Board of Education Meeting 12-16-25

All right. Good evening and welcome to

the Tuesday, December 16th, 2025

Montgomery Township Board of Education

meeting. We appreciate you all coming

out on this chilly evening. At this

time, I'll entertain a motion to

reconvene and open session.

>> So, moved second. It's

>> been properly moved and seconded to

reconvene and open session. Any

questions on the motion?

>> All those in favor say I. I

>> I

>> I

>> All those opposed same right in the

extensions.

We are now back in open session. Roll

call, please. Mr. Taliano.

>> Dr. Dwang

>> here. Mr.

>> Ding,

>> here.

>> Mina,

>> present. M

>> Harris,

>> here.

>> Mr. Nora,

>> here.

>> Mr. Todd,

>> here.

>> Thank you.

>> At this time, please rise as we salute

the flag.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

United States of America and to the

republic for which it stands. One nation

under God, indivisible with liberty and

justice for all.

We do not have our student. At this

time, we'll have our superintendent

report and presentations. Superintendent

McGloin.

>> Good evening, everyone.

On behalf of the Montgomery Township

School District, I would like to extend

my sincere gratitude to our three board

members, Michelle Dowling, Joanna Felac,

and Ana Walle Jernigan as they complete

their terms as board of education

members. Each of you has given your

time, energy, and thoughtful leadership

and service to our students, staff, and

community. Your commitment to make

informed decisions and guiding the

district has had a lasting impact and we

are deeply appreciative of the countless

hours you dedicated to serving the

district both behind the scenes and in

the public service. As you conclude your

service, we want to thank you for your

perspective, collaboration, and

dedication you brought to the board

throughout your term. Your contributions

have helped shape the direction of our

schools and strengthen our educational

community. Although your terms might be

coming to an end, the positive impact of

your work will continue. We wish you all

the very best in your future and thank

you again for your service to the

district.

As we move into winter break, we are

excited to embark on our annual winter

traditions. At Montgomery High School,

we have our world-class instrumental and

music concerts tonight and tomorrow at 7

p.m. On Monday, the chamber choir will

delight staff and students across all

buildings with the district's annual uh

the annual district-wide carollet. We

will conclude 2025 with our inschool

winter concert on the final day of

school in December. As is tradition, we

will be entering a homework free break.

Winter sports are in full swing. Please

check out our athletics web page for

daily schedules and visit the MHS Cougar

Den for updates. At this past weekend,

71 students were involved in the cast

and crew of the production Beauty and

the Beach Jr. Thank you to the staff who

made the students shine. We hope all who

attended enjoyed the show. On December

5th, 115 students and staff took the

track took to the track to participate

in the second annual Jingle All the Way

job for Special Olympics. The students

in our unified PE class advertise and

help plan the successful event. As a

school, S raised $3,235

with a portion of the funds coming back

to the school to support the unified

programs. On December 9th, 25 students

sat for the preliminary round of the

spelling be. 10 students are advancing

to the final round in January. At the

end of November, the robotics team

attended the local first Lego League

competition and performed well. and the

club adviser was named mentor of the

year. Congratulations.

As the holiday season settles in, LMS is

joyfully balancing learning and

celebration. They held the first ever

student ed camp on the half day before

Thanksgiving break, giving students and

staff the opportunity to connect with

others who share similar interests. It

was a fun-filled and energizing launch

into the holiday weekend. December

opened with festive spirit as the fifth

and sixth grade orchestras and band

filled the building with beautiful

music, delighting families and setting a

cheerful tone for the season. On

Wednesday, December 10th, LMS proudly

hosted its first ever virtual Jingle All

the Way 3K. More than 150 students and

over 50 staff members participated,

raising nearly $10,000 for Special

Olympics, 2,000 of which will directly

support the unified program at LMS.

Those not participating in the race

enjoyed a cozy morning celebrating

inclusivity with viewing of wonder at

the assembly's schedule. During the

assembly schedule, LMS looks forward to

growing Jingle all the way into a

beloved annual tradition. The fourth

grade band one and band two held their

first concerts of the year last Thursday

and Friday, respectively, for their

parents and fourth grade peers. Band

students showcased how much they've

learned in just three short months. It

was incredible. It was an incredible

performance and parents were left in

awe. Their next school day concerts will

be in February in preparation for the

first evening concerts at the EMPAC at

the high school. The 31st annual Young

Scholars Institute holiday service drive

concluded today. Students in each class

collected school supplies and purchased

gifts for a special young scholar

assigned to their classroom. The family

of each young scholar will also receive

a grocery card for the holidays. Gift

card for the holidays. First graders at

Orchard Hill are spending part of their

time this month traveling to neighboring

classrooms as part of their holidays

around the world activity. Each teacher

on a team takes a different holiday and

classes rotate through lessons on

various winter holidays like Los

Pasados, Christmas, bansa, Hanukkah, and

even winter's solstice. The school's

seal focus for the month is empathy. As

students across the grades learn what it

means to have empathy and do so via

various books, songs, and conversations,

I wish you all a happy and healthy

holiday. Enjoy time with your families

and friends this winter break. I would

now like to invite the district's

unified team to share a little bit about

the program and their accomplishments

and accolades, including

the outstanding unified school award

that was presented to them.

Please show everybody.

Get them.

Okay.

>> Yeah, they can

pick your

All right. Thank you. I'll send it to

you.

>> Thank you for showing me.

>> Good evening. Um I am Meredith Strada.

I'm a special education teacher at

Montgomery High School. I am the play

unified um adviser as well as head coach

for our unified sports programs. Lisa

Fiorretti is my counterpart at the high

school. She's not able to be here

tonight, but I could not do all the

things without Lisa. And um Joe Bassford

is our unified PE um teacher who is

phenomenal and instrumental in our

success. This evening from the high

school, I have two um of our students

who are unified leaders, Grace Kowski

and Kylie Kuzi. I'm going to let Grace

go first. She's going to share a little

bit about her experience at um

Montgomery High School with Unifi.

unified at

Mos High School. It it it

means I get to build and make

relationships with teachers and friends.

