors or financial gain other considerations are that you cannot represent any other person or party other than the board and District in the any matters before the board and that's very important to um to understand if you were supported by people in the community and you were H and you were elected you now have to set aside and make sure that your focus is always on what's in front of you as a board member and for the the benefit of the students of the district yes and of course just going back a moment you you if if you are conflicted and you have to recuse yourself and we'll talk about this on another slide you cannot have any discussion or vote on the topic that's in Conflict thank you so who enforces the act the school ethics commission is the body that was is charged with enforcing the ACT it's made up of nine members that the governor appoints for three-year terms um a maximum of five from any one political party so five of those nine people will be non-school officials two will be school board members and two will be school administrators so the school ethics commission also known as SEC has the following jurisdiction they provide advisory opinions to sta um only school officials May request an advisory opinion prior to any act to get the advice to see whether what you're about to do if you have concerns that it might be an Ethics violation and you need some guidance um those are at times made public when the commission has um six people that vote to make you public and they'll often do that when the decision found could be um something that would apply to other districts and not just specific to the district before it the issue before it the SEC also addresses ethics complaints and these are acts upon complaints filed by anyone any member of the public any board member or staff member um that is alleging a violation of the school ethics act so on average as previously reported by the ethics commission they say that annually they look at about 85 ethics um cases complaints that are filed and provide 35 um advisory opinions thank you so what happens if we violate the school ethics act there are consequences the penalties um are imposed by SE the um the SEC makes the recommendation to the commissioner who imposes the the penalty they can range from reprimand which is um the rebuke by the commissioner that conduct violated the standards um that's the first level that would happen the second can move into censure now censure to understand is important that that becomes a public um issue and it is um publicized by the adoption of a resolution so your name gets tied to that and it's made public um suspension if it's um going further down that path you can be bored from engaging in an activity or matter um for a designated period of time and removal could mean if you're a staff member that you're actually your employment is terminated or as a board member you would be removed from the board board so who is accountable the provisions apply to all school officials and under the category of school officials let's remember that we're talking about bir B I'm sorry board members um some New Jersey school board um officers and staff and administrators who are holding certificates to serve the school as administrator principles um or business administrator as well as other that are in a position to make um decisions that could could affect um hiring or purchase so there are also Provisions that apply specifically to board members the code of ethics lays out all of the things that are prohibited and you have of course your requirement for mandatory training and which are required to do by the the date you're supposed to complete it so need to go through this first did you reorder I didn't reorder it was the one that was up there um it's just out of order the slides okay that or you want to theod oh no no it's fine it's it's so your is different order than mine okay yeah so sorry about that so um we just want to make sure that we're doing the proper thing for you I apologize so we can take a look at the cases re sorry um we could I hit something that caused a problem here um no it's there's something on the screen thank you okay so cases there are cases related to the code of ethics and when you have the electronic copy with the hyperlinks you will be able to go in there and it's important information if you have a question you can look at it and get a sense of where you stand if you have some questions um for this is a for you know we have just two or three quick examples um on their own a board member contacted vendors and districts for prices to go from MacBook to Chromebooks um you can so what they found was that you can express disagreement about the steps that are happening through your vote at the board table but going out and doing a private investigation actually was found to um impact and place the board at risk and that actually led to a censure which again is a public resolution right so that's behavior that you need to be careful of um I believe believe the top one was was a copy of what we previously saw the next one C 8821 um the board member used a board email to express Express Personal views on mask mandates and encouraged action that was sent to state legislator and at the state legislature and members of the public and that resulted in a reprimand and finally we have members these are just examples there are many cases to look at members sent email from District account to a known political entity misrepresenting the intent of a rally at the district the content suggested political motivation and only invited one side using the board email would give the impression that the statements were made on behalf of the board and that resulted in a reprimand conflict and recusal so when if you're a conflicted board member um there's a distinction between recusal and and exstension if you have a legal um conflict of interest on a matter it's very important to use the right term of recusal which which impacts the situation differently abstaining from a matter is not sufficient to memorialize that you did that you need to do it through a recusal which actually is in the record it's very transparent for the public and and it makes it very clear that you knowingly are not being involved in the discussion and the vote okay when a board member needs to recuse due to a legal conflict of interest um the board Council should advise on how that recusal may impact um the Quorum and the recording of votes for hiring in Personnel um the school ethics act addressed is that you may not hire the relative of a board member or the chief School administrator now there are times when family members may have worked at the district prior to those people um so if they already worked in the district an administrator may not exercise any direct or indirect authority over the relative a board member may not take part in employment matters concerning the superintendent or any supervisor in the chain of commands between the relatives and the superintendent and a board member may not take part in the search um selection or vote to hire a new superintendent and after the after the superintendent is there post hire they may not participate in evaluations um and contract discussions so we'll look at the collective bargaining um the left column lists the relationship to the board member so if your spouse dependent child um or relative uh is a current member of a Statewide Public teachers union and works in the district you may not participate in negotiations or vote to ratify the contract if you yourself your spouse or a dependent child works out of District you may not participate in the negotiations but you may vote to ratify the contract after the memorandum of agreement salary guides um total compensation package are all established and finally if you have a child an independent child who's working or a relative out of the district they may participate in negotiations and R to ratify the contract um barring any other conflict that they may have it's always wise to get the advice of counsel if there's any question um about any of those so social media um as a general rule you don't give up your um your right to have social media but there are very um specific things that you want to look for um as we said in the earlier slide right it's not just conduct that can be a violation it's also leaving the public with the impression that a violation has occurred because it causes the lack of trust so specifically on social media um the commission's analysis is Guided by whether a reasonable member member of the public could believe that you are speaking on behalf of the board um in your official capacity and duties so you want to be very careful about that um and just recognize that appearance matters and you can go on and read that um afterwards so the the suggested um disclaimer which the SCC recommends that you have um is to really if you really feel the need to comment on something on social media to use um a disclaimer which says the following the following statements are made in my capacity as a private citizen and not my capacity as a board member and the statements are also not representative of the board or its individual members and solely represent my own personal opinions however if we could go to the next slide thanks um if you use the disclaimer you it's not a get out of jail free card um it's really content that matters okay so yes it's better practice to use a disclaimer but the content of what you put on social media will be what's reviewed and could be found to be in a violation um if a reasonable member of the public could perceive that you're speaking in the official capacity that's always going to be difficult and it could actually make the disclaimer null and void if you don't use a disclaimer it doesn't automatically mean that you're in violation but you are in in you know dangerous territory perhaps and you are not required to use the disclaimer word for word that was um provided to you but remember that it is the one that the school ethics commission recommends so you you might want to use that as a base so for social media the board member asked if as a private citizen it would violate the ACT if they answered operational questions about the district on a Facebook page a Q&A between parents and the board and interestingly the school ethics commission's response is that you don't AB abdicate your right to the freedom of speech however board members are public officials and you have to remember that in the community you come from this community um but people you may just feel like the same person before you sitting in these seats but the community sees you as board members and they see that you in that role whether you're sitting at this table or out in the community so you want to be um clear about about that um you must exercise precautions to avoid violating the ACT um your comments must be made at the time and or place other than if they're made at the time of a place outside of a board meeting that they don't appear to be written on behalf of the board you never want to say well as a board member I think um you know you want to steer clear of that the board is you and you hold your Authority by the state um when you are sitting at a properly noticed meeting such as this with a quorum of the board right um and the community is aware of your status so be very careful um that you're not leaving anyone with the impression that when you're out and about in speaking on social media or even in the community that you're speaking Beyond yourself as a citizen so New Jersey school boards um developed a list um re recommends that you develop a list with your board of anyone that has conflicts and review it regularly so that when issues are before you you'll be you know very well versed in um who may need to um recuse thems consult always with with your board attorney on any ethics issues and identify your members if you're not sure and we recommend that you you know regularly check Schoolboard notes which goes out to all board members um because we do release any new advisory opinions that come out and um very often what we see is that something may be happening in other district and it may be similar to something you find yourself dealing with in your District so the ethics reminder incl closing is that board members may not deliberately disregard and ignore the ethical standards um that they are required by law to uphold and enforce and when board members do so it not only threatens the Integrity of the entire board it's also unnecessarily compromising the district personnel and it subverts the very purpose for which board members are elected which is a very important purpose it is to serve the needs of the school district and the students so um you really need to always keep that first