001e [Music] yes holy is it hot in here sure that just some might go and adjust it you um did you get the uh RSV one vaccine no no but I did get my flu vaccine the other night he's excited his friends here oh my [Music] God that's problem I could Lo into [Music] M you're not going to be playing with Chewy all night for Thursday November 16th 2023 you please for a by I pledge to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible liberty and justice for all thank you Mr AB mrad M bford here Mr BC Mr Mr Paris here Mr Santiago here vice president Danny here president Smith here we have a court the mission of the Clifton School
002District 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 lives for responsible and productive citizens contributing to a Democratic Society in an Ever Changing world uh the um open public open public Med the New Jersey Public Public Library ministration building senior citizen Nutrition Center on TV in the local PR on the district's website and mailed to presidents of PR teacher organizations this meeting will be taped in accordance with policy will 0168 uh is J here what you report first [Music] okay good evening Commissioners um so start with the CHS Club activities sports activities clubs and sports updates so this is um they're now retiring the 2023 robot and they're getting ready to build their new one this January so
003we have some new clubs at CHS including the science and media which is a lab and activity based clubs that um test signs from Tik Tok movies YouTube articles books and news reports and other social medias um investigations involve the co9 foot rule strawberry maggots a submarine implosion um sunblock SPF Effectiveness edible water bottles geysers um lava lamps and rat trap race cars um another new club is the forensic science club which is also an activity based um club that models crime scenes evidence formation collection and Analysis investigations include facial reconstruction imprint impression prints handwriting analysis soil analysis emology body language and autopsies and lastly a very special congratulations to the boys of rcd soccer team as they completed their season with a 15 to1 record running the Liberty division of the big North conference
004and setting a record setting 23rd Pate County Championship Additionally the team was ranked to number three in the top final 25 new jersey.com pole and 11 in the final top 20 New Jersey schools the New Jersey sport States poll um so that's what I have for updates for you guys today thank you very much okay we move on to uh public recognition this portion of the meeting is open to the residents and non-residents of the city 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 municipality in which they live and subject matter comments are limited to 5 minutes per person issues raised
005by 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 the board ask the members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals when they are 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 the state 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
006for their comments okay we'll start with the virtual do we have anyone in Virtual okay no one in Virtual motion to close by Mr Santiago second by Miss Bass okay we now go to in person if you like to address the board please come up to the microphone and do so Joe Canova 21 Hudson Street good evening everyone I want to take the time today to thank everyone who casted their vote for me in this board of V election your trust in me being the V voice for you and your children is humbling and means a lot to me I want to thank everyone that assisted me with my campaign putting up signs handing out items and spreading the word to friends and family to support me in getting to this point I also want
007to take time to thank the Clifton Merchant and T Clifton times Publications as well as the Clifton citizens concerns and Clifton news and Community Pages for allowing our messages to be spread and providing a platform for voters to be informed in their local elections I want to thank my family for their unwavered support if it wasn't for them none of this would be able to happen specifically I want to thank my my wife and daughters for putting up with the craziness of campaigning and understanding the upcoming dedication to complete this second term as a board of ed commissioner they've always been my ground and support group through the whole process to the Commissioners that are leaving us I appreciate the dedication time and hard work you put into to get things done I know firsthand
008it's not easy to juggle at all but we can agree it's rewarding in the end I wish you well on your next challenge and future endeavors for Clifton finally I look forward to working with my fellow board Commissioners in the administration on January 4th and excited to see we could do together the possibilities are Limitless when we're all working towards the same goals which is improving the lives of children and our community thank [Applause] you thank you good evening everyone my name is Tanya Suarez Clifton Hall Street and I'm one of the newly elected school board members I come up here today to express my sincere appreciation to Clifton for seeing my genuine passion for public education and for believing that I can rise up to the responsibilities of this public servitude I want to
009thank commissioner Santiago and commissioner bassford for vouching for my name as well as other elected officials that help influence my candidacy I not only want to thank each voter who marked my name on the ballot but I also would like to thank each person who spoke my name in kindness each person who promoted or even suggested I be elected I thank each person who was open to having a lawn sign in front of their house sharing something I posted on Facebook or who stood up to internet trolls on my behalf I also want to thank each person who rooted for me especially those who showed their support even though they were unable to vote for me for whatever reason I believe it's important to show appreciation for not only the big actions in this case
010voting but for the small actions as well because I believe that within the small actions kindness compassion Grace validation and support come to life Commissioners if you will permit me to do so please know that I will be bringing practices of appreciation when I sit on the DI with you Jo siano and Joe Canova congratulations to your win as well I genuinely look forward to working with you together as a team and of course that also goes for all the other Commissioners Clifton thank you I fully trust that you made the right decision in voting for us thanks [Applause] again good I guess we'll get all the thank yous out of the way so everybody else could speak Joseph sieno gifton I want to express my heart heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of
011you who supported my run for a seat on the Clifton Board of Education the overwhelming support I received was truly humbling I feel incredibly fortunate to have had so many dedicated individuals working alongside me to spread the word and help me secure this opportunity to serve the children parents and Community your unwavering support highlights the power of integrity and authenticity in running a campaign I made no empty promises but rather spoke from my heart about the causes that deeply resonate with me my commitment is to work diligently with the board to enhance our education system here in Clifton congratulations to Joe Kenova and Tanya Suarez for also earning seats on the board I very much look forward to working beside you to all those who came out to support and vote for me stood outside
012polling locations for me wear in that green shirt everywhere they went for months and telling people to vote number four because of the faith they have in me um Judy thank you I mean you were a phone call all away whenever I needed you I was really appreciated and you you know you were there from the beginning hey I think you'd be good and turns out other people thought that too so thank you that's very heartwarming to feel um please know everyone that oh wait Ricky if I don't think my wife I'm not going to go home so yeah she mentioned that Ricky Di Maria she had so many surgeries while I was running this campaign and I wasn't able to really be there the whole time with her and she was fine with it
013and we had so many friends helping us out at the house so that's above and beyond friendship to take care of my wife when I can't uh please know that I will use my voice and leverage whatever influence I have to make everyone proud I am sincerely eager to join the board and work work towards a better future together once again thank you [Applause] everyone okay Cameron Hebron George Russell way um more thank yous from the campaign I wanted to start off by saying congrats to Tanya Joe and also Joe um also a thank you to commissioner Santiago for first of all telling me about this race uh thank you to councilwoman Pino for consistently cultivating my political taste even prior to this election um thank you to George Silva for his kindness thank you
014to Bruce James for encouraging me to stay involved thank thank you to commissioner bassford for providing me opportunities to serve this community in a way that suits my skill sets thank you to Sam bassford for being real even when the honest thing is the hard thing to say um once again I also want to mention thank you to commissioner Mahia seeing another young man of color up on this board it's really meaningful and you you set a precedent for future generations to follow I hope you know that I also wanted to say say that commissioner alad drao was another inspiration for me running when I saw him running in the election last year I admired I frankly didn't know who he was up until then but I admired everything he did for the community and
015by standing by his community quite frankly Clifton is my home I know I could do better next year and in the meantime y'all should get familiar with who I am be and some of my side projects reach out because now the cat's out of the bag I have no choice but to continue advocating and just share your concerns if I don't get to you right away I'll get to you eventually my Instagram's doorway pathway you could find that on Tik Tok as well you could also find me on Facebook since I didn't do a good job at marketing myself this year Facebook Cameron Hebron and also just for the Commissioners up here the website UI is just a little bit complicated to navigate so try try making the schedule a little easier to find and
016the online meetings easier to find all right thank [Applause] you oh sorry uh good evening Commissioners Dr bzi Administration teachers residents everyone um Elias Rago president Clifton Student Union um just two things first is an update I was hoping I can get an update on the homework policy um a couple weeks ago the myself and Jada met with the policy committee to discuss kind of what the proposal was what it entailed what we hoped to accomplish um and last time remember we were supposed to go to the education committee um I haven't heard back since just hoping to get an update on um kind of where that went what's the status on it um and that's really it with that have a happy and safe Thanksgiving thank you all well good evening to everyone my
