>> Okay. So I would like to say I think we need more information. We need to know what all is involved in the registration process. Um I think that we need to know where the money for that is coming from. Um is it coming out of the Ammerst budget because we're combined with Ammerst right now or is it coming out of central office? I think we don't know the answer to that question. I think we need to find that out. And I and I I just want to add because there's so many discussions of what central office is, what central office isn't in terms of cost centers with um central administration. That's um the business office, HR, uh it actually on Pelen's budget, it is not included. So it's just HR business office and superintendent office but the registar in Amherst is under the family center and the student support services.
We also have links to Mr. Adams' budget book, the presentations, um, that he did to the school committee, plus, um, recording links to, uh, our tri-board meetings, too. So, there's lots of information there and we'll be adding more sort of as we kind of go along the next, um, 6 weeks. So, with that, um, I'm going to go just going to go ahead and just go down the list. Um, so, the first question that came through was, "Can the town respond with likely scenarios to occur if the override is voted down? What services and personnel would be affected and by what magnitude? This will provide a good reference point to base our vote on." So, um, I think I think Mr. Adams had answered that pretty clearly. Um, the scenario would be, um, that, you know, the 13.2 positions and that, um, this would be sort of potentially mitigating, um, further further, um, devastating reductions kind of in the future.
Stop crying." We feel the child's emotions and internalize it. This is probably not the announcement we want. Pilot number three. I know it's bumpy right now and I know that's scary. I've got this situation on a lock. I've done this before and I will get us through this. The child knows they're safe. The child knows the parent is in control. And for me, this is probably the announcement that I would like. So, there are two things a strong pilot does. They see the child's reality as real while not overwhelmed by it themselves. So this all comes down to emotional regulation. So you can be as angry as you want. Never show frustration, disappointment in your child. It makes them feel bad. And when they feel good, they do good. And when they feel bad, they do bad. So this shows that blaming brings out the worst in the child.
He holds some of the highest standards of character. Mr. Graseges, same thing. I've seen your nephew. They get character for a reason. They get character from your home. That's what I possess every day. I stepped away from educating to be more of a father. I'm a father first of first and foremost. And because I have implemented myself into my community of Little Ferry, I created the same culture and climate in my hometown that I've done in Cliffside for nearly for three decades. Stepped aside from this soccer program that is nationally ranked, a whole thing soccer program, not from Cliffside Park Hall of Fame, from the state Hall of Fame and Bergen County Coaches Hall of Fame. I stepped away from a nationally ranked soccer program and turning county champs for my family, a very noble thing, and I don't know many people that would put their pride aside to be a father first.
So I guess it all depends of what you consider central office or um central administration and I feel like a lot of it's interchange. So maybe in our next meeting we can kind of or some org chart or something might be helpful to really explain who is who and a part of what. >> Yeah. I what I'm just saying though is that if if we're the what you were explaining was that the reason this is an increased pel cost is because it had previously been subsidized by the central office. And so if that is w with that as the case until we have full information on every single person that is being covered under Pelum's budget even at 4% um I that that is what my input is there. I I guess I've said my point. Sarah Bash um can't hear you. Can you hear me now?
Um, second question, "If passed, will some of the revenue raised from the override be used to make improvements to the town, such as implementing some of the suggestions in the town's long-term strategic plan or providing permanent fixes to critical needs, such as the shortfall in the town's water supply or is the override intended to simply sustain current services?" And, um, the answer is it is, um, to sustain level service. Period. Um, "I'm struggling as it as with my income. Sorry, I'm the aging middle class, which I get, um, struggling to pay taxes, utilities, food. I'm already skipping medications and doctor visits because I can't pay for them, um, because I can't pay for them, it should say. Um, where am I going to get the money to pay more? Where do I go for a personal override?" Um, so, this is a really important question.
When you get pulled over for a speeding ticket, the cop doesn't say things like, "You should have known better." They know not to say that because they're trained to know that blaming brings out the worst. So the second part of this is redirection. And redirection is moving the children's behavior from negative to positive. So here are some alternatives. You can't have this, but you can have that. We're not playing with the paints right now, but we can play with the blocks. Next is first then first clean up your toys, then get the ice cream. So, we want to teach the good behavior outside of the tantrum. So, if a child likes to watch TV, you could say, "We're only watching one episode tonight." Because when they're in the tantrum, they do not have the right frame of mind to be learning new skills. So using these hearing no is not the end of the world.
