Camden City Public Schools District - Advisory Board Meeting – April 2026 Meeting

001and to attend meetings of public bodies for any business interest to discuss or according adequate notice of this meeting has been published in the current post website www.canchool.org order displayed at the administrative offices filed with the city of Camd and now to all a visit to request a notice in accordance with the law. Please be advised that this meeting is being at a future meeting. Roll call, please. Janette Alvarez, Gabriel Kamacho, >> Derek Alshaw, >> Wanda Garcia, Cameron Hudson, Daniel Jackson, Cameron Merrick, Anandi Nelson, and Maria pres. We will now have our We will now have our student representative roll. Student representatives. When you hear your name, please say present from BLA. Ziah A Jordan Cam from Bring William Man Bruce from Camden High. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Bruce, I apologize. From Camden High,

002Sai picks Amazon my father creat Elijah Vargas Marie Santos representative shar I started in high school. Okay. Hi everyone. So, my name is Nix and I'm currently a senior at Camden High. >> So, I assume we're just going to get straight into talking about the merge, right? Okay. Well, what some of the things that I want to talk about is for starters the merge. So, a couple of concerns that I have regarding the merge is that I worry about how it will affect Camden High students, especially if you consider the fact that if especially if you consider the way they're viewed and regarded by the other students and teachers on the campus. I believe that while the integration and expansion of these programs making them easily accessible to all the students on the campus, I

003believe that's wonderful. I truly do. I I think it's been long awaited and I'm anticipating seeing that happen in the future. Don't mistake me. However, I think we also have to take into consideration that the bias and prejudice and downright discrimination that Camman High students face while at the hands of the other schools because it is true and they do face it and I can give you some examples if we have the time. Right? I think that's something that we have to take into consideration because like I said at our town home our town hall meeting earlier, okay, this is a great opportunity but we have to take into consideration. We don't want our Cayman High students to be put in the classroom with the same people and the same students and the same teachers

004who have been for years, as far as I'm aware, been telling their students that we're terrible and we're monsters and we have a lesser education if Okay. Exactly. And again, while I do believe that the merge, which is really just an expansion and which is really just an expansion and integration of our programs from every school to all the schools, I do think that that's something that we as parents, as students, as staff, as administration, and security guards alike. I think that we have to take into consideration how this will affect the students at Canton High mentally because it will have an effect. Imagine being in an environment where you're around people who don't believe you have what it takes or they believe that if you graduate it somehow means less than when they graduate

005or you're top of the class is somehow bottom of the class in their schools. I think that's absolutely and utterly ridiculous. And while I do again believe in the marriage, I think we have to take into account and do something about the fact that if we do that, what will that mean for the students who have been at the hands of said discrimination and prejudice from these other schools and these teachers? And what does that mean for our students and their mental health and the continuation of their education? >> Thank you. At this at this time we have our next school board rep. >> Uh hello. I wanted to start off by saying um laying a foundation by saying first of all we're all from Camden, New Jersey, us as students and um we're always

006fighting a uphill battle uh to the outside world definitely. And um also want to clarify I have peers and classmates from all four schools and um I am a voice for the students disregarding my personal opinion and uh I speak for the ne next generation of students since I'm graduating this year. Um I want to start off by saying we all want equitable opportunities and vocations for all of the students. Absolutely. As a Camden just Camden schools in general. Um, and we can't grow as a collective if we aren't even given the chance to, if we aren't given equal opportunities. Um, and I am sure that the three magnet schools on the campus uh want to be assured that there won't be any assimilation of their schools into one big amalgamation. I can agree with

007that sentiment. Um, so I think we can as a campus and in its entirety um collaborate and I want you, superintendent, to assure us that we can find a middle ground, um, for the school so that we can have equal opportunities in education and yet still have our cultural and academic identities um, remain um, while keeping everyone satisfied. Can you assure us that? >> Thank you. >> Uh, creative arts rep, if you can start off by saying your name, >> thank you. >> Oh, thank you. Um, also regarding the merge, while I Oh, my name is sorry. My name is Jaden Craig and I am schoolboard representative for creative arts. While I do believe in equal opportunity for each school, just I'm by your post I'm assuming that you've seen the concerns of each school

008and how it affects the rest of us. And you are taking very very four distinct different cultures, thriving cultures, and force-feeding them into a system that is already struggling. Um for firstly with the scheduling being while I do believe in equal opportunity for everyone, how would that fit into everyone's schedules? From my freshman year to now my junior year, we have switched schedules four different times. In my freshman year, it was A and B days. And my sophomore year, it was the eight period. In my now junior year, in the beginning of the year, it was eight periods. We switched to A and C A and B days with a C day and then we got rid of C days. So we're already struggling with the schedules. We're already every year the schedules are changing.

009Every year this we are struggling with putting people where they belong including with our majors. We all of us have our different majors, different medical programs, different trading at different times with our classes. So fitting that into a schedule that will work as one big campus depending on how we are going about this depending on the set plan. If we do believe in this completely merging under Camden High campus I don't believe that will work in any way form because we are all very distinct as well as teacher shortage and staff shortage. We don't have enough staff. We don't have enough teachers. We don't we backto backto back classrooms backtoback students teachers teach different grade levels they teach different that's different curriculums different personalities and that is a struggle for teachers to keep having to

010deal with that and we have gotten rid of so many of our support team we have got written gotten rid of um Miss Shakir which is one example and she she was an amazing person. Now, we we barely have a support system in our schools. Also, as well as communication to the parents and community, there has not, at least as far as I've seen, an official announcement about this merge. Nor is we don't have no idea about the scheduling. We have no idea about the what the uniforms are going to look like, the graduation, the lunches. We don't have no idea of any of that, how the lunch is going to work. Last year, the graduating class could barely even fit on their own at separate schools. So how is that going to look with

011four schools merging? Also are we as creative arts brand be pale are we going to graduate under the name of Camden High campus? Especially for jun now juniors to go into their senior year graduating under Camden High campus after being creative creative creative BLA BLA and so on for three years and then graduating under Camden High campus I feel is absolutely ridiculous. I don't believe we should graduate under a school. We weren't we weren't in we weren't in Camden High. We were in our specific schools and we came to our schools for for a specific reason. Speaking for creative arts, we came to creative arts to explore the arts with people who look like us. We did not come, we did not want to go to Hadenfield or any of the schools out in Collinswood

012or wherever because we wanted to explore the arts with people who look like us and to merge that and some of us we feel that that is going to be taken away. It in the long run is going to to be stripped away from us when we've worked. So all of the the late nights we've stayed after school, all the late nights we've stayed on Saturdays and all throughout the week, all these rehearsals just being put basically kind of erased. And our legacies, we have so much legacy, so much history in each different school. And to merge that and put that into one when we have such different cultures, different traditions, creative arts with their with their all their performances, the chocolate covered nutcracker with their programs and their trades and brim with their programs.

013You need a certain amount of level to get into those programs to be in these certain things. And by merging that, it doesn't it doesn't again it doesn't seem like it's going to work. I honestly don't believe that this merge would work in any favor of any of the three schools for personally and could we give valid reasons on what are what are the benefits of this merge? What are we all getting out of this? We are barely able to deal with the problems in our own school, let alone to merge that into one. We can barely get enough funding, enough buses, enough anything. And to put more people into these places that we don't even have enough for is is really ridiculous. So I say that we keep the schools in their separate cultures,

014in their separate thriving in their separate vicinities. That's just that's just what I feel. And a lot of us feel the same way too which is why we protested today. Not out of Yeah. Not out of spite, not to be defiant. We protested because this is something we feel strongly about. A lot of people have found community, have found different different helping system, different everything in the different schools we are in. We came to these schools for a reason. We didn't come here to be merged into one. While yes we are unity, we can be separate in our different cultures and our different traditions. We don't have to be under one campus. And also we've we pride ourselves at least most of the schools pride ourselves in our school rank our classes ranks. How what

015how are we going to how is that going to work with all schools in one? It just for me and for a lot of others, it just doesn't make sense to keep it to to merge it like that, especially for and I feel so heavily about it because I want to graduate under creative arts high school. That's where I want to graduate. That's what I want to say on my diploma because this is what I came for. I want to do arts in the future. And I didn't come I didn't come to creative arts for that to be taken away from me. My art and my craft and all of my history that I have with with this also speaking from our show our showwise. We performed for many schools and sometimes we got things

016thrown at us. We got candy thrown at us. We got many different things things were being said off stage. So I feel if we show the opportunity to y'all and y'all treat it like that, I don't feel that it should be it should be it's not not that it's not deserved, but it should be earned rather than just handed to you. Thank you. >> Thank you. At this time, can we have our student rep from Brim Medical Arts? If you could please start off with your name, please. >> Good evening everybody. I am Adriana Bruce from Dr. Charles E. Brim Medical Arts High School. >> I would like to start off with a light note because it's just something that I've seen and I've been missing my board meetings. I am sorry. I'm an athlete

017and in EMT program I am very busy. Um, can we please get soap in the soap dispensers? We never have soap in the soap dispensers. We got new ones and um they had soap in it once. As a female, I don't like having to walk past a bunch of people in the bathroom without washing my hands. Also, it's disgusting. As a medical student, it you a billion germs. I feel like we need to have more soap. And we our bathrooms get cleaned every day. Therefore, our soap should be supplied every day. We have a whole bunch of students throughout the whole campus and none of the bathrooms have soap. I've been in Brim. I've been in BPLA. I've been in Camden High. I've been in creative arts. I've been in the middle of it where

018the gym is, where the cafeteria is. None of them have soap. Anyways, now I would like to get into the nitty-gritty of it. First, I would like to um speak on behalf of Dr. Branch, the first founding principal of Dr. Charles E. Brim. she could not make it today. So, I have a little script that she asked me to read. It says, "Good morning board members and superintendent um Lano. Um my name is Dr. She is Stephanie A. Branch. She is the founding principal of Dr. Charles E. Brim Medical Arts High School. I apologize for not being present today. I have a speaking engagement. As you know, Dr. As you know, Brim Medical Arts High School was created on the enrichment Camden City students as who inspired to have careers in the medical field. Me

019being one of them with several hospitals buying into this new innovative concept, a steadyast collaboration was formed. Making a difference in lives of students in Camden City was first and foremost, let's not erase, one of the city's greatest achievements. Brim is the first magnet school in Camden City history. And this was achieved through collaboration efforts and and buyin from students, parents, teachers, and administration. Working together, we made dreams become reality. Each magnet school brings a curriculum handson experience for a student in Camden City. If I may suggest moving forward that the following may be taken into consideration. Transparent collaboration, revision of the curriculum to meet the needs of all students. And no school should lose their history, name or legacy, especially one that comes from someone who was an who was an actual doctor who

020was actually part of our community. In closing, students must come from come first. It worked for me in 1994 and says thank you. And as a student who has been in this school for four years, I have two perspectives on this. I have the perspective of the students and then I have a perspective of a board rep in my opinion that all of this nonsense has been happening too fast and that both parents, administration, and students are not having the right information. The information based off of what they originally were giving is my first opinion I will be giving. In my opinion, when I first was told that the school will be one campus, in my opinion, that wouldn't work at all. There is four individual schools. You have Brim Medical Arts. No, not Brim

021Medical Arts. Dr. Charles E. Brim Medical Arts. You have big picture learning academy and you have creative farts and you have Camden High School. Each one is their own identity, their own person so to say. Dr. Charles Zebrim, their classes are math and science. They are steady fast and they are more rapid paced than most classes. You have to be able to be rapid with what you do. And all of our classes are intertwined within the health field. As a freshman, we had exposures. Obvious it got rid of it with when um Miss Luke was not there for a couple years. In my opinion, that was one of the best things we've had. We got taught as medical fields. We got introduced to medical things. But not just that, it's also in our health in

022our health classes. I honestly could say that I would not be able to be passing my EMT class right now if I did not have the health class that I have. And I know that certain students from Camden High and BPLA and creative arts, they do not have that health class. Therefore, if they were to take certain classes, they wouldn't really understand what's going on. Now, I take it from BPLA's perspective. You have, I believe it's a 47page essay do your senior year. You have entrepreneurship or I'm sorry, not that. You have um the presentations. I'm sorry, I'm missing on some of my words. Exhibitions. Thank you. Thank you. They have their exhibitions and they also have their internships. They do not come to school on Wednesday if they have an internship. They go out

023to their internship. you're having people have those classes when we're not they don't even have class that Wednesday. Then you have creative arts. Creative arts is of course an arts school. They do multiple arts things. There are certain days where they do not have classes at all because of their performances and everything. You're telling me that you're going to have kids that are taking classes over at other schools or for instance, let's say I'm a Brim kid and I am, I don't know, in dance or I am performing that day, but I have classes in BRIM, but I have to be there because for creative arts, it's a major. So, you have to be there. That is your grade. You're not allowed to miss it. But I would have to miss it because I would

024have more important classes. Also, I say this as um a student is that many of us are confused on why you guys are putting it together when a lot of people transfer out of the schools to go to the other ones because of the students that they are surrounded by and their classes. I say that I know Brim has had a couple students transfer to Camden High and to Creative Arts and to BPLA to get rid of to get away from the Brim kids. Same thing with the other schools and vice versa. They transfer out because that is not the structure that they need. That is not the environment that they should be in. Me personally, if I I was originally supposed to go to Camden High, me personally, I would not have survived in

025Camden High. And I'm not saying this because Camden High is I I don't know. I don't have I love Camden High. I love Camden High. I love all the schools. I have friends in all the schools. I play for Camden High. I take I've took classes at Camden High. I've taken classes at Creative Arts. And honestly, it did not work. You guys tried it and it did not work. But I want to say this because it just we're trying to get in different environments and I know there's a Camden High kid I believe it's a Camden High kid who talked to me who wanted to get into BRIM. I said, "Okay, do it. If that's what you want to get into, if that's what you want to lead, that's what you want to follow, go

026into BRIM." But um but if you don't want to go into medical field, you don't want to go into health sciences. I wouldn't go to Brim. If you wanted to be in the arts, go to creative arts. If you wanted to be in business, go to BPLA. And then the thing is is that you need a school. You have to have a school to where if you people don't not every high schooler knows where they want to go. I've known where I wanted to go since I was in seventh grade. I have seniors now that still don't know where they want to go. And so you have to have that high school that's like for the for the ones who are are still finding their way. And that's Camden High. Camden High has a certain