and foremost now on the P if you can go to the next slide I think where yep we have um resources again when that comes out to you electronically those hyperlinks will work and bring you to additional information on the the paperwork that was provided as I mentioned earlier it actually lists out the school ethics and you're you've now received your training and You' be signing off that these are things that you are made aware of and at any time if you have any questions our cards are attached um speak to your board attorney we can always try to be of service to to you so if there are any questions we're happy to review um CG go ahead and start sure okay thank you uh thank you very much for that presentation that was uh very interesting um I wanted to go quickly to social media uh policy just to ask just a maybe a multi-step question but you know it says here that um you know statements um you know that board members don't give up their first amendment rights but that statements made where a reasonable person could misrepresent that they are made an official capacity right so multi-layered question so first I guess is there an official definition of reasonable person or is it more like you kind of know it when you see it no and there in lies the the problem right is that um who gets to determine that as if it's an Ethics complaint is filed you would be in Fr it would go in front of the commission and what we do know is that these ethics complaints can be very specific to the situation of what was said how it was said the environment and and all of that so it's hard to say we would love to be able to say it's okay to do this and not do that but there there really is um some great area there no that I I appreciate that and I I'm a lawyer by training so I I know about the reasonable person standard might be you know might shift depending on the venue yes um but so the second second part of my question is given the fact that a statement is being made on social media are there reasonable persons who could believe that any District elected a district official would be making a official pronouncement on their personal Facebook page or whatever Twitter or whatever I'm sorry could you could you just restate that for me sure okay H how are are there school districts where pronouncements are made by personal social media and if not which I assume there are not how would a person reasonably believe that a a message sent by virtue of uh social media of any kind or personal email let's put aside uh official email for a moment where where is the reasonability in that what's like a give me an example of a a case that you might have heard or something like that where there's legitimate confusion that anyone would think that is you know an official pronouncement would be made on personal social media sure so yeah walk me through so paty may want to you want do you want to jump in there yeah um the reasonable person explanation is something that if you go on any of these cases and follow any of these links if you go to the NJ dooe website and the SEC School ethics commission you can read a whole bunch of uh as as many as you want the reasonable person might perceive is a is a frequent uh ruling that the that the school ethics commission comes out the the what they some of the some of the theories they put out there right people in your community know you're a board member and even if you're posting on your fa your personal site or you're using your personal email email they can assume they can think that because you are a board member you have more information so that your your comments carry a different weight and they could also think that because you're a board member uh you may have taken the official announcement from the district website and just to get the word out um so that's how they get come about sometimes that a reasonable person might might think because your community pretty much your community knows um who the board members are and they attribute your com more weight to your comments than they would uh if you were not a board member so just an example that comes to mind is it could be something such as um field conditions and you know there's back and forth about field conditions conversations and people you know might be might be in front of the board of some things that the is going to focus on and then you may weigh in on social media but that could be interpreted by a reasonable person that you have information that they don't have access to because you're a board member and that would could reasonably lead someone to think that um it's weighted in One Direction or the other so that could be an example where your intent may not be there to do that but the intent isn't necessarily the first thing they're going to consider it could really be the impact that it's had on the community I hope that's a little clearer if I could add to that CJ uh as we've developed these social media policies over the years that I've been on the board because we didn't have one when I started uh one situation was brought up because it was occurring with several board members is if people are constantly commenting on District related things with additional facts or refuting a claim you know pick the Westfield Facebook group for instance and then suddenly nobody responds from the board on a topic people are going to take that as a must be true even though just none of us have seen something yet so the the be if board members are constantly responding to things are providing information and then suddenly we aren't people infer conclusions from that lack of communication and no that that that makes sense to me I guess I don't know I mean I know plenty of people who are in public office and I don't think I would perceive any statement they made on personal again discounting the you know the your your official email that might carry a lot of weight but I don't know of any particular situation where a government official speaking on a private social media channel would you know would look like uh an official pronouncement I mean I I I get the maybe there's a misunderstanding here but I I don't know I I just seem to think that official you know official dispositions of information by either uh the board or by Rob you know would be the official disposition and nothing else would really be allowable that that I I get the confusion I suppose I ful understand what you're saying because we all got on the board Hoping to either be in better communication with the community or you know pick pick your issue right uh and we all want to help and articulating what we're doing is helping a lot of the times yeah uh CU people don't see everything we do so it's a hard thing for all of us to want to help and or want say something and know we when we shouldn't yeah no I I I get that I get that I just uh and it is recommended right that your your the way you operate is there should be one voice from the board which would come through the board president and the superintendent for the district um so so it it complicates things when there are other voices at well and also uh school board members unlike other elected officials only have authority when they're together at a notice meeting with a quarum present like like if you're a municipal elected official for your counsel or you have some Authority away from the table so um people may not assume that they're speaking but they could board members by by you know by the code of ethics cannot you only have authority with when you're seated at a properly noticed meeting with a quarum president present once you're away from that and away from a meeting you have no more Authority than any other uh citizen however again people in the community know you're a board member and may um give more weight to your comments than they would otherwise if you were not a board member do you have a comment consistent with this line or okay go ahead um I don't know if it's a comment or a question but um we're talking about posts that have to do with board business correct uh no I think it would be any posts right so that that distri District well that that's the example but I think the the the the following statements are made if I speak out of turn with respect to board operations would I not be in some kind of breach of any other kind of rule inity or right so that's so that's that that's where where I just wanted to jump in I think when it when um it pertains to is that me oh that's me oh so I think that um I think they can make a good point which is that if it's something that pertains to board business or operations of the district um posting on social media or via um a school account you know can be misleading because it pertains to the business at hand so to speak but if you're putting a personal opinion um on on a matter on social media um I guess the question that I I thought you were asking was um is that necessarily considered a breach of of Ethics or a violation and more so I would think it's what it's in the code of ethics but um that the conduct of membership um that that um we that we maintain the respect and confidence of the people and that we avoid conduct that's in violation of their public trust um or which creates justifiable impression among the public that the trust is being violated so that is more like I think where that comes in than the social media posts like are you is there a breach of ethics on that end as opposed to the social media end because like you said you know I could post I don't like poll and spring does that mean that it's a board opinion do I need to say it for every opinion or is it just something that has to do with board business is that I making sense no absolutely well and and I mean there's you know inference to I don't like P I do like P in Spring but let's just say let's just say I don't uh but there's a contract for the school to buy Poland Spring versus the say right what's the you know where's the line and in particular because it's public right everybody knows what my status is versus someone else's status I don't have any Authority I I have no Authority in invested in me I know there's maybe the impression of it maybe I don't think I can convince anybody about buying food wholesale but uh I have no official authority vested in me and I don't uh have any official title or capacity and I'm not using a School site so that I'll I'll set that aside but beyond that again I you know everybody's taking Civics right everybody knows we're a deliberative body right like it's not that it's I don't think it's that much of a leap to say they know we're a deliberative body like you said you have to be in a quorum to have authority like three of us can't get together and make a decision so but if I may just say though that that's absolutely correct right yeah but it also talks about Not Giving even the impression so so the public may not know the rules about what forms of Quorum and the fact that you only conduct business when you're seated at a properly noticed meeting and they the public is but but yeah no that's fair I so so that's where that reasonable if a reasonable member of I think that's where that um that's where that perception is yes that's that's more I think what the I just stand by though in addition to the Civics concept is I do not get my information on official positions maybe barring one particular politician but other than him we don't get our official stance on anything from social media ever right I I don't I don't wait to see the chief of police's you know repor from his Hotmail account right you you you get an official notice and that's that I I would say as I was saying earlier in the presentation that the cases that are found to be violations can be incredibly specific sure um and can so it's really hard for us to come in because really we would love to be able to give you a checklist of if you do this you're okay and if you don't do that you're okay but it really is this is really to to think broadly about it so that you're in a position to understand that these are and on that paperwork lists out you know all of the different parts of the ethics code of ethics for you and if you have any doubt at all right you have your board attorney available to you to just say like what do you think about this and also the hyperlinks could be very helpful to just see what advisory opinions have come out and also what other cases have come out well and I'll just leave off uh and let other people ask questions but I'll say I I do appreciate that that's the rule and I I accept that um so I I don't mean to put you on the spot either I think you answered the questions really well um I just don't know that I completely agree from a common sense perspective that it's a it's a real standard of any kind I'm not actually required to get you to agree