001You're on the table. Have you seen anything else? It's just funny. You ready? Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the May general meeting of the Clifton Board of Education this fine day of May 22nd, the year 2005. Please stand for the flag salute and a moment of silence. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Roll call, please. Mr. Shahada. Miss Bassford, present. Brunette, here. Canova, here. Dr. Danny, Mr. Mia here, Miss Warren here, Vice President Santiago here, President Perry here. The mission of the Clifton School District in an open and reciprocal community partnership is to provide all students within with a quality education to develop the skills
002necessary to become literate lifelong learners who are responsible and productive citizens contributing to a democratic society in an everchanging world. The New Jersey open public meet public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right to the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interests is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of this act, the Clifton Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be publicized by having the date, time, and place thereof posted at the city clerk's office, Clifton Public Library, administration building, senior citizen nutrition center, on cable TV, in the local press, on the district's website, and mailed to presidents of parent teacher organizations. This meeting will be tape recorded in accordance with policy 0168. Do
003we have a student representative this evening? Welcome. For his last time, Mr. President, last time. Oh, congratulations. Good afternoon, board of members. On April 15th, the CHS Premed Club um worked with the Red Cross to host a blood drive. Over 100 students and staff volunteers donated blood and the premed club was able to collect 56 units of blood um which can help more than 150 people. Um the Coral Spring concert was hosted on May 7th and saw great tourns students. On May 9th, Clifton High School hosted our annual talent show. The freshman student council worked relentlessly um to organize this large event and the performance showed out. Uh this event helps raise significant funds for the freshman class student council and is an opportunity for students and staff to showcase their many talents. I strongly
004encourage any community members who haven't yet attended the talent show to mark the event for next year um and support the talent at Clifton High School. Clipton's most academically motivated students concluded their advanced placement exams on May 16th. The transition to hybrid or digital exams um presented unforeseen technical issues in accessing uh reference material. Uh these minor technical issues are being addressed by College Board and makeup testing will take place on the 16th. In recognition of the tremendous athletes our high school helps develop, CS hosted a signing day on May 19th. We saw senior athletes from our football, cheerleading, lacrosse, track among other programs, committing their clip and grown talents to institutions across the world, including brand, Ramapo College, and Miffer Academy to name a few. On May 24th, 21st, excuse me, Clifton High School's
005art department hosted an art show to highlight our school's brightest artists. Um, the event brought together staff, family members, and members of our Clifton community, allowing for the sale of several students arts, helping sustain our high school's art program and the talent that it cultivates. Occurring on the same day was the orchestra concert where students uh Clifton's musicians performed in front of the Clifton community. Currently, the student council is hosting a spirit event um to help catalyze student expression and cohesion within the high school. Monday saw students bringing in white shirts and a marker so peers could leave their mark on graduating seniors. Um Tuesday encouraged students to wear summer attire. Wednesday was character day. And today we saw tremendous participation in throwback Thursday where students and teachers dressed up in the year in which
006they were born. Um, tomorrow is culture day where we hope to see a large majority of our student body demonstrate the diversity we offer here at CHS. Um, and finally, the dance team will be hosting their dance showcase on May 30th at 7 p.m. at the high school. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you so much, Mr. President. May I? Yes, absolutely. Uh, Lamar, I got to put you on the spot for a minute. I did the same thing to Mark last month. could you please share with the board and the entire community your plans for next year as a graduating senior? Yeah. Um so I'll be attending uh Harvey Mud College in Claremont, California. Um they're like ranked uh it's one of the top two engineering institutions in the country. Um I
007was offered full tuition scholarship. I'm going to study engineering and um I hope to go into firmware engineering um in the future. Yeah. So Congratulations, Lamar. Thanks, Lamar. Congratulations. Okay, Dr. Artosi, we're up to uh some the winter sports all county recognition. Would you like to I'd be happy to see that for us? I'd be happy to. Um Mr. President Commissioner Mahia will assist you. Um so these students will be um recognized at our June 12th special board meeting. But we do have a resolution tonight um recognizing them. If I could find it. Mr. Maya, if you want to take over the here. Oh, Mr. Mia. That's right. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Uh these are students who won't be able to make it June 12th. See, I knew it had something to do
008with June 12th. Um Mr. Mahia, would you mind reading the uh resolution, please? And then I will call the students names and they can come up. No resolution. No. Okay, that's it. I'll go ahead and read the certificate of achievement. The first one is going to be the certificate of achievement. This recognition is certified to Sarah Swinebell on behalf of the Clifton Board of Education and Administration for all county first team bowling with sincere congratulations on your materious achievement with recognition by resolution of the board of education the desire to excel in the formula to a lifetime of success. Your efforts have brought this extension to you, your family and Clinton public schools signed by Alan Paris, president of the board of education and Dr. Danny Robatosi, superintendent of schools. The next one is going