027like little not little I'm sorry. Camden High has a little subject and they have their meaning in the whole campus too. They are the ones who fill in for the people who don't know where they're going. They don't know what's happening in their future. So, they go to Camden High. Why make Why make a decision when you're in high school when you don't know where you're going? as I will rephrase that. I'm saying that if I didn't want to be in the medical field and I didn't want to be in a um creative arts field and I didn't want to go into business and I didn't know where I wanted to go, let's say I wanted to go to cosmetology because y'all have cosmetology or if I wanted to go into the military, they have

028um JOTC. I took JOTC. I couldn't take it this year because my schedule didn't align up. Me personally, I wish I could have, but that's what she already talked on. Our scheduling won't line up. But I'm saying that for people who do not know where they want to go, they have to have a normal high school. And that's where Cand High comes in. Can the High is a high school like Collingswood or in no obviously completely different districts, completely different structures, but it is a regular high school. People who I'm going to try to rephrase this for a different school is people go to Collingswood, but they also go to the vocational schools. It's just like going to a vocational school. I picked BRIM because it was a vocational school because it was for the

029medical arts was so I can push get my foot in the door in those fields. Why am I and then you're taking away from the people who are trying to get into those fields by having people who don't even know where they're going taking those classes. Same thing with creative arts. You're taking away from their learning, their majors. They want to perform. They want to go out. They want to do that as a career. You're taking away from that. And that's just what I've that is before I found out certain information. Now, the new information I heard that it's still going to be each individual school and I understand that. I agree with that completely. I also heard that it would be other schools taking other classes at other schools. I I honestly agree with

030that too. I believe that every school should like be able to take it. But the thing is is that you guys are not communicating correctly. You are not giving out the right information and it just doesn't make any sense with the scheduling and everything. Nothing aligns with that. Our CTE programs is like my CTE program for BR medical arts. I have classes that I'm missing every day still because of my programs. That has nothing to do with me, but that has the to do with the scheduling and everything. So, if you guys could make it work, I would say go for it. Have Camden High kids take somewhere else. But it's also you're putting what she said. You're putting it in classes. You're putting them in classes who are small reserved classes. I have a

031class of 16 students was um for the most I've had a class 16, 17, 18 students. I don't have that many students in my classes and it's structured that way for a reason. It's so we can learn easier. It's so we can like understand what we're doing. Also, our classes are fastpaced. So if a Camden High kid wanted to come take one of a brim kid's classes, it's like we're a little bit faster and it's a little bit harder to understand and take those classes if that's not what how you understand how you learn if that makes sense. So like and same thing with creative arts. Creative arts is I keep saying majors but it's a big part of their grade. You graduate based off your major. All these stuff around it doesn't matter. Yes,

032you take your core classes. Of course, you have to take your core classes, but their majors is what they're performing. That's what their career is based off of. So, overall, I say is that if you guys could really actually figure out the ninks and crinks and all the nonsense of it, maybe go for it. But honestly, in my opinion right now, at least in the big 2026, for at least our seniors and the juniors below us, it doesn't make any sense. You guys are doing too much and not giving you're doing too much with too little information. Especially to the parents, the administration, and the students. That's why the students walked out today. My students from BRIM and Creative Arts, they walked out because they didn't know what was going on. They were told the

033wrong information. They're hearing rumors from Facebook messages against staff and students or not even students against staff and administration within our community that have nothing to do with anything. But that's all I have to say. >> Thank you. >> At this time, our East Side High rep, if you could start off with your name, please. >> Good afternoon. Um, my name is Elijah Vargas and I'm a senior at Eastside High School. Uh, I just want to say first off, um, thank you superintendent for the information about the new ACS that's coming in our school. Um, I got three things to say today. Uh, one, students are participating in extracurricular activities more frequently, including sports and clubs. Um, East Side students are continuing to seek additionally academic support before, after, and during Saturday school. Students are

034showing a desire to maximize their educational experience. And my last question is, Eastside, could use support with student attendance, specifically chronic absesium. blessing. >> Thank you. Thank you for sharing. >> Um, hi. Hello. Before we proceed, I have a couple more points that I want to let loose if that's okay. Or would you guys prefer me to wait until >> Go ahead. >> Go. Okay. >> So, the first thing that I want to say is we can talk about some of the points that are given right here and right now. I just want to start by establishing that students who go to camp majority of the time are not undecided on what they want to do for a career. You can go to any school in any district regardless of the high school and where

035it's standing and you can ask certain seniors and they'll tell you I don't know what I want to do in school, what I want to do after I graduate and what I want to major in in college. That is not something that is specifically only that's not something that came high students only struggle with. Okay, that's something that we all as teenagers who have to make a big decision go through and that's just that. Now, what I also have to say is regarding that, I've known that I wanted to be a lawyer since I was in fourth to 8th grade. Somewhere in between that and I wanted to do that because someone that I loved and held dearly in my life was a lawyer. And I I loved that about her and I wanted to

036do that as well. That's why I wanted to do that. So going into Canon High School my freshman, well deciding on Camden High School my eighth grade year was not because I was undecided or indecisive about what I wanted to do. It was because that was the school that I chose. Okay, let's just get that clear and out the way. Um, secondly, another thing that I have to say based on some of the points that were talked about here and were talked about in our town hall meeting earlier that some of the students unfortunately missed out on because they had a walk out. We missed out on loads of information that the superintendent and administration provided us with. I think it would have greatly cleared up any misconceptions that we may have about this quote

037unquote merge. Okay. Now, a lot of people are talking about how Camden High is a school that suffers greatly with behavioral issues. Now, I also want to again put out a disclaimer that if you go to any school in any of the districts, neighboring or in this one, students, some students have behavioral issues. They have troubles at home that cause them to act the way they act or they just may not know any better. That's something that we should look to the parents for. Okay, that's that's all it is. We do have behavioral issues. Every school on Camden High campus inside Camden High's campus has a group or select group of students that have behavioral issues. It is not something that Camden High is only specific to. It's a universal thing, not a Camden High

038thing. Okay, let's get that underway. Okay. So that's another thing, right? Now another thing again now a lot of us are under the notion that that is something that is only a Camden High thing. Okay. We are mom bros and we are rascals and we do we don't understand anything that's going on in the road and we have a lesser education and we don't deserve to be put in rooms that creative arts and BPLA and BRIM are in. Okay. Let's start by establishing that that is not something that we went into high school believing. That is something that the grown-ups and the adults in our environment taught us and made sure was ingrained into us. Okay. When I got to Camden High, I was not under any misconceived notions that I was going into a

039demon school with demon children who didn't know how to act and were ratchet and ghetto and they screamed and they threw stuff at me and they might fight me or torture me if I went there. I was not under those notions. And I don't believe that any of my peers, junior, senior, sophomore, or freshman, went into high school thinking that. I think they got into the environments that they were in and they heard things that they weren't supposed to hear, especially not from an adult or person that was put into place to protect them. Okay, let's just get that underway, too. So again, that behavior, the the uh the the misconceptions that Camden High students face on a daily basis, this is something that we go into school with every single day. There is not

040a day that any Camden High students face that we don't have at least one moment in time where we're judged just based strictly based off where we go to school. When I tell you I've had conversations with people and they believed that I went to one of the other three magnet schools and they thought I was an a fantastic speaker and I articulated well and they go, "Well, what school do you go to?" Brim BPLA creative. And I go, "No, Camden High." And suddenly, just like that, I've been diminished and devalued. And suddenly, you go to you go to you go to Camden High. How does a student like you go to Camden High? Because, and I say this firmly and wholeheartedly, I am a product of my environment. Camden High, everything you're seeing right

041now is what Camden High had to offer me and what they taught me and what I learned under them and the teachers and the security guard and our staff. And I wholeheartedly say that with my whole chest. I lie to you not. Okay, now there's that. Now, let's see what's next. Sorry, guys. Guys, I'm sorry. Right. So now again, as I'm sure you guys have all heard from everything that we've said today, they're trying to merge the schools. They want to get rid of our legacies or the school's legacies. And you know they specifically what they're not saying right now is if you ask me they don't want to be associated with Camden High because just think we have had a we had a town hall meeting with the superintendent and the administration and they

042came with the sole purpose of putting us at ease after the internet flew wild with the whole thought of a merge. Okay. And they came. The superintendent, mind you, let us let it be known we can barely get 15 minutes out of our principles. And the superintendent of the Camden City School District made his way to come and assure us and have us ask any questions or express any concerns that we may or may not have had about the quote unquote merge. Okay? And he came and he expressed to us exactly what the plans were for this. And again I agree with this merge which isn't actually merge is just the expansion and integration of all the programs from all the schools being offered to every school on the campus. Okay. Now like I was

043saying he came and he said hey I'm here if you guys want to speak. And the students who are now saying they don't understand and we're so confused and we just want information about what's going on were the same students who deliberately walked out and ignored the fact that they had the superintendent right here. He's telling you from his mouth what's going on. and you guys decided or they decided to decide they decided that that wasn't enough and we're set in our ways and they're trying to destroy our school's legacies and so they did a walk out and don't take this as me undermining or saying I don't agree or I don't think they did what they didn't feel like they had to do. I value and I love the fact that you guys decided

044to take a stand for what you believe is right. I absolutely love that in a school district in a school specifically on Cam High campus where they so desperately if you ask seek to make sure that we aren't heard. I love the fact that you guys decided to do what you thought was right and do a walk out. And I absolutely love and applaud you guys for that. And I hope you never lose that spirit and that fight and that deeply ingrained will fight for what you believe is right. Okay? Don't take that as me saying it was dumb or it was stupid. I'm just saying that in the face of knowledge and information, you guys chose to remain ignorant and unaware about what was going on. If we have someone here who's willing to

045talk to us and give us information, why why ignore that? And I think that's something that we as a whole in our Kansas City School District do often. We choose ignorance over knowledge every single day. And it's absolutely ridiculous. It's trifling and we should do better as students, as teachers, as administration, security, as all of us, as a community because that's not how we're behaving right now. What they're telling us is, mind you, I've been on the board for four years. Four years. Okay? I'm not sure. No, I know not everyone right here can say that, but I've been consistent for 4 years. Meaning, I've heard and seen all the changes, right? And what I can tell you right now is that on my time with my time being on the board for four years,

046being in close connections with our administration, that every single board meeting that I attended that I personally attended, there's always at least one person from every school, the reps, to say, and I quote, "We want the schools to be united." So why is it now when they're trying to do that to find some form of unity is it a problem? And the problem is we don't want to be associated with Camden High. We think they're monsters. We think they're rasols. And I can understand that you guys are worried about what this means for your school. But again, we had the superintendent in the building ready and willing to discuss any concerns that we may or may not have had. And in that and in the face of that, we chose to do a walk out.

047We chose to ignore the fact that someone was ready and willing to assure us of any worries we may or may not have regarding this quote unquote merge. Now, there's another thing. Hold on. I'm sorry, guys. Like, it's been happening all day and so I've had time to really think and get acquainted with the idea. Okay. So right now, so a question that I do have is what does the merge mean for the students? No, I can't even say merge. I'm sorry. This isn't a merge. So what does this upcoming change mean for the students who play for East Side that attend Camden High students? That is a question that I do have and I would like to know a little bit more about that because it's not just our education that we have to

048take into consideration. It's our athletics because we're fighting and we're arguing right now about the passions that everyone has and our athletes are passionate and they deserve they deserve reassurance about what's going on as well. Right. I'm not finished. Hold on. So, I spoke with the superintendent about this earlier. However, just so we can all get a better understanding about what's going on. So with the upcoming integration and expansion of the programs that are offered at every school, something that we do absolutely have to know is would this be first come first serve or would it be priority for the students actually attending the schools that the programs would it be priority for the students actually attending the schools offering the program? So what I mean when I say that is if with the way

049that it was explained to me earlier was if we set up the schedule in time enough then again we would be able to have the students who wanted to pursue education or the other opportunities that the schools are offering right if we got to it early enough in time. So again the question is would it be first priority first come first serve or the students who attend the schools get you know they get priority right so again what I mean when I say that is sorry I'm rambling my mouth is getting dry I'm sorry I'm sorry right so what I mean when I say that is say we have a student who from Camden High who loves dance and she's oh she's taken all the classes she's done what she had to do. Now, say

050we had a student from, you know, creative arts who are who's offering the program. Say we had that student and maybe they're not necessarily as good as the Camden High student or maybe the Cam High student is just better at, you know, the program and what they're offering. How would that situation be handled? Who is getting that spot in the classroom and those opportunities that are extended? the student came to high student who specifically worked and ensured that she would be equipped with knowing what she had to know in order to do what she had to do for that major or the student who simply went to that school and were you know obviously considered first choice because they went there. Okay, sorry I got a little off topic. So, another thing I had to

051say was I don't like the fact that the other schools are acting as if we are the only ones benefiting from this change. Okay, we have a couple of programs as well that the other schools definitely would like to get in on. Okay, creative arts has programs. Brim has programs. BPA has programs. We all have programs. Every single school has programs. And so, say there was a creative arts student who really loved doing hair. And so she could come on our side and she could take our cosmetology class with Miss Darden and boom, we're all benefiting from this. It's not just something that we're it's not something that Camden High is just taking from you guys. No, we're all gaining something from this. Okay. Now, like I was saying, I know I've spoken a lot

052about this so far, but I really feel like it's important to stress the amount of challenges that Camden High students face in that campus. And I'm telling it like it's a horror story, but honestly, if you're a student and you're supposed to be in an environment that cares about you and you're learning, you don't want to be told constantly indirectly or directly that you don't deserve to be there or you deserve less than the students on that campus. It's absolutely ridiculous and it's disheartening and we as a community should strive to be different. So, the fact that that's happening is disheartening. Now, what I was going to say is, like I was saying, it's actually something that happens. And I know when I informed the superintendent of it earlier, he seemed rather baffled at the

053fact that that could be going on, right? Which is reasonable. So, he's an adult. You wouldn't think that other adults are making it are making a learning environment so unstable and filled with such tension. But they are, and they do, and that's something that we have to face. And so there was once a time I'm going to tell you guys a little story. 2.5. I'll try not to ramble. Relax. Yes. Yes. So let me tell you guys a story. Right. So it was my sophomore year I believe and we had the principal at the time Dr. Dr. Thomas Thompson Thompson Mr. Thompson. Right. And so I was talking to him and I was in the office and I was talking about how all the other schools had nice cute little sweaters and how Camden High

