I am also questioning where what the status is of the Yale school. There was a community member on Facebook that had some excellent questions regarding Yale and preschool. I understand we're kind of allin on preschool now, but I do fear that the full ramifications that full day preschool is having on the students we are committed to educating through 8th grade have not been properly discussed and keep getting swept under the rug. I work with the population that graduates from Yale. I love them. I believe in what they do, but housing them partially at Demacy does not make sense. And I also implore you to look at another solution for that. I would like to speak very briefly on busing. What scares me with outsourcing is getting drivers who don't care as much about the most important thing in each parent's life. My kids adore their bus driver.
June 17th. And any conflicts with the 17th and June for a regular meeting? Not at the moment. I'm open on the 9th and the 17th. Okay. Yeah, I don't mind 9th or 17th either. Thank you for your flexib flexibility. 17th 17th is finance. Yeah. Oh, that's true. So, I I will mention it. um to see if she's available or if she has any plans for her kids. I usually go back and look like the last two years of the agendas and making sure that we have like you know no budget or anything coming up but Jun's are pretty mild. Knock on wood. Okay. I can I can ask and confirm but if not um she's not available then we can the 17. Thank you everyone. If not then I'll bring it up for the next agenda to vote on. Okay. So we're doing the 9th or the 17th motion for the 17th.
Um, no. BART does not block websites. It's monitoring what the students are doing. Um, so as far as blocking websites, we use our Google admin console um where we can specifically lock down um individual websites that we know. Um, and then we also use our content filter called Bloxy. Um but there there's more work to be done there as far as locking this stuff down. Um there are far less filters in place than than we think. Right. So um that's a conversation that we need to have um with the I need to have with the administration as far as what we want to do in the direction that we want to go to. we have an option to go in in multiple directions with with um programs and applications that we currently have. Um I I just want to make sure that any decision that is made it's made as a team.
We are not a Mayberry school district. We were talking about Washington. I do not trust anything that's coming out of Washington. I don't trust them to do the right thing. They're the ones attacking our schools. We should assume that money will be on us. If if the state gets less funding overall, then they're going to have to make adjustments for themselves. We We can't rely on them. We don't know what that's going to look like. Last year we approved 4%. Not all of us but the board approved 4%. This year administration wants 2% to continue current obligations, fixed costs and the current educational experience. As Dr. Roberts said they cut to get to the 2% already. Again, that was before this attack on our kids and a possible loss of $20 million. An argument can be made that the district should be asking for more than the 2%, but they're not asking for more than the 2%.
But when he's absent, the drivers admit they don't know the route. And my 10-year-old is responsible for telling them where to go. My five-year-old is terrified to go on the bus every day because what if his driver is absent and what if his sister goes home early and can't tell them the way home? Finally, I do thank you all for your service. This is an incredibly large undertaking to have to decide on immediately and I do not envy you. Thank you. [Applause] Uh my name is Teddy Cardy. I'm a seventh grade student at MMS. I think that a lot of things are wrong with the budget that was proposed for the next for the upcoming school year. Um, some of the things that concern me most are the class sizes and teachers teaching six periods a day. It will be extremely overwhelming for every one of them.
Um and more and more of these things are being brought to my attention and I I can only address them as I see them. So um we're we're starting that com those conversations now. We did install Bach across our entire district and the cost of Bach is free free. So it's something we should have probably had in place earlier. Um but certainly we're we're catching up to where we need to be. Just just a a side note that parents can subscribe themselves to barf correct and have a parent account at home because while we monitor things here at school I think it's very important that once this their school device leaves our building even if it's under their school Google account right we may not be able to restrict or get notifications correct so if the device leaves the school we have zero control over what the student does other than what Bark will find for us.
I'll be honest with you, it's hard to do more than two because the price of groceries and everything else still has not changed. But if they go through with eliminating Department of Education, 2% is not going to be enough to make up for that deficit, that deficit. There will be harm to our students. This is an unprecedented time, a historic time. We need to fight for our students and their future, Clifton's future. We need to do what's right to protect our students because if we don't do it, who will? Thank you. Good night. Thank you, Vice President Santiago. I I don't think there's much more that I can add that what has been stated already other than I just read to you our second code of ethics for school board members. It's the second one. First one is to uphold laws regulations of the state board of education uh pertaining to schools.
Impossible to learn anything in a class of 35 or close to that number. and it will just have an insane impact on every student in the district. Another one of my concerns was late buses after school. No one will join a club if they don't have a way to get home. So, that will have an insane impact on art and music at the middle schools. It'll be it's even worse at the elementary schools if extracurriculars are gotten rid of entirely. no one will or not as many people will be doing music or art programs and that's a problem at that is a problem across the country and it would be a problem in our district. Lastly, I think that if there's any way that we can like get money from the state that we should take that. It's anything that we can get because we really don't have as much money as we did.
Um because it's as long as they're using um and they're logged in under their under under their account. Yes. But it's free for parents. Correct. Correct. So parents parents can subscribe. Um they may have to I I haven't seen anybody do it, so they may have to reach out to me and I might have to connect them to a student.
Number two is I will make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of children and will seek to develop and maintain public schools that meet the needs of in of all children regardless of their ability, race, creed, sex, or social standing. I'm sensitive to taxpayers. I'm a taxpayer and my 95-year-old mother's a taxpayer. My sister's a taxpayer in this town. But our obligation as commissioners of the board of education are to our students or to our children. That's our primary obligation given all the numbers that we've heard this evening. any metric you want to look at, whether it be our state funding situation, whether it be the formula formulary of our needs as local taxpayers to do our fair share, whether it be the inflation rate that we're experiencing to the real cost increases that are fixed in our system, be they contractual health care benefits.