no that's okay no no I I know and I I acknowledge I acknowledge it that's why I'm asking for the basis of it yes um but I appreciate that thank you very much and and the school ethics commission doesn't go out to seek um cases it it all comes down to somebody has to for for an Ethics complaint some somebody has to file it um you know they're not you know they they don't come out and say you know Pro proofread all the different Facebook postings on every District No somebody would have to to file a complaint no absolutely so they're Savvy enough to to Wi their way through your complaint process and to put a complaint together and get assistance in doing so but they're not Savvy enough to realize I have no Authority I mean that's just kind of silly CJ about 85% about 85% of complaints are dismissed outright because understand fair fair enough fair enough okay thank you thank you all right I want to make sure we get to Kristen's question so um I just want to know if you can review the difference between recuse and abstain and give concrete examples of when you might recuse yourself versus abstain so so the recusal and Patty I'm just going to say this and you probably have more experience to share but the recusal process is actually a more formal um step to take where you recognize that you have a legal conflict and so you're really putting it out there that I have a legal conflict I'm not discussing this I'm just sitting quietly I'm not voting on it exstension could be for a variety of reasons that aren't necessarily legal you might feel that you need to abstain because you have not um you're not up to dat on that topic you weren't available you missed the meeting and so you're asking for a vote a vote and you don't feel it's proper to vote at that time so I I think that specifically but and and it it it it changes the way the vote is Ted so if you're and if you you feel you have a legal conflict if you're not sure check with your board attorney but if you feel you have a legal conflict it's better to walk away from the table um and just not be part of the discussion um and not do not take a vote but but uh and an exstension as as Jean said could be for a variety of reasons minimally you need more information or or whatever that might be but the vote tally if it was an exstension say you have nine board members so would be um let's say five voted yes four voted one uh no and one voted uh abstain so that would be 541 vote no 531 I'm sorry I have to count better um and an abens in in a recusal it would just be 53 the one but but that signifies that it's a legal um you feel like you have a legal conflict and it's really designed so that the public is um you know the public is informed that it youve followed that process to to make it very clear that that's why you're taking that action any other questions from the board um I'll I'll ask one quick one just because I I think it's important we're often told and this sometimes comes this straddles the ethics versus what's the role of board members you know uh aspect of things we're often told that a board member's role sort of like your your your quick reference guide is not to run the district but to make sure the district is well run abut so if there's you know I I just you know if you could just comment on that and just maybe how that plays into some of the ethics rules that we're talking about yeah yes thank you so much um that's actually very much what you need to understand as board members you have a very very important role to make sure that the district is well run um you place a superintendent when that time comes and then you evaluate the superintendent and through that evaluation process you're ensuring that you have the right person who's Who's acting on in the best interest of the district and the students and that's your Authority where your Authority rests um but you don't you you select your superintendent to to run the district on a day-to-day basis and there's a relationship there where you know again just as with the public you want to maintain a trust you need to be to be um a well-run board and a well-run district you need to have the trust to allow the superintendent to be running the district on a daily basis keeping you informed and then of course as board members you need to vote um on the things that you need to vote on uh to support the plans of the district right so um it's it's an important relationship to nurture and grow and to understand and if you have questions about at that moment on that topic what your role is um where happy to provide some training on roles and responsibilities and how best to um work as a group together and communication and a number of other topics and there is a way for a board to hold the superint superintendent accountable they run the day-to-day options you you make sure that it's well you know as we said um you hold your superintendent accountable through the superintendent evaluation process and their progress towards the uh greed upon District goals so it doesn't say it it doesn't mean that you can't hold your Administration accountable you absolutely can but you're it's not a board member's job to go into the school and say you know we should buy um this seat this this desk set and not that one which is what what you hire your superintendent who is your educational District professional and along those lines I might just say this that um as board members you don't give up your right especially if your parents have children in the district to do the things that parents do to go into the school and be a parent to your child but you do need to now that you are board members consider that you're not just a member of the public either so if you want to visit a school it's inappropriate to just show up and make plans those plans should really run through the superintendent who's in charge of staff and how the district is operating and time can sometimes be set aside to to do those things but you have to to remember that the staff needs to be clear that you are a board member and you could inadvertently Place staff members in a school at a disadvantage because they believe that you have a higher authority and they're conflicted about doing what they're supposed to do during the day when a board member is present so um that those are all kinds of operational things that the Board needs to understand to work well with the with the leadership of the district and if you have a student you have a child that's a student again you don't lose the right to be that parent and you don't lose the right to go in and do whatever have a a conference with the teacher about your child um you never lose that right because you know your parents first um you just don't show up at Bill it it's advised not to show up at buildings without such a reason and we also know that board members are very often the most um involved people in the community and in the schools so if you are that's totally fine you might have been running a committee for a really long time but there are certain established protocols that you should follow um not to take the leadership role of that committee any longer um not to collect monies or have anything to do with the handling of the of the finances for a committee that you might have served on you know from before the time you were a board member so you just need to always have um that in the foremost part of your mind about not only what's proper but also how it could be interpreted by the public and the staff members as well going into the buildings thanks very much any other questions all right with that I'd like to thank you both for the time it was very informative really do appreciate coming out again you know as mentioned if any board members do have questions our district reps are are available to uh to fill in and help out thank you so much for putting everything together for us thank you so much for your attention and your your community should be very happy to see that you've undergone the training and are taking it as seriously as you are so I wish you a really great end of the year thank you thank you um so what we're going to do now is um we have um we're going to take a short break uh we have some announcements to to come up uh some awards to give out but we'll uh we'll reconvene that at 700 we'll finish off the superintendent report and move right into uh right into those Awards so uh we'll re uh we'll reconvene at 7 thank you yeah yeah seriously 7 how e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e for e we're going to get started again please all right we are uh we are back in session we're going to uh I'm going turn it back over to Dr Gonzalez have him finished his report and then we will move on to our uh announcements and awards so this evening I just wanted to uh give a brief update on the status of our referendum planning for next school year um last night we convened together our community advisory committee which comprised of approximately 60 plus members of our school Community consisting of individuals who have children in the in the district some who um are just members of the uh Community as well as members of our administrative and educational and support staff um all of those attendees took part in a meeting that lasted about two hours uh in duration and and really set the stage for uh deliberation and conversation about the possibilities that await us next year here um the evening began with uh setting the stage through welcome and introductions and an overview of the role and responsibilities of the Committees um who are assembled and and really to be able to serve as a sounding board for the administration and the Board of Education in order to help us determine the priorities and the direction of the school district as we formulate our uh referendum for next year we also had the opportunity to hear from our school board architect Mike beer from FKA Architects um as he presented an overview of his facility uh needs analysis that was conducted across all of our school facilities all of our uh school buildings um the the District central office as well as our facilities and and through that needs analysis he was able to provide an update regarding what he believed are some of the essential areas of need uh for improvement need for renovation and opportunities for expansion as we can all imagine uh there are many opportunities when we look around the school district to to possibly improve the way our schools look the way our schools operate and even for things as large and Monumental as moving from a half-day program to a full day uh kindergarten program involves a lot of considerations and a lot of moving parts so in order to engage in such thoughtful uh deliberation and discussion we wanted to make sure that all the members of the advisory committee had that base level knowledge after uh the presentation we then broke the 60 member group out into smaller groups nine groups uh specifically so that each of those smaller groups had the chance to engage with one another in topics that ranged from what was their initial reaction what what are their thoughts about the proposals as they've been presented thus far what are we missing what what what have we hit the mark on and what have we missed the mark on in order for for us to really develop a proposal that we could present to the community uh for their uh consideration next April I think it's important to note two two important um factors that came out last night one is that there's a a very big difference between a bond referendum and a general operating budget and every year over the past several years uh the last two years in particular we have presented the annual operating budget in either full form or partial form to the community for them to be able to approve the annual operating budget for the uh coming year so through the tax levy that is voted on that provides the resources that we need in order to operate our schools on an annual basis so that means paying the bills paying the utilities paying salaries um putting forth the resources necessary to maintain our our buildings as well as our programs and operations but when we start to think about the large scale uh improvements the Capital Improvements we start to think of something similar to a mortgage for uh or home equity loan for our house where we need to invest in a much larger amount of money that would not be able to be supported in just a single Year's operating budget so when we look at the expansion and renovation needs of our schools we are now looking at something that exceeds the annual operating budget and would we require a larger commitment by the community Through the vote of a bond issuance and that would be over the C that repayment would be annually over the course of up to typically 30 years 25 to 30 