okay all right good evening everyone uh we'll open this um Apple Valley Unified School District regular meeting at five o'clock on December 8th 2022 and um with that I'll do uh I'll do roll call uh Dennis Bender here Christopher Nunez here Maria okpara here and Rick Rowley I'm here and I believe Wilson is on this way did you come through the door anybody's coming through the door no that's just the the police all right all right uh Dennis could lead us in the pledge sure will ready for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you Kayla we have any public comments pertaining to closed session we do not okay thank you so uh before we go into closed session I'd like to read the items that we will be discussing in closed session item one pupil Personnel expulsion cases exp 822 23.
sorry I kind of lost my voice so ignore that moving forward sorry moving forward to events boys soccer season their boys soccer season recap their record was 16 wins to two losses and one tie they were big they were big North conference Liberty Champions at Varsity aces in North jersey.com they were number two at the final Top 25 Poll at newjersey.com they were number 12 at the final poll on other news 70 Heroes and 70 Heroes and Cool Kids members had their first Middle School visit on November 30th the heroes from the high school visited the sixth grade sixth graders in both middle schools to give a lesson on resiliency advisors receive very good feedback from the teachers the CHS athletic Training Club is collecting new toys and books for the children at St Joe's Hospital also there is a HSA sponsored event at the high school tomorrow sorry tickets are five dollars join for a night join for a night to watch The Polar Express there will be many activities set up as well for the kids there will also be a visit from Santa tickets are to be registered and purchased in advance no tickets will be sold at the door please come and support the HSA have a happy holidays so yeah I hope you all have a happy happy holidays great job girls for keeping uh the community uh uh involved and knowledgeable about the the great things that are happening at CHS um also um if the public is not aware um each morning uh students put together with the um uh advisement from Mr makani the morning announcements and the morning announcements are I find them to be so uh knowledgeable and enjoyable and so if you don't have an opportunity to see them I see we have some of our morning announcement crew here um they are um on YouTube if you just put in CHS morning announcements and you'll be able to see all the back days take a look you'll learn a few things about CHS and really see the great job that's being done here for our students again under the leadership of Mr mccunney we thank you so if you have an opportunity to check it out please please do so okay we're gonna move on to uh public recognition sorry we're going to go down to number 13.
of governing board member of Dysart Unified School District number 89. according to the best of my abilities according to the best of my abilities so help me God thank you not this time now at this time I call forward Jennifer Drake and again before any officer enters upon the duties of office the officer shall take And subscribe to the following oath or affirmation I will read the oath of office in sections and then pause to allow you to repeat out loud the section just read I Jennifer Drake do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States at the Constitution laws of the State of Arizona I will support the United States Constitution and the Arizona state constitution that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same I bear truth to religion religious and the same and defend them against all enemies defend defend all enemies foreign and domestic foreign and domestic and that I will faithfully and partially discharge faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of the office of governing board member the duties of the office of governing board member the duties of the office of the governing board member for Dysart Unified School District number 89 Dysart School District number 989 according to the best of my abilities according to the best of my abilities so help me God congratulations congratulations [Applause] good evening at this time I'd like to call this regular meeting of the Dysart Unified School District governing board to order let the record reflect that all board members are present please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance okay we'll go ahead and start with our public hearing public hearing for fiscal year 2022 2023 expenditure budget revision Dr Dean Madam president members of the governing board members of cabinet and our community this evening Mr Hicks will present information regarding our budget revision required by law as part of the public hearing Mr Hicks foreign good evening good evening Madam president members of the board superintendent Dr Dean colleagues and community members I am before you to present our revised expenditure budget number two first of all you know that um I don't do all the work or maybe do know that I don't do all the work but there's a great team that works on all of this and they're led by Miss Mary Dallas spidel thank you very much and she has a great team and I just want to thank her and her team for continuing their great work and helping to make me look good um before I go through the presentation I'd just like to say a few remarks uh this revision is a little different than most um we are perfect with our projections but projecting this year we projected a little bit of growth but actually having a little bit of decline actually has a compounding effect and makes it feel a little bit different so I feel a little compelled to say a few more words budget revisions are mainly focused on the revenue side but obviously they include adjustments to the expenditure two the three main reasons why we have our budget revisions are one because we actually revise based on our actual carry forward after we finish our AFR which was done in October adjustments to the current year student count because we are current year funded in a lot of funds and formulas but then also adjustments to the previous year funding which we have some of our funding formulas and streams are also predicated upon our previous year funding amount all three of those occurred in this revision and as a board you're fully aware that we're constantly battling the inflation pressures the supply chain challenges and the labor issues just in general that are putting pressures on our budget our process and its basic form that we've been using for over a decade begins about seven months before the year begins we use demographic reports projections current year data we apply our staffing ratios we then have projected Staffing numbers our staff is roughly about 80 percent of our m o budget and if you include Outsourcing it's probably closer to 85 percent once our staffing is set we don't forget about it and as superintendent Dr Dean says as good teachers do we always Monitor and adjust and that's what we do out throughout the whole year I can't say that there's been a week that we don't look at our enrollment numbers and our staffing every single week in cabinet as we're going through the year the adopted budget included contingent positions so we did have growth in there we put some contingent positions so these positions were eliminated we then looked at our staffing based on our class size guidelines and it was clear that we had some excess positions and they were vacant so we worked with the principals Dr Poling and such work with our principals talking with them and then where appropriate we eliminated those excess positions so as the board knows superintendent Dr Dean also had HR freeze some positions at the district level to also guard against some of the inflation and also some reductions in our enrollment so although we are here to revise our budget and I'll be going through the numbers I just wanted to let you know that we're constantly looking at it we're constantly trying to address discussing enrollment discussing staff discussing Staffing and that during all of these I know I've said we've eliminated some vacant positions and froze some no staff lost their job during this process um this occurred in our MMO budget and we have a very defined process that includes our staffing ratios and which we use when we're growing and we use when we're shrinking so it's a both sides of it on the front end we collaborate through an IBA process in a worst case scenario we will use some of our carry forward to cover any of those current year shortfalls I look at a process as at one that at the very minimum will self-correct every single year because we re-look at all the Staffing and really build all of that on a year-to-year basis we do try to address issues before they become uh and so they don't snowball all the way to the year and we make a pro appropriate adjustments as I mentioned with the vacancies of cutting some of those excess staff and the contingent positions we handle that I know there's been some articles and some other stories about some of the other districts and the shortfall issues that they've had I guess in a very long-winded way I'm saying we don't have that situation here because of our process and how we work on things and how we constantly look at Monitor and adjust so with that little long-winded explanation to say we're doing a pretty good job I will go through our budget so uh as Dr Dean said it is required by law so we did receive a letter by November 1st from Ade advising us that we're required to revise our budget doesn't always happen and when your numbers are going up they do not require it when your numbers go down they do required and as I've always said as we have a a budget revision we're required to have a public hearing and here I am so we'll go through the mno quickly just in general you can see this is uh representative of about 2.7 2.8 million dollar reduction of which about 20 don't know if it's 25 or 28 positions that we did eliminate that were vacant to cover most of it and we made the appropriate revisions downward in the budget on the expenditure side for the revised budget and you can see a couple have gone up we are actually still continuing to grow in our special ed population and so those expenditures reflect that are capital funds um in general they're going up the unrestricted Capital just a very minor adjustment from actual carry forward going over uh into this year so there was a small seven thousand dollar increase in that one the building renewal grant that is the Arizona school facilities oversight board the azs fob and although it's up to 3 million here you see additional approvals that the board continues to approve as we continue to submit our recommendations and our applications to the board I believe this week alone we received two additional ones that are in excess of nine million dollars so this will probably at our next budget revision be upwards of 13 14 million dollars hopefully the state doesn't run out of money but once again that's a positive thing that the state is covering it and not relying on our local budget to have to cover that classroom site funds once again this is adjustment from our carry forward from actual because when we're putting together our budget in the summer it's using projected and so this is just tying up and as we always said unspent money in classroom site fund stays in actual and classroom siphon this will be caught as this little increase will be caught for our projections when we make them we get our numbers in March so we put them together in April and this will be included in that special project funds is the biggest dominating one is our federal this is where your Esser funds are but we also have our title funds I IDE funds and a few other federal grants in there um that is going up for our projected of what we're planning on spending or hoping to spend not all of it comes to fruition as we have timing and Supply chains and other issues uh but we're working on that uh state grants uh slightly going up I believe this is a projection of our results-based funding going up a little bit so that includes it Food Service looking to Hold Steady as always we put all of our information for more detailed information that can get the actual Budget on our website they also can look and see how to contact me or my department and I would gladly talk to anybody about it before we go to questions I also just wanted to pull up the rainbow report I know sometimes I go quickly through it and don't really talk too much about it um really this is just a reminder this is just a 30 000 foot view of looking at multiple funds and not just looking at one page in there and then in the bottom half of it I'd pull in the auditor general data that we have historically and then also what we're projecting uh for us to be the biggest takeaway um first if you look over you could see Transportation other areas growing faster than other categories that is by Design other includes some of the construction and other modifications which we've been doing our safety enhancements and modifications facility improvements and also our buses that we're purchasing and so we've been making a more concerted effort to purchase more so that number is going up and then if you look at the estimated auditor general calculation probably the biggest calc takeaway that I see from there is if you're looking at our administrative costs continue to stay in line and below the state average and as well projected to be below the peer average as well so we continue to monitor what our administrative costs are to make sure that we're in line with where we should be and not overspending in that area and so that is the end of the presentation we could pause for a second in case we have anybody from the public that would like to say a few words um in the action item of our agenda I will have nothing additional to say at this point so I'll stand for any questions or comments or for the public thank you this time anybody who would like to um pose any questions is welcome to come up to the podium thank you very much not hearing any we'll go continue on with uh the regular meeting and that's moving to item C recognitions and celebrations Dr Dean Madam president members of the governing board members of cabinet and our community this evening we are pleased to recognize athletic accomplishments from the high school fall season and I'm going to turn that over to Dr crota thank you Dr Dean Madam president members of the board superintendent Dean cabinet and guest uh it is my privilege tonight um an honor to recognize our regional and sectional Champions along with our coach of the year and our division uh gold division winner in the state tournament in badmin so if I could have the governing board Dr Dean come down for some pictures I'm going to introduce the teams and have them come up and take pictures with you and we can give them a round of applause foreign all right first up we'd like to invite our Southwest sectional champions for boys Golf and Shadow Ridge and Coach Scott list come on up please [Applause] congratulations relations congratulations hey blue shoes still out of score what do you shoot what's your hand again all right I would rather race I look here all right another round of applause for Shadow Ridge congratulations moving on tonight our 5A Northwest region Champions and football Willow Canyon come on up Willow Canyon is also coached by head coach Justin stangler so congratulations thank you [Music] um congratulations all right moving on to more Regional championships our Valley Vista football team our 6A West Valley region Champions Valley Vista come on up the head coach for Valley Vista is Mr Derek wallstrom so congratulations like this All Right Moving On Again in our regional Champions we'd like to uh invite up Valley Vista girls volleyball who were the 6A West Valley region champions Valley Vista is coached by Mr David Chavez good job coach foreign [Laughter] all right the awesome thing is you will remember that forever congratulations oh next up we have uh will Canyon High School unified badminton Partners Nevin Joyce and Tim kaxer who won the gold division in the state tournament and their head coach Kendra Melby so come on up congratulations [Applause] and Coach Christine cook so congratulations [Applause] all right and moving on we have some uh Regional and sectional coaches of the year in our district so first we want to uh welcome back up uh coach Justin stengler uh the 5A Northwest region Coach of the Year coach stengler [Applause] to join coach stangler we have uh coach Derek wallstrom who was the 6A West Valley region coach of the year foreign coach David Chavez who was the 6A West Valley region coach of the year come on up [Applause] and again a round of applause for all our recipients tonight congratulations and that concludes our presentation thank you I got soap all over myself all right next we will move on to uh section D addresses the governing board audience with individuals Ms chef this is the time for the public to comment members of the board may not discuss items that are not specifically identified on the agenda pursuant to ars-38-431.01 action taken as a result of public comment will be limited to directing staff to study the matter responding to any criticism or scheduling the matter for further consideration and decision at a later date in order to facilitate accomplishing the business of the district in a timely manner a time limit of three minutes will be imposed for each individual or group addressing the board when you approach the podium please state your name for the record we have two public comments that are agenda item specific so we will save those when we for when we get to that agenda item we have Miss marsley Marcy Hessler Madam president president governing board members members of cabinet thank you tonight for allowing me to speak I'm Marcie Hessler and my purpose for being here tonight is to publicly thank Tracy Sawyer sync bell for an incredible decade plus of service that has just been with a lot of love a lot of care and just always having the community our students our staff and everyone around you in mind and you have done so with so much grace so much dignity and um I don't know nothing rattles you and I wish I could get some of that skill um but you've just been amazing and it has been an honor and I am so humbled to have been able to work with you in all these years that we've been together here in Dysart and happy retirement I know that you're going to fill your time with other opportunities um to serve the public and serve our community and like I said I am just amazed and and you are the epitome of a class act and a role model for all board members across this nation to follow so thank you from the bottom of my heart and I'm very honored to now call you friend have a good night and happy retirement [Applause] thank you we next have Andrew simik good evening members of the board uh staff and superintendent Dean my name is Andy simic and I'm here to thank Tracy Sawyer sink Bell for her service Tracy Sawyer sink Bell has been a pillar of the Dysart Community since she assumed office in 2011.