009to be certificate of achievement. This recognition is certified to Elizabeth Lour on behalf of the Clifton Board of Education and administration for all county first team cheer with sincere congratulations on your materious achievement with recognition by resolution of the board of education. Desire to excel in the formula to a lifetime success. Your efforts have brought distinction to you, your family and Clinton public schools. Signed by Alan Paris, president of board of education and Dr. to Dan Rotosi, Superintendent of Schools. And finally, certificate of achievement. This recognition is certified to Alexa Miller on behalf of the Clinton Board of Education and Administration for all county first team cheer with sincere congratulations on your materious achievement with recognition by resolution of the board of education. The desire to excel is a formula to a lifetime success. Your
010efforts have brought extension to you, your family and Clinton public schools, signed by Alan Paris, president board of education, and Dr. the Daniels Superintendent of Schools. We have Sarah come up first, please. [Applause] Do you want me to take a photo with your phone? We can come. We can come there. You want to take them down? Yeah, I can go. That's fine. Thank you. There we go. How about that? Yes, ma'am. Certainly come right [Music] here. Going to come around the other side there. That's nice. Yeah. There we go. This picture will also be on our social media. That's right. All right. That's with your phone. All right. Ready? Three, two, one. Beautiful. Thank you. Congratulations, Sarah. [Applause] Congratulations. I could have got higher. Thank you. [Applause] I can take one with your phone if
011you'd like. Mom, come on. Um, you know, we neglected coach previousach. I apologize. Sure. We want coach in this picture, too. Okay. Do you want me to take one with that or Mr. There we go. Three, two, one. Do you want me to grab one with this? Is this on? Three, two, one. Beautiful. Congratulations. [Applause] Last but certainly not least, can we have Alexa? [Applause] I'll do yours first. All right. Thank you. Sure. Okay. Three, two, one. Okay. Ready? Three, two, one. Beautiful. Thank you. Congratulations. [Music] Three, two, one. Grab one with mine, too. [Music] Phone musical chairs. Three, two, one. There we go. Okay. [Applause] Yes. Depends. You come up from Why don't you stand by? Sure. S Yeah, come on over here. Buffalo. There we go. Not you. [Music] The one I gave
012you. mine. Thank god they get the blood. All right. Ready? Three, two, one. Congratulations. Congratulations. I like super glue like red. Yeah, she's talking about like super butterflies. I knew the drilling. I should have I should have Okay, I apologize for my confusion in the beginning. Um, but I'm very happy we were able to honor uh these students tonight because they cannot make the June 12th meeting. So, congratulations to our students. And if I might add, um Alexa Miller was uh at our distinguished um dinner the other academic uh distinguished academic dinner. and the other students might have been too, but I know I know Alexa was cuz I saw mom or dad post on Instagram that she's the she she made it all four years and she's the she's it's the last one, right?
013Right guys, of of a lot of nice positive things about our school district. So, thank you and congratulations. Absolutely. So, since we're talking about the Millers, if I can just interject and thoroughly embarrass everyone, let's talk about the Millers. So, uh, President Paris and I were supporting the team at one of well, several of us at at the high school and after the meet that they won. President Paris and I were standing saying congratulations, everything. And Mr. Miller comes over and he says, "One of these girls going to get a banner." And I'm like, "What? What are you talking about?" Yeah, one of these girls going to get a banner. I'm like, what would they're going to three Pete? Because they hadn't yet, but of course they did. They're going to three Pete and they
014have no banner. And we're like, well, you're absolutely right. So, uh, the athletic director was there. Long story short, there was a banner for the girls in the high school. So, all you have to do is come corner us, basically intimidate us, and you get you get your No, but we're happy to do that. Congratulations. Thank you guys so much, and thank you for advocating, Mr. [Applause] Okay, we have no um presentations of reports, but we do have a board committee report and that's our um education and special education committee. And uh normally I would ask Dr. Danny to do that. Um ask Commissioner Suarez to read in her place this evening. Thank you, President Paris. Let me just expand here so I can have it large. On May 14th, 2025, the meeting began at
0156:02 p.m. Those present were President Paris, myself at Commissioner Kenova. Uh for administration, um Miss Cusovich, Miss uh sorry, um Dr. Dr. Linda Chavez, uh, supervisor of special education, special services. Special education update. Dr. Chavez reviewed some of the current activities that are taking place right now in the special services department. Preschool child study teams are busy determining if preschoolers who are aging out of preschool are eligible for IEPs in kindergarten and their most appropriate placements. At all grade levels, the child study teams are working on placements and services for next school year. Supervisors are working on staff assignments and hiring teachers for vacancies. This summer's extended school year program will be held at CILAB B and school 16 for eligible students. The department is getting ready for summer testing and IEP meetings that will
016occur in July and August. Dr. Chavez shared referral numbers for preschool and school age children 220 and 216 respectively for a current total of 436 referrals to date. The special services department held a special education parent advisory group meeting on May 7th. The topic was summer resources and activities that are available in the community county and other counties to children and adolesccents. CPAG meetings for the 2025 2026 school year are currently being planned with topics to explore based on parent feedback. The department is also collaborating with the Clifton Health Department for in-person parent support groups with four upcoming meetings to help support parents of students with special needs. The first meeting was on May 14th at school 16. Many Clipton Mustang staff participated in the autism walk at Christopher Columbus Middle School two weeks ago.