years so as a result next year when we propose our referendum for consideration by the taxpayers what you will see will be an agreement by the administration and the Board of Education about what we would like to present for the consideration of the board we are not making those decisions about the final uh determination that's where the community comes in so the feedback that we get from the advisory committee is helping to inform our proposal once that proposal is finalized then it returns back to the community at large and the taxpayers and voters within the community in order to vote on whether or not that proposal actually gets approved the second thing to consider as we move forward is that the work of the school district and the work of the um the referendum committee is trying to align our goals and objectives with one another and what that means is that we continue to operate an excellent School District our teams our ensembles our departments and classrooms throughout the school district are amazing our teachers our coaches our advisers our administrators our support staff all do amazing things for students each and every day as eviden by the students achievements both in the classroom on the fields and on the stages and performance Arenas everywhere but what we're asking is is for support and being able to help us even more in order to provide our schools the facilities that are necessary to not only continue our work but build Upon Our work in up-to-date facilities and modernized Facilities that will match the modern educational experience that we are seeking to provide so with all of that there's a lot of moving Parts here so as I said before we are going to be providing you with updates at each board meeting uh and through our community newsletters and other Publications we're in the process of of building out a referendum portal that will contain much of this information as well but we certainly invite feedback from all of you over the course of the next year to ask us questions whether it be here at the podium or via email so that we could hear your voices and help you understand what our needs are but also so that we could better understand your needs hopes and dreams for our school district so with that I will conclude my referendum committee update and move on to the second uh part of my presentation uh related to the anti-bullying Bill of Rights Hib grades that have been finalized for the 2223 school year I know we're in the 23 24 school year but unfortunately through the um Department of Education life cycle uh we always go through a process where we are one year behind in this regards our schools have been dedicated to following the anti-bullying Bill of Rights since its Inception in 2011 and every year we've been making great strides and handling HIV incidents this progress has helped us improve overall the overall atmosphere and culture in our schools but there's always room for improvement we constantly reflect on and refine our practices protocols to make things better for everyone since I joined the District 3 years ago we've made big improvements by introducing an electronic management system where this system helps us to ensure that investigations are thorough efficient and comply with the law our school administrators and counselors who also serve as anti-bullying Specialists are regularly involved in professional development and this ongoing training helps them stay updated on the latest requirements invest and investigative techniques the commissioner's program for determining grades under the anti-bullying Bill of Rights requires that schools self assess how well they comply with the uh anti-bullying Bill of Rights and each school can score up to 78 points based upon various indicators new for this year the Hib grade report includes information on the use of preliminary determination for HIV reports and this optional step under the law is one that we've executed in implemented in this uh District allows principles to determine if an incident doesn't meet the definition of Hib and doesn't need to be investigated further the report shows how many times this was done with a zero as an example indicating that all allegations were fully investigated as Hib if you would like you could go on our school's hi you could find our school's Hib grades by visiting the Hib resources section on our district or each of our school's website there you can view the most recent grades and data from previous years and if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to your school's principal for more information the information that you'll find on the grades you'll uh note is exactly what we presented earlier in the fall um but as a uh part of the process our submission to the Department of Education uh is then reviewed over the last several months which is why you see the final outcome at the end of the year rather than concurrently when we um submitted earlier so once again I I thank you all for your time and attention and and encourage you to take a look at those anti-bulling um grades on each of our schools website and reach out to our School principles and counselors to see what uh we are doing in our schools not just to comply with the law but also to improve improve the climate and culture so that our students feel safe and secure in our buildings that concludes my report this evening any questions from board members excellent well I want to just following up on the referendum committee I want to thank Julie Mary and sonel they joined the the discussion yesterday uh we will at the next two sessions have board members available at all of those sessions to make sure that we are all hearing the feedback from the public on the referendum and the things that we're that we're looking to do and uh I want to thank the members of the public who volunteered I think it's some 60 people so 60 folks from the community you know came out and spent some time you know sharing their their thoughts and opinions with us if any one else has thoughts and opinions obviously the board each has we each have uh emails feel free to reach out to any one of us we're happy to collect as much information and feedback as possible on this uh on this process now to the fun stuff um we have uh today uh the recognition of uh of a number of uh teachers and staff members um both from the Optimus club for intermediate schools and uh the uh Westfield High School awards of Excellence we're going to start with the Optimus clubs group um we'll start I guess with um I guess Dr Gonzalez will give an introduction for the Optimus Club groups and then we'll we'll read off a resolution we'll invite the principles up to say a few words uh and then uh obviously the recipients will get some um let me preface this by saying our you know as Dr Gonzalez said our teachers and our staff are our District's biggest asset they do a fantastic job and as you uh as you see these these folks come up and accept their Awards uh they are just a prime example of that um Julie and I were interviewed not too long Ago by someone from the highy convenient that is an adviser here today um and we're asked why do we do this you know why at least I was asked why do I serve on the board and I always said well it's about our students well you know that's wonderful for us I think we all agree that that's why we're here but it is quite another thing to dedicate an entire career to your students to dedicate your entire career to our kids right there is no time clock that you punch or anything like that you know these are these are teachers and and staff members who think about our students all the time so um this is a this is a great honor uh it's probably never enough for all the time that they put in and I want you all to know from staff and and certainly to the recipients that the board certainly recognizes that um so with that uh let's start with uh our first uh Intermediate School outstanding teacher of the year that's uh Ryan Bolen math teacher from [Applause] Edison so hold on hold on Ryan I just have a few remarks to to get us started so uh so we had planned to begin with the recipients of two Awards uh generously sponsored by the Rotary Club of Westfield um for the past 31 years the Rotary Club has recognized a teacher at the elementary level with the Charles philhower Fellowship award and last year the Rotary Club introduced the Wayman Steen graph award to honor any non-certificated staff member across the district this year McKinley grade four teacher branis Moore is the philhower fellow and Westfield High School power professional Maria Martinez is the Steen graph fellow both are unable to attend tonight due to previous commitments um but we will we do look forward to honoring them at the June 11th Board of Education meeting likewise Now we move on to the the last uh two decades when the W the Optimus Club of Westfield has given deserving credit to our Intermediate School teachers having established the intermediate out School outstanding teacher award in 1998 each year colleagues parents students and members of the community are invited to nominate an intermediate school teacher a committee of Optimus club members and the two Intermediate School principles reviews the nominations and ultimately selects one educator from Edison and one from Roosevelt this year's recipients of the Optimus club intermediate school outstanding teacher award are Edison mathematics teacher Ryan Bolen and Roosevelt social studies teacher Marissa canel first I'll ask board president Rob bonao to read a resolution for Mr Bolen uh before inviting Edison principal lenov Vall to say a few words followed by Mr Bine we'll all gather on the stage behind me for a group photograph uh and if any members of the Optimus Club are in attendance tonight I invite you up to join the group photo when the time comes so now resolution by the Board of Education of Westfield New Jersey to Ryan Bine whereas the Optimus Club of Westfield a supporter of schools and children in the community for many years has established an annual award for outstanding teaching in the intermediate schools and whereas this award is a fitting tribute to the importance of teaching in the intermediate grades and the nobility of the teaching profession and whereas Ryan Bine a mathematics teacher at Edison Intermediate School has been awarded the 26th annual Intermediate School outstanding teacher award for outstanding teaching and interest in children and continued pursuit of professional growth and whereas the nominations received on behalf of Ryan bolene describe him as an exemplary educator who embodies the qualities of compassion dedication organization and problemsolving Acumen and whose commitment to the well-being and development of his students is truly commendable now therefore be it resolved that this board of education publicly expresses appreciation to the Optimus Club of Westfield for establishing this award and be it further resolve that this board of education sincerely congratulates Ryan Bine representing Edison Intermediate School for receiving the 2024 Intermediate School outstanding teacher award a significant honor and a notable accomplishment and be it further resolved that this resolution be presented to Ryan Bine on May 21st 2024 and that a copy of this formal resolution becomes a part of the permanent records of the Westfield New Jersey Board of Education so l so yeah we'll invite principal sha up I will press the button good idea there we go thank you good evening I don't like talking about myself but I can talk about others this is great Ryan Bine Mr banana man scheduling Guru mathematician student Whisperer those are my descriptions of Ryan as I have come to know him I joined Edison in 2021 and quickly got to know Ryan as the math teacher who somehow wins the annual Halloween costume contest dressed as the same banana every year that's right I didn't get it after having observed his interactions with students staff and families I gained a better understanding of why is one of the students favorite teachers nice amazing good teacher effective makes math fun encouraging the best these are words of students describing Mr Bine he breaks down complex Concepts so that they are digestible for students he interacts with them during recess he recruits students to learn and participate in Ultimate Frisbee he speaks with students not not at them he gets children as I'm still getting to know the depth of Ryan I wanted to get feedback from some of his colleagues on their impression of him these were some common words and phrases I encountered impressive organizational skills commitment to education compassionate dedicated problemsolving Acumen contributions to our educational Community extend far beyond the confines of the classroom able to see clear clearly see problems