he has served as president five separate times invited with 10 years Mr Lewandowski is a long time member of the community and public education is an integral part of his family both he and his wife Judy are retired School teachers their three children have been public school teachers two have taught the Marana Unified School District their grandchildren have also attended Moran schools Mr Lewandowski spent his 24 years on the board advocating for students for parents and staff of the district as a part of a five-member governing board he has also had to make difficult decisions when it came to the district's budget boundary changes policies school closures and of course the kobit 19 pandemic through all the years and the issues that he has faced he has worked collaboratively with other board members the district Administration staff and parents to ensure that our students receive the best educational opportunities Mr Lewandowski has said that every child deserves to have the strongest Educational Foundation possible to cement their success later in life and for that reasons his decisions were always based on the best interest of students and staff the Marana Unified School District will truly miss Mr lewandowski's leadership his vision and his guidance on behalf of the governing board and the district I would like to present to you with this engraved clock cheese [Applause] foreign thank you [Applause] okay the next item is item e for communications so anybody well I'm just just a word or two but I promise I want one minute is a long speech for Lewandowski as you know so I just I you know I want to thank the district and thank all of you for being able to serve I mean this is it's it's very humbling actually to go through something like this and I've enjoyed even the hard times I mean we've had some good times and some rough times over the years and uh but you know I'll never stop advocating for children if I'm not on the board so but thank you all very much and thank the district appreciate it [Applause] next item is item F remotes from the public so we're going to start with Catherine macronas thank you very much Mr Lewandowski I want to thank you for your years of service to our community and School District you are a rarity of intelligence compassion and empathy it is an honor and privilege to fill your seat for the next four years and I look forward to your continued support may your retirement be filled with lots of love and laughter as you have make new memories with your family enjoy your time [Applause] thank you good evening president Lopez members of the governing board Dr Streeter senior staff and community members tonight I am speaking on behalf of the Marana Education Association to say thank you to vice president Lewandowski Mr Lewandowski has been a steadfast advocate for students and Educators as a board member Marana for more than two decades in that time he has made himself available and approachable to Educators and Marana families listening with a compassionate ear and speaking with a powerful voice on behalf of this community he is the embodiment of dignity and strength it has been an honor to stand beside you in some very difficult times over the last four years from the walk out to the pandemic you were a source of strength and courage and we are grateful for your leadership faces behind me are here to join me in celebration of your service to our community and friendship to Marana Education Association and all educators on behalf of the Marana Education Association thank you and we look forward to your continued advocacy because we know that the heart of an educator doesn't end when the job ends and that you will continue to impact us all Beyond Your Role on the board we have a little um plaque to honor you so if you could join us for just a second and quickly if you would let me if the teachers would come up really quickly too and just take a super fast picture I think I have a minute left I don't know apologize [Applause] foreign thank you to the teachers my staff I it's been a long time since I've been in a classroom but I know the job is not getting any easier and appreciate everything that the teaching staff does and all of the staff does for the kids so so thank you very much thank you Megan Brown basketball good evening governing board members president Lopez members of senior staff and audience um I'm Megan Brown I'm also here to recognize Mr Liu thank you so much for serving on the board um for those who don't know I've taught in very specialized positions and um you are the only board member to have made it into my room in each position I've taught in and I think that that speaks volumes and as Educators we appreciate that so much because you do come in you see what the world is like and you can walk alongside of us like we said um you also humanize the board which helps us feel like we have a champion when we come to these events so thank you and um thank you for your continued support for students and Educators and like we've echoed before you know your job's not done but enjoy time with your family thank you thank you students Sandy Park good evening president Lopez vice president Lewandowski members of the governing board senior staff and Community I am here tonight as many roles many hats uh first and foremost Mr Lewandowski as a community member and a staff member in Marana this is a thankless job sometimes and you have done it with Grace and dignity and we appreciate that secondly as an ESS educator um something that I think that we've always connected on near and dear to our hearts I appreciate your voice for our our best population actually so thank you for that um and as a leader in mea for eight years um definitely in good times and in bad I always appreciated you and your willingness to put the needs of students and staff first and I know as everybody has echoed that your work is not done but I appreciate you so much and the kindness and Grace that you have enacted in your position as a governing board member and we will miss you very much so thank you thank you [Applause] Ellie good evening Dr Lopez vice president Lewandowski members of the board senior Staffing Community I am also taking a moment to thank Mr Lewandowski uh when I first became so I'm a Miranda I'm a Miranda cage well grad um Lewandowski is like a name that we know right uh when I first started teaching in the district uh I was terrified of the board and of uh I was like oh my gosh these people are like intimidating like I am but a wee baby and I don't know what I'm doing and one of the first interactions I had with a board member was actually with you Mr Lewandowski and I remember walking away and being like Oh my goodness like I like of course he's a teacher like it just you have such a warmth and Vibrance to you you really have humanized the board but you've also always worked for the best interest of our students our community and our teachers uh I've never walked away from even hard decisions where I have felt like you were not behind us and really considering all stakeholders my sons go to Twin Peaks and I think a year ago when my kiddo was in first grade he reported back that he had seen uh he had seen two famous people they were board members um and Dr Streeter and although you guys will never be as famous as Dr Mandel who he is obsessed with he was like Mr Lewandowski Mr wuen wowski I believe uh like Mike Wazowski that was how he connected um he said that he was like a Santa or a grandpa and I was like you know that is a really good way to describe Mr Lewandowski um you know those are big big shoes to fill um and I'm really glad that you're gonna have the opportunity to spend some more time with your family but you're always welcome here we're always happy to have you in our classrooms and we thank you so much for all of your support thank you [Applause] because it's gonna make me cry and I haven't even talked about like um item G superintendent comments Dr Streeter Dr Lopez governing board members members of our audience uh this morning I was able to start my day with uh Santa Grandpa with uh Mr Lewandowski as well as Dr dumler uh miss Lynn Salata Estes principal Colleen Fredericks and members of our El teacher team at the office of English language acquisition Services conference which I think we were there with uh close to about a thousand of our closest friends from around the State of Arizona but we were there to celebrate our very own Ms Regina Lewandowski as the 2022 El teacher of the year for the State of Arizona [Applause] so congratulations I look forward to a formal recognition of the future board meeting you have to come back um also yesterday uh Grand Canyon University joined us at our collaborative team meetings where they recognized Butterfield Elementary principal Mr Josh Bain as the Arizona principal of the month so this is our second recognition from the Grand Canyon University in the past two years recognizing or principles so congratulations to Mr Bain also at our last board meeting we were waiting for uh the final election results and so tonight I am pleased to congratulate uh Mr Tom Carlson who was elected to serve another term on the musd governing board congratulations Carlson [Applause] and as well as congratulate Mrs Catherine macronas who is joining us in the audience tonight who will be getting her governing board term at our January meeting so congratulations [Applause] uh both Mr Carlson and Mrs macronas will be sworn in officially sworn in at the January meeting also uh during that time we were waiting for some more election results uh and I can tell you that after spending the last couple of years speaking with hundreds of students staff parents and community members regarding what the immediate and future uh Capital needs of the district were and and really after our governing board was able to find a solution that combined using our current budgetary dollars State Grant application funding as well as proposing a ballot initiative that was Proposition 491 in order to meet all of our Capital needs I am pleased to announce that the mut School Improvement Bond proposition 491 has passed foreign so the success of this initiative provides us with resources that will allow us to address immediate long-term needs in the district this includes implementing campus specific improvements that ensure our students have access to exceptional experiences in our classrooms updated Fine Arts facilities and athletic fields security remains a key priority and we will be able to proceed with physical and technological improvements that enhance safety and strengthen Communications on our school campuses with our law enforcement Partners additionally we will begin planning the future K-8 school in the Gladden Farms 2 subdivision while identifying ways to expand some capacity at our other campuses to address the increased student enrollment that we're experiencing across the district and then finally we will begin addressing our transportation Fleet through the purchase of some fuel-efficient buses and vans I am grateful for the continued support from our community and I want to extend my sincere appreciation to our community members I also want to extend a huge thank you to the musd citizens committee to our governing board members and the many volunteers that put in the countless hours educating our community on what pop 491 is and I would be remiss if I did not single out and acknowledge the tremendous efforts of our teachers and staff who spent countless evenings and weekends knocking on doors and sharing proposition 491 information without question this is the most staff engagement that we have experienced in any election cycle that led to the passage of a bond during what can best be described as a difficult economic time so thank you to our staff teachers and staff I look forward to implementing these critical projects with you and supporting you as we prepare our students for the future and this concludes my comments for tonight thank you agenda okay I would move the governing board approve the consent agenda as presented second unfinished business there is none so we're going to move to item J new business Mr contorno thank you the State of Arizona allows governing boards to revise their expenditure budget for um to reflect previous years actual carry forwards prior year expenditures updates in student enrollment and interest earnings these were mere estimates and when this board was adopted in July the district will bring a final revision for approval before the May 15th deadline um that revision will finalize the student enrollment numbers and at this time the most impactful Factor affecting this revision was the estimate and current year 100th day average daily membership so student count the district has seen an unweighted an increase in enrollment of about 225 students we have to recall we actually built the budget with some of that anticipated so that this is this is not all new growth or unanticipated growth um also that there was a group b add-on weighting which is our sped population and also this year um a new one poverty and gifted and those numbers became public or presented by the state since July and and I was able to put down the actual numbers the all these are positive impacts that and they're reflected in the revision too which is in your packet the major impact of this revision is an increase of about one point just under 1.2 million dollars in mno in a in an increase in capital or District additional assistance of about 1.1 million or just above 1.1 million I ask that you consider approving the the 202-22-23 School District the annual expenditure budget as revision number two and I will submit it to the state if approved okay I would move the governing board approve the 2022-2023 school district annual expenditure budget revision number two second is there any questions yeah I have a quick question um well kind of this is more into Dr Streeter but what are we going to do with the AEL um excuse me considering that it still has not been lifted foreign yeah actually that's a it's a great question I think it's a really important point that that folks need to be aware of is that the overriding of the aggregate expenditure limit still has not taken place um and what needs to happen is the state legislature uh either needs to call an emergency session to override that limit so that we can spend funds that have already been provided to us by the state per state formula or in this next legislative session prior to March 1st uh this legislature will have to pass uh the overriding of that limit what's what's important to note here is if this doesn't happen by March 1st the district will be required to return over 19 million dollars so if you think that that's almost 20 percent of our budget will have to be returned with just 25 of the school year left um it's going to have you know I I don't want to be an alarmist it will have catastrophic impacts on our district so we do need the legislature to override that limit so that we can't expend the funds that have already been provided to us uh to the point on approving you're you're approving tonight's revision as is um and again Mr contorno will come back throughout the year with various revisions to the budget as we as we go through enrollment um if if AE if the aggregate expansion limit wasn't overridden there would be a significant uh revision to our budget great question it's an impact that's looming out there for all school districts thank you all right all those in favor aye aye next item is J2 discussion approval of policy considerations Dr Dublin uh yes thank you um president Lopez members of the board Dr Streeter and members of the community I have two policy revisions tonight both of these are being revised based on recommendations from asba and they are a result of laws passed in the last legislative session the first policy IMD School ceremonies and observances made changes to the requirements for the daily moment of silence in schools the law now requires that school districts set aside at least one minute but no more than two minutes at the beginning of each day and it does specific say that teachers may not tell children what to meditate on but parents should be should be encouraged to tell their children how to use the moment of silence the second policy jlcc communicable and infectious diseases comes from House Bill 2616 which states that school districts may not require a minor to wear a face covering without parental or Guardian consent and so this policy was amended to reflect this change okay thank you can I have a motion okay I move the governing board approve revisions to policy IMD School ceremonies and observances and policy jlcc communicable infectious diseases second any questions all those in favor aye aye next item is j3 discussion approval of the new High School courses proposals Miss Reedy good evening president Lopez for the last time vice president Lewandowski governing board members Dr Streeter members of senior staff and our in-person audience tonight I am bringing forward some High School courses for your consideration of approval we are wanting to expand our efforts to in our collaborative efforts with Pima Community College to increase our dual enrollment offerings in must and so this evening we are bringing forward multiple courses from Pima that would be dual enrollment courses that would be taught by musd teachers that meet the credentials to teach dual enrollment courses as uh designated by The Higher Learning commission so these classes include college success and career planning personal finance Spanish 102 introduction to politics introductory statistics and Topics in college mathematics Financial algebra and statistics in addition we're also bringing several courses that have been written and developed by musd teachers uh those include Financial algebra and statistics we're really taking the year-long course of financial algebra and the year-long courses statistics and combining it in order to increase the liver the um the rigor in our fourth year Math course uh Japanese one two and three four as well as the foundations of Criminal Justice would and that would be an introductory uh CTE course for our criminal justice programs all of these courses have been approved by the district's High School instructional leadership team and we're excited to bring them to musd okay I move the governing board approve new High School courses courses proposal as presented second all those in favor I'm sorry go ahead so um on the the intro to politics class so who's developing the lesson plans for that so Pima Community College provides us with the scope and sequence but it would be musd teachers that would devise the day-to-day lesson plans for the course okay hang on okay and so then so then how are we going to be sure that that um that we don't have things like you know the glorification of Communism or anything like that sure is part of this so because these courses are being taught by musd teachers they would be they would fall under all of the policies in must regarding curriculum and so they would be held to that same standard okay thank you I have a quick question really fast um where are these being taught at both high schools or specifically one so it's a it's a combination and so we want to offer these we would love to offer these courses at both high schools uh here's an example we don't have somebody certified to teach Japanese who uh currently working at both campuses we do have a teacher at Marana High School currently teaching English that is certified to teach Japanese but those folks don't come around quite often and so we would want to make sure that we are offering that opportunity uh to the students at Marana High School if we choose to go ahead and put that in the course description book and so it's really based on certification and credentials as mentioned all teachers for the dual enrollment courses would have to meet the credentials for the higher learning commission and we're currently serving our high school teachers to find out who may be certified and or who would like to engage in continued coursework in order to become qualified to teach those courses and so if we can offer the dual enrollment we're going to work to do so and to the extent possible we would like to have balanced courses at both campuses but Criminal Justice that criminal that program is really only offered on one of our high school campuses so this can be my next question yes find a CT teacher that is certified yes yes sir so are these these classes taught during the day or in the evening all of these would be we're part of the satellite for this for the CTE portion we're a part of the satellite program so all of these would take place during the school day on on musd high school campuses thank you all right all those in favor next item is j4 conduct an executive session can I have a motion okay I move the governing board conduct an executive session pursuant to ARS 3843103a1 Personnel relating to superintendent's evaluation all those in favor aye at this time we are going to have an executive session just the board so I just want to thank everyone for coming we will come back after we are done so I don't know if you guys want to stay here there's no new business yeah we're done for the evening but I just want to thank everybody for being here supporting John he's definitely going to be missed but we we have his phone number so yeah yes so everybody have a good night thank you thank you all very much
Kaiser leaking walked up here [Music] [Applause] two points awarded to Kaiser for Jennings County Kaiser looking to pin here get some flipped around [Applause] pin now what constitutes a pin in wrestling so I'm not sure uh shoulder blade touching the ground and the ref counts three all right so Kaisers wore the win uh six points to Jennings County two points for me that'll be Owens first to loss on the season he is two and one the team's record greensburg's record they are right now is one in five they're one and five right now so Jennings County is seven and four let's look to make that two and five yeah so that'll do it for the one and only JV match tonight up next we got varsity now do they go by weight class uh they go from one point yeah 170 I think one wrestler I'm looking forward to watching is Landon Shepard yes chef dog Chef dog might be little but he is is very Mighty yes he is five and one on the season wow he don't lose well except the one time yeah the guys probably got lucky Greensburg forfeits 170 weight class for 182 pounds from Jeffers County Robert English will be taking a forfeit another fourth fifth in Greensburg [Applause] [Music] here we go will Cunningham 220 pounds from Japanese exceptional forfeit already three four fitting we need some more we need some more wrestlers out here man [Music] eisert Tower Robert Eiser and Cameron [Applause] Carney Cameron Carney [Music] Smith [Music] Tristan didn't Logan Pike and Tristan James [Music] Justin made it pretty far in the tournament didn't he last year uh yes I think so 126 pounds Chef dog [Applause] [Music] this is what I like to watch oh yeah Preston mayor watching Preston he gets very athletic [Applause] coma he is in my history class John Pratt Connor Campbell he is in my history class cool dude [Music] slavey play JV linebacker for Greensburg this year [Music] Dante Dante's a menace Dante is you should have seen how much he was running today the slim Reaper [Music] he does run a lot [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] one two three Jennings County takes four fit score is 12-0 right now not great two forfeits from Greensburg um looks like will is going to be wrestling Sam Hernandez they're locked up here interesting match should be Will's got some leverage on top here looks like he's got willing to headlock here no points low man wins we'll get down there Gotta Get Low no points will gets around two points awarded one Escape Point awarded to Jennings County score is uh Greensburg two Jennings County one little shoots Jennings County's finished brawl here two points to James County one point for an escape and he's ready to move from will yep tied up here slippery will two points to Jennings County scores 5-3 end of the period score Jennings County five Greensburg three will is in the down position will can't seem to escape here one point awarded a Greensburg for the Escape score is Greensburg four Jennings County five Will's looking to get back in this match here videos still locked up here about a minute remaining [Music] foreign to Greensburg for a takedown score is Greensburg six Jennings County five let's look at the pin here will he get it oh still with the takedown three points three points given to Will score is nine to five period two about 15 seconds left Jennings County is awarded one point for the Escape end of the period score is Greensburg nine Jennings County six a nice second period from slippery will got him it's indeed he got he got five points out of that yep Phoenix county is given one point for an escape scores Greensburg nine Jennings County seven both looking to get the advantage here they're locked up wheel goes to move around doesn't work about a minute 40 left [Music] stop will sprawls here Jennings County is not going to get that single leg still walking up here both seeking to just get around two points Greensburg for a takedown one point to Jennings County for the Escape still locked up here 40 seconds left in the match [Music] [Applause] no points 20 seconds left at this point Jennings County is looking for a pin [Music] still no points here five seconds left four three two one over the match the well cuttingham is going to win that slippery will slippery will so that means he moves on yes to six and one on the season that's a pretty good record and here's another another forfeit for Jennings County that'll give them a forfeits is it six points yeah this I don't know then you look at their keep score here 's eisert Tower Robert Eiser versus um it would be Cameron Carney heavyweight match yes interested to see Robert wrestle here I've never seen him rest before but from what I hear he's fairly good Robert is currently 5-1 on the season a lot of contact up high yes break his opponent down here still locked up I think Robert's got the height and the length Advantage here yep it's about six foot three what is he 285 no he's wrestling is 285 285 weight class I would say Robert's probably too much 65 270 to 260 to 270.
stip 12223 and annual reviews AR 322 23 and AR number four 22 23. item two conferenced on litigation government code section [Music] 549-56.9 subsection a current litigation seven cases civds excuse me one nine zero seven one seven two two zero one one one eight three two zero two two nine five six two two or correction 202-3366 in Civ sb211303 two two zero eight zero one nine two two zero seven three zero zero government code section 54954.5 subsection C 54956.9 subsection D and E1 anticipated litigation for cases 2021 correction 2020 21 05 2021 slash 2021-22 13 and finally 2022 2303 item three Public Employee discipline dismissal release reassignment transfer leave title certificated and classified employees item four public employees appointment resignation retirement reduction title certificated and classified employees item five conference with labor negotiator agency negotiator Dustin Conrad employee organization Apple Valley Unified teachers Association item six conference negotiator agency negotiator Dustin Conrad employee organization California School Employees Association item seven conference with real property negotiator government code 549 five six point eight in negotiation parties will be Matthew schulenberg Apple Valley Unified School District and with that we'll have a motion to go into close second all in favor aye any opposed hearing none that would be the order so at um 503 we will be going in a closed session and we will come back into public session um no earlier than 7 pm thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you okay all right well everyone welcome to the regular meeting for the Apple Valley School District Board of Trustees meeting and today is December 8th and it is 7 pm so I just called the meeting to order so the first thing up is going to be Yucca Loma I'm going to call out each individual student who's going to speak you guys are all ready with your mics up there so first up and in this in this order you guys can start heading up Armani Williams Isabel Rojas Zoe Padilla mahela Hussain is a husing and Elijah Hernandez floor so you guys are up and okay the floor is yours good evening board members superintendent Nelson and assistant superintendents my name is Isabel and these are my fellow council members we are student council representatives for yakaloma elementary we are honored and excited to share with you tonight all the wonderful and amazing things happening on our campus foreign [Music] in the air as we were welcomed back by the teachers staff and administrators our population has grown from 620 students to 690 students this year Mr Clark loves that we are growing because he stays more kids get to experience the great things happening at yokoloma the beginning of the school year um started with Liberty donating ten thousand dollars to our sustainable prom project this included a refurbishment of the pond Roma Garden decomposed ground around the pond the pond houses koi fish and the food poo frogs the pond is connected to Aroma Garden so the plants are watered from the pond water during spring will start our next phage with phase which is to hop the pollen water UK a vegetable garden when it warms up again teacher will be able to take classes out there for lunch reading and habitat studies or Kinder had their teddy bear picnic and parade where they walked around the campus show off their fairy Teddy they were really cute and felt like celebrities as the other Christians stood on the ramps waiting to them as they passed by oh God next we would like to share with you all the clubs students have opportunities to participate in we had football in which 63rd through 6th graders learned the rules and some skills of the game at the end of this session Mr Bradley Mr Forbes and Mr Vig put on flag football scrimmage for parents to watch oh Mr Lopez our music teacher had the band kids out there playing songs there in the game it was a great time soccer session is still going and we'll have a game sometime in December before break additionally we had a hiking Club where we got to go on Journeys with 80 other students along with many teachers and staff members we hiked around Bell Mountain Horseman Center and up Bell Mountain our big hike was to Cougar Crest in Big Bear Mr Conrad and Mr slasher even came to help and support and help us on the hike foreign we also have kindergarten stem clubs Art Club Sarah makes clubs crafting clubs robotics Esports puzzle clubs Pep Squad and reading club that is still in session our after school program is still going strong we look forward to the next half of the school year as we will bring back our father-daughter dance mother Sundance and hopefully a few family movie Nights we welcome all of you to visit yakaloma to see all the great things happening on our campus if you come on Friday you will get to hear Mr Clark tell a few dad jokes he's getting better and playing music trivia for our staff over the intercom thank you for your time and attention and most importantly you did a great day [Applause] well thank you ladies and gentlemen you did very well I think we got a couple of really great public speakers in the wings there so keep it up good job up next is Marina um Marianna Academy Kaylee rice and uh Abigail Wilson foreign gifts I like that thank you good evening Mrs Nelson members of the board faculty family and guests my name is Kaylee rice I am an 8th grade student at Mariana Academy hello my name is Abigail Olson I am a seventh grade student at Mariana Academy we are here this evening to share some exciting things that happened so far during the 2022-2023 school year and to provide a glimpse into the months ahead of Mariana Academy our calendar is packed with learning inside and outside of the classroom let's flash back to August and September of 2022.
