001e allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all now we we will Begin by administering the oath of office to the newly elected board members we will go in alphabetical order Mr Kenova you are [Applause] first Mr Mayor please come up I need there she is you want she don't want to I guess you here family up y i Joe kova do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States Constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and that I will
002be bear true faith and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established in the United States and the governments established in the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God I Jova I jenova solemly swear do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of member of board of education for the off office of member of Board of Education and that I am disqualified as a voter pursuant to and I that I am not disqualified as a voter pursuant to RS 1941 1941 nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime or offense nor disqualified due to conviction of crime or offense listed
003in njs listed in njs 18a colon 12-1 and that I will faithfully and impartially and that I will faithfully and partially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of that office all of the duties of that office according to the best of my ability according to my best of of ability so help me God so help me [Applause] God Mr sio that's the Italian Bible don't go nowhere kid yeah it's one over here okay I don't know what I so repeat after me please I Joe siano I Joseph siano do solemnly swear do solemnly swear I will support the Constitution of the United States I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that
004I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established in the United States and to the governments established in the United States this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God one more time I Joseph sio I Joseph siano do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by the law for office of member of the Board of Education prescribed by the law for the office of member of a board of education and that I am disqualified I am not disqualified disqualified and that I am not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant
005to pursuant to rs1 1941 rs1 1941 nor disqualified nor disqualified due to conviction due to conviction of a crime of a crime or offense or offense listed in listed in njs njs 18a 18a 121 121 and that I will faithfully and that I will Faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of that office all the duties of that office to the best of my ability to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations Miss Suarez love yes so you want to hold the Bible for thank you thanks bud I state your name I Tanya Suarez solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of
006the state this still counts yes and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and to the governments established in the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I state your name I Tanya Suarez do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that you possess the qualifications prescribed by law that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of a member of a board of education for the office of a member of Board of Education and that you were not disqualified as
007a voter and that I am not disqualified as a voter pursuing to rs19 col 4-1 pursuant to rs1 19-4 nor disqualified due a conviction of a crime nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime or offense listed in njs 18121 or offense listed in njs 18121 and that you will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform the duties of that office and justly perform all the duties of that office according to the best of your ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me goding thank [Applause] you congratulations I don't know what to do with this am I doing with this not I don't know yes Miss bassford here Mr brunak here Mr kova here Dr Danny here Mr Mahia here Mr Paris here Mr
008Santiago here Mr siano here Mr Suarez here we have a quorum Mr brunier can you please read a mission statement thank you Mr shahada the mission of Clifton of the Clifton Public School of the Clifton School District in an open and reciprocal Community Partnership is to provide all students with a quality education to develop the skills necessary to become literate lifelong Learners who are responsible and productive citizens contributing to a Democratic Society in an changing World Mr kova can you please read the open public meeting statement sure the New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the rights to the public to have an 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
009this act the Clifton Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be publicize 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 and the local press on the district's website in mailed to the Presidents of parent teacher organizations this meeting will be tape recorded in accordance with policy 0168 thank you now I will now entertain nominations for president I'd like to nominate miss bassford Mr Canova nominates Miss bassford do we have any others i' like to nominate Alan Paris please Mr Alan Paris Mr brunak nominates Mr Paris do we have any others seeing none I close the nominations you have a slip in front of you please sign your name and the person you will vote