017The department will submit the extraordinary aid application to New Jersey Department of Education by May 23rd, 2025. Some fifth graders from school 16 are touring Woodro Wilson Middle School on Monday as part of their transition from elementary to middle school. The department is also planning to implement a new confidentiality agreement for outside observers who come into district to observe our programs or particular students. ELLL updates. The seal of biiteracy event is scheduled for May 15th. 207 students who demonstrated literacy in both English and another language will be honored for their demonstration of their biit biiteracy skills. Eight of these students demonstrated literacy in three languages. Students attaining the honor of the seal of biiteracy may be native English speakers as well as current or formal English language learners. Currently, we have about 1,500 multilingual learners,
018the most we have ever had in the district. School report card data, accountability profiles, and district data. The New Jersey school performance reports were discussed. Mrs. Cusvich explained that the data within the reports are almost two years old by the time the reports are released. For example, 2-year-old test score data are part of school report cards. They also provide data on the total student population and individual subgroups. There is no way to disagregate the data to see how just general education students are doing. Local standardized district data from common and packaged assessments is a more accurate and authentic way to show student growth. The increased test score data, the district is focused on good instruction. For example, we ensure that students have access to hard copies of books, not just electronic versions of them. Some
019test prep occurs in our classrooms, but we emphasize content, not test prep. We also do our own local assessments that align to the NJSLA. Student achievement data is presented each fall showing students with valid test scores across three years of testing to examine their growth. We usually either meet or exceed state averages. Summer curriculum work happens every year to adjust pacing guides based on data analysis of our students performance on various local and statewide assessments. We will be improving our communication of local data and providing parent university workshops in the coming year, including disseminating this information on social media. One possible theme of this data presentation could be dispelling the myth of school scores. The the discussion included whether or not all schools are using the same instructional methods and whether differences could account for
020variations in student achievement. Miss Qichch explained that all schools follow the same curriculum which includes detailed pacing guides. Maple Valley Middle School updates. Current progress for the opening of Maple Valley Middle School includes placement of classes, staffing, which was aided by a recent survey disseminated to all staff and possible staffing reallocations among the three middle schools. Schedules and furniture orders are in development. Field trips. A question about the addition of more free local field trips. that is to the post office, library to police department, local businesses, etc. to increase experential learning particularly at the elementary level was raised. Mrs. Q. See explained that similar trips already occur often through summer programs such as 21st century program. Nevertheless, more options will be explored for the coming school year. The meeting was adjourned at 7 p.m. Thank
021you, Commissioner Suarez. Any questions from the board? Okay, seeing none, we'll move on to public recognition. This portion of the meeting is open to the residents and non-residents of Clifton for the purpose of addressing any subject matter pertinent to andor directly related to the operation of the Clifton Public School District. Residents and non-residents are requested to sign the register provided for this purpose and to state their names, addresses, and subject matter. Comments are limited to five minutes per person. Issues raised by members of the public may or may not be dis responded to by the board. All comments will be considered and a response will be forthcoming if and when appropriate. The board asks that members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals when speaking. Specifically, comments regarding students
022and employees of the board are discouraged and will not be responded to by the board. Students and employees have specific legal rights afforded by the laws of New Jersey. The board bears no responsibility, nor will it be liable for any comments made by members of the public. Members of the public should consider their comments in light of the legal rights of those affected or identified in their comments and be aware that they are legally responsible and liable for their comments. No one's in virtual tonight. Motion to close virtual. Second. Motion to close by Commissioner Brunac. Seconded by Commissioner Mahia. Uh we'll open the floor. Would anybody like to approach the microphone and address the board this evening? Alexa is getting nervous. Uh Jason Miller, 36 Konova Court. I just wanted to come up and thank
023you guys officially on the record for um especially Mr. Paris, Mr. Santiago um for for getting the banner, but I know it was everybody's work there. Um all the way up to Mr. Jingger in the back there. Um I know um uh I seen a bunch of you guys at the competition, so I really want to thank you. I know cheer does not get a lot of recognition. Um so this was a really big thing as parents and I know it meant a lot for the girls. I know the girls don't want to come up and say anything, so that's why I'm kind of speaking on their behalf, too. But like I said, I just wanted to officially, you know, thank everybody for that on the public record here and make it known that I
