February 8, 2024 - Clifton Board of Education Meeting

001e yeah we do that sh good evening everyone welcome to the February 8th 2024 uh regular meeting of the Clifton Board of Education please stand for the flag salute and a moment of silence I pled Al to the of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible liy and justice for all thank you roll call Mr Shada miss bassford here Mr brunak here Mr kova here Mr Mia here M Santiago here Mr siano here M Suarez here vice president Danny here president Paris here we have a Corum thank you uh Mr Kenova could you read the mission statement okay M Dr Danny thank you the mission of the Clifton School District in an open and reciprocal Community Partnership is to provide all students with a

002quality education to develop the skills necessary to become literate lifelong Learners who are responsible and productive citizens contributing to a Democratic Society in Ever Changing world thank you Dr Danny the New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right to the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the Clifton Board of Education has 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 mail to presidents of parent teacher organizations this meeting will be

003recorded in accordance with policy 0168 do we have our student Representatives here this evening J yes okay hello yes I'm here welcome Jay okay okay hear me hello okay thank you yeah I apologize not in was a little so I now doing onine um okay so good evening I'm GNA start off with sports so we've actually do really well Sports this week um on Monday theth accom team competed in the big North playoffs at high school they earned the third highest score out of 14 teams and they're moving on to Championship on February 16th I um we like to congratulate Sam for ring the third high beame in the pcca state county o and a score of and our team has once again for for the 3200 and Jason Jones place for high thees and

004they will be conducting donations for the clion animal shelter on Saturday March 9th from 10: a.m. to 2: p.m. at Stop and Shop on Broad Street the Key Club we'll also once again be hosting the Garden State the quality free Zoom Workshop titled identities and intersectionality and intersectionality on March 20th I'm sorry on March 20th at 700 p.m. lastly he Club um he Club is having a salsa fundraiser and it is ongoing through every 23 salsa can be ordered at Salsa fundraising.com and make sure to click clion Key Club at checkout our Orchestra is also having a Valentine's Day Sale um on Monday February 26th I mean sorry on February 12th Tuesday and February 13th Wednesday and February 14th all proceedings go to the worker scholarship fond so if you have any questions you can

005reach out to miss babak um or ask anyone in the orchestra um our cliped sea will be hosting our students versus staff basketball game at clion high school on Friday March 1st at 7:00 tickets will be available at the door for three $3 or $2 in advance you can get tickets from SCA member or missan saders and we're looking for a very fun night of friendly competition and I know that I hear students already talking about it and staff members talking about it so even if you're not going to participate definitely show up because it's going to be a fund night for sure and our Clon High School spring musical this year is going to be Hello Dolly the show will be March 8th 9th and 10th so please make sure to mark your calendars

006they'll be holding an Applebee's flap Flapjack fundraiser on Sunday March 3r between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. from Clon Commons location tickets are going to be $12 and they can be purchased in advance from Miss pooi or cast member or at the door cash only I hope to see you there our fun night and um here the cool kids is going to be attending our second workshop at Bergen Community College tomorrow um we this is our second word jop we have one word for the year and this is just where we learn about um what's going to be happening and how we can get ready for our meetings when we go down to the middle schools so that's going to be tomorrow and we're all looking forward to learning more things and and lastly just to

007save the date for our Junior semi-formal dance or Junior Prom which will be held on Thursday May 2nd at the Grand in TOA ticket s information will be available soon from Anderson so that's it for um our Sports and Club announcements um thank you very much and have a good night everybody thank you Jada for keeping us up to date uh next we'll have a presentation on our an audit presentation by Mr Paul Lurch of lurch Vincy and Higgins I'm not sure if you're G to be able to do this but can you just keep that little window there just make sure that that stays open do you need the computer no I don't okay awesome I'm good yeah thank you uh thank you and good evening everyone um as indicated I'm Paul Lurch from

008Lurch Vincy in Bliss um I'm here to present the audit results um from the June 23 audit that we performed on the Clifton Board of Education um I'm going to give a brief overview and kind of talk about some items that I need to make sure that I communicate to the board um obviously we prepared the audit report um couple housekeeping items um we had no significant accounting policy changes we had no unusual transactions during the year um we had no significant audit adjustments um we did not have any disagreements with management as we went through the audit process um we didn't encounter any difficult uh items as we performed the audit uh the design of the internal control system uh was adequate and we did not identify any deficiencies in that control system or

009the design um we'll talk a little bit about this at the end but we had no instances of fraud no instances of illegal Acts we had three audit comments that we did want to talk about and I guess I could talk about those right now before I before I continue um so for the board members there's two reports we have the larger report which is the comprehensive annual financial report and then we have the smaller one which is the administrative report and that really the format is dictated by the Department of Education from the state of New Jersey but the three comments that we have um the first one deals with the proper classification of recording accounts payable and incumbrances without getting too technical about it the the accounts payable classification on the balance sheet

010um identifies goods and services that were ordered and delivered that's the key and delivered um an encumbrance is a contract that you award but yet it hasn't been performed or delivered a prime example of that would be the contract with L spiny and and and Bliss so the uh the board Awards a contract with with our firm but we're not here doing any audit until after the year end so that's an incumbrance what we had because of the the volume of what's going on obviously with the referendum you have $168 million referendum it's very active right now um so what we do is we look at the end of the year and we look for proper classification um on the material ones so we had two vendors that we pulled um and they were misclassified

011they were classified as incumbrances they should have been classified as accounts payable because what we'll do is we'll then take the certifications from the architect and the architect will identify when the work was performed so what we did is we we corrected the reporting um and an incumbrance is really just a reservation of equity and accounts payable would mean it would actually be an expense in your financial statements okay so that's been adjusted but again I think I think what I want to point out with that is that although we did report on it because it was material in our mind based on our evaluation but when you look at the volume of transactions and the volume of the 168 million doll that's currently being uh improved upon at the district it's really kind of

012a small number in that sense um so uh and I will Circle back with what I think on how the whole accounting and a financial um office is handling uh itself in the current process but um the next item deals with um Believe It or Not accounts payable again but in a different respect so um when we come in to do the audit we're obviously looking at transactions throughout the year we're going to audit the financi statements uh the activity the revenues and expenses um and as well as the balance sheet itself so the accounts payable is a balance sheet item as I just indicated uh but when we were looking at the detail compared to what's sitting in the general ledger or what's on your financial statement your board secretaries report that you get

013that the detail didn't back up to what was sitting as the payables on the financial statement and the reason is and it did it didn't back it up in the general fund and special Revenue fund and the reason is because those those differences were for prior payables that were not yet liquidated so when we looked at the balances we needed to see the support and not all of it was supported because some of those accounts payables that are sitting on your board secretaries or your financial report pertain to Prior year payables and the system itself we were unable to I guess the board was UN the business office was unable to access that through the system I know they're working on that and I think that that's probably been resolved already um to make sure

014that you know when we have a listing we need not only the current year but we need everything that supports the validity of that balance as it's presented on the balance sheet um it's it's you know again it Rose to the level here because I had it in both funds that's why it's sitting as a as a comment and a recommendation which requires a corrective action plan and the final item deals with budget versus actual on your special Revenue fund which are really the recording of the grants and it was really where we looked at what the budget was compared to the actual expenditures on the preschool grant for the most part so the preschool Grant although and the key here is that when I look at these grants and we'll talk a little bit

015more about that uh the important thing are they allowable expenses right so when we tested those grants we didn't have any issues we didn't find any unallowable charges to the grants that's key what we did do those when we looked at it you have a budget you anticipate to spend on a grant by the various line items that are in the chart of accounts and then when you spend it if you overspend that budget you need to do transfers just like you would do and you see it every month pretty much for the most part in your general operating fund so we need to make sure the Board needs to make sure that not only are we looking at the general operating fund but we're looking at the grants and a special Revenue fund on

016a monthly basis to make sure that we're not overexp sping the allotted budget so that was more of a procedural item um but I think overall well you know my assessment is overall at the business office has run very well and I think that the board should be very comfortable knowing that the size of the district right when we talk about you know the the volume it's got over a $200 million budget we have over $100 million in special Revenue fund now you're spending another 168 million in a referendum so to come out of here and only have these three items none of them Rose to the level where they are significant it could even be materially significant that's another level none of them Rose to that level they just appeared in your AMR and

017I think they just need to be re you know addressed and I'm sure that the board office is addressing that as we go forward so I feel comfortable with the financials and I feel comfortable with the accounting office and the finance office um so what else did I want to say I wanted to just tell you that of course we are independent to the board you know and I think that's something that sometimes we I kind of forget about and letting everybody know that we don't work for the board office itself we work for the Board of Education right and I think that's important sometimes I I I forget to communicate that that um to let you know that and to let you know that of course we are independent um the audit opinions we

018have three audit opinions as I indicated they're all clean they're unmodified so we have our overarching audit opinion on the financial statements um obviously clean we have another audit opinion on the governmental auditing standards okay and that's on internal controls and compliance uh we have no comments nothing that Rose to the level even though we have three comments in here some of those could have risen to the level of being reported in those opinions none of them did and the last thing we had to do is we had to do um what I'll identify as a single audit single a is just terminology that's used by the accounting uh group uh body that established it and really what it means is that if you get or expend more than $750,000 in either f federal or

019state monies you need to then do additional testing on those grants and for some reason they called it a single audit I don't know why um because it's not one audit um so and of course with the size of the community that we're in and I'll just give you a little bit of perspective that's how big we are here um so the state of New Jersey you had over $124 million of expenditures that were funded through the state of New Jersey so of course course then that triggered again us going in and looking what we identify as major programs and that's risk based we try to mix it up from year to year but it's risk-based we look at the big programs those are the ones you have to identify uh and then we go

020into specific audit programs that that are are given to us by the state of New Jersey which basically tells us what we have to test and really generically what it's all about um it's really all about allowable cost it's the most important and there's effort matching and there's other items and Reporting uh but really the most important issue is is really allowability um of those expenditures so we did test General state aid we had nothing to report Federal side we had over $20 million of money that came through the district that the board expended from federal agencies uh again this is still the residual of the uh um Corona virus the pandemic money's coming through the Essa program money's coming through the art program um so this is still part of the residual um so