And now this policy comes out. And with all due respect, I too was offended by the adversarial comment. And I'll tell you why. And if my time's running out, just give me like a 30 seconds so I can, please wrap it up. You all aware that Cliffside baseball team went to Florida last year. Yes? Do you know why? Because of me. Because those gentlemen, who I didn't know were coming tonight, we went to Florida. And I posted it to Coach D'Amato and had a conversation. We have fantastic young men right there. And Cliffside Park has got fantastic young men on that baseball team. So, let's bring them together. Let's create more productive members of our society. Are you aware that both programs have joint and combination practices right before the states? Are you aware of my relationship with those Cliffside players? I SPEND MORE TIME IN FLORIDA WITH the Cliffside kids than I do with these kids.
>> Yes. Okay, good. All right. Um, so I that's why I was I wasn't suggesting that the town cover the whole 115. I know that is a unreasonable ask which is why I was asking what the other what the increases to the other departments were so we can see possibilities of being in line with that. I do um I like what both uh Rachel and William presented as a around somewhere between one and one and 3/4% um additional ask. So that would be I would be very comfortable voting for a a budget along those lines. Um, I think it's also important to remember when we're talking about registration for kindergarten and school choice that um given how um the public and the committee has been invested in uh kindergarten registration this year as opposed to years in the past. So it to me what it sounds like is that we're asking for more and in order to have more it costs more.
I think that, um, one of the things that we do as a community is that there are, um, senior exemptions that, um, I don't know, Michael, do you want to talk a little bit about about that briefly? Yeah, so, um, the town has a a number of, uh, programs that could be utilized by residents who are interested and qualified to offset or reduce their tax burden. So, the most prominent one is called the 41C and a half tax exemption, um, and for qualifying seniors and and you can find that, um, on the assessor's page, uh, there's an an age limit and also an income limit, not an asset limit, but an income limit. Um, we actually, uh, if you qualify for that, um, the deduction is actually a little over $1,100. Now, in 2016, that was only $500. We have consciously tried to in uh increase that each year, um, understanding that taxes are going up and that we've tried to help, um, help provide offsetting, uh, relief for those who would, um, who would qualify for it.
They can handle it because it's associated with good things. So the best advice that was ever given to me is all emotions are valid but all behaviors are not. So emotions are always valid no matter what emotion it is. We do not blame children for having feelings. Behaviors have limits. So we need to teach the child to separate their feelings from their actions. Make them feel safe to express themselves but make them responsible for choosing the right actions. So, what do we do when the tantrum occurs? Number one, safety and space. Make sure no one is in danger and that the child has enough space to process their emotions. Number two, get yourself in check. We tend to overreact and we don't want to react. We want to respond. Reacting is full of emotions and responding is thought through. Number three, model the wanted behavior.
BECAUSE I'M A CLIFFSIDE GUY. I SHARE IDEAS WITH COACH D'AMATO. WE SCOUT FOR EACH OTHER. SO, when the word adversarial comes out, I'm a professional. For nearly three decades, I've been nothing but professional in our building, in our community. I was offended by that term because I, as a professional, can separate it. We're not talking about street fights, guys. We're talking about two teams that compete against each other on the most pure level of high school sports. We're not talking about a street fight. And I was offended when that term adversation adversarial situation came about. Mr. Cal Cal Cal, so I will use two minutes. I will Sir, maybe 30 seconds. Great. I want the opportunity to coach my son. Less than 1% of all high school coaches have the opportunity to coach their son. Put yourself in my shoes. Somebody that's gave his heart and soul to that building, to this community, to this Board of Education.
Um so that is how I'm thinking of that additional uh cost. Um so that would be yeah that's where I'm sitting with these things. Okay, Jenny, >> I'm just trying to get clarification because it sounds to me like what Shannon is saying is that that registar cost has never been covered by the central office. It's been covered by Ammerst and Ammerst is and now because we're saying we want to decouple ourselves from Ammerst, we are bearing that cost ourselves which I think is aligned with what Sarah Best is saying that we're asking for more so it's going to cost us more. So, I'm just trying to get clear on where that why are we facing that additional cost this year when we haven't ever had that cost in the past. Is it because we're asking for more or is it because that cost was being covered by Amherst in the assess?