054didn't have any. And you know what this man says to me as principal at that time? He says, "Well, Kenan High students don't deserve it." Mind you, this is our principal. He says, "You guys don't deserve it." He says, "When we have you guys as a student body behaving or doing what you guys are supposed to be told, then maybe then you guys might get cute sweaters. Maybe then if you guys behave, never mind the fact that again, behavior is issues isn't something that the whole campus or the whole Camden High School struggles with. It's something that a select group of students struggle with. And if we had any actual support for them, we may not be going through that. We may actually be able to get down about we may be able to figure

055out why they're behaving the way they're behaving. Has anyone ever actually looked into why our behavioral students have behavioral issues? No, I don't think they have in my my knowledge. Okay, now I know you guys are tired of me speaking, but I'm not done yet. Right. Yeah. Right. >> Okay. So, now this is leaning more towards me understanding where the other schools are coming from because I do understand. I understand all sides. I learned about this yesterday and I've had plenty of time to really think and consider what this could mean from all points of views because I consider myself to be pretty open-minded. And so the question that I have is why do we have to take and disrupt the other schools in their ways in order to get the education that we as

056Camden High students need and require? Because there should be no reason why now after I've been on this campus for 4 years that we've only just decided that Candon High should be afforded, you know, education, the same type of education that everyone else in the building is offered or and I know again I know this is for all the schools, but I'm just saying specifically in Camden High right now. There should be no reason why in order for us to even halfway get that it come it's coming at the disruption and the chaos and albeit well-being from you guys. I understand, but I don't think it makes any sense that we've had in the years that I've been here, we have had we've been through 5 years of vacancies, three to four substitutes a day,

057schedule changes every year, and about seven principles and leaders in only 5 years. And now you guys are finally deciding to you guys finally have considered us worthy of education. And you know what? Four years too late. But I like the fact that we finally we finally got there. However, it's coming as such chaos, disruption. Why is it that there's even a question as to well guys, are we really doing this? Is are we really going to have Camden High associated with what we have going on? I think that's absolutely ridiculous. Right. So I think while I do think this is some form of a solution, I do think that this solution is only adding more change and disruption onto what we all know or what we've all been trained to know as Camden High

058students. Right. Okay. Thank you. >> I'm sorry. >> Can we give it up for all our student reps? Can we give a round of applause to all of our student reps? So, one, I think is a great opportunity for our students to be able to speak and share how they feel. Um, and and also, uh, for us to make it clear that there's not a difference. Um, and and all of them, you know, are are important. All of our students are important. All right. Um, any board members have any feedback for our student reps? Board member Jackson. >> Good evening everyone. Can you hear me? >> Pull it a little closer. >> No. >> Better. >> Good evening everyone. Thank you so much to our student board reps for coming out tonight. Um, so today

059I'm going to be speaking in three capacities to you all. As a board member, as a creative arts alumni, and as a parent who has a student at a magnet school at this campus, right? So, one thing Bourbon Jackson is going to do is keep it real. So, I had some concerns myself and I did reach out to the superintendent with those same questions that you guys have, right? But I also had to explain to my son who text me earlier amidst all of the chaos like, "Hey, they emerging schools. What's going on?" And I had to make him see it from a different point of view, right? All of the magnet schools came here to Camden High's campus. They have been the ones who have been giving, right? They give their sports, they give

060their band, they give their everything. We give our nothing, right? So why would it be unfair for them to now be able to take other classes? I know when I was at creative, I was a dance major, but I always had a passion for writing. Now I'm known for my writing. Make sense? That would have been a great pathway for me had I been able to explore other options. That would be a great pathway if you if you decided to explore other options, too. Why can Why do we only have to be limited to one thing? Why do we only have to explore the one thing that we set our minds to? We may get into it and decide this may not be for me, but I'm already locked in because I audition for dance.

061Make sense? So at the same time it it can be a little disheartening when you come again of of people who are guests in your house for their brand new school that they didn't get to break in on their own. We had to share it. Same thing goes for creative arts. We can understand we were promised a new school two years ago. We ain't get it. They put us in with Morgan Village. So everybody here is at a disadvantage or feeling like everybody is being slighted. But ultimately, the goal is for all of the kids to have the same exact opportunities. The goal is for you guys to be able to explore other things. We're not taking away the culture. Nobody is thinking about we ain't shutting down no creative. We ain't shutting down broom.

062We're not shutting down anything. But the superintendent will get into his own speech. The goal is for equity, inclusion, and diversification for each and every student in Camden. And I think that we should view it from a different viewpoint. I'm not saying you're not allowed to be upset. I'm not saying you're not allowed to have your opinions. You absolutely are. But if we think about it, would you not would you not have issues too at school if you weren't allowed to do anything? If you had no outlet? If you got to watch three other schools take dance, take art, go on trips, y'all in Virginia, y'all doing this, y'all doing that, and they just here. We got cosmetology and we got automotive. Who's to say I'm not brilliant in my own right? Who's to say?

063Like the young lady says, she was very articulate up here, a Camden High student, and I think she will be an excellent lawyer. Why couldn't she be? Make sense? So, I think that we ultimately need to be fair. We ultimately need to think bigger picture because these are your peers. This is who you will be running the city eventually with. Eventually, we will step out of these spaces and you guys will come back and fill these shoes. But you have to make it fair for everybody. It can't just be a one-way thing. It it not it's not feasible. We can't complain about behaviors when we not giving anybody else any other opportunities. That's not fair. We can't call them one thing, label them as one thing, and then be upset at them because that's what

064we created. Make sense? So just give a little bit of grace. Just give a little bit of grace and see it from everyone else's view. your own. There are plenty of opportunities for everybody. There's not I'm not saying that a medical school student who was there for four years at Brim is is, you know, someone from BPLA is going to come in and think that they can ace a a class on anything that you guys have been doing for four years. No. But we can come in immediate course. I can come in and take beginners introduction to music. I can come in and take an intro to music theory. I can come in and take beginners dance. We can go in and take a beginner's business course. Why is that not a thing? We're not

065saying that they have to come in and be masters because nobody is. None of you will be until you get that college degree. Everybody is learning on an intermediate level. So, give everybody grace. Give them a chance to even try to see if it'll work. And then also, you guys are young people. You guys are seeing how the adults are behaving. Drown out the noise. Be better, not bitter. Make sense? All right. Thank you. >> Thank you, board member Jackson. Any other board members? So again, thank you for sharing everything. Thank you for all those that advocated, um those that spoke to the superintendent and his staff earlier, those that walked out, um those that uh you know represented their their schools today. And at this time, I'll turn it over to our superintendent. >>

066Thank you. Just a quick uh I I wanted to follow up. Today was a a beautiful day having the opportunity to work with our students. It is a beautiful day when I get to get be in front of our students despite, you know, some of the challenges. What I love is that we're talking about important things, right? We're talking about how students feel in school, uh their access to their academic programs. Uh you bring up good questions. The question about athletics, you know, that's stuff that we still have to look at and think about. Uh but I just want to emphasize and I'll and I'll present it a little bit later in this in this session that you know we honor the traditions the schools the identities that already exist. Uh and we also believe

067and I believe that all students as as stated by our our our board member Jackson over there you know deserve a chance to to expand their opportunities. Um we we know there's a lot of work to be done at Camdenheim. We know the campus has great opportunities and there's so much more that we can do. So by working together, hearing from our students, uh I'm learning, engaging with our community members, our elected officials, I'm learning as well about the challenges that are there, the structural uh challenges that are in place that keep kids down at times, right? We can't allow that as the adults in the room. We have to push harder and I promise you as I told all the students who were at our session today that next week I'll be spending time

068in the lunchroom uh talking to students who want to speak with me for all four lunches hearing directly from our student population. We're setting up a staff meeting as well to hear directly from our staff members. And we also talked today with our our our board reps about a way to expand uh the leadership group and bring together students from ROC, from athletics, from other clubs and organizations that exist in our high school so we can get their voices as well because you know we want to be as inclusive as possible. So we're going to continue to move forward together and I'll share more information shortly in the presentation. And that's my cue. That's now time to do the special presentation. So, here we go. I would like to begin first by just reading a

069statement to you that kind of outlines some of the things that I've been talking to our students about. Uh this uh letter that I wrote will go out to everyone this evening or tomorrow morning. It'll be posted on our website. So, I just wanted to take a moment to provide an update on the Camden High School campus and the work that's currently underway. Over the past several weeks, there's been important conversation and engagement about the future of the campus. And I want to be clear, I've heard your feedback. I've heard our students feedback. I heard the students who visited the campus today and came to Morgan Villain, Morgan Village. Some of the feedback has been very constructive and informative. I I was I heard about the history of how the schools came into being. Uh

070the challenges that were faced and addressed and the community commitment to seeing them succeed and some of the feedback has also raised some concerns about you know what our students deserve. All students deserve an equal opportunity to achieve greatness to fulfill their potential. And I believe I truly believe that there's a community of educators, community members, parents here who want to help us achieve that. So to be clear, my focus is and will remain improving the high school experience for all Candid students by honoring what we have in place and continuing to expand opportunities for our students. We're going to move forward thoughtfully and deliberatively. We will be expanding opportunities for feedback, town halls, student meetings, staff meetings, including those industrial sessions that I already mentioned to ensure that more voices are heard, more perspectives

071are gathered and considered as we plan for the future. At this time, the school structure that you know today will remain the same. We will continue to operate within our current framework next year, the year after while identifying ways to better engage and support all students across the campus. That means each of the individual schools will remain in place as they are today. Let me also be clear that there are no changes to the core experience within each of our specialized schools. The arts, medical, business, career programs will continue as they exist today. you know, focused on their identity, their history, their unique experiences that students have access to. Our work right now is focused on going deeper, continuing to analyze, refine, and identify opportunities to innovate and enhance the student experience while building on

072the strengths already in place. At the same time, we have to recognize and acknowledge the reality that's in front of us. chronic absenteeism in each of our schools at at the Camden campus. 42% of the students in one of the buildings chronically absent. 76% chronically absent in one of the other buildings. 43% 40% 54% when you include the fifth high school east side. Those numbers are tragic. They're they're much too high. We need to work together to reduce those numbers. Every campus has numbers that need to be reduced. We also have significant numbers of students in each of the campuses, schools who are at risk of failing multiple classes, at risk of not graduating. That's the reality that we're dealing with right now. We have students who are struggling in their classes and it may

073be the reason because they're not coming to school. We need to work together to reduce those numbers. These aren't just points. They're they're they're they're facts. These are from our student information data system. Our school leaders are actively working on reducing chronic absenteeism and improving student achievement. Our responsibility is clear. We have to improve outcomes. We have to raise student achievement. We have to expand engagement. Kids need to feel welcome at school and ensure that every student has access to and support that and the opportunities that they need to succeed. I want to acknowledge and thank the members of our community who have taken the time to speak with me directly sharing the history of this campus Camden and East Side and help me better understand the why behind its current structure. One of the

074students asked me a question today and it caught me off guard. How many parents have called you superintendent? How many parents have emailed you? How many people have reached out to you directly about what's happening? And and the number is far too small. Not many. And I'll take responsibility for that, too. I I will present more opportunities to engage with families and community members so that we can connect around these questions because they're big questions. But I do appreciate the students who've called me in the hallway and told me about their experience and what they see as their reality on a day-to-day basis. So, the data is clear. Action must be taken. I've been in the district six weeks plus. I've done my research. I know that there's challenges ahead, but we need to take

075action. Status quo is not enough. I don't believe any of you would accept that from me as the superintendent. We're going to move forward together as we collaborate. But how we move forward has to still continue to be refined. We need to be partners. We can't be adversaries. We need to be looking at our students here, these amazing students who all came up here and spoke in front of a packed house, you know, and and shared their ideas, their thoughts, their feelings. some of them which they gathered from their friends. It's incredible what we see. The students we spoke with today, the students who marched to Morgan Village, powerful, powerful, powerful students. Their voices are heard and we honor them. I want to also understand something too and and share that you know the public

076school district here has a challenge you know with enrollment. We need to be attracting more students and becoming more accessible to the community so that Camden City Public School District continues to thrive and grow over time. So that's why this matter that's why this moment matters. It's a it's a watershed moment where we can work together and say, are we going to do this together or are we going to just drag each other down and not achieve the ultimate goal of supporting our school system here? If we stay focused, if we stay united, if we continue to put students first, we have the opportunity to build something stronger for that next generation of students who are in our school district. So, thank you. At this time, we're just going to go through uh a couple

077celebrations. Uh we have our April focus topics. We have three areas that we're just going to cover. Uh, and we've been discussing this for quite some time. I would like to ask Pam Clark. Is Pam Clark here? Uh, where is she at? Okay. I if you want to uh come to the podium so we can celebrate our NJA ESP of the year award recipient and I'll turn the microphone over to Pam Clark. Good evening. Could I have Miss Angela Feliciano come to the pit? So, we were supposed to do this in January. We were supposed to do it in February. We were supposed to do it in March, but in March, we were in Anaheim because Miss Feliciano was honored by NEA to be Camden's first Camden's first NJA ESP of the year. Myself and

078Miss Carmen Cooper, we won the county awards, but we did not win the state. And this year, Miss Fel Feliciano has won the state award. Congratulations. >> Congratulations. Let's hear another big round of applause for Miss Feliciano. Well done representing Camden City School District, NJA ESP of the Year. Congratulations. Thank you for representing us. Next, we're going to talk about uh QAC, the most exciting topic uh that we have on the agenda today. We are required to share the scores uh that we received recently from the uh Department of Education. In November of 2024, the initial QAC assessment uh provided the percentages that you see up there. instruction and program 57% 79% fiscal management governance at 87 operations at 92 and personnel 87 after those initial score comes comes out the district has the opportunity

079to provide more information to the department of ed so that scores could be re-evaluated and based on the January 2026 information uh we went up in two areas uh instruction and program went to 70% and fiscal management went to 83% 3% both improvements because instruction and program is still below the 80% the district remains under uh an improvement plan that we must you know put into practice across all of our school districts. So next slide uh here's just some highlights of what we're doing in the district. This started as as far back as November, you know, and you can see those uh bullet points of stars up there of what's actually taking place in the school district. We'll continue to evaluate progress towards those action plans and goals as we move forward. So that's our

080plan. This was presented back in uh in November uh when the initial scores came in or should have been presented back in November of 2024. Uh so as we move forward, next slide. I forget to keep saying next slide. Thank you. Campus High update. This is the official presentation. It'll be on our website. Everything that's in here I spoke to the students about. I said in brief, but I want to say it one more time loud and clear just so that we're all on the same page. Uh each of the schools in their current state will continue next year and moving forward. There is no change to the model that is currently in place. So, I wanted to make sure that's loudly heard and we can uh continue to talk about what comes next as