024did not corner Mr. Paris, Mr. Santiago. I nicely asked, but uh no, but a little bit little bit, but no, I just wanted to say thank you to everybody officially on the record for for everything that you've done and for everything you've done since my son graduated a couple years ago as well, too, from Clifton. So, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Miller. Would anyone else like to address the board? Hi. Good evening. Gonna wing this. Um, I just wanted uh Linda White uh par profofessional vice president of the Clifton Education Association. Dr. Robert Toy, I wanted to congratulate you on the award you received last evening. Um, I hope you had a nice evening. We missed you at our evening. Um, and I wanted to thank commissioners Bassford, Mahia Paris, and Ciano for attending the
025Clifton Education Association dinner last evening. We appreciate you being there. Thank you. Thank you, Linda. Thank you, Mrs. White. And congratulations on your retirement. Thank you. Anyone else like to approach uh the microphone and address the board? Okay, seeing seeing none, motion closed. Seeing none, motion motion closed by Commissioner Bassford, seconded by Commissioner Brunak. Next up is adoption of the minutes from our uh May 1st, 2025 general board of education meeting. Motion to adopt. Motion motion by Commissioner Mahia. Second. Second. Seconded by Commissioner Suarez. Roll call. Mr. Shahada. Miss Passford. Yes. Mr. Brunziac. Yes. Mr. Kenova. Yes. Oh, abstain on executive session. Dr. Danny, yes. Mr. Mia, yes. Mr. Ciano, yes. Miss Suarez, yes. Vice President Santiago, yes. President Paris, yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Uh, Dr. Roberts. Thank you, Mr. Paris. Good evening, commissioners,
026members of the one Clifton school community. I want to share uh some good news in my report uh tonight. Uh first, I'm proud to announce that for the seventh year in a row, our district has been named the 2025 um best community for music education by the NAM Foundation. Uh the award recognizes the district's outstanding support and commitment to music education. Thank you to all of the extraordinary educators that make this happen uh year after year. But I believe that the board should also uh be thanked because uh it is very obvious in all that we do that music and arts education uh in Clifton is always a priority where I will tell you in other places it may not be. So congratulations to our district for that award. We also received another uh recognition
027that I'm very proud of and that is um we've been recognized as a gold district implementer at the 2025 Northeast PBSIS leadership forum. This prestigious recognition reflects the hard work and dedication of the entire school community because it impacts every school. It means that every one of our schools is implementing the PBIS framework with high fidelity and more importantly that we are sustaining strong systems that support the academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs of our students. It's a true testament to the district's commitment to creating a positive, supportive learning environment for all students and for all staff. So, congratulations again to our entire district. Give a shout out to a couple schools individually. School five allstars raised a total of $13,785 for the American Heart Association's Kids Heart Challenge. The students learned how to be
028heart healthy and our families had the opportunity to learn hands-on, excuse me, handsonly CPR while raising money to support research and those in need. The school celebrated with the New York Giants and the American Heart Association. A couple Mondays ago, students in grades three through five were able to participate in the handonly CPR lessons using CPR training kits provided by the American Heart Association. Big shout out to Mr. Silva, school five uh fizzed teacher for always making our yearly kids heart challenge a success. Great job to school 5. I was asked to um tell the community that school 15's HSA will host its spring fling vendor fair on May 31st from 10 to 2. Over 40 vendors uh so many fun activities for the children. The entire community is welcome to attend. And two final
029things. Monday is Memorial Day. Falls on May 26th this year. It seems a little early, but it always falls on the last Monday of the month. Memorial Day is a federal holiday. It is a day to honor and remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation. So, it's not just a day off of school or a day off of work for many, not all. Please in your own way remember the true purpose of this holiday on Monday. And finally, I want to um congratulate Miss Suarez and Mr. Shahada who will be getting married on Sunday. It is um just wonderful how love happens and I am so looking forward to celebrating uh with you on Sunday and I wish you nothing but happiness and good fortune in the future. Thank
030you Mr. President. Thank Dr. Robert Tozy has a very [Laughter] Um, I will hold my comments until the end with the rest of the commissioners. Uh, is there any unf unfinished business we need to address? Okay, seeing none, uh, Commissioner Brunac, could you please read our expression of condolence? Thank you, Mr. President. after this. Whereas on April 29th, 2025, the community noted with sorrow the passing of Miss Marian Hell Regal. And whereas Miss Hell Regal had served the Clifton Board of Education and the children of Clifton faithfully and consciously for 34 years. Miss Hell Regal served as a district served the district as a dedicated school bus aid devoting her life to care and safety of cliff of the Clifton's children. Marian retired in June 2023, leaving behind a legacy of compassion and commitment that
031touched countless lives. Marian will be missed deeply by all who knew her. Now therefore, it be resolved that this resolution be forwarded to her bereaveved family to serve an as an expression of the great regard in which Miss Hell Regal was held by the board of education, the administration, employees, and pupils of Clifton Public Schools. And be it further resolved that the contents of this resolution be noted in their entirety in the official minutes of the Clifton Board of Education for future generations to peruse. Thank you, Commissioner Brunak. We need to have a little change in our agenda this evening. We need to move our executive session up to the next in line. Um will be approximately how long? An hour. Approximately an hour. Um we will be discussing uh personnel and legal matters and