017name is Lor Lam and I'm the president of the cea I just want to take this opportunity to remind everyone that we're now in the season of gratitude today I stand before you to emphasize the profound significance of gratitude and education and the compelling reasons why we should foster a culture of thankfulness within our educational Community first and foremost gratitude serves as a powerful Catalyst for positive relationships among students teachers the board Central Administration and the staff in a learning environment where appreciation is expressed individuals feel valued and recognized for their efforts this sense of acknowledgement creates a positive atmosphere that enhances collaboration and promotes a more harmonious educational Community moreover cultivating gratitude and education instills a sense of humility and resilience in students when we encourage them to reflect on the opportunities and support
018they receive it Fosters an understanding of the collective effort that goes into their academic Journey this awareness not only instills a humble perspective but also equips students with the resilience to overcome challenges knowing that they are a part of a supportive Community expressing gratitude also plays a pivotal role in teacher student relationships teachers who feel appreciated are more motivated to go above and beyond in their teaching Endeavors likewise students who feel thankful for the guidance and knowledge imparted by their teachers are more are more likely to be engaged in enthusiastic Learners the reciprocal nature of gratitude creates a positive feedback loop enhancing the overall educational experience furthermore gratitude serves as a remedy for the often overwhelming stress and pressure that accompany academic Pursuits nowadays in a world where achievement is often emphasized taking a moment
019to express thanks encourages individuals to appreciate the learning process itself it shifts the focus from a Relentless pursuit of perfection to an appreciation of growth fostering a healthier and more balanced approach to to education in essence gratitude is not merely a nice nicity but a fundamental aspect of creating a thriving educational environment it strengthens bonds instills humility and resilience and alleviates the stress that can hinder the learning process as we navigate the intricate landscape of Education let us not Overlook the transformative power of gratitude to together by fostering a culture of thankfulness we can create an educational ecosystem that not only Arts knowledge but also nurtures the well-being and character of each individual how is my elevator doing at CCMS that goes to the facility Committee just checking so I wish everybody a wonderful Thanksgiving
020and the cea is um very humbled on everything that is going on to improve our community and to improve our buildings and the place where we work thank [Applause] you Donna Papo Clifton um my favorite Amendment to the US Constitution is the first amendment and it gives the public the right to attend public meetings but it's the open public meetings act also called the Sunshine Law which gives the public the right to speak at these meetings the Sunshine Law was approved on October 21st 1975 in response to Growing public cynicism about Poli politics and distress of the government due to the Vietnam War and Watergate and that cynicism still exists today the New Jersey school boards Association states that the sentence in the open public meetings act requiring public comment session states that they are
021intended for quote governmental or School District issues that a member of the public feels may be of concern to the residents of the mun municipality or a school district a reasonable reading suggests that private personal grievances of no conceivable relevance to the school Community like dissatisfaction with one's personal divorce or who is on the Jets quarterback depth chart would be disallowed though boards would be well advised to construe the open public meetings acts literally since relevance can be subjective according to the American civil liberties Union the public cannot the public body cannot censor your speech during a public comment portion because it does not agree with you or like what you saying the public body also cannot prohibit comments based on subject matter so long as the comments relate to any issue quote that a
022member of the public feels may be of concern to the residents of the municipality or School District once again this should be construed liberally as relevance is subjective it is unconstitutional for a governing body to restrict the members of the public from speaking because it disagrees with their specific Viewpoint see K versus Santa Monica ninth Circuit Court similarly it can be unconstitutional to limit a person's participation in public comment because of their membership in a certain group C Madison V Wisconsin 1976 US Supreme Court so I don't need to speak up here of only the unicorns and puppies of the Clifton School District to be honest you do an overwhelming job of sharing all the great things and the semi- great things and the things that you think are great that happened this board is
023the best cheerleaders for every pip Clift in public schools so you don't need me to stand up here and tell you everything is unicorns and roses and puppies because you've done that over and over what you need is to hear what needs to be changed and what is not working at the last meeting a member of the public was not allowed to speak this was in violation of the sunshine law you may not like what he had to say and for reference I have no idea who he was because I watch at home and the sound is terrible but that's okay because I really didn't like it when this board said we should only come up here and speak about unicorns and puppies of this Clifton School District but this is America where every person
024has the right to speak at this mic which is an important right to many people and the many people have also have the right to vote which they did on November 7th okay to the person who speech was denied you may file a lawsuit in the superior court of New Jersey Additionally you may file a complaint with the County prosecutor and the Attorneys General of the state of New Jersey I hope that we never have anyone's rights trampled on in this forum again because we are here to be the leaders and teach the the students and if we're just going to break the Constitution then why do we have a school [Applause] district see a none motion to close motion to close uh public by Miss bassford second by Mr Mahia okay um Miss Rosa
025um this Mr Rosa is our pbsis district coordinator um for a tremendous program that has built its way over the years um and now we are nationally known and recognized for this uh great program so congratulations on all the great work you're doing and continue the great job you're doing and your presentation thank you president Smith uh good evening everyone thank you Central Administration Commissioners to to Really I I really enjoyed uh Miss Lama's uh conversation earlier today around gratitude and this is what pbsis uh embodies every single time we move forward with recognizing a student staff or parents um for simply doing what we're supposed to be doing as kind human beings and um moving that needle towards that type of world that we want to live in tonight we are so fortunate to
026show showcase the Clifton High School H School Association this team has championed an outstanding um uh success they've been working tirelessly everyone on the board whether you have children or or small family members young family members that you take care of you know how difficult it is to work all day uh be the parent that you want for your child and then on top of that these the these uh lovely ladies at the HSA uh the Clifton High School HSA work tirelessly to bring forth uh additional Joy not only to our students but to our staff at Clifton High School the four recipients of our of our acclimates tonight have generously donated all of our staff incentives for our pbsis uh Initiative for the school year 232 24 now as you all know we provide
027recognition curriculum based incentives for our students but our pbsis teams are left to fund raise to continue to promote um incentives for staff most often staff want some dress down days but on occasion you know Dunkin' Donuts doesn't hurt nonetheless um the ladies that are here tonight I want to thank you so much for your work dedication and more importantly um for the staff at Clifton High School on behalf of the pbsis uh Team thank you so much for your donation for the school year 2023 24 so we have uh some certificates of recognition for our ladies tonight um and then principal uh hamda is here as well if Mr hamda if you could come on up and help us with the recognition as well as our president and our fearless leader alrighty first up
028Miss manram president of the CH s [Applause] HSA pardon I'm sorry oh I'm sorry I'm I'm not good at I'm not good at that part okay uh next up Vice President Kelly [Applause] troller the HSA recording secretary Miss Christine [Applause] Vella and Miss Selena sign the treasure is not able to join us today but nonetheless she deserves a round of [Applause] applause just a couple of technical difficulties that we'll figure out there we go three two one and there we go justra three two one thank [Applause] you it all right so next we're going to have our students of the month uh of November if we could start um with our freshman and just go along I don't know what order it is Molina heenez Molina's favorite subject is English because it allows her to
029be creative and imaginative Molina's most influential teacher is her seventh grade math teacher Miss morato she would always treat her students like her children and her had advice on how to fix and deal with problems for inspiration Bina relies on her mother because she has been through so much and still manages to put a smile on her face every day congratulations Molina onom thank you all right this is Mom's camera First Mom's camera first all right three two one thank you and then this one three two one thank you congratulations sophomore Steven Pina Stephen's favorite teacher is M monello because she is always helpful and pushes him Beyond his limits one person that inspires him is the late great Kobe Bryant and his Mamba mentality which is about finding a way to accomplish goals no
030matter what the circumstances are Stephen has been successful in dedicating time to study while also balancing his time as a member of the basketball team and baseball team at CHS congratulations to [Applause] Stephen I'll take pictures with your cameras if you want just leave them here leave them open thank you all right uh Dr Danny stand on your tippy toes there you go three two one all right now Mom's camera three two one and the last rest your toes for a sec I have to focus three two one thank you congratulations me just go me all right next is Junior Seth por s or pelli Seth's favorite subject is history because he likes learning about how things that have happened in the past influence the present day Seth is inspired by his mom because she