on the agenda we're going to do um Miss uh Jessica Trimble as a presentation for us I didn't see it over here [Music] okay good evening president Smith vice president daily Commissioners Dr robertozzi and Central Administration I stand before you tonight to share the success of activities and donations for hunger and homelessness Awareness Week during the week of November 14th students participated in age-appropriate character education lessons and school-wide activities that address the importance of helping others within our one Clifton learning community our younger students were introduced to the topic through the story of Maddie's fridge while our older students were presented with short stories and new segments each School hosted a food drive to collect non-perishable items for St Peter's Haven a community organization that provides food and basic needs to our residents I am proud to share that Clifton public schools has collected and donated 14 307 pounds of food this is a powerful example of the kindness and generosity that exists within our community in addition the school is also collected monetary donations for the code blue warming Center the code blue warming Center provides at-risk residents a warm place to stay when temperatures drop below 32 degrees the donations accumulated for this initiative will help the community purchase new clothing coats and toiletries for those residents due to the outpouring of donations by our one Clifton Learning Community the district has raised two thousand eight hundred and twenty two dollars for the code blue warming Center words cannot express how grateful we are for our staff students and our their family's thoughtfulness the donation will directly impact Clifton residents and make a huge difference this winter so without further Ado on behalf of Clifton public schools and the counseling department I am pleased to present this check to the Clifton Department of Health Dr robitosi would you and president Smith please join me in presenting the check to Miss Jennifer Kitt [Applause] y foreign [Applause] thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts at the Clifton Health Department um John beagle who is the City's health officer and the Director of Human Services could not be here tonight he is actually teaching a class at Montclair State University right now um and he asked me to come in his place to accept this incredibly generous donation you have no idea how this is going to help the people that come to our warming Center there's actually a code glue has been activated for tonight and so our doors were open tonight at nine o'clock and we will keep about 10 individuals warm tonight we will feed them we will provide them with love care and support and we can honestly say that the homeless that have been using the warming Center services are so truly grateful and appreciative for the warming Center this year they are just incredibly kind they are incredibly grateful to us um we actually were able to just a little side note we were actually to provide them with uh Thanksgiving dinner the night before Thanksgiving and I saw I was not able to be there I was away but I saw pictures and it was like a family um just enjoying a Thanksgiving meal something that I'm sure they did in their past lives and unfortunately something happened and they're in the circumstances that they're in now and we are trying to help each and every one of them get out of their current circumstances but in the meantime they have a place to go when it's too cold to stay warm so they don't freeze to death so on behalf of the city of Clifton and the health department we would just like to thank you so much for the generosity of everybody in Clifton public schools and the Board of Education you have no idea how this is going to help us take better care of our homeless and and our great community foreign to uh to you and to John and to all my favorite my favorite friends over at the health department um we thank you for the great work that you continue to do uh for the citizens of Clifton and I know um councilwoman Murphy is she was here oh there's you um who uh has really uh worked hard to help get our homeless these much needed places to stay when it's very cold and as you said Jen the love is something that they can't get um and I know you guys give a lot of that so we thank you for that and glad that the board and this Clifton School District could be some assistance in some way so great job okay now we will move on to public recognition this portion of the meeting is open to the residents and non-residents of Clifton for the purpose of addressing any subject matter pertinent to and or directly related to the operation of the Clifton Public School District residents and non-residents are requested if they're in person to sign the register provided for this purpose all speakers are asked to State their names municipality in which they live and the subject matter before speaking comments are limited to five minutes per person issues raised by members of the public may or may not be responded to by the board all comments will be considered and a response will be forthcoming if and when appropriate your questions may or may not be answered by board members the board asked the members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals when they are speaking specifically comments regarding students and employees of the board are discouraged and will not be responded to by the board students and employees have specific legal rights afforded by the laws of the state of New Jersey the board Bears no responsibility nor will it be liable for any comments made by members of the public members of the public should consider their comments in light of the legal rights of those affected or identified in their comments and be aware that they are legally responsible and liable for their comments okay we'll open up the call-in virtual portion first uh we have anyone no okay motion to close the virtual motion sorry Mr petravo second by Mr Awad okay we'll now go to uh in person if you'd like to address the board please step up to the podium and state your name and municipality in which you live in subject matter good evening everyone Mark Brunswick Holly Street Clifton I'm overwhelmed with the Gratitude to have been elected as Clifton Board of Education commissioner thank you all so much for being there to share in that Bittersweet Victory as well as those of you who reached out to my family and I really relating to my father-in-law's tragic death that same day many hours went into our campaign and it means so much to me that the work that I have been so passionate about has also resonated with others this accomplishment is not something that I did alone and there are many others who deserve to share that in this win I'd like to thank my wonderful wife Robin Mel Frankie my twin brother Bob Paul coach Safari and C Dr holster Celeste Mike G Maxwell and countless others including a few In This Very Room your love and support throughout this journey has been priceless I hope that this is this recognition of of the work that we have performed can serve as inspiration to others in this field and others please note that if my work can make a difference so can yours I will continue to pledge my to advocate for student educational excellence and their safety and look forward to their success for many years to come I am humbled and appreciative finally I want to give big shout out to the volunteers from the school 14 cea and the wonderful parents who run the school 14 nhsa regarding the cookie decorating event last night the cookies looked absolutely delicious but they didn't have many left so it was jam-packed with kids and they all had a wonderful time thank you all and God bless America have a good night everybody [Applause] good evening my name is Lynn marakovitz didn't forget it this time Clifton good evening Dr Robert tozi Mr dingaro President Smith and Commissioners I would like to thank you all who took the time to listen to my concerns last month however I do feel that it is very important to come before you begin tonight to speak about the paraprofessional issues as they continue to affect us each day tonight's agenda lists another three paraprofessionals who have resigned from the district and only one new hire I do have personal knowledge having worked with two of the powers that resigned and can state that unfortunately one went to sake and one went to Montclair for significantly more money than they were receiving here in Clifton I appreciate I also appreciate the acknowledgment that the board is well aware of all of our issues however being aware of the issues is much different than being in the schools actually experiencing and handling the issues our students need consistency and the turnover of Staff makes an already challenging situation that much harder for our students that have a very difficult time handling all of these changes our district powers are doing as much as possible to not only handle these challenges but to make sure that our students feel as safe and secure as we can it was never my intention to infer that every paraprofessional should be full-time with Benefits it is understood that that is not financially possible however the fees per hour that are being paid to the various agencies to cover the vacancies left by Powers who have resigned from our district are significantly more compared to the pay of our own District Paris this continues to be disheartening however in order to support our students the district needs to continue to utilize these agencies to provide paraprofessionals until all of the outstanding vacancies are filled while this is not the best solution it's what we have currently available I know that it was stated that there was discussion and something was being worked on in the long term however I am afraid of what will continue to occur and the staff that will continue to leave our district in the interim I am fully cognizant of the fact that we are under contract there is no quick fix or light switch that can be flipped to immediately rectify the situation however I do I have to believe that this board truly wants to do what's right by our district paraprofessionals and hope that something can be done sooner than later I truly love my job and my school and am thankful to work with some of the most awesome students in our district our students deserve the very best that we can give them and we need your help in order your help and support in order to do so thank you foreign good evening everyone can you hear me that's good my name is Jacqueline Turk I lived in Clifton for 15 years my daughter attended Woodrow and she graduated from Clifton High School last year I've been teaching Clifton High School for 23 years and have been serving as the Key Club advisor for 15 years I come tonight with two invitations to celebrate the accomplishments of key clubbers building community in Clifton through good deeds and to congratulate a key clubber Key Club has been busy this school year supporting programs run by Clifton Recreation Power of One praise baseball Clifton Kiwanis Clifton police Clifton Elementary Schools Clifton Education Association and Clifton cares we would like to express our gratitude for these volunteer opportunities godspeed to our key clubbers traveling to Lebanon New Jersey to spend the week this weekend glamping at Key leader a conference focused on service leadership and social emotional skills I would like to acknowledge and congratulate congratulate Jose Suarez Gonzalez he started this year as Key Club lieutenant governor of division 19 but has risen to the position of Key Club governor for the New Jersey District board it is the highest state position a New Jersey key clubber can hold Jose we are very proud of you but more importantly you should be proud of yourself is it it is an honor to serve with you now I have a couple invitations my first invitation is for the Board of Education Commissioners assistant superintendents and Dr Robert ozie Key Club has held a pie in the face contest for many years benefiting ocean of love helping children with cancer and their families last year we raised Seventeen hundred dollars many of our staff members have taken a pie in the face for this charity including May Mr Rose John O'Reilly Mr doctor Mr hamda Mr Mecca Mr ewas Mr Rando miss Petey Mr Keegan missing you Coach G and the list goes on the donation is made in honor of Nicholas arvenidus and a member in memory of Gianna Mecca and former Clifton teacher Stephen Meck and Anne-Marie gacion we invite you to join the contest this year you are guaranteed to have fun the Key Club officers will send you a follow-up email finally I'd like to invite huh uh we're getting the names it will be at the end of January beginning of February [Laughter] finally I invite the Clifton Community to a series of Garden State equality workshops hosted by Key Club and the Clifton Education Association two have passed already but we've had them for a couple years so hopefully we'll have them next year lgbtq 101 lgbtq 201 those have passed for this year coming up on January 18th we have transgender and non-binary identities on February 15th we have identities and intersectionalities on March 15th we have unconscious bias and on May 17th we will be hosting the cycle of prejudice these workshops are hosted on Zoom at 7 pm and are free for the community they were paid for by an NJEA Grant the links will be posted on Clifton public school's social media social media I hope to see you all there yours and caring and service good night [Applause] good evening my name is Jose Figueroa I'm an English teacher at Clifton High School and until this year I was also the advisor of the high school's gender and sexuality Alliance for several years I'm here in solidarity with colleagues and members of this community who are deeply concerned about the misguided misinformed and often hateful rhetoric that has become pervasive at the Board of Education meetings of late meeting after meeting non-educators have postulated that the new health and sexual education standards don't provide a real education and have described the revised standards as sexually exploitive the suggestion that Educators somehow profit from teaching children about their anatomies or the wide range of human sexuality is not only inaccurate but deeply offensive in fact the aim of the new standards is to discourage risky behaviors by empowering students with factual information rather than leaving them at the mercy of hearsay or the many online environments to which they wander unsupervised we've also heard people dismiss calls for diversity and inclusion in schools as a leftist political agenda and refer to members of the lgbtq community as perversions it is my position that this rhetoric is harmful to our children many of whom are lgbtq plus individuals those of us skilled in the practice of empathy understand that disparaging and erasing groups of people can have catastrophic and irreversible consequences history has taught us as much I propose that we allow ourselves to be guided by empathy and not bigotry as we decide what is truly best for our children when I was about seven years old I knew I was different from the many kids in my classes and by age 13 I knew I was gay I grew up in a time when men and women in rooms like this debated my existence and whether or not I had the right to join the military donate blood or marry the person I love not once in all of my public education did I experience any positive representation of people like me in school I didn't have any openly gay teachers I didn't learn about the impressive contributions of trans civil rights activists I never learned about the spectrum of sexualities and family models that already existed in my world in this vacuum of cisgender heteronormativity I failed to discern any corner of the world where I belonged as a result between the ages of 13 and 15 I thought about suicide on a nearly daily basis in fact the Trevor Project and National Suicide Prevention hotline for queer youth estimates that 1.8 million lgbtq youth seriously consider suicide each year in the U.S and 45 percent of lgbtq Youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year this is what happens when we erase queer people from our schools this is what happens when ignorance and hatred bleed into public speech this is the danger of turning away from empathy as the advisor of the gender and sexuality Alliance I have helped many of your children through crises I have comforted children when they lacked unconditional love at home I have partnered with Educators to fill schools with pronoun pins and safe space stickers I have offered students an example of what it can look like to be a decent well-educated and accomplished queer person and I won't apologize for any of it because I can say unequivocally that in doing so I and all of the Educators who have joined me in these efforts have saved the lives of children in this District in an age of book Banning and don't say gay laws I will fervently and unapologetically defend the Dignity of all students against bigotry and intolerance education is much more than math reading and science it's about ensuring that our children will thrive in a peaceful and fruitful Society I applaud the Educators and members of this community who Champion inclusion and stand up against divisive forces and I urge the Board of Education to do the same thank you [Applause] foreign good evening Dr Robert tozzi president Smith and Commissioners I'm here tonight to expand on the discussion brought to your attention last month regarding the mass exit of Paris I want to start by stating it is not full time and benefits that we are looking for well that the powers we're looking for I'm a teacher um it's just more money other districts are offering our powers at least seven thousand dollars more than they're making here and they have no choice but to leave and to go to a district that is offering more support for their families again it isn't only the benefits that they are looking for we find money for various new positions and things in this District we need to find a way to allocate some money to the powers in the very near future there are currently agency Powers working within our district to cover positions that were held by powers that left before we stop Outsourcing to those agencies we need to make sure that those positions are filled this needs to be a top priority I do look forward to hearing more about what that plan is that is in works as discussed at last meeting now I'm going to explain briefly what being an educator in our autism classrooms are like for some of you that may not know what exactly goes on so all of my experience is directed towards teaching preschoolers for through fifth graders in my classroom all of us are responsible for promoting communication running trials man thank you managing behaviors assisting with feeding comforting students who do not feel well toileting which includes changing the diapers teaching them how to wipe themselves um in addition to a few other toileting things that I will not mention but most importantly import creating a safe and successful environment for our students that's a lot of hats that they wear and that's only naming a few if we do not have the appropriate amount of trained staff to help with this because so many powers are leaving how can we continue to promote success in our students as Educators where are our students voices for those who don't have the ability to communicate I am here tonight as my students voice saying that as a district and a board of education they all need your help foreign this every single day a lot of us are so we are just looking for your help now please take a minute to think about the last time you were in a room with six students with autism or any amount of students with autism I have a great group and I'm inviting you to my classroom to come visit sit with my students work with them for an hour see what our powers do each and every day come see the role that they play in our classrooms and unfortunately there are times when the parish just don't feel that their jobs are as important because they are just Paris I can honestly say that without my powers in my classroom that it wouldn't be functional so we are just here I am here as an educator in our classroom that we need to figure out this power solution sooner than later and try to allocate some money somewhere sooner than later thank you [Applause] or code good evening Marcia Miller Clifton the New Jersey Department of Education 2020 health and sex education standards are not acceptable however as parents fight to delay or reject the standards for their school district the elephant in the room is being missed completely even more disturbing than the 2020 release of the controversy was the dramatic leap to incorporate social emotional learning and career Readiness life literacies and key skills formerly the 21st century life and careers into all subject areas if you recall it wasn't long ago when we brought five subject notebooks to school notice we no longer referred to subjects but instead they are called content areas group work think pair share and other Innovative strategies that were said to teach the whole child as an area as the idea of teaching the whole child was pushed the line between the subject being taught and the strategies used to teach these subjects begin to blur while the goal was to appear more effective teaching practices quietly crossed over into the realm of Behavioral Sciences for all history children learned how to interact with one another on their own with the guidance and directions from their families yet sometimes over the last 10 years the state of New Jersey has heavily invested in the study of Behavioral Sciences and Incorporated them into all aspects of our Public Schools known as social and emotional learning mindfulness and character development programs teaching in these areas crosses a dangerous boundary by implying there was a right and wrong position according to www.learn.org Behavioral Science is the study of the interactions between human beings and includes the fields of psychology anthropology philosophy religious studies and more all of which are subject subjective and are based on an individual's background family values and beliefs the teach means to show or instruct how to do something correctly it is the job of a public school teacher to do this by presenting concrete factual information and core content areas the state of New Jersey does not have the reserve the right to dictate how a parent my child in the area of religion beliefs of morals values and other personal beliefs yeah njac 6A 8-2 point I'm sorry that's 3.2 directs widespread incorporation of Social and emotional learning and other subjective content and njac 6a8-1.1 mandates District Board of Education shall include interdisciplinary connections throughout the K-12 curriculum this means teachers dictate correct mindset attitudes behaviors in all aspects of their education in all lessons each and every day it is incredibly bold for the state of New Jersey to imply authority over such mindsets in all areas of their Education Without prior consent from their parents complying with these mandates means a teacher would certainly have to observe and question a child's beliefs in other words survey the child thereby violating their rights under the pupil rights and Privacy Act again in other words survey the child thereby violating their rights under the pupa rights and Privacy Act thank you foreign Place Clifton uh good evening uh I want to commend superintendent uh Robert Tosi and the Clifton school district for providing clear and transparent communication on the New Jersey state health education standards these curricular standards will do much to protect the mental health and physical safety of the lbg2tqia community by allowing people of all orientations to be seen heard and acknowledged unfortunately as we know too well month after month the board of education's time has been wasted wasted by the willfully ignorant and truly outrageous fear-mongering of a vocal few who do not want students hearing anything positive or anything at all really about the very existence of lgbtqia people my thanks to this board for your service I ask the incoming board to stand firm in prioritizing the very real concerns of the closeted the scared the bullied the persecuted the possibly suicidal students in our midst who feel unseen who feel unsafe who feel unwanted please continue to prioritize the health and safety of these very many folks over the fragile feelings of a hateful and uninformed few who persistently waste the board's time and the Public's time thank you very much thank you foreign Felder Twain place um first I want to thank Commissioners Beltran Canova and Daley for your service sorry to see you go and welcome to the new commissioner Santiago brunsiak and Mejia looking forward to seeing what you do and contribute to the board so I am friends or at least friendly with everybody up there I feel like I needed to say that because it's hard to criticize people you like but I'm going to a little bit for about a year now members of the community some of whom don't even have children in our schools have been coming to the podium to voice their objections to the updated Health standards and despite your many attempts to provide very clear and explicit examples of what is and will be taught in our health classes they keep coming despite repeatedly being reminded that they can opt out of certain lessons they keep coming despite their misinformation being pointed out by Dr Robert Tosi a few different times they keep coming and that's annoying but what is really troubling is how many of their comments are blatantly bigoted in content the Pearl clutching over the very idea of a drag queen Story Hour is the most recent example why would someone in a costume which is all that is reading a book to children be so threatening to anybody here's the part where I criticize the people I like you let it happen I understand that you have to be cautious with First Amendment rights and you can't just silence folks willy-nilly and send them back to their seats but why aren't you at least addressing this in your comments why are you sitting there listening to people say hurtful sometimes hateful things about your employees your staff students in your District community members some of whom are sitting in this room today where is your outrage where is your concern for the lgbtq community who live work and study here in Clifton and who have been subjected to bigoted commentary for months and months whether you intend it or not your silence is sending a message to everyone it's saying that those words are okay it's saying that these fears about teachers possibly abusing the standards to corrupt children might be valid you can't be bystanders in this you always remind us that comments will be forthcoming if and when appropriate it's appropriate you may have to let everyone have their say but you don't have to let them have the last word thank you [Applause] president Smith vice president Daley Dr potozzi Central Administration board members teachers citizens good evening I think Aretha Franklin said it best r-e-s-p-e-c-t it's simply about respect we've learned it from when we first started school Miss Trimble taught me in school five Mr O'Reilly's teaching it to me now along with Miss Turk Miss Taylor it's what we all have to have for each other despite differences we all have to find a way to come together because whether or not you like it they're going to be there difference in opinion or ideology does not call for insults discrimination humiliation and especially lies the Clifton Student Union recognizes respects and advocates for it everywhere thank you [Applause] foreign thank you yeah yeah Keith uh bass Ford Clifton New Jersey excuse me I'm losing my voice too now must be the mic it's been a while since I was here once I will keep it brief which I don't think is going to happen because listening to everything going on here and just to say thank you to the Board of Education Dr robotazi and friends in the community for the well wishes well wishes it wasn't easy to be away especially with all that has happening but I'm thankful to be here to say how much I appreciate the messages so I'm getting upset but if you know what happened to me it was very close um I got to know I'm late but I want to say congratulations to the uh new board members you have a big job ahead of you and hopefully when you get up there on his board you go further you just don't listen to what's going on in the board go to your county meetings go to your state meetings learn just so that people tell you what to do I know we're going to have this thing coming up who's going to be board president and as it always happens you know city council has their own problems but what will happen here is the phone calls will be happening who's the best person vote for me and I'm expecting to new people three new people who are coming up here to do your job the right way don't do things because people are calling you and telling you I'll give you this so I'll give you that I've been here a long time with these broad memes many many years and I know what goes on I read between the lines and I'm going to ask you for the sake of the city and the kids do the right thing another thing too is the Paris that have been coming up here I know these powers that have been coming up here for many many years and all the years that I know them they never said that you know we need more money we need more money was never about that and I know and they used to always say what they did in the classroom with the children and the stuff they do in the classroom with these children is unbelievable mosties wouldn't even do it what they do and I'm hoping you just put your head together all years and you find the money we find money in other places let's find money for these people who love their job and love the children that's what it's about and I know you can do it there's no question about it you don't want to lose these people some have