032action may or may not be taken. Uh motion to adjourn to executive session. Motion second. Motion by Commissioner Bronciac, seconded by Commissioner Suarez. Hello Dr. Paul. Have a good one. Thank you. Good seeing you, sir. Everything. We at the county meeting. Uh, yeah. I couldn't make it. Let's get ready for whatever. We're going to be an hour. That's what they said. And then board member comments. I'm actually waiting for my doctor to call a good telealth thing. If she calls, I'm leaving. Really bad chest pains at work today. How are you feeling now? It's not the pizza. Say it all day. I do it. It doesn't always Guys, since I have work to do, I should really go upstairs and do it. I'm wondering. Yes, it's nice. that you haven't seen from other Is Dante
033retiring? He is 42 years. Wow. And we were finished at like want to say we had two people present a little something from outside and still I think we were done at like 20 after 5 so then we had to wait they weren't ready for dinner so here I thought I'd get out earlier two, right? It's hard to tell. A little more comp. So, you know, in the brownstone, you would see everything spread out and go, "Oh, light." Yes. That was your last name. retirement. I was literally going to kidnap her and tie her to her desk. So when she became president, I took over a lot of Yes. Such a nice and it got cancelled because That's right. We were gone down too much. So when I live in literally three seconds away and
034um drove us My cousins live right outside of Philly. So I've been there. So there's really not. Well, your cousins have to come get you by them. No longer right outside. Oh yeah, that's cool. You know, for some reason today So my kids used to come home on Mother's Day, but then I didn't realize it was later in the past because I've noticed when they're gone. Okay. So yeah, the White House is open. Apparently somebody I don't know was able to security number one from our school that two weeks ago they called him and said oh yeah he couldn't get appointment passport expired but he was able to get an at the passport office in the mail. Passport everybody's doing it was a bag for everybody. But the thing is I thought the whole thing
035was passport. But you can you just have to go and answer question. Okay. Those of us that were getting super my passport online because it was time and if it expired online Jad a motion to adjurnn. All right, we're returning from uh executive session. Uh which one is that? Mr. Shahadic, take the roll call. Mr. Bassford here. Mr. Run here. Kenova here. Dr. Danny, I'm here. I'm trying to press. Mr. M here. Bill here. Suarez here. Vice President Santiago here. President Paris here. Okay. Next, I would uh like Vice President Santiago to read our uh resolution to the res recipients of the 202425 Excellence and Education Awards. Thank you, President Paris. Resolve that the Clifton Board of Education accepts the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools and the Selection Committee to officially honor and so
036note in the minutes of the Clifton Board of Education the Clifton Teachers and Power Professionals selected as recipients of the 2024 2025 Clifton Excellence in Education Award. They are Megan Barhorst, School 3, Kelly Buckaloo, School 14. Todd Conklin, Woodro Wilson Middle School. Rebecca Fitzpatrick, school 16. Matthew Goodman, Clifton High School. Maria Pimementel, school 17. Georgiana Ross, Christopher Columbus Middle School. Erin Saba or Saba, sorry if I'm saying that wrong. School 15. Alyssa Steppneski, school one. Brian Steppneski, Clifton High School. Laura Van Djk, school 17. Alle Alexandra Wisnowski, school 5 and Monica Zach, school 12. Congratulations. Uh, thank you and congratulations to all the excellence in education winners this year. Um, board would also like to recognize the 25 25 years of service and our retirements for this year. Commissioner Bassford, can you please read that?
037Yes. Be it resolved that the Clifton Board of Education proclaims its gratitude publicly to the retirees and the 25-year veterans for their loyalty and steadfast resolve over the years demonstrated in providing the best education for the pupils in the Clipton public schools for employees with 25 years of service in the district and I apologize if I mess up anybody's name. Geraldine Campion, Steven Kovllo, Steven Hunter, Jennifer Lazerati, Joseph Lukano, Jillian Mix Been, Laura Melki, Elena Parker, uh Emil Rashka, Joseph Rivera, Wendy Scadudo, um Linda White. Congratulations for employees who retired and who are reti who retired and are retiring at the end of the year. Maria Lani Osmos, aor Manchuk, Linda Bandowski, Geraldine Champion, Susan Suzki, Tracy Angel, Mercedes, uh, Escobar Eljadir, um, Kathleen Falco, Vincent Farrell, Mary Foley, Mary Giri, Julio and Glacis, the
038Huling and Glacis, Lisa Japoni, Lisa Hose in Memorial, Lori Lammano, uh, Lori Lesler, Dante Mure, Bruce Manira, Karen Paris, uh, Maria Penna, Mary Lynn, Ricardo, Elsie San Husen, Francine Sakuzo, I'm so sorry if I'm messing up your name, Carolyn Schwarz, Cynthia Shagawat, Vladimir, uh, Salada, Anarie Sheridan, Mary Ellen Speeda, Linda Sofur, Deborah Tester, Linda White, uh, Lori White, and Adriana Zambrano. Congratulations. Thank you very much for your service to our district. Thank you, Commissioner Bassford. Okay. Next, I'm looking for a motion under B, Education Administration, uh, to approve items number one through nine. Motion second. Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Brunak. Any discussion? Hearing none. Roll call. Mr. Shahana. Miss Bassford. Yes. Mr. Brunier. Yes. Mr. Kenova. Yes. Dr. Danny. Yes. Mr. Mia. Yes. Abstain on P68. My name only. We're on E.
039Brother. P. You have no absence on that one. Oh yes. Mr. Iano. Yes. Miss Suarez. Yes. Vice President Santiago. Yes. President Paris. Yes. Motion carries. Okay. Next is uh sorry it's a long one. Under C personnel. Uh a motion to approve items number one through 71. Motion. Motion by Commissioner Bassford. Second second by vice president Santiago. Any discussion hearing? None. Roll call. Mr. Shashad. Miss Bassford. Yes. Mr. Brunc. Yes. Mr. Kenova. Yes. Dr. Danny. Yes. Mr. Mia. Yes. Abstain on P68. My name only. Mr. Ciano. Yes. Miss Suarez. Yes. It's abstain on P69. Vice President Santiago. Yes. Abstain on 28 44 46 47. Let me just 68. I'm just looking that up. My name only and 69. Thank you, President Paris. Uh, yes, but abstain on 33 476. My name only on 68 and 69.