031pushes Seth to be the best self to be his best self as a person athlete student friend Etc Seth's mom is always there for him and has taught him that no matter what happens take a deep breath and keep moving forward one step at a time good advice Seth is a member of our baseball team and has learned the importance of time management so that he can maintain his high academic grades during the Spring Sports season congratulations [Applause] Seth he Dr Danny move that way there you go there you go Mr Smith just there you go you're good three two one okay one more one more I'll make it fast 3 two one thank you congratulations senior Sonia lazerus son's favorite classes at CHS are all of s sence classes as well as her classes
032in the visual art Department Sony's most influential teachers have been miss babc miss such missim and my and my cast teachers Mr mccy and Miss huster Sony feels her teachers have been nothing but supportive of her and have taught her lessons that she will carry with her with her throughout her life which is something she is incredibly thankful for so is inspired by her most because of her mom as an extremely driven passionate caring loving person who puts everyone before herself Sonia has been part of the Cs Orchestra for all four years of high school covid impacted Sonia's freshman year but she learned to hold on to hope and learn resilience congratulations [Applause] Sonia thank right you're good three two one okay two one thank you congratulations conratulations [Applause] Sonia just uh informed us she'll
033be studying cardiovascular sonography next year sounds pretty [Applause] serious all right so while we're doing a recognitions we're going to uh be doing our uh distinguished employees of the month um Miss B would you like to read one um Mr brunak the next um vice president Danny Julio and glaces computer support specialist District level julon glaces is an is an outstanding computer support specialist of 20 years in the Clifton District Julio has consistently gone above and beyond the Call of Duty during the his years of service he has demonstrated unwavering dedication and commitment to students staff and the department regardless of the nature of the issue at hand Julio consistently goes the extra mile by actively seeking out information and taking Swift action to resolve problems Julio's flexibility and quick responses to challenges have become
034his Hallmark making him an an invaluable asset to our team Julio has always supported our staff and by providing the opportunity to fix things but also a teachable moment to show a staff member how to resolve the issue sometimes it might be fixing a Smartboard or showing them how to use the tools and sometimes it's just saying next time try this he's constantly looking for solutions by researching and testing what what's best for the the fixed issue Julio is dedicated dependable and passionate for technology so the I'm come for you um this the the plaque says clipton Public Schools district distinguished employee of the month for November 2022 is presented to Julio glaces for outstanding service dedication and commitment to the Clifton public Learning Community thank you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] sir three two one congratulations
035[Applause] congrats and and because I can't help myself Julio eaus is now going to sing us a little song Julio please take the microphone I'm sorry I couldn't I couldn't I couldn't let it go I've gotten that since I first stepped into kindergarten yeah unfortunately uh I was not named properly I can't SN to save my life um I'd like to thank the board of AD members Dr Rober toi and the administration uh the faculty and staff of the Clifton Public School System uh Jennifer Ray for recommending this program uh my supervisor Eric mountain and all of the members of tech technology department for their support throughout my nearly 24 years here additionally I'd like to express my appreciation for my faith and family my lovely wife my mother sister and my father who recently
036passed away uh they helped me to develop and maintain a humble Spirit of respect kindness and helpfulness toward everyone which has helped me throughout all these years here uh when I first started working here in January of 2000 uh Clifton public schools had began uh project 2000 uh it was a referendum in order to get computers and related technology into the classroom overall uh this was a welcome change but uh y 2K was fresh in people's minds uh some teachers nearing retirement were afraid of changing their teaching styles over to this new technology and some were concerned that the internet would be a distraction for the kids uh so it was met with some opposition uh they wanted some teachers wanted absolutely nothing to do with it a handful even yelled at me that they
037didn't want a computer when I came to install one uh so they had uh been at least of so had there been at least liked employee of the month I might have been nominated back then however I did my best to recognize that uh they didn't dislike me as a person uh they uh were deeply concerned about uh how to adapt to these changing uh times I completely understood that while technology can be quite helpful when you're not accustomed to it or when a problem Springs up it could be quite frustrating so back then and to this day I do my best to never respond harshly when somebody is uh venting their frustrations I treat everyone the way I want to be treated and I tried my best to be as helpful as I can
038to alleviate their stress I found that such an approach helped substantially while I don't have a teaching position here I often I'm often in the classroom environment uh while repairing these uh items uh therefore I do my best to assure that my words and actions maintain a positive spirit for the faculty staff and students it didn't take long before things changed dramatically and as the faculty became accustomed to the technology and got to know me uh they were happy to see me when I responded to their repair requests but those are just my mod accomplishments has certainly been a team effort uh with a district this size our department members are often called upon to uh handle heavy workloads uh and many responsibilities outside of their job description so I just like to publicly thank
039the rest of the technology department again individually uh in the order in which they appear on the support website so I'm not playing any P favorites Eric Mountain coordinating supervisor of Technology Katy zinsmeister technology trainer facilitator Laura deola technology secretary Jesus gonz ales Network systems engineer haspa Mareno Network support specialist Doug Morse Network support specialist Matt Leonard uh computer sport specialist yir neon Morales computer sports specialist Danielle leby technology trainer facilitator 68 uh Jeff Horn Network coordinator web services youed on last week Auntie Hong uh Cisco Network specialist and Samantha D Rose District Communications there are also those who have retired throughout the years Frank pra Helen B it's Chris hoey Marilyn tley Ted Lui Glinda cafords and Thomas Anderson hopefully I didn't forget anyone additionally there are also several teachers that are technologically Adept
040which help their fellow teachers in the district I also like to thank them so I humbly appreciate this award not so much as a personal Accolade as I'm sure there are many others worthy of it but as further confirmation that being courteous and helpful are qualities worth having thank you very much very nice very nice Mr BR here thank you Mr President terce Patrician assistant school principal assistant principal School 14 Elementary level terce Patrician is an extraordinary assistant principal in school 14 his exceptional dedication commitment and contributions to the school Community set him apart he continually goes above and beyond his role as assistant principal providing unwavering support for teachers and staff fostering a positive School culture and actively engaging with students and parents his strong Report with both students and staff creates a welcoming
041and collaborative atmosphere within the school and his visible Presence at the school events reinforces the sense of community and pride most importantly his constant availability to students in need ensures that they have a caring Advocate who genuinely cares about their well-being ter terris's overall impact on the school Community is undeniably positive terce puts in hours that not everyone knows about he meets with teachers daily he helps with a wide array of diverse students and he does it with a positive attitude no matter what is thrown his way he handles it his commitment to professional development Innovative programs conflict resolution and administrative Excellence further cement his status as an exemplary assistant principal contributing significantly to the school's educational environment Clifton Public Schools elementary school dis distinguished Employee of the Month November 2023 presented to terce Patricia
042congrats Mr Patricia [Music] got a fan club W look at that well [Applause] deserved oh we all a little off center there we we good three two one beautiful congratulations just like to remind um the community um it's several years ago now that uh Mr Peterson was appointed as an assistant principal but his first job in this school district was as a custodian and you can give it to your people and hece worked as a custodian full-time while he was going to school at night um became a teacher and worked his way up into Administration and uh and I foresee in the in the future he will be a a principal and and further uh be a leader in this District so congratulations I didn't prepare a speech but I'm very thankful to uh School
04314 family our principal Mr habitan and to all of you who recognize this um I want to also congratulate my former student Sonia over there it's very nice coincidence say louder real boss that's right my wife I hope she knows I'm always thankful to that but in reality I do wear love every day I'm happy to come to a place where I'm loved and doesn't matter how much time I put into it it doesn't matter because I love what what I do um and thank you for taking time from your families and coming supporting me thank [Applause] you next up from CCMS falline colani is a sixth grade math teacher fine is an exceptional sixth grade educator at Christopher Columbus Middle School fen's thorough preparation and willingness to work D Dilli with evident from the
044outset she creates Report with students positivity falline has high standards and expectations for all her students she has a great positive energy in the classroom and works to make sure her students enjoy and have fun in her class she is teaching at a new grade level while also an active member of the pbsis team she works hard on a regular basis to be the best teacher she can be for all students F's executive um a great deal of planning organizing for Community School events for students and parents folling takes pride in her school and plays an active role in her students academic success congratulations you don't want okay you go perfect congratulations [Applause] I it's okay I don't want to be the only one that doesn't um all right so I'm not a fan of
