President's Remarks

President's Remarks:

Good evening. Before we get into the public comment portion of tonight’s meeting, I’d like to take a moment to speak on some of the concerns that I think many in school community share, as well as the efforts that have been made to attempt to address them. I'd like to specifically recognize and commend the work of our Superintendent and the reopening committee and the countless hours they have devoted to formulate a district re-opening plan. I have been a part of many of those conversations that have started in the very early mornings and continued well into the night.

As a parent of school aged children in this District, I understand and share the anxiety of many parents when it comes to the re-opening of schools. I understand that no two families in this district look alike and we have all been faced with challenges beyond our wildest dreams. But with that understanding, I ask for your continued patience as we navigate this uncharted territory together. I also recognize that our District team has done its best when faced with the virtually impossible job of trying to balance the educational needs of our students with the safety and wellbeing of our entire school community in the midst of a still unchecked global pandemic.

That said, I also need to express my serious personal disappointment with the lack of consistent or practical federal or state guidance on these extremely important issues. Schools have frankly been left to entirely fend for themselves in an astonishing vacuum of leadership from Federal or State educational authorities. School officials and staff simply do not have the expertise or background to be able to adequately address all of the issues which are presented in such challenging scenarios. To that end, on the agenda tonight, we are proposing a resolution to implore the State of New Jersey to reconsider opening all schools until such time that the safety of all students and all staff throughout the State can be supported with clear and direct protocols issued, coupled with adequate funding to school districts to implement the necessary requirements.

As we head into Public Comment, please remember that public comment is your opportunity to provide comment to the board. It is our hope that you have taken the time to review the Superintendents Reopening Committee video and the Re-opening Website. Many of your questions may be answered there based on the information and guidance that is currently available. If you feel your concerns are not adequately represented, you are encouraged to submit them to the school district created reopening committee via email through the links on that site. Although this meeting was recently rescheduled by the Board of Education to this week despite Dr. O’Neil being out of town on a long scheduled family trip, I know that she has been responding to dozens of inquiries about the reopening proposals while she has been on vacation (despite several people asking her to wait until her vacation was over!).

I can assure you that, all of individuals who may make a comment tonight in this regard will be responded to by the Reopening Committee and the Superintendent after the meeting. In addition, some of these inquiries may also be used to update the reopening website for the benefit of the entire district. Again, we thank you for your patience as we all struggle to do our best to navigate through these unprecedented times.

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Swedesboro-Woolwich Board of Education respects, supports, and recognizes the significant work of the Swedesboro-Woolwich Reopening Committee which was supplied to the Swedesboro and Woolwich community via the reopening website on July 28, 2020;

WHEREAS, the Swedesboro-Woolwich Board of Education recognizes the school district has worked diligently to try to meet and exceed expectations to provide for the safety of our students and staff while also working toward the reopening of our schools in September 2020;

WHEREAS, the Swedesboro-Woolwich Board of Education further recognizes this near insurmountable task was primarily shifted to individual school districts, without the provision of additional financial or other resources do so or to cover the significant associated costs, including provide for adequate personal protective equipment, transportation, or technology needs;

WHEREAS, the Swedesboro-Woolwich Board of Education acknowledges that that the Road Back: Restart and Recovery Plan issued by Governor Murphy and the New Jersey Department of Education lacks very specific and clear health criteria and procedures, and relies too much on school district administration to engage in decisions of public health or decisions of a medical nature for which they are not degreed;

WHEREAS, this resolution urges the Governor and New Jersey Department of Education and other State agencies to reconsider opening all schools until such time that the safety of all students and all staff throughout the state of New Jersey can be supported with clear and direct protocols drafted and released by Department of Health, and school districts are provided with the funding to implement the necessary requirements;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Swedesboro – Woolwich Board of Education Board adopts and approves this resolution on July 29, 2020.