021we did test those programs because those are considered high resk high risk by the federal government and we have to test those um we had nothing to report any deficiencies or any issues uh with regards to those tests the last thing I guess I want to talk about is a little bit about new this year what's new in the accounting World for for Board of educations is we now have to record uh under Gap asby 96 which is subscription based leases so now what's happening is is what was new last year was just leases that we normally would identify as operating leases if their material had to be recorded now it's based on on technology Information Systems so it's it it's it's almost like intellectual property in a sense that if the Board of Education

022leases this type of of of property now what's happening is that we need to go through and analyze and if it's material to the financials we have to capitalize it as a right to use this asset so if you lease something for 5 years you have a right to use it there's a value attached to it um and then there's lease payments and then there's an imputed interest component to it so now what we're doing is that we're recording the asset right to use and we're recording a leas liability now or a liability right to use that asset um we evaluated it with the district we we started this over 6 months ago um went through the process um we didn't have anything that was material one thing I want to know because you may

023be thinking well there's so much of it but as long as it's one year or less there's no requirement to report on it so it's when you have multiple year contracts that's when the requirement kicks in when materiality for your district is quite large so um that's just one of the nuances that's the latest thing um that I do want to talk about um I don't unless you want me to cover Surplus at all that's up to you otherwise um I'm here for questions thanks Pa thank you thank you Mr lur any questions from the board president I um you mentioned the the subscription based leases are you referring to cars and building leases like what what does that cover under you know it it's it's it's going to cover stuff that would be um

024for an example it would be say the accounting software right if you the accounting software that the district's using so if that lease is multiple year and the combination of all of those payments over the a fiveyear call it a 5year period um that's the type of item that would be intellectual property or uh Information Technology um when you're going through the process of using um um what was I going to say the um curriculum I guess that's what I was looking for the word so if you're doing now curriculum and curriculum now is being leased on a multi-year basis as opposed to to the old book version that could fall into that as well um so it could be any of the student data collection stuff that that that that you're handling or anything

025that is really of that nature so if the subscription model is like a per user per month or or for the year that's okay but just when you sign a multi-year agreement that's when it falls into this category it does because what happens is if you're doing only a 12-month period um then we're we're we're saying it's going to be extinguished within that period of time uh but if it's multiple years then there's an asset and a liability value that we need to determine and we need to put on the books and it gets even more complicated because all of these leases there there there's really not going to be any interest rates identified in these leases so then what we have to do is we have to come up with the computed interest rate

026and what we've been doing there is we've been taking the treasury rates based upon the the date that the lease was entered into and then we develop and come up with an actual interest component C based on the imputed interest rate so it it you know it can get really can get really crazy I've had a couple that have gotten really crazy but that's that's the latest and greatest on it anyone else anyone else have a question Dr Danny uh yes you mentioned that the federal government sees the Esser as a high risk can you just explain like to the public what that means is the high risk yeah so they what what the federal government has identified is that the Esser Corona virus oper money that's going flowing through that Federal agency has identified

027that as a high risk and really what that means is that that's something from an auditing perspective that we need to put on our radar and we need to make sure that we're testing as opposed to just using pure judgment so typically what would happen is with the federal grants we would go through our process we would then determine based upon our valuation is that program a high-risk program or a low-risk program lowrisk we can we cannot test then we'll look and we'll pick some other programs that maybe are highrisk and that is really determined by a lot of factors have we audited in the past two years what were the results of those Audits and this is just something that kind of preempts all of that and the federal government identifies that these funds

028are considered high risk for the audit firms so you know that you need to focus on it okay anyone else yes when you decide to uh look at the vendor list and the vendor bills how do you pick and choose which ones you're going to go in and dig on in on I'm just curious that's a good question you know it's so it's it's really twofold them what we do is um of course and I keep talking about materiality right so we come up and we determine by each fund what the materiality number is and then and then we look at it for that fund and then we determine a transactional materiality um so if the fund has a materiality of x uh then we'll multiply that by certain Factor divide it by a certain

029Factor come up with a transactional mat reality and then what we'll do and it depends on our evaluation right everything's risk-based in my business and so what we'll do is we'll determine do we know the client do was there a turnover in the client has the client been um an issue in certain areas year after year after year all of these factors kind of determine as to what the risk-based approach is but we're always going to look at Material numbers but maybe the material number that we look at is going to be a little bit higher versus a client that is brand new and as a high-risk component in a particular area so we'll do that to satisfy ourselves of the large dollar values and then of course what we do is we go the

030old fash we do a computer random selection and then we have the computer generate a a random selection of expenditures and we'll do that across all the funds and we're trying to get we're trying to get a reasonable population and then of course what happens then is as we go through that process if we're going through the testing and then we discover that we have some kind of an error for whatever reason um then we have to expand those numbers so so it's kind of it's fluid in that sense but that's how we start the process okay thank you anyone else okay thank you Mr Lurch thank you thanks for having us um we do appreciate serving the Clifton Board of Education so you should know that um you and congratulations to the business office

031for an excellent audit yes good night everyone good night okay next we we're going to we're going to recognize our student of the month award winners we'll start with uh freshman Melissa G Mr rack I believe thank you Mr President freshman student of the month Melissa G Melissa G A motivated ninth grade student at Clifton High School has found a particular interest in biology this year Mr Weiss mantle her chorus teacher holds a title of the most influent influential teacher in Melissa's eyes also a fellow magic to Gathering player Melissa's greatest in Inspiration is her kind-hearted and hardworking mom who tirelessly Works to provide her and her sister with the best opportunities for their future actively involved in extracurricular activities Melissa participates in soccer chorus the musical the regional choir and has plans to join

032flag football and track in the spring her success in high school is evident through maintaining good grades in honor class honors classes looking forward Melissa is considering various academic programs that Clifton High School offers such as the Bergen program pccc programms and MSU program she is Keen on exploring these OPP opportunities to find the best fit for her academic and personal growth congratulations [Applause] Melissa do you want me to take a picture with your phone I'll do yours first and then mine we go there you go and I'll do mine okay do okay here we go three two one thank you congratulations seen next up we have our sophomore student of the month Nikita shokin Nikita a 10th grade student at Clifton High School has known strong passion for drama making his it his favorite

033subject nitika acknowledges the influence of several teachers with M Miss POI being particularly impactful in shaping his love for acting actively involved in drama related clubs and events Nikita has contributed various Productions displaying a commitment to the Performing Arts he plans to continue his involvement in drama until graduation and aspires to become vpan in terms of academic Pursuits Nikita is currently part of the computer science academy and expresses the interest in exploring additional programs offered by Clifton High School indicating a potential consideration for future enrollment [Applause] congratulations Mr Kenova a little that way there there we go no you're you're good you're good three two one one more two one thank you congratulations so now our Junior student in the month is famed afab as an 11th grade student at clion high school he has

034a keen interest in history considering it his favorite subject Mr Alvarado his 10th grade Spanish teacher and JV volleyball coach stands out as the most influential teacher um Beyond volleyball Mr Alvarado pushed valuable advice on college majors and real world decisionmaking impacting fim's perspective on education and life for him's draw inspiration from his hardworking and kind mother instilling in him a strong work ethic and commitment to be to building meaningful considerations connections with others actively involved in extracurricular activities such as Key Club he now serves as the vice president and as the Web Master of the Muslim Student Association he's faced the challenge of adapting to honors and AP courses in his sophomore junior year learning valuable skills like time management and critical thinking looking ahead he aspires to work as a software engineer or

035as a developer for a major tech company [Applause] congratulations of course thank you sir right you can just take on the okay there we go that's one there we go I don't know if I'm getting this which one this is not go I think I got it and last one there we go excellent thank you I I don't know if I hit the right button I hit those is that okay good evening I have the honor of presenting the senior student of the month Veronica tros Veronica tros is a dedicated 12th grade student at Clifton High School has a profound passion for science particularly biology anatomy and physiology and surgery Miss Dana quaza and Miss Francine Mortor a WRA Wilson High School provided early guidance and imparted valuable life lessons Mrs Effie Kelo at CHS

036not only taught Veronica but also informed her of her transformative opportunities enabling her to graduate with an associates degree from Bergen Community College Miss Erica alberg Nady Veronica's sophomore human behavior teacher continues to be a source of advice and wisdom Veronica has been a member of the varsity swim team junior varsity cheerleading team and actively involved in the Clifton's ke Key Club she is also a part of the National Academy for future Physicians and medical scientists and has joined the early college program graduating with an associates degree through Ru dual enrollment classes looking ahead Veronica aspires to become a general surgeon and will continue her education at Sean Hall University majoring in biology the certificate of achievement recognizes Veronica tros on behalf of the clipton Board of Education senior student of the month is Veronica

037here oh well we'll get this to her definely studying she's she's definitely studying congratulations Veronica we'll make sure that she gets this congratulations to you and to your [Applause] family she okay that's uh Miss regosa has a um presentation pbsis award hello good evening everyone Hi hi thank you again for the honor of um allowing us to the space to really uh highlight our folks in our district who are helping us drive the PBS framework I'm going to ceue up um it's not escaping it's not escaping but so tonight we are uh thank you are showcasing Mr Eddie Figaroa who is a sub custodian in our district unfortunately he could not make it tonight he sent his um sincerest uh apologies he had a previous commitment that he couldn't get out of but he was

038was super excited about this uh this amazing um effort that his team put together in a moment you'll see a video uh from school one so he goes around to our different uh schools helping us out in the custodian world and what's happened is our pbsis framework has now connected with our custodian Department thanks to their fearless leader um Mr Shan and we are working towards being respectful kind and um having the the our students understand that their schools are an extension of their home right it's it's we're all one Clifton so whether it's cleaning up after themselves or keeping their desks clean or their lockers clean our our custodians are now taking it the district uh wide ticket that goes from school to school and they're recognizing students for things that that are are

039really keeping their buildings clean and um safe so most recently Mr Eddie figuro um gave one of these tickets to one of the students and then um ended up winning the raffle for that building because that students ticket was picked his wife Don who also works at the high school as our as one of our sub secretaries um approached us and said how much it meant to Mr figeroa to win that um that raffle not only because of the chocolates that you'll see in a moment that he got to enjoy but because of what it meant to him he really believes that our one Clifton Community is solid and so you'll see in a moment why not only because of his Essence and his personality but because of what we do in our districts to