081far as the ability to have students to have access to additional classes. That's the next part of the conversation that we could we could talk about and we're going to do that with our representatives, our partners, our thought partners, our scheduling team, administrators, students, and our staff. Uh so, right now, you know, we all know this, it's one campus, four schools, uh functioning independently. uh students you heard tonight don't have access to the same opportunities. Uh a lot of access to specific programs depends on the program placement. As the student stated today, if you wanted certain programs, you applied to a specific school and you had access to them. That's the current reality. Student engagement and experience varies between buildings. Each building has different levels of engagement. As you can see from some of the

082chronic absenteeism numbers, some of the schools do better with getting kids to school, but all the schools are at 40% or more in chronic absenteeism, which which is double more than double the state average. Uh, next slide. So, our response, what you know, what are we what are we thinking about? We're maintaining the current building structure. Four schools in one building under in one campus. Every student deserves a high quality education. But we also heard we got to remove those barriers, right? We've got to enhance engagement at all levels. The barriers are real. You heard it from our students. They feel it every day. And it's not AC, it's not just in one campus. It's or one building. It's across the building. And even in East Side, we have, you know, engagement challenges. It's a

083it's a very high school real thing that happens. Students will remain in their magnet course pathways. The question was asked who gets first priority in the program in the classes. The student who's in the program going through the progression of classes has the priority for those classrooms because they are taking the prerequisites as they move forward into the program. A student may have access to an introductory course and that's what we'll be looking at. But they won't be competing for a junior level level or a senior level course within each of those different schools because they don't have the prerequisites to get into those programs. We want students to have access to the full course catalog. You know, there's so many amazing classes that are there. We can continue to work on that together. If

084a teacher schedule has open periods, that's where we're looking to see if we can create those additional courses that students may be able to select within a different school. Only if there's open space. Some teachers are fully scheduled already. There won't be the possibility to include additional courses in that area. And we know that's the reality. But there are also, we know right now there are teachers who have some holes in their schedule and they're doing different things. They could be working with our students and expanding kids horizons across the building. Next slide. So what's not changing? No schools are closing. No magnet school classes are being eliminated. Students remain in their course specific pathways with no change to classroom locations. Kids were worried things were moving within the building. They are not. each school

085maintains its identity and history. What we're proposing and and actively planning, what does it mean for kids, more course options, more opportunities for students to be able to access, but it's also depends on the schedule, right? So, that's what we need to look into more deeply. Access to advanced coursework. You know, we have a lot of AP courses. We want kids to get ready to take those AP courses because students who take AP courses in high school often do much better in college. It's a gateway to high performance at the community college or college level. Ability to explore multiple interests. We gave the example earlier of uh a medical student, you know, studying who wants to be an EMT but also might want to really dive into construction trades uh because they want to learn

086how to build things. They should have those opportunities to take the entry level course in in construction trades. A cosmetology student who's really into hair probably could use some time learning from the entrepreneurship classrooms uh and sections that are there to learn how to build a business, how to how to market and studio design, how to record content for your social media. There's opportunities. Some may exist already on a small scale. We're looking to kind of make those connections even better and more ingrained throughout the building. And the most important one from what I see is stronger relationships between schools, students, and staff members. The challenge is real. We know there's a lot built into the reasons why some of the students feel the way they feel. We know staff have their feelings as well.

087We need to work together to figure out what that is and do some work around developing culture in the building as a unified, you know, campus that has athletics teams that play together, marching band that plays together, but still maintaining that unique and solid foundation of the four school campus model. Next slide. So, right now we're in planning engagement. We're talking tonight is included in that process. Uh, next year implementation begins for the aligned schedule. We'll have one schedule that gets everyone on the same page as far as block scheduling, uh, bell schedules so that we can easily work across the building when needed, when the opportunities arise, and school identities, the four distinct school identities remain throughout that transition. So, I I hope that allays some of the concerns and questions that many of

088you have have brought up and and that's why we constructed this presentation to kind of hit those points so you can hear what we're we're going to do. This will be on our website. We have an FAQ that will be available for you as well. And we're going to continue the conversation as questions come up about GPA. You know, will GPA be across the whole school or within the individual school? It'll be within the individual school. What diploma will you receive at the class of 2026, 2027, 2028? You'll receive the school specific diploma for the program that you completed, right? Uh class rank within the program that you are completing. uh and not cross the whole campus within BRIM BPLA creative Camden High as it is today. That's how we're pushing it forward. Um now

089I hope I know there'll be more questions. A uh my email is a lamden.k12.nj. So us forgot the end of it. Sorry, it's such a long one. You can find me through there. Everyone knows uh Miss Yetta over there, uh Dr. Thompson behind me, Teresa, you know, the team, President Nelson. If there's a question or concern, you can email these folks, email me direct, and I will get back to you to speak with you and and continue that process. Email A lcanden.k12.nj. us. So, it it's set up just like all of our teacher staff addresses, but it's a L l and it's on the website also on my page. You'll find it right there. You'll be able to email me direct. Uh we have a few more uh highlights. You know, our our uh team

090over here, the 20 won the 2026 Woodbury Relays group one champions. Well done. very proud of our of of our boys. Uh, next slide. Uh, we recently hosted teacher candidates from Rowan University at one of our schools. Uh, it's always great to partner with Rowan University and all of our local partners. Uh, so students get to see the reality. We visited the school that day and got to see the kids interacting, the students from college, our students interacting with our babies. Uh, next slide. Uh, we held a district-wide openhouse and enrollment day with CEA. Uh so let's hear for CA and their support for helping us work on enrollment. Our school leaders, our team-based teams, our central office team. We were out at schools welcome families in. We were able to register additional new children

091into our programs. Uh we're continuing to message. We we've made commitment to partner again before the end of the school year and then do something over the summer so we can get the message out that we want our students to be enrolled in our public school system here. Uh the commissioner visited a few weeks back. Uh we visited multiple schools. She's coming back soon uh the second half of May. Uh that date will be announced with our board leaders uh and our city leaders so that when the commissioner comes back, we'll have they'll have an opportunity to interact with her and uh she'll also meet our student reps as we visit all our campuses. And at this time, I'm going to turn it back over to President Nelson. Thank you, Superintendent. Does the board have

092any comments regarding the superintendent's presentation at this time? So, you say you're going to be meeting with the reps. Well, the last couple of times you met with the reps were days that I have been out on program. Is there any possible way that you could make sure it's not on those days? And I'm out on Tuesdays and Thursdays and every other Friday. >> All right. Absolutely. And one of the things I I because some of the creative uh arts students weren't able, you know, made another choice today during my presentation, I asked for um one of the school leaders on the campus to set up a another meeting directly with the creative arts students, you know, on campus at a time that works out for everyone. So, we'll we'll make an announcement soon on

093that. Okay. But thank you. No, no Tuesdays or Thursdays, though. Got no I love it. Thank you. >> Uh thank you, Superintendent. I would just like to say uh you know, we appreciate uh you and your staff's consideration um listening to everybody, getting feedback, and uh you know, taking a step back to make sure everybody's voices is heard. So, thank you for that. Um to you and your staff. Um at this time, we will celebrate our Camden City School District retirees. I will ask board member Perez uh to present. >> Congratulations on your retirement to Denise Mosby, custodian, 12 years. Gary Simmons, custodian, 22 years and seven months. Thank you. Thank you for your service. Again, we would like to thank you all for your service and wish all the retirees a healthy and enjoyable

094retirement. We will now turn the meeting over to our board solicitor for our public comment session. >> Thank you, President Nelson. Uh the Camden City School District welcomes the attendance and comments of all members of the public at its meetings. The comment period is your time to present your comments to the board and the state district superintendent. Each person who signed up to comment will have three minutes. You will be notified when your three minutes are up and you cannot yield your time to another person. When it's your turn to speak, please state your name and address for the record. Please address your concerns to the state district superintendent or the interim board solicitor. Please be courteous to your fellow community members and keep your comments within the time allotted so that everyone has the

095opportunity to speak. At the end of your three minutes, the microphone will be silenced and your comments will have concluded. Please conduct yourself in a respectful manner. The first amendment is not absolute and the board can prohibit language that is inappropriate in accordance with board policy 1121. We may interrupt, warn, or terminate your statement, question, or inquiry when it is too lengthy. If a member of the public speaks about a staff member, interruption may be necessary to caution the speaker of the danger of slander. For anyone whose comments or actions harass, intimidate, or threaten the safety of any person, we will provide you with a warning or immediately end your comment time. We may request any person leave the meeting when that person does not observe reasonable decorum. We may request the assistance of law

096enforcement officers in the removal of a disorderly person when the person prevents or disrupts a meeting with an act that obstructs or interferes with a meeting. We may call for a recess or an adjournment to another time when the lack of public decorum interferes with the orderly conduct of the meeting. Finally, we may wave any of the rules when necessary for the protection of privacy or to maintain the orderly operation of the board meeting. After public comment period is closed, the state district superintendent or his designate may address your questions to the extent provided by law. I'm going to go ahead and call the names off now for those who signed up for public comment section. I sincerely apologize in advance for any mispron mispronunciation of names. Um, first is Carmichael Stokes. Carmen, I apologize.

097Carmen Stokes. >> Good evening. My name is Carmen Stokes and good evening to uh our outstanding uh student representatives, our distinguished board members, dedicated administrators, and honorable superintendent. My name, like I said, is Carmen Stokes and I am a Camden City resident and homeowner. I am a proud parent of four grants grandchildren of Camden City School District. three of whom attend the Camden High complex, two at Brimmedical Arts and one at Creative Arts High School. I speak as an individual in no way should my comments be taken as a reflection of the views or opinions of any organization that I am affiliated with or a member of their board. I would like to address the concerns of the proposed changes of our high performing magnet schools. The present moment is not new. CCAD has not

098adjusted to the changing landscape in the Camden city which has been shaped by politicians and well-connected profiters. The children in the city have extreme value and the investors for these for-profit charter schools are eager to exploit. From my perspective, can the schools district should implement a different strategy to increase revenue, not shutter schools and programs to benefit our children? I see that you have implemented one of my suggestions, which is a recruitment program just like comp like your competition has been doing for years. You need to brand and market your schools as centers of diversity and excellence because they are. You have a physical debt problem because we ignored this important component of this new landscape. While the charter schools have branded themselves as the highest performing schools, you have not challenged that narrative. The

099Camden School students are failures. They are not. You have more teachers with standard and advanced standard certificates than any charter school in this city. Everyone wants your children. Everyone has set up profitering operations on the backs of these so-called failing students. We are at a critical point in our destiny. We either fight for the survival of public education or we die. Mr. Jonno, as superintendent, you are given the impossible job and everyone is betting on you to fail and allow this district collapse. But I believe you can make the impossible possible. You have the capable leaders on your team and you have been they have been training their entire careers for this moment. They will support you and the public school parents will support you. But the message must change. Eliminating your high performance school

100programs is a distraction with severe consequences. You are creating a golden opportunity for charter schools to to recruit your gems from them elementary schools. You should be protecting your children who have you have nurtured from infancy. With all its faults and imperfections, Camden City Schools are unique and have been leaders in innovation. Thank you very much. Next is Katherine Calvante. >> Apologies. I apologize. >> Hello, my name is Kath Calvente. I am a senior at Creative Arts and I'm not going to I'm really nervous to be up here. However, I I know our voices voices need to be heard. >> Go ahead. You got it. >> Personally, I have nothing against Camden High. Most students that I've spoken to have nothing against Camden High. A lot of times those things that are spoken about Camden

101High and all those unnecessary comments on the students are brought to us by the adults. I'm being totally transparent. Those things are said by the adults to the students to engrave that negative light onto the students. That's number one. Number two, I would also like to speak about the funding that our school has. We are in a $91 million $91 million deficit. And I know that a lot of people got a pay raise, which I feel if we don't have enough money to force support staff, how do we have enough money to have a pay raise? And another thing is I feel like a lot of students are not given the opportunities that we clearly need. Without support staff, what student wants to come to school? Without the opportunities that we had before, what student

102feels like we belong here? And another thing is for the past four years that I have been in high school because I am a senior. Each year something new has changed coming into our um and coming into high school. I used to be a creative arts student in middle school. coming to for since sixth grade. Coming into high coming into high school, we were in a new campus that which a lot of people did not want. Then we got a lot of layoffs from our staff. And now it was a bunch of rumors around that we are being merged and our legacies are being erased. And I know that was debunked already. However, a lot of students got that from the district website with our schools. However, th those schools did not have our names

103on it. It was pathways and a lot of people feel if the district is posting it, it must be true. If the if it's on a district website, it must be true. Therefore, those things we lose trust a lot of times in the district because it's a constant push and pull. A constant push and pull. We're going to do one thing and then we're not going to do it. We're going to do this thing and then no, it's erase next year. So my concern is not to bash Kand the high or any other school because honestly guys a lot of people at my school take Brim courses and a lot of I know a handful of students take creative arts courses and it's vice versa. I feel like that opportunity should be given to the

104students. However, do not erase our legacies. Do not erase our name. Do not erase our history. And upon that I'm sorry. I feel like a student in the district, we should always put students first. Parents are not being contacted enough. Parents not are not being aware of anything that's going on in our campus. So moving forward, I ask that we have parent input, student input, community input, more transparency, more things to let parents know what's going on, to let students know what's on what's going on, and have us the opportunity to agree with it or disagree with it because when the option of the merger was brought on to the students, it was just like that's a done deal. That's it. Nothing nothing else. And my last point is, well, I said every point. However,

105please just listen to the students. Please just hear our voices. Please understand our concerns. We have nothing against any other school. We really just want to want to be in the know of things. You did it. You did it. Can you speak? Next we have Angelina Anglero. >> Hello. I wrote this before the meeting, but hello. My name is Angelina Anglero. I stand in front of you today not just as a sophomore vocal major at creative arts, but as someone's life who's been changed since attending. Before creative arts, I felt unmotivated, burnt out, and I felt like I couldn't fit in into a regular high school. But when I got here, I knew something had shifted. Not only did I find my voice literally, I found it personally. And that's not something every student nowadays

