>> It should be about 4 months. >> Okay. >> So, for 4 months, we packed everything up, moved it here to the police substation um that they are graciously us sharing with us and um we'll be operating here for 4 months. >> How have you communicated this information out to the people who are currently using the food pantry that they have to come to a new location? >> In several ways. Uh I sent a mass email to everyone. Uh the vast majority of people who access the food pantry use our online order forms. Okay. >> So I was able to email everyone that way and everyone who came to the food pantry to pick up whether they accessed it online or by phone I was in person letting them know. I also put up signage at the food pantry for anyone who might arrive and there'll be ongoing signage there to let people know who go there that we've moved here.
So I think there's lots of room for cultural things and you don't have to be perfect at it either. >> Yeah. And it's bad. Uh okay. So, oh, do you want to read? We've got today's inspirational quote. >> Yeah. A basic tenant of a healthy democracy is open dialogue and transparency. [clears throat] >> Peter Fen. >> Yeah. And that uh leads in really nicely to today's umbrella topic, which is democracy dies in the darkness. I'm sure people have heard it. was the slogan for the Washington Post, but it was popularized by investigative journalist Bob Woodward and he and Carl Bernstein were the two journalistic investigators who uh met with various people about the Watergate breakin at the Democratic National Committee and that was June 17th, 1972. Kate and I both just happened to be history buffs. And if I can ever get history in here, I'm just so excited about that.
Um we peaked around 2023 2024 had some marginal decrease and then a pretty significant drop comparatively uh for comparatively for what we normally see trending in our district. So that number uh of the drop was about 617 students. About 443 of those students are second language learners or MLL students. Um so we're continuing to monitor uh that population, their needs and the patterns for both registration and for students who are um who are leaving the school district. Um our special education numbers again are holding steady. We have about 1,765. and we anticipate a similar number next year um plus or minus a few students. So, some wonderful things to celebrate in our school system. Okay, we have had an a tremendous amount of work completed over the last couple of years culminating in our academy campus opening. Very exciting. I think you all witnessed the tremendous efforts that went into that.
While we are waiting, speakers are requested to limit comments to a maximum of three minutes. If more than one person wishes to speak on the same topic, subsequent speakers should limit their remarks to new information only. Public comments shall be limited to a maximum of 20 minutes per item. speak. >> All right. And my apologies. We did just receive another card that will also be on item number one and two. So, we are going to stick that one in front of the item three card. Um, so Sarah, and I apologize. Um, it's a D. Maybe do um if you could please follow behind Alexis. Thank you. All right. >> Yeah, I'm sorry. The first one is Ashley Smith. Then we have Alexis de Jesus. And then we'll have Sarah with a D on item one, two. Those are the first three. And then we will be going to Grineing Eaton.
Um, Vice President Santiago, the uh, Open Public Meetings Act. >> The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law was enacted to ensure the right to the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of this act, the Clifton Board of Education has called notice of this meeting to be publicized by having the date, time, and place thereof posted at the city clerk's office, Clifton Public Library Administration building, senior citizen nutrition center on cable TV in the local press on the district's website and mailed to the pre to presidents of parent teachers association. This meeting will be tape recorded in accordance with policy 0168. Thanks. >> Thank you, Vice President Santiago. Pleasure. Um, can I call up the student representative Jenna to give her report?
[snorts] I read every name and every stated connection to ASDB when it was provided. While a petition containing 888 signatures was submitted, I chose not to request to review the individual signatures, I did not want any action on my part to be perceived as a threat or retaliatory. ASDB does not engage in retaliation, nor does it allow it. My intent has been and continues to be to act in good faith and with integrity. I do want to be transparent about the roles and responsibilities of this board. There are legal, ethical, and procedural requirements that govern how and when we can act. Hearing concerns does not always allow for immediate decisions or public discussion. That is not avoidance. It is part of our obligation to act lawfully. I assure you that every concern I have heard during email, I have done my due diligence and following up on for my own understanding.
[laughter] >> Clear violation. uh Picture Rocks, Quail Run, Rattlesnake Ridge, Roadrunner, and Twin Peaks. And so what I'd like to do with this first group, well, let's give them a round of applause. [applause] And then let's do a big group photo and But we have to get I think you four might have to move. >> Yeah, we'll [laughter] get them by themselves. I'm gonna do a group photo and then we're gonna split. >> We'll do it. [laughter] And then we split in half. >> Do you want half of us to go over there? Okay. >> Yeah. Mountain. >> You guys will be Where do you want us, Sally? >> Okay, this looks great. Thank you. >> Perfect. Get on in. >> No, he he was already >> He was already in the other picture. Everyone steps over and then Yes. All right. and then rattlesnake and picture rocks.