045public speaking so I'm GNA make this quick but um thank you to Dr Robert toy and to the board um the central Administration especially my CCMS um Administration Vanessa Rob and Nicole they support me and anything I want to do um they're amazing and my colleagues who have become my family Happy Thanksgiving [Applause] everyone okay our final one uh final award for this evening representing Clifton High School Mr Stan lri [Applause] Stan is our a history teacher at our high school Stan is a notable history educator in the high school and has been a stellar role model not only for the students he interacts with but also his peers he exudes the pbsis pillars respect responsibility acceptance and success on a daily basis in the classroom as a coach on the soccer field as well
046as in life he gives it all each and every day Stanley does an amazing job of engaging his students in the classroom in addition to his tremendous nature inside the classroom Mr Lamberg has transformed the boys varsity soccer team to a true dedicated and hardworking team Stanley lri has been beyond supportive of his professional peers always goes the extra mile for his his Scholars he is super involved invested in his students education and the Clifton soccer Community without Stan Clifton would not be even on the map with soccer and right now when you talk soccer in in high school soccer Clifton is at the top and that's because of Stan and his dedication so thank you and congratulations Steve where's his wife Danny his wife School school3 J to the Clifton Public Schools Learning Community
047congratulations stand [Applause] thank you uh I am uh truly humbled uh truly thankful um entering my 30th year of teaching and coaching um I know nothing but Clifton I'm an 87 graduate um I the the community means everything to me I married my high school sweetheart um so I have just I'm very grateful for everything did not want to be in the picture we did not want to be in the picture at all and uh everyone I work with in in the school is just amazing the kids have been great uh and I want to be uh especially thankful for my family for putting up with many long nights uh away from them but I appreciate everything thank you very [Applause] much [Applause] Mr Smith if I make a if I may take a superintendent
048point of order please uh last month was the first month that we began our distinguished employee of the month program and one of the recipients uh was unable to make it because he was being inducted into his college Hall of Fame we weren't the only people who've recognized um what an outstanding person he is and it just so happens that he's here tonight working security so if I may um the October Middle School distinguished employee of the month is John Brooks School security specialist John Brooks has been an amazing addition to woodro Wilson Middle School Mr Brooks welcomes our students every morning with a smile a fist bump and his wonderful playlist of music to pump everyone up and Infuse our day with positivity he is a positive force to be reckoned with often with
049some brief words of of wisdom or encouragement both students and staff all equally recognize the beauty of what Mr Brooks does for our school every day District security Specialists look to him as a mentor and leader staff members feel safer with him there students feel protected and looked after Mr Brooks always goes out of his way to get to know students make them feel seen appreciated valued and safe congratulations Mr Brooks [Applause] w three two one perfect thank you congratulations I I did not have a speech prepared but as as a preacher son I'm always ready to say something I'd like to thank the board and uh everyone you know October was a crazy month for me you know I got this award I got inducted into my college Hall of Fame so it it's
050been great I'd like to thank the great teachers in the district but specifically woodro Wilson teachers those are the teachers woodro the esteemed woodro Wilson teachers some of them are here raise your hand please I would like to thank them and everyone have a blessed Thanksgiving [Applause] thank so I didn't have to tell that group they could leave um thank you and congratulations just skip the rest all right adoption of the minutes of uh October 19 motion by Mr abrao second by vice president Dany discussion roll call please Mr abrao Miss bass yes Mr Brun yes Mr Mahia yes Mr Paris yes Mr Santiago yes vice president Danny yes president Smith yes motion's car motion carries okay um he's a little under the weather tonight so maybe it'll be u a quick one but our
051superintendent would like to give his a report thank you uh Mr President I am a little under the weather but got to put my best face on did my hair extra special tonight try to make me feel feel good about myself good evening everyone I I'll tell you that's just recognizing students and then recognizing staff and recognizing parents tonight it doesn't get much better than that let's all go home all right no okay um I'd like to uh reiterate what Jada mentioned earlier about the Clifton High School play if you don't have plans this weekend ladies and gentlemen um Friday night 7 p.m. Saturday 7 p.m. and there is a matina on Sunday 100 p.m. the play is I hate Shakespeare um our students always do an outstanding job they work for months um you
052know preparing for this play tickets in advance on our website are um $12 for adults $10 for seniors um if you wait to buy them at the door you can only pay cash and it would be a $15 for adults and 12 for seniors but that would be cash only so please if you have a chance you don't have any plans this weekend come out and I promise you that you will be entertained I just learned um today some really positive news um curriculum related in our district we use a program called um imagine math and one of the things that besides the math which we'll all agree is critically important important one of the things I love about imagin math is students earn think points and with these points that they earn they can
053donate them to Charities and this year because Clifton has been so successful we've been the biggest um donor on the east coast of all the districts that use Clifton math we were able to pick a local charity and I'm very proud to say that just since September our students in grades three through up have earned 5 million think points which is the equivalent of $11,000 and that check is being sent to St peters's Haven Food Bank uh here in Clifton so we're teaching more than math right we're teaching uh life skills and we're teaching generosity and we're teaching to help others and I just think it's wonderful that we're able to do that in our own Community just a brief update for the community and the board on our referendum projects there's a lot of
054work going on all over the district uh I've said before that progress sometimes is ugly but um it's it's very very important but since our last board meeting uh my team and I have continued to meet with our construction management uh company and all of our service professionals um I'm proud to say that school 3's Auditorium is is complete it is amazing and we will have a ribbon cutting on December 5th um I believe you all might have gotten an invitation today if if not it's forthcoming um school one uh all of the bathrooms have been completed um the luxury restroom bathrooms are no longer there but we did have to move those over to or we're going to be moving those over to school 8 in an effort to um make the the bathroom
055projects there go a lot quicker um we're going to move the the the luxury restroom trailers over to school 8 and that'll also um help speed up work that needs to be done over the summer at school 13 the first floor boys and girls bathrooms have been completed and they've been turned over to the school for you so that's just some of the things that have been accomplished then there's a lot more going on uh I'd like to take a moment to congratulate the newly elected board Commissioners uh Mr Joe Kenova who was on the board of education that hired me uh Joe welcome back um and I'd also like to congratulate Mr Joe siano and Miss Tanya Suarez and tell you that I look forward to working with you to do what's best for
056the children and staff in Clifton and I know that um you have what's uh you have their best interest in your heart so I look forward to working with you um and with new Commissioners always comes some sadness because I lose people who I consider to be family in many ways we become a family when we spend so much time together but I'm not going to talk about Mr Smith or Mr abdrabo tonight I'll have more to say on December 7th but the Clifton Community has lost two advocates for um for children and staff and I personally um will miss you very very much I'll have more to say in December uh finally I I can't believe it's Thanksgiving already next week I wish our entire one Clifton Community a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving
057I hope that you get to spend time with your family and loved ones I hope you get to eat a lot I hope you get to take a nap afterwards and watch football or whatever it is you want to watch because that's what I plan on doing and if the weather permitting I'll be out on my motorcycle so have a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy uh a little time off uh that concludes my report Mr President thank you committee uh committee reports we'll start with a policy Miss [Music] bassford come back uh Mr Paris would you mind doing facilities sure the facilities committee met on November 13th uh in attendance were uh myself Mr brunak uh Mr Smith president Smith and Mr aad from the administration Dr Robert toy Mr Jenaro Mr Uchi Mr shihada Mr
058Maldonado Mr doctor and Mr Marion uh we had guests uh Mr Costello Mr Watkins Mr VTO Ms uh bakas and Mr cre we started our meeting at 3:30 we ended at 5:01 p.m. and the following items were discussed an update on the referendum our epic rep gave us an overview of what's taking place so far in the referendum and the plans for the next few months um discussed with school one bathrooms that have been completed uh the need to move our luxury toilets to school 8 to stay on track and minimize work over the summer to not disrupt the opening of schools and the committee agreed that was a a good a good plan um all bathroom Renovations are remain on schedule our weight room flooring has been delivered and the contractor is being coordinated
059with to lay the floor and a discussion ensued about a dedication plaque for the woodro Wilson field and uh and Stadium weight room concerning building and grounds updates Administration gave an update of projects taking place throughout the district including a discussion on Nets at Christopher Columbus and woodro Wilson Fields uh flame proof curtains installed in our school 3 Auditorium uh School two they were ordered for uh brick repairs at Christopher Columbus school 3 and 15 to seal in Wood intrusion that we're experiencing there uh looking at sidewalk repair at school 13 uh that was like caused by a third-party Street work and school 6 parking lot pavement uh touchup facilities usage for the public was discussed we discussed the possibility of opening the stadium on a trial basis for the public on weekends uh this