106can say. Creative Arts High School isn't just a magnet performing arts school, it's a community. Students choose to show up, go to practice for hours after school, and show up to events they know will give them opportunities of a lifetime. We are surrounded by passionate, intelligent students who care deeply about what they do. And that pushes us to grow not even just creatively but academically as well. This is this isn't just true for my school. BRIM medical arts and BPLA and Camden I are all here for the same reason too. These schools gives um successful students real access to business arts and the medical field community. Providing real experiences and valuable direction for our futures. This isn't just about merging schools. Merging these magnet schools into Camden High strips the environment and that has helped

107students succeed. When you bring all these specialized opportunities into one, you risk losing the individualized attention, close communities, passion, and depth that make these programs so much more than just programs. Students, including me, are anxious about what this means for their futures in the arts, medical field, and entrepreneurship fields. And what will happen to our opportunities, connections, and traditions if it's just temporary pathways? Because those opportunities aren't just temporary pathways for us. They're why we're attending these schools. The district is made up of majority black and Latino students. Not every family has a time, support, resources, or access to speak up and advocate for their child. And that doesn't mean that they don't care. And it definitely doesn't mean that we deserve less. If the goal is to improve the outcomes, then we should build

108on what's already working for students, protect the legacy and the names of these schools, fund and expand that access without removing what makes each school special. Let us be proud of graduating from creative arts, medical arts, BPLA, and Camden High. And I'm not just speaking for myself and my graduating class. I'm speaking for the students who will walk into this campus 5, 10, or 15 years from now. Students who will have yet to find their passion and students who know this is the school they want to attend to. They will need all these all these schools just like I did. Thank you. Okay, next we have Karen Burley Luke. Good evening. Karen Belli Luke, a teacher for 22 years of my 42 years in education at Brim Medical Arts High School. We ask that you

109put a hold on any movement of changing anything at the campus till you have further meetings with the stakeholders, students, staff, and community. A diverse representation is important and key to buyin. And by the way, magnet school is not a pathway. Magnet school is a specialized curriculum with a focus. In spite of this miscommunication, I am thrilled to see the students and alum empowered. Just know that this is just a taste of what our Camden students are capable of accomplishing of accomplishing. They are great communicators. My hope is that all four schools keep their own identities each with their own focus infusion of specialties. Each have their own legacy. Dr. Charles E. Brim is a legend and because of his contributions to Camden, the first magnet school in Camden was named after him. It is

110important his legacy and memory stay intact. Money. We need to watch where it goes. No position should be cut or rifted that has direct impact on instruction before we look at the top titled positions, some of which have been placeholders for friends and family with no interview or process or posting. example, why do we need a head athletic director over two athletic directors when in reality other districts this size have just one athletic director? It's a waste of money. I say this to say I look forward to working with you to make the campus the best it can be with the best students ever. Thank you. Next we have Stan White, Ariana Irizari. Hello, I have wrote this before the meeting has started. My name is Ariana Rosari. I'm a graduating eighth grader from Thomas

111H. Dudley Family School. I applied to Brim. This was my only high school choice. I didn't apply anywhere else because this is where I wanted to go and I can see myself grow there. I wanted to graduate with the title as BRIM medical arts student but now I will be graduating with the title Camna High when I never signed up for that. If I wanted to graduate from Cam High, I would have applied to Cam High. I'm also worried I wouldn't have the same opportunities as my brother Damen and Rosari. He did really amazing things as a Brim student with internships and I want to have the same opportunities and continue the legacy and name of Brim like he did. We both come from parents that never went to high school. Him having a diploma

112that says Brim is something I looked up to and I wanted to have the same diploma for myself. I'm also very confused because I hear the word students first, but my friends at the campus told me they aren't even happy with this choice. I am more confused because from what I have been reading online, this change is because Camden High students can't get the same opportunities. But why can't Camden High take Brim Creative or BPLA classes? Why take away the school's names when we can work as one campus but allowing us to graduate with the separate schools. My brother's legacy inspired me and made me want to be and made me want to make my own legacy at Brim. My chance of creating a legacy as a Brim medical arts student shouldn't be taken away

113from me. Thank you. and have a nice day. >> Okay, Tamara Hudson, please. First of all, I'm not good at public speaking, but I will say this. My name is Tamara. I live in Camden, born and raised. I am a registered nurse. I have my bachelor's degree. I graduated from Camden High. Now, with that being said, thank you. With that being said, I want to address the lawyer and the EMT. I feel like the EMT was misunderstood. I don't think that she was trying to down Kim Hod. I think she was trying to say that people who are going to these magnet schools went there with a purpose because that's where they wanted to go and not that the the students in Kandahigh didn't know what they wanted to do but this was the specific

114school they wanted to apply to the lawyer um you're going to be a great lawyer and um I'm speaking that into existence I think what you what you said you know her to her to rebuttal her was absolutely correct. Camden High students are not animals, whatever the words they were using, right? But again, a lot of that comes from the adults, right? Um, you also said that the uh superintendent came and spoke to the students and you also said something to the fact like um did any of their parents reach out? I got an email after all this chaos on Facebook. That's when I got it. So that question can be asked both ways, right? Did he reach out to us? Did we reach out to him? It went chaos on Facebook. And this is

115how I learned about this. After Facebook, I got an email from him. So, and to I'm not sure what this lady's name is sitting right here. She said that um give grace, right? Because you're coming into someone else's house or whatever, right? Why did the schools merge to begin with? My daughter wants to be a nurse practitioner. I want her to be better than me. I'm a I'm a registered nurse with a bachelor's degree. So that means I'm I'm not a nurse practitioner. I don't that's a higher clinical than I am. Um why did they merge in the first place? Why can't they keep their own identity? And if someone from Camden High wanted to go to Camden High because they wanted to do cosmetology, that's fine. Why was the merge? Why were all the

116schools put together in the first place is my question. What was the purpose? Now you're saying, "Oh, we're going to change the curriculum, but you want to merge them now because this student wants to take that that student. Why didn't you just apply in the beginning? What's the change for? How is it going to affect the students?" That's all I got to say. Tracy Land, please. >> Omar Frederick Good evening everyone. My name is Omar Frederick Pratt. I am an alumni of Creative Arts High School. Um and then fast forward a few years later, I am now um an employee of Creative Arts High School. Um so very quickly, I just want to speak to the legacy that is my school because there's been some things that said over social media over the weekends and

117some people may believe that we do not have one. So, if you are a current student or alumni, if you could just quickly stand, wave a hand. The people that you see in this room and beyond are the legacy of that school. These people have played for artists like Beyonce and Jill Scott. They are in movies. They are in television. They are making changes in this city beyond what you could comprehend. And I am humbled to be considered one of those fellow alumni that get to work with our students. The programs that we offer and I feel like I just want to get this out there. The programs that we offer have a legacy as well. And you can understand why the children feel the way that they do when they feel like those programs

118are under attack. Nobody at Creative Arts have ever said anything about having a problem expanding those programs beyond creative arts to Camden High to medical arts. It's fine. It's the way that it's being done and the lack of information that we're being given in the way that it's happened. The chaos that took place over this weekend is almost justified because no one was put in the loop as to what was happened. So, I don't know what other type of response you expected to get from confusion other than what took place this weekend on social media. I've heard that this is supposed to be putting our students first. I think the question that I have with that is if we are now in April, the end of April, and this is something that is set to

119take place in September, why were the students not included in the beginning? I read in an article, this was supposed to be in the works for two years now. You had two years to reach out to students, parents, and faculty. The faculty that you're throwing in these different campuses now to teach these different courses are realizing what's happening to their school via Facebook. Right? So if the students are meant to be put first, put them first. Put them in the meetings in the beginning of the planning because when you go out after that and have all these conferences and now we want to talk to the kids, it looks more like damage control than it does transparency. Moving forward, if there is going to be a change in curriculum, in staff, in whatever it is,

120I urge you to have a conversation with the people that it affects most, the students, the faculty, and the parents. I feel like we should have been privy to this information a long, long time ago, and the response that you're getting is because of the way that we received it. Thank you. All right, next. I apologize if I mispronounced this name. Nidia Quutoo Questa. I apologize. So, first let me say every school has their individuality and every school has a legend. You all are great. So, don't let anyone say we're better than you. We're better than you. Everyone has a history. I've taught every kid from every school and all of you are very unique and smart. That's what I wanted to say first. So I after hearing everything I understand better I was in

121a confusion myself so I was in a little rage I'll be honest but after hearing everything and we had her here who was from Camden High and we came together I'm alumni creative arts dance major class04 so first I want to speak as a creative arts creative arts has so many outlets where I came from Camden downtown where I felt like I didn't belong. I felt like an outsider. I felt alone. No one understood me. And going to creative arts, I felt seen. I felt like I had an outlet. It was like a medicine for me. And still, as an adult is a medicine for me. As of now, I teach in nursing homes. I teach in different locations. And we teach how to let go your emotions through the arts. Arts is a very

122therapeutic thing. It helps with that. It helps with Alzheimer's. I can go deep into all that medically, but besides that as an emerge, I feel like we should keep that individ individuality for each school. But also, when you think about it, look at colleges. We could treat it like a college. If y'all happen to do that, keep their names. Keep each one. Just like for example, college, you have Deltas, you have AKA's, you have I can't even think of all the other names. cute dogs and stuff. Sorry guys. I know there's a lot of fraternities and services, right? I'm denied, but um all I'm saying is still keep that indiv individuality. Let's not hand too much to our kids. Let them experience the real world. Let them know how it is in the real world,

123how it is for college. Not everything is going to be handed to them. So, I just feel like I understand that no kid left behind thing, but we need to teach in the real life. Too much is handed to these kids. These kids need to teach be taught the real world and they're not being taught the real world. If you want me to be real, I'm sorry I took over. I'm get my >> Oh, well yeah, that's all I have to say right now. I can say more about I don't want to go over the time. Jose Delgado, please. Before you big my time, I want I want to just take a personal moment and thank everybody how they reacted at the last meeting. Um uh it was very traumatic. I'm okay now. I want

124to thank the people like I want to thank people like Vida Neil who called me at the hospital and some other people called me when I was there. Uh and I know that the superintendent is very happy that I made his first meeting very memorable. He told me so. Uh so I guess you can start now. Mr. Yano, when we first met, I assured you that I would get full support to any of your initiatives that would benefit the needs of students, teachers, parents, and the community in general. I'm here to restate that promise. Your success is our success. But eliminating our three magnet schools as currently configured as currently configured, that's very important. It's not a name. It's not an entrance to a building falls outside the com that commitment. My initial experience with

125Magna School concept began with what turned out to be the Brim Medical Arts High School as a member of the board of education. At countless community meetings, teachers, administrators, board of education members, students, and representatives of the medical and business sectors transformed ideas into a school, Charles Brim Medical School. The curriculum and schedule were were intentionally designed to provide students with an intellectually challenging academically rigorous experience within an emotionally supported environment. It was never meant it was never intended to be a series of courses what you call a pathway. It was supposed to be and is an experience. Medical uh Brim Medical Arts High School is not a magnet school. It's not a pathway and it is not an academy. We do not agree with you when you say that the magnet schools create quote

126structural barriers that limit student access, flexibility, inequality, close quotes. That's in one of your documents. Further, we do not agree that sacrificing our magnet schools is the necessary prerequisite for you to quote maximize existing resources, expanding student choice and ensuring success. Be creative, not attractive. The hard work of BRIM students, teachers, and staff over the last 27 years met and exceeded our expectations. We were confident back in the day that our children under the right conditions could meet any challenge. That is what we are referring to their hard work when we talk about legacy. Our three magnet schools grew out of the hearts and souls and what we and we will not surrender them without a struggle. We may lose but we will not turn our backs on each other in our struggle. We will

127not quarrel among ourselves. We will unite. We all agree with ever ever ever expanding opportunities for all our students. But we must respect the opportunities that have been chosen by our forefathers. There is much for us and there's much for you for us to do to improve the quality of education in our district. Please do not think that eliminating or altering the Magnus schools is where you where we should begin. With open hearts, we ask you to empanel a meeting with the goal of strengthening the magnet schools and using the insights that they provide to assist you our efforts. Thank you. Next is Tiana Brown. After Miss Brown, it'll be Clayton Gonzalez. >> Good evening. Um, I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about some issues affecting the um, forgotten high school,

128East Side High. For several months, families and coaches were informed that the wait room facility would be completed and fully operational. In fact, I attended a few board meetings and spoke surrounding the same issue. Unfortunately, that timeline was not met. We were told December. It is now April. Instead of the district's facilities team completing the installation as communicated, the coaches themselves had to come together to assemble and set up the equipment. While I commend their dedication and willingness to step up for our students, this responsibility should not have fallen on them. Our coaches should be focused on mentoring, training, and supporting students, not compensating for unfinished district projects. Additionally, I am troubled by the lack of a tent available for student athletes during track season. Competing and practicing for hours in direct sun without adequate

129shade poses unnecessary health risk. Our athletic director proactively requested a tent for all sports during the fall season and was told this was not considered an essential item. Respectfully, ensuring student athletes have protection from extreme weather conditions is essential. Nearly every high school provides shade coverage for their athletes while competing in the sun. We are aware that at Cam High they were allotted this and more to protect their student athletes in the building. A unified district requires unified commitment. When one high school is prioritized over another, we create inequities. True leadership ensures that every school under the district's umbrella is treated with equal care, investment, and accountability. Our students at Eastside work hard to represent their school and district with pride as well. They deserve facilities and basic accommodations that reflect that same level of

130commitment from district leadership. Another issue I would like to address is what we're all focused on tonight, the merge, and how this affects East Side athletes. As someone stated tonight, currently students at the Kim High campus um are allowed to come and play at Eastside. While the concept may be intended to unify, not allowing this this merge has unintended consequences, particularly for e athletes at East Side. Students who once had the choice to attend and compete at Eastside may now lose that opportunity, placing them at a competitive disadvantage. Athletic programs are built on culture, history, coaching, relationships, and community identity. When choice is removed, students lose more than a building. they lose opportunity, exposure, and in some cases pathways that may support college recruitment and scholarships. I think the um quote or the acknowledgement tonight

131was about all students feeling equal amongst the campuses. When is Side ever considered? All right. Now it's Clayton Gonzalez followed by Alice Comr. >> Good evening everyone. My name is Clayton Gonzalez, former school board member here. Um, the proposed integration of Camden's Magna Schools is a practical and necessary step towards maximizing educational equity and resource efficiency. At the same time, I want to acknowledge that for many students, families, and alumni, each school represents a unique identity and a sense of pride. While I understand and respect the concern that that that this merge may feel like the identity is being diminished or taken away, in reality, students from magnet programs are already u utilizing shared opportunities such as athletic and extracurriculars like the Camden High School band, demonstrating that collaboration across schools is not new, but

132a already functioning practice. This propos proposal simply formalizes what is already happening while expanding access to these opportunities for all students. By integrating these schools, the district can ensure that existing resources, classrooms, instructional staff, and specialized programs are used to full capacity rather than remaining underutilized in separate systems. This approach prioritizes efficiency by reducing duplication and making the most of what we already have. Importantly, focusing on the staff on staff salary does not meaningfully address the district's financial challenges. Instead, in the real opportunity lies in better allocation in of resources, minimizing inefficiencies, reducing re uh reliance on those hard to fill roles like substitute teachers and strengthening access to to programs for all students. Ultimately, this integration is about aligning resources with students needs, expanding access, and creating a more unified, effective school system in

133Camden, while still honoring the histories and identities that make each school community meaningful. Thank you. All right, now we have Alice Comr followed by Juliana Gutierrez. Good evening, members of the board, Superintendent Yano, and the Cam community. My name is Alice Comr. Um, BRIM is one of the district's pride and joys. Yet, we are be treated like an afterthought. We shouldn't have to find out about our future through a rumor mill for three straight months. It was only after the media published an article with more information than we had that our leaders finally spoke to us. That is not just unfair, it is insulting. We as a community are embarrassed by the missteps that this district has made. Superintendent Yano, your narrative continues to shift depending on who is standing in front of you. Initially,

134reports indicated that you quoted that graduates will receive a unified diploma that says Camden High. Yet after we showed our power by walking out and marching to Morgan Village, you suddenly called that misinformation. You ceased to use the word merger and cleverly replaced it with cross enrollment. Even just at this meeting, you have ceased to use the word school to describe BRIM uh BPLA and creative and instead use program and pathway. Even if this is just cross enrollment, something that has already been happening with multiple programs for years, why is it a headline? Why is there a $91 million deficit being linked to it? It is clear to me and many and many people in the Camden Student Union that you are rebranding this plan in real time because you saw the students rise up.