That's it. Um, [Applause] good evening. My name is Sandy Student and um I want to ask you a few questions if I could. Uh they're strategic. Um so and I don't know if it's the business administrator, it's the president of the board, or it's the superintendent. How many other districts face the same crisis in this state that we are confronted with now? Sir, this is public comment. It's not a question and answer.
Um, but parents can definitely look into it and if they have any questions, feel free to reach out to me. Oh, that's great to know. Cindy, you have something? Um, I just want to say this as as Joe knows. Um, there are some things that kids have recently tried to get into, gotten into, and uh, we send an email immediately and it goes to Joe and Dave. And I'm going to tell you the response rate within I'm saying 20 minutes they're blocked from these sites. It is incredible. and I've never seen that before. So, I wanted to thank you for that because it's immediately this happened just the other day. Boom. Blocked and followup. It's been great. So, we're we're getting there together with those sites that it's a lot of extra work for our admin team as well too, right? Because they're getting alerts all the time that sometimes things are looking at and then we have to decide whether that was just a miss, right?
If you look at any of those numbers and you look at 2% um I don't know I I never was good at very high mathematics but all these costs are more than 2%. So I believe the presentation Dr. Robertsi gave us. I believe that these cuts and the list is alarming, Commissioner Suarez, because the cuts, the non-additions that we're making affect in a large part our most vulnerable students. And that's something that over the past several years we had the increases for. We added special ed. We added reading specialists. We added counselors. We we added resources to help our most vulnerable students. So, if this administration recommends 2% to keep the lights on and keep the services going, I'm certainly going to support that motion to adjourn to executive session. I al excuse me before you make the motion. I have something to add to executive session.
So the board won't be as answering any questions. you're welcome to pose those and maybe they'll be addressed later. Okay, that's a that's a shame that I can't get an answer a simple question. Um, what's the student population perspective for the next three years? Is that the same? You you're not going to answer my question? Yes, that's the same for every member of the public that we won't be answering questions as we go. Like I said, you're welcome to pose them and then Okay. Well, that's a shame. know um that I can't get an answer. Um if the district doesn't adopt the budget because the state of New Jersey, Department of Education has abdicated their responsibility. Is there any penalty to the district? I'm sorry. I I guess that's a question again. So there'll be no answer. Maybe I I should ask the last question because it's one that I'm confused about.
They were looking something up that that they we felt that might have been okay or not wasn't appropriate. And that helps Joe and the admin decide we're going to block that site so kids can access that. But again, costfree and it's really a safety net that we're putting in place for our kids. Fantastic. Thank you. Okay. Um subcommittee updates. Jess, do you have anything for success technology? I do. Um sorry, let me just the right thing here. Um, so we kind of had to delay a meeting. Um, but we'll be talking about um the cell phone free lunch day at refresh day at Tanto. Um, also um there was a cyber security event at Boilson Bees um that parents kind of grassroots asked that to happen and Cindy did that with the Boilson police. Um and so there were also BS parent requests um also to um regarding the attorney general cell phone and social media and schools toolkit which is something that we have to look at as a committee.
It's very short. Thank you. Okay. It's uh uh CL uh CL I can't think of the word. Client privilege. Sorry. Thank you. Okay. Motion to go to executive session. Motion. Second. Motion by Commissioner Suarez. Seconded by second. Commissioner Kenova. U we need action. No action. We need to action will not be taken. So we will take approximately how long do you think? Minutes I'm going to say 30 minutes and then we'll be five minute recess Mr. President. Yes. Yes absolutely. Thank you. Motion to go real nice. Okay, welcome welcome back to uh from executive session. Um motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion second. Motion by commissioner here. Seconded by Kosher Suarez. Everybody have a lovely evening. Thank you.
Are you voting for 3 million, 8 million, 10 million, 13 million? because I'm just standing in line figuring in the back of my mind in my 40 years of work. If it's $10 million to an average person, that would be $250,000 a year in income that they'd have to make before taxes, obviously. But the question is, oh, I'm sorry you're not answering questions. Um, I think that's kind of stupid that you're taking a cheap way out and not answering when I'm trying to say take a strategic view and find out other districts and unify with them and press a legal issue with the state of New Jersey for not doing what they should be doing to fund a thorough and efficient education. I think that's your best stance and to do anything else is not right. I'm sorry you won't answer any of my questions.
Um and so uh and then also to look at the virtual cyber safety and willing parent presentation on April 16th at 6:00 pm um to look on that and see where to go from there. There were a lot of people signing up for that um with the district attorney's office. Um and are we going to be able to record that because that's like during like sports and stuff too. Sure. I'll talk to you Joe about that with the district attorney's office. Absolutely. Yeah. Um and then also with recent events um I didn't know which committee you know possibly research um on a survey to the parent level, the staff level, the district level. That's obviously something that we have to talk about as a committee. Um I did reach out to um I know independent website business people um schoolworks.org board. I'm actually able to talk with her for a few minutes uh before this evening's meeting.
You were on the school board and didn't answer our questions either when you sat right there. Ma'am Ma'am, we did. Okay. This isn't a back and forth between the public. So, let's move on. You and the mayor were like this. Uh Jason Lutz. Um I'm a school bus driver. I have the unique perspective of being both a driver and an aid. I was an aid for whatever it was 10 10 years prior, but I've been in this district for 13 years and now I'm a driver. And I've worked with all these drivers. I've been around all these aids. I'm glad that the aids are in the budget and they're being considered to be kept. But the drivers need to be kept too because you can't it's you get what you pay for. It's just it's simple as that. I worked at a private contractor. You get what you pay for.