060will be sent to the full board for discussion uh we discussed a movie screening request at CHS um we discussed uh Pope Paul um we we uh our Administration invited attorney uh was at the committee's request and we discussed Pope Paul and some several questions that were had by the committee uh we discussed a film a filming request as a facility request film's name is riffraff um we agreed that uh we would agree to a facility use as long as it was on a non-school day or a weekend uh so that it would not interfere with uh School operation we set dates for ribbon cuting tentative date of November 28th was discussed and agreed upon um school three Auditorium ribbon cutting date of December 5th at 1:30 uh was set so that we can also
061have students present we discussed a mural donation at school 13 a group called Jersey care uh will volunteers to paint five to six murals in the hallways throughout throughout the school the board agreed and the superintendent will review the concept before implementation um we also discuss use of some excess Esra money that we had um we identified a need to revamp School 17 air conditioning units they're rather old and they've been rather Troublesome ever since they were installed over 20 years ago and the committee agreed that that would be a wise suggestion uh and we'll forward it to the archit and that is all from the facilities committee any questions I have a question are we going to Executive session yeah okay I would like an update if you could share with the rest of
062the board about Paul six about about Paul six in executive session okay thank you very well all right uh policy uh policy committee met on November 13th uh the committee began at 505 attendees were commissioner fim abrao Richie Mahia president from Administration was Dr Danny robotzi Lou Ross board attorney um Margaret Miller was president and also a special guest Erin saba and myself the committee discussed the student representative po proposal regarding the homework policy and establishing periods when homework is not given such as during winter break and before a religious holiday and when schools are closed the survey a survey will be sent to the teaching staff regarding this proposal prior to the final recommendation from the policy committee after tabling proposed policies 3324 and 4324 rights of privacies for commissioner suggestions the committee proposes
063adopting the policies with additional optional additional language as suggested by Strauss Esme the committee then discussed the application form for policy 7510 use of school facilities and will add a section to indicate that the application fee was paid prior to the approval of any application as per a recommendation from the committee the administration will also look into uh placing the application form on the district website with hyperlinks to corresponding policies and regulations the policy committee uh ended at 5:30 and Mr Ross submitted and wrote the um the minutes any questions yes Mr me is it possible to send um Elias Ragsdale a memo about this to you to the um your request to the superintendent he'll commit um I'll send we'll converse with email get the words out tonight we're just really waiting on um
064we want to survey the teachers okay thank you anyone else okay Mr brunak Finance uh one question to superintendent what's the timeline on the uh the survey for the teachers I expect the survey to go out before Thanksgiving um so we'll have the results relatively quickly before our next board meeting all right and just to confirm I know in the last meeting that we had last week about policy meeting prior to that I believe Mr Jero said that uh they were taken to some sort of committee that was happening um and was that given out a survey to them already or it did not happen yet so it wasn't uh technically a survey we have our our district collaborative team yeah uh of which Mr Lama is a part of and the initial feedback to
065the policy was overwhelmingly yes but that committee also stressed to survey the entire faculty just to to get more data is there a percentage we're looking for from The Faculty as a personnel as a whole or is there you know if they do they do if they don't they don't now for for for me I don't I I wouldn't want to put a number on it but I would definitely I would like a consensus cuz you know we're going to have some some teachers for their own personal reasons that say well I need to give work over breaks because of the uh the intensity of the course that they teach I teach an AP course and my students need to stay on top of things so you you're going to have some teachers who W
066won't go for this policy I think they I think we'll have you know but it can't just be a majority you know 51% I don't think is good so I'd like to get a consensus that this is something the the staff would would like and of course the the board will need to weigh in and then the last thing is if we're surveying the teachers are we doing something similar with the students as a whole I mean it's only fair that if we survey the teachers to get their feedback some students may say you know what I don't want my homework or classwork to get boggled up to after break maybe I do want to during break um it's just a thought yeah we didn't we didn't discuss that uh because because the proposal came
067from the Student Union I guess it was just assumed that it it came from students but it's not uh not a big deal if we need to survey students we can send them almost the same survey teachers get maybe maybe a little modified but it's very easy to do if the board wishes that you know or the policy committee we could do that do you need that in a motion nope nope give me some Direction Why Don't We just pull the board I think I'll just do it how about that I'll just do it good can't hurt of who you're going to do that s survey the students yeah of what students how you going to figure that just the Student Union no I think we would I think we would send it to um
068I have to I have to think about it but I think we would send it to all secondary students well I mean you could do a a a sample group um doesn't every class from freshman senior have a student council have representation on every every grade level and just work through them they are our leaders within that group level is that a real representation though yeah you know what it's it's just as easy to send it out to everybody if it's electronically okay you know somebody's going to turn around and say I wasn't included and then get agravated do do we agree though not to include Elementary we survey middle school high school I think y all right uh Finance Mr brunak thank you Mr President occurred on November 13th 2013 myself was present Mr
069Paris was pres uh commissioner Paris was was present president Smith was present Dr Robert toy was present Mr Jenaro Mr Uchi Mr shahada Mr doctor and Miss bolus was with us as well start time was 5:02 end time was 5:33 items of discussion number one audit tentative start date the audit is set to take place on November 27th to end the year to the end of the year the state has delayed the deadline again number two therapy dog initiative Administration discussed the desire of adding more Therapy Dogs the individual would cover the cost the district would cover the training does anybody have any questions okay thank you um Mr Paris education special education the education and special education committee met on November 1st at 6:30 p.m participating uh were myself uh vice president Dany president
070Smith and uh commissioner bassford from Administration Dr Robert toy miss kusevic Mr Jenaro and Miss Rolo um we discussed Miss kusal levich discussed Staffing and Par professionals she noted there's a nationwide teacher shortage and it's only beginning to really hit Clifton but will continue to increase Nationwide there are nearly 50% fewer students enrolled in college education programs than there are vacancies in Clifton we currently have several vacancies and unfilled leaves of absence we leverage all available resources to fill these positions including offering our staff extra teaching periods as described in the contract using daily substitutes providing internal or per DM substitute coverage condensing or combining classes wherever possible and on a limited basis using using distance learning options such as proximity learning in order to combat this issue we participate in many University Partnerships we
071have an aspiring teachers Academy with dual enrollment and are building a grow your own program to help power professionals become teachers we work with multiple staffing agencies and constantly recruit our own student teachers we currently have over 200 special education par professionals approximately a quarter of whom are full-time thanks to recent increases we are still short par professionals but are filling most of these vacancies with agency Paras for now we continue to actively interview to replace the agency Paris with our own hires and multiple pars are being appointed at the next meeting which is this meeting I believe um the action on on all those issues was informational concerning proximity and distance learning models Miss cus levich discussed the teacher shortage a need for specialized certificated staff members especially for high school classes she discussed
072the integration of distance learning classes taught through a program called proximity proximity is very similar to the classes we used to teach in our formerly uh state-of-the-art distance learning classroom in the eastwing media lab which is next to the cast studio with new technology we can do this anywhere we have a anywhere we have a Smartboard and Chromebooks with proximity a live New Jersey certified teacher is beamed into a class covered with a per DM sub and teaches the class on a large Smartboard interacting with the students following our curriculum teaching small groups on Chromebooks and using uh uses our attendance curriculum and grading system since this is new we've had some Growing Pains which are being addressed as we refine how the system works support is being provided and we continue to actively recruit
073for replacement teachers currently we are using distance learning for eight classes at CHS eight periods at CHS proximity Is used only for short-term Replacements due to the growing teacher shortage by allowing for certificated staff to be broadcast into the classroom we keep students students current with curriculum and the program is discontinued as soon as we find a full-time person to hire so if anybody knows some is it algebra 3 certified teachers that are looking let us know we've got a spot for uh action is informational uh homework proposal Miss cus levich uh reported that the policy committee reviewed the homework policy and received collaborative input from students student requests at the high school level include exploring minimizing homework during holidays and our weekends at this time homework guidance refers to Extended due dates for long-term
074projects that may include a holiday break any changes to such policy require input from multiple stakeholders and teachers and must have a voice in any such recommendation so you heard tonight we'll be doing some surveying on this very topic um special education update was provided by Miss Rolo she shared the following updates recent attendance at the Clifton disabilities fair and Arc transition Fair were both successful opportunities for community outreach we're looking forward to collaborating with the ca to host a nurtured heart training and dinner for parents on December 7th of this year the award-winning impact transition program at Clifton High School will receive recognition at the New Jersey School Board Association dinner on November 30th we anticipate a ribbon cutting ceremony for this program on November 28th at CHS due to an increase in the