040make this all happen let's check it out and you'll see why a little bit more Mr Eddie where do I even begin so Mr Eddie is one of the best custodians I ever work with in my whole entire life our model here at school one is together we sore as one and possible thanks to the fabulousness but it's not just the fact that he is OCD with cleaning that I love because he cleans this building spotless he is one of the most kind and generous humans I have ever worked with we love having Mr Eddie here he's the reason why this year has been successful because of his hard work and dedication not just to the staff in the building but to our students as well what makes Mr Eddie so so perfect is the

041energy that he brings into this building he is always willing to jump in and help take a PR of the face be supportive in any way that is needed in this building he's kind he's compassionate he's hardworking he's a pug dad that makes him even better you want to talk about a soaring energy Mr Eddie creates an environment in this building that is loving supportive caring every kid knows who he is he is safe openminded ambicious and always respectful is a friendly face that reassures them and greets them every day he exemplifies everything that we stand for at school number one he says hello to everyone from staff to students to parents and he really really compliments the beautiful environment that we have here at school one we need more Mr Edie than this Mr

042Eddie thank you we appreciate you this recognition is well deserved and we look forward to many more opportunities working with such a wonderful man so God bless Mr Eddie and thank you for everything that you [Music] do [Music] the because one the [Music] best Edie is and you work really hard with a SW on your face and and thank you for your service is the best he so friendly and so kind to everyone in SCH thank Mr Eddie for being to school and making go all thank you Mr Eddie Mr Eddie thank you [Music] man have a hard goal and he works great with the kids and staff we love having it's been a pleasure to work with you honor to meet you and definitely hard worker and very attentive to everybodys here at school

043[Music] Mr Eddie why is important to build a relationship with students show kindness to them first and for they our future I feel we started started off young I had good positive Ro models when I was small you I'm talking about my Alma School gr say teachers the staff I looked up to them I had a police officers so it was just something inin in me you know my parents always me respect others in the same way I give you respect not that I look forward you know to get it back but it's just something that's in me I feel you know doesn't matter what age respect is respect it starts from youngest all the way to I get and just feel like they're our future and what I see in them who knows maybe

044later on they'll see me and I've gotten that been as an in the police department I've always work with kids great and they're awesome you know hey we're doesn't matter that's iisten learn from how do you feel about after being recognized with a prize after the last pet rally at school one that was real that was ecstatic I actually thought I first I was getting set up past of pie but it was fun it was worth it to see their their expression they chanting group Point here but it's good I mean I guess it goes back to the first question you asked me they recognize every time I see him in the hallway how you hold partner and and I was Fred my neighborhood and that's how I always TR to kids I my kids

045no different you know and I notic that came for and I just get a kick out of that to me I was happy ecstatic um the chocolate was good I was able to eat two pieces my better half and my kids got a hold of it but it was fun it was great I like I said I don't do it for ACC and I don't do I just their their expression means more to me than an actual physical so you see why he was nominated right um thank you so much for this opportunity um I will give his certificate um to Sean who will make sure that he receives it thank you so much for your [Applause] time congratulations to Mr Eddie and the best award I think for all the students and their support

046of him it's wonderful um next we're going to do our distinguished employees of the month award we're going to start with the district award yes thank you I have the pleasure thank you of um honoring Kevin nus Pickle warehouse manager Mr nus Pickle is the district warehouse manager he oversees daily operations while controlling and managing inventory and Logistics Mr Kevin does anything you ask him to do and he gets it done without asking he is a step ahead in making the building comfortable and safe to work in he wears many hats in the building and never complains positive attitude always smiling he goes above and beyond in keeping School six in great shape inside the building and out thank you Mr nus Pickle sure Kevin okay right here we go thank [Applause] you me yes

047I have the honor of presenting this award to Carmen Pagan 10-month secretary at the elementary level Miss Pagan is currently serving her 22nd year as 10mon secretary in school 12 Annex she is a tremendous individual with a heart of gold Miss Pagan genuinely loves working at school 12 and works diligently and effectively on all assigned tasks she wel welcomes all guests students parents into the building with a warm smile and charm and her unique Persona makes everyone feel at home she sets a positive tone and a collegial environment in supporting staff and students Miss Pagan is conscientious and thorough in her responsibilities this month she's been training a new secretary while balancing her duties in both school buildings she is sensitive to the needs of all students and is known known as being nurturing and

048helpful in all situations she is a ray of sunshine who brightens the lives of all who meet [Applause] her [Applause] we'll do a picture with the school 12 people do one and then we'll bring you guys up yes please come okay it'll be all online yeah Rose you want me to take one with your phone too yeah who's I'm going to take one right after you okay no who's watching the school all right wow three two one and don't I'm not gonna move don't move don't one more I'll take all right all right congratulations I am honored to recognize Kimberly D Stefano language arts coach of the Middle School level Mrs D Stefano is the language arts coach at the Christopher Columbus Middle school she is a giving person she gives of her knowledge expertise

049and her time she is able and willing to help any teacher who needs it be it in the language arts department or other Mrs D Stefano plans and coordinates literacy nights for both middle school as well as professional development time for the language arts department she is positive and will come into check on teachers whenever she is in the building as the dance coach she is also a positive face for students she goes above and beyond to help her fellow co-workers each day Mrs Deano always has a smile and spreads positivity Wherever She [Applause] Goes all right here we go do you want sure do you want me to take it with one with that why I always smile when I'm taking the picture like awesome I just wanted to say really really quick thing

050so um good evening everyone I'd like to to first and foremost thank the board for the special award I really feel honored especially in a district when we have so many deserving individuals because it's a really big District so thank you so much um I'd like to thank my amazing and supportive supervisor Dr kinak because she's always there by my side helping me out my administration at CCMS and woodro who literally work side by side with us every day through all the challenges through all the good times and they celebrate just as hard with us for our successes um very importantly all the teachers I work with who are absolutely incredible collaborate and grow and learn from them every day so they truly make my job like I'm the luckiest person ever so thank you

051so much and my family of course who always supporting me here and at home so thank [Applause] you high school level Courtney Terry sack counselor Miss Terry is the Clifton High School student assistance counselor also known as the sack counselor Miss Terry focuses on assisting students who suffer from substance abuse Mental Health social and family issues she consistently goes above and beyond for her students during their times of Crisis she is there for a listening ear and a watchful eye to ensure that students are safe and healthy she works with all of the students families to find ways to help them and make sure that all their needs are being met Miss Terry is always there for any person who may be in distress with a listening ear with a listening ear and a smile

052on her face Clifton Public Schools High School distinguished Employee of the Month February 2024 presented to Courtney Terry for outstanding service dedication and commitment to the clickin public schools [Applause] we mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy three three two one thank [Music] [Applause] you congratulations to our our all of our employees of the month um I have the honor of recognizing the captain of the ship at the Boys and Girls Club of Clifton for the past let me get this right 43 years [Applause] wow on a on a personal note the Boys and Girls Club has a very special place in my heart as a Young Man growing up down the block from the club I was involved in a lot of a lot of activities it was it was my entire world from

053second grade till about high school when the high school band got a hold of me and basically I had no time sorry for the club but between I I I had uh the former mayor uh Zer was at the time a member of the Optimus club and they had oratorical contest uh and they coached some of us boys and I had the honor of of his tutelage learning how to do some public speaking which has carried me through the rest of my life also working at at Camp um I was also a member of the boys Glee Club at the time so there's so many life skills I learned and so much I really owe to the club and to this great man who has really steered it for us for the last 43 years

054and there been such an uh a wonderful advantage to our students in Clifton with your programs you you've touched many households and many people and I'd like to recognize and resolve that the Board of Education recognizes Mr Robert Foster executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Clifton on his retirement Mr Foster has been employed with the boys and girls club for 43 years we applaud Mr Foster for his dedication service to the staff community and students of Clifton the board congratulates and sends him the best wishes on his retirement it is with sincere appreciation that we present to Robert Foster executive director of the Clifton Boys and Girls Club your unwavering dedication and invaluable contributions have significantly enriched the Clifton Public School District your commitment to our youth's growth and success is a

055legacy that will resonate for Generations thank you for making a difference [Applause] [Laughter] okay on hey how are you how are you good catch bound to happen is having three tonight Jimmy I'm always ready good hands good hands didn't have those hands when you played football I guarantee you that all right that's great perfect there we go three two one awesome congratulations you know what I mean like a SL I don't know why they didn't put a little slope was good that concludes our uh award presentations for the evening so and I see most of you are taking advantage of this opportunity to leave us so please feel please feel please feel free to you have no obligation to sit for the rest of the meeting but if you so choose you're more than welcome

056okay moving on to board committee reports um commissioner brunia can can you please start us off with uh Finance you're doing first or facilities thank you Mr President facilities okay that's one yes in sequential order thank you February 6th this occurred two two days ago on February 6 2024 those present were myself commissioner siano vice president Dany president Paris Dr Robert toy Mr uh jenero Mr shahada Mr Maldonado Mr Marion was there Mr oito Mr Thomas and Mr Watkins start time was 3:30 meeting end time was approximately 4:43 I believe overview of com number one overview of committee and its members Administration introduced themselves to the committee and explained what they do and the purpose of the committee number two referendum update the Epic rep gave an overview of what has taken Place thus far

057in the referendum and what is taking place through throughout the rest of the year bathrooms are 98% complete throughout the district package two nearly complete working on punch list items epic is working with the GCS on ways to try and expede delayed switch gears CCMS change order for the referendum was explains was explained and approved through the committee the change order for the auditorium to place duct work above the ceiling to keep the aesthetic Integrity of the original design of the building renovation should commence in May the wait room is in its final stages we are waiting on electrical tie-in the ribbon cutting will be set up in the near future building and grounds updates the administration gave an update of projects taking place throughout the district cleaning detail assembled to paint the hallways and