I get involved in doing sports

activities like basketball.

I enjoyed

and I love being a part of Unifi at

Montgomery High School

because I like staying connected with

friends and teachers. I am involved in

sports and activities with unified

teammates and peers. I feel comfortable

and comfortable

in a big group and working together.

I I want to be more involved and include

more and unified because I like to show

respect and include something like being

responsible

to stay or close with peers and

classmates.

My favorite part of unified at

Montgomery High School is

making relationships with teachers and

friends. I want to I want to make them

feel more included and comfortable.

And because Grace won't brag for

herself, Grace um last year was on the

statewide youth activation committee

which is part of our play unified um

program through the state. So Grace was

one of about eight unified leader

leaders throughout the state who met

periodically through Zoom calls to plan

statewide activities for unified

programs to bring um throughout the

state. So, she's being very humble. But

next up, um, Kylie Capuzi is going to

share a little bit about her experience

with Unified as well.

>> Um, a little bit about my experience

with Unified. Um, I joined sophomore or

junior year. Um, and I got involved in

unified basketball and that was such an

amazing experience. I mean, we got to

win the championships on the first year

that I joined, which was pretty awesome.

Um, and just like walking into the class

every day is just like it makes me very

happy seeing the kids cuz they are all

so happy to see all of us and doing new

activities every week. It's awesome. Um,

and doing basketball this year, like I

got to be co- captain. Um, so that was

pretty awesome like being a co- captain

for my last year. Um, so yeah, it's just

been an overall great experience being a

part of five. Awesome.

And Kylie is also being very humble.

Kylie uh we had a youth summit that we

went to in October um where we invite we

were invited to Special Olympics New

Jersey for their corporate sponsor

lunchon. So they hosted a lunchon for

probably like 30 to 40 of their top

corporate um sponsors and Kylie was

asked to be on the panel um to share her

experiences. So once again very humble

but amazing youth leaders that we have

at the high school.

Um, so a little bit just for folks if

you're unfamiliar with what Unified

actually um really encompasses. Um, it

is a program that comes from an

initiative with Special Olympics which

promotes a socially inclusive school

climate where acceptance, respect, and

human dignity is the norm. We equitably

support students through education and

sportsbased strategy powered by engaged

youth that increases athletic and

leadership opportunities for all

students. All of our students can be

inclusive leaders and athletes within

our school community. The goal is to

ensure that each student feels

challenged, supported, and connected. In

order to be considered a unified,

champion school, you must fulfill three

components, which I know my colleagues

from the other schools will share about

um a little bit as well. So, the three

components that we all um do on a daily

basis is we offer sports, youth

leadership, and whole school engagement.

So, at the high school level, we um

fulfill the requirement for sports

through unified PE. We offer that as a

co-taught class where we have our

students with and without disabilities

participating in a PE class together. Um

and that class is infused with specific

lessons on inclusivity, disability

awareness, leadership, belonging, and

more. Additionally, we have our unified

basketball which um runs this typical

season for your similar to your boys and

girls basketball team at the high school

level. We run from November to March.

Um, we have games and competitions,

practices scheduled throughout the

season. We have a roster that gets put

on nj.com. We put our stats in after

every game. We get powerpoints. Our

stats are there all going into um final

competition and um play at the end of

the season. And like Kylin mentioned,

last year we actually um won the 2025

Unified Cup Basketball Competition at

Princeton University, which was super

exciting and fun.

The second component that I mentioned

was youth leadership. So at the high

school level, we do that in a variety of

ways. We have unified club um after

school which meets two times a month

where we can provide social and

recreational activities for our

students. So it might be things like

crafts or board games, sports, karaoke,

just dance. It's a chance for our

students to collaborate and have fun

together. Our students are leaderships

with are leaders within that as they

plan the activities that are coming

through. As I mentioned, Grace was on

the statewide youth activation

committee, which was a very exciting and

big deal. Um, and then additionally, we

uh take our students to the youth

summits, um, which are offered at

Special Olympics New Jersey, where our

students, um, get specific training in

leadership topics. Some topics that

we've had recently included women in

leadership, teamwork and action, and

leading with social media. Lastly, we

have our whole school engagement

component which we fulfill at the high

school through spirit weeks. Right now

at the high school level, our unified

club has partnered with student council

to do a spirit week leading up to the

winter break. We're featured on the

school social media morning

announcements. In the winter spring pep

rally, our basketball team is featured

alongside all the other teams that are

um running at that time. So, pretty cool

accomplishments that we um came across

in the past year is in spring of 2025,

we applied to receive a national banner

from Special Olympics North America um

which was first that reviewed by state

program staff at Special Olympics New

Jersey and then was sent to a national

certifying body of key educational

leaders. Um so in addition to having

those three components to be a unified

champion school in order to receive the

national banner recognition we had to um

actually hit 10 standards and we did

receive that banner um this fall. So we

have that at the high school. Um we are

hoping to do a banner ceremony in the

spring or late winter of 2026. So we'd

love to have any of you folks join us at

that um where we can celebrate our

achievement through that. Additionally,

um we out of 11,000 unified champion

schools, um Montgomery High School was

chosen as just one of 33 to be

recognized on ESPN's unified champion

school honor role list. So, we got

another very exciting award through

that. And then Miss McLaclin um shared

out we did receive in November, just a

few weeks ago, the um outstanding uh

school of the year through um Special

Olympics New Jerseys night champions.

Kylie and Grace were there with me along

with Coach Basser and Miss Ready and

some staff from the high school um to

receive that award. But we take a lot of

great pride in all of our

accomplishments of our students and our

programs and we really appreciate all

your continued support. I'm going to

turn it over to our crew who can brag

about the amazing things that they do

over there.

