Base hit should bring in a run. Love to see Nico get something happening. As she will shoot that one into left field for a base hit. The wave is on at third. Here comes Sanders to the plate. She will score. Usaris will get in the second base easily. And there you go. She's on base for the second time and it's three to one. >> Yeah, nice RBI single there by Nico and then she's able to second to take second on the throw home. They decided not to cut it off which allowed Nico to then get second base without any effort at all. So, this brings up Haley Buterman with the runner in scoring position. Buterman's one for one as she smokes that back to the mound and Well, Wells just stuck her glove out and makes the catch. >> Yeah, Haley got a good piece of that.
And then we were partnered with other districts like Danbury and Darien to sort of debrief some of this. I think the really nice takeaway was that they have um a set of modules that we will have access to that now Ezra and I could use to bring professional learning to either teachers or more than likely administrators to bring people make people more knowledgeable about this. I think that the exercises that they had really aligned very much with our C C C cycle and what we evaluate, but it was certainly um we went there because we wanted to grow and we want to get better and we are a part of a continuous improvement cycle. And I think when you look at those when you look at those three things, it hit all the marks. Awesome. Thank you. And I know you mentioned the the staff toward Barnum um and this might not be the time to ask, but I did have a few public parents asking about if we even have time between the move for students to visit ahead of first day.
20 feet walk 10 feet. Good afternoon Dr. Soul. a lot better. I'm not awkward at all out. He's not awkward at all out. And it went smooth and got to say hi to a friend. And then what that showed us is what I learned from it is people are stressful from not saying hi and they feel awkward out and don't really want to say hi even if you don't know the person. But it relieves the stress when you actually just say hi and it makes your day feel better and you don't know what the other person is going through. So it makes them feel better altogether. So that's the 2010 rule. Thank you guys. >> Thank you, Kira. So, with that, that'll kind of take us to our second theme, which was to be aware. So, we talked about earlier, we want to create communities that are curious.
So, they're expecting a certain number of employees. That's how much the parking lot will cover and the buses would still only be Cheshire buses. Were they bringing buses from >> would be just ours. Yeah, so why do we need additional space? I'm missing this. Yeah, so and actually across the street right behind Highland Bowl is where people are parking Yes. >> right now. So, the drivers is the drivers. You can't park in our buses. Got it. Oh, okay. So, all right. >> All that fits is buses right now. And so >> No, I totally understand that. I wasn't thinking about that. The bus drivers need a place to park. Okay. And what do we do? We just pay them some sort of lease or something? We don't That code us. That code us. >> Which probably That means that >> We're paying for it. >> [laughter] >> No, I get it.
Thank you for crowding into this room. What a great reason to be kind of uh side by side together to celebrate students. And I'll just apologize in advance. My back will be to you, but I'll be reading the names and so we'll listen carefully. And so, here we go. Okay. The first award category is the steam fair. It's our science fair and all the excitement that goes with that. And so these are students who um they are grand prize winners. And so from Mariana School, Nia Richards, plastic is bad for the ocean. Come on up, Nia. From Vanguard, Damen Varela, Glycomic Fruit MATRIX from Phoenix Academy. Kaani Martinez and Alcanza Riyotti driving on sunshine. Another Vanguard pair, Samuel Alvarez and Mason Mora. Rotomatic a Sandia team, Aiden Stamon and Jaden Shetler. Mag Lev train. Nice job. Also, Sandia, Samantha Sanchez, and Victoria Olivas, Gizmo the Parrot.
Tonight is about scholarships, yes, but it's also about something even bigger. It's about recognizing young people who are already making a big difference in the world around them. At its heart, the mission of Kowanas is simple. Serving the children of the world. One of the ways that mission comes to life is in power powerful commitments of programs like our high school key clubs. Our key club at Pleasant Valley is far more than just a student organization. It's a community of servant leaders, young people who choose compassion over indifference, action over excuses, and service over self-interest. These students volunteer countless hours supporting schools, local nonprofits, community events, families in need, and causes bigger than themselves. They show up, they lead, they care, and perhaps most importantly, they inspire. In a world that can sometimes feel divided or disconnected, these students remind us that kindness and community still matter.
And whereas Mr. Scheidemann served as trustee of the Clifton Education Foundation board since 1999. A true Renaissance man, Ernie served our community, county, and state in a variety of capacities. Before retiring from teaching, he taught chemistry in Clifton Public Schools for 33 years, where he received the Clifton Teachers Association Education of the Year Award, and served as president of Clifton High School Faculty Organization. He also served our community as a well-respected real estate and insurance broker, proprietor proprietor of the Ernest Scheidemann Agency located in Clifton. Little red house on Main Avenue, it's been there forever. Ernie held a variety of civic and business positions throughout his professional career, including president of the Wayne Democratic Organization, member of the Passaic County Democratic County Committee, a member and chair of the Wayne Township Board of Adjustment and Planning Board, trustee of the Clifton Mental Health Organization in Downtown Clifton Economic Development Group, and alternate director of the Passaic County Board of Realtors.