058floors in school 5 and 11 other buildings will be painted once they are complete the new boiler training is being done for employees at school 3 and CHS and there are other buildings to follow stage curtains stage curtain Replacements at school 2 and school 12 these are fire resistant and school 12 ver vertical chairlift is being replace due to the other one being obsolete number four generate generator installations the administration expressed the need to add generators for middle schools generators will be hooked up to security cameras boilers and alarms the board will hold this matter for another meeting number five the school 11 parking lot Clifton was Clifton Public Schools was awarded an SDA grant for maintenance projects part of this money will be used to create a parking lot at school 11 the the

059bid the bid opening for L3 and CHS music Suite is taking place on February 29th in the Board of Ed Board of Education conference room number seven window manufacturer site visit the window manufacturer for CHS and various elementary schools extended an offer for the board SL Commissioners Administration to watch the windows being produced does anyone have any questions I do uh you're Santiago you go you go okay sorry thank you uh the school 11 uh parking lot where would that be potentially where is that going to be it's going to be extended so the area where it ends going back towards when you're on mercelis if if you continue to go on mercelis from Lake View and you go that way they're just going to extend it I think approximately 25 spaces is that accurate

060Mr shahada so there's a there's a lot right now we'll call it the teacher lot and then there's the playground and the grass and all that corre we're taking a piece of the grass out so we keep the drainage intact there um we're hoping for 25 I can't promise that yet we're still doing the final layout but we're going to get it as close to that number as possible and that would be on the current teacher parking lot if you will side right is that what you're saying or no behind the parking lot behind excuse me behind the the basketball court so so if you walk in on the 46 and you're looking directly at where is the the basketball court is on your right side we're going to be to the left where the

061grass is so there will be no more grass is that will be grass we're going to cut a sliver out right so just you know you're coming down when you go in you drive into that you're going down and the long story short is that you got the playground and you got recess or you got it will be fenced off you don't have to worry about that we're going to where the playground is it's adequate space in between but we plan on putting a fence there great okay cuz that's the only way in there's only one way in um then the the weight room uh when is that like potential ETA it's almost done is it you think March April we we were told March 1st bar crazy weather and PSA needs to be pulled

062to handle emergency so just hope it doesn't rain or snow March okay thank you Dr Danny um yes uh I would just like a little expanded for the uh the entire board about the generator install just a little more of the discussion so as you guys are aware uh we have had numerous issues at woodro Wilson specifically this year with uh Power uh one day we actually had to cancel school so we are looking to savor the boilers and the referendum work that we're doing there because if it does go off again during the winter there is a high probability that the millions of dollars that we put in in mechanical equipment can freeze and we'd have to start from scratch so it wouldn't allow us to hold classes but it will at least allow

063us to to mitigate our expenses as much as possible and um could you uh update the board on the when you spoke with the insurance what what was stated yeah it was a very wishy washy answer it said um I was kind of confused reading it and I I sent it over to the committee to get their input on it but he did say if psng were to arrive late and not in a timely fashion which is just ambiguous in itself um the insurance would cover the freezing pipes however they may may not because of other circumstances so it would be assessed on a case-by Case basis so I took that as it's it's a crapshoot we have no idea now and so the the generators um would only be able to they wouldn't be

064able to have the school open As I understood but it would just prevent um anything with the heat or or anything and what is the cost and and where is this the cost coming from this would be uh we would P present it to the finance committee as well as the facilities and get it out of capital reserve for both buildings it actually came in we were estimated at first for a million dollars each um Rodney worked his magic and got it down to 1.3 collectively so I just wanted the board to be a where I thought it was maybe if anybody wanted to know the whole um being that you're not in that committee and I just sat in for Mr Kenova so I just wanted the board I felt that that was something

065for the entire board to be aware of so that is why I brought it to the attention uh Mr Shad it also included protecting the servers right when the power is out correct so it's going to protect the the servers as well and mainly all the mechanical components of the referendum which the servers are part part of that anyone else yeah I have a question it's not on the list uh any update on the elevator at CCMS yeah so we are waiting on uh the official tie-in power there the switch gear there is also delayed uh the elevator is ready to be installed we have tested it balanced it with temporary power but we can't open until we get the official power and the co from the city so I think uh Al said September

066is but you know it's it's anybody gu at this point Mr kova um so a couple questions so now you mentioned the the elevator do we have a uh either a cell phone based line or a pots telephone line inside of there is that a part of that I can't confirm with tonight but I do believe there is a pots line being put in there but I can confirm what Eric Mountain tomorrow all right um you mentioned the insurance policy and how they were ambiguous can we make an addendum to that insurance policy to to be more specific about this particular instance where we would be covered if something happened or not our attorney said we would need a rider and um maybe he can just elaborate a little bit on that so uh yeah

067so um if you want to have a specific policy as it relates to certain loss you'd contact the broker or the carrier themselves uh in request of a rider for the very thing that you're trying to make sure you get coverage on it's very possible that they make uh determination that the rider is not necessary and that you are covered despite the ambiguity that may already exist so it it's worthy of a phone call and if it is a rider um it will have some additional cost um but normally Riders are not terribly expensive yeah depending on what you're insuring and the and the risk of loss yeah and I only ask because we are moving to this uh this newer style of boiler so if we're doing that in all of our schools God

068forbid this happens in multiple schools we could be really you know in in a bad situation so if we have a gap there I'd rather just close the gap that's a good idea um and the other thing I want to bring up um not particularly around anything in here but I know initially we didn't have a lot of color to to the agenda items here and if you're not sitting in the meeting um you wouldn't know particularly where it took place so I'm glad that you you redid the meeting minutes um but usually we get a notification from bardocks that tells us there's been a change and the reason why that's important is because since we're going through in a digital environment now and looking through item agenda items maybe three or 4 days ago

069when they were released to us if anything does change we may be voting on something that happened in the past and now there's a change that took place and we don't know so I brought that up to them in the past and usually it's highlighted in or at least I've recommended them that gets highlighted in in like a bold colors you see you haven't seen it yet kind of like on Facebook and these other so I believe the reason why the notification did not go out was because I edited in the existing item it wasn't anything new so if I were to add on something new after the agenda is is published for you guys to see it then the notification pops up no or yes and then I usually hit yes you guys get

070a notification that the administrator did something something please check board dos okay so to me that sounds like a bug in their system I'd rather bring it back to Tech and talk with them on it and see if they could fix it because no matter what what's being edited we should be notified yeah Mr kova I think you you're right I mean it's my expectation anytime an agenda item once the agenda goes to you guys if something's changed you get a notification try not to add too many things but some things have to be add um in this case even if they don't fix it their their bug I understand what happened here we could even just send an email ourselves and say hey this has been updated so we we'll do that going forward

071unless they could fix it I did to Mr Canela just he brought up the the question question but we'll we'll fix that in the future but the point is well taken um you're expecting that when you look at the agenda if you look at it yesterday that and you didn't look at it since yesterday you're voting on things that you expected you read yesterday something changed you would need to be notified and we obviously respect that and understand that okay any other questions so I have a question so if we so if we had the right then with with that um would would we need those generators if we were covered with that Rider I would always recommend the the generator because just the insurance process is is very gruesome and and most times we

072do have to front the money as we did at school 16 for Ida and it would just be easier to just have the generator at least try to savor it I know a million dollars is not a small sum of money but for the the headache and the possible delays that we will have in school as we're trying to fix this I I think a million doll is very minimal in the grand scheme of things just to piggyback on that to the extent that you want to have belt and suspenders um the rider will be made less expensive if you have redundant systems that protect the property it's also important that we have those servers up because not only would it affect that one building it would affect the entire District okay there the whole

073it system would be in jeopardy any other questions yes sir I think the uh main thing here with the rer I don't I don't know how they would word the rider because the main problem here was Acts of God if a car drives into the school we're covered if a tree falls or if lightning causes this damage we are not covered um so I don't think a rider is going to say yes we're going to cover you during any Act of God because then the insurance companies going say no we're not going to cover it uh that's the problem with the insurance companies from the conversation we had they could choose not to cover it based on any little instance uh but the ax of God is the biggest one that we're going to have

074to overcome okay uh moving on Mr brunak uh Finance please thank you Mr President finance com committee convened February 6 2024 myself was present commissioner Santiago was present commissioner Mahia was present president Paris was present Dr Robert toy was present Mr Jenaro Mr shahada and Mr Uchi were all present meeting started promptly at 5: p.m. items of discussion number one overview of the committee and its members Administration introduced themselves to the committee and explained what they do and the purpose of the committee number two budget process Administration explained the budget process process and key dates that are received from the state and when the budget is due number three negotiations Administration spoke to the upcoming negotiations for our collective bargaining agreements does anyone have any questions uh to piggy back off the Joe is that

075I'm not on finance so I don't know when the dates are due for certain things so if we could have a little bit more substance instead of just bullet points that would be helpful my other thing is um I didn't know negotiations was meeting but if we could get that on the update when committee meetings are happening if and give us a list because if we have any questions we can always contact the chair I can make it very easy well I'll 100% do that we meet every Wednesday forever so but it we didn't know so like um also um I questioned the superintendent in an email today not knowing that uh because I heard about something that was happened in negotiation in an email I'm not going to say what but years ago um

076the the committee chair would tell board members that things were going on and give us a little update I know there's a conflict so I'm not going to put anybody in a in a bad way but a little bit more substance on these things would be if if it has to be confidential we would get the confidential document on our um board docs I would appreciate that as well because I just like a little bit more substance so that's my argument thank you any other questions thank you uh Dr Danny could you review education please uh February 6 February 6 um meeting began at 6:30 present were myself um uh Mr Paris president um Miss basford Miss Suarez and uh Administration was superintendent Dr Danny Rober toi Miss kusel levich assistant superintendent for curriculum and

077instruction Mr Jenaro assistant superintendent of schools Mr Rolo director of special services Lea Banning um supervisor of bilingual ESL and World languages K12 um so we had a elll um ml program update and growth from Elia Banning Miss Banning began by sharing positive growth in Parental involvement at eell parent advisory group meetings she apprised the committee that access testing has begun to measure ml students English language Proficiency in the domains of Reading Writing listening and speaking miss kusich and miss Banning reviewed the continued growth and unprecedented increase in the number of E LS from 652 in October of 2021 to over 1,260 to date not including elll followup and refusal students who still require support Miss Banning shared how the sharp increase in Asylum Seekers and refugees has also increased the number of Ells in