Hi uh my name is Erikica Paulo and I am

the school psychologist at S and also

one of our unified leaison. Um I work

really closely with Erin Kovalears who

is our PE teacher and oversees unified

PE and without her dayto-day

organization and contributions we also

wouldn't be able to have our unified

program at S. So I just want to give her

a shout out. We are really fortunate at

to not only have unified PE but also to

have had unified electives for the past

few years. This year we have unified art

and music which our students will talk

about. Um and we also had the unified

global leadership last year which was a

great opportunity for our students to be

integrated and have experiences that

they otherwise wouldn't have. Um, and

those experiences wouldn't be possible

at S without the support of our

administration and our wonderful

teachers who really go above and beyond

and want to create these experiences and

opportunities for our students. So, um,

without further ado, we have two

students here from who we're going to

talk about their experiences.

My name is Grayson and I'm a part of

unified PE at S. We have over 30 seventh

and eighth graders in unified PE, art,

and music. In PE, we helped everyone

participate in sports, be more

integrated, and make new friends. We

also help helped with PE at Orchard, and

we help run the week of inclusion where

our goal is to build acceptance and

include everybody. This year, we had 109

people participate in the S jingle jug.

We raised $3,235

for and special Special Olympics New

Jersey. My favorite thing about Unified

is having fun, helping the kids make new

friends, and all of our PE trips.

My parents, I am a part of music at

UMass. We also have your mask art and

and you find music. We sing, dance, work

with friends. We

even

>> write our song. We will be talking

taking a trip to see

>> We will be taking a trip to see a

>> sensory

>> sensory and music

>> show

>> and

you find we

have to

>> participate

>> participate in

>> the gym

>> in the gym. our peers. My favorite thing

about me

is that I get to see my friends and play

basketball.

>> YEAH.

Good evening and thank you for giving us

the opportunity to speak tonight. We are

here to share the incredible work

happening through our unified programs

at the lower middle school and the

positive impact it continues to have on

our school community. I would like to

introduce two of our amazing unified

leaders that will tell you about the

program. This is Ja Patel and Beth

Hoffman.

Hi, my name is Jaya Patel and I'm Beth

Hoffman. At LMS, we have a unified PE

program where students in the special

education classes are partnered with

general education peers. Together, we

work together on developing PE skills

while also building meaningful social

connections. This program promotes

inclusion, confidence, teamwork, and

leadership for all of us involved.

We also have a unified morning meeting

which brings together general education

and special education peers to

participate in greetings, games, team

building activities and communication

exercises. These sessions create a space

where we all learn side by side,

celebrate each other's strengths, and

form friendships that carry into the

rest of the school day. In addition, we

have a unified club which meets weekly

for eight weeks twice during the school

year. This club gives students even more

opportunities to collaborate, socialize,

and engage in inclusive activities

outside of the classroom. The enthusiasm

from all our peers and teachers

continues to grow each year.

This year, our entire school community

supported our unified efforts in a

powerful way. Through our whole school,

our whole school participation in the

Jingle All the Way 3K for Special

Olympics New Jersey, we raised over

$10,000. A portion of these funds

support Special Olympics programs

statewide and another portion will

direct benefit directly benefit our LMS

unified programs by allowing us to

purchase materials and resources needed

so we can continue improving and

expanding what we do in our school.

For me, Unified has been the best

experience I could have asked for. Being

part of this amazing community, making

friends, and honestly, just having fun

is the best part of being in Unifi. I

was part of Unified last year in fifth

grade, mostly because I had one friend

that I knew was going to be it. We

weren't very close, and I was excited to

spend more time with her. Not only did I

build an amazing relationship with her,

I also grew so many friendships with

some amazing people. Miss Clark and Miss

Romano um have made Unified a safe,

inclusive, and fun environment. Now, as

a sixth grader, Unifi has meant even

more to me. Especially since I've gotten

injured, I've seen just how happy this

program makes everyone. I've been I have

not been able to do many of the

activities because of my injury. But the

club is always so much fun, even just to

watch. Seeing the happiness on the kids'

faces makes it all worth it.

To me, Unified is a special a positive

environment that holds a special place

in my heart. I'm insanely grateful for

Unified as I have made so many new

friends to talk to and wave to in the

halls. Unifi has taught me so much about

friendship, kindness, and teamwork. I

look forward to going to it every day. I

didn't know that something during the

school day could change how I view the

world so much. It has shown me what

inclusiveness, respect, and a safe space

looks like. Last year, I joined Unifi

not knowing much about it, but it soon

became my favorite activity and became

such a huge part of me. I met some very

kind, fun people that I'm so happy I got

to know. Something that makes Unifi so

special to me is that it brings people

together and creates relationships that

I will never forget. It is a place of

inclusivity where everyone can be

themselves and feel welcome, including

me. I want to say thank you to Miss

Clark and Mr. Romano who is who have

made this program for the amazing one

that it is and for always making

everyone feel loved and welcome. Unified

isn't just a club. It's more than that.

It's a community that I'm so proud and

grateful to be a part of.

The unified program at LMS is more than

activities and events. It is a model of

what true inclusion looks like. It

strengthens our school culture, empowers

all of our students, and helps every

child feel seen, supported, and valued.

Thank you for your continued support of

these programs and helping us ensure

that inclusion remains at the heart of

our school community.

Thank you all for that. Um to the staff,

thank you for that amazing program and

mostly to the students. Um I just remark

to Superintendent Maki that the theme

that I got out of that is these students

um have developed friendships and I

think that is so important. So again,

let's give them another round of

applause.

All right, next up

and yeah, Superintendent McLac will

remind me that those in unified uh

program do not feel obligated to stay

for the rest of the meeting, but you're

sure more than welcome to stay.

Next up, we'll have representative

reports starting off with MTA reports,

Mike Rosi. And good luck following that,

Mike. It's a little bit away.

I know.

>> Maybe in 2026, I can go before the

amazing reporters that way, you know,

they can pick me up from the valley.

We'll work on it. I appreciate that. All

right. In the MTA world, uh we're still

doing the winter clothing drive that's

continuing on and we're going to keep it

going. We've been having a lot of

clothes being dropped off. The events

we've run have been really well

attended. So, we're going to try to keep

that going into the new year. Uh we're

also going to try to start doing our

readalouds. Last year, they were

extremely popular, especially with our

orchard and village population. So many

kids attended and a lot of people

volunteered to do the books. So, our pep

and fast chair right now is looking at

what books to select and we're going to

always have like a little book to go

with it and a toy that represents what's

going on. So, we're going to have that

going. And then we're getting prep for

Music from the Heart. If you don't know

about Music from the Heart, it's a

production that we put on as the MTEA.