075number of participants in Project UniFi at woodro Wilson Middle School will be adding an additional coach to help students participate successfully in the program and our last item was a discussion with Mr Jenaro concerning the therapy dog initiative he updated the committee on the adventures of chewy and recent visits to students and classrooms that created positive support in the schools classrooms and for individual students since September 5th chewy and his Handler Mr Jenaro have made over 150 visits across the district comprising small groups class visits group and individual therapeutic sessions and assembles amongst other visits he is part of the pbsis incentive program and behavioral modification plans chewy participated in District sporting events diversity dinners trunk Retreats veterans assemblies and the list goes on the growing need for this important and groundbreaking program was clearly
076established and a cost effective Ive plan for expansion has been detailed in policy the district is moving forward with opportunities to increase the therapy dog program in the district our meeting ended at 800m any questions okay uh our booster club committee Mr Mia so the bler club committee met on Monday October 30th 2023 at 606 P.M PN president from an Administration was Mr jeno assistant superintendent of schools president from the Board of Education would be myself serving in the capacity of committee chair commissioner bassford and commissioner Santiago also intendance for this committee meeting were representatives from the plethora of Clifton High School um booster clubs executive board members as well as several coaches representing their respective Sports um some agenda items when the meeting began with meetings and introductions followed by respective booster club sharing
077fundraising ideas inclusive of not limited to tricky trays beef staks tagging events Spirit Weare celles monetary donations Super Bowl boxes outside apps such as snap Rays car washes and breakfast SL dinner type events in addition each booster club was asked to share how they would spend the funds that are raised um Mr jenero and commissioner bassford sharing ideas had the booster club committee model the structure of the HSA PTA BTO committee that affords executive team members of each respective committee the opport of platform to network and share additional fundraising opportunity ideas as well as have an open Outlook of discussion for additional items administrative interns uh Miss Vega and Miss F Patrick will be invited to the next booer Club committee which would be in early 202024 so that they can share and hopefully replicate
078the success that they had on that committee with this new one that we have um the committee also discussed the possibility of returning to previous manner of operating the concession stand at the HS football games where booster clubs would even would earn more monies based upon booster club participation as opposed to the current vendor that they have um as the former approach was more lucrative for each booster club um this item will be brought to the attention of Dr roboy superintendent schools and Mr mle athletic directors to be discussed in the future meeting U commissioner bassard also requested that the booster club executive board share an itemized list of cost Revenue to Mr jenero so that the district has better understanding as how monies are raised um and how they're utilized today Mr is in
079recipient is in reip of two adiz list from the bo booster clip the next time we will meet again will be in the start of the 2024 calendar year and the meeting concluded at 7:10 p.m. any questions okay thank you to the Committees scroll down too far okay um unfinished business any unfinished business Mr President yes i' I'd like to discuss unfinished business please okay sure thank you to the administration to my colleagues on the board to the public I want to discuss discuss policy 5756 and this is a policy that has been implemented since 2019 I've been told by some that there's nothing wrong with it since it has been policy for so long and I have an open mind and maybe there haven't been issues in the past but the only reason that
080anyone found out about this policy is due to a parent in another District received a bad test paper home and this paper had a different first name than their child was born with upon further upon the parents further investigations they determined that their child had changed their name and their identity months before that and had no idea since there are thousands of policies and since many boards have turned over since then this policy was found out because of this incident and has become a a pretty hot topic on top of this Strauss Esme the law firm who informs the policy Committee of which policies are mandatory recommended or suggested alleged in 2019 that this policy was mandatory that was until a board was sued this year and all of a sudden Strauss Esme admitted it
081was not mandatory because of this the policy committee has increased their due diligence significantly which commissioner bassford chairs that is to request a section of the state law that exists and review Strauss esme's interpretation I urge everyone in this room and everybody in the public to read Clifton's policy 5756 this policy has created an environment of acceptable government secrecy masquerading as concern for children others are responsible for the government is presuming that my reaction if my son were to one day change his name or identify as someone else that I would chastise him and Levy oppressive measures upon Him rather than show appropriate concern and loving support a couple of weeks ago commissioner OB jable said very similar item in this fashion the Attorney General's office wants us to believe that there is certain information
082that parents couldn't possibly handle and aren't obligated to know but things government but things that employees who work for the government can the people elected and and to those that were appointed and treatened weren't there when my kids were born they weren't there for my kids first words and I don't think they would care less about my kids' life outcome for them to have the audacity to say that parents like me sh should remain without the affirmative duty to know something pivotal is happening in their children within the walls of a government funded school if we accept that the government can hide our children's name change and or identity transformation from us what couldn't it high from us for all the language that's used all the buzzword that are used on either side of the
083aisle this is about common sense a child to a parents the a a parent is uniquely responsible for everything in the child's everything their child is experiencing this is not a culture War this is a class war and the producers of this reality show are using our kids for the ratings the series needs to be cancelled commissioner Mahia this policy when you brought it up first two weeks ago you described how many members of the Hispanic Community if they came you know if they came out as gay it's essentially a death sentence the issue with this policy is it is not inclusive of gay kids lesbians or bisexuals this policy only has to do with with trans students there is nothing inclusive about this policy it's exclusively for that they for them to recognize this
084in this policy they are acknowledging there is a serious issue and then to hide it on go out of the way to hide it on top of this it's more than a lot of parents can can stomach it's not just me the the a poll came out a few months ago again to the people in this to the people in this room to the public this is not a 50/50 issue this is not a 6040 issue this is not a 7030 issue 77% of New Jersey adults say that they need to know if their kid changes their name or identity from their birth name when you pull out just the New Jersey parents it's 81% this is is not based on what I have studied what I have read from this contract this is not
085a hard decision and I don't want to make this decision on my own so what I'm requesting is to make a motion to allow the public once once the board discusses this to allow the public have a few minutes for them to get comment if that's possible I'd like to make a motion for that can I get a second please to weigh on weigh in on this policy this is a motion for second public second public com to discuss this special item please three with with a maximum of three minutes yeah any discussion on the motion Could you um so your motion is just to have a second uh once once the Mr President once the board discusses this matter if we could have a second public comment on this special limited to three minutes
086limited to 3 minutes max per person Mr President yes um just so that I'm clear doesn't the public come and share their thoughts on that already without doing this yes I do would this be u a special meeting instead is this right now this is just for right now if if I may I don't think this should happen right now I think that we should do a motion to put on the agenda for December to give the public the ability to come speak considering that not too many people are here gives the opportunity for us to to put this out there um while there is a first opportunity for public for people to speak about it maybe some people need a little more time um The Board needs to discuss it first well the board
087can discuss it but I'm I'm I'm we're discussing we're discussing the motion right now okay so let me rip out my Roberts rules on yall for a moment and say to you that we have a main motion that has now been amended through subsidiary motion so the motion the the main motion has not been acted on now I believe there's a motion to delay or to um postpone for a definite period to the December meeting this consideration and discussion of the policy 5756 if we if if the main mover and the one who second second it seconded it um are okay with that then we can just push that then if it's not if that's not agreeable to the mo to the main mover then we have to vote on the subsidiary motion motion to
088amend is yours is yours a motion or is it a discussion well he said I he said the magic words y you said motion he did now he doesn't have a second no so up time out we have a second the motion was to so let me clear it up so the motion is to delay to December to this way we can um authorize an advert authorize the administration to advertise for December and this is to make it clear to the public this is not a for or against this is for for us as a board to hear from the public so this way the board could put this to rest and understand what the constituents want so that would be a motion to postpone which is a subsidiary motion that takes priority oh man