078need of counseling social and academic support the complexity of the needs these students is stretching Services resource parent liaison Rory samoff has been giving workshops on the changing demographic of students coming to Clifton ml students continue to register on a weekly basis action was informational special education update and program growth by Miss Rolo Miss Rolo spoke about increases in referrals increases in class sizes with Ida allowable size and the increase in the need for seats classrooms teachers and power professionals additional full-time par professionals are on this agenda she shared information about Dynamic learning maps and how only a portion of students taking this assessment count towards proficiency on NJ dooe accountability profiles special education is held to the same accountability standards and assessment requirements as general education she spoke about the creation of a sensory

079room at woodro Wilson Middle School an addition of common Corners in self-contained K through five classrooms action was informational and um she did say she'd provide pictures when it was fully um complete preschool program update and growth Miss kusevic updated the committee About Preschool expansion the state peeg funds require that the district continue to add classrooms to meet the full Universe of three and four-year-old students we currently meet 2third of our preschool universe and will need to add more preschool classrooms until all needs are met preschools housed at cila a CA B Sila s with some class classes in schools 1 4 12 14 15 and 17 as well as in Partnerships in local preschools our public schools are at capacity the district continues to explore additional space action informational budget and instructional staffing needs

080all departments are prioritizing needs for space and Staffing across all programs prek through 12 in preparation for the 2024 2025 budget action informational elll ml special education and preschool elementary and middle SI space needs and Pope poll update in response to the expanded need for classrooms for special education elll students and preschool programs the dist dist continues to look at maximizing space our K through 8 schools have reached the maximum capacity for General and special education class sections as well as preschool and elll classes most of these programs have Cap class-size Caps and require full-size classrooms the district continues to look at multiple options and continues to explore uses for the former Pope John John Paul high school meeting ended at 7:40 respectfully submitted by Miss Janina kevich any questions yes yeah on the elll

081the sharp increase in elll from 652 to 1260 to date not including elll followup and refusal who still require support do we get reimbursed by does the district get reimbursed by anybody for this okay from who we who do we we don't necessarily get reimbursement Mr brunc but um our state aid is predicated upon the number of students we have and you do get additional aid for a um multilingual student however it's always a year behind so the date is October 15th that's the magic date where we count all the students we submit our report to the state and then our state aid is based on that number but we don't get that till the following year and I'll give Janina a chance if she wants to add any more to that the majority of

082that increase was um shown already last year last year was the year we kind of doubled from the 650 to over TW to over 1100 this year the increase is smaller but it's still now above 1,200 um just from the time that we had met until the the typing of this um 10 new students arrived so what happens are they pulling are they paying for the full tuition is the state aid they are Clifton these are Clifton students just like with all of our Clifton students our state aid only covers a portion of our student um of a students's per pupil cost and some the rest comes from local and some federal funds there's a small amount of title three three money a small amount of State bilingual Aid um that follows uh this particular

083group of students kind of like idea and special ed idea pays for a portion of our special needs students but um they are still anyone who is domiciled in Clifton is the responsibility um of the Clifton Public Schools thank you question any yes so um that 650 to the 1200 really will be reflected hopefully this year is that correct from by the state the review that this year it was actually Janine was that that number doubled last year that number doubled last year they were on our October 15th count this year though correct so that for this year's October 15th count shows the extra hundred or well a little less than the extra hundred because a whole bunch of them have come in after like probably 90 of that 100 have arrived since October 15th

084but you said they look at the number last year they look at so October this past October oober 15th 23 right that number when we get our state aid in a few weeks for so they're only looking at that 100 okay they're just looking at got you it'll only B right on that 100 thank you got it and then so um just seems like we are out of space uh at at all levels right but I just want to when when I'm looking at the preschool um the term universe is that just the the pool or number of three to four year olds if you will in the city and and therefore we are only uh providing classroom or or education to 66% of that is that the way that is correct so there's a

085whole third of three and fourth three and four year olds in the city that are just not in our preschool potentially so the way the state determines the universe they look at our average class size by grade so each of our grade levels first 2 9th 10th when you look at our graduation class size it ranges somewhere in that 750 to 850 range so they come up with an average and they use that as the formula to determine your Universe our total prek Universe gets and it gets adjusted every year based on these October 15 counts so right now our preschool Universe um in the current budget cycle is 1,500 so about 753 year olds about 754 year olds we we don't clearly we're only serving about 60s something percent of those at the same

086time we still have many families that are you know keeping their they want to keep their children at home at that age or they're using faith-based or other private preschool programs for various reasons thank you Miss kavich Mr kova um are you finding that our preschool has a weit list that's that we're not accommodating or are we taking in all the students that that are applying there's usually a small wait list but for the moment uh usually by the time the school year rolls around within those first few weeks we've usually found spots for everyone and what happens is people will register and then they change their mind they have a different circumstance they don't like where they're placed things like that so then um there then spots open up so children from the wait

087list get worked in usually by October 15th the wait list is gone and Janita just to be clear um would you say that it's that we've um found room for our four-year-olds but if there is a waiting list is it mostly a three-year-old list correct we we do prioritize the four-year-olds there are fewer even though the universe says you know, 1500 you know 753 year old 754 year olds a lot of families don't want to send their three-year-olds to a full day school program a lot of of three-year-olds are not capable of attending in a full day school program and it's not mandatory preschool is not required just like kindergarten is actually not a required grade although we do provide a full day kindergarten program at every one of our elementary schools which is much

088different from when I started here as a teacher it was half day and you mentioned rolling out the program wider before um is there funding that's tied to that for for preschool uh yes there is preschool so the preschool funding actually is a a separate per pupil amount um and we get funding not only for the students that we provide the teachers for there's a different amount when we collaborate with private providers there's a different amount when we collaborate with Head Start um so our um the requirements of the preschool Grant are what's called a mixed delivery system so we have collabor we have Head Start classrooms in our schools as well as District classrooms in our schools we also collaborate we have a we have a site at um tiniest Footprints um down by

089Nash Park uh we're entering into collaborations I believe this year we started a collaboration with one class with all would Play and Learn when we look at space we we have to collaborate with these external Partners um simply because we just don't have any more space but at the same time a lot of the Partnerships are limited because the state has very stringent requirements on things like square footage certifications Etc so our Partnerships we continue to expand them slowly we can't just explode with that um and although we are required to expand each year it doesn't have to be a massive expansion each year we only try to go as far as we can handle um especially based on the spaces that we find and since our elementary schools are basically set up to be

090local schools to the area and given that these children are very small have we ever thought about putting the elementary I mean putting the preas students into the elementary schools and building those out while while that has been a thought there has been no room um so right now we do have centralized three major buildings um that we're using we're we're leasing cila a and CA s the former St Claire's and St John cany and we repurposed 29 Brighton Road which was the High School annex that is so full that rooms that used things like the the media center turned into three classrooms um we have used every inch of space in that building for preschools and we still need more space this is why the state encourages us to collaborate with local Partners um

091but it makes it more difficult when we go and we meet with them and we examine their space and their space isn't adequate enough remember our elementary schools were built to be neighborhood schools they were built at a time when um kindergartens were half day so you had enough classrooms for the students in that neighborhood you had half day kindergarten so you had like a PM and a and an AM session and now to add pre to those schools they just weren't weren't meant for that um we are um exploring other opportunities for space um and we have some plans for the future but um it's it's it's a problem that not not just Clifton's facing it's a problem that we'll have to overcome like everywhere else and since they're providing funding for it would

092they would they be open to working with us to add to our schools unfortunately there's no construction funding tied to this we are allowed to use a portion of the funding to pay to lease space we are not allowed to use any of this funding for construction and it wouldn't be enough anyway because it's a per pupil amount so it it pretty much covers the teacher and the par because the rooms are limited to a size of 15 um they must have a teacher and a uh teachers assistant par professional in every one of those rooms um but when we look at the neighborhoods about the only way we could address putting them into more neighborhood schools than they already are we would have to look at some grade span changes or something to explore

093something like that all right thank you anyone else oh Dr Danny uh Mr Kenova like maybe if um when legislative if you do happen to you know speak with legislators maybe you could um you know mention something if they could take a look at that like the specifications I I don't know exactly what it is when they make these rules with the specifications um Miss kusich I mean you know more about that maybe they could um in in you know I don't know if other districts are facing that but if they can maybe take a look so that if it would open up the possibility for more classroom space because that is something that I know you had mentioned that sometimes you go into somewhere but you can't get that space because the the limitations

094with um the specifications that are required so if maybe somehow legislators could look at that and and possibly see I mean why was it designed that could it be modified and then we would have more ability for for the spaces if I may yes that would be fantastic because the limitations on square footage space the limitations on not being able to utilize this funding for construction and it's not enough for construction anyway the need for something like that um would be would be huge um the there are classrooms in our district that they would refuse you're also required to have a bathroom in the classroom and we don't have bathroom in most of our classrooms so we have to file waivers everywhere we put these classrooms for something called line of sight which then necessitates

095having an additional par professional to be like a floater who can be be running back and forth between classrooms taking children to the restroom I'll send an email yeah so just yeah I know I'm sorry I didn't I could see which you know what I mean so but if it's something that you know you could take a look at in legislative I'm not sure if you said this but is there a is there a year in the future where we're expected to be at our full Universe did you mention that earlier uh thankfully there's no year we are just expected to continually um add until we serve our universe but thankfully there's no date associated with that I mean our current governor has increased it's been a big thing on his agenda has increased money

096for preschool uh but as Janina stated it's it's uh per pupil based and it's not enough for a new construction or even really to help much with the the rent on the current buildings that we're um using and if we partner with other prek is that does that mean it's only our students in those classrooms or can it be mixed with the prek in their own enrollments of students if it's a classroom that we're partnering with that classroom must only serve Clifton students so let's say for the example tiniest Footprints we have a four-year-old class in there all of those four-year-olds are registered in Clifton public schools and they simply take their classes at that location that teacher is hired by tiniest Footprints but that teacher is but that the the the the contract with