>> Hey, Julia, come on. Friday funday. Oh, come on. >> Lame. >> We have competition. What is this? I've got Kuba and >> Trinity and Kuba. So, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to ask you guys a couple of basic math facts. If you get one wrong, sorry, you have to get out. Okay. First question. Either of you guys can answer it and get it right. What is 2026 minus 1926? Think it a little bit. 100. >> No, it's close, but Trinity, you want to give it a try? >> Okay. All right. Bye, guys. >> You guys want to be on Friday? Oh, yeah. You two get in here. Let's go. Come on. >> Well, this is a ride to the school. I'm with Sam and Dylan. >> I actually know these guys cuz they're my baseball guys. I'm going to ask you some math facts in a second here.
Looks like two people uh have the wrong map selected, but it's fine. We move on to ice outpost. It has been a hot minute since I've seen anyone play Ice Ice Outpost. Good starts from the entire team. Fighting for top four. It looks like Lane just missing the shortcut. Fell behind a couple placements. It looks like he's going to use these shells to hopefully take them back. Someone stole his boxes from them. hits the shortcut this time. Buys himself a placement. EMTT's holding first place. Good job to him. Lane's catching up in third. Just now having to pass this Peach in order to take second. Just misses the second half of the shortcut, though. That's a little unfortunate. That would have been really cool. Pulls into third. Still chasing that peach. Looks like we have Sebastian who just dropped down to looks eth. Nope. Oh, he's catching up.
>> Okay. with the temporary location. How is that changing if at all how you're getting food out to c to your customers or receiving donations? How what what is the change there? Um I would say receiving donations may be a little bit different because right now I do have the internal support of the community center staff. Um I'm actually only in the food pantry 20 hours a week. >> Okay. And in those 20 hours a week, it includes things like going to the Greater Boston Food Bank in order to bring in goods. So, um, having the support of other staff >> is important. Um, they're there >> more hours than I am and the community center is open more hours. >> Um, so people will be able to drop off donations here. >> Okay. >> When we're open, there'll be a donation box outside during the operating hours.
And then it was a really great movie called All the President's Men if anyone wants to watch it. Uh so we are going to be talking about understanding uh free speech at public meetings and providing the public with public data and sharing public research study methodology. Um, so I was at uh I think I was no, excuse me, I was watching one of the Slackboard meetings and they were talking about some public forums uh that they wanted to have uh around some certain topics and they were talking about how they were going to really try to control it And because they were saying that, you know, some people, I don't know who they were talking about, um, some people might feel uh, intimidated or whatever, and that they were going to make sure it was super simple and, you know, there'd be a time a time frame.
We're very proud of that. Um, in addition to just the building opening, we're the first wall-to-wall academy in the Northeast. We are getting a lot of accolades and acclaim right now. We're being asked to speak to the work that we've been doing um across our It's very exciting for the staff and those who are involved to be able to share uh the work that's happening um and also to learn more about what others are doing and how they're trying to lift this model as well. So, we're very excited and very proud of that. We have over 100 uh industry partners and growing. As a result, our career fair expo continues to grow. Um and all of those um continued opportunities for partnerships. We've grown a teacher residency program here and just over the last year uh it has doubled. So we have a couple of different pipeline streams um to help with some of our workforce needs and to build our own and grow our own educators here um to help with our our recruitment efforts as well there.
I apologize for early. It is. Hi, welcome. Make sure your mic we'll make sure your mic is on there. >> Hello. Okay. Okay. Do I wait for the timer or I can just go? Okay. All right. Hi, my name is Ashley Smith. For 12 years, I've served this district as a PAR educator. The decision to cut 241 classified staff members, including 167 of my fellow PAR educators, is a devastating mistake. Sorry. Why is the burden of leadership's error being placed on the shoulders of those who earn the least but give the most? We are the first line of defense. We are the deescalators when a student is in crisis before they can even go get to counseling. We are the ones who escort them there. We are the ones grading papers, testing students for IEPs, scheduling IEPs, providing one-on-one help to the kids who are falling behind, and so much more.
Good evening. I would like to start off my report by noting that as we enter the third marking period, students feedback regarding academics and support in the first half of the year has been extremely positive, citing an increase in afterchool support offered by teachers and growing availability of instruction and support outside of class. As we move through the year, we are continuing to encourage students to check their emails every morning as it is now more important as many coverages and classes have been relocated to the auditorium. Next, last month, the history department hosted a 250 Revolution concert. The musical performance were amazing and CHS students once did a great job. However, many students and staff were not aware of the event and in the future wish to see more advertisements for it or other similar events in the future. Next, the CHS musical production this year is Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.