We partner up with the band, some

students, and we run a full play. So,

that will be coming up again in May.

They're already starting to get things

ready. I'm not allowed to say yet what

show it is. So, we'll have an

announcement for that. And then with all

the money raised, we take gift

scholarships to the students. So, thank

you very much.

>> Mike, you held your own.

Do we have any board member delegate

representative reports this evening?

>> Uh yes from uh NJSBA delegate assembly.

Uh so I will I was able to participate

in as an observer. Uh I provide a

summary tonight. So NJSBA delegate

assembly meeting was held at the

conference center at Mercer County

College on November 22nd. Delegates

across New Jersey attended to conduct

business review resolutions and elect

new officers. Um so 16 staff positions

added to support district directly uh

strategic focus or content connection

advocate advocacy and there were some

professional development initiatives

that was discussed. Uh there were three

resolutions reviewed. Um one got

approved uh that was universal free

school meals from Clipton BOE. The other

two was postponed.

Uh and last assembly concluded the

installation of the two uh of the new

officers, the president and VP for

legislation and res resolutions and the

closing remarks.

>> Any questions?

>> Yeah, we're going to just pivot real

quick. We now have our student rep. Um

you're up.

>> Sorry guys, offensing me. Mostly

Montgomery did not win, but it's okay.

So, if anyone doesn't know, uh, this

month is Universal Human Rights Month

and ST students and staff recognized

universal human rights month and the

official day on the 10th, reflecting on

human rights and the importance of

dignity, respect, and belonging within

the school community. Also this month,

winter sports teams began regular season

competitions across all programs. On the

10th was a MHSPTSA meeting and the

following day was a financial aid

workshop that took place in the media

center and provided guidance on FAFSA

completion, scholarships, and financial

planning. And on December 13th was the

NJBCA tipoff showcase where student

athletes participated in a statewide

basketball showcase event. And Hanukkah

was is was I mean it begins on December

14th and it's a holiday that

commemorates the miracle of one day

worth of oil burning for eight days and

symbolizes Jewish resilience. The

remainder of the month includes

celebrations, performances, and holiday

break. Uh tomorrow is the MHS winter

instrumental music concert number one

and tomorrow and December 18th is the

second evening of performances. On

December 22nd, for our students will

participate in district-wide caroling

events. And on the 23rd is an early

dismissal and in school winter concert.

If anyone's wondering, I'm not going to

be here in school. Um, I'm going to

California. So, there's that.

>> Enjoy.

>> And something I think we've all been

waiting for is winter recess and the

homework free break. Uh, school will be

closed if no assigned homework. And I

think we all know what day Christmas is

on, but um it's basically a holiday to

commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.

And the first night of Quanza is

December 26th, and it's a time where

families come to gather the light, the

first candle on the canar, and celebrate

unity. And December 31st is New Year's

Eve. Also, students shared interest in

more exposure to a wide range of career

paths. A schoolwide career fair

featuring professionals from fields such

as STEM, healthcare, business, trades,

and the arts could support students in

exploring future options and making

informed academic and career choices.

Thank you.

>> Thank you, sir.

>> Thank you.

>> All right. Are there any other board

member delegate representative reports

this evening?

>> Uh I don't for the uh PTA PTO. A quick

little note, they would like to thank

all the donations and volunteers for our

school community who have helped with

cider and donuts stock the staff uh

lounge at LMS and as well as the woo woo

Thanksgiving wagon. Uh sixth seventh day

of school there was a staff surprise um

and penguin patch holiday shop at OS and

BES.

And um a quick note from the PTSA

since the last month there's been an

additional 15 um families that have

joined. So that's bringing the total to

131 PTSA members. Still a 20% 21% excuse

me decrease from this time last year. Um

also they have recently received a few

grant requests and they're uh they're

partially approved funding for one of

the grants. They're discussing other

grants now as well.

Thank you.

>> Thank you, board member Harris. Any

other reports?

Hearing none, we'll move to board

committee reports. First up, assessment,

curriculum, and instruction committee

report, ACI, and board member Dian's

final ACI report.

>> I'm going out with a bang. I have not

one report, but two reports. We've met

um we've met twice since the last board

meeting. The first time we met was on

November 21st, uh both virtually and in

person. Um first we heard a recap of the

October professional development day um

that was held for all faculty and staff.

The day included topics covering

contentbased work and districtwide

initiatives. LMS covered schoolwide

climate and SEAL initiatives. OES hosted

character strong which is uh which

helped teachers to have consistent

language around behavior issues that may

arise. The other buildings covered

topics including core curriculum data

and universal design for learning UDL.

The district was notified this past

summer of the early literacy state

mandate and conducted universal

screenings for kindergarten through

third grade. The district has been

conducting universal screenings for

years, but had not previously reported

the data to the state until now.

Students were assessed in multiple early

literacy skills, including phonics,

phmic awareness, and comprehension. All

parents received student reports in

Genesis prior to this Thanksgiving

break. We were also given an update on

the NJSLA and NJGPA adaptive testing as

announced by the D New Jersey Department

of Education. These scores will not be

shared with districts. Spring

assessments of the adaptive uh

assessments will be administered in mid

March and late April. The PSAT was also

administered in October. The district

funded this test for all juniors,

allowing for equity and access.

Sophomores were also invited to take

these tests. Overall score was $11.99,

610 on the math and 599 on verbal. Most

juniors, use these to prep for SATs. The

PSATs are also necessary to qualify for

merit scholars.

Over 150 people, both students and

parents, attended the admissions game

and an inside look into the college

admissions process. The financial aid

presentation was also well attended with

60 participants. Both were recorded and

posted on the website. Mental health

screenings take place annually in

December and January for students in

grades 5 through 12 with parent consent.

First round of adviserss were trained

for the hope squad emphasizing the

importance of making connections and

developing leaders and being proactive

rather than reactive.