097that school pays that teacher and that par professional salary I go Mr okay um rough figure preschool after October cuz I'm you know on the Early Childhood advisory Council and the biggest thing that we see is people don't know that they can register for preschool that we have preschool we're trying to get people in to bring their kids into preschool um how many after October or at the end of the year do you see how many availabilities are there in the classrooms so it it varies every year every month but we start already preschool registration is open now and what you do is a first first completed first served so you start your registration process online through our Welcome Center through our registration portal when your registration process is completed you've submitted all of your

098documentation then you count as fully registered and that puts you first on the list and the next and the next so we we go by order of completed registrations and us usually by the time we get to October 15th the majority of the those who have reg who have completed registrations have been placed and served I mean usually really by September 1st the vast vast majority are in their seats where they belong at that time but we always get a flurry of registrations in August because people realize oh my goodness I forgot to register my child for school and sometimes at that point we are out of space okay yeah cuz I think that's the biggest thing in June we do a big registration drive over at CA um CA it's already open or if

099it's not already open in 2st next week I believe it opens right February 21st yeah it's on the it's on the it's on our website forgive me for not and Mr siano if I may uh if you could just uh direct anybody who has any questions to Mr Michael doctor our director of operations and student services who oversees the registration process he can give you upto-date information for anybody who needs to reach out beautiful thank you so much question commissioner Suarez thank you and just for clarity because the question has come to me um from other parents is the preschool program income based it started as an income based program seats in We There is priority because we are a mixed delivery system some of our classrooms are Clifton only but some are in collaboration

100with Head Start The Head Start class classrooms are income based guaranteeing seats for students who meet that criteria um but those are also there's a limit as to how many are income based and all other seats fall under the first completed registration first served because we are still not Universal because we haven't met our universe and just real quick going back to income base because now you made me think of something too um since prek obviously we're not busting them to these locations I think that's a hurdle for people who don't have the means to bring their kids to to get service through uh prek and we know that students are more successful when they have education at an early age yeah especially Mr Kenova because for the most part they're not at their neighborhood

101school well that's what I mean yeah um you're you're exactly right cuz we have parents who you know see Le be is nowhere near their house and that's where they're assigned and they have trouble getting them but you're talking about busing an additional how many students no I don't want to bus no no I'm just saying if we were to we're talking another it's a thousand a thousand students that's why I said I'd rather add to that neighborhood School feel and just add to our current schools and right go that route right there's um I don't there there's something I I I will I will say not not publicly um because it relates to security but I'll mention executive session regarding that any other questions okay um commissioner siano has a brief announcement to make

102concerning committee yes um Municipal Alliance we are on the calendar for where are we at the 22nd at 6 o'cl we're going to meet at City Hall so whoever is on that if you guys have anything that you want to put on that agenda let me know and we'll obviously go over the most important topics but it's on the calendar and we'll be meeting with them in person thank you commissioner um another topic that it isn't on our agenda I'm sorry but I'm inserting it um Miss bassford and uh commissioner Santiago both um had some concerns we recently had I think the last maybe two weeks ago another student that had a um accident it was struck by a vehicle on a way to school um so I'm going to leave it to miss bassford

103to kind of summarize some actions that were taken on that um I I know I reached out to you in a very upset email that uh I hoping that can you put that on your agenda Mr uh siano uh with the with the city maybe uh and I know I'm going to put it on the HSA agenda but um president Paris had forwarded to me a copy of a a memo that was sent to the CLI Board of Education from Lieutenant Muhammad ruai he is the traffic division commander and he's asking this to be read at a meeting and also distributed to the parents and people in Clifton the Traffic Division was tasked with providing a memo outlining tips for student peti uh pedestrian safety there were 7,388 pedestrian killed in traffic crashes in the

104United States in 2021 according to to the national highway traffic safety administration that's the nhtsa representing the highest number since 1981 with a record 7,837 pedestrians died in traffic crashes 2021 levels are nearly 133% higher than the number of 2020 pedestrian F fatalities to equate to 20 pedestrians a day or one every 71 minutes being killed in the traffic crashes there are a number of things that can be done by pedestrian pedestrians to limit those numbers this point cannot be stressed enough not looking at your phone while walking this has contributed to a number of pedestrians involved in crashes right here in Clifton not having earbuds in with high volume it's imperative to be aware of your surroundings and to be able to hear traffic not Crossing between parked cars your chances being struck by

105a passing vehicle when stepping out from between two Park cars exponentially increases Crossing at Corners New Jersey Law prohibits vehicles from being parked too close to corners for a reason this allows drivers to see pedestrians and pedestrians to see cars passing using crosswalks crosswalks are visible representation of an area that has been deemed safe to cross this this only there they are only installed where visibly is appropriate this is a really important one listening to your crossing guard those individuals have been trained to be able to identify brakes and traffic where they can safely step out and bring traffic to a stop Crossing with a crossing guard is safest way to go walk and don't walk uh Walk and Walk Don't Walk signage on on traffic lights while full attention must be paid most traffic

106lights have illumination signs for pedestrians to let them know when to walk these signs should be adhered to leave enough time to get to your destination without being rushed when rushed or stressed we lose some of our decision-making capabilities and can misjudge speeds and distances and this was respectively submitted by Lieutenant Muhammad by the Traffic Division Commander so Allan asked me to read that and I'm going to share that with the HSA parents and I asked you to um so we can come up with some collaborative ideas together with both committees thank you thank you commissioner bassford I do believe it has been distributed to parents somebody mentioned Mr brunak said you got well the school 14 parents as far as I'm aware of I don't know if I don't recall if princi principal haben

107and Mr P sent them or I can double check with Mr Rose and we could see if it went out all through our Blackboard to all our families thank you thank you very much okay moving on to uh 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 5 minutes per person issues raised by members of the public may or may not be responded to by the board all comments will be considered and a response will be forthcoming if and when appropriate

108the board asks that members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals when speaking specifically comments regarding students and 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 uh Mr Rose is anyone on our phone in Virtual now I'll check one more time no no okay motion to close the virtual Port motion to close second motion by commissioner

109Mahia second by commissioner brunak um inviting any members of the public to the podium would' like to speak good evening to all today I have some great news I just got out of a meeting for p County Education Association and they have something called the uh friend of education and it's not teachers it's Board of end members superintendant uh Community organizations so I want to read what I received tonight I'm writing enthusiastically recommending Judith bassford for the Joseph CHF friend of Education Award with our esteemed organization pay County EA having had the privilege of closely collaborating with Judith for an extended period in leadership capacity I can confidently attest to her remarkable skills unwavering dedication and exceptional character Judith excels as a leader providing invaluable developmental support and training to members in two main areas

110special ed and Board of Education her adeptness at efficiently navigating these two areas and managing multiple pressing tasks tasks is truly commendable she consistently demonstrates a high level of organizational prowess and is adept at compiling organizational data planning meetings with precision and Effectiveness one of one of Judith's outstand uh standout qualities is her ability to collaboratively seamlessly with individuals across all levels including New Jersey School Board Association State and County leaders School staff parents and the Community her professionalism coupled with her innate understanding of educational needs enables her to effectively address and fulfill requirements while fostering positive and productive working relationships her Proficiency in compiling resources and coordinating fors demonstrates her exceptional capability and providing comprehensive support and knowledge dissemination her well-rounded skill set extends to expert and Schoolboard governance where she ex exhibits a

111deep understanding of governance principles and practices more moreover her Integrity reliability and strong work work ethic make her an invaluable asset to any group she approaches tasks with a sense of accountability and consistently delivers results that exceed expectations within specific timelines her professional attributes Judith is a pleasure to work with on a personal level her positive attitude collaborative nature and empathetic approach creates a supportive and inclusive learning environment that Fosters teamwork and mutual respect Judith was invited to participate in many of um many committee groups and brought insight to those groups in conclus in conclusion Judith bassford is an exemplary candidate who would make a significant contribution to her organization her track record uh effective leadership coupled with diverse skill set and unwavering commitment make her an ideal fit for the Joe CHF friend of

112Education award I wholeheartedly recommend her for a consideration and I'm confident that she will continue to represent our County to the best of her ability and she has won that award tonight so I just found out tonight congratulations no it was a surprise there are other board members in other districts that won but I don't want to give them out because we just found out tonight so congratulations they will there will be a dinner April 26 Mark that on your calendar April 26 will be the dinner in Pate County all right and people are invited here too to celebrate so thank you thank you very much [Applause] congratulations Sher congratulations Judy thank you is there anyone else who'd like to speak tonight seeing none uh motion to close to motion to close motion by Mr

113Mia second by I didn't see Mr brunak thank you uh a motion to adopt our minutes from January 18th motion motion by commissioner Santiago second by commissioner Mahia uh roll call Mr Shad M bassford yes Mr bronc yes Mr kova yes Mr Mia yes Mr Santiago yes Mr siano yes Mr Suarez yes vice president Danny yes president Paris yes motion carries uh Dr Robert toy thank you Mr Paris Mr President uh good evening uh members of the community faculty staff students and Commissioners I have a brief report tonight um I first want to take a moment to commend Mr Shada our assistant superintendent of business and our business administrator Mr USI and the entire business office for what I would consider it's almost a perfect audit um a district our size with uh counting all

114of our federal and and state grants of almost $290 million um to to hear the auditor the independent auditor who doesn't work for administration who works for the board to uh complement the business department the way uh Mr lurge did really makes me so very proud and um you know one of the things that I've learned as a superintendent is um you you can't do everything you can't know everything thing but you can surround yourself with with good people and the fact that I don't have to worry about uh the budget is a really uh nice burden off my shoulder so thank you to Mr shihada and and team for that audit that's great news I especially like the part where he said no fraud I was like thank God also like to congratulate our

115employees of the month boy I tell you that is my favorite thing the suit of the month and the employees of the month and when you see a group of faculty and staff come out like school 12 did tonight for Miss Miss Pagan for Miss Pagan that just shows the kind of you can tell the kind of person she is the kind of employee she is that all those people came out to support her and that's the kind of people that we have who work with our children and it just makes me so very very proud so congratulations to all of our distinguished employees of the month and students of the month uh also congratulations to Bob Foster Bob is one of the uh first people that I met when uh when I arrived in