040You said 33. I said P33 to start with. Yes. Thank you, sir. Motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Shahada. Um, we're up to board member comments. Finance. I'm sorry, we are not up to board members comments. Oh, yes. Item D, finance and facilities. Um, looking for a motion to approve items number one through 13. Motion. Second. Motion by Commissioner Bunchc. Seconded by Commissioner Bassford. Any discussion? Hearing none. Roll call. Mr. Shad. Miss Bassford. Yes. Mr. Bruniac. Yes. Mr. Kenova. Yes. Dr. Danny. Yes. Mr. Mia. Yes. M. Yes. Standing on checks 222311 and 222305 due to my business relationship with them. Thank you. Miss Suarez. Yes. Vice President Santiago. Yes. President Paris. Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Now we're up to board member comments and we will start this evening with Commissioner Mahia. Thank you very much,
041President Paris. Um, just want to start off by congratulating Danny on his award that he received last night. Congratulations once again. Um, I also do want to congratulate all of our educators who were recognized yesterday at the CEA dinner um, down at the Fiesta. Um, finally, I want to thank all those who made the ultimate sacrifice as we come upon um, Memorial Day. And finally, um, a quick little personal, congrats to Pam, Tiff, and Mel on your graduation today. Um, thank you and have a great night. Thank you, Commissioner Mia. Commissioner Ciano, I'm gonna try to be quick because I'm really afraid I'm like yelling at you guys. The last time I was there, Joe was on Zoom. It was so loud. Um, so let's do this quickly. Um, I got to say I met
042in Tanya, uh, best wishes for you for the wedding. I wish you guys a lifetime of love and happiness. It's awesome you guys found each other. Um, I'm going to quote one of my favorite movies and say, "May your first child be a masculine child." Um, I was honored to attend the uh, Excellence in Education dinner last night. Um, you guys hear me speak all the time about Mr. Farrell and he's retiring and I really got to say if we had a thousand Mr. Frells it still wouldn't be enough. Uh he had a major impact on me, helped me when I needed it most and stood by me no matter how awful of a child that I was. Um that my parents stood by me for this teacher to do the same. And it it's
043mindblowing. Uh I wish him the absolute best in his retirement. Uh, Memorial Day, I just want to say please remember what it's all about while you're all barbecuing and enjoying time with friends and family. Uh, the quote that I like best from Colonel Edmund Whitman from 1868 um was that nation which respects and honors its dead shall ever be respected and honored itself. And that's all I got for tonight. So, thank you all so much. Thank you, Commissioner, Commissioner Suarez. Thank you, President Paris. Good evening, everyone. Uh, this week I had the honor to attend the awards dinner for all high school students who received high achieving grades. It was uh absolutely wonderful to celebrate their dedication, hard work, and success. Congratulations again to all those who received awards and to the parents and guardians
044who helped them make their su excuse me, who helped their success happen. And of course, congratulations to Dr. Roberts on receiving the superintendent of the year award. I truly appreciate working alongside you. I am very critical about public education and genuine good teaching. I have witnessed time and time again how you advocate for students and always put them right at the center of every decision you make doing what is truly best for them. We are lucky to have your leadership. Um and that's all I have. Everyone have a good night and I look forward to next month when we get to celebrate teachers and students of the spring months. Take care. Thank you Commissioner Suarez. Commissioner Bastard. Thank you. I don't know if the camera can pick up on this, but this is an event
045that's happening on uh June 14th at SLA B and I'm on the roll call to be sled. Um so uh we have uh President Paris at 10:00, Mr. Shahada at 10:30, Mr. Jingerro at 11:00, um Mr. Doctor at 11:30, myself at 12, Josiano at 12:30, Dr. Robbituzzi at 1:00, and Mr. Edwin at 1:30. So, if you want to come see people being slimed, this is your opportunity. It's for a good cause. So, thank you for the invitation to be slimed. I can't wait to see it. Um, uh, it's been a really busy week in Clifton this week. Uh, first, I just want to say congratulations. The seed was planted for April 26 in 2024. May that seed continue to grow for many years to come. I wish you blessings and congratulations. Um t uh on
046Tuesday I had the honor of attending the district's academic awards dinner. I believe it's my 13th. It should actually be 14 but we didn't have one year because of co uh where we celebrated the exceptional accomplishments of our students in academics. This event is always close to my heart and this year marks my 13 which I will never take it for granted. It fills me with pride to witness the incredible achievement of our young scholars and the unwavering support of their families and educators. And I just want to say this year the they were exceptionally dressed, well behaved and it was a beautiful event. So thank you to the staff that orchestrated that whole event. It's a big undertaking and I appreciate you all for doing what you do. On Wednesday, last night, I was
047privileged to attend the Clipton Education Association's 40th dinner in excellence in education. What a wonderful celebration to our dedicated dedicated educators. It is so meaningful to honor their work and share the evening with them in person. To watch them let their hair down and dance and have fun and and celebrate themselves is just wonderful. A special thank you to all the speakers who came out your with your words. We appreciate it and your message always resonates with me. I'd like to um extend my heartfelt congratulations to our superintendent on receiving a very prestigious award, superintendent of the year. Uh welld deserved, Danny. Um next stop, Pate County Superintendent of the Year. And we should make sure that we all nominate him for that if we're allowed. Looking forward, I um I invite all of you.