010for and pass it around yeah you wish in no particular order Mr Paris votes for Mr Paris Mr FIA votes for Mr Paris Mr Santiago Mr Paris Miss Suarez votes for Miss bassford Mr siano votes for Miss bassford Mr Kenova for Miss bassford Miss bassford for Miss bassford Dr Dany for Mr Paris Mr brunc for Mr Paris Mr Paris Mr Paris [Applause] congratulations than um yes we just we would like to recognize that our pay County Clerk is here uh Miss Danielle uh Ireland imhof is she welcome welcome and congratulations uh thank you to my fellow board members uh for the opportunity to uh help lead the board I appreciate um next order of business is nomination and election of the vice president uh for the board of education do we have any nominations I'd
011like to nominate commissioner Lucy Dany for vice president commission Danny I'd like to nominate Miss bassford vice president bassford any other nominations okay let's uh again write your chosen person in your name hand it to your right or left depending upon which side you're on you read them Mr sh please than you okay I'm ready when you are no I'm not ready when you are in no particular order Mr Santiago voted for Miss Danny Mr siano votes for Miss bassford Miss Suarez votes for Miss bassford Mr Mahia votes for Dr Dany Mr Paris for Dr Dany Miss bassford for Miss bassford Mr Kenova for Miss bassford Dr Danny for Dr Danny Mr brunak for Dr Danny Danny congratulations Dr Danny thank you very much okay next order of business will be the reading of uh
012School Board member code of ethics bylaw and we'll start with commissioner Suarez if you could please read for us you have a copy I hope right please read uh the first uh item a I guess it would be thank you I will uphold and enforce all laws rules and regulations of the State Board of Education and Court Ord pertaining to schools desired changes shall be brought about about only through legal and ethical procedures thank you Mr siano I will make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of children and will seek to develop and maintain public schools that meet the individual needs of all children regardless of their ability race Creed sex or social standing thank you Mr Santiago I will confine my board action to policymaking planning and appraisal and I will help to
013frame policies and plans only after the board has consulted those who would be affected by them thank you Mr Mia I'll carry out my responsibilities not to administer the schools but together with my fellow board members to see that they will be well run thank you I will recognize that Authority rests with the Board of Education and will make no personal promises nor take any private action that may compromise the board F I will refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special interests and partisan political groups or to use the schools for personal gain or for the gain of friends I will hold confidential all matters pertaining to the schools in which if disclosed would needlessly injure individuals or schools in all other matters I will provide accurate information and in concert with my fellow
014board members interpret interpret to the staff the aspirations of the community for schools thank you Mr BR I will vote to appoint the best qualified Personnel available after consideration of the recommendation of the chief administrative officer thank you m passord i I will support and protect School staff School Personnel in proper performance of their duties thank you and Miss Suarez please Jay I will refer all complaints to the chief administrative officer and will act on the complaints at public meetings only after failure of an administrative solution thank you very much uh the next item is designation of meetings that's already in your agendas um selection of delegates and committees um I'm assuming commissioner bassford would want to continue for as Delegate for for the State Delegate for okay well at this point I think what
015I ask you to do is uh just send me an email because we have to work on uh committees as well send me an email of what positions You' like to uh hold um I serve on a lot of State committees so um if somebody else wants to step up to the plate it's uh every quarter down in Trenton so they can drive on a Saturday morning I'll Mr Mia okay so Mr Mia will be uh how about an alternate for that position alternate that Mr Santiago thank you uh the next the next uh positions are delegate and Alternate for the county board so it's basically representing Clifton to the County Association anyone official anyone else any volunteers okay Dr Dan and an alternate looking for an alternate Mr Mahia okay thank you uh I'll
016work on the uh committees for for our next meeting and please send me um any committee requests that you might be interested in uh Dr Robert toy your report is next no formal report tonight just want to wish the entire one Clifton Community a very happy and healthy New Year so nice to see so many members of the public here tonight uh I want to welcome and congratulate uh Mr kova Miss Suarez and Mr siano I look forward to working with you over the next 12 months um to make the lives of children better um to help our staff and to do good things for this uh this great City that we live and work in so congratulations and to entire board uh welcome back happy New Year good to see everybody thank you Mr
017President okay thank you Dr Rober toi next is our uh public content uh 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 and or 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 your name address 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 response will be forthcoming if and when appropriate the board asked 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