116Clifton in July 2019 he reached out to me and I didn't know much about the Boys and Girls Club but I quickly learned that it is um a bedrock in the Clifton community and Bob a living legend um and he's touched the lives of thousands and thousands and thousands of people people so Bob I wish you all the best on on your retirement uh welld deserved uh may you may you have it in good health um finally I I just want to mention something every few months I meet I have a group of students at at Clifton High School um called the superintendent student ambassadors and uh I meet with them regularly at started a few years ago just to say hey what's going on at Clifton High School how are things what's good what

117needs Improvement and it's evolved to uh um much more than that um where today those students um when a new student arrives at Clifton High School those superintendent student ambassadors take them on a tour of the building become kind of like a student Mentor for those new students you can imagine a brand new student come in coming to clion high school midy year with 3,000 students and five wings and not knowing a so to have have to have a a friend that they could look up to and they're just amazing amazing students but I just want to reiterate something that they told me universally this group told me last week when I met with them that our school security Specialists are such a welcome addition to Clifton High School now I've heard that from the

118administration I've heard that from staff but to hear that from students well that's where it's at and uh I just want to publicly let our school security Specialists know that um and I know it's not just at Clifton High School I know they're appreciated in in every school but to hear that from our kids was great and they just love the relationships that are being built and finally I want to thank um all the members of the community uh that came out and supported uh the superintendent scholarship fund uh dinner um that was held a couple weeks ago I proud to say that we raised uh over $24,000 in one night for um Clifton High School seniors who are pursuing a secondary education and uh we'll be giving out that money uh in June thank

119DJ Joe Kenova who volunteered his time and had us all up on the Dance Floor thank you to all the Commissioners who came and and donated and to um it was a it was a really good time for for those that came but ultimately it was for for a good cause so just want to thank thank you and and say that we raised a lot of money and um and that's what it's uh that's what it's about so uh enjoy the Super Bowl this weekend uh I'm looking forward to it some wings food I'm probably looking more to the food than the game but you know that's me that's it so uh thank you Commissioners that concludes my report Mr Paris thank you thank you Dr Robert toy um I'll hold my comments until the

120rest of my colleagues at the end of the meeting um I don't believe we have any unfinished business seeing none we'll move on from that um commissioner uh bassford could you please read uh our first expression of a condolence U it gives me um great pleasure and an honor to read this um to the family um it's a expression of condolence whereas on January 26 2024 the community noted with sorrow the passing of Louise Mariner and whereas Miss Mariner I'm hope I'm saying it right has served the Clifton Board of Education with the children of Clifton faithfully and conscientiously for 25 years until her retirement in December 2013 Mrs Mariner was grade three teacher at school 12 she was a true nurturer and made a difference in the lives of every student she had now

121now there for now therefore be it resolved that this resolution be forwarded to her bie family to serve as an expression of the great Regard in which Miss marer and was held by the Clifton Board of Education the Administration Employees and the pupils of the Clifton public schools and therefore be it resolved that the contents of this resolution be noted in its entirety in the official minutes of the clipon board of education for future generation ations to per peruse dated February 8th 2024 deepest condolences to the monary family thank you thank you commissioner bastard uh commissioner Mahia can you please read our second condolences so our second um expression of condolence goes to Mr Joseph French um whereas on February 4th 2024 the community not noted with sorrow the passing of Joseph fge and were

122as Mr Mr Joseph had served the Clinton Board of Education and the children of Clinton ful in the maintenance department for over 28 years until his retirement in August 2020 Joe graduated from clipton high school he was a generous Uncle who was involved with all his nieces and nephews in his very own way now therefore be resolv that this resolution be forwarded to his family to serve as an expression of the great Regard in which Joseph was was held by the Board of Education the Administration Employees and the pupils of the Clinton Public Schools and be a further resolve that the contents of this resolution be noted in their entirety in the official minutes of the Clinton board of education for future generations to peruse dated February 8th 2024 thank you commissioner for here here

123um okay moving on to our next section under education Administration um this is National School counseling uh recognition month and commissioner Santiago could you please read the resolution thank you president Paris whereas school counselors are employed in public schools to help students reach their full potential and whereas school counselors are actively committed to helping students explore their abilities strengths interests and talents as these traits relate to Career awareness and development and where as school counselors help parents focus on ways to further the educational personal and soci social growth of their children and whereas school counselors work with teachers and other Educators to help students explore their potential and set realistic goals for themselves and whereas school counselors seek to identify and utilize Community Resources that can enhance and complement comprehensive School counseling programs and help

124students become productive members of society and whereas comprehensive developmental School counseling programs are considered an integral part of the educational process that enables all students to achieve success in school now therefore be it resolved that the Clifton Board of Education recognizes February 5th through February 9th as National School counseling week thank you commissioner Santiago uh this month is also Black History Month um Mr brunak thank you Mr President whereas Black History Month celebrated during the month of February originated in 1926 when Dr Carter G Woodson set aside a special period in February to recognize the Heritage and achievement achievements of black people in the United States and whereas since 1976 febru February has been recognized as Black History Month throughout North America and whereas this year's theme for Black History Month African-American and the Arts

125is infused with African Caribbean and the Black American lived experiences in the fields of Visual and Performing Arts literature fashion folklore language film music architecture culinary and other forms of cultural expression the African American influence has been Paramount whereas we encourage the celebration of Black History Month to provide a continuing opportunity for all people in the United States to learn from the past and understand the experiences that have shaped the United States and now therefore be it resolved the Clifton Board of Education proclaims February 2024 Black History Month and encourages staff and students to honor it during February and throughout the year with interactive research classroom lesson plans guest speakers displays lectures practical activities and cultural celebrations thank you commissioner Brak um at this point looking for a motion to approve ea1 through ea2 motion

126second uh motion by commissioner bassford second by commissioner Mahia roll call oh yep question any discussion yeah yes sorry um so I had a question on ea5 can you explain more about what this is the um the Ramapo master of science coming to Clifton can you add some uh Dr Rober toi can you add some background Miss on that just want to make let me find it it says the Board of Education accepts a recommendation of superintendent to approve a new cohort of the Rambo College master of science and educational technology program to be run on site in Clifton beginning September we have multiple um Partnerships with many different schools and we have had a partnership with ripo that's probably our one of our oldest um where we support our teachers in getting a master's

127um in educational technology so many of our teachers across the district have received this master's degree in that in this particular partnership we hold those classes here on most of those classes here on site um up in the tech center um and our it's just approving the next cohort and it it it ties in with our tuition reimbursement um and it helps um strengthen our teachers skills in the classroom we also have similar but not as robust Partnerships with some other schools like felici and William Patterson Etc um as well as some addition Partnerships that are forthcoming to grow our own teachers um through different Grant programs um providing um credits for our par professionals to be and other employees such as our security to become teachers as well um so periodically you'll see the

128renewal of a cohort or the addition of another school um and so forth all right thank you commissioner uh Dr Danny um yes uh one of my mask Ms actually have the masters from Ramapo College in this degree I went through the program it's a very good program well it's a it's a very good program so just wanted to to add when I saw that I was actually happy because it was a very good program uh my wife and daughter both went through the program at the same time and graduated at the same time and it's it's an excellent resource for the teachers in the district because classes are most of the classes are held here so it makes it very convenient any other discussion seeing none roll call Mr shot Miss bassford yes and

129I'd like to thank you for not putting the dates on the field trip I thank you Mr brunak yes Mr Kenova yes Mr Mahia yes M Santiago yes Mr siano yes Miss Suarez yes vice president Danny yes president Paris yes motion carries okay looking for for under C Personnel uh motion to approve items uh one through 32 items 1 through move it motion approved by commissioner bassford second by Dr Dany discussion hearing none roll call please Mr sh Miss Bassett yes Mr brunak yes Mr kova Ste p 25 and yes Mr Mia yes M Santiago yes Mr siano yes M Suarez yes vice president Danny yes president Paris yes motion carries uh section D Finance facilities uh seeking a motion to approve items 1 through 16 motion motion by commissioner bassford second second by commissioner

130Santiago discussion I I have a um something that I'd like I'm going to approve it but I want to discuss something in the back room about it um it has nothing to do with disapproving the facility usage form I just want to bring something to administration's attention and then it's but it's it's confidential okay thank you very well thank you anyone else okay hearing none uh roll call Mr Shad Miss bassford yes Mr brunak yes Mr kova yes Mr Mia yes M Santiago yes Mr siano yes Miss Suarez yes vice president Danny yes president Paris yes motion [Music] carries okay board member comments we're going to start from the opposite end this week with commissioner Suarez please congratulations to all the winners tonight and um as always I'm always grateful to be here and to

131see people being celebrated um it makes me really proud to be a part of this team and be a part of this District have a good night [Music] all commissioner good evening uh same congratulations to all the students and employees of the month Eddie Figaroa for your hard work you're definitely a dedicated member of our team that video was awesome uh I got a chance to tour woodro c um Christopher Clifton High School man thank have changed in 20 years all for the better let me say uh I didn't have the options that they have now um I was really happy to see all those positive changes and thank you for setting up that tour I was also pulled into a classroom in woodrill Wilson and I got to see Mr frell who you guys

132hear me talk about all the time the eighth grade teacher that made such an impact in my life um of all the people my family to tell me they're proud of me him saying it really hit a little differently because man did I put him through something awful um and he's happy the way I turned out which meant a lot uh preschool registration begins 221 I want to make sure I put that out there or else even my committee Council will get very upset at me and uh student report thank you Jada keeping us up to date on everything and finally Judy bassford congratulations it's uh welld deserved thank you have a good night commissioner Santiago commissioner bassford congratulations that was a very nice surprise um happy uh Black History Month to everyone um happy

133uh high school counselor week uh my son Anthony Santiago Jr is an amazing counselor I'm biased but it's also the truth um rock on uh um and yeah just oh happy uh Valentine's Day to everyone and also um don't party too hard be safe on Super Bowl weekend thank you Dr Danny oh I didn't Oh I thought we're going like oh I'm sorry you go BL me I'm sorry uh commissioner Mahia thank you thank you Alan um congratulations to our wrestling team on a very big win yesterday versus pcti um I also like to congrat us late our cheer leading T and I wish them the best during um their upcoming competition over at American dream with that said they are also selling discount cards for $10 um and these discount cards feature various businesses