Unified PE was recognized as you just

heard on ESPN honor role for Special

Olympics Unified Champion School for the

East Coast. Currently,

MHS and LMS participate with the newest

edition of a dance class in the high

school. ESY update. The extended school

year um update was given at the uh ACI

meeting reminding us that ESY is based

on retention of skills. criteria before

and after breaks during the school year

are used to assess students for the

program that runs in July. Then we met

on December 12th, which was a shorter

meeting. Mr. Brooks uh reported that new

network access points at OES are being

worked on and will be the last school uh

in the refreshment cycle. There are

licensing renewals on all district

school access points. We used to be in a

yearly renewal cycle, then we went to a

three-year renewal cycle, and now we're

at a 5-year renewal cycle um for

licensing. Uh and that's because of best

pricing. Wi-Fi 7 is the newest version.

OS usage is lower than at MHS. So, there

is a possibility of placing the newest

version in a wing at the MS uh sorry, at

the high school building and taking the

current high school access points that

are 2 years old and installing them in

OES. They are working with the vendor to

ensure the optimal roll out of this.

Miss Borland then reported that the new

student learning standards are coming.

The state develops and adopts these

standards. Then they go through their

own vetting process with public hearings

included in the process. Later, a school

district writes a curriculum in order to

accomplish the outcomes the state

mandates. The teachers assess the

students and then create lesson plans

based on those assessments. Right now,

there are several content areas under

review that will potentially be ready

for adoption next school year. These

content areas include career readiness,

life literacies, and key skills, science

standards, computer science standards,

visual and performing arts standards,

and world language standards. There will

likely be work done on standard

alignment and minor and major revisions

throughout the disciplines. So, listen

up board. The discip the district is

budgeting for major planning revisions,

but final determinations will be made

once the standards are released by the

state. Counseling updates included a

FAFSA workshop was held at the high

school. A mental health screener at MHS

and LMS uh with parent consent was

administered. Elementary and middle

school counselors are running counseling

groups oops focused on social skills and

classroom lessons on regulations, coping

strategies, stress management, and

healthy relationships.

Special education updates included Miss

Darmer reported on the success of Jingle

All the Way at LMS and that was a

fundraising effort through Special

Olympics. The district raised over

$12,000.

MSEPta had a presentation on school

safety led by Tom Wayne. The district is

bringing in all is bringing in allin uh

as a professional development in

kindergarten and first grade to promote

least restrictive environments and

specially designed instruction within

the classroom. A video of the dance

class was shared and as we saw earlier

uh at this meeting we had a presentation

by the unified

and that's any questions or comments?

>> Oh I would like to make a comment to the

November ACI report. So in September I

know the board we discussed about the

hope squad program and in November I was

able to ask for the clarification on the

relationship between the mental health

screening and this program. So I

appreciate administration clarify the

screening and the hope squad or separate

initiatives and the screening was not

used to select students for the hope

squad program. So I share this just to

emphasize the importance of open-minded

conversations. board members bring

diverse perspectives. While I would I

respected the majority decision uh not

to table that topic for ACI discussion

back in September, conducting board

business effectively requires clarity

and openness to different viewpoints. So

this approach is similar to the past

curriculum discussion where approval

process benefited from the committee

discussions that ensure all the board

members especially newer more uh newer

members were informed and engaged and I

appreciate in December's uh meeting uh

you mentioned about what's coming for

the major revision for the curriculum.

Thank you.

>> Any other questions, comments?

Hearing none, we'll move to operations,

facilities, and finance committee.

Remember Nerdy will be reporting today.

>> Operations, facilities, and finance

committee met on December 9. Uh, off

committee got to hear from Mr. Will Ross

and Keith Salt from Peret Somjen

Architects about the long range facility

plan and future referendum timelines.

Most recent report was shared with the

committee after their touring of each

facility and their meetings with various

administrators and custodians. Each part

of the project will be outlined with

project costs and sketch. This will be a

living document with regular updates.

Future referendum work is in progress.

The various timetables were presented

and it was understood that November 2027

is most likely the public vote. The

impact studies are being worked on and

the public should be on the lookout for

a public forum dates to learn more about

the projects and the costs. There will

be an ad hoc committee formed to

evaluate which projects are listed in

the architect's report should be

included in the referendum. At this

stage, the committee is not ready to

report specific details of all the

projects listed in the report.

Next, Mr. Eric Zimmerman and Mr. John

Swisser from Sly Clooney auditors were

present

to let us know the audit report. will be

ready to be presented in January. It

could not be ready at this meeting. They

informed most of the areas of the audit

report is good except one area which

needs attention which is the cafeteria

operating cost. This was due to the

equipment which was purchased but was

not delivered by June 30th. Therefore,

the balance in June 30th was higher than

the allowable limit. This will be fixed

in next year's report.

At this moment, I would like to take a

moment to thank our offcom committee

president, Miss Joanna Filac, for her

dedicated service to this district and

her exceptional mentorship to the new

board members. She will be truly missed

at this committee. We hope she continues

to be part of this school district. We

wish her the best. Happy holidays and a

very happy new year to you all. Thank

you. Any

questions for board member Nardan

regarding your

hearing? None. Uh VP Spina, do you have

anything for PCC as a member?

>> May I ask about question for the refer

you mentioned like I know uh not much

details can be shared at this point. Is

there any plans like uh when can we have

more update on this?

>> All we discussed um in the off committee

was the there was a huge timeline. So uh

the referendum has a lot of deadlines

and every stage there is a deadline and

within the deadline there is deadlines

again. So it was like a cumbersome a big

time sheet time table. So we kind of got

to know a little bit about that. So

looking at that we felt the 2026

November will not be a good time because

we don't have enough time to prepare

everything. So I think that's why when

the committee thought that November 2027

could be a possible date but the details

we will come to know when we are at a

right stage to let the public

>> one thing that might help the board is

once as Miss Noran said the ad hoc

committee for the referendum is formed

then they will be able to report out

like our other committees we're just at

the preliminary process so there's

really no actual substantial information

to share out. But when that committee is

formed in 2026, then they'll make

regular presentations to the board as

information is available. So that's

coming soon.