Sometimes that is seeking clarifications from subject matter experts. Sometimes that is reaching out to contacts in the community and sometimes that's a phone call with legal counsel and appropriate state offices. I do my homework in order to sit here before you and serve as board president. Collectively, the majority of the board that you see here has attended at least one of the community informational meetings that was held. The board before you hears you, listens to you, cares about our community and our st students, and is committed to working toward the common goal of providing accessibility and deaf, blind, and deafb blind education. >> [clears throat] >> So tonight [snorts] before we proceed, I need to clearly state the expectations for conduct [snorts] for members of the public. Respectful participation is absolutely required. Disruptive behavior will result in a warning. If the behavior does not change, you will be escorted from the meeting by security.
[laughter] And then separately, we want to recognize uh both Rattlesnake Ridge and Picture Rocks and wish them or offer them our congratulations for receiving the model school award that is given to schools that the PBIS awards committee has verified to have implemented with fidelity all three tiers on multiple evidence-based instruments. The names of the Arizona model school sites will also be posted on AZPBIS social media accounts and the website. But more importantly, when schools from around Arizona express an interest in PBIS and a desire to see implementation in action, these are two of the sites that the advisory group will recommend for those schools to visit. So, congratulations to both Rattlesnake Ridge and Picture Rocks for their excellence in PBIS implementation. >> [applause and cheering] >> That's it. Do you know who the first speaker is? >> No. One of you first. >> [clears throat] >> Just so they can see how she does it.
And if you get one wrong, you got to get out. Name three teachers in 5 seconds. >> Ball head folks. >> Miss PA. Oh, all math teachers, too. That was great. What is 5 * 3? >> 15. >> What is 2026 - 1926? >> 100. >> Sam got it. Good job. It's actually the anniversary 100 year anniversary we're building right now this year. What is -1 + 1? >> Zero. >> He's carrying you, man. He said he's not awake. Okay. What is 5 * 6? >> 30. >> What's 2 + 3? >> That was Dylan. There we go. All right. What is 20 / 4? >> Five. >> They're on fire right now. And it is not fire outside. It is cold right now. Cats. 15 + 16 >> 31 >> 7 - 5 >> 2 >> They got us all the way back to the building.
Never mind. EMTT holding this strong lead. Lane's catching up. Is he going to hit it? Just misses that shortcut again. He's going to use one of four mushrooms that he just pulled to pass this upcoming peach. He can land this shell. Oh, just barely right behind the peach. Almost gets second place though, but he holds third. So, we have first, third, fourth, and seventh place. EMTT holding strong with two first places back to back. Oh yeah, three now. Now we move on to Hyrule. Hopefully everyone from the opposing team chooses the right map. And they did. I hope we play Hyrule. Also looking at the uh what you want to call it, the little Wii characters. little me characters. We have a Peter Griffin. We love the Peter Griffin. going to leave off while we have three up in high positions. We're going to jump over to Rocket League.
And what will the operating hours be for the food pantry in your in this temporary location? >> They'll be the same. It'll be Mondays 9 to 1, Wednesdays 11 to 6, and Thursdays 9 to1. >> Okay. Wonderful. So that people So if you want to drop off a donation, you said Mondays 9:1, Wednesdays 11 to 6, and Thursdays 9:1. >> Yep. Or at the Ashland uh Shaws on Pawn Street. >> Okay. Yeah. They have a collection bin there, so that's nice. So as you're doing your shopping, you could just put stuff in there. Yep. And we have volunteers that regularly go to empty that bin and bring them into the >> So, you're only here 20 hours a week. >> So, you talked about your volunteers. How many volunteers are participating and helping out in support of the food pantry? I mean, we see a lot of them here today helping with the restocking and the creation of this temporary location.
Time frame is fine, and that it would be, you know, on a certain topic, which is they're all like that. Um, but what I took issue with was that they were going to require this sort of overcontrolled civil civil discussion. And what I was having a hard time understanding did they not know about the there was a ruling a free speech very important ruling that was actually happened out of the town of Southboro in 2023 and it was uh Baron versus Cola um and you can Google it it's it's really fantastic and it said that the Massachusetts and maybe you have stuff you can read. Did you have anything? >> Well, I I really appreciate So, I think it was a 80-year-old woman that kind of stood up. I think um some some civil rights groups were behind her to the suit because she went she went to a select board meeting to have her voice heard, which is what we believe in.