and work out palatable solutions to them he goes above and beyond in his efforts to support and Inspire his students invests countless hours not only in preparing engaging and effective lessons but also in enriching students educational experience through extracurricular activities he possesses the gift of of explaining content for students Ryan Bine is the reason the intermediate steam trip is so successful he ensures that the plans are connected to learning and Hands-On experiences with equity in mind he started a fundraising initiative to make the trip more financially accessible to all interested students he insisted on Roosevelt joining in on the steam trips by inviting them along allowing them to see the benefits and the process of promoting it to students and families Ryan is the epitome of the teacher who goes above and beyond without the need for accolades making this award so fitting and refreshing it is usually the ones who deserve the recognition the the most who do not seek it out Ryan does things for students because that is who he is he does not look for or need the Fanfare I'm glad that The Optimist Club took the time to recognize and celebrate him because the westfi community needs to know how lucky the students are to have him I can list many more things about how great of an asset Ryan is to the Edison Community but I think I've embarrassed him enough congratulations Mr banana man awesome uh so a few kids came up to me and there's like congratulations on winning the award again and I'm like that's not really possible and not true they're like I voted for you last year and the year before and I'm like nope that's the Halloween costume contest but I treat that one very seriously as well I don't know how one for 10 years is his father Dr Bolan for a very long time he made a trophy for it by the way and I confiscated that Trophy and I just keep adding my name to it every year that trophy never moved anywhere in the last 10 years um but I thought that was kind of fun uh but on another positive note though uh last week I got told I have to do a speech I didn't really know that um just so let you know um so I was sitting in the mail room because we still have those things and I saw a teacher who's like congratulations and they told me about the speech and I'm like oh how about that um and they were putting and they're like well the students really appreciate you and I'm like thanks and they during student uh was it State Testing they did a classic uh make a thank you note uh for their class while they had a few classes and they're like here we have some for you and they handed me to but then I also realized like how lucky I was to get two of those but then also realized that that teacher then put two in a bunch of different mailboxes and how lucky I'm to have a great staff with us that those 20 students like picked 10 different teachers in sixth grade they've only met like nine of them um and that's really amazing to think that it's a whole contribution of the whole building and it starts all the way from the top two Mrs scha so thank you and Dr Bowen for many years before that uh but thanks for the award and for The Optimist Club as well thank [Applause] you e e okay now Mr bacho will read again A R A resolution and this one for Mrs canel Roosevelt principal Brian gekman will then come to the podium to make brief remarks followed by remarks by Mrs canel and a group photograph again members of the Optimus Club here tonight are invited to join us on the stage for the group photo and once we've taken the Roosevelt photo we invite Mr Bine and Mrs Shaw to join us again on the stage for a photo of both of our Optimus club uh Club Award winners uh resolution by the Board of Education of Westfield New Jersey to Marissa canel where're as the Optimus Club of Westfield the supporter of schools and children in the community for many years has established an annual award for outstanding teaching in the intermediate schools and where as this award is a fitting tribute to the importance of teaching in the intermediate grades and the nobility of the teaching profession and whereas Marissa canel a social studies teacher at Roosevelt Intermediate School has been awarded the 26th annual Intermediate School outstanding teacher award for outstanding teaching interest in children and continued pursuit of professional growth and whereas the nominations received on behalf of Marissa canel describe her as a caring educator who has an endless breath of knowledge on how to both teach and assess student learning and who creates lessons that are interesting and engaging and which keep students stretching their abilities so that they are all growing now therefore be it resolved that this board of education publicly expresses appreciation to the Optimus Club of Westfield for establishing this award and be it further resolve that this board of education sincerely congratulates Marissa canel representing Roosevelt Intermediate School for receiving the 2024 Intermediate School outstanding teacher award a significant honor and notable accomplishment and be it further resolved that this resolution be presented to Marissa canelia on May 21st 2024 and that a copy of this formal resolution becomes a part of the permanent records of the Westfield New Jersey Board of Education yes I'll invite Mr Gman up to say a few words good evening I'd like to to thank Dr Gonzalez and the board of education for allowing me to speak on Miss canel's behalf I'd also like to thank the Optimus club for once again recognizing the great work our teachers have done year after year at the intermediate level the Roosevelt Community is extremely lucky to have e8th grade social studies teacher Miss Marissa canel as the announcement was made during period 8 the loud Applause she received from students and colleagues can be heard all throughout the school although Miss canel started her career in Westfield in 2010 2 years prior to me we share a very special bond as we both were born and raised in Union I might be a year or 10 older than her but we share many of the same teachers growing up and as we reminisce about the great ones we often use words like kind compassionate dedicated and engaging and years later these are the same words I would describe Marissa meeting with the Optimist Club a few weeks back the entire room agreed Marissa was the perfect choice she had the trifecta amazing letters from students parents and many colleagues always smiling it seems like Marissa never has a bad day when she's not teaching her class you can always find her on the third floor with her social studies colleague planning the next lesson that will fully engage her students there are so many lessons she has taught that truly stand out from all all of her efforts in the interdisciplinary Holocaust unit to piloting an amazing model Congress day her students are always actively engaged the passion in her voice the en enthusiasm she brings to class each day and her love for us history as well as her ability to relate and gain the trust of her eighth graders year after year are just a few things that come to mind the warm and friendly environment she creates allows her students to feel comfortable taking educational risks as a former social studies teacher myself Marissa is a colleague I'd love to share a department or grade level with she's a true team player always willing to help her colleagues and as administrator Marissa is the teacher who I'm proud to have in my building her classes are always well organized and she's never shy to ask for suggestions and as a parent there's a level of excitement when you see her name on your child's schedule she creates a warm and caring atmosphere that allow that allows all Learners to thrive Marissa congratulations on a well-deserved [Applause] award years two years hello every everyone it's an immense honor to be here among the outstanding teachers and professionals here tonight as Roosevelt's Intermediate Schools teacher of the year I realize earning this recognition is not just a testament to my efforts but a reflection of the collective dedication and support of our entire westfields entire westfields Comm I talk with my hand sorry thank you to the board the parents the Optimus Club our students and our Administration past and present at the core of it all we are here tonight to celebrate the importance of education and the extreme value of our students in preparation for my demo lesson and interview almost 15 years ago I reviewed C curriculum essential questions New Jersey social studies teaching mandates and the proper terminology for educational terms this absolutely served me well and continues to how however it was my interaction with the students that as I was later told set me apart you see teaching Middle School is unique do you remember your lessons and experiences of your middle school years did you realize that your middle school teachers were teaching you skills that were never written in any curriculum in middle school we teach the whole child during a pivotal chapter of their life where everything is changing as they are growing into the adults that they will become we get to teach them how to learn and if we're good at it we teach them how to love learning being a social studies teacher over the last 14 years I've traveled through American history with my students teaching them the responsibilities and privileges of living in our Democratic Nation we've spoken to our mayor presented ideas for legislation and studied our Constitution and active citizenship but as I learned very early on having an impact on Middle School students doesn't just take place in the classroom and it doesn't just involve teaching the curriculum embracing this I've co-advised student council for almost a decade I've played basketball football and volleyball against underrated and really tall middle schoolers I've worn ridiculous costumes cheered from the sidelines for games organized hair donations for wigs celebrated the Fine Arts and danced on stage and somehow convinced my co-workers to get pied in the face in the name of raising money for charity by role modeling engagement in these activities I hope that I have instilled a desire for getting involved being inclusive and learning while being part of a welcoming Community the standard of Excellence in this profession that I strive to reach daily is a result of the impact of the teachers and family that raised me and the role models I've had the privilege of emulating thank you to my work family who I continue to learn from daily my parents for their unwavering support and belief in me and to my husband and three littles who are at home right now hopefully in bed thank you everyone and have a good night while I [Applause] okay at this time we'll going to we're going to turn our attention to the Westfield High School awards of Excellence the time honored tradition in the high school Community the Robert and Linda fous Memorial award named for a former principal and teacher recognizes an educator who's a role model and an inspiration to the Westfield High School Community the Jeffrey family above and beyond award goes to a teacher who has made a difference in the life of a student the parent teacher student organization teacher of the year award honors a teacher who is encouraging motivating and a good role model the distinguished teacher of the year award was established to recognize a teacher who through excellence in teaching and a demonstrated commitment to intellectual Pursuits serves as a model and an inspiration to the Westfield High School Community I invite the Westfield High School assistant principal Jim Doo up to the podium to say a few words about this year's recipients after Mr Doo speaks Mr bonao will read a resolution for each award recipient in the following order before inviting them to give brief remarks at the podium John cheddar English teacher Robert and Linda fous Memorial award Gregory Bowers social studies teacher Jeffrey family Jeffrey family above and beyond award Shan McDonald English journalism teacher ptso teacher of the year award and then Craig Stanton music teacher and Orchestra director distinguished Teacher of the Year Mr darara good evening and thank you uh we are very thankful to have such amazing teachers at Westfield High School each year Westfield High School students have an opportunity to nominate teachers and members of our school Community for awards and this year we had an overwhelming response I am honored to announce this year's recipients the Robert and Linda fous Memorial award for excellence and education the student nomination a student nomination highlighted that this teacher is by far the best teacher I've ever had he shows up every day ready to give 100% and constantly pushes us to be the best Scholars