018board are discouraged and will not be responded to by the board students and employees have specific legal rights afforded by the state of 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 Mr Rose is there anyone online we can no not first okay then I would invite members of the public who'd like to speak to the podium yes oh a motion to close please mtion to close second second okay Mr Santiago second by Mr brunak oh Mr Kenova sorry now we would like to invite any members of
019the public who'd like to speak to the podium thank you good evening Dr Robert toy Nina kusevic Mark Jenaro Ahmed shahada Judy bassford Mark brunak Joe Kenova Dr Lucy Dany Richard Mahia Alan Paris Anthony Santiago Joe sayano and Tanya Suarez I stand before you as the president of the Clifton Education Association filled with enthusiasm and optimism as we embark on a new chapter of collaboration with recently seated Board of Education Commissioners our excitement is fueled by three key reasons that underpin our shared commitment to the betterment of Education in our community firstly we are thrilled about the prospect of working hand inand with the new board to prioritize Student Success education is the Cornerstone of a thriving society and by aligning our efforts we can create an environment that nurtures and empowers our students to
020reach their full potential together we aim to foster a passion for learning instill critical thinking skills and prepare our students for the challenges of the future secondly the potential for positive policy changes is a Beacon of Hope for both Educators and students alike collaborating with the board provides an opportunity to address current challenges and implement innovative solutions that enhance the overall educational experience by working collaboratively we can create policies that are not only effective but also responsive to the evolving needs of our diverse student body lastly our excitement stems from the shared goal of fostering a supportive educational environment education extends beyond the classroom encompassing the emotional and social well-being of our students and staff together with the board we aspire to create a nurturing environment that encourages inclusivity diversity and a sense of belonging
021of every student by fostering a positive School culture we can enhance the overall educational Journey for each child in our care in conclusion the Clifton Education Association eagerly anticipates the collaboration with the new board of ed for these three compelling reasons a shared commitment to Student Success the potential for positive policy changes and the creation of supportive educational environment by joining forces we can make a lasting impact on the lives of our students and contribute to the growth and prosperity of our community thank you very much thank you Mr L is there anyone else who'd like to make any comments seeing none motion to close second motion to close by Miss batford second by Mr Mahia uh our next item is a motion to approve ea4 24-1 so moved Mr can motion to approve do
022I have second second second by Mr Mahia voll call Mr Shad please miss bassford yes Mr brunc yes Mr kova yes Dr Danny yes Mr Mahia yes president Paris yes yes oh sorry Mr Santiago yes Mr siano yes Miss Suarez yes motion carries thank you Mr shahada well this is probably going to be the fastest meeting that we will have this year so enjoy it congratulations to all our new members excuse me absolutely what um we want to give you give uh our new Commissioners an opportunity to make some comments if they like let's start with commissioner Suarez please thank you um I just want to share my sincere gratitude and appreciation for everyone here on the Das and and for everyone in the audience my family certainly my friend Tanya who came with here
023precious baby my son Aris thank you community of Clifton thank you for trusting in me with your children um I really look forward to this coming season and three years thank you so [Music] much thank you very much mine's going to be a little longer than that I'm sorry uh so for me today is really a momentous day uh one that I've eagerly anticipated and I'm genuinely touched to experience as I sit here before you just having been sworn in as your board of education commissioner I feel a deep sense of responsibility pride and above all gratitude from the bottom of my heart I want to extend my sincerest thanks to each and every one of you especially my loving wife who has been my rock and constant support my Incredible family my dearest friends
024and of course my dedicated supporters I want to thank mayor grabow for swearing me into this role and your constant support uh without all of you by my side I couldn't have taken on this journey it truly warms my heart to know that you believed in my vision for a brighter future for our schools and students and have entrusted me to take on this critical role thank you Comm commissioner Canova thank you uh I didn't prepare anything uh so I'll just speak from the heart here um first I just want to thank everyone for coming out uh on Election night and and showing me your support uh this is my second term I have as you know three children in the district um and I look forward to what we have coming I I seen
025eight other board members here that that really care about kids and care about our town and I'm looking forward to working with everyone here um and pushing that needle forward so thank you again everyone and we'll see you the next three years okay uh as I said a little earlier this will probably be the shortest meeting we've had this year so looking for a motion to adjourn motion second motion by all in favor go home and enjoy the family yeah board members we do need to take the family picture for the [Music] yearbook no well when you call me your name shows up I don't have a you have um yeah I came out here ear quick summary so