Board of Ed Discusses Ongoing HIB Policy Actions

Following the various activities that were done this week as part of the district’s ongoing efforts towards the state’s HIB (harassment, intimidation and bullying) policy, discussion amongst board members and administrators took place Wednesday night which included next steps as the district moves forward.

Board trustee Debra Bruno, who heads the policy committee, stated, “Although it’s a topic we wish we didn’t have to discuss, New Jersey is the forerunner in this. The whole country is looking at us for changes we’re making. Hopefully it will change the lives of children.”

Bruno explained that the state continues to revise the regulations and although this may be overwhelming at times as things are tweaked  along they are becoming more efficient in the process. The board created a timeline sheet to be used in incident investigations and changes were made to the HIB parent form which was done to make it easier to be completed.  

Board of education members will now also be trained on the policy, Bruno explained adding that some of the  members who are educators by profession, like herself, have already received the training, but one tends to learn more each time.

Dr. Mark Porto, superintendent of schools, told the audience that participation from parents and guardians is key to moving forward in the district’s efforts towards anti-bullying. He referred to the where teachers and administration were joined by borough officials, clergy members and others to discuss how this is a community wide effort to keep children safe.

He noted that parents were likely the smallest group there adding that the ones that were in attendance spoke brought up various questions and concerns all related to the issues discussed. Porto pointed out that when principals hear concerns directly from the parents themselves and not a third party such as himself it will benefit everyone. He urged parents to attend and asked them to remind their fellow community members and other parents to take part in these forums.

Porto said there will be another forum related to HIB in the coming months.

Many board members commented on the presentation which was given to students in grades 6 to 12 this week by , a father who shared his tale of the bullying events that led his son to commit suicide at the age of 13.  

Board President Josephine Ciocia said it was noted that many children were touched by Halligan’s story and she hopes that children will think before they say or do something that could hurt someone.