been around 15 20 years they stayed around because they loved their job and they still love their job so many people get up here tonight to speak I know them very well and they speak from the heart and I'm telling you it's not about the money really isn't but you know it has come down down to a point that we're losing people like they said and they go in other districts we don't want to lose these good people we want to keep them here we want to have them take care of our children and that I'm not going to get into this other thing that's been going on with this lbgi thing and everything that's another story um all I have to say is I got 17 minutes is I respect the people I respect the people who come up here and voice their opinion but you gotta understand you're not going to change this this is down a state of New Jersey that's where you got to go thank you hello everybody John O'Reilly Clifton High School I'm a social studies teacher I'm here today without actually anything planned to speak but I got very passionate and I heard so many people make appeals so I just felt like it was necessary for me to come up here and just say uh to all those who spoke on behalf of the powers for all our students in the community and for I would like to add also the nurses who are working endless amount of hours and going through numerous amounts of stresses every day dealing with these tough times now this is not just Clifton going through this there's this is happening throughout the state of New Jersey but it's hitting us particularly hard so I just come today very simply just to encourage you even further to help out our schools a power professional does more than people could even imagine in many ways they're the lifeblood of our students and especially our most vulnerable students they form relationships with these kids at last past schools and it's with them that we can actually have a functioning school and of course our nurses as well our nurses are going through some pretty strenuous times since covid none more so than them because they are on the front lines dealing with these issues and conditions as we probably have seen there have been numerous reports by the state of New Jersey that there are increasing cases as well so numerous other illnesses and it's important that our school system actually have the necessary amount of nurses to actually take care of these problems we're suffering from a real staff shortage so I know that this is a tough situation for you to be in I don't envy you I would never personally want that responsibility myself because I wouldn't be able to sleep at night because it'd be so stressful but that's why you're here and I just encourage you to just please find a way to make this work we're all doing the very best we can and we got to work together to try to make this place the best it can be thank you so much and have a happy holidays foreign thank you on one of our first dates almost 25 years ago my partner and I cycled to the Palisades and took a lunch and water excuse me if you just say your name and municipality please my name is Dave Joseph and I reside in Clifton thank you yeah on one of our first dates almost 25 years ago my partner and I cycled to the Palisades and took a lunch and water break we were sitting in a roundabout eating our sandwiches when some guy came in a car and did Donuts around us rolled a bottle at us and called us before speeding off we will never forget that day with over one million eighty thousand Americans dead from covid-19 and Counting one would have thought more of our fellow said more of our fellow citizens would have a fresh new take on human fragility and vulnerability some sense of what gay men endured during the outset of the AIDS epidemic we were supposed to be better than this by now weren't we lgbtq citizen taxpayers of all ages and abilities deserve more than radio Silence from our elected officials we need public statements of solidarity from all those in seats of civil Authority particularly those who told us they feel themselves to be our voice or even more remarkably that they feel all cliftonites to be family members we need to know that City Hall will have all of our backs evenly and all who are elected to serve Clifton entirely understand the boundaries between their own personal religious convictions and worldview and those of the culturally and religiously diverse electorate of the city they are entrusted to represent Believers and non-believers that they will stop countenancing hate speech and harrismith theater at our Board of Ed meetings silence is not an option results from research published in 2017 by the UCLA School of Law Williams Institute showed that LGBT people experienced 71.1 victimizations for one thousand people compared to 19.2 victimizations per one thousand people for non-lgbt people in the wake of the massacre and the gay nightclub in Colorado and other attacks more locally many city council members in municipalities across Jersey and and New York City made statements of solidarity and offered guarantees of safety to their lgbtq constituents yet in the 25th most diverse City for its scale in the United States not one single member of our city council made a public statement of solidarity with Clifton's lgbtq constituents our schools are funded in part by taxes collected from lgbtq cliftonites we gaze are big on education about 52 percent of gay men in the U.S go on from high school to attain a bachelor's degree compared to 36 percent of all other adults Fanatics are uncomfortable with the idea of any shared objective reality unless they get to control the entire Paradigm within which it is shaped they will use every tool at their disposal including a baoa meeting to attempt to assert that control they will tell us that they have our children's best interests in mind without knowing anything about our children they will tell us sex education is a problem but sex education isn't the problem in Clifton a lack of knowledge about what constitutes healthy boundaries is the problem every minute spent relitigating sexual orientation at a board of ed meeting is a minute lost to finding ways to provide our City's Young Learners with the educational Arsenal they need to distinguish fact from fiction to learn and self-actualize as human beings in a world being overtaken by AI for the first time in human history we are unable to answer the question what job will you be doing in five years I stand before you a 55 year old gay man who was unaware of my own non-verbal learning disabilities and add until I was diagnosed in my early 40s as a man who has always struggled with low self-esteem and was aggressively bullied as a child called a from the age of nine imagine that so in my humble opinion if a nine-year-old kid is old enough to be taught by a parent that it's okay to call another nine-year-old kid a because the kid presents a certain way or otherwise shows signs of being gay then they are old enough to be taught by teachers in our citizen taxpayer-funded non-religious Public Schools about sexual orientation in animals including us humans Point Counterpoint our teachers are there to offer education and instruction on critical thinking skills facts objective reality and scientific method they are there to establish a learning environment built on mutual respect and healthy boundaries The Bullying I experience is a gay kid and the lack of awareness about the differences in how I assimilate knowledge and process the world around me had profound implications on my ability to succeed at school and in the world of work I would much rather the Board of Ed spend time with Clifton's parents and kids on ways to improve educational and Vocational opportunities all young people require to thrive as individuals and as Citizens I close with a quote from the early 20th century labor activist Reverend Albert Hubbard which I direct to the members of the Board of Ed and the Clifton city council okay sir thank you to continue to pretend to believe something at which your reason revolts to stultify the interest if this exists as all is the unpardonable sin I thank you my fellow citizens [Applause] foreign [Applause] my name is Terry scart House Lucille I live in Clifton I've lived here all my life went to school here my two children went to school here also and they still live in well my daughter well they live in town uh the reason I'm here tonight is I didn't my friend La uh Larry from I had mentioned to him that I would come and support him I wasn't you know I hadn't planned to come up and speak and actually tonight I I'm only here because I was just at I just attended the seven o'clock mass at St Andrews for the Immaculate Conception and I said well you know what I'm gonna I usually stay in at night but I said you know what since I'm out I'm gonna go I'm going to come and support him and Marcia because they do have a view point of view and I'm at my age and many people my age in this town friends they say we are just shocked of how much the world has changed in the last two three years and how do we cope with it really and then we and as a mama grandma I am concerned about what is being going to be taught to my my granddaughter she's in four years old and I have a grandson in school I don't know the curriculum I do have an outline from the state of the um the the con you know of the uh an outline but I have no idea what you're going to teach in school I did listen to one a couple a few meetings ago about the general uh information that you gave the parents so but I mean I really can't speak to it tonight and I'm not going to I really would need more information but I am concerned but I know one thing that our country has changed quite a bit and that we have a far left agenda and I'm not going to speak to it and I don't and I'm sorry you said that but there is but it is the left and you say and if you say there is a right then there is a left I'm sorry and I'm just here to say that you really do have to speak and I'm so sorry the gentleman before me it's just so I mean I realize he's emotional and so am I but I'm not emotional I'm emotional because of it you know for other reasons tonight and I won't mention them but I want just want to say that um I mean I feel for him because actually I am a registered nurse I've retired I was there and I worked with the first AIDS patients in the hospital and the CCU and I've give you know so I realize what went on in the 80s I was there I saw it myself I took care of eight patients you know at St Joe's in the 80s and I realized what happened and actually I lived through I lived through the 60s when Martin Luther King died and that you know I was a well I was uh I was in a nursing school when he died and I went through and I said you know what we went through all that and it seems like we're right back to it again talking about discrimination I go we got over that in the 70s and 80s why are we back there again why are we and I'm sorry that there are still people that because I've moved you know I never had any on you know of course I work with everyone so I'm sorry if there are people out there that you know that haven't been kind to other people but I anyway that's all I'm going to say and um I have one other thing to say is that uh was with education and that I really concerned that enough time because I know children have lost a lot in the last two years and that I'd like to find like to know what the school district is doing to have them come up to speed I know that the um the governor hasn't released the uh the the spring results yet about each district so so we'll have to wait and see but thank you good evening my name is Richard Mejia I have been known as Richie I live in Bonnie Village so I'm here to speak um as a regular citizen I first like to thank the people for you know electing me to be on the new board of edges coming year but one thing I like to address is first I like to say a story so this story goes back to elementary school when I was in kindergarten by my principal Mr in zaldi and Miss tally something they always installed in US is be too true to yourself and respect others the way you want to be treated um and today that speaks volume no matter race religion age gender sexuality I saw I sat in the back and you know I teared up a little bit because to stand up here and have many people say that the standards aren't right is to say and to acknowledge that these people don't exist the lgbtq community does exist I hear you I see you and I'm here to phrase my voice and say that I'm going to help you as much as I can and as many times as I can because at the end of the day when I was sitting there in the back many of you seen them bothered and that spoke volume to me and I'm glad I'm going to be up here to change that thank you [Applause] good evening everyone my name is Caitlin Wendt I'm a former Clifton resident and a current teacher at Clifton High School um just like my friend Mr John O'Reilly um I'm going to follow his bravery I did not have anything prepared to say tonight but after hearing all these people come up I had to say my piece on really everything we've been saying tonight I teach special education that is all I've ever taught I'm duly certified I went to school Virginia for Gen Ed was offered a special position and I cannot ever consider going back because my children are faced with so much stigma but they are some of the best children in the entire world I have been on both sides I have been teacher the teacher who spoke earlier on the para issue this past summer in the CLS program I was one of her pairs for a day I was only a parent in that program and I can tell you on more than one occasion I went home and I cried it is the most difficult job in the world being a teacher is more sometimes that I can bear seeing the grief that my students go through not only at the high school level not only the academic issues but the social emotional issues things going on at home things going on at work things going on with their friends through significant others but the Paras the lack of respect that they have and the lack of money that they receive with what they have to do I thank my two pairs on a daily basis or everything they do for me I could not run my one classroom without them I obviously could not I'm also the new advisor for this uh Clinton High School GSA I was very grateful to take over the Reigns from Mr Jose Figueroa over my six years of teaching five years at Clifton High I have had more than one student come to me discussing their desires for taking our lives self-harm I've had a student move across the country for college because she could not be her own self she had to leave everything she had ever known growing up her entire life in her hometown because she was not allowed to be herself because of the bigotry I've had students come to me having been abused having been kicked out of their own homes as a Clifton student I had more than one friend to take their own life because of the hatred and the Prejudice and the bigotry and I will tell you it is not our students when kids come to me complaining about this it is not the students it is the adults and there is something we need to do about this again I understand if someone brought up earlier we cannot just shut people down in their right to free speech but when you stand by and say nothing you are speaking volumes to our students thank you foreign thank you Samantha bass for Clifton New Jersey um I don't have anything prepared tonight but I am so happy to see people here um some from Facebook and those who are here to support a community that has definitely needed a lot of support in the past few months now and it might be uncomfortable for some people tonight it's hard to not be in the majority isn't it it's hard to feel like you don't belong like you're not accepted that you feel the hate there have been people in this room when it's me three other people four other people and you don't know their sexual identity and you sit here and spew hate I'm glad I didn't get a sex education lesson tonight I think this is the first times in months we didn't hear about anal sex oops I just said it okay we learn more about that on this Podium that the students do in the classroom we have been through this over and over again poor Janina has to keep talking about the same things over and over again because frankly you do not accept gay queer lgbtq people that is what this is about it is not about what body parts go into where and protection and you know it is good that we're talking about a student's mental health and if they need support and it's good to challenge certain thoughts that you may have that could be harmful for yourself and if you don't have that support you don't know how to get yourself out of that and if we're going to keep talking about this meaning after meeting after meeting we're not going to progress to anywhere you're labeled as bigots you're labeled as people who hate because you're constantly the people who keep talking about the same thing and I really just I can't stand anymore and the people who are standing here behind me can't take it either and that is why they're here tonight so it's up to this District people at home people in this room to decide where we're going to go from here are we going to keep this conversation going because we don't like it it makes me feel uncomfortable or are we going to respect people and the choices that they make it is up to you today I wore a good friend of mine who is a drag queen I met this person when I was in college the first one of the first people I met at my orientation and this person is an artist if I could clack my heels and do my makeup as well as he can I would feel amazing but at the end of the day that is their profession is a job they are an Entertainer and at the end of the night they go home take off the lashes the wig the weave and pay their bills just like anybody else in this room so if we keep continue to not looking at people like people Clifton's gonna get uglier so tonight you have a choice to come back to the next meeting and keep going but if you keep going I'm going to keep going because I'm not going to let hate overtake this District I have invested way too much time of my life in Clifton to see other people who I care about suffer I even brought this man to a drag show he didn't even know and we surprised him and now he asked me every time of my friend's going to be on RuPaul's Drag Race and I have to explain dad this doesn't work like that not every drag queen gets to meet RuPaul right and he has never been to something like that in his life okay and if he can go and have so much fun with a drag queen on his birthday mind you we surprised him then I think we can be a little bit more open to understanding that what somebody else does is not going to be hurtful or impactful to me thank you [Applause] laughs good evening Anthony Santiago East 8th I'm a newly elected Board of Ed commissioner I just wanted to come up and say thank you to all the voters for their trust and support and everyone else who supported especially my wife and my sons I look forward to working with the new board on improving our school district and making it a welcoming and inclusive environment for each and every one of our students and staff regardless of their background there's a Spanish saying we're going forward and I'm excited to work with you to move our school district forward so merry Christmas happy Hanukkah happy Kwanzaa happy holidays whatever you celebrate and if you don't celebrate anything in particular I wish you a great rest of this year and an even better 2023 thank you [Applause] good evening Ray robertella Woodlawn Avenue it's been a while I've never stood at this particular Podium before and the room looks a little different so congratulations on that um what I want to talk about tonight um I want to talk in support of lgbtq Youth students staff in the district and I want to point out what I see is responsibility of the district versus obligation the responsibility of the district in my opinion is to provide a public education to any student who is in the school expecting to get one the district also has an obligation to keep every student safe while they are in our school buildings and in our care and that's where I want to focus my comments I think good bad or indifferent I have become the face of gay Clifton and that's why I'm here tonight um I have been involved with the pride flag raising since the first one in June of 2016 I think I've accomplished a lot in my life it's one of my most proud accomplishments I think the programs are great many of you have attended some of you have participated and the staff and the students that have participated have been outstanding absolutely outstanding the first event was several days after the Pulse Nightclub shooting I had to show up in fear of what could happen I felt an enormous responsibility because I asked people to participate in a program and stand at a microphone outside in public after 50 people were shot in a nightclub thankfully nothing happened there but lgbtq people live in fear all the time I lived in fear for the six years that I spent in middle school and high school in Clifton New Jersey I didn't speak then because I didn't have the confidence now I do and that's partly why I'm here tonight as Mr Figueroa pointed out lgbtq youth have higher rates of suicide attempts they are successful at higher rates than the other youth population the Trevor Project did a study and they they determined that it's because they're mistreated and they're stigmatized allowing hateful rhetoric in a Podium like this in a public meeting stigmatizes students who were at risk I think that's the last thing that we want to do and I can tell you that students who are in this District still live in fear in one of the early flag raisings there was a young man who was from the GSA and he got very emotional at the microphone and it looked like he wasn't going to be able to continue and he got emotional after saying my family doesn't accept me I didn't know what to do because I went right back to that anxiety-ridden high school kid but from the back of the audience my neighbor Joseph yelled when everyone else was silent take a deep breath and keep going he did and he kept going I think of that young man often and I hope that he found his footing in life and I hope he learned an important lesson that day my mother um who barely had an eighth grade education knew children to her core and she understood that any child needs the freedom to be themselves in order to succeed in life whether they're artistic whether they're a math geek whether they're gay straight you provide respect to people you don't Define people you don't label people she imprinted that on me she imprinted that on my gay brother who was a physician and also served gay men in the 1980s and it wasn't pleasant and I can share that for anybody that would like to hear it so again my goal here is to sort of keep the conversation respectful the last thing we want to do is take a young person who's at risk who may not feel accepted at home and have them feel like they're not accepted in the one place in the world a few hours a day that they may be able to so please please keep that in mind as you keep this going and let's try to eliminate the hate and the rhetoric and the talking points because it's not productive thank you foreign good evening board members I'm Rob marmerstein I'm a special ed inclusion U.S history teacher over at the high school and I also am the head of the Esports program at the high school it's difficult to be lectured especially from your position on the merits of pre of legal precedence set 50 years ago or to talk about 40 to 50 years ago of didn't we get over this when there's a new Target every decade every year every month every hour there's someone new targeted on a regular basis I just wanted to stand up here quickly obviously I have nothing prepared in solidarity with the lgbtqi a plus community members students I've had a number of trans students over the years and I just come with this message instead of why not just uplift everybody regardless of who you are regardless of how you represent regardless of anything you can't control much like I can't control what things I like to eat versus what things I don't like to eat these people can't control who they're attracted to the disagreement doesn't come from well I feel a different way than you unfortunately a certain swath of population believes that if we suppress these people and if we make believe they aren't there they don't exist and it's just not true they haven't gone away they're not going away they're here to stay so why not uplift them anyway that's all I have to say take care guys have a nice night [Applause] oh thank you wow a lot of people tonight with this topic no one has ever got come up here as far as I heard and I'd like to hear from board members and maybe uh Dr robitosi with hatred for any just just state your name and I'll do Block Clifton I've never heard anyone talk about hatred or animosity other people who come up who look upon individuals trying to say something have said that we're insinuating that we're saying it misinformation we've never given any misinformation everything we've given is facts we didn't establish the New Jersey state sex ed program it's not health and physical education it's sex act clearly that's what they're teaching and nothing healthy about anal sex I don't care whether you enjoy it or not it may be enjoyable but it's nothing healthy about it anyhow we didn't do this and we also if it was so healthy and so edifying they wouldn't allow and tell you you're allowed to give exemptions out there's no other class that you can just say I don't want to come I'm exempt they're the ones and immediately when you say oh if you're offended we could sign yourself out well then there's something wrong there there's a dialogue that needs to be addressed I agree with most of the people who got up here I agree with a lot they said they said a lot of beautiful things they said it properly they speak well I've come up for the past six months asking to have an open public meeting on this so where where in a Auditorium just discussing and throwing out things and trying to understand more we've asked we want to understand more we're not coming here condemning we're not coming here making judgments I don't you know check the tapes I don't think you're going to find that once but you're forced to teach something and then you're told oh you if you don't like it if it offends you or your religion you can sign out well there's something wrong there and you guys as board members and girls and and superintendent should address that with the state if it's something that's mandated well then it's mandated if it's not mandated there's a problem with it they're the ones creating the problem not us we're sharing our opinion and then we're being all and we're fighting amongst each other which we shouldn't be fighting amongst each other I I said something about the drag queens because I was shocked to hear that you're going to start teaching drag queens I sent you all the tape I sent you all the tape about drag queens nobody responded because I wanted it played here Dr robertozzi I wanted to play it here so these people could see what was shown down at the ngeea conference where you took two days off on taxpayer dollars to go watch a drag queen show meanwhile our kids were home doing nothing that's nice you all saw that tape that's education the stuff she said that's normal now I know there may have been two different parts one may have been in the in one segment and one something else was in another segment but the organization that's sending that out is very reputable they just expose something in his hand over that was a problem and Tucker Carlson played it the other night so we're up here we're up here we're expressing concerns we don't want to fight we like a nice big meeting in an open but if you want to continue this Avenue then we'll continue it we'll go on to another four years if you want whatever you got we want to have a meeting and I think the resolver like you there was some other issues once you have it we can express not in this form but in other form I think it'll be over so we've never said anything hateful to anyone we've never judged anyone we've shared it's the state that says we're allowed an exemption well if we're allowed an exemption why that's what you've got to address why if it's necessary and if it's not creating a hostile environment by allowing the exemption well why are we getting blamed for it thank you hi wait I need like 30 seconds hello hi I'm Natasha some of you guys may remember me hi to the new board members on Natasha I'm a 12th grader go to Clifton High School today I'm here with the basketball team varsity and junior varsity um we're here to talk about something that's close to our heart but you know they're not going to talk because you know girls rule the world you know so um so we're here to talk about our coaches our first head coach is Mr catamis you know we love him and we also have assistant coaches we have Coach Gunn and Coach Lee watch but last year we had a coach Mr Lopez some of you may know him so we're here to talk about how he can't be a part of our team this year and how it's affecting some of the boys and not just them but also us so pretty much Mr Lopez came in last year and started volunteering for us and he helped over the summer volunteering as well helping the boys get their skills and everything better we also talked to the principal about this our coaches our coaches and our principals know we're here today and we just want to know like if you guys could you know we don't have any answers but you guys obviously can't tell me any answers today or can't tell us any answers but we just want him back even if it's not this year which you know most of my Varsity players sorry most of my Varsity players want him back this year because we're all seniors and we're all about to graduate and he's made a big impact in all of their lives so yeah that's why we're here we just got out of a game an hour away sorry we won [Applause] no 60 254.