>> Thank you.

>> Any other questions?

>> BP, do you have anything for PCC as a

member? Uh no, the only thing that PCC

did meet briefly um and the only uh

things that were discussed were the um

previously read uh policy updates that

we will release tonight.

>> Thank you. HRC met on Monday, December

8th, 2025. Uh we discussed the

establishment of a security coordinator

substitute as a new position at the

request of security director Tom Wayne.

Currently, there are security

coordinators in all the buildings and

when a coordinator is absent, someone

from another building must provide split

coverage. Establishing a security

coordinator substitute would allow full

coverage for each uh building when the

coordinator is absent. The recommended

pay for this is $35 per hour. And she's

not here. Assistant Superintendent Kelly

Madison said, "I was conflicted for

applying for this position."

Additionally, we discussed the uh

personnel uh budget calendar in December

and January. Budget managers submit

their requests for any changes or

additions to personnel and provide

justification for the requests. The

meetings were slated to start taking

place the week of December 8th. And that

was all that was discussed HRC. Any

questions?

Hearing none.

At this time, I entertain a motion to

approve the November 18th, 2025

executive session minutes and November

18th, 2025 business meeting minutes.

>> So moved.

>> Second.

>> It's been properly moved and second. Any

questions on the motion?

Hearing none. All the roll call, please.

Mr. Tiana.

>> Dr. Wang.

>> Yes.

>> Mr. Allen.

>> Yes.

>> Mina.

>> Yes.

>> M. Harris.

>> Yes.

>> Morgan.

>> Yes.

>> Mr. Todd.

>> Yes.

>> Thank you. motions. Gary,

>> thank you. At this time, the board

acknowledges the correspondence to the

board just prior just prior to the

action agenda items public comment. Um,

the board is proud to announce that we

have reached a tenative 5-year agreement

with the wheels of change, which

represents the bus drivers, the bus

aids, and the dispatchers. Um, more

details are to be followed. We're just

working out some of the language. I want

to give a big big shout out and thank

you to the new union. uh president back

there, Mr. Mrea. You can take a bow.

You see Kathy and everyone, we

appreciate it. Uh to my board member uh

committees, uh Bonita and Michelle and

our board attorney, Vic, um great job

and it was a great process and we

certainly appreciate it.

Action agenda items, public comment. The

board of education welcomes and

encourages input from the public.

Members of the public are allotted one

opportunity to address the board

regarding the action agenda items only

for up to a maximum of three minutes per

speaker. All comments must be directed

to the board. Before you make your

comment, please state your full name and

address and enter both on the Chromebook

provided. Being mindful of privacy

rights regarding students, board

employees, and board members and to

avoid any liability on the part of the

speaker, the board discourages

defamatory and discourteous remarks. The

public comment portions of the meeting

are not structured as question and

answer sessions, but rather are offered

as opportunities for the public to share

their thoughts with the board. The board

may need to refer an issue to the

superintendent if the issue has not been

handled through the appropriate chain of

command, usually starting at the school

level. Responses may be provided at the

end of this session.

Any public comments on action agenda

items?

Any comments on action agenda items?

Hearing none.

Public comment portion is closed. At

this time, I entertain a motion to

approve action agenda items 1.1 through

4.4.

>> So moved. Second.

>> It's been properly moved and seconded to

approve item action agenda items 1.1

through 4.2. Mr. Taliano, roll call,

please.

>> Dr. Wag,

>> are we having a discussion?

>> Discuss. I apologize. Discussion. I

apologize.

>> Please. So I have a question to agenda

item 2.5

um educational research project. I

wonder um

why this one ask for the board approval

is that because get involved into human

subject it like we are serving kind of

like IRB department school district.

It's the middle school social studies

teacher who has a

>> yeah grade seven social studies teacher

>> who based on our policy policy

>> it's just based on the policy

>> we always have to approve

>> so like uh for the few I know we added

in AP seminar and research uh if they

conduct study they will also ask for

approval too but that's different

>> this is a research project

>> it's for his his

uh

>> degree. Degree. Yeah. It's not it's not

a course. This is for the not for the

classroom. No. Okay. Gotcha. Okay.

Thanks.

>> In AP seminar is a course.

>> Yeah. Okay. This is for this teachers.

>> Correct.

>> Teacher.

>> Okay. Okay. Gotcha. Okay. Thank you.

>> And policy 3245. It's just all research

projects by staff members and our

formalities just to improve.

>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Now I get it. I got

confused with the classroom uh you know

research project.

I have a question at 2.4.

>> Okay.

>> Um I'm just I'm just wondering um we are

trying to approve some um COG 80 to this

identifies kids for gifted and talented

for 34,226.

I was wondering

did we have a program like this before

and now we are renewing that software or

whatever.

>> It's to Yes, we've been using it.

>> We've been using it. So now we are

renewing it for this year.

>> Yes.

>> Do we have to like it's kind of like a

brand store. We pay them annually for

the fee, right? To buy the license or

something like that

>> for the I would have to get back to you.

I don't know if it's annual. I would

assume it is, but I don't want to

misspeak.

>> We can research that and follow up with

you, but it's a program that we use,

practice.

>> Yeah, we we've been using

>> for a while. That's what I understand.

>> Well, the GT program, I think the one

that's one of the measurements they use

to uh identify the kids for the GT

program.

>> Correct.

>> Yep.

>> You have to renew it just I don't know

if it's

>> a license.

I'm just curious because these kind of

licenses we sometimes we buy for one

year, sometimes we buy for 3 years

because it's cheaper to buy 3 years,

right?

>> Um but then when it's expiring, do we

budget that for the year which is

expiring or it just comes up like this?

Did we budget this 34,000 in this year?

>> Of course.

>> Yes. Yes. So it's already budgeted.

>> This is remember it's not to exceed 34.

>> Okay. Different licenses expire at

different times. Not everything always

renews on September 1st or July 1st,

right?

>> Because it's expiring now. So, we buy

this now. Okay.

>> Any other questions?