048I was asked to send this message. School 16 on March 31st is having their Treps market day. It's their where their young uh talented student entrepreneurs get to market some of their create creativity and passion for business. You will be very impressed. It starts at 10:00 a.m. That's a Saturday. As we approach Memorial Day, let us take a moment to reflect. This day is not only a time for gathering with our family and friends. It's also a solemn occasion to honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. Remember, Memorial Day is memory, not not it's different. Can I May I just finish? I have one more sentence. Uh may we remember with gratitude and uphold the values they fought to protect and strive to live their lives worthy of their
049legacy, wishing everyone a meaningful Memorial Day and continued success for all our students and staff. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Bastard. Uh, Commissioner Brussiak. Thank you, Mr. President. I was unable to attend this past Tuesday, so I want to congratulate all the recipients of the Distinguished Academic Achievement Awards. To have an average GPA of 89 over three marking periods is absolutely exceptional. I don't think I've ever done that. So, when I attended Clifton High School, so congrats to all you recipients. You absolutely earned it. Uh I was also unable to attend the CA 40th annual annual dinner. I want to congratulate CA teacher of the year par of the year and those with excellence excellence in education 25 years in and the retirees. You made it. Congratulations. Shout out to the CHS orchestra which I
050went to go see last night with my kids. It was absolutely outstanding performance. There were there were students from freshman all the way up to seniors and it was absolutely fantastic. Uh lots of classics too when you were growing up and um I'm sorry I didn't see more people there but there were lots of conflicts. So even Woodro their eighth grade classes but there are only so many days we could do it. There only so many days and uh as a result there are unfortunately some conflicts. So shout out to everybody uh who helped make that happen yesterday. I want to give my prayer to uh Commissioner Suarez and Mr. Shahada on their marriage this weekend. Lord, I give you this marriage that Tanya and Ahmed are about to embark on. Give them an unshakable
051bond with one another that they commit you to their intentions for a strong family, remain faithful to one another, and grow old together. We trust you help them to succeed in your name. Amen. Finally, I want to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day. May we never forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. Thank you for your time and God bless America. Have a good night everybody. Thank you, Commissioner Brunak. Commissioner Kenova, uh congratulations to all the award recipients tonight and retirees. Uh, congratulations to Miss Suarez and Mr. Shahada. May you have many years of happiness and love as a family. Congratulations to Dr. Robert Tozi in the Superintendent Year award. It was great to see that others can see what we see as well. We appreciate all that you do for our
052district. Um, distinguished award on on Tuesday. It was amazing to see lots of kids there that filled the room. Um, it's a good problem to have a large filled room with with uh many distinguished honors there. Um, also great to hear that our district received an award for their dedication to the music program. I think that's another excellent piece that we have to offer and just have a safe and enjoyable uh memorial day weekend. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Kenova. Commissioner, Dr. Danny, yes. I'd like to say um to the student representative board, Mark, um thank you so much um for your service, for all that you've done, and and much success. I'm sure that you will be very very successful. Um, congratulations to all the teachers who are retiring. Um, to those who achieved
05325 years, really a monumental moment. Um, congratulations to all the students who were recognized for their academic achievements. Congratulations to Dr. Roberty again. Um, I always said that you were an amazing superintendent and I've lived through many in my educational career and um, I think you're number one in the books there. Oh, nice. Um, best wishes to Miss Suarez and Mr. Shahada. Um, may God bless that day and may it be filled with much joy and excitement. Um to the seniors, um may you enjoy your prom, be safe, have a great time. It's a wonderful time. I know when we attended the prom, the one year, it was um it's just a lot of fun and students were just, you know, um reminiscing about their whole four years and some the their entire time in
054in the Clifton district. So, just have a fun time, but remember, be safe. Um happy Memorial Day. may remember all those who sacrificed so that we may have freedom and that we may enjoy this day. And so just don't forget what the day is truly about. And um happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you and thank you and have a good evening. Thank you, Commissioner Dr. Danny, Vice President Santiago. Thank you, President Paris. Uh congratulations to all of our uh recipients and award recipients and um our teachers and staff for their for their years of uh service and thank you for everything you do. Um Commissioner Mahia and I earlier in the month attended the NGSBA delegate uh assembly meeting and that's always a good time to um advocate. I am the alternate Richie Votes,