in her 12 years with Dysart we have seen this District grow and change in previously unimaginable ways her leadership her strength her kindness will never be forgotten Tracy has been the example of a servant leader someone who puts the kids and the teachers of this District first before any other priority I remember a story my mom told me about Tracy when she first interviewed for the governing board position she brought a spark plug with her and she said that she wanted to be the spark that would ignite Dysart to new heights well miss Tracy your spark will never be forgotten here thank you for everything that you've done and happy retirement thank you [Applause] thank you we next have rest Smith good evening to all of you and thank you for this three minutes how am I gonna do this Tracy in this room a few years ago at another event honoring the school system and Tracy I say to everyone which probably is not a surprise you you are an outlier you you don't deliberately or rebelliously break rules but you you change rules you create new boundaries I I today took the time to scroll several Pages back in your in the f word the Facebook page and your Facebook is one of the few Facebooks that's authentic it's one of the few Facebooks that really shows the struggles and the successes the victories and the failures of life you're you're very open you're very transparent and you use that in such a redeeming way and I looked through your page and I saw that you are so strong you've you've broken so many racial barriers you've broken social barriers in terms of the female versus male you've you're constantly posting for others would you remember or please pray for your you're sure to put something in there about the community and and your love for what you've done here in the last 12 years and so this community is blessed to have you and this board has been honored to have you serve and I agree you you will find something to fill your time from here I'm certain it will continue to be an outlier influence and I'm blessed to be a part of your life and I hold great gratitude for the night that I met you here and that our paths have crossed and may you never cave in to to being somebody that you're not you've got a strong track record of holding true to being a woman of integrity and strength and Leadership even your influence of your CPR training so I congratulate you on your tenure I'm excited for what's next for you and I'm honored to be a part of your life God bless you thank you that's all we have for now superintendent governing board updates do we have a student update Madam president our student was unable to attend this evening for intended update Dr Dean thank you madam president members of the governing board members of cabinet in our community Tracy the first thing I need to say is it sounds like your pastor's lobbying for you to come work for him um so I just wanted to point that out and to work with him on a bit of a somber note in terms of my update we were saddened by the loss yesterday late yesterday afternoon of two of our Valley Vista students and I would be remiss if we did not mention that their families and all of our staff are in their thought our thoughts and prayers and we will uphold them and continue to support and provide support in any way that we possibly can so um we'll move forward Willow Canyon High School's theater troupe won the gold honor troop last weekend at their competition and Shadow Ridge High School won a superior rating in the one act Marathon for the play biscuits and so we're very excited about our theater programs congratulations and we look forward to our theater programs continue to do great great jobs I want to provide just a bit of clarification to the governing board and I know I did this in writing following our last meeting but I feel like it's important that I do so in in public as well I did misspeak in our last governing board meeting as it related to our counselors and their responsibilities as it relates to 504s our counselors do facilitate the 504 process and I wanted to just make sure that I corrected that with everyone this evening continuing on we are excited to announce that our Glass Project in our front offices has been completed at all of our K-8 K4 and middle schools and we're happy that that's happened and and we had our first High School completed as well at Valley Vista and it certainly makes a very big visual difference and a perceptive difference as well we have the remaining high schools are scheduled for completion as well as growing Minds preschool our support center and the last facility that will be finished will be the district office I also would like to a board I've let you know this but I think it's important that we announce to our community as well Dr crota was selected to serve on the transition team for the incoming State superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horn and Dr croto has attended a couple of meetings thus far and will continue to serve as a resource to them and more importantly as a proud representative of the Dysart School District so Dodge Chrono thank you for doing that and then we have just a quick thing we want to say Tracy it's it's been 12 years uh since I met you I was 23 at the time I remember stinkley and um we we thought about how we could uh mimic 12 years and uh and make people feel like it was 12 years and the first thing we thought it was to have Ken speak again and we chose not to um but Tracy I want to on behalf of the Dysart School District I want to say thank you for all that you've done all of you know that being on the governing board is a sacrifice of time it's a sacrifice away from your family there are times that it is a very thankless job it is one of few service opportunities in a governmental system that comes with no pay whatsoever and it truly is a labor of and a sacrifice of love and I know that each of the five of you know that um Tracy we want to thank you for everything that you've done for us in the school district it seems like a blink of an eye 12 years and uh it's an opportunity that we will never forget having you having you been part of all of our lives and so we want to thank you in just two ways tonight and first of all any leftover food that's still out in the reception we want you to take home it might not still be good it might be bad but we want it out of here so um send Brian out and start boxing it up but we want to thank you with with two things we we have just a gift that says cheers to you and thank you for your service with a Dysart Community from 2010 to 2022 but more importantly than that you know we anybody can get a plaque on a wall and we felt like it was important for us to give you a memoir of the Dysart school district and so we have a blanket that we've had made for you that has a t-shirt from every single one of our schools on it and we hope that you will display this proudly in your home and remember the times that you served in the desert school district fondly so Tracy thank you very very very much that's a nice idea [Applause] and finally more and finally I would like to wish all of our staff all of our students and our entire Community Merry Christmas happy Hanukkah happy Kwanzaa and happy New Year and happy holidays I think I covered them all but we want to wish you a joyous and peaceful holiday season may you spend time with family and friends and truly reflect on the reason that we have for the season and Madam president that is my update for the evening update I'll go first you can because I know you're gonna talk let's see here I attended band Jam at Shadow Ridge High School and this morning I attended a great event uh as the a school celebration at El Mirage Elementary and that was just so much fun and congratulations to that school um Tracy it has been an honor to serve with you and a former board member asked me to read a statement because she could not attend tonight uh Tracy it has been an amazing board member an asset to the Dysart Unified School District she is dedicated in her service and is a tremendous advocate for public education I was lucky to work side by side with her for eight years in that time I witnessed her love for each School her desire to be at every celebration her well thought out comments on board topics and discussions her Quest and continual knowledge and professional development and most important a friend and listening ear to everyone she's done all this through health issues and extremely difficult family hardships she is selfless and just keeps Trucking Tracy I appreciate all your hard work over these years and it was a pleasure to serve shoulder to shoulder with you and to learn from you your voice on the board will be missed best of luck on your next adventure Jennifer Tanner the last time I want to push this um okay so I had one thing I think um and that was uh to Echo the sentiments of uh Dr Dean the prayers and thoughts go to the families affected by the vehicle crash yesterday um not only does it affect the families but it also affects the community as a whole and please keep the families and the Valley Vista family in your thoughts um children going leaving this Earth Too Soon Is it can be hard on everyone I also attended the a school breakfast celebration at El Mirage and it was an awesome celebration thank you to Southwest Foods yay their stuff is always great so congratulations to Ms Davis Mr Haney and the fabulous staff at El Mirage you deserve the success and looking forward to the breakfasts there's a couple of them that's going to be next week and I plan on being there and finally um thank you Dysart for allowing me to serve you over these past 12 years so many people have asked me what am I going to do with my Thursday nights um I'll find something one of the things I plan on doing is taking sign language learning something totally different and uh um it's going to be kind of hard but uh I will continue to reach out to the schools you're not done with me I just might not be sitting up here on the dice but I would still like to come out and attend the events and the dance recitals and the celebrations and um uh different events and so if you need to get in touch with me Luis has got my contact info um 12 years ago um during the election I lost my son a month before the elections took place and so I did not campaign and uh you know my heart just was not in it and uh to win to me that was a sign from above from my son and so I'm leaving the district after 12 years um it's kind of odd I started in this position and um each year the president of the board has the um the duty if they wish to move people around so uh Miss Pritchard thank you for putting me back over here I greatly appreciate it because uh I started here I ended here I would like to thank so many different people from the district whether it was staff students and parents it has been it has been a ride uh there's been good times there's been bad times but we've all done it together as a family and I so appreciate that so thank you very much for allowing me to be a part of dice art I greatly appreciate it I'm the governing board approved the consent agenda items as presented second motion made by Tracy sourcing fell seconded by Crystal Shopkins where she carries so we moved to action discussion items each one recommendation to approve the appointment of assistant superintendent for Education Services Dr Dean Madam president members of the governing board members of cabinet in our community this evening I am pleased to provide a recommendation to the governing board to finalize the cabinet for um for this uh this administrative team upon removal of the interim tag in my position in October we were excited to begin the process to finalize the hire of the assistant superintendent for Education Services and we'd like to thank Dr Shelly assai who has served in that position as interim during this time however this evening after an interview process we are proud to recommend to the governing board the full-time appointment of Dr Shelly assai as the assistant superintendent for Education Services and again the completion of this administrator team and so it's our pleasure this evening to recommend Dr acai for hire do you have a question are we going to insert the marathon Clause into her contract as well I I have no problem with inserting the marathon Clause into anyone else's contract except for mine thank you any comments or questions from the board just one quick one congratulations fellow Warrior I just found out that we went to the same high school so congratulations with that I move the board approved the appointment of Dr Shelly assai's assistant superintendent for Education Services second motion made by Christine Pritchard seconded by Don Densmore motion carries congratulations [Applause] next we move to H2 recommendation to approve administrative certificated and licensed employee contract language and benefit packages for the 2023-2024 school year Dr Dean thank you madam president members of the governing board cabinet and our community this evening I will turn this item over to Dr polling thank you Dr Dean Madam president members of the board cabinet and Community it's hard to believe we're already planning for the 23-24 school year and uh we're in full motion and preparation this is an annual item and it's asking for approval of the contract language and benefits packages there are minimal changes and they have been approved by our attorney Jennifer McLennan and with that I'll take any questions I do have a question or comment on the certified teacher contract if you look at item number 14 it says teacher agrees to teach such grade grades or subject as the teacher may be assigned to teach and to perform other such duties as may be assigned um my concern with the language of the other such duties as may be a sign is are teachers getting assigned a bunch of extra duties um like some teachers have before school Duty they have after school Duty they have they don't get their duty-free 30-minute lunch teachers are expected not required to attend a bunch of evening events like and anybody who's been in the classroom knows that once you step foot on campus it's non-stop until you leave so we've got teachers some teachers stepping foot on campus from 6 30 not leaving till 3 30 or 7 o'clock and not leaving till four and then we want them to come back for a bunch of extra night activities we've got Chick-fil-A night we've got um McDonald's and I they've got the Fall Festival they've got uh what a Polar Express it's like it's never ending you know so I I'm concerned that our teachers are going to get burned out and every single time no it's not required but this is how they get us other duties as assigned so that's that's kind of a concern for me for our teachers because we keep hearing that they're burned out and I I can attest that when you go non-stop all day the last thing you want to do is go do something else at night Madam president member Chapman I'll be happy to comment on this first of all I want to say that I'm a big fan of any restaurant night and I think that there are important things but I understand the concern and and we we share the concern that we want to protect our teachers and their energy and their their Vigor and excitement for what it is that their primary responsibility is and that is of teaching and we have worked with our principals and will continue to work with and have conversations to try to minimize aspects that are outside of the classroom we want the vast majority of their energy in the classroom with our kids and while there may be a a Duty or two that's part of a daily responsibility we certainly don't want to do anything that's burning them out and so you have our word that we have been and will continue to work with our our school principals to help them find ways to cover things that continue to free up our teachers to do the excellent work that they do in their classrooms thank you I do appreciate that and it would be nice in a in a dream world if we could just pay teachers for the teacher duties because otherwise we're paying people with master's degree salaries to open milk boxes at breakfast you know and we've got instead of teaching and Grading and calling home and working with students you know we've got teachers running around doing this doing that they're doing this Duty they're doing that Duty and somebody's out so this para is being pulled for that and so I just want to make sure that you know especially with our parents that they're not being pulled to do other duties as assigned point take it I think we're on the same page on this so thank you very much I'm of the board approve administrative certificate and licensed employee contract language and benefit packages for the 2023-2024 school year motion made by Christine Pritchard seconded by Tracy sorcingfield motion cares next we move to action discussion item three recommendation for renewal of eligible and administrative certificate and licensed staff and authorization to issue employment contracts for the 2023-2024 school year Dr Dean Madam president member of the governing board cabinet in our community Dr Poling thank you Dr Dean Madam president members of the board cabinet Community this item is in concert with the previous item this is another annual item and we're asking approval for eligible certificate and licensed staff re-employment and authorize the issuance of employment contracts our timeline for issuing contracts is very similar to last year we would release certificate contracts February 17th of 2023 and have them due back by Friday March 10th of 2023 and this timeline will allow us to remain at the front of the competitive employment Market identify vacant openings and search for new hires in a timely manner and contracts would be due back April 14th of 2023 and excuse me due back Friday March 10th staff can get out of their contract without liquidated damages by April 14th of 2023 and that date has been moved up two weeks to allow us more time for recruiting identify open positions but teachers would still have from the time of March 10th until April 14th to gather their contract without paying liquidated damages and administrative timeline those contracts would be released February 9th due back by March 10th and have the similar April 14th deadline and pay liquid liquidated damages after that so I'll stand for any questions 23 2024 school year motion made by Christine Pritchard seconded by Tracy sorcing bill okay discussions Madam president members of the governing board cabinet in our community Dr polling will present this item as well thank you Dr Dean Madam president members of the board Cadman Community this is another annual item and it's similar to the previous item you just approved but it's for classified staff so we're asking approval of the notice of employment language and again these have mental changes and they've been approved by our attorney foreign Madam president members of the governing board cabinet in our community this will be the last item that Dr polling presents this evening thank you Dr Dean Madam president members of the board cabinet and Community this is another annual item and it's attached in concert with the previous item and this is asking approval of the issuance of notice of employment to eligible classified staff for their positions for 2023 2024.