>> Roll call, please. Mr. Jelly.

>> Okay. Dr. Dwine.

>> Uh, yes.

>> M.

>> Yes.

>> Mr. Spina.

>> Yes.

>> M. Harris.

>> Yes. Um, can I abstain 4.1 4.2 4.2? And

yes to everything else.

>> Yes. Yes sir.

>> Noted. Thank you.

>> Yes.

>> Mr. Todd.

>> Yes.

>> Thank you. Motion's carry.

>> Thank you.

New business from the public. The board

of education welcomes and encourages

input from the public. Members of the

public are allotted one opportunity to

bring any new business to the board for

up to maximum of three minutes per

speaker. All comments must be directed

to the board. Before you make your

comment, please state your full name and

address and enter both into the

Chromebook provided. Being mindful of

privacy rights regarding students, board

employees, and board members. And to

avoid any potential liability on the

part of the speaker, the board

discourages defamatory and discourteous

remarks. The public comment portions of

the meeting are not structured as

question and answer sessions. The board

may need to refer an issue to the

superintendent if the issue has not been

handled through the appropriate chain of

command, usually starting at the school

level. Responses may be provided at the

end of this session. Any comments from

the public?

Any comment from the public?

Last call. Any comment from the public?

Public comment. Session is now closed.

Any new items of discussion from the

board?

I have some questions. I was reading the

uh board member manual and said November

December we do district performance re

review and is that something for our

board to review or

>> so the district performance are you

referring to CUC?

>> Oh

either that or we just did the state

assessment performance assessment last

month. So we submit it to the state to

review and that's not something for the

board member you know with something

right

>> I I don't know what you're referring to

>> uh like the files everything you submit

to state they like open to the board to

review or no it's just submit to a state

>> no I mean from that handbook I don't

know what that is referring to it

>> seems like she's referring to CQ

>> like if that's for QAC I actually shared

that for the first time at Montgomery I

actually shared that with the board and

the board had to approve that we went

through a district uh performance review

process.

>> Oh, that's the process you

>> and then I submitted that to the

department of education before the

November 15th deadline and I actually

shared uh all the uh files with the

board in a spreadsheet. Is that

>> I think I don't think they will the

board will get to see what they have

submitted to this the the county

>> say if if the QAC needed a say personal

file or something like that that we

don't see that

>> I think they will submit that to county

and then the county will see that and

then they you know and they give the

grades

>> so we don't get to see the

class

>> I share the template basically because I

was asked to to give the board an idea

of what that goes on in the process and

what is review

>> and what board member Bernorggan said

that is an accurate assessment for what

the process is.

>> Thank you.

>> This thing

>> yeah that that question

>> and um I do have a question for um

lawyer too is um

So since uh I was talking a lot about

the um enrollment data and uh the number

of the students withdrawal and then uh

that one is actually school have to

report that through the school exit

withdrawal code uh via the NJSLDS

system. So if that's been submitted to

the state and uh and this request are

consistent with the NJSA

18A-

uh 36-9

and uh uh 18A

uh 11-1 which entitles member to assess

the records meaning for the governance.

So I wonder if if to align with that uh

statue like uh if board member request

that information um should school

provide that?

So just give you some background on the

request. The request is for a document

that was submitted to the state

>> through the portal NJ sleds like all of

the student data goes through there.

Confidential student data confidential

personnel file data certification NJ

sleds that's not a public document. It

goes right to the state.

Well, um I'd have to I'd have to look at

the the document itself to see what you

know when you you um at some point in

time is there a way to like reproduce

what was submitted.

>> The the one thing I'll add to that New

Jersey sleds is a data collection

software from the state just there are

various different reports for personnel

and student data that get uploaded to

it. So, I don't know what that statute

is off top of my head, but there's

various different ones like and I can't

speak to which ones are confidential and

which ones aren't, but there's many

different things. That's just like a

clearing house that holds the different

reports.

>> Yeah. I mean, I think I would have to

look to see if you can if there's So,

let me put it in the context of someone

making an Opra request. If that was

something that was accessible pursuant

to an OPAR request, then that same

document would be accessible to a board

member in the same manner, right? But if

that's something that's not accessible

pursuant to a request, unless there's a

matter before the board that someone

would be voting on and they needed they

need that information in order to to

vote, then it wouldn't be something

that's ordinarily accessible. But I'd

have to take a look because you can

potentially access as board members,

excuse me, confidential data if in fact

it's necessary for voting on something.

So, for example, if you're voting on a

personnel issue and there's something

that's part of that employees personnel

file that uh would normally be provided

um in the context of executive session

to a board member to review before

voting, that would be fine. But if

there's something before the board, then

it wouldn't necessarily be accessible.

Again, that's something that would be

subject to the open public records act.

So, I have to take a look at exactly

what that report looks like, but it may

be subject to access. So I I just don't

know what it looks like without I mean

in the grand scheme of things in the

concept yes it would potentially be

accessible but assuming that it's

otherwise accessible to the public

>> and also a lot of the student data

that's probably protected by Furba and a

lot of the personnel data that's

probably protected under personnel

procedures because you could identify

different personnel by the report and

that's confidential information.

>> I want to be explicit. This is just talk

about the number of the students

withdraws by the school exit withdrawal

code. It's not about any student ID.

Nothing at I identifiable level. It's

about number. So

>> email us the specific report that you're

referring to and we'll research it and

get back to you.

>> Email.

He's asking for a specific report that

you're referring to. You just ask for

raw data.

>> Email. We have to have that specific.

That's the student access withdrawal

code. That's the thing is we talked

about the number of students when they

withdraw and they have to fill in the

form. So our school collect that

information and this point just

literally want to know like last school

year how many students filled in that

form

>> and again what is the purpose of this

report

>> knowing about the information. So I can

say more about that

>> and just just let me clarify something.

So

>> there's nothing we're voting on.

>> So

>> right,

>> if this is not a report, this is data

that has to be collected by the

district, is the proper way for a board

member to make a motion for that for

that information and then be voted on by

the board.