One other program that's not very well known is a tax deferral program, um, and that allows a homeowner who qualifies to actually defer their taxes. Um, there is an interest rate associated with it and that eventually becomes a lien on the property. So, when you do sell the property, that does get paid. Clearly, that's, uh, that's a tool that some people could utilize if they wanted to, but, um, that's not as popular as the straight exemption. And also there's a there's a, um, trash abatement for seniors as well. >> Correct. So, thank you. >> lower cost. Yeah, correct. Um, okay. So, next question, um, we actually had two questions on this. Um, has the town considered allowing marijuana dispensaries again? Um, well, the answer to that is, um, we really can't answer that question tonight, um, and it's even if we could, we wouldn't it wouldn't be applicable to this year's budget cycle.
If you go up to your kid all anxious and yelling, that's what they're going to mirror. Number four, offer choices. Personally, I like the candle method. To teach the kid to regulate their emotions, I make them breathe in and out and blow the candles out, pretending they're birthday candles. So, no parent is perfect. So, at times I do blow up at these kids at the camp, but I use this as a teaching moment. Say, "I'm sorry. I'm working on being calm just like I tell you to. So, you might have forgotten about my situation at camp. So, this kid is on the floor screaming, crying, and I just walk away. Well, that's what I wanted to do. But here's what I actually did. I broke it up into steps. I made sure I was calm. I connected with the kid. I got on his level and held his arms in my hands.
Put yourself in my shoes. You would be standing here right now advocating for yourself for the opportunity, not to coach the [laughter] rival team, NOT THE DAD THAT'S KICKING THE PLAYER, BUT FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COACH MY FAMILY. You're talking about family, right? You all have families. We're talking about family. So, with all due respect, I'm asking you to table this policy. I'm asking you to amend some of the language, to allow somebody, and again, I'm only here talking about Jim Fucile. I'm not talking about Steve Gallo or anybody else who respects to allow somebody WITH EXCEPTION to coach their family. I've given my heart, I've given my soul to this district. I will continue to give my heart and soul because I'm a character person, I'm a prideful person, and I have morals and values, and each one of you that know me know what I stand for.
>> So, I think it's both. Um, it it was a clerical person um split between only between Amherst and region and not split on Pelum's budget at all. And there's the request to separate out Amherst and Pelum and their registration whereas it was always Amherst just added Pelum in and did their registration process. Um but without any charge to Pelum for that but if we're changing that process and we're doing more then Pelum's clerical should take on that role to do that. William. So to clarify that briefly before I get to my other question if Pelum clerical should cover that are are you I guess I want to clarify is that something that the clerical office like the and I don't know what their title is but the the the person who runs the the front area of Pelum is that something that that could be worked into there?
So, um, but we can always look at things for the future. So, um, but we had two questions on that. Um, the next question is, "If 13 positions have to be eliminated in the school system, which ones are they? And if the override is not passed, um, there would be more positions eliminated, which ones are they?" So, Mr. Adams went through, um, all those positions and again, the slides will be up on on the website. Um, can you please provide more details about the Keefe Tech added costs? Take that, Jim. Sure. So, Keefe Tech, uh, yearly does their assessment. So, their assessment went up 4 percent for their their actual budget. With state law now, there's a adjustment in terms of enrollment numbers. Uh, we have the highest number of students we've had at Keefe uh, in a long time. So, we have 75 students.
Next, I used the candle method and I used it to calm the child. Next, I addressed the behavior. I told him, "It's not okay to hit, but it's okay to be angry." So, when he is angry, I told him, "Here are some alternatives. You can stomp your feet or you can ball your fists as hard as you can, but we still do not hit. So, in the end, this kid, I gave him options on what to do next. Either wait in line for the swing or play with other toys. So, looking back on this hot summer day, I wasn't just teaching the kids how to deal with a swing. I was teaching myself how to deal with the world. And I realized I can't control the turbulence or the tantrums, but I can control who we are as the pilot. And we don't just change the child's behavior, we change how they feel about themselves.
I'm a good person, I'm a family person, and I earned that RIGHT IN CLIFFSIDE PARK THE last three decades to coach my son, regardless of where my son goes to school or regardless where I own a house. Please table. Please give it some more thought. Please. Please amend some of the languages because that's my son we're talking about. Thank you FOR YOUR TIME. >> [applause] >> ANYBODY ELSE? FROM THE PUBLIC? ANYONE ELSE FROM THE PUBLIC? >> [snorts] >> NO. OKAY. I believe uh that would end the public session. You want to do a motion? Questions, comments from the board? I think we should table it. On the policies. I think that's right. Is there a second? I'll second. Mr. Spada, sorry. Which one specifically? I'm going to help Mr. Spada. We're going to table resolution number Thank you. 3231. We're going to revisit policy number 3231.