you know he told me he told me the other day he's a slim 260. so yep still locked up here no points about 50 seconds left here in the first period foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] out of bounds Cameron Carney in the down position Robert's looking to pin here [Music] interesting move there to chop the elbow at the start yes there it is again Robo chop Robert is not letting him go no points awarded for Jenny's County 2-0 after the first period Robert in the down position let's see if Robert can escape this wow looks like Robert is just gonna stand up here and just get out of that that was so easy that is sheer power yes [Music] Carney dancing around here Robert's now phased he's just tapping him on the head they're locked up now almost out of bounds Robert pushes him back in bounds Carney shoots Robert sprawls Robert has a knee Robert gets around two points to Greensburg you can hear Bob in the stands right now yep Goes For That Elbow chop again it does so tired Carney has still not escaped about 20 seconds left Robert is just not giving any points up right now looks like Robert's going to try to flip Carney here can he get it [Applause] doesn't look like it in the period too [Applause] still one period left Anything Could Happen Robert needs to finish strong here secure the win the Eiser Tower doesn't fall easily so it's it can last another minute 50.
the start of the school year was an exciting one beginning with our in-person back to school night every family that came to back to school night received an avid t-shirt for their student also we officially opened our Makerspace classroom for TK through fourth grade students Mariana held our first book fair of the school year in September it was the most successful book fair ever our Mariana students were able to shop on campus during the day with their teacher and with their parents in the evening it was great to see the parents back on campus Saturday school has also returned with six scheduled throughout the year as well as our after-school clubs returning to our site we have a math club for middle school and an art club for our youngest students also in September second grade went on a field trip to the Apple Valley Center for Innovation it was great to hear them talk about all the exciting things they learned sixth grade had a special visit for absd school police with an anti-bullying message as well well word got out about how much fun the second graders had at the Apple Valley for Center for Innovation so in October kindergarten fourth grade got to see what all the excitement was about as they got to visit the center as well the students were all smiles when they came back to Mariana also in October Middle School athletics returned with an amazing volleyball team our school was painted thank you avoc it really needed a makeover there was a Fall Fest Middle School dance we celebrated Red Ribbon Week and we had a costume parade for Halloween phew October was a busy month for us November was also a busy month for Mariana as we wrapped up to the first trimester of school students were busy with Thanksgiving projects Middle School went and I'm going to college field trip to UCLA where they got to go watch a UCLA football game and parents were able to join their children for awards assemblies it was so great to see them so far in December Mariana had some amazing steam fair projects that were submitted by several students as this month goes on we are looking forward to seeing winter performances from kindergarten first and second grade classes what a fun and festive way to end theater taking a peek into 2023 we are looking forward to our Middle School volleyball wrapping up in basketball getting underway Mariana's family stem night at the Apple Valley Center of innovation and our Spring Book Fair where students and parents can come browse after school Mariana will have more exciting events take place as the year goes on but we are proud to share glimpse of our year so far with you thank you for letting us share this evening we hope you all enjoy a safe and happy winter break thank you ladies good job up next High Desert Premier Academy Angelique Daniel [Applause] good evening board members president Raleigh and cabinet I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving and I'm honored to stand before you all once again to inform you of the accomplishments and upcoming events of high desert Premiere Academy we are pleased to share that we have completed our wasc mid-cycle review we have not received the final results yet however the committee we believe it was a big success the WASP committee chair stated that he thought High Desert Premier Academy is a model alternative school amongst other things we hope that the positive statements he shared will come to us soon the visit was a virtual visit and I along with several other peers worked closely with Miss Macy carrying the iPad from class to class to show the hard-working students we have on our campus the team asked us students questions like what are we doing to work towards College what opportunities come with being at our school how our school system different is different from others and even things we'd like to see more of our academic counselor Mr Serrano is currently working with seniors individually to help them fill out their FAFSA and start applications at VVC our goal is to have 100 application completion rate and get these seniors where they need to be there are several awareness months celebrated in December and we decided we wanted to focus on read a new book month and Universal human rights month I looked up a couple things and research shows that reading books can boost brain activity help prevent memory loss and people who read regularly have an above average attention span as well we encourage our students to focus on finishing a new book this month our librarian has been giving out free books to students to take home and read at their free time this month will be the 74th anniversary of the universal Declaration of Human Rights it will be celebrated on December 10th here at High Desert Premier Academy we motivate our students to appreciate their opportunities that we are given in our history classes we are focusing on learning our rights and how they protect us we want all of our students to be prepared for situations where our rights might be undermined and we hope that teaching our students is subject about their rights will help them protect themselves later in the future okay this month we also started two incentive programs to motivate students to do well in class both with academics and attendance teachers have been giving out owl books to students and Owl cars that can be exchanged for a variety of items in our new Al store we now have new Al merch available in all sizes in different colors and we also have hot chocolate you know everybody you trying to get the hot chocolate and we all want to stay warm in the sweater weather last month English won and English 2 students had the opportunity to watch literature come to life in a Broadway musical these students went to the Los Angeles Pantages Theater and watched the Broadway show To Kill a Mockingbird sadly I couldn't personally see it but I heard students had a blast watching this up close and personal this month our seniors have the opportunity to go to Disneyland I'm excited to go because I've never been on a field trip to an amusement park and I haven't been to Disneyland in years and I heard they got good churros too so I can't wait I can't wait to go and share with you guys my experience next time thank you all for your time and support and I hope you have an amazing winter break and happy holidays have fun and get some rest thank you well thank you we'll be looking forward to uh next month's presentation you're gonna have to keep up in the ante all right Granite Hills Ashley Guzman [Applause] [Music] good evening board members superintendent Nelson and attendees I Ashley Guzman student representative from Granite Hills High School feel appreciated to be here with you all on our last board meeting of 2022.
sorry my bad but um yeah so we're just here to like Express that we want him back as our coach because you know he's helped us a lot and not just with basketball he's helped us like you know want to motivate ourselves to do better better in school because as student athletes who need to have your grades a certain way you need to not have you know disciplinary so you know he's helped us a lot throughout everything and so have our other coaches but you know we just feel like something's missing a part of our team and you know he's a big factor of why we feel as like a piece is missing so that's why we're here and you know thank you for listening and yeah the boys basketball team and yeah thank you thank you anyone else want to speak oh I just want to stay on the cat in the basketball team I've been here for four years and uh ever since Lopez came I feel like we there's been a family obviously we've been a family before but now we're like really together helped us get along and uh he honestly I was 40 like 40 pounds heavy before but hit me up and lose 30 pounds I'm in the best shape of my life and I just want to thank you for that for me like he really helped us a lot thank you [Applause] last year I was on the basketball team I didn't really see the I couldn't really be in person to see the effects of Lopez's coaching but you can just tell by how the basketball players carried himself last year like the the spears up like it was just it was a good vibe and it showed too because they opened all of it suits and won it so and even even like not even as a coach Lopez is just such a good guy like you see him in the hall he'll give you a hug and just give you some advice to fight it's like for today and he just it sticks with you like he's a really good kid I'm not kidding God sorry but yeah [Applause] come on uh I just wanted to say that uh coach Lopez helped me throughout you know my two years of knowing him you know he helped me through basketball he inspired me to keep playing basketball I wasn't gonna really play basketball but because I'm a football player but he told me to keep going and I keep I kept going and like last year he brought the energy to the bench and I feel like that's what's missing from us so you know it will be really grateful if you guys really thought about this so thank you [Applause] I think Lopez came in at the right time he changed the whole demeanor of the team and just improve everybody like mentally and everything thank you [Applause] he came in changed the whole demeanor of the team just boosting the mentality and everything the season didn't turn out how we wanted but knowing that we would thinking we would have him going into the next season felt good but now he's gone it doesn't feel the same Generations [Applause] um hi my name is Stephanie Oviedo uh Colfax Avenue I had no intentions of speaking today but I was really moved by uh the two big things that are going on right now which are the Paris and the lgbtq community um first and foremost I have a very close family member of mine that is a Paris uh I personally could never do something like that uh it's a lot and it just it's really disheartening that they work part-time and they have to work a second job don't have any health insurance uh you know it's just really sad because they're working with somebody who is these children who are special needs and I feel that you know not everybody has a strength but to do something like that it's so important and I just really hope that moving forward you know I did also hear about other parents going to different districts because they are being offered more I would hope that it's just something that takes precedence and it's something that's very important that we can find more in the budget to help with um my second issue is the lgbtq Community um which is not an issue at all actually I'm here in support and in um you know sorry I just I have like a little I got a little nervous during these things um basically hearing up both sides my family always you know says how I play Devil's Advocate hearing both sides it's very strong wording and I kind of don't agree with you know when people kind of jeer and sneer at people saying things that we don't agree with I feel like we should all be very respectful even though what they're saying is a little much and biased and very dated um I went to Catholic School my whole life but I was born and raised in Clifton my whole life so in the past year I've made tremendous friendships within people who were lgbtq um amazing people that were in our late 20s now and they still have to deal with trauma that they've carried in childhood and it's so sad and disheartening that you know they didn't have a voice growing up in the school system and now that we can offer that opportunity to our youth in the future uh I don't have kids I don't know if that's around I'm going to take in life but what I do know is that I have you know uh family members that are in Clifton and that I just think that the youth should be able if they don't have support in their home that they should be able to go to somewhere where they feel like they do have support and I think that's something that we as a community we as the board of you know the Board of Education that's something that should be taken into consideration and you know these kids shouldn't feel like they should feel included and they shouldn't feel like you know Outsiders or anything like that because it's just not right in my opinion so it's just all I have to say thank you [Applause] well good evening my name is Laura lalama and I am the proud president of the Clifton Education Association I want to review a few things that were said tonight so the group The the two people here that say um horrible things about the lgbtq plus um group and I'm an ally so I've been involved with many of the workshops through the NJEA and we have the night um groups with workshops with the Key Club so I want the I want the board to know about the groups that they represent they're called the center for Garden State families which is an ultra-conservative Christian group lobbied against health and physical stand physical education standards in public schools and has spread harmful disinformation and State Legislative hearings on social media and in person speaking events like ours while they claim to be a Christian group they've decided to the traditional family is all they're interested in they need to they continue to Advocate just for their conservative beliefs the head of it is Gregory Quinlan he's the founder and president president of this group a self-proclaimed ex-gay lobbyist left the homosexual lifestyle in 1992 to become lobbying against same-sex marriage and then the former West Milford Public School teachers currently serves as the Director under his guidance they've been outspoken about New Jersey sexual education standards and lgbtq standards in public schools they have directly accused Governor Murphy in the Democratic party of grooming children I'm so disgusted we have the best staff here in the state of New Jersey the NJEA as the they say disgusting things about the NJEA because they know that we will go on the attack the the drag queen Story Hour which I appreciate what you said Samantha that was hijacked by the organization and it was spliced and dubbed by a group called The New Jersey project which is another um Koch brothers group and they're also known as chaos and control so these are the people that we're dealing with they do not care about students they only care about their own 501c3 organization and their funding in 2018 They promoted uh XK Nea caucus at the ra meeting they were trying to infiltrate there they have used their Twitter account to spread disinformation about covet 19.
it's on the board I move the board approved the issuance of notice of employment eligible classified staff in their current positions at the 2023-2024 salary level with benefits commensurate with a position second motion made by Christine Pritchard seconded by Don Densmore motion carries next we move to action discussion item six recommendation to approve 2022-2023 revised expenditure budget Dr Dean Madam president members of the governing board cabinet in our community Mr Hicks will present the remainder of this information Mr X do you have anything to add very good Madam President we request approval of the revised expenditure budget okay any questions or comments from the board approve the 2022-2023 revised expenditure budget motion made by Christine Pritchard seconded by Tracy Sawyer syncfeld motion carries Extreme Action discussion item seven discussion and possible action and temporarily suspend policy 2.19 School Board policy process for the December 8 2022 meeting Dr Dean Madam president members of the governing board cabinet in our community this evening as we have discussed in uh previous sessions including our study session today in order for us to take action and make decisions on our policies in one meeting we are requesting that we temporarily suspend policy 2.19 from our current board policy which would require us to have two reads for policy to make any changes we ask over two meetings I'm sorry we ask that we suspend that policy this evening so that we may consider action on our policies in one meeting in the next agenda item do you have any questions or comments from the board I move the board temporarily suspend policy section 2.19 School Board policy process for the December 8th 2022 meeting second motion made by Christine Pritchard seconded by Don Densmore motion carries through the action discussion item eight repeal of governing board policy sections one through twelve and Adoption of the trust policy model Dr Dean Madam president members of the governing board members of cabinet in our community as we've discussed in multiple settings as well as today during the study session we are recommending the repeal of our current governing board policies sections one through twelve and the adoption of the trust policy model in so doing this will sever any remaining ties with asba as it relates to policy and policy services and will move us forward in the adoption of a new policy model as has been discussed with the governing board as well in the study session we will continue to go back and review our policies to make sure that we add meat to the bones that we're asking to be adopted this evening and we will once again in July begin our process of policy review where we will be reviewing a chapter each month as we have in the past and so this evening we would uh request that the board approve repealing policy sections one through twelve and adopting new policies with the trust policy model and we do have two people that requested to speak to the item if you want to read the statement this is the time for the public to comment members of the board may not discuss items that are not specifically identified on the agenda pursuant to ARS 38-431.01 action taken as a result of public comment will be limited to directing staff to study the matter responding to any criticism or scheduling the matter for further consideration and decision at a later date in order to facilitate accomplishing the business of the district in a timely manner a time limit of three minutes will be imposed for each individual or group addressing the board when you approach the podium please state your name for the record we have Janet LeBlanc foreign hi good evening I'm Janet LeBlanc and as a tax paying citizen of this District I do not support any language in these policies that state gender identity or sexual orientation it's time to get this right I am asking on behalf of parents and our community that you not approve these policies as written there are only two genders male and female regardless of how anyone might identify any other exception is false teaching and I believe none of you want to teach anything that is false if I tell you I identify as a dog and even dress like a dog or act like a dog or bark like a dog does it make me a dog no and if you believe that or even entertain the fact to allow me to believe and act like a dog then you become part of the problem please quit entertaining and promoting false teachings within this District by incorporating this language into any policy by doing so each of you are guilty of twisting the minds of our children and creating yes creating mental illness and then it's no wonder we need social workers and have behavior issues please quit polluting the minds of our children by allowing them to live in fantasy land through the adoption of these policies Jesus tells us specifically in Matthew 18 6 if you cause one of these little ones who trust in me to fall into sin it would be better for you to have a large Millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea please examine your conscious and moral code and remove this language out of these all these policies and District policies and stop promoting the unrealistic fact that the that there are more than two genders we all know there are only two facts show it DNA proves it please teach the truth thank you [Applause] thank you we have Larry LeBlanc good evening I'm Larry LeBlanc I wish to make it clear that I Echo every word from Janet to further ad stopped indoctrinating our children by acknowledging gender identity in truth it doesn't exist one man one woman it's God's love that is not to be broken please do not approve these policies or anything that is heading this way of similar character thank you Madam president members of the governing board um the trust policy models that are being asked to be approved this evening are have been created by the risk retention trust which is which serves multiple school districts in the state of Arizona they all policies have been written by attorneys and reflect law I'm not aware of any aspect of any of the policies that we're asking you to adopt this evening that are related to any gender identity curriculum gender identity teachings or gender identity conversations I didn't see what you just said but there is um something in there um I think it was the Civil Rights piece in the student section I just did a quick search um as they were speaking and there is something that states you cannot discriminate against someone based on their gender identity but I didn't see anything in any other way supporting that Madam president miss Densmore you are correct that that we cannot federal law prohibits discrimination of any kind whatsoever I appreciate the concern of those that have been voiced this evening however it is my understanding that that those concerns are not found in these policies that we're adopting I I didn't see um as we go through the policies though I mean beginning in next year and Madam president yeah Madam president again I appreciate the conversations um this evening by Mr Mr LeBlanc thank you very much for um your comments and and we certainly understand the concern as we discussed in the study session what we are adopting we're asking for adoption this evening are the bones of the trust policy we will go we will spend the next six months doing even a deeper dive than than cabinet has already of going through and making sure that we fill any holes in the policy process and we will bring those four forward um you know to the board in the next six months and then begin our uh our review cycle in July however Miss Densmore as you state should we uncover anything uh in which we have not seen or or or see anything that is concerning in terms of any type of a discriminatory piece we would bring that back for revision any other questions comments and I moved to motion to repeal all current I start governing board policies within sections one through twelve effective December 31st 2022 and adopt the trust policy model and policies within chapters one through five with changes discussed in the study session effective January 1 2023.
yeah knock on wood they both look very sweaty and tired wow shot there I don't think this is boxing looks like they're throwing punches at this point Robert's angry I just don't think Carney's arms are long enough hook onto Robert's leg two pointsberg that brings the score Greensburg seven Jennings County zero there's still a minute and 18 seconds left can we get a shutout in this match is that is that a thing in wrestling a shutout I mean I would imagine that it's fairly hard to do because all they have to do here is escape Escape for a point if he does that would be a shutout here he would have to uh not let him Escape for another minute in five seconds here Robert is just chopping Carney's left elbow that has to hurt [Applause] [Music] Robert trying to flip Carney around Carney just not able to get out of the pause of Robert iser's big meaty hand yes Robert that's a very big meaty hands Robert is looking for a pin he's just trying to get the most points here Kearney is just not flipping over [Applause] [Music] five seconds left here in the last period looks like that's gonna wrap it up here Greensburg is going to win that match seven zero Frankfurt an impressive shutout from the Isaac Tower yes has Greensburg lost a varsity match yet looks like um Tristan Smith wrestling here uh looks like he's wrestling Logan Pike should be an interesting match oh wow easy just flips him he just flips him she gonna get a pin in the first 10 seconds four more seconds and it's been 20.