>> So there's so there's two ways of doing

it. Number one is they could so if they

could if the majority of the board

believes that that's something that

should be collected and disseminated to

board members, then yes. So that would

be done by way of a motion. You can do

that. um separate apart from that if

it's the document that or if it's if if

you can generate a document. So just to

be clear under the open records act

normally you get access to records right

>> if you could create a record normally we

don't create records for open but if you

could create a record with a couple of

keystrokes right so say like print a

report for this um and it's literally

takes 10 seconds or 15 seconds to create

it yes that would be something that we

would have to quote unquote create right

there was a case about that I think it

was path versus I forget what school

district it was but um that would

potentially be subject to access. But

again, so long as the underlying

document that would be produced is

subject to access under Oprah, then

yeah, we could produce that. Um, but I I

just I don't know what's in there. I'd

have to see like for example, if that's

something that that you know your

business administrator can run that

report saying, okay, this is the

information that's being sought. Let me

see if I can run that report. If that

can be printed out, we can take a look

at that and say, oh, this is doesn't

identify any students. This doesn't

provide any information that's

confidential. Yes, we can produce it. If

that's not the case and there's no way

to kind of redact it in any meaningful

way, then maybe it's not so tax. I have

to take

>> May I just ask for clarification though

if it if it's just a number that you're

asking for in terms of can we not just I

mean we've seen the grid of how many

students were in nth grade. So can we

not just look at how many students are

in 10th grade and have a sense of who

left from 9th grade to 10th grade? No, I

think that in general just asking

general like last school year how many

students filled in the how many student

parents but legally guarded filled in

that information right it's not for the

whole school district that's it that's

what I was asking

>> I looked into I looked into you you keep

asking that I looked into some other

school boards agenda there is something

called a

>> withdrawal report okay and It's every

month it's done and then it is a part of

the agenda for the public and then it

does not give any information about the

student numbers or name nothing. It just

says that 11th grade student withdrew

and went to uh Princeton High School or

Princeton.

>> Does it actually tell you where they

went? Because

>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

>> Really? Because I I've seen these and

they usually do here. So it gives the

>> enrollment numbers and withdrawal

numbers.

>> Yeah. It it just gives the date and then

gives the grade and then it says reason.

In the reason it says say some other

school district and then it could say

withdraw GED that means

>> right

>> okay and then provided

>> you know like that. So this is a public

information. So I guess I don't know

whether you are requesting something

like this.

>> That's exactly. Yes.

>> Okay.

>> Yes.

>> Because I'm looking into other schools

like what they do and this is what I

have.

>> What district is that that you pulled

that from?

>> Prespons.

>> Do you have other examples as well since

>> I just looked at the sponsor because

it's

>> just curious.

>> Okay. So our board attorney said he will

look into what um our district has and

can provide.

>> That would be great. The only data that

I've ever seen is just the state code

that says withdrawn out of country,

withdrawn out of state, withdrawn to

another public school within the state,

which means the family

>> withdrawn to out of state.

>> Even that is great.

>> That's what we have in the system. That

may be that you

>> can talk about that.

>> That would be great.

>> Any other new items from the board?

>> Hearing none.

>> Um

>> Oh, sorry. Just one second.

>> Oh, sorry.

>> Yeah. So, I just want to reiterate what

Superintendent McGlaughlin said um

earlier in the meeting. I want to thank

you uh board member Ding, board member

Felak, and board member Lea Jernigan for

your service.

>> Board member D.

>> Thank you. If I may, one last time at

the mic. Um I just wanted to leave uh

with a couple of reflections. After

three years of serving on this amazing

board, um I wanted to share just a few

thoughts of what I believe to be true uh

after my experience. Uh number one is

that it is evident to me that excellence

is always the expectation at Montgomery.

That doesn't mean that everything is

excellent, but what I have observed and

witnessed point directly to the fact

that every person associated with

Montgomery strives for excellence.

Point number two, a high level of

questioning is the norm. Whether as a

full board on committees engaging with

the teachers, parents or community

community members, asking questions is

welcomed and appreciated. To me, it

seems like there is a misconception that

questions aren't being asked, and I

assure you that they are. At times, the

answers are not what we want to hear,

but again, the questions are being

asked. Having said that, I sincerely

hope that moving forward, all

questioning will stem from genuine

inquiry, hard data, and a desire to help

improve what is already a strong school

as opposed to questioning solely to

perpetuate opposition, conjecture,

argument, mistrust, or doubt.

Point number three, people move to

Montgomery for the school system. While

the modest tax increase was criticized

by some, it is critical to point out the

following. No one moves to Montgomery

expecting there to be low taxes to start

with. It is a given that our taxes are a

direct correlation to our excellent

school system.

And lastly,

it is essential for us to trust in the

expertise of our hired school

administrators, faculty, and staff.

Period. Full stop. Thank you to this

district. I feel humbled to have been

elected and entrusted with this

essential role. I wish the incoming

board members all the best as I know

that they will contribute great value to

this board. And to the current board

members, thank you for three

unforgettable years. It has been an

honor to serve alongside you. Thank you.

I also want to say something for the

three departing board members too. Um as

a new board member, I completed my first

year. I want to express my sincere

gratitude for the dedicated service and

meaningful contributions. Ania brought a

valuable county level perspective to the

board and made significant contributions

to policy committee. She also played a

key role in creating the new board

member manual uh leaving a lasting

resource that will guide both current

and future board members. Joanna

constantly shared her strong financial

expertise and was a step static best

advocate uh for student clubs helping

ensure student voices and interests were

reflected and Michelle made

contributions in the areas of student

counseling bringing care insight and

commitment to student well-being. Well,

I'm very grateful for their time,

leadership, and service, and I want to

thank them for their lasting impact they

have made on our school district and

community.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you, board member Wang. At this

time, I entertain a motion to adjourn.

So, moved.

>> Second.

>> It's been properly moved and second. All

those in favor say I. I.

>> All those post seem right. Thank you all

for coming out. Merry Christmas, happy

Hanukkah, happy holidays to everyone.

Getting home safe. See you next year.

And to our incoming board members,

>> get ready to work. See you January.

>> See you next month.