I I I don't know if that's like it my question's coming clear, right? Like what did the terms of the contract change or Yeah, this is a new Sorry. This is actually a new contract, which is why you're approving it and because it's over that threshold. But with this contract, this company that partners with Mitel or Axtel, which one? Axtel, sorry. Which partners with Axtel, they include in their contract in addition to service that every five years you get a replacement phone, which we said was a gift because otherwise with our current contract, which is with Mitel and Axtel, see? Okay. We don't get the phones included. It's just for services. So that's the difference. Yeah. So so basically just so I have it clear, it's new company, new deal, better contract. Yes. >> That's the change. Okay, got it. Thank you. >> budget it for, yes.
And that was really unfortunate, because I really enjoyed being here. So, when I was asked to come back and give this commencement speech, it really meant a lot to me. Because when I was asked to speak today, I started thinking about what I would wanted to hear when I was younger. Not some perfect speech with all the answers, because I definitely do not have all the answers, but something real. Something honest. Something that says you're going to face challenges, but those challenges do not define who you become. My name is Tyler Cashman, and I'm a visually impaired golfer. I grew up in New Jersey, and sports have always been a huge part of my life. When I was younger, baseball was my sport. I loved competing, I loved being part of a team, I loved having something to work towards. Then, around the fifth grade, I started noticing that my vision was changing.
So, if you have any questions or concerns about it, um you can talk to me. I'm not changing anything until the state tells me I have to change it. Uh it it is the all the requirements that we do that say we will follow the rules for the federal and the state grants. So, if you have a question on it, you can ask me. But, um it's one of those formalities. So, administration recommends that you approve the consolidated district plan as presented.
>> Um, and it's very difficult to manage. Um, and so that's why we have this slide. Um about three years ago, the state um did remove the burden of paying textbook fees by parents. Um and they decided to give the corporations an amount of money for that. They were limited in their funding and they've continued to be limited. Um this most current year they took that funding out of an additional fund or or or bucket um and put it directly into the education fund. Um you can see in the blue column the money that comes from the state. It's $158 per student and how that plays out across our three levels. Um, you can also then see our average cost per student across the three levels. And that does vary a lot from student to student. Um, I'll be honest, the rising costs in here are these software subscriptions and the devices the students use.
Oh. Oh, is he sleeping so cute? >> [laughter] >> She's going to be right here all the time. >> in the same kindergarten class. >> [laughter] >> Does she look like a teacher? Absolutely. Very good. Well, again, welcome. Um so, next we'll move down to finances. We have some donations. Asking for approval to accept these donations for Graham Creek Elementary School, uh Tea Creek Baptist Church, $300 for negative student lunch accounts, for Jennings County School Corporation Crescendo Crescendo Music Department, county-wide Fine Arts Festival for T-shirts, sound, and posters, Bronze Auto Body Service of North Vernon, $250. Asking for approval to accept those donations. I have a motion by Travis. Do I have a second by Pat?
That came back quick, but the pitcher was able to get the glove out. More of a reaction than anything else, but she was able to make a really good play, fields her position well, and gets out of the inning with very little harm done, only allowing one run in the bottom of the second. But, the bottom of the lineup and then the top come through for the Clockers for another run. We're heading to the third inning here as we will see Usaris back on the mound. Yeah, Nico's pitched pretty well so far. She's uh certainly looks like she's getting a little bit more accuracy than yesterday in terms of what she's been doing. She has She has at this point uh thrown 34 pitches, but different than yesterday, 50% of the pitches at this point have been strikes, which is really where she really struggled yesterday.
Yeah, so um I'll I'll hit on that in my report about where we are with school organization. Great. Thank you. If that's it for curriculum, we'll move. Thank you both. >> That's it. Okay. Thank you. Uh next committee would be finance, Dr. Harrigan. Yes, thank you. Um >> [clears throat] >> we have a few moving parts to the financial report tonight. So, we'll start with um the report included in your packet is the financial report for the 2025-26 Board of Education budget reflecting expenditures and encumbrances through April 30th. Um I'm going to let Ms. Emily Taylor uh talk more about that and especially uh since Kim is now here. Um I assume you'll also go through the financial highlights that we have in front of us. That's great. Um good evening, everyone. Uh so, through April 30th, we had spent 87,000 87,569,573 dollars, which is 94.0% of our budget, which is a slight increase from last month where we had spent 92.3% um as a reminder our total budget is 93 million 124,314 dollars.