but excited to be entering 2023 with new goals and plans to finish up the school year so far our cougars have kicked off the month of December with several performances from the great Academy we had a winter dance on the first 10 second a holiday recital a couple days back today we had a Holiday Spectacular and next week on the 16th and 17th our theater program will be putting together a home for the holidays performance this past weekend our athletics department put together our first holiday career classic and it was a huge success we had many food vendors a classic car show pictures with Santa and we also held a toy drive it ended up raising over a thousand dollars for athletics the toy drive they held filled multiple bins that went straight to Sparks of Love which goes directly to families within the district in order to give them a fun Christmas continuing with Athletics and fall Sports coming to an end winter sports have begun girls and boys basketball are getting on their way with their multiple with their numbers growing on both teams and they are heading in the right direction boys and girls soccer is also getting on their way and heading in the right direction with veteran programs on both teams with wrestling about halfway through the season I want to mention that they did well on all their tournaments tonight is actually the first desert skyly contest with Barstow and this Saturday is the annual wrestling invite where they are hosting 12 different schools to come to our school and compete girls water polo is also getting started with their first game starting up next week we are very excited to see how they do this season our student athletes aren't the only ones exceeding they have with having to keep up with sports and their grades all of our students have been preparing for finals ASB has been trying to make these stressful weeks a bit more enjoyable for all with a holiday spirit week where students are dressing up as holidays characters and cozy sweaters and my favorite personal favorite pajama day tomorrow our women's empowerment Club has also been fundraising and lifting holiday spirit by selling hot chocolate and cookies ASB has been preparing for a pep rally which has been sadly postponed until January so that teachers can continue to help prepare their students for the upcoming exams with that being said I want to end off with a special message for the parents it isn't an original and you may have heard a similar piece before but it is something important that I did want to spread so dear parents these upcoming exams that are starting soon do not Define your children I know we are all anxious to do well because I am too but please remember that amongst the students there is an artist that doesn't understand math an entrepreneur who doesn't care for English a musician who struggles in chemistry and they've and the athlete whose physical fitness is more important to them than physics uh so if your child does get high test scores then congratulate them and show them that you're proud of them but if they don't don't take away their confidence and pride some students may also be very smart when it comes to work but stress during tests don't let a number score Define them tell them that it is okay and just an exam they have bigger things to worry about in life and letting their grade Define them will drain them of their happiness and self-worth let them know you love them and show them that you care they may not have the same plans as you did but they are still valued and it is a holiday season after all so spend more time sharing love and being with those you care for take advantage of the upcoming two weeks of break to be joyful and thankful for everything life has given you and even the small things you cannot control including test scores spend as much time together being warm safe and enter the new year with a new set of goals thank you so much for your time today and I hope you have a wonderful night I'll see you all next year [Applause] thank you Ashley good message thank you last but not least is Apple Valley High School Cheyenne Valentine foreign good evening to the members of the board and attendees my name is Cheyenne Valentine the avhs ASB line president now before we start I just want to say such a good job to all of the junior high and middle schoolers who gave their speech tonight you guys did such an amazing amazing job and I can't wait to see what things you accomplish in the future um so to start off I would like to discuss some of the events that have taken place since we last met last month we had our Thanksgiving break where all of our students and staff were able to to spend some relaxing time and quality time with their families and friends now don't get me wrong even though we all got to take a break we still got lots done there was the mayor's leader youth sorry the mayor's youth leadership field trip were some junior class ASB representatives were able to learn about the government at a local level we also started the transition from our fall Sports to winter sports some of these sports are basketball soccer and wrestling they're all off to an amazing start of their seasons and our stands are continuously filled with Sun Devil Pride we're also in the process of planning some very exciting events such as every 15 minutes and talent show so if I look a little bit Dusty tonight that'd be because we're running our run-throughs and setting up tonight because it's tomorrow um where did I leave off talent show allows our students to take a step out of their comfort zone and perform the act that they put so much effort into their peers we have 11 acts total this year including our four Class Acts these class acts are all run by ASB and they compete to win money that they can use for events that they put on later in the year and bragging rights of course the winner out of the other acts will win a trophy and a gift basket we're excited to see all of the amazing skills that students at avhs as well as the support from their peers and Community tomorrow night our senior class will also be having a fundraiser next week which is a drive-in concept where students will be able to watch the Christmas movie Home Alone in the comfort of their own cars and surrounded by their friends Posta also gave back to the community this month by holding a coat drive throughout the month as we're approaching the end of the first semester of the 2022 and 2023 school year we're inspired by the progress and connections that we've made so far and are looking forward to the amazing things that are to come as always thank you for all of your support have a good break foreign thank you Cheyenne all right just moving real quickly through here uh before we get to some presentations um reports Union Representatives uh CSEA are you here no we got it not yet um we're gonna actually keep the kids just so that they can see the presentation to a few board members that are exiting so I just wanted to make sure because we usually send them out now so that they get home for school so we're going to hold on to them so that we they're here for the recognition answered you you're fine you're up thank you thank you the kids make it so hard to follow them thank you this evening for giving csca an opportunity to speak to you um I'd like to start with thanking you for recognizing the importance of our salary study because of this we are winding up this year with the cumbersome task of a classification and salary study one step closer to completion we will greet 2023 moving forward with implementation negotiations and closing up the successor contract I want to thank all of you board members especially those you who are exiting uh for your time and dedication to this district and the members of our community it is invaluable and I think that many members many people here this evening appreciate that um Mr so I want to thank you for your years of dedication of service and our many heated spirited and open-minded conversations I've enjoyed them over the years and I certainly um have valued our friendship that we've developed over the years and I wish you nothing but the best in your next journey and thank you very much um this is my last school board meeting as CSEA president I've been doing this for 23 years I believe and so having said that I would like to introduce you to our president-elect and that is Nicholas Garrett and I'd like to give him an opportunity to speak to you [Applause] thank you Kim and yes it's definitely hard to follow all these well-spoken youngsters because I'm very uh inarticulate this week um I look forward to getting to know all the board members on on a better level and I totally appreciate all the work that the cabinet has done I volunteer a ton of my time to the youth in the community I'm a transplant I'm not native to Apple Valley I'm a veteran thanks to Porter when I'm staying so I appreciate all the cabinet time and all the time that you guys put in as board members as volunteers too it is a tough job but I think it's the best thing one can do to improve the community so I look forward to serving chapter 828 with all the tenacity and everything I've learned through my leadership skills in the military and hopefully we can continue to move this District in a positive way thank you foreign [Applause] thank you uh Apple Valley Unified abuta Karen are you here oh look at that come on thank you she got stuck in the back okay good evening members of the board superintendent Nelson cabinet and audience it's hard to believe that we are coming up on the end of the first half of this school year although not always seen a Buddha has been able to accomplish a great deal during the first half of the school year we have had success a successful round of negotiations another successful round to soon begin held many successful community events have supported teachers in various ways held sorry handed out scholarships to 10 of last year's graduates will soon be handing out classroom grants to teachers who applied in one have recently supported students by donating to Operation School Bell and most importantly have and will continue to build positive relationships throughout the district in the community we cannot express enough in words how grateful we are for the support understanding and patience during this time our most recent Community event was the Christmas tree lighting in Apple Valley it was heartwarming to see children teenagers and yes even adults excited to receive a goody bad filled with Plato cookie cutter avoida goodies and candy cane and yes the adults love the Play-Doh one person told us that she always tells everybody to come to the teacher Booth because they have the best gifts um sorry we absolutely love representing our teachers and showing our community that Apple Valley teachers not only put their heart and soul into the classroom and at school events but also into community events I wish we could record the appreciation that is expressed at the community events for the teachers to hear our second half of this school year will be filled with more community events however a Buddha will be focusing more on events and supports for the teachers I need to mention that none of this would be possible without the hard work of our Buddha reps committee chairs and members volunteers and the exec board a Buddha would like to recognize Wilson so and Chris Nunez for their service passion and hard work while serving on the school board board service is one of the toughest roles of all and per you performed it with dedication and tenacity Express especially during our last couple a very unique and challenging school years a Buddha is truly grateful to both of you for the support you have shown to the teachers during serving your time serving on the school board we appreciate all that you have done and hope that you continue to experience success to feel fulfilled in all that you do have nothing but the best of luck in your future endeavors and enjoy this life we are given with that being said we have a token of appreciation for you and we would like to present Mr so with a plaque for your 29 years of service to the teachers and the children of our community and for the joy that your support has brought to our schools throughout the year thank you very much okay thank you Karen okay moving right along uh superintendent uh comments yeah a couple things going on in the district that students hit as they were speaking and I just want to touch base on yakaloma's hiking Club I have to tell you that when I was this was proposed I had a little bit of anxiety about it because they were going to go climb Bell Mountain and I've climbed Bell Mountain and I wasn't um real cons you know I kept thinking oh my goodness oh my goodness so when they talked about Mr Schlosser and Mr Conrad going and helping them I thought yeah well that's how I ended up at the top of bell Mountain too so um good job and I loved getting updates each time they'd go out for a hike um in Mariana Academy has just done some amazing things I've been out at the school I was there yesterday after school let out but I have to tell you that I engaged with some students here on campus here on this property who were here practicing for volleyball and their advisor wasn't here yet but their parents had dropped them off they were all in the the multi-purpose room and I went in and I said you guys all okay and they're like yeah and those students without any person there to watch over them were coordinated organized and so I started stopping by to watch them practice and they were the most encouraging group to each other it was so wonderful to watch and so I follow up with that because I um feel like when Angelique speaks we all want to hear about the merch right um when Angelique spoke last year for the first time she was a little offended that she didn't have a shirt with her School logo on it and we have them now right yes I have one as well so I'm going to come check out the merch but I was involved in the mid-cycle um and when they were exiting and they could not say enough for the students at High Desert Premiere and the care that has been given um and we're gonna share some really exciting data down the line not tonight not my job yet to do that that's not fair but um some really good stuff that comes out of high desert premiere uh Granite Hills High School spark of Love support amazing it's all set up in the other room we will be having families that have been nominated to come through and get ready for Christmas um I got to attend a basketball game one night when I was at Granite Hills High School there was a lot of cheering the JV was killing it literally and the J and the varsity boys were being told by their coach to calm down because they were expending all their energy that they needed for the game um really fun to watch PJ day I agree um I'm gonna miss it this year at our site we do it on Friday when no students are around so if you have to have any business at the district know that some people will be in PJs there was a rumor that Mr Schulenburg might be but he's telling me that's not accurate so I'm just saying I announced it to the staff because he jokingly said he would so we'll just leave it at that um the other thing the the dear parent letter um amazing I think we all have to step back and remember that this is a time for relationships and and reconnecting and um it's not as easy as everybody thinks right yeah Apple Valley High School complementing others that's what these students do in this District dignity amazing so thank you and every 15 minutes I'm excited to watch that as it as it comes along because I know it's a few months out but an amazing process for students to participate in so and I look forward to hearing how the talent show goes we have new signage at ABCI a couple of the students talked about avci the Apple Valley Center for Innovation if you haven't been there this week they have a new sign that represents Apple Valley school district and the Lewis Center with the with um there's some painting that's gone on as well so we're excited about that they're about to go under contract after next board meeting to fix the Dome and that will improve that Center and access for students uh for students let's see there is an Esports competition here on Tuesday that will be um lots of competition across the district and I hear that we might have to compete as well so I think I'm practicing this weekend and I'll save the rest for at the end of the board meeting thank you thank you thank you attorney um board member comments Wilson do you have anything you'd like to add yeah thank you trying to put laundry music [Music] .com and uh but anyway uh yeah it's amazing that uh 20 or 30 years gone by and uh but I appreciate that and and then at the same time I you know I'm very proud of the fact that my four kids or graduate from airport High School yeah three three doctors in in my my daughters you know and uh and and I'm still supporting I'm still continue to support the Teachers Association I just want to know if it's all because recently we had a rotary cuff for the Teachers Association so I'll continue to support our teachers and our students thank you very much thank you Wilson [Applause] Maria uh well I'll start by thanking all the students for your presentation um it it's always heartwarming to learn about the things happening at your schools and I wish we could I could part out myself so that I can go to every single one of your events but I'm always open um and I will show up sometimes unannounced but I do enjoy um what you do on campus because it says a lot not only about your teachers but about your parents because you are a reflection of your parents where I come from we are told any party that you throw if you don't invite children that party will die in natural death so um this is a party school school is always a party we invite the children and we do our best so that it does not have a natural death um I'm also going to take this opportunity to thank Mr so for his years of service um when I met him it used to be a real hard situation where we will argue um and in most cases somebody had to back down and and I'm always the one that backs down because I want to be sure that we will still be friends the next time um so it's going to be hard um because I know I'm gonna miss him um when when we sit up here because most of the times when we set up here um he forgets that I am his uh his equal and so he will try to stop me from talking um but I'm gonna miss miss all that uh Mr um uh Nunez um this last few years has been great knowing you and um becoming a part of your um your unit your sphere um I'm going to miss that as well but I'm always a phone call away um this district has been home to me for so many years and I hope it continues to be home to me because you guys opened your arms and welcomed me and you've never treated me any different and I admire that thank you so much for another year and we hope that the new board that is coming on board uh will continue the service that you have told us to take care of and that is you you the students thank you again [Applause] thank you Maria Chris okay I know you guys know how short-winded I am so yeah to have had the opportunity to sit in this seat and to serve this community as a trustee of Apple Valley Unified School District school district has been a true honor um I am incredibly proud of this school district 18 months ago um I was appointed to this board and in the most tumultuous throws of a global pandemic and to see where we are today is it's amazing um today thanks to the outstanding efforts of our Administration our district Team all of our principals our faculty and teachers and of course all the incredible classified staff who serve our students we are thriving enrollment is up graduation graduation rates are above the state average and students and parents are engaging with the school in new and exciting ways every day it has been a true pleasure to be able to speak with so many people involved with the process of preparing our students to lead seek higher education and prepare for the workforce please remember Apple Valley Unified School District does not just teach kids to read and write that is no longer enough our district must continue to prepare our young people to be Innovative confident and to care for one another I would like to say thank you to my amazing wife and my incredible sun chase and for their support and for their sacrifice during this endeavor thank you to all my family and friends who encouraged me thank you to superintendent Mrs Nelson to Mr Schlosser Mr Conrad Mr schulenberg Miss Caudill thank you for leading this District in the direction that it needs to go and finally thank you to the Ford members of the sport to Dennis and Rick Maria and Wilson um for the show of confidence and selecting me to be the appointee in this seat and for the consummate professionalism and teamwork thank you all so much [Applause] thank you Chris Dennis well almost half years gone won't be long to be taking AP tests I would like to commend Wilson so for his knowledge and all your experience I enjoyed working with you Chris as a former student you got it all run for some other office next time all right but anyway and you young people that speak you've really improved it's a it's a really a pleasure to watch you all right that's it I'm going to expedite things that's it thank you Dennis and I'll uh I have something to say later when we get to item D so we'll keep moving along here real quick Dennis we have a readout for a closed session real quick in closed session the Board of Trustees took action and supported the following recommendation with the superintendent conference with labor negotiator on a motion by Maria a seconded by Wilson the Board of Trustees approved the following approve the memorandum of understanding with the California School Employees Association CSEA number 828 dated November 29th 02022 regarding an increase in hours effective December 2022 pending ratification by CSEA that's it okay oh the vote was 5-0 thank you uh just we need to uh board me approve the agenda uh consent agenda do we have a motion to approve okay we have a motion in the second all in favor aye any opposed hearing then that'll be the order okay we'll get down to recognition presentations uh attorney you're going to recognize outgoing Christopher Nunez Wilson so and then myself as president foreign [Music] so the first person we're going to recognize is um Mr Rick Raleigh so Rick if you would come up here for a minute so annually during our reorganization meeting which will take place on December 15th this year um the board elects the president and the clerk to the board and this year Mr Rick Raleigh served as president to the board and actually had to do some really difficult board meetings and often we count numbers of comment cards and things like that but he kept calm cool and collected at every moment and so I just want to say I appreciate having sat next to you during those moments that there was calm and that you always kept moving forward on the on the board so I appreciate it thanks Greg [Applause] I just want to uh you know we did have a contentious year this last this last year with coven and vaccinations and masks and things but I want to give credit really where credit is due and it's to the employees of the district because we as a board and the superintendent's office we gave direction that was sometimes very uh contentious for the staff to fulfill because they were getting pressured from different different groups parents students and everybody was did a very good job and that's where credit is due I just all I had to do was run the meetings and keep things on track but it was really the employees and it was my fellow board members that you know kept kept their cool as well I mean we had at one time four to five hundred people show up for a board meeting which was really unheard of until uh you know covet came and then people were realizing that the elected board members school board members were the only really governed fish government officials elected officials that they could talk to you know you can't talk to the state you can't talk to your Congressman so you could come to a local board meeting and and voice your concerns or your frustrations so it really goes to to everybody involved and I want to thank Chris for stepping up and getting uh asking for the appointment and Wilson for 30 years that's almost unheard of to be elected to something for 30 years and um but I appreciate it so I'm looking forward to another four years of serving as a board member and working with the district so thank you very much foreign [Applause] I'd like to thank Rick personally for holding us to the line uh with 500 people at these meetings it's the finest example of democracy you've ever seen I mean they're yelling they're screaming they got their views but that's what we're here for and um those nut jobs in Sacramento keep throwing more and more stuff at us we just kept working on it so anyway I really appreciate the job you did what do you really think Mr Bender right don't worry I will others that have presented that Mr Nunez stepped up during um what he thought was going to be kind of a neat run at being an appointee um he was gracious enough to take the appointment to learn to go out to school campuses and what I think is is amazing about Chris is he's a graduate of Granite Hills High School moved here in the fourth grade I believe um didn't look like anybody he shared that that you know that was different for him um went to Granite Hills High School graduated from granite in fact I'm going to share in a minute that Mr so was on the stage when he graduated um let's just have that realization right now right um he was in Mr Bender's class AP foreign we've discussed that he might have gone over the fence at my house to go into the pool with my neighbor's kids when I wasn't home but we're not really sure about that yeah a long time ago I don't hold that against him and I don't think he did it because my gate would have probably been unlocked let's just go with that anyway Chris represented um as a graduate as a parent as a spouse of a staff member and so he came as not just a Community member willing to serve but is all of those other things and every one of these board members give up their time and their energy and stay away from their families at least once a month if not more because they have to prepare for for board meetings and then all the visits that they do at school sites and so I just want to acknowledge what it means to be a board member Amanda you're getting ready Rick you're getting ready we've already talked about this um but the reality is is that it's big it's a lot and we don't get to run a school district without this group of volunteers that get elected by the community and so I just appreciate that this happens and it is the best form of democracy right like and we are in areas so these people represent different areas so that's wonderful so Chris I appreciate you so much [Applause] he says he said his thing okay Wilson come on up so so we thought that this meeting would go quick how many times did I say so so far so so okay Mr so was elected to the board in November of 1993.