135I refuse to be rebranded. My hard work will not be minimized. to Miss Hicks. I address the un I acknowledge the unfair discrimination against Camden High. That is a reality and it does have to change, but we cannot ignore how it is affecting us right now. Merging creates a risk of being profiled by those who don't understand our specific work. To to be clear, we do not think we are above Camden High and I do not view its students negatively. However, Brim, Creative, and Big Picture have higher entry and graduation requirements. It is simply unjust to erase the effort we put in by merging our identities with a traditional high school. We are aware of the budget crisis, but when the superintendent makes 260 grand a year, putting him in the top 4% of earners

136in the state, you cannot tell us that cutting corners on our identities as students is the only solution. I refuse to let the books be balanced on the backs of the students. I am a Brim student. I chose Brim. I am asking you to be more honest. Think about the students and teachers and seriously reconsider this merger. We are the future. And to the board, teachers and administrators here, this entire process has been a gross misreading of the power we have as students. We will continue to stand up and we will continue to fight back. Thank you for your time. All right, next is Juliana Gurier, followed by Tamara Reic. >> Good evening. My name is Juliana Gutierrez. I am the mother of both a creative and brim student. Um, since enrolling my children in

137the magnet programs offered through Camden, I have seen my children thrive. Um, their passion for their future paths, vocal and nursing, have grown, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunities that the school has provided. Um, having schools that specialize in each of these fields gives the youth the opportunity to create not just community, but a family with like-minded students. Uh I I think like many found out about what's happening through social media and through our kids coming home this weekend to being extremely upset about hearing of the possibility that their schools were going to be closed. I am very relieved to learn through your presentation today that no school will be closed and that students will be able to remain in their school. um so that the and that the goal of providing the

138opportunity for all the schools that are on the campus will be given to everyone. However, I do have to say that finding this out through social media outlets as well as through uh hearsay is a gross miscommunication. As parents, the communication needs to come to us. there needs to be better availability to talk to the students before things are put out where then you have the chaos that came about. Um, I do thank you for your time and I do look forward to you spending time with the students as well as providing those opportunities for parents and the community to be able to reach out to you and talk to you directly. Thank you. Next we have Tamara Reic followed by Kevin Waters. >> Hello. I think I'm going to change turn this a little

139bit because my conversation is to the board and everything. You guys do look nice, but I just want to direct. Uh my name is Tamara Reic as you stated. Uh I do come here as a a community uh member uh taxpayer homeowner and a Camden High alumni graduate. >> Yes, in doing so, yes, I did graduate college and did you know all those things that the public school has um afforded me. But as I stand here today and I did, you know, write this prior to um the meetings, but I still feel um basically the same because we still have the same cabinet and everything that we have had prior to the years that I have come here and you know heard different people trying to see why going way back to when we even

140had to tear down Camden High. So I still have that on my heart as well. But I still would like to talk about the transparency that um our superintendent talked about like some of the um parents has stated. We wouldn't have this mess if we had more involvement with the community and with the parents because we are the ones who, you know, make the decisions for our children and us as taxpayers is the one who see what's going on and and as a taxpayer when I hear about the the school district, I mean the schools not having what they need and then I see um raises and things going on that that you know that that tugged at my heart because I listened to some of the the teachers um say things about They don't

141have field trips. You took away children's field trips and we have people getting raises. That just does not fly right with me as a hardworking taxpayer um trying to provide for me and my family, but I do want to make sure that our kids do have what they have. So, of course, we don't have a problem with paying taxes, but we want you to be very transparent as to what it is that you're doing with the money that you do get. Um, and for the 91 billion, that's a lot of money. Okay. So, we did have a deficit, right? So, what are we doing about that? And then for us getting back control, we need more transparency about that. I hear what you say like the numbers have to be whatever, but what are we

142doing to get those numbers up? And when I think about that, I think about I talked to the parents and the students. substitute teachers, not enough teachers for the students. That's why they're not going to school. You go to school and everybody has a feeling that they're not learning through substitutes. And if that's what you have all year, you know the numbers. you know how many teachers that we are lacking for these schools and you cannot learn and get the the the proper you know we have test and things that kids have to take and if you don't meet certain marks then they miss certain things and they don't do well on testing so again I just come as a community person I my daughter is grown I had to take my um grandson out

143of the public schools which I love public schools but my daughter did not feel we got enough information as to when you guys had the the deficit, what the school was going to be like, um what services was going to be in place. We couldn't get no information, but that was last year. So, this year, we're looking for some better um transparency that you speak highly of. Thank you. >> Okay, Kevin Waters, followed by Jackie Bennett. >> Uh good evening everyone and young people who up there. you did a wonderful, wonderful job, all of you. Um, so first thing for me is East Side High School when it finally gets built needs to not have anything to do with the individual who keeps putting his name on things in the city. It shouldn't have anything

144to do with him. >> Period. Right. So, the conversation has been about Magna Schools and I understand that. So, I'm not going I'm going to rub some some folks the wrong way. Magnet schools evolved from the 1960s. Voluntary desegregation e efforts into specialized schools, public schools focusing on innovation, sematic curricula, and school choice. Sound familiar? Anybody? Most should understand what the word comprehensive means. All-incclusive is the word, and it relates to high schools. Now, here's the definition. A comprehensive high school is a public secondary school, typically grades 9 through 12, that provides a well-rounded education to all students, regardless of ability, under one roof. It blends college prep courses, academic courses, again, English, math, science, social studies with vocational and career technical education, CTE, arts, and curricular. That's a comprehensive high school. All right. So

145the word focus is under one roof. I understand what the sympathy is and the sentiments. I had a student years ago who graduated from Wilson Eastside Wilson High School who's now a nurse practitioner. She had all the sciences. All the sciences. So she lost nothing. She could have been a doctor, but she really wanted to just be a nurse practitioner to help other people. So that's what she's doing right now. She didn't go to a magnet school. She went to a comprehensive high school. So from the 60s to now, what I'm saying is to you all folks who I know you won't feel what you feel about magnet schools. That's all right. However, we didn't need them. We didn't need them because we were giving the kids the education they were supposed to have. So

146do what you're going to do. Do what you're going to do. Do what you're going to do. However, if you go back, you know, if you go backwards, you will find that segregation was the reason in Africa. Africa at first it was a whole continent. Then colonizers came in and started parceling things out. So that's what's happened in this city with charter schools. They started parceling things out. So now we're suffering with a $91 million deficit. Yeah, you came at the right time or the wrong time depending. But you got to be courageous. You have to be courageous. You only got a board. They're not really They don't really mean anything. They're just sitting there, but it's you. The state tells you what to do. So, you got to have courage to fight against the

147state because your board, they really are impotent up there. Next we have Jackie Bennett followed by John Anthony. >> Jacqui I apologize. Jqui Bennett. Good evening everyone. >> How you doing? My name is Jacqu Qui Bennett. J apostrophe qi. Don't forget it. I just want to say I am a senior at creative arts. I've been with creative arts for six years. I've been here since Morgan. And I just want to say I want to talk about the merge and the legacy that we have. For you to terminate or merge these schools is getting rid of what we built. N from 1999 to 2026. Creative arts has a 27year legacy. We started this from the bottom and we started and now we're at the top. Can high started their legacy too. And they have a legacy

148through their athletes, through their students. They have a purpose as well. And like Miss Hicks said, why are you finally taking a chance now to start with Camden High when they already should have had it? They already should have started that. and for you to have a pay raise with other people and the higher ups. Where's that funding for the school? Why must our teachers pay to have the lights fixed at the auditorium? We should already have that funding. We shouldn't have to come out our own pockets to support that. Why is 55% of that funds going to the Renaissance or charter schools? Where is that funding for us? If you're going to put us first, then do it. Don't say don't say, "Oh, students first always." Don't. That's that's a false hope you're giving

149to us students. If we're going to say student first always, then do it. Put the students first. Don't put yourself first. Put the students first. And to say that the students asked for this. No, we didn't. You didn't talk to us. You talked to some. Did you talk to everybody? No. And for that town hall this morning, I did. I was there. And I also did the walk out proudly. I did that walk out. And yes, I did. And I just want to say I was at that town hall to hear to give you a chance to give you a speak. And when you answer my question, you really more so went around it. you didn't really answer it clearly and I just want to say more so at that town hall I feel like

150more high students were getting a voice in creative arts like more so of us had our hands up too like we wanted to say something too but it was more so going to high and no and I just want to say I have no animosity toward high I have none of that I loved high I love the athletes I love everything that they do and I love the foundation that they built that's a good thing and that's a beautiful thing that they should be proud of but we should also be proud of our schools too creative arts wants to be proud wants to be proud BPLA wants to be proud and how will you do that If you start dwindling down to one school like you said in the website even though it's already deleted

151it's shown here that the diplomas will start saying can high campus creative arts pathway can high campus allied health pathway what is alli health that's brim broom has a name and they have a legacy as well they can't be dwindled down to allied health ba is also something as well and then to say after 2030 that's gone all the names is gone is un down to one diploma if if you just say oh we're not canceling out we're determining and to call our arts and everything else a program. That's incorrect. That's a journey. Everyone had a journey through those arts. Everyone had a journey through Brim. Everyone had a journey through BPLA. Everyone had a journey through Panam High. That's that's ridiculous and it's pointless to do that. And to say like, oh, but how

152what am I going to come back to for my matter if it's not there anymore? How am I going to say I probably want hearts if it's just called a pathway? Now, our name has a legacy. Can high has a legacy. BPLA has a legacy. And BRIM has a legacy. And our students should be put first. And I mean that. Period. >> All right, John Anthony followed by Vita Neil. >> Good evening everyone. Good evening. Um, as I looked at the presentation and as I've heard the testimonies, the only thing I have to say is the arts. Uh, quality versus quantity. Uh, money quantifies, but quality dies with this merger. Creative arts has always been known for her open arms. The idea that arts aren't accessible to all is improper and to me, in my

153opinion, unbased. when I particularly and I know half of my class of 2017 are you here 2015 are you here 2016 we're all in the house um 14's in here too and I know for a fact a lot of those programs set listen a lot of those programs had a plethora of different schools whether it be Brim in our concert choir whether it be Camden High and our gospel choir whether it be students going amongst themselves and creating different groups and being empowered by each of their majors to collectively bring a sound together. One band, one sound, one choir, one voice. The most disheartening thing after hearing all these testimonies and after this presentation, superintendent, was that you never mentioned the arts particularly in the presentation. You mentioned the medical arts, you mentioned the arts

154of carpentry. Um, however, creative arts has never just been a program. It's it was always a high school. Um, even when they were in a trailer, they were always a high school. It wasn't a program. Um, and from that foundation in a trailer birthed the classes so on and so forth, especially 2017, who had a I don't know how, but a closer connection with all of you guys. But you guys set the tone for us and let us know that it doesn't matter where you're at, you can have a big impact. You know what I'm saying? your voice can be heard. So, um I I would just say creative arts isn't just a music isn't just a music school and it's not just a dance class. There is a science to becoming a dancer, a

155vocalist, not just a singer. um to becoming and I feel like we also neglect the other things that creative arts had and has produced um uh creative writers, actors, fashion designers that are very high class and high ranking within their own fields to this day. Um I would just urge you to consider that as you can go forth making decisions. Thank you all. Next is Vitaneil followed by Alicia Figueroa Falco. I apologize if I mispronounced that. Well, believe me, I've been often told uh first I'd like to say good good evening to everyone up here, superintendent and uh board members, student board. One thing they say about me is I could pack a house. And uh most of you are mad because on Facebook I said this school didn't have no legacy. And I want

156to tell you why I made that statement. I am a proud graduate of Camden High School, class of 1980 with 125 years of history that have turned out everything from senators to governors to people who own music companies. Leon Huff from Philadelphia International was a proud graduate of K the High. Okay. WE HAD PROFESSIONAL DANCERS. TASHA SMITH AND HER SISTER won here. GUY BLOFFORD TOOK UP ANTS orbit 80 Orbit 81 into outer space from Camden High School. We were the first black band to march in the Migros and I was president in the class of 1980. So we all have milestones. We all have important people. BUT WHEN CHILDREN SIT UP HERE AND SAY that educators are saying that they ARE LESS THAN THE OTHER CHILDREN, THEN THAT'S A PROBLEM. NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE

157TO CHANGE THE CULTURE OF THE SCHOOLS, IF WE HAVE EDUCATORS IN THERE THAT ARE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST OUR KIDS, THEY GOT TO GO. YOU HAVE TO GO. YOU GOT TO LOVE ON ALL OUR KIDS, NOT SOME OF OUR KIDS. AND THE YOUNG LADY SAT UP HERE AND TOLD YOU HOW THEY FELT AND WHAT THE WHAT THE EDUCATORS ARE SAYING TO THEM. THAT'S A PROBLEM. LET'S TALK ABOUT THESE THESE TEACHERS. LET'S TALK ABOUT TEACHERS that have two CLASSES AND REFUSE TO TEACH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. THAT'S WHY CAROL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS CUZ THEY REFUSE TO TEACH THEM. WELL, EITHER YOU TEACH OUR KIDS, EITHER YOU TEACH SEVEN PERIODS OR YOU GO FIND YOU A JOB ELSEWHERE CUZ CAMDEN IS THE HIGHEST PAYING school district in New Jersey. WE KNOW WHAT YOU COMING HERE DOING.