089it's been a long week too now I am I'm good at my Rober that takes priority over the over the main motion so are we discussing the motion no you're discussing now the motion motion postpone okay for against whatever you want to say about it okay oh wait but did you second his motion I would second the motion to postpone now we got a discussion okay now we have a discussion can I go yes let go ahead okay so um Mr brunak called me ear earlier today I'm going to be very transparent about how to approach the board about this discussion and I told him it goes on to unfinished business because Mr Mia brought this up at two weeks uh last board meeting or two more board meetings ago um and um the language
090he uh clearly um pointed out some things to me uh we we toggled with suspending the the um the bylaw or abolishing the bylaw so God bless you my my question would be then if I want a little bit more further uh information from the attorney for abolishment we would need two readings for suspension we could do it immediately correct a to suspend is a is a oneof yes my my mic it to say so yes it would to postp to suspend a policy is at the at that very meeting you can suspend it for an indefinite period of time so now that we're talking about unfinished business there was an UNF unfinished business last meeting that was asked from board members and I hope there's an answer to this Mr Mahia commissioner Mia spoke
091about um repealing and taking us to the courts as other districts have done I asked what is the cost and do we have that answer the cost of of what exactly sir I'm not understand the cost of legal legal um to the extent that the I I apolog interrupting but I now understand the extent that the board wishes to suspend policy 5756 uh it is certainly within your prerogative to do so that does not obviate uh or diminish the Attorney General's guidance that have been promulgated in connection with um the gender identity issues that you guys are grappling with uh in this policy so you can suspend the policy you can abolish the policy um but that does not alleviate this District's responsibility to comply with and enforce the rules and regulations as promulgated by
092the state of New Jersey if you wish to do so um that is completely within your discretion whether that results in the Attorney General seeking to um declare your action void or voidable uh or to somehow collaterally attack the decision of this board I I cannot speak to I don't know whether the com whether the Attorney General would make that election or not uh to the extent that the the removal of policy 5756 would excuse me alter the methodologies upon which the administration enforces gender identity and the Attorney General guidelines that very all May subject you to uh a lawsuit from the state of New Jersey as it did in Hanover um in that situation they adopted a pol they amended a policy that was contrary to the attorney general's guidance the Attorney General um
093sought an injunction against the Board of Education uh from enforcing that policy it won that injunction I believe it's on appeal now uh so that the that has not been resolved as of this moment a very simple question whether it's this policy or any other policy if this board of education wishes to suspend it or to revoke it you may do so it doesn't alleviate your responsibilities to comply with the rules and regulations issued by the Department of Education yes okay Mike um Mr Abra we did ask about the cost and I know you don't know because you don't know the other law firms that are and what the the amount of work that's going into them do you do you happen to know how many other districts are in litigation right now I think
094it's only two I don't know that there's more than two um I certainly have not surveyed um you know what's out there I I really don't know um I I suspect that um a suspension of a policy is a much different animal than the adoption of a policy that is in direct contravention to what the Attorney General isting okay so can I continue with my okay thank you um my my my concerns are thousands of dollars being um spent on this and then there is going to be guidance eventually coming from these two cases even though they're in appeal and it's going quickly or is it dragging its feet the wheels of Justice often turn slowly so you know you know how long it's going to take M basser I don't know okay so my
095my my recommendation and I wish we we should have brought this back to policy but um we we didn't have it on the agenda would would be to I want to to when I was down in the um convention I spoke to a lot of other board members that are basically abolishing their policy they're just abolishing it and they're waiting on guidance because we were under the impression when we sat on policy in 2019 when this came down the pike from Strauss Esme that this was mandated so when a policy comes to the chair and to the committee members at the policy committee a mandated policies a mandated we have to implement it so there we are thinking that we're doing everything great we see the little M on it we mandated it now we
096time a mandated policy comes before us we're a little leery right now because is this a mandated policy or not a mandated policy can I one clarify I apologize stra s is not a law firm um it is a for-profit Enterprise that is in the business of I guess you know culling through all the recent case laws and and all the regulation changes and drafting changes to set policies um and there are discretionary policies there are mandated policies simply Strauss as a blessing a policy with an m on it um okay so doesn't make it necessarily the gospel can I finish my point okay um and we also had our attorney weigh in on this as well it was in your firm so um and we were told that this we had to do it
097so that's why the policy committee actually implemented this had I because I'm not comfortable with a lot of language in this um policy as well there are several points that my colleagues brought up several Pol uh um several things that other people from other districts have brought to my attention I would like to see it abolished that's just my personal and then come up you know wait for the guidance wait for the the actual mandate but going forward we really have to tread lightly on these mandated policies we're going to have to what we do now send them to you and you can tell us interrupt you for a second so the motion on the floor is to see whether we're going to push for a public session on a special item which is 5756
098to the December forgive me for not knowing the date the four 7th December 7th meeting so the motion on the floor that's been moved and second it is to postpone the main motion which was a public discussion and board discussion 5756 to the extent that all of these other issues which are real and perfectly valid um are outside the parameters of the motion that's before you um so if you want if you if you want to no no and honestly if you want to abolish but you could you could entertain I'll I'll write it up and you'll abolish it you could entertain a motion at this point to to um so technically postpone motions to postpone are not debatable under Robert you can have another motion on top of you could but Robert's Rules doesn't
099actually allow for debate on subsidiary motions to postpone and so all of this conversation is all nice and good and I'm I'm perfectly fine with it but I think either you vote up or vote down the motion to postpone the main motion and if and once that's done and over with you could then move on to whatever unfinished business you wish and if that includes the suspension or yeah all right so so let's uh do a roll call uh this is to uh again remember you can make another motion after this if you want to suspend but right for now the motion is to have a um to have a separate public session um portion of the meeting to discuss this topic only uh the public will be uh limited to 3 minutes uh for
100their uh discussion on this topic only um and it will be advertised uh that way if you agree that and you want to have that take place it will be a yes vote if you don't want to have that be a no vote that motion would then go down and then new motions can be enter the motion goes back to the motion to do it right now right but then you can vote on to his as his as well correct right so I'm just saying just because you're voting on this motion doesn't mean you cannot have another motion come up after it correct okay so motion to approve this is a yes motion to deny is a no okay roll call please Mr abrao yes Miss bassford I've always advoc ated for the public to
101speak so I have to say yes sorry Mr brenc yes Mr Mahia would this be for December seven yes Mr Paris yes Mr Santiago um the public has spoken on this multiple times has had the opportunity to come do so um I vote no vice president Danny yes president Smith I agree with Mr Santiago but in respect to my colleague U Mr brunak I will vote Yes motion carries so now the public will be advised of a in some fashion of a subject you I'd like some administrative guidance on that and we advertising this as a second uh public comment on policy 557 only okay Mike we got that sounds good y okay um um Mr President through you to the superintendent can we put this back on policy so we really can dig into
102to what we want to talk about and um maybe have a discussion with the policy committee as well thank you to the extent that that discussion happens um I given the tight timeline between today and December 7 I'm not so sure you're going to have a meeting or not have a meeting to the extent that you do have a meeting it would be um I would suggest beneficial that either myself or Miss Miller attend you know I think yeah so well we want to have a special meeting motion to reconsider that motion special meeting just for that topic only that's what I was going to suggest can we have um some students from the diversity committee on it it's on what on the meeting yeah it'll be a public meeting okay no for a policy
103the policy committee oh policy is not well as of now that's it's not existed till um cuz it's after the 7th so so that motion so right now that motion holds aviated the the main motion I don't mean made the main motion um so whatever the next item is it is whatever you want to talk about it um to my colleagues on the policy committee can we switch our meeting from the 11th to the 4th would that work for you guys mrao are you a good with the fourth uh why wait sa soon it's up to you guys just tell me when I'll make it work can we have some students on it you can have anybody want if you have to go through the superintendent to invite we'll get together afterward to set up
104a date thank you now in all due respect him uh Mr brunak this is an important topic I I don't like it squished into a meeting if you're going to do this right I think there should be a special meeting just to discuss this and anyone would be welcome to attend it not asking you know who wants more meetings but this is an important enough topic that it should not be thrown in um with the other business we're going to be doing on the 7th so I suggest that you hold a special meeting for this and then policy can meet at any time before that um to give their recommendations and then we would hold a special meeting just for this particular topic that's my suggestion do as you wish anyone anyone in favor of