134in and around Clifton so if you have the chance to buy one please do to support our booster club committee as well um and a bigger congratulations to all of our winter athletes that are going on especially track and field as well um I don't know if you guys heard heard but last night our mock Tri team became the B County Champions once again so congratulations to them as they move on to Regionals and there was a comment made before by a specific commissioner that we were not aware about let me see key dates for our our budget process and when the budget is due those were told to us last meeting um I don't like the misuse of it U Mr Shahar did a great job on our last meeting telling us um about

135the calendar and how it is due and on top of that we were sent an email on October 27th so for you for that person to say that they didn't tell us shame on them um besides that hope everyone has a great weekend happy black history uh month as well as happy guidance counselor week thank you uh commissioner Kenova um so I'm going to start off I'm not going to uh read whatever everyone said on congratulations but there was something that that stuck out to me so the senior student of the month graduated with an associates degree now to me that's amazing and that's why I asked the question about Ram I was like oh we doing a master's program now here that' be great um but be something yeah but no really think about

136it a high school student graduated with an associates degree Mr I'm sorry to interrupt they actually get their associates degree before they graduate high school CU our graduation is June and they graduate from the college in in May yeah I mean that's a that's a great accomplishment I love seeing things like that um to Mr Bob Foster obviously he's a great asset to Clifton very involved with the kids so I to wish him well and congratulate him on his retirement um there was there was a point that came up in in one of the subcommittees here that talked about counseling social and academic support um and I know I couldn't attend our our facilities meeting because we had an all day conference at work but in there they spoke about our students and how that

137um these are concerns as well the counseling for students and I know that we have grants right now that are applying resources to that area that get removed I just don't know when um and it's something we going to have to think about and when it's time to budget I think yeah this year we when it's time to talk budget we need to figure that out too um because that that is becoming an issue and uh finally last but not least it doesn't surprise me here that Miss bassford won this award I mean she's been uh an invaluable commissioner I just do want to congratulate you for that um and I know that going forward we're going to be an even better team uh with you here so thank you m Bren thank you Mr

138President to give a shout out and congratulations to the compet competition cheer team on advancing to the big North cheerleading Championship congrats um found out late last night congrats to CHS wrestling for winning the sectional championship against their arch nemesis bcti and they have an excellent team CU I went to a meet over here at Clifton High and these kids are very competitive and very challenged and it was like a big pep rally when the when the Clifton High School kids came in they had an opening theme song it was it was it was basically show and they they started playing enter saman by Metallica I got so pumped up I thought I was going to start throwing stuff from the bleachers but I had to calm down um so thank you for everybody who

139helps make that ha who helps make that happen it was a Friday night these kids could have been messing around and they're there to compete it was absolutely fantastic finally I want to give my deepest condolences to the swed family a 2004 CHS graduate a former US Marine a fellow financial analyst we had gone to some banging parties probably like 15 years ago you know no kids young and they were absolutely off the RoR scale and um he fought valiantly for a long time with his psychological demons his battle to break free from his mental prison ended last weekend when he took his own life beloved Son brother uncle and friend rest in peace Nick swed thank you everybody for your time and God bless America have a good night everybody commissioner bass yeah I

140want to address something um a comment was just made and I have to because this is the second time that this has happened I ask for details in the minutes I know we got an email you sent it again to me tonight Mr um Shaha um I'm sorry if uh I embarrassed you in anyway I didn't mean to do that I was just asking for details in the minutes and I Mr uh president Paris I want you to bring this type of situation to our board retreat I really think it's time that we uh get this out of the way December 15th I was browbeat I got so many phone calls the next day about that meeting that nobody on this day has stepped up to defend me that I was being basically bullied on

141the so I really would like that to be a part of our board retreat and I'm just tired of it that it comes every meeting I don't know why I don't know why I see the person all the time in in in public I get pictures taken with the person but on the day I have to be beat up can't you get me after the meeting and say hey why'd you bring that I didn't I was talking to the about the contents of the meeting minutes and I asked for them to be listed the contents of this of the special ed education meetings were just just rich and every every one of you on this day has got a flavor and a true essence of what happened at that meeting when I get bullet points

142I don't and then I have to uh stop and ask the Committee Member we all have very busy schedules I really don't have time to do that anymore my work schedule has really increased with a lot of responsibilities but that's what I was asking for I wasn't beating up Administration I wasn't going after Administration so that's really not what the purpose of my comments were my comments were asking for more more detail in the dialogue especially the DAT so I can have a glance back at it I take offense to being to being bullied on the de so I'm going to leave it at that okay congratulations to all the award recipients tomorrow night National Global night to shine right Tim TBO night to shine the prom I'm going to the fifth prom of my

143life tomorrow night with a young gentleman from Clifton I'm going to be be his escort special ed has come full circle for Mrs bassford not only did I advocate for this young young man I am going to be his escort tomorrow night nothing beats that except Lori thank you I am just humbled by this honor and privilege I did not know I am so shocked I got to see some of the bake County Education Association people on Friday night at their fundraiser at The Brownstone it was a drag queen show whatever you want to call it it was just phenomenal I had a blast to meet some of the people from the county um I just I I met F I know those people from can I have a couple minutes um I know those

144people from from the associations I know them from other districts and I know some of the teachers thank you so much I am just humble I never expected this I just you I I'm I'm really just unnerved I couldn't even get through that expression of condolences and I'm sorry if I botched anybody's name tonight having dyslexia it's really hard I tried to Google you know Joe told me Google what um yeah the name so I would know how to pronounce it and I didn't know that I was going to get it so I like I didn't know it so I apologize um it's just amazing that thank you to know my worth that goes upon this stas that is honored by people that respect me I can't go any further than that I I am

145just at lost words thank you so much thank you to the group and could you please give me the name of the people that I have to write a thank you to I appreciate that thank you Dr Danny thank you um I'd like to say uh congratulations to all those who received an award any type of award uh this evening um congratul ulations to Rob Foster on your retirement um in recognition of National School counseling week um congratulations and you know to all those school counselors for everything that you do um it's a difficult job uh many students come to you they they look for not just scheduling but um comfort so um thank you for all the time that you put in with uh our students um happy Lunar New Year um happy President's

146Day as we won't have a meeting happy Black History Month and uh Happy Valentine's Day to all and um to my love John uh thank you that's it thank you Dr Danny uh congratulations commissioner bassford on your award Mak us all um I don't think it was mentioned yet but there were uh a group of CHS students that won the Congressional app challenge which was a national competition uh they they achieved first place um so congratulations to to that to those students um last week I was at the woodro and Columbus basketball rivalry game it was a great game both teams were doing their very best it was a very exciting game and uh in between we got to see the dance teams from Columbus and and woodro and they were phenomenal to watch they

147made me a little nervous because of some of the gymnastics they did um but they were they were fantastic um and lastly uh 50 years ago I went to New Orleans with the Clifton High School Mustang marching band we were in a parade it was one of the best experiences of my I still talk about it and my friends from high school and the band we still talk about that trip and next week I believe starting Saturday uh the band leaves oh to yeah yes they they're going on their trip to uh beautiful New Orleans and they will be performing in several parades and they'll also be doing performance some performance work there so I wanted to wish them safe travels and uh and success and thank you for representing us uh to New Orleans

148that's all I have new business any new business BRC thank you Mr President came to my attention this morning about the Senate Bill 2421 that was just introduced by Democrat Senators Anu zwicker and Senator Teresa Cruz and this Bill creates an exemption for obscenity laws for minors to exclude teachers and Librarians and possibly award monetary compensation to teachers and Librarians who are criticized the current law title 2C 34-3 D3 obscenity for persons under 18 as currently stated essentially says it's it my perception is that it's a decent law and the intention is to protect children the intention is to protect children um from being shown obscene material by adults this is a a person who knowingly sells distributes rents or exhibits to a person under 18 years of age obscene material is guilty of a

149crime of the third degree so I want to know if we could put it into our whoever is the chair of the legislative committee if uh they could reach out to the um if they could reach out to the uh you know when they have a committee meeting and reach out and ask them what's going on over here we come on this day we have committees we have budget upcoming and we're concerned about making sure our kids get educated over here I have no idea why they make an exception for these two categories I don't know why any government employee even has that would they even have that in their job description so I don't even know why these two state senators submitted this bill into committee but that's what I was told this morning

150so okay well and I would be happy to send that to the the bill number again I'm sorry Senate Bill 2421 thank you 2421 I believe commissioner K is our chairperson for legislation right can you include that in your next meeting thank you yeah yeah um and a lot of times that bills are created there's a spirit of the bill and then there's that actually what it says and you never know until litigation what it really means so a lot of these things you don't really know at first but yeah we could we could bring it up absolutely thank you very much anyone else do business okay um we do have we do have several items for executive session um so we will be recessing to Executive session to discuss uh person Personnel issues neg

151and some negotiation issues uh we'll take about say an hour say 45 okay 45 minutes to an hour we're going to we say so uh motion to uh no action will be taken H action will be taken action will be taken absolutely yes yes AC will be taken uh so a motion to recess to Executive session can we can we take a 5 minute break too 5 minute break first then ex motion second Mr Brun uh and seconded by Mr M sorry these chairs have a mind in their own man man e time just give me 10 seconds we know yep we ready okay motion to reconvene we got wa for oh he said seconds okay motion to reconvene motion second okay motion by Mr Brun second by Mr siano roll call M bassford yes

152Mr brunak yes Mr kova yes Mr Mia yes Mr Santiago yes Mr siano yes M Suarez yes vice president Danny yes president Paris yes we have a quorum okay um returning from executive session we're looking for a motion on items one through three have a motion for items one through three motion by Mr siano second yes by commissioner Suarez discussion hey roll call mrad um M pass yes Mr brunak yes Mr kova yes Mr Mia yes Mr Santiago is uh any of this I need to abstain on one two3 no okay yes Mr siano yes Miss Suarez yes vice president Danny yes president Paris yes motion carries okay uh motion to Jour motion second good night everybody thank you so much you super yeah you too