158AND THEN ANOTHER THING TO PUT UP SOMEBODY'S SALARY. FIRST OF ALL, THE PEOPLE'S SALARY YOU PUT UP AIN'T had a raise IN FIVE YEARS. YOU DIDN'T TELL THEM THAT. AND YOU DON'T LIVE IN CAMDEN. YOU KNOW WHAT WE GOT? WE GOT the YNs. They look for licks. Not you, baby. I'm pointing at that lady behind you. THAT'S RIGHT. I'M NOT ALLOWED TO SAY NAMES, BUT I SURE ENOUGH COULD USE MY POINTER FINGER. I had a HOME INVASION. THEY PISTOL WHIPPED MY CHILD, THREW ME DOWN STEPS. THEY WERE YOUNG KIDS. The YN's calling licks. YOU DON'T ADVERTISE ABOUT SOMEBODY'S money on Facebook, especially a coworker. Let's talk about it. Are you really for the children? ARE YOU REALLY FOR SOME OF THE CHILDREN? WE NEED ALL OUR CHILDREN to be loved on. AND I'M GOING TO

159TELL YOU RIGHT NOW IN THE OLD CAMDEN HIGH SCHOOL, ALL OF THOSE PROGRAMS THAT YOU TALK ABOUT EXIST AND THEY PUT THEM UNDER ONE C UNDER THREE CATEGORIES. AND IF YOUR CHILD COULD NOT MEET THE CRITERIA FOR ONE OF THOSE SCHOOLS THAT THEY WANT THE CAME TO HIGH SO TO SAY, they made Cam to high children feel less. They should have a right to these programs and it should be immediately or somebody's going to be filing a discrimination lawsuit by ways of Camden High alumni by ways of Vitanil for the students of Camden High that are not getting what they're supposed to get and they're telling you and you're not listening. WHAT I HEARD TODAY HERE WAS BLATANT RACISM. SOME OF THESE THINGS WERE BLATANT RACISM AGAINST CAMDEN HIGH SCHOOL. DISCRIMINATION, RACISM. IF you're not

160going to love on all our kids, then leave the district or go teach out in the suburbs. Okay. Alicia Figureroa Falco followed by followed by Carmen Lazada. Hold on. I'mma wait for my team. I've been speedw walking because I'm nervous. All right. Hi. My name is Alicia from Parents Invincible. I also have my team with me, Miss Eleanor, Miss Kinetta, who also do some of the work with us. Um, I originally came here to talk about the Candidate School Quality Guide, but I'm going to table that um for another time and for another opportunity. Um, but I really just wish there was more transparency with everything because I came here with one message and and one spiel, but after getting more information, some of my questions have been answered. And I just hate that for

161a parent to get this information, they have to come here on a school night and spend three hours to learn about the misconceptions and the rumors that are being spread. That's unfair. And then the other thing that I'm hearing is it's a little confusion and I just I don't know if I can ask and you can answer at the moment, but is it a pathway or is it a school? And if it's a school, will it have an independent intake process? >> It's a school. >> Okay. All right. So, that I think would have cleared up a lot of issues that people came here with today if that information was given beforehand to partner organizations, to students, to parents most importantly. And that's the issue that we have here. If we're going to go into

162this new leadership and administration as a partnership, there needs to be transparency and communication. It can't be after the fact. It can't be rumor mills because that's when you have situations like this and you have angry people at the door. So going forward, I just hope that that is considered, you know, we work with parent, we serve over 10,000 parents in various different forms throughout the year. And when parents are coming up to me and I don't even know what to tell them. I'm like, "Oh, wow. A parent told me yesterday that they found out through their student. They didn't even find out through the school directly." We have a community that's constantly disenfranchised through miscommunication, through barriers in communication, through accessibility. And if we're going to go forward and work together, there has to

163be communication. And I also feel like this is kind of distracting to the real issue. Where's the budget? Like, where's the budget? Where is this money getting spent? that $91 million billion dollar deficit that nobody knew about these unclear budgets that people can't decipher. Let that be the priority on the table. We need to know where the money's going. And you know there's this debate between Camden High Schools. I absolutely agree that Camden High students should have access to all the resources and you know routes that the other schools are but East Camden High should have too. So, that's another conversation we need to bring up. What's going to happen to East Camden High? Are they going to have access to these opportunities? I Nothing has changed in the 11 years since I've graduated Woodro

164Wilson High School, now East Camden High School. Something needs to change. They need resources and access, not just a new building. There's no reason I'm in this meeting hearing that they don't have shade. Something so simple. He's thinking for air conditioning units. Why 10 years later do these kids still not have air conditioning units? I graduated 10 years ago. Prioritize the students and prioritize communication. That's all I ask. Thank you. Carmen Lazada C followed by Keith Walker. Good evening everyone. Um, I am Carmela Lazada Cooper, Camden City resident, Camden High alumni, and I do represent the alumni here tonight. Greetings to the future. Greetings to the fellow administration. And greetings to all Camdenites and fellow educators. I'm speaking here on behalf of number one um the discouraging information that I've been watching across the social

165media platforms especially dealing with our children. If anyone who knows me, most of you know me, I am the fir on the first on the line to on defense for children. When I see any type of discouragement, anytime that I see any child is being violated and what I saw today, especially at my alumni, I have a real problem. I have a real problem with that. Um, and it's not from anything directed at any any of you children. It's not directed at you. As it's been clearly stated, this is out of the mouths of adults. We adults have to do better in communicating around our children because with the way and I know most of you we grew up children were to be seen and not heard right and out of the mouths of babe

166they didn't spoke everything that they hear from out of your mouths not mine per se but they hear things out of your mouths. So with that being said please be mindful of the sensitivity of our students. Young lady from Camden High I salute you. I salute you. I I'm truly proud of that you will be future alumni. But I want to say this. I do want to say this. Everything that this comprehensive high school was about to be was already existed when I was in Camden High. I've heard many people say that um Camden High, you know, the the merger or whatever you want to call it, Camden High had all this as as as Vitas so uh rightly said, so many other people have said, Camden High had the at the allied house. Camden

167High had the businesses. Camden High had always had the sports, right? So, we've had that, right? I myself was the business major, but I also took some classes with Miss Perry in my sewing class. So I did that, right? I had I was able to afford and able to do that. But I just say that, you know, we just be more unified. Um and also to any alumni if you're here because I know I see a doctor back there. I know as she said, we have a music legend. We have so many different legends throughout our alumni. And can I tell you how strong we are? We are 18,000 strong alumni. That's how strong Cam High alumni is. 18,000 and growing, right? So, it's not to take away from those who are the magnet schools.

168And can I tell you the true magnet school? Any Forest Hill alumni chips in the building? That's the true alumni magnet. Forest Hill Chips was the original magnet. And Dr. Brim actually was Cam High alumni. But anyway, but with that said, Cam Forest Hill was the original true magnet. And that's all I want to say. I just want to thank you all. Continue to unify. Please be more transparent. But again, just look at the top of our nation of what the problem is. It's not the children. It is truly the adults. >> Keith Walker followed by Tariq Wilson. Good evening. I um I normally don't come to the school board because I don't participate in exercises in futility. I've spoken, you know, around Camden. A lot of people have spoken and it falls on deaf

169ears. The school board is powerless. Um you know, you're an advisory board. the school board actually asked for the state to come in and take over which was against the interests of the people. Um I want to speak on a quote a man uh George Santeana and George said uh those who failed to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. Camden High, as was said previously, Camden High had all of these programs within one building. And then the the magnet schools came as a challenge to the charter school movement. The charter school movement are Wall Street schools. Those schools are for profit, not to educate. Okay. So um so we got we had the we have the magnet schools and that was a challenge to the charter schools and they were spread

170out and then suddenly they came back to Camden High. So it's an exercise in futility. We're we're doing some we're undoing something and then we're redoing it again for what reason? What purpose? Our students walked out today. I heard about that. that I was insensed because our students need to be focused on reading, writing and arithmetic pure and simple. Okay. Now, last week and I'm speaking to the parents mainly last week in China, they had a half marathon and robots ran in that half marathon and the robots won. Are our students being taught AI, how to deal with AI and working with AI and robotics and things of that nature? You're not going to have jobs if you don't. I don't care if you you can study medicine, you can study business, you can study

171anything you want, but those robots and AI are going to move you out if you do not know how to cope with that. Understand modern technology and how fast it's moving. This is an exercise of futility. Do not let the board and adults put diversions out in front of you to get you to move in a different direction. Focus on your education. Okay. Um, welcome aboard, Superintendent, but uh you all need to get your act together. Advisory board, come on. Come on. That's ridiculous. Okay, if you're just an advisory board, go back home. Go home. Okay. Communication, Mr. Superintendent, is key. If you don't communicate, you're going to get rumor, innuendo, and chaos. It's all I have to say. >> Tariq Wilson, followed by Leach Harris. Good evening, board and superintendent. Uh, I'm a senior

172at Camden High. I attend the Gateway to College program at uh Camden County College. Uh I originally supported the merger or the change that's going on because I know how students feel and sometimes they can feel like they're left out of certain opportunities and we should provide more opportunities to these students that if they need it. Also, superintendent, I would have asked you to start a replacement of these teachers who are making these disparaging comments about Camden High students. There are a lot of great Camden High students and there are a lot of great products from the Camden High School in the whole district. Period. I made a comment on Facebook and a teacher told me that uh basically the Camden High students would bring a threat of bullying and harassment to the other students.

173This is racism. This is discrimination. Don't This has to stop. You got to replace these teachers. Get rid of them. Especially when they're coming out of our community and judging our students when they don't understand the problem, when they're not connecting with the parents at home that need a little extra help and support. That's going that's the conclusion of my statement for today. Lache Harris followed by Linda Brim. >> Good evening everyone. I hope you all are doing well. I'm going to scrap a lot of my statement because I really came prepared to fight for my alma mater, Big Picture Learning Academy. Um, yes, yes, yes. Okay, I see y'all in the I WAS HOPING Y'ALL WAS IN here for real, for real. It was a lot of creative arts people. So, I'm glad to

174see BPLA and uh my age might show according to my shirt because it actually has Medy's Trailblazers on here as I graduated nearly 15 years ago, but I still felt compelled to come up here today and speak on the severity of why the Magna School should exist. And so, and I and no shade to Miss Vita because if she was still here, I would have said it to her and not even Miss Vita because she advocates for our community so much that I consider her as Aunt Vita and we're not related at all. But the significance of the magnetic schools are so severe to the point where Miss Vita kids graduated me at my graduated with me at my magnet school as well. And I have to really be transparent. I don't know if I

175would have been able to attend school in the city of Camden if there wasn't options for the magnet schools such as ME East BRIM and creative arts. I say that even um in representation of our school board president who's from the city of Camden, but he attended a Catholic school and not a Camden Scooy public school. We can't be naive to we can't we're we're not trying to be biased against any school. We love all of our schools. We love all of our children because we all are from the city of Camden. But we also are not going to act like the Kandahigh institution for many of years which is why we again had to create other alternatives have not been in has not been a space for all of the stu for every Camden

176student to thrive and so because Camden High has not been the space where all students can thrive we needed the magnet schools and we still need those magnet schools that doesn't mean that Camden High cannot receive and so I We're talking about separate things. When I when I think of Cam High School, I believe their curriculum should consist of not only just cosmetology but also medical opportunities as well as arts opport creative arts opportunities. However, when it comes to separate entities and separate spaces, that's still important and that still matters because again, we can't be naive to think that merging one campus all into one is not going to cause distractions and disruptions, especially when we're already have limited resources. I don't see how merging each other is not going to bring our budget to

177a a fiscal state. We're not going to be fiscally responsible just by merging our schools. And so we have to really be better with our solutions. And I'm glad to learn that merging these schools together will not be the solution. And if I had to just throw my last little tidbit in there, I'm really looking forward to us holding these Renaissance schools accountable, figuring out where this money is being spent and versus and if we had to go backwards in any ways towards a traditional public district, I want us to start going backwards with eliminated Renaissance schools, not our magnet schools. Thank you for this time. and I appreciate this. >> Next, we have Linda Brim, followed by Virgil Phillips. Good evening. My name is Linda Brim. Um, I was a school nurse at Camden

178High School from 1995 to 2005. I am also the daughter of Dr. Charles E. Brim. Thank you, Superintendent Yano. In your April 19th email sent to district staff, you talked about removing barriers, but in education, boundaries are often what create safety and excellence. Dr. Charles E. Brim medical arts is not a pathway. It is a magnet school. There is a specific mindset that comes with being a BRIM student. It's a mindset of professional discipline, medical ethics, and highstakes academic success. You cannot expand access to a culture. culture is built through specialized leadership and a dedicated student body that chose to be there. By turning this school into a pathway, you're telling the students that their specialized identity doesn't matter. You're trading a 90% graduation rate for administrative convenience. Three minutes is not enough time to

179discuss my father's 30-year legacy that you're dismantling. I'm joining the call for a formal meeting between your office, the legacy families, these students, and their parents to ensure the excellence we were promised. Thank you. Next we have Virgil Phillips followed by JM Ray. >> Hello. How you doing tonight everybody? It's nice to speak to everyone. >> My name is Verge Phillips. My name is Verge. I am an alumni of Creative Arts High School, class of 2025 just of last year. Thank you very much. Um first off, I have a few points. First one I want to start with that it is very important for the board of education for y'all to be the higherups of not only my current generation but of future generations to be the higherups of el leadership and education for children