055but it's always good to be there, participate, and um again advocate for our for our school, for our district. Um one of my favorite committees is the student liaison committee and we attended that. Some of that us did this week and you know, it's a great it's a great meeting because we meet with uh different levels, class levels of our Clifton High School students. um you know some are uh not every not all of them are honors students, not all of them are athletes, uh not all of them are art students, etc. But there's a mix of all of it and it's really good because we get different perspectives. We hear the the the grows and the glows and um there often times and once again good ideas that come from our students. So that's
056that was a great meeting. Um the academic awards dinner is always awesome. There are over 800 students who received um academic honors, including my niece Natasha. Um and some other uh friends of the family, Errol, Kennedy, Jenna, and the Millers were there too, I believe. Um Lamar, uh congratulations again. Lamar I think was in the top 10 that night, right? Also, so he's one of the top 10. Um congrats. I'm sure you're going to do do well. Um, and uh, today is my son, my younger son, Matthew's birthday. So, happy birthday to him. Mustang uh, alum. And, uh, we do have a parade Memorial Day, not the district, but the city, don't forget that if you want to come out and celebrate and support, the Memorial Day uh, parade is on Monday. And to, uh,
057Commissioner Suarez and Mr. Shihad, I wish you have a blessed day. Um, I wish you uh, love, peace, and chicken grease. So, uh, have a great, uh, Memorial Day weekend, everyone. Thanks. Thank you, Vice President Santiago. Um, condolences to the Hellgal family and and friends, uh, on their loss of Marian. Thank you to Lamar and to Mark, our student representatives. Wish you all the best in your college endeavors for success. All the best to Commissioner Suarez and Mr. Shahada as they begin their journey together. Uh wish you all the best for health and happiness. Um the memorial just a reminder that the Memorial Parade, Memorial Day parade will be on Monday, May 26th. It starts at 9:00 a.m. and it will go downwood road uh continuing to Chelsea Park where there will be a memorial
058service. Um, a reminder to my colleagues that on May 28th, the Pake County School Board Association meeting will be held here in Clifton at Mario's and our very own Commissioner Bassford uh is nominated to become pres. So, congratulations, as it should be. On June 2nd, uh, Christopher Columbus will have their Junior Honor Society induction at 7 p.m. On June 3rd, Woodro Wilson will have their Junior Honor Society induction at 7 p.m. On June 4th, uh, the CHS scholarship and award night will take place in the auditorium. On June 7th, uh, our Clifton Community Band, which has several of our high school students participating, uh, will have an outdoor concert free of charge at city hall grounds. It's called Music at the Barnes, and it starts at 4 p.m. From July 1st to 24th, um, our
059district holds a the summer enrichment program. Registration is still open. Uh, it's a fantastic program. I can tell you firsthand, my granddaughter participated in it last year. It's for grades 1 through eight, and the students get an opportunity to study and practice u uh band instruments, uh mathematics, science, coding, theater, uh songwriting, art, history. Uh the program goes from 8:30 to 12:30 most days during the month of uh July. And last is a special recognition. Um Karen, my wife, is retiring after 25 years in the Clifton school system. I just wanted to congratulate her and tell her I am ready to enjoy retirement with her. Um that's all for this for today. You did it. I did it. Okay. Next up would be new business. Is there any new business? Yes, Commissioner. So, I did
060have one. This one is going to be more so geared towards the education committee. Uh many of us are probably aware one of the biggest and hottest debates going on right now in the in well people who are running for governor. It's going to be the expansion of CTE programs. For those of you who don't know, CTE is career and technical um education. So basically wanted to know if it was possible to expand on ourus to not just include college programs but CTE programs. I was doing my own research. There is about 30 of them here in P County alone that we can part probably partner up with in terms of cosmetology, EMTs, CNAs or answer certifications. Um even those who want to um do first aid. So, as many of you know, if you
061are first aid certified, you can actually try and be a instructor and you can charge your own amount of money. So, let's say I want to certify everybody here. You guys give me $50. I can host a class and then I would gain let's say $350 just for having you guys certified in first aid and CPR. So, this is something we can try to expand on a little bit, get ahead of the game. Um, some districts that have already done this in the past two months, Pake, Patterson, Manchester, Partip, and Wayne have all taken initiative in trying to get these CTE programs within their school districts. And that is all. Okay. Thank you, Commissioner Hia. Okay. Anything else? All right. Um, last is um a motion from executive session. Mr. Shahada, can you please read
062the motion? So, it's going to be all four of them, but the this is the fourth one. Whereas the Clifton Board of Education upholds the superintendent's recommendation on the denial of the CAS grievance. Motion motion by Commissioner Bford, seconded by Commissioner Brunak. Uh, roll call. Miss Bassford, yes. Mr. Bruniac, yes. Mr. Kenova, yes. Dr. Danny, abstain. Mr. Mia, I'm going to abstain. Mr. Ciano, I have to abstain. It wasn't part of it. Mr. Wararez, abstain. Vice President Santiago, I too have to abstain. President Paris, yes. Believe the motion carries. How do you count? The abstensions go towards the in the positive. Yeah. Yeah. So, motion carries. Okay. Thank you. Uh motion to adjurnn. Motion motion by Commissioner Bassford, seconded by Commissioner Suarez. Good evening everyone. Three day weekend everybody. Have a great weekend. Maggie. Take
063care. Thank you everybody. Bye-bye.