105having a special meeting on this Mr me you want to poll Mr arabo weing yeah I'm polling okay Mr password I think thinky meeting if there are other voices there I believe that you know we can bring it up during the regular meeting after the presentations or whatever okay I was doing it for you but I think we can it's just it's going to be an extra let's say 20 ex six hours yeah that's why I'm saying let's hold a special me exactly so exactly in my Phil up the room nobody may come yeah you're right but if you do you're rushing something to through that's very important you should do it the right way so let me continue to poll um Mr M you said yes Mr Paris I I would I think a
106separate meeting would be because it could turn into a very timec consuming meeting um this way it's dedicated and as long as give it dedicated and that's it that's it Mr Santiago yes uh vice president Danny yes I I think um you know separate meeting okay and I am yes also so um I need someone to make a motion now to hold a special meeting second motion motion second second by Mr rrao second by Mr Santiago so this motion would then um well I'm going to do that next um so this would cancel out the other motion or do was a yes correct right I mean we're doing it way yes all right so let's we'll look at a date in a second let's just um um that was only a poll so we're going
107to have to do it officially as a roll call now uh to hold a special meeting for uh this topic roll call please Mr abjo yep Miss bassford yes sorry sorry sorry and to resend the prior MO to Res the prior I thought that was a given yes yep yep having a dedicated meting and to resend the prior motion so Mr abjo again yes Miss basford yes Mr brunak yes Mr Mahia yes Mr Paris yes Mr Santiago yes vice president Danny yes president Smith yes motion carries okay Administration if you could look at some dates and uh let me know and then I can pull the board and make sure that everyone's okay with that date is that fair sounds good Mr President okay everyone okay with with that beautiful is there any on other
108unfinished business all right seeing none we'll move on to um education Administration um I have um ea1 we're going to do on a separate vote so ea2 through ea2 please motion so move by Mr uh abrao second second by uh Mr Paris discussion roll call please Mr yes Miss bassford yes Mr brunak yes Mr Mahia yes Mr Paris yes Mr Santiago yes vice president Danny yes president Smith yes motion car okay motion on ea1 please motion moot by Mr abrao second second by Mr Paris um Mr abrao you asked to uh read that so if You' like to too yes sir National Native American Heritage Month whereas during National Native American heritage month we celebrate the rich tapestry of indigenous peoples and honor their sacrifices and whereas Native Americans have enriched Our Heritage and continue
109to add all to all aspects of our society through their generosity of culture and the continued practice of teaching economic Environmental and Cultural sustainability and whereas our state and our country is blessed by the character and strength exe exemplified by the Native Americans who have answered the call of service and our armed for forces in greater numbers per capita than any any other group in United States we honor our Native American veterans and those who are the service and active duty for their bravery and sacrifice and whereas during the month of November we honor our native peoples and recognize their continued contributions in strengthening the diversity of our society now therefore we the Clifton Board of Education do hereby Proclaim November 2023 as Native American heritage month and encourages the district to observe the month
110with appropriate events and activities roll call please Mr abjo yes Miss bassford yes Mr brunak yes Mr Mahia yes Mr Paris yes Mr Santiago yes vice president Danny yes president Smith yes motion carries okay we'll move on to um Personnel so I have uh P1 through P36 and P1 and 12 are pulled for executive motion Mr Robo second by Miss bassford discussion see none roll call please personel right this is for personnel P yep Mr abjo yes I'm standing on p14 Miss bassford yes as long as 12 and 13 are in the back room thank you Mr brunak sorry 11 and [Music] yes 11 and 12 p 11 and 12 M Mr Mia yes Mr Paris yes abstaining on my your on 29 Mr Santiago yes vice president Danny yes abstain on p29 my name
111only President Smith yes excuse me Mr President can we amend that to 1112 and 13 okay any objection to the amendment to include 13 for executive just for clarity 13 is the uh tenure case that you are aware of yes but we could certainly still talk about it and can I add it's already done so what you goad oh no I just want to add okay you want to add something for executive no no yeah just I'm registered so the um for the pay County School boards um in person the Safety and Security isn't that what you separate you have stained on no I've Stained on leadership so I will add her abstention to um9 number 29 right see no objection oh my name only as well yeah Mr Paris too yeah Mr Paris did
112yeah all right so we'll add that um Miss bassford and uh vice president Danny to that all right we'll move on to fin and Facilities we have F1 oh yeah I'm sorry I I was going to do it first but you know what let's just finish it we'll do F1 through uh F15 please motion by Mr abjo second by Mr Paris discussion roll call please Mr Arad drao yes M bord yes Mr brunak yes everything except F-15 abstain on my name only please thank you Mr Mahia yes Mr Paris yes Mr Santiago yes vice president Danny yes abstain on F15 yes that's fine okay name only and president Smith yes obstain of my name only motion's Carri uh so in our Personnel this evening uh the board has um approved um um a new uh
113not a new person a new position um and uh we're very fortunate and lucky to have um Mr uh shahada as our new assistant superintendent of business and uh we congratulate you and wish you all the best and if you like to say a few words we could uh so round of applause first don't trip all right good evening Commissioners uh I promise I'm going to do my best to keep this under 20 minutes I know we're trying to go home uh I am deeply honored to be here today addressing you as Clifton's newest assistant superintendent before I begin I want to express my sincere gratitude to the board of education for giving me the opportunity to serve in this position I also want to extend my deepest appreciation to Dr Rober toi for his
114endorsement and wisdom over the years I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable support and guidance from a few individuals who are here and one who is not here tonight long before this journey commenced Mr jenero Mr USI Miss kusal levich and my girlfriend Suzanne who's in the crowd tonight for a considerable part of my professional journey I was under the misapprehension that my accomplishments were solely my own however I have come to realize that my successes are the product of unwavering support encouragement challenges challenges and inspiration from not only my family and loved ones but also my extended Clifton family whenever asked I tell people that while I may be from Lyndon Clifton has become my true home from the moment I arrived I was embraced and supported not from just the the distinguished
115individuals on this platform but by the entire District I must admit that my initial transition had its fair share of challenges a fact that ganina can attest to nonetheless I chose to refocus my efforts on cultivating relationships and establishing a reputation as a Dependable team member this strategic shift has played a pivotal role in bringing me here today as such I cannot fail to express my deep gratitude to my dedicated team and buildings and grounds the business office payroll Transportation accounts payable and Food Service as well as my team on the instructional side of the organizational chart nothing I do is possible without them again thank you for your thank you for the opportunity I look forward to serving our students staff and Community with distinction and honor you do you want to say something
116Dr Robos thank you Mr Smith uh Amed congratulations there's no one as hardworking that I've ever met in my entire life as a med Shada and I just want you to know that um your father would be very very proud of you today um I know your mom is I know your family is but your dad's looking down upon you and he's very very proud of the man you've become congratulations so I hear there's a board member in Lyndon that uh specifically wants to uh congratulate you I say that as a joke um lindon's loss is our gain so uh we wish you all the best uh Amed you've uh you've shown uh us all that your dedication and determination is here in Clifton um you work tirelessly uh long hours he's one of the
117first ones in the building next to Kevin um and um I know you're going to do a great job in this position we wish you all the best okay uh we'll move on um board member comments I forgot my book but I believe it was Mr Paris next I think don't hold me to it but I don't know would you mind going first I will go first um thank you president Smith um just a couple of uh events that uh I recently attended that I would just like to point out were very successful uh Clifton uh really host hosted the uh North Jersey band Festival uh a few weeks ago there were n uh sorry yeah 19 bands from North Jersey uh it's an it's an exhibition in which they each receive feedback on their
118performance um and it was a really wonderful event uh for many of the high schools throughout the for throughout the region and our our band made us proud I might say um congratulations to the uh students of the month uh congratulations to uh the CHS HSA and their support of our pbsis program um I also attended this week a veterans assembly at at woodro Wilson Middle School uh to honor our Clifton veterans uh participating in it were uh the RC our Junior Roc the uh veterans uh the police Color Guard the uh wood Wilson band The Wood Wilson chorus um I hope I haven't forgotten anyone but it was a very touching ceremony and uh truly uh appreciated by our our veterans and that was organized by Miss Zito and Miss W and thank you
119to them for uh putting that together for our our local veterans uh couple of public service announ announcements I have on November 22nd uh there is the annual Under The Lights uh program at 7 pm in which our marching ban will have it's it's really their night there's no football game going on it's just the band performing and if you've never seen it it's a great way to start your Thanksgiving holiday 700 p.m. again Wednesday November 22nd and on December 2nd uh the Clifton community band will have our annual holiday concert that'll be at Clifton High School auditorium starts at 3M it's a free concert and uh if you want to get yourself into the holiday spirit early with some music uh it's the place to be um and just wishing everyone very helpful happy
120uh and and uh grateful Thanksgiving I'm grateful for our district and grateful for our staff our teachers uh our custodial staff our secretarial staff our nurses our Paris everyone who makes our system work um have a fantastic holiday and thank you for all you do for us in our in our students in town thank you thank you bless you Mr Santiago thank you profess uh president Smith uh um just want to kind of explain you know clarify or expand on 5756 policy that we talked about today and we vote so as I mentioned people do the public does and have and has already come up here and discussed specifically this policy in addition trans students Etc but this policy specifically