180that is very important that y'all communicate about big changes in our schools such as this merger because to hear through the grape vine and through social media about this being official and a big change for this school it's not okay that I should be hearing about it through a Facebook argument or Facebook post or anybody attacking each other like that online. So communication is critical when it comes to education and to knowledge into information. So I would like to make that for the merger. This has not been the first time that I have heard of this when during my time in my four years of going to the campus. This is not the first time the merge has been notified or has been brought up. It has been brought up for the last three years

181that we were going to merge schools. It is just now y'all have finally dedicated a plan to putting it into place. And you know with that as well, it just aligns to go back to with the whole point of communication. Creative arts is the only and the biggest performing arts school around here in Camden and in factly New Jersey. We're one of the biggest performing arts schools and we've put it on the map. And that's not to downgrade anything that Camden High has. That's not to downgrade anything Dr. Charles E. Brims have. That's not to downgrade anything that BPLA has, but that's just to make it known that creative arts is is a pivotal school here in Camden, New Jersey. We are one of the only performing arts schools along with BPLA being one of

182the only and the biggest business schools here in Camden, New Jersey. Along with Dr. Charles E. Burn being one of the biggest and the most important medical schools that we have around here because as public institutions, we have to fight against the funding and the support and the reputation that all these charter and all these private schools have that we're not getting the same resources. We're not getting the same support here at the campus. We can't even use half of the campus. We can't use the locker rooms. We can't use a lot of the bathrooms. The women in their female restrooms don't even have tampon and pad accessibility as they should. We don't have access to half that campus and yet it's a million-doll campus, but we don't even we don't have the support that

183we need. During my time at creative arts, we couldn't even get a bus to go to performances. And that's still something that we're struggling with now. I just feel like as a board of education, it's it's mandatory. It is important and it is necessity that you pay attention because the key word tonight has always fallen back onto the students and onto the parents of Camden. It is important that you listen to what they have to say, especially because you cannot have a school without any students and you cannot have a school without properly supporting your teachers. The teacher shortage has been a decade problem for the last 5 years. So when you start to think about breaking down barriers in education, that's a temporary fix to a permanent problem that's been around longer than I

184have. So it is important that you just take a step back and you realize that there's minor issues that need to be fixed before we deal with something major. Thank you. Next we have JM Ray followed by Rona Dickerson. Good evening everyone. Um, I'm just going to keep it to the numbers honestly. For 13 years, Camden has been under state control. We have had four superintendent since then and we're currently at a $91 million deficit. The average income of a resident in the city of Camden who is averaging about 33 years of age is between 40 and 44,000. when a county's average medium income is $86,000. We don't have money to be a It sounds nice. I I I understand that everybody has feelings, but we need to really look at the facts. We need

185to understand that Camden is in a deficit. This plan was not something that happened overnight if we want to be honest. I remember standing in a similar position back in the 90s and because I did so, it's one of the reasons why student reps are in place now. Okay, we need to be mindful that if we are going to win this battle, it has to be on a real united front. Education, every student in this country is afforded a fair and efficient education. That's the goal of the Department of Education. as an educator for over 20 years, 13 of them being in the city of Camden. I've watched the dismantlement of this school district. I've watched as superintendent and leadership, advisory boards, those who have been appointed and those who have really been fairly elected

186sat at this table and dismantled this school district. If you want to be real, stop acting like this is the only place where you can unite. parents. The same way those Renaissance parents come together, magnet school parents, y'all need to come together. The whole campus parents need to come together. Make a plan. Don't wait for them. You You have the intellect. You have the ability and your children have the passion. If you want to do right by them and advocate for them, then you need to come together not only in front of him, but you need to come together on a Friday night, on a Saturday night, on a Sunday night instead of watching, you know, whatever TV show or real that you plan on watching because he should be held accountable. He should be

187held advisory board. They have no power. Let's be real. They have no power. But we need to make sure that we are holding him accountable for the $260,000 that he's making. We need to make sure that he hears the cries and our pleas and and we hold him accountable by putting timelines in place. We need to understand that this is what we need by this time. We are the taxpayers even though only 33.4% of the city pay taxes. But those who do, you need to hold this man accountable. those who don't figure out a way to hold him accountable because we just don't have the money. And we really do need to get creative on how we're going to keep our children with their dreams and their goals and their aspirations alive. Rona Dickerson followed

188by Samir Nichols. I'm good. Good evening everybody. Rancha Dickerson. Um, first I want to start off by saying thank you to the students who decided to do the walk out today. I think you are courageous and amazing. If you're still in the room, stand up so people can give you a a round of applause. I think you did your part and we thank you for that. While I'm on walkouts, I want everyone to know that they've been these students been walking out of school since 2015, 2018, 2025, and 2026. This is not a joke, y'all. These students are fighting for their lives, and they should not have to. And I know a lot of people feel a certain kind of way. I won't dig in the weeds. I'm not one of those that go high.

189When they go low, I go high. I keep it a bean. I keep it real with y'all. So, I'm going to do a little history lesson here. A lot of people in here, I'm a graduate of Camden High. I get it. I totally understand what's going on. I'm a mother of all the magnet schools. I had children in every magnet school. I'm a traditional public schools advocate. Um to superintendent Yano, I just want you to hear a little history. What happened was the community failed. We made Camden High School and Wood Wilson throwaway schools and nobody wants to deal with that. We made them throwaway schools. We stopped giving support and resources to them schools. The magnets became priority. But the only reason why the mags became priority is because we needed something more that

190was small and and and and and certainly um giving to our community for those who had special skills. We needed it. We needed it. The schools did not have what it needed back then when we had the original Castle on the Hill and the original East Side High. We needed some support. I get what everybody is saying, but we needed a support because we were losing black teachers at a rapid race. History lesson. Second thing, the Maddings never asked to come to the Camden High School campus. They never asked that. They never once asked that question. They were forced because we threw away Camden High and Camden High's enrollment was under 300 students and they did not want to build another school that can fit 1500 students only have 300 on that campus. I'm talking

191about the former school board and former administrations. Then did y'all know that the magnets applied to be a charter because Renaissance schools were eating up the the district so fast that we thought we were going to lose our school buildings. This is true history. This is the reason why all this mess is going on. Everybody feel a certain kind of way. And lastly, I want to just add to the conversation is that this is not a divide. It's a unity call. That walk out today was a unity call for the entire city to wake up and see that if we don't stand together, we're going to have bigger problems down the road. And the focus is on the state of New Jersey. They have sabotaged and corrupted our education full stop. So, I want to

192ask a couple questions because my time is leaving. School closures. You said in March that we were not closing schools, Superintendent Yano. And you said on Sunday we're closing three schools. Now, you're saying today we're not closing schools. We need to be certain that you're not closing schools and firing more teachers. That's very critical. The second question I have about the $91 million deficit, you're following former superintendent Katrina McCome's revenue to build us back. But if that's the case, why did you remove Dr. Broxson from the Camden High School campus? That's an important question to answer. She was supposed to be the lead teacher, the lead principal on that campus and she's 25 years plus in the game and y'all removed her and put her in an office like she wasn't nothing. Can you hold

193my time? Can I just get Can I just get 30 seconds back on the clock? Cuz that was applause. And for the record, ain't nobody paying Rasha Yanke to Keith Stevens, Green Dickerson. No one pays me. God pays me. That's for the record. Last thing, you put up QAC scores. Uh I had there's a fact check. In 2024, Superintendent Mcomes had down 91% fiscal management. You just put up that there's that we are 79 79% in 2024. I think we need to check that because if we are 91% in fiscal management, we are in a $91 million deficit. How do we numbers are not making sense to me. But my question is, Superintendent Yana, what are you doing to transition us back to local control? What are you doing? You got to fight to get

194us back to local control. You got to petition the state the way you petition for this uh merger. You got to petition the state because if we get back to local control, all this stops and we get back to the power of the people. Thanks. >> That's a little hard to follow. I'm just saying I can't follow that right there. So, um again to the members of the public, to the school board, uh my name is Samir Nichols. I have the privilege of working in the city doing arts and culture. I started the nonprofit at 14 as a foundational builder to Creative Arts High School. I'm going start out with a with a quote um that was that's still on Fourth Street if you ride by Filillmore. The art of learning is learning through the

195art. Right. That's what I'll start out by saying. And um to the student reps, I was one of you for two years. So, thank you for your continued service. the the lawyer. I need her business card cuz I I need her when she get through law school. So, we support you. We hear you. To the adults, to the students. Um the disrespect on Camden High, its culture, its legacy, its community. Shame on you. That's it. I'll stop there. Choice schools, right? When we think of choice schools in Camden, we think of Renaissance education. We think of options, right? But then we have Mer magnet schools, right? which are traditional public school options. When you think of the Camden High campus, I can remember being a student representative actually sitting right there on that stage. And

196this building was built as a middle school in which I went to it was a parking lot. One of the worst middle schools in the city, right? And when they merged the schools, they merged creative arts and Morgan Village, one of the most successful models in the city of Camden. Period. At the end, they didn't put the facilities department didn't put a dance room in this building. And one of the things we had to advocate for was a dance room facilities. I remember Wendy, she came and she had a conversation. I looked up as a student representative because that's where the most power in these conversations lie in the student representatives. Next week the dance room was being a floor was being laid. The point I'm making is today's conversation is a collective action based

197off of a crisis. Right? The crisis is communication. when a merger was taking place, we all jumped. We'll jump the same way to support you and all these board members when it comes down to rolling up our sleeves to making sure we get it right the first time. This was wrong. I look forward to a continued partnership with not just the board members, but the residents of the city of Camden because when you think of my high school, I'm I'm claiming ownership of that because I couldn't be who I am today without that high school. And if it was not for creative arts, all of the alumni that you saw stand up today, we got George Foreman. How many of us got George Foreman grill? An alumni from creative arts played George Foreman. Okay. On

198a national level, right? So when you think of equity and education, when you think of the 91% graduation rate, number one in the city, number six in the county, at this year we was 114 in the state. Our numbers dropped a little bit, but in 2014 we was 114 in the state. So when you think of legacy, that's legacy. In closing, Dr. Co, we got you always and forever. Period. We got you. And I'll say this in the closing. I look forward to the task force that the superintendent is going to form to talk about a continued partnership with not just students but with the residents with his board and the rest of the elected leaders throughout the state because that's collective work. That is collective action. And so I look forward to when you

199form your task force and have your first press announcement. I look forward to the same room being invited to that conversation. And I'll yield my time. Our final speaker for public comment is Kimberly Breurto. Good evening. Oh, I'm sorry. Good evening. My name is Kimberly Breto and I and I'm a senior at Dr. Charles E. Brim Medical Arts High School. I first I'd like to reply to the rebuttal that quote there will be no merge. And now I can adhere to the fact that in times of panic sometimes mis misconceptions can rise. However, there's always a little truth in a good lie. And a panic of the people is not irrational. There has been multiple posts and announcements regarding this so-called merge where they name my school Dr. Charles E. Brim Medical Arts High School

200as allied health. Although you stated that our structure will remain the same for this year and the year after that and the year after that. I question you. Um, what happens the following year after that? In better terms, how long does this promise stay? Until you think we are passive and pling enough to allow it to happen or or until we are too sick and tired of being too sick and tired to do anything about it? I reject the notion of being the last graduate or the or the last few graduates. Actually, I reject the notion of having a last graduate at my school at all. My school was named after a man who helped the community. If you serve the community, you will listen to the community. Students, teachers, parents, staff, the people of

201Canada should be the ones leading this conversation. If anything, we shouldn't be the ones asking questions. You should be asking questions to us. This idea of all this mis mis misinformation circulating and mistakes that are posted prove that there's no coordination nor transparency from the board. With all respect and sincerity, I ask this board to listen. Or better yet, I demand this board to listen. listen to our concerns, our questions, our requests. Listening is not a passive activity. It is the most active thing you can do. Where would we be if we did not listen to the people? There was power to the people. Either you hear us or we will make ourselves heard. The fact is if that if you did listen to us, we wouldn't have to protest to be seen. But yet,

202we protest, we are you, we speak, and we are here today because we refuse to be dismissed. Also, I I as I stated previously regarding the merge, there's a legacy in each and every school. I respect the people at Camden High, they are my peers. They are not ratchet. They are not ghetto. They are scholars just like me. They are young, gifted people. And at the end of the day, you ask people in Cherry Hill, you ask people in Pensan High, they will call us the same things we try to call each other. The re the reason why I'm here today, the reason why I'm against emerge is because it's erasing the identity the identity of each um each of our individual schools. And I heard amongst this circle of miscommunication and mis um conceptions

203that 80 positions will be lost. Teachers are a part of our community just as students are. These teachers make us scholars. They give us a space of comfort and give us a chance um that we aren't given in the world simply based off who we are and where we come from. I'd like to request that to this board and administrators to platform the voices of students and staff as well as all the parents and all the citizens of Camden. You are sculpting the people of the future. There's a proverb that says a society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they will never sit in. I'll I'll finish I'll finish quickly. I have a belief in my school, my teachers, my community, and my city. We are the generation of of the future

204and you must nurture and hear us and do the same for the generation to come. I'd like to end with one thing. Power to the students, power to the teachers, power to the staff, power to the parents, and finally and yet most importantly, power to the people. Blet allee. That is all. That concludes the public comment section. Be it resolved that the Camden City Advisory Board of Education upon the recommendation of the state district superintendent of schools enter into a closed session to consider the following matters. Investigations and contract negotiation. Is there a motion to go into close session? >> Motion made by board member Jackson. Is there a second? Second by uh Council President Nelson. Board President Nelson. All in favor? >> Any opposed? Any abstensions? The motion carries. The board will now go

205into close session for approximately one hour. Be it resolved that the Camden City Advisory Board of Education upon the recommendation of the state district superintendent of schools return from close session to the public session. Is there a motion to reconvene to the public session? >> Motion by board member Jackson. Is there a second? >> Second by board member Galshaw. All in favor? >> Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion carries. Superintendent, I present the following board agenda items to you for approval. The Secretary and Treasury report, the bill list for April out of district and employment contracts, talent and labor, field trips, and teaching and learning resolutions. In accordance with powers vested in me as the state district superintendent according to NJSA 18A735 I hereby approve the April 2026 board agenda items. If nothing more board solicitor

206please call for a motion to adjurnn. Is there a motion to adjurnn? >> Board member Jackson. Is there a second? >> Board member Perez. All in favor? >> Any opposed? Any abstensions? Meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m. Thank you everyone.