we can be he is truly dedicated to our educational growth the 2024 fous Memorial award for excellence and education goes to English teacher and wrestling coach Mr John cheddar [Applause] the Jeffrey family above and beyond award a student nomin nomination shared that this teacher is a kind generous and selfless human being not only did he make the classroom welcoming and fun but he made me feel like I had a safe place to go if I needed to talk the 2024 above and beyond award goes to social studies teacher Mr Greg Bowers the 36 annual Westfield High School ptso outstanding teacher of the year award is nominated by both parents and students some words the ptso received about this recipient R this teacher has a unique ability to make every student feel like her only student she manages countless classes yet when you speak to her she focus all all of her attention on addressing your comments and helping in any way she can the 2024 Westfield High School ptso outstanding teacher of the year award goes to English and journalism teacher Miss Shawn McDonald uh the distinguish the distinguished teacher of the year award this teacher was described as he has been an outstanding influence and has done a tremendous job as my teacher he carefully meets the needs and character of a highlevel teacher he provides a positive and highly creative atmosphere in the classroom the 2024 distinguished teacher of the year goes to whs Orchestra in writing and arranging teacher Mr Craig St congratulations to all the recipients such as serving teachers thank you excellent so we'll start with the resolutions I'll read the resolution for each teacher invite the teacher up to speak and then we'll go to the next resolution we'll do a group photo right after um so we will start with uh with with the with the coach uh res solutioned by the Board of Education of Westfield New Jersey to John cheddar whereas the Robert Linda Fus Memorial award has been established to annually recognize a member of the Westfield High School faculty who threw both excellent in teaching in the classroom and a demonstrated commitment to intellectual Pursuits beyond the classroom is a role model and an inspiration to the Westfield High School community and whereas this award whose namesakes were a former principal of Westfield High School and a former teacher has been conferred upon language arts teacher John cheddar and whereas John cheddar is recognized as an educator who is truly dedicated to the educational growth of his students and who shows up every day ready to give 100% And to push his students to be the best Scholars they can be now therefore be it resolved that this board of education publicly congratulates John cheddar for receiving the 2024 Robert Linda Fus Memorial award a significant honor and notable accomplishment and be it further resolve that this resolution be presented to John cheddar on May 21st 2024 and that a copy of this formal resolution becomes a part of the permanent records of the Westfield New Jersey Board of Education like to come up and say a few [Applause] words I'd like to thank the Board of Education Dr Gonzalez Mr Sno Miss Riley coach Kur coach Barber coach McDonald Casey eer the Westfield wrestling family as well as the entire Westfield Public School Community there's no shortage of impressive and deserving Educators at Westfield High School so while being recognized by a panel of students and colleagues is certainly a great honor I'm also well aware that it was likely just my turn and after 22 years you might say that I'm very patient paent but I've come to a point in my career where I'm not only able to be present for my students and focused on the direction of our school's future but now perhaps more than ever a bit more reflective and appreciative of our school's past so I'd like to take this opportunity to pay it backwards so to speak when I joined the Westfield High School English Department in September of 2002 I was leaving a place that I loved in search of new challenges it did not take very long to see that I made a very wise decision Westfield was a bustling intellectual community that offered autonomy to its students in staf and encouraged us to follow our Curiosities and passions in pursuit of meaning it felt more like a college campus than it did at high school I immediately grew as an educator under the mentorship of great educational leaders like Dr pedex Paul La Roy Bob a Bev gettis Karen Galler and Ron Barner and the list can go on and on not only did they all help to guide me as a young teacher but they ensured that I knew the expectations of this school and my department I was not just filling a vacancy I was taking on a responsibility to preserve and build Upon Our Legacy and the service of our students in this community I have taken that responsibility seriously it was here that I learned that the reason we read texts is to be better able to read the world and that as much as I teach poetry literature and writing and wrestling I work with students to help them learn how to learn to develop in proc a process to read thoughtfully think critically and speak eloquently in order to engage the world beyond the classroom with purpose I have worked for these many years in the service of thousands of students and student athletes and the work has been meaningful and deeply fulfilling I hope that I have made a positive impact and that my work has honored those who were here before me speaking of which as a young teacher a name that would always come up among older teachers and coaches was the name Walt Clarkson a graduate of Westfield High School who went on to have an impactful 31-year career as a beloved English and journalism teacher and Coach much like my esteemed colleague Miss McDonald he is also a member of our athletic Hall of Fame and as it turns out the first recipient of the Dr Robert and Linda Fus Memorial award for excellence in education back in 1985 a fact that makes receiving this particular award tonight feel even more of like a greater honor Walt Clarkson walked these Halls taught in these classrooms and likely supervised students in this cafeteria although he retired in 1991 his intellectual Pursuits and service to his students and student athletes still serve as a model of excellence and education to anyone who is fortunate enough to call Westfield High School home I've spent my career admiring a man that I never had a chance to meet he was described by a former student as Fair compassionate honest enthusiastic and above all else vitally involved in the educative process he somehow transcended any attempts at beatification and remain stubbornly human I find this to be a beautiful description of an influential teacher and a worthy aspiration Walt Clarkson and many others including my current students and colleagues continue to inspire me to do the best work that I can every day that I entered this building thank you to the entire Westfield Community past and present for giving me an opportunity to prepare Westfield students for their Futures I'm proud to be a part of a community that challenges supports and celebrates one another so thank you once again for this award it's very special and I have to keep a promise good night [Music] Harper our next resolution uh by the board of educ of Westfield New Jersey to Gregory Bowers whereas the Westfield High School Jeffrey family above and beyond award has been established to annually recognize a teacher or counselor who has truly made a difference in the life of a student either socially emotionally or academically and whereas this award is presented to Gregory Bowers a dedicated social studies teacher at Westfield High School who is lauded as a kind generous and selfless human being who makes the classroom welcoming and fun while making students feel feel like they have a safe place to go if they need to talk now therefore be it resolved that this board of education publicly congratulates Gregory Bowers for receiving the 2024 Jeffrey family above and beyond award a significant honor and a notable accomplishment and be it further resolve that this resolution be presented to Gregory Bowers on May 21st 2024 and that a copy of this formal resolution becomes a part of the permanent records of the Westfield New Jersey Board of Education like to come up [Applause] good evening everyone thank you Dr Gonzalez and board for having this special night it's an honor to be recognized with my colleagues John uh Sean and Craig as well as all the other award recipients so thank you very much for having us I know Miss principal aspendus isn't here tonight but I wanted to thank her uh all the assistant principles Mr desarno Dr Hines uh Miss hun and my supervisor Miss Brennan uh their leadership and guidance is been uh Beyond helpful to me the past several years uh I obviously have to thank my parents Peg and Vince Bowers two retired Educators uh who have helped me in uh so many ways too numerous to mention right now uh but I want to thank them for all their love and support I wouldn't be here without what they've done for me uh I'd like to thank my siblings as well Ken Helen and Sarah happy birthday Sarah um uh they also have always kind of kept me on track and always put me in the right direction um so you know this night is quite amazing for so many reasons uh one of of the big ones is because I'm joined here with my wife and my daughter um our littlest one Jake is at home he's two he couldn't uh join us but I feel so lucky that the two of them could join me tonight uh some of you might know my wife uh she is a fifth grade teacher at Jefferson um so uh Stacy you are an amazing wife and partner um I don't have enough time to list all the ways that you make my wife my life wonderful um but thank you for everything you win our above and beyond word every single day um Emily you like I love you so much and I'm so proud of you uh you win our filling our the buckets award because you fill our buckets every day um Jakey he's at home he gets the Tom Turkey award uh there's a turkey near his daycare they call him Tom he shouts tom turkey sporadically throughout the day it's really cute you'd give it to him too if you if you knew all right so there's another reason why it's really meaningful that Emily is here uh she is forever linked to my memory of starting at Westfield High School so it was only quick seven quick years ago um that Emily was born my wife and I bought her house and I got this job all within about a month of each other um so I was going through all these big Life Changes accomplishing all these big uh goals um and you know everything is kind of connected back to uh Emily in that time so you know I was thinking as I Was preparing the speech I read John's press release and he talked about all the constant in his life and that I thought was a good way to look at this time that I thought was you know seemingly chaotic back then what the constants were so the first one Stacy obviously it's you and our family um you and the rest of our family and our friends helped simultaneously ground me but also push me to reach new goals uh Emily and Jake you guys repeatedly show me uh the joy of life and learning uh and how that can be uh you know that we can have fun on a daily basis I'm forever thankful for that um so my entire family combined helped nurture my passions help me discover uh new ways to better myself but also support those around me uh thinking about the constant of my colleagues right how they've been a constant presence in my life I was instantly reminded of a speech that one of our colleagues gave a few years ago the high school has a Wonder tradition of Welcome asking a faculty member to give a speech uh each year at the beginning of the year kind of kick off the year and give us a little inspiration for the year uh this teacher went through and just talked about all the things big and small that happen every single day in the school uh from lessons of uh Math teachers and English teachers bringing you know mundane pieces to life uh to those yearly events that we all look forward to um and uh to those little interactions that we see between colleagues between teachers and students uh that happen that seemingly go unnoticed but we do notice them right so she chronicled all these impressive work that the staff does on a regular basis and this is another reason why this is such a special night John kind of mentioned it as well uh this is a building full of amazing people doing extraordinary work on a uh every single uh day that is not lost to me and is a true honor to be recognized uh with this reward uh award uh finally one of the other constants is the Fantastic students that I got to work with every single day I wish I had time to tell you about each single class and like how all the individuals uh make up you know this Dynamic