so this needs to stop I am tired of it the kids in this District are tired of it the staff is tired of it and we will just keep putting up this fight because this needs to stop we do not want to hear this rhetoric anymore it hurts our students because they're students that listen to this meeting and we need to stop and I also want to thank my group because it's been lonely here at the top trying to talk and fight all this so I really appreciate everybody who spoke for the Paris and for the lgbtq plus community and I want to thank the Board of Ed Dana and Joe who's not here and Jim Daly for all your hard work for all your dedication to the kids of this community and the staff even though sometimes we didn't agree but that's the way it works so I respect you and all the hard work that you did do and thank you again um please the conferences that we have at night with the lgbtq plus please participate it's free it's for the community the more understanding that we have for each other the more love that we have for each other the better it is for our kids and our staff and our community thank you foreign okay we're going to um move into the adoption of the minutes of the November 17th regular meeting sorry Mr Roberts like my Mr Awad discussion seeing none roll call please Mr abadrabo yes Mr owad yes Miss bassford yes Miss Beltran Dr Danny Mr Paris yes vice president Daley yes and president Smith yes motion carries [Music] okay superintendent robertosie Europe thank you Mr President good evening Commissioners members of the community faculty and staff have joined us tonight I'd like to turn our attention to educational matters that impact our children a lot of what was discussed tonight no doubt is extremely important when I go to schools and I talk to our kids and I you know what our kids want our kids want to come to a school where they have adults who care about them where they feel comfortable where they have someone that they could go to if they have an issue our kids don't care what you look like they don't care what sexual orientation you are if our kids believe that you care about them then you're golden and our job here is to provide an environment where all of our kids regardless of what color they are what religion they are what sexuality they are feel comfortable in our schools and we're doing our best to provide that there's a few outside voices that are trying to penetrate this community and try to stop the good things that we're doing but we're never going to allow them we're always going to do our best to provide a safe learning environment for our children unfortunately they're going to have to deal with some people who may not like them for whatever reason um but what I can tell this board and tell members of the community that as long as I'm around as long as as long as I have any power to do anything we're going to make sure that our kids feel safe in our school and if they're not we're going to do our best to fix it there's a cultural war going on in this country and now all of a sudden it's converged on the Clifton Public Schools I'm not going to spend any more time on it if this is uh [Applause] I want to spend time on the things like donating two thousand eight hundred dollars to to clothe cold homeless people to feed people sorry I'm I'm a little frustrated tonight because we are one of the most diverse communities in the state of New Jersey and in this country and I believe that our faculty and staff and this community I believe that we that the vast majority of us believe in inclusiveness and being kind and being fair to everyone and so let's not let some outside forces come in and try to ruin the good thing that that we've got going and do we have do we have ways to go sure we have lots of areas where we can improve but it's not for lack of trying it's not for lack of being aware thank you now I'd like to talk about education and some things going on in our schools that okay good on December 7th we had instant decision day at Clifton High School instant decision day is when a number of colleges come to the school they'll interview our students right on the spot review their transcripts and accept them right at that moment so I'm proud to say that on instant decision day yesterday there were 13 schools faily Dickinson Bloomfield Caldwell Felician University Kane University Monmouth University Montclair NJIT Ramapo Rutgers Newark Seton Hall Stockton and William Patterson we had 64 students participate in instant decision day of those 63 were accepted to one or more colleges or universities of their choice on that day yesterday there's also an another 11 additional students who didn't participate in the interview but were already accepted um and among those students almost a half a million dollars in financial aid was offered that's pretty amazing foreign success I'd like to share some other things going on in a couple of our schools at school nine um on Tuesday night held a stem night science technology engineering and math for grades three through five and their theme that night was in outer space event um called out of this world students traveled through the solar system as they conquered a variety of activities they completed measurement tasks with 10 grams they completed distance calculations they solved equations and they worked with ozobots and they worked together students also had the opportunity to take a trip into the Star Lab which is like a big how would you describe the Star Lab it's like a uh yeah it's like a miniature planetarium that they they kind of blow up and um students and their parents were able to go in and learn about the different constellations uh the moon phases and the solar system the Clifton High School robotics team joined the event as well the robotics team showed the students how the robots worked and they allowed the elementary students to to interact with and control the robot so I bet you we definitely made some future robotics club members that that day it was really an amazing night thanks to the school nine team for putting that together um school 11 hosted a wonderful Community tree lighting ceremony last week the madcaps choir provided the perfect backdrop as students met with Santa and drank hot cocoa now that's fun stuff to usher in the holiday season and they also had a ribbon cutting ceremony to unveil their new book vending machine by the end of this month all of our elementary schools will have these book vending machines which the students are so excited when they see them they're excited to actually go to a vending machine that gives them a book to go read and they want to read the book as fast as they can so they go back and get another book it's pretty cool and uh really really nice way to encourage reading uh in our schools I want to thank Jessica tremble for all her efforts um with the code blue donations so proud you know to be able to give that money to a good cause in the Clifton Health Department through the the code blue Center um the extraordinary acts of kindness by our students and by our faculty and staff these are the things that we should be celebrating um Jessica came to me with the idea I believed in her vision told her to run with it and as always she never never fails to to do an amazing job and thank you to all who contributed thank you for your generosity and for always going the extra mile I'd like to talk a little bit about um our referendum on tonight's agenda ladies and gentlemen the board you'll see the final two bid packages are up for approval this is a big step so bids three and four are now complete which means shortly we will move into the construction phase of all of our referendum projects 168 million dollars worth of projects unfortunately there are still supply chain issues and a myriad of other other issues impacting the day-to-day operations of these projects but um we still believe that we are on Pace to complete the projects when we said we're going to for example the uh the field Woodrow Wilson we expect to be ready for the spring our Clifton High School Renovations of our restrooms are well underway and and going on time so um that's actually the the Clifton High School the South Wing is nearing completion and as soon as the South Wing is done the contractor will move to the east wing um tonight again bids package three and four are on the agenda uh we will continue with our pre-construction and our regular meetings with the vendors with our construction management company and the principles of those schools where the projects are taking place and finally um tonight I would like to take a moment to recognize two of our board members who are here tonight and this is their last Board of Education meeting you know as a superintendent one of the hardest things that we face is that the turnover of board members every year there's an election every year you are faced with the possibility of losing three people that you have known that you have worked closely with and that you're perhaps even become friends with and when you're hired as a superintendent it's the Board of Education that hires you and so tonight I am now losing two three Mr canova's not here off something to say about him in January but three of the people who actually brought me to this District and that's a hard thing right so now I only have two board members left three board members left that hired me it's over it's coming it's over soon now I say that because the turnover happens very very quickly and it's not that superintendents fear that it's just that you build relationships with with people and it's not because I fear what's to come it's because we work incredibly close together we spend hours and hours of time in meetings um past couple years most of them have been virtual but still it's a lot of time a lot of time on the phone um I consider you my friends and almost family because you know we fight sometimes like family a little bit except for you Mr Daley I couldn't fight with you um they ain't over yet so these are board members that that brought me to Clifton brought me to a place that is a new home for me a place where I'm so so happy to be a place where I believe we're making a difference and they believed in me and they supported me in ways that I can't eloquently uh State tonight but really what I want to say to both of you is thank you Dana thank you for bringing a different perspective to all of the issues that you were involved in whether it was facilities Finance your specialties thank you for being a strong leader thank you for being a strong female leader who was never afraid to speak her mind um thank you for being cognizant of the budgetary issues that we face but balancing that with the realities that we face thank you for speaking out for the people who needed to be spoken for and thank you for caring and for worrying about our children and always always voting and always doing what's best for kids I will never forget that and I thank you very very much and Mr Daley I want to thank you for your almost 14 years of service it's it's almost unprecedented to do this for 14 almost 14 years as a volunteer um thank you for your Sage advice both personally and professionally thank you for always looking out for the taxpayer but but also being a strong Advocate when we needed to spend money like with the referendum when it was something you knew that needed to be done you knew it was necessary you knew it was good for kids thank you for being the voice of reason during many a debate thank you for sharing your vast experience so that others could understand why things are the way they are and thank you for always being a gentleman thank you for always being kind and I appreciate you more than you could ever know thank you both for believing in me thank you for supporting me when we've had to make tough decisions thank you for challenging me to be better and to do better and thank you for giving me the opportunity to be the superintendent of this District confident that our paths will cross again so this is not goodbye but please know that I will personally miss both of you very much thank you [Applause] I would like to wish all in our community um happy holiday season happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate Merry Christmas to all and um enjoy this enjoy this time of year where it's about love it's about giving and it's about acceptance let's try our best to love one another the best we can thank you [Applause] all right we'll move on uh two uh board committee reports uh looks like um Mr Paris you up first thank you Mr Smith um The Residency and security committee met on Thursday December 1st um at 408 PM president or Dr robertosie Mr gengaro Mr doctor Mr Constantino from the board where myself is Beltran Mr abajabo and president Smith the meeting began with Mr doctor explaining that eight pcti students were found not living in Clifton and were removed from the roster of students that are paid for by our district that equals the savings this year of ninety thousand nine hundred and twelve dollars [Applause] and the savings over the remaining years of schools for the students in question equal 204 552 dollars uh Mr doctor also explained that Aid in new investigations have been completed and of the 701 students receiving aid in lieu 20 no longer lived at their listed address further investigations will be conducted potential savings here to the district of twenty thousand dollars Mr Smith asked for the percentage of charter school and private school students receiving aid in lieu the supervisor of Transportation was immediately emailed for the information and it will be shared at the next committee meeting Mr Constantino explained that the security and fire drills for the month of November were conducted and were completed appropriately by the staff and administration Mr gengaro explained that the district assisted the city in providing information for the safe routes to schools Grant Clifton was awarded the Grant and the funds the amount of six hundred thousand dollars which will be used to update and upgrade the tunnel leading from CCMS across Route 46 or rather under route 46.
second lotion made by Tracy Sarah sink Bell seconded by John Densmore Joe Graham oh Joe Grant sorry we sound alike I got confused push and Carries we moved to action discussion item nine discussion and possible action to approve superintendent's performance pay plan for the services of superintendent Jim Dean pursuant to ARS 15-341-39 Dr Dean Madam president members of the governing board members of cabinet in our community this is the final piece that needed to be approved within my contract it is the exhibit for the pay for performance piece it mirrors the the past two superintendents in terms of this piece with one exception and that is that instead of the paper the formulaic piece of the paper for performance being tied to 301 performance it is tied to the number of A and B schools that we have moving forward have any questions or comments I moved the board of the superintendent's Performance Based paper second motion made by Christine Pritchard seconded by Tracy sorosinko oh she curious uh item I request for future agenda items I would like to request an agenda item to just review what the current practice is for our documentation of meeting minutes got it thank you can I second I will say careful no no [Music] oh wait there it is
a minute 40. that's a pin and a one in 21 seconds from Tristan Smith very impressive next we got Landon Shepard first ship dog he's in the 126th weight class so that puts him up against is it is it Mason Sorensen I believe yes looks like he's gonna wrestle Mason here uh oh Chef does not look to be in a good spot here two points for Shep wow he just turned that right around ship is looking to just flip him over here Chef tries to wrap a leg around interesting move Wayne and Shepard could be in trouble here if he gets flipped around does not look like ship is going to be letting his opponent out of this easily he is just wrapping him up right now the score is two to zero there's just I don't see any way that Mason could possibly escape this ship has a leg wrap two legs wrapped around him in both of his arms just Clinging On to him here [Music] looks like he might Escape after all Chef's gonna try to pick him up Elena Shepard picked him oh when Shepherd slams Mason back down to the ground after an attempted Escape he said no sir to that Shepard's gonna try to pin [Applause] oh wow two seconds left here end of the period wow three points to Greensburg man 5-0 after the first thank you Shepherd is just not letting him Escape right now pushed out of bounds avoids the Escape looks like he's going to start in the down position again looks like Shepard is trying to copy his bigger teammate Robert eisert here with the shutout [Music] foreign top right now trying to get him flipped around going for another pin well not another chip has his arm looks like he's gonna get him flipped around if he could just get that last oh wow Wayne and Shepard he might pin him here I think he's at least going to get three points out of this yes there's the three points there is the three make it 8-0 wow ship is just unrelenting on his opponent he is just trying to get him flipped around here looks like he'll get another three points just can't seem to get him flipped over and stuck oh this might be it here [Music] that might be it right there man eat Chef is making that ref go every other way [Music] three points given Elena Shepard man Chef is really working his opponent here 11-0 after two periods I don't think there's any way that his opponent could come back from this just wow a display of pure athleticism from Landon Shepard strength wow a flip there looks like Landon Shepard's still gonna try to get out man his opponent is not gonna let him he's still locked up here all that Landon's gonna have to do here is weather the storm wow he flipped it over that's two points to Greensburg he's trying to pin here oh that might be a pin that could very well be a pin here if he does pin here that's going to be very very beneficial for Greensburg they've already forfeited another three points Chef just needs to keep working here score is 16-0 minutes 17 minutes oh they're going to give it three wins by default got too many points ships him ship dog that's him at six and one on the season great start here's here's the match we want to see Preston in the Merit here the score is uh Greensburg 23 Guess 18.
so we're 29 years now I struggle with this because we elect officials in school districts in even years so I said to Kylie please go back and verify that well no because Sherry probably did the data and it's real right so Sherry's in the audience Tom's in the audience um the reality is is that he was elected in November of 1993 and then it got on to an even year cycle so 29 years what's that mean 29 years is 348 months it's a it's 10 592 days 254 000 40 hours and we estimate close to 30 000 students that cross the stage at a graduation over the years including Mr Nunez and miss caudell [Music] [Applause] and Zoe you probably as well right I mean there's just so many people out in this audience the students that have been served over the years by Mr so I realized as we were talking you know I know how long Wilson's been on the board but when you start talking about 1993 and I realized that I've taught this is my 31st year and I started in 1991.
if there were any additional expenses for the project it would be incurred by the city and has no Financial impact on the district uh I requested an update on school number nine school zone traffic safety concerns which the city was uh was made aware of uh to date the district has not received any notifications from the Clifton police or the city concerning the traffic safety issues at school number nine Administration will seek an update on this and all pending issues brought up during the municipal Alliance committee meeting the meeting was concluded at 4 49 pm Mr Paris uh through you to um Mr Jan Gerald do you know if we received any answers from the city on that school nine uh yes ironically I actually received an email from Mr Villano late this afternoon uh they are uh that he has passed that information forward to Chief Renaldi from the Clinton Police Department uh with the plan to set up some mechanism to monitor the traffic patterns especially around the school of Nine area I did make sure that I reminded the staff that the school 9 Community had did sign a petition has been quite vocal in both the city and board side but that information is now in the chief and all these hands super thank you any other questions nope okay um we'll move to uh facilities Mr Awad the facilities committee uh met on November 29th 2022 uh I myself was present uh commissioner Daley beltron and president Smith from the administration we had Mr gingero Uchi shahada mondano marcione and Mike doctor Our Guest that attended was Steve DeStefano uh Mr lack and Mr Costello the meeting started around 2PM ended around 3 50 p.m items of discussion Energy savings Mr DiStefano from the Energy savings company came and spoke about how the district could possibly save money a proposal will be reviewed a referendum update bid package two the contractor had a meeting with the administration and the construction manager and will Begin work shortly uh bid package three opening date was November 15th currently under attorney review bid package four opening date was October 27th currently under attorney review current work being done Clifton High School is moving along perfectly we'll be done with the South Wing mid-December and pivot to the east wing uh third item of discussion was Pope Paul still winning response from the DSs diocese I'm sorry and the fourth item was Graham Mercy bandcamp facilities the grand Mercy brass band camp and Orchestra is working in collaborations with the high school they requested a permit to use the high school's Auditorium on July 30th and for us to waive the facilities fee we have Wade facilities fees for outside athletic and band groups in the past such as the north Jersey band festival and the one more once big band because they featured our students and it's it is free for all to attend they will be responsible for the custodial and utility fees fifth item discussed was City use of our facilities City and rec department at times need to advertise their events on a short notice Administration is exploring options of approving the advertisement of City events prior to the permit approval by the board so the city can get high participation from students and families the date of the actual event would come after board approval this would be on a case-to-case basis and would need to be approved by the superintendent and the business office item number six was safety around our schools that was also discussed the city is aware and has said that they will be conducting traffic surveys Arps or projects the window projects for schools one two three four five and thirteen Esser number two and window projects for school eight nine eleven twelve and fifteen the high school is ARP Sr number three eighth item discussed was Cafe project School 13.
so Greensburg is winning despite the forfeits here let's see if Preston Merrick can uh extend the lead for Greensburg here wow I thought for sure Preston was going to get flipped around there but looks like he is uh stay on his feet here they're locked up they're both just trying to get to Vantage on the other about a minute and 40 remaining wow takedown two points for Greensburg to Preston here in the 132 weight class yes Preston taking on Lane kirschner Lane is just trying to get out of Bounds at this point I think he just wants to be in the middle there get a chance to escape another two points to Preston yep about a minute left minute five Preston just trying to get his opponent flipped around here [Music] [Applause] out of bounds score is Greensburg four Jennings County zero 43 seconds left here Jennings County chose the down position trying to get some Escape points Greensburg not giving up very many Escape points tonight William got a few Escape points early yes that's why we call him slippery will Preston still have control over his opponent here about four seconds left wow man that's a slam I saw his head hit the map I haven't heard yeah this Jennings County holding his shoulder he looks injured he's shaking his head no that was a hard Slam by Preston looks like he might have done a little bit of damage to the Jennings to Jennings County uh oh he's got him flipped around on his back he's gonna get at least three points out of this he might get a pin [Music] County just avoiding the pin right now Preston just can't seem to get him down he might get him down here that's a pen Greensburg wins by Penn Preston takes the W and moves to 7-0 on the season green Jennings County has not gotten any points except for their forfeits right now three forfeits I would say Greensburg is doing very well right now up next we got Tacoma Nicholas in the 138 weight class is it Richard Fernandez coma Nicholas versus Richard Hernandez two points for Greensburg he comes out very explosive here the first 20 seconds of this match he is definitely looking for a pin here quick pin still has control he is just trying to flip him over right now Jennings Calvin is just unrelenting here looks like he's just got control of Jennings County left arm making it hard to get out of that one point for Jennings County for the Escape out of bounds when you start neutral here right in the middle coma's got that big uh brace on his leg I wonder what happened there score is Greensburg two Jennings County one we got close to him here 20 seconds left in this period no points yet so no points they're gonna start neutral here six seconds left I don't think either one of these guys are gonna try to pin in this quarter [Applause] scores Greensburg two Jennings County won the match total score is Greensburg 29 Jennings County 18.