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East Brunswick Township School District board meeting, Oct 8, 2026

3 h 06 min · 16 public speakers

Safety, weapons and police ▶ 1:16:35

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 3 h 06 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Staff member says tabled Islamophobia training will happen this school year 40:07

  • Questions from the community were put to administrators, including on pilot revenue, laptop availability and parent-teacher conference scheduling. 4:02
  • A district staff member said the training on Islamophobia, which had been tabled, will happen this school year. 40:07
  • Motions carried on several agenda items, and a resolution of proclamation recognizing October 4th to 10th, 2026, as Fire Prevention Week was read. 49:56
  • Several speakers at public comment asked the board to bring the training back and to set a date for it. 1:51:21

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (15)
  1. Opening and closed session 0:14
    • The secretary called the roll and the presiding officer announced a quorum before the Pledge of Allegiance. 0:14
    • The presiding officer read a resolution to recess into closed session, estimated to last 1 hour. 2:06
  2. Question on tabled training item 3:02
    • A staff member said the PD was tabled because supporting materials were not available in time for the board to review them and make an informed decision. 3:24
    • The staff member said the district remained committed to doing the training this school year. 3:52
  3. Pilot revenue and township agreements 4:02
    • A district staff member said that under current law pilot agreements are between the township and the developer, and the district does not have a say in how that money is used. 5:15
    • A staff member said the township proposed building bathrooms and a concession stand at the high school stadium, and the district did not commit to anything. 7:00
    • A staff member said the district had received no pilot funds and that approximately 230 students come from pilot-funded developments. 10:14
  4. New high school cost estimates 15:09
    • A staff member said no bids had been obtained for the new high school and the district was not near the bidding stage. 15:28
    • The staff member said the architect's estimates are based on square footage calculations and the number of students. 15:28
    • A staff member said demolition and removal of materials from the 70-year-old building would have to be included in costs. 18:10
  5. Typing instruction and laptop availability 18:42
    • A staff member said grades 2 to 4 use a program called the Typing Club and that the district has 400 loaner devices, with laptops described as old and underpowered. 18:59
    • A staff member said device replacement funding was $700,000 a year several years ago and is down to $500,000. 24:05
    • Liwu Hong described being unable to make conference appointments for 3 children, and a staff member said the issue would be taken back to the team. 33:44
  6. Tabled training on Islamophobia revisited 34:43
    • Timothy Cummings sought confirmation that the district is committed to honoring the professional development. 35:34
    • A staff member said the training on Islamophobia will happen this school year and that the item will come back to the board, with materials submitted in advance, for approval. 39:45
    • One board member said the board's move at the last meeting was to buy time and that there was no nefarious intent. 45:40
  7. Fire Prevention Week and Principals Month resolutions 49:19
    • A resolution recognized October 4th to 10th, 2026, as Fire Prevention Week. 49:56
    • A resolution recognized October 2026 as National Principals Month. 53:54
    • The presiding officer announced that the motion to approve both resolutions carried. 49:19
  8. Superintendent's report 1:01:24
    • The superintendent said the school calendar survey is open until Wednesday, October 14th at noon and that 1,100 parents and 437 staff had responded. 1:08:31
    • The superintendent said parent-teacher conferences will take place Tuesday, October 20th through Friday, October 23rd, and shared a dashboard on state extraordinary aid. 1:09:26
    • Liwu Hong said the district is legally obligated to serve every student with an IEP and has no bargaining power with providers. 1:14:50
  9. HIB self-assessment and incident report 1:15:39
    • A staff member said the self-assessment measures whether the district follows required procedures, not the number of incidents. 1:19:43
    • A staff member said total incidents were 167 in '23-'24, 105 in '24-'25 and 110 last year. 1:31:49
    • The presiding officer opened a public hearing on the presentation and then closed that portion of the meeting. 1:47:46
  10. Public comment 1:47:46
    • Several speakers at public comment asked the board to bring back the training on Islamophobia and to give a date for it. 1:51:21
    • A speaker at public comment said the township should share more pilot money with the board, and another asked about an application for electric school buses. 2:09:32
    • After public comment, the presiding officer said the word Islamophobia was not on the last agenda and that the item was professional development for staff, not students. 2:30:35
  11. Board and business operations items 2:32:49
    • Antoinette Evola said item 5 was a donation of $5,434.03 from the Lawrence Book Elementary School PTA for a Gaga Pit and safety flooring. 2:33:18
    • The presiding officer announced that the Board of Education item and business and support operations items 1 through 6 carried. 2:32:59
  12. Curriculum field trip item 2:35:22
    • Laurie Herrick said the item would allow an AP class to travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with government officials. 2:35:55
    • A staff member said the application listed a total trip cost of $13,403, with $10,208 from a grant and $3,939 from the board, and later said the entire trip is funded by the grant. 2:37:12
    • The presiding officer announced that the motion carried. 2:39:21
  13. Human resources item 2:39:21
    • The presiding officer announced that the motion carried. 2:39:56
  14. Student services items 2:39:56
    • Laurie Herrick spoke about item 1, the nursing service plan, and the range of work school nurses do. 2:40:07
    • Liwu Hong said a figure in a school's nursing report appeared to be a typo, and a staff member said it would be reviewed and corrected if needed. 2:42:25
    • The presiding officer announced that the motion carried. 2:44:12
  15. Board reports and adjournment 2:44:15
    • Laurie Herrick said the Academic Affairs and Educational Outcomes Committee reviewed the gifted and talented program, called the Focus Program. 2:53:23
    • The presiding officer said board members and administrators met with the Department of Education about special education and that out-of-district placements had risen back up to 68. 2:58:26
    • The presiding officer said the high school committee will be a committee of the whole. 3:03:42

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “East Brunswick Board of Education Meeting - October 8, 2026”