classroom and it's had they each have their own character um but though they are the main reason that I come back year after year it is a pleasure to work with such impressive young people um I look at my job is trying to help them discovered their own worldview their voice um and the skills that they'll need to you know take on this complex World once they leave here um you know in the process you know I I I try to help them sharpen their skills and they certainly help me sharpen my skills as an educator as a person uh each day we come together and work on being humans and just try to walk out that door a little bit better than we came in and that I feel really proud of the work that I do there we all know the reputation that the Westfield High School uh has and I worked really hard to uphold that standard as much as effort as I put into the academic side I put as much uh energy into the personal side so it meant the world to me here to hear uh principal sendis read those remarks on the announcements a few uh weeks ago to have M Mr desar repeat them tonight um when a student talked about how they felt in my classroom um I worked really hard for that uh and I felt good to be validated for that um I also just want to thank everybody for the handshakes the the high fives the the emails the cards and conrat congratulations uh in the hallways over the past couple weeks that has meant the world to me uh as well so I'm very humbled to receive this award and I thank you all for for doing [Applause] that next a resolution by the Board of Education of Westfield New Jersey to Shawn McDonald whereas the Westfield High School ptso teacher of the year award has been established to annually recognize a teacher who is enthusiastic and motivating encourages students to excel to their greatest potential and is a good role model and whereas this award is presented to sha McDonald a dedicated language arts and journalism teacher at Westfield High School who is applauded for using her unique ability to make every student feel like her only student and for finding the balance between not entirely telling you what to do and instead gently guiding you to conclude yourself now therefore be it resolved that this board of education publicly congratulates Shawn McDonald for receiving the 2024 ptso teacher of the year award a significant honor and a notable accomplishment and be it further resolve that this resolution be presented to sha McDonald on May 21st 2024 and that a copy of this formal resolution becomes a part of the permanent records of the Westfield New Jersey Board of [Applause] Education hi uh thank you to all of you I'm going to try to make it quick because you know it's a long night for you guys you guys have been here for a while um I am humbled and honored to win the ptso outstanding teacher of the year award but honestly this award was kind of easy to win hear me out okay every student I teach chooses to be in my class they don't need it to graduate they don't need it to get into college they don't need it for any other reason than the fact that they want to be a part of this program this is legit every teacher's dream I'm not joking um and apparently it puts you in position to win teacher of the year so yay me um when I walked into this building six years ago I was pretty much in a straightup panic here I am taking over the New York Times of high school newspapers yeah I taught a few journalism classes here and there but running a historic weekly print newspaper that has been around since 1935 I wasn't entirely sure who let me be in charge of that thankfully Dr Hines Dr Jacobson and of course Dr Nelson had faith in me even when I didn't um I had no reason to panic though because my staff was amazing about a month in is when I realized that none of this is about me this works because they make it work they care what we do with this journalism program is successful because the students want to do it and trust me they are amazing I know as an adviser of a newspaper that I am supposed to remain unbiased in everything that I do and everything that I say but seriously they are amazing people all of them I mean just today I have to throw this in there because just today heai was awarded the best weekly print newspaper in the country by the American Scholastic press [Applause] [Music] Association how fortuitous that I got that email today uh so this program and definitely this award in all honesty you guys is not about me at all and I wouldn't want it any other way uh so basically now that I've told you that I don't deserve this award and that it was easy to win I figured I should thank some people that help the program succeed and help it grow um thank you to all of you and the administration um for allowing me the freedom to do what I do the freedom to oversee a program in which the students are in real world situations every single day the freedom to have unique and totally different lesson plans than any other classroom in the country the freedom to be who I am along with the chaos and the noise that I bring to room 111 and the front hallway every single day I'm sure John can hear me down the hall um and obviously thank you for the independence and the lack of censorship especially considering how utterly terrifying that must be for you at times wait next page um thank you to all of the parents in our community who support their children in this passion I understand that hearing your child say I want to be a journalist might be a little scary for a lot of reasons but thank you to all the parents in this community for supporting them and then ultimately supporting me thank you to my colleagues my amazing colleagues who put up with me and support our program and do interviews all the time so thank you for all of my colleagues who are always doing interviews for us thank you thank you to the community for supporting our historic tradition and embracing all of our new ones um thank you to my family who puts up with my NeverEnding deadlines and listens to all of my stories and my stress thank you to my parents who pick up the slack when I'm too busy with my other kids and who always encouraged me to follow my passions but most importantly thank you to my students for being amazing and intelligent and passionate and curious and dedicated and mature and hilar ious for understanding my sense of humor and understanding my love that sometimes shows up in direct and honest dialogue and thank you for caring about a world that so desperately needs your passion and thank you Gian for rallying the troops and nominating me for this award you are my rock my food provider and my right-hand woman in all of this chaos and I know that you're going to make a difference in the world and I thank you for making a difference here at whs and in my life um you too Casey you're awesome too although I make jokes um I am very grateful for this award honoring a journalism teacher shows that this community understands the importance of Journalism and understands that our society doesn't function without the Watchdogs and the unbiased and accurate representation of local National and Global events that affect all of us so thank you [Applause] our last resolution by the Board of Education of Westfield New Jersey to Craig Stanton whereas the Westfield High School distinguished teacher of the year award has been established to annually recognize a teacher who through both excellence in teaching and a demonstrated commitment to intellectual Pursuits beyond the classroom serves as a model and inspiration to the high school Community to strive toward excellence and whereas this award is presented to Craig Stanton a dedicated music teacher and Orchestra director at Westfield High School who is praised for going above and beyond with helping his students remain active while providing opportunities to progress their skills and who provides a positive and highly creative atmosphere in the classroom now therefore be it resolved that this board of education publicly congratulates Craig Stanton for receiving the 2024 distinguished teacher of the year award a significant honor and a notable accomplishment and be it further resolv that this resolution be presented to Craig Stanton on May 21st 2024 and that a copy of this formal resolution becomes a part of the permanent records of the Westfield New Jersey Board of [Applause] Education my speech is much shorter uh which I guess we're all kind of thankful for at this point but we don't write a lot of essays over in the music department so mine is short um I do want to thank you all so much for all the nice things that were said tonight I you know Jim and Mary and and the kids and everyone have sort of read off the wonderful things they said uh and it's just thank you for for organizing this event uh congratulations to my colleagues tonight uh on all of their recognitions that they've said it too uh that we are lucky to have colleagues that do such an amazing job and literally any you could have just picked Any teacher at the building and I think you could have found someone who could have won this award um so when they announced this about 2 weeks or so ago my first thought was I have a concert in 2 weeks I talk right of speech and then my second thought was okay I guess I have to think about this and I have to reflect a little bit um and I've had a chance to sort of think about what this means um and I know I think it says more about the support system around us in this building and in the district than it has anything to do with myself um you know I I joke but it's not really a joke that I think I have the easiest J job in the building like I I legitimately I wave my arms until the Music Stops they sound great and then everyone claps for me it's crazy and like I I I have sometimes I have to pinch myself and go someone pays me money you guys do pay me money to talk about music all day which I would do for free not that I would but I would um you know I'm extremely I can walk into this building every day and I know that there's an Administration that supports us with most of the things we want to do do in the music department um you know and and that's how we are able to accomplish all of the wonderful things we do um you know I'm lucky to work with colleagues many of whom I consider personal friends at this point and are just you know like wonderful and like I mentioned they're they're just so many good things happening and so many people working so hard every day in the building um I'm also fortunate to have students and parents and support system in the community who I mean if you were here on Saturday when they were out on the lawn like hundreds of people strong for our Music Department um just the incredible amount of support kids that come in every day and like Sean said want to be here right I'm an elective teacher too they're there CU they want to be I tell them that they're like you don't you don't have to take this class but they're there anyway and you know we have a hundred or so kids in the orchestra and it's great um and you know like I one distinguished teacher but I think we'd all agree that there's days when I walk home and we probably all do where we don't feel particularly distinguished as a teacher um and for that I have my family who I come home to every single day and they're here to night hi guys we'll get ice cream I promise we told them ice cream but then it's going longer um so you know I have them on those days when I don't feel particularly distinguished they're here tonight which is amazing and they're literally the reason I get up in the morning to do this job um and then I I feel like I've had time to think over the last two weeks and I'm going last and I've got to follow like the people who teach like poetry and English and journalism and I again I'm just the the music guy um and I was hoping that I could give you I can impart some sort of like bestow upon you some sort of wisdom about the profession of teaching and how important it is and some wonderful thing that makes me like deserving of this sort of honorific but the truth is I'm here because everything else around me makes it possible um I I just sort of I'm riding the wave of all of the support around me um and I appreciate that and with that thank you and thank you for this honor and that's all I got so thank you woo you'd like to invite all the recipients up for a group photo then ice cream I promise sh no one noticed oh no I watch you you so we are going to move to the rest of the business of the board meeting as enthralling as that is I am sure for many of you um we'll give you just a few minutes and then we'll uh we'll get started again for e e e e e e e e all right let's uh reconvene if we can uh I know there are some uh some additional announcements um I guess we'll start Mary do you