We wanted to have students actively taking an interest in those around them, but also kind of being conscious of the environment that they're in. So the main things that we tried to get them to focus on again because we wanted it to be relatable to elementary school students, the first thing that we really focused on with this was this idea of that people aren't unkind, they're just unaware. Uh it's a great quote from from Coach Lee, but we we kind of pitched them this idea of like you're walking in the hallway and you know the person in front of you might not notice you and as you're walking kind of up to the door, that person walks through and that door kind of shuts on you. That doesn't really feel great. That person might not be unkind. they just might not been not have been aware that you were behind them.
I get it. Okay, so that makes sense. So the idea would be to shift the parking from there over to the woods. Yeah, there would be some space um there and then just like cleaning up the lot that's currently there at the like the the building itself. So there's Sorry. Go. So there's no You said there's no safety concerns. Like I'm think This is where my head goes. We have a We have a system that exists and it works right now. Highland Bowl is getting paid something. So to me, they like that. We're saying we wouldn't be paying them anymore for that and we'd be spending $800,000 to expand impervious surface, which from an environmental perspective I don't really care for. So I'm thinking status quo is where my head goes. Rather than even talking about the $800,000 and unless there's a compelling reason other than it's like totally adjacent and we own the property, I get that, but uh maybe it to me maybe a reason would be Highland Bowl gets sold and they're going to do something else with the property.
And our last Steamfare grand prize winner, Lesie Aino Figueroa from Mariana Academy, a decorative vintage truck. The next category is our state seal of civic engagement. And this is a really tough award to earn. It requires not only a test on the basics of American government and constitution, but then a presentation to a panel and a year-long typically project to demonstrate your awareness of civic engagement. We had two win two awardees this year. They are Emanuel Rodriguez Serrano from Granite Hills High School and Christian Santana from High Desert Premier Academy. Our English language student of the year, students who demonstrate incredible facility with language learning and work really hard to gain this mastery of English. from Apple Valley High School. Brianna Alvarez from Granite Hills High School. Jennifer Balwena Cruz also from Granite Hills. Muhammad Amiri and from High Desert Premier Academy, Katherine Colin. Our next category is our Skills USA state gold medalist.
What makes Key Club so special is that it teaches you something that you can't always learn from a textbook with real-time exper experiences and examples that your life has the power to impact someone else's. Whether they're organizing food, clothing or supply drives, volunteering at park and bike path cleanups, mentoring young students, or simply being the person who steps forward when help is needed. These young leaders are already shaping the future in big ways. Since 1954, our club has believed deeply in investing in the youth of our community. Not only financially through scholarships, but through mentorship, encouragement, and opportunities to lead. Because when you invest in youth and young adults like all of these, you invest in a better future for all of us. To the students being honored tonight, you should be proud of what you've accomplished. Your hard work, dedication, compassion, and service have not gone unnoticed.
He was a member of the Passaic County Board of Tax Taxation at one time serving as their president as well as certified tax assessor and notary public of the state of New Jersey. A poet and world traveler, Ernie enjoyed conversing with people from all walks of life and could always be counted upon to welcome guests to CEF events with his warm and affable personality. You were a true gentleman whose legacy will live on throughout the community. Be it further resolved that the contents of this resolution be noted in their entirety in their entirety in the official minutes of the Clifton Board of Education for future generations to peruse. Dated May 21st, 2026. Thank you, Vice President Santiago. Uh Commissioner Esther Eve Esther Barnes. Whereas on April 30th, 2026, the community noted with sorrow the passing of Peter DeGiao and whereas Mr. DeGiao had dedicated 28 years of his life to serving the Clifton Board of Education as a custodian and as a supervisor before retiring in 2008.
>> Right, right. So I I appreciate that clarification cuz you know, that's just for the public to see, you know, obviously there's a sense and a logic to why there's this money's being spent up front, right? To make it financially responsible long term. So thank you. You're welcome. Is there anyone else who have who would have questions or comments? Mr. Masson. So, I have a question on 10.10 EPC playground approval or proposal, excuse me. And taking a look at this proposal here, I guess the couple questions I have and I'm assuming it's probably from Mr. Yates. Is is this covered under the grant? Or sorry. I can take that one, too. Yes. So, under the preschool grant, we actually put in $75,000 for non-instructional equipment. And it covers the full fee. So, it's all covered under preschool funds. Okay. And I guess the other question I have is is is the proposal itself.