have any announcements no Kent all right thank you it's time to clear your schedule as a next's regular public meeting of the Board of Education will be on Tuesday June 11th right here in cafeteria B at westf high school beginning at 7 p.m. we look forward to continuing our recognition of students and staff the meeting will be live streamed via the district YouTube channel which viewers can access on the board tab of the district website the complete agenda will be available on Friday June 7th also on the board tab thank you Brendan this is a reminder that the Westfield public school district will be closed this Friday May 24th through Tuesday May 28th in observance of Memorial Day and for two unused snow days Kristen Westfield High School 12th ERS Jacob blin Yen J Who and the meta are 2024 Merit Scholars the three have been named winners of the 2024 National Merit $2500 scholarship as part of the selection process the National Merit Scholarship Corporation examines each finalist academic record and the students essay along with demonstrated leadership and contributions to the school and community activities congratulations to Jacob yanay and stage on this prestigious recognition CJ 97 student 97 students have been inducted into the National Honor Society for Spanish French Chinese and Italian with 51 exceling in Spanish 21 in French 13 in Chinese and 12 in Italian a list of the inductees can be found on the news section of the district and high school websites congratulations to all Julie I'm going to do Leila's as well if that's all right absolutely thank you registration is now open for fall 2024 Athletics at Westfield High School and information meetings are taking place throughout may visit the Westfield High School athletics department website for details twice a year the Westfield High School counseling department sponsors the ltw you climb award to recognize students who exemplify the qualities expressed by the late Westfield High School principal Dr Derek Nelson Dr Nelson who died in 2019 from complications he suffered while donating bone marrow to a boy he didn't know in France is quoted as one saying quote we have an obligation to our fellow human beings that if we are in a position to help someone you do it you lift as you climb if you can do that you have contributed more to society than anything your bank account can produce and ultimately contribute more to your own wellbeing nominated by the Westfield High School faculty and staff the five recipients of the spring 2024 lift while you climb a ward are Jillian Alondra Isabella de dematos Joshua Diaz Garrett gal and Addie moholland congratulations thank you uh we'll move to uh some committee reports we'll start with our report from Casey the high school student report students and staff have been taking part in traditional spring activities as we head into Memorial Day weekend this month almost 100 students were inducted into World Language honor societies and over 200 students were inducted into the National Honor Society tomorrow whhs seniors will be honored at senior Awards night recently the Westfield theater Department was honored with 21 foxy Award nominations by Monclair State University which are in recognition of outstanding achievement in high school theater last week the 57th annual booster banquet was held for senior athletes during the banquet 42 awards were given out each including scholarship money for students in addition to honoring individual athletes this year's championship winning teams were also recognized looking ahead the senior class picnic will be held on Thursday May 30th during the picnic students will receive their caps and gowns and celebrate the end of their High School career the following Saturday June 1st will be the annual prom the last major senior event apart from graduation will be the senior sunset in the fall whhs seniors woke up early one morning to watch the sunrise together at Keller Stadium eating bagels taking pictures and marking the beginning of the end of their last marking the beginning of their last year in high school now seniors will once again return to Keller to watch the sunset as they prepare to close out the year now that all major SJ events are officially in the rearview mirror the focus has shifted towards preparing for next year this week students are hearing speeches from candidates for next year's board with voting taking place tomorrow students will also vote on the SGA Constitution which will govern the organization moving forward if Past after a year full of hard work and dedication inside and outside of the classroom students are excited to Savor the special events taking place in Westfield High School over the next few weeks thank you thank you Casey uh we'll move to a board committee reports uh is there any report by the curriculum instruction and assessment committee no we have not met since our last meeting our next meeting is June 10th okay next uh a report from the finance and Facilities committee we have one we also have no report we haven't met since our last meeting and finally a report from the policy personnel and governments committee we have no report either we just met uh May 2nd and our next meeting is June 12th excellent very efficient um we will now move to uh to recognize the public uh on uh for public comment on action I'm sorry on agenda action items only these are the lettered and numbered uh items in the in the board agenda during this portion of the meeting District residents and staff are invited to address the board of education on agenda ction items only as a courtesy allow current students and staff of Westville public schools to speak first the board requests that individuals sign in and state their name Municipality of residents and group affiliation if applicable for the record the specific action items they are commenting on and then ask that all remarks be directed to the board president or designate not to individual members or staff the board asks that members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other of other individuals when speaking specifically comments regarding Personnel matters are discouraged and cannot be responded to by the board students and employees have specific legal rights afforded by the laws of New Jersey the board Bears no responsibility nor will it be liable for any comments made by members of the public if a matter concerning a District staff member is of Interest or concern to a resident the matter should be referred to the responsible building principal superintendent of schools or the Board of Education either by telephone letter or email although the board may not respond to items raised during the public forum all public comments will be considered please note that if any member of the public becomes disruptive during the meeting the board president May terminate the participant statement continued disruptions may result in removal from the meeting or adjournment of the meeting each speaker statement will be limited to 3 minutes in duration seeing no comment on agenda items I will close public comment uh move to the business portion of the meeting uh first may I have a uh a motion to approve the May 7th 2024 regular board meeting minutes Brendan is there a second Kristen we can do this by Voice vote all in favor any opposed any extensions that motion passes um next uh the uh the governance item I I will move that uh governance item a uh I will move that for approval do I have a second second by Kent any discussion seeing none Rob bachio yes Kent Diamond yes Brendan gallagan yes Charles jinus abstain Leila melli sonel Patel Kristen Sonic schmeltz yes Julie Steinberg epain and Mary wickins yes okay we'll now move to the Personnel items on the agenda Mary yes I just uh like to move items a through n under the Personnel section of tonight's agenda um just note um item J Mr daro's position has been renamed so that it's more inclusive of his job title he's uh not only the director of Athletics but also supervisor for uh physical education and health is there a second Kristen thank you any discussion see none Rob bonio yes Ken Diamond yes Brendan gallagan yep Charles jinus yes Lea melli sonel Patel Kristen Sonic schmeltz yes Julie Steinberg yes Mary wickens yes that carries will next move to the finance and Facilities items on the agenda Kent thank you I'd like to move items a through j under the financing facility portion of the agenda but first IO there are no donations tonight but I do still want to highlight that this school year donations have total 8266 a82 may I have a second thank you CJ comments questions right I think we're ready Rob bachio yes Kent diamonds yes Brendan gallagan yes Charles jinus yes Leila melli son Patel Kristen Sonic schmeltz yes Julie Steinberg yes Mary wickens yes okay next we'll uh handle the policy items on the agenda back to Mary okay I'd like to move items A and B under the policy section of tonight's agenda um item a is um the Sip committee is recommending five policies and the PPG committee is recommending one policy for second reading based on Strauss smme updates policy 8110 is being revised to give the district greater discretion in permitting students who move within the district the capacity to continue their education at their current School Item B policy 5755 equity and educational programs and services is being recommended to be repealed by the Sip committee based on the stess as May update policy guide 5755 has been abolished as of as all of the information within that is addressed elsewhere in stess as May policies and regulations uh policy guides 1523 and 2260 address all the requirements outlined in 5755 and address the district as a whole which includes students eliminating the need for that policy stra smme recommends abolishing the policy because the information within it is redundant that was a lot can I have a second oh Kristen any discussion okay see none Rob bachio yes Ken diamonds yes Brendan gallagan yes Charles jinus no to A5 yes to all others no Leila melli sonel Patel Kristen Sonic schmeltz yes Julie Steinberg yes Mary wickens yes okay next the curriculum instruction and assessment items Kristen I make a motion for the board to consider action items a through C under sip today a ask the board to approve a field trip B ask the board to approve a student intern in the special services department and C ask the board to approve the 2425 memorandum of understanding between the University of Delaware and whs can I get a second Kent thank you any questions okay we can vote seeing none Rob bachio yes Ken diamonds yes Brendan gallagan yes Charles jinus yes Leen melli sonal Patel Kristen Sonic schmeltz yes Julie Steinberg yes Mary wickens yes now highlight for the board and the public the notes for the record then move any unfinished business any new business any liaison reports all right we'll now move to recognize the public uh for comments on uh on any items so during this portion of the meeting members of the public are invited to address the board of education on any topic as a courtesy allow current students and staff of Westfield public schools to speak first the board requests that individuals sign in and state their name Municipality of residents and group affiliation if applicable for the record and ask that all remarks be directed to the board president or design not to individual board members or staff the board asks that members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals when speaking specifically comments regarding Personnel matters are discouraged and cannot be responded to by the board students and employees have specific legal rights afforded by the laws of New Jersey the board Bears no responsibility nor will it be liable for any comments made by members of the public if a matter concerning a District staff member is of Interest or concern to a resident the matter should be referred to the responsible building principal superintendent of schools or the Board of Education either by telephone letter or email although the board may not respond to items raised during the public forum all public comments will be considered please note that if any member of the public becomes disruptive during the meeting the board president May terminate the participant statement continued disruptions may result in removal from the meeting or adjournment of the meeting each speaker's statement will be limited to 3 minutes in duration all right seeing no members of the public I will close public comment and I will ask for a motion to adjourn Mary have a second second Julie thanks very much we are adjourned oh wait I got to vote yeah let me do that I I rushed all right let's do it sorry about that I was getting excited uh all in favor please all right any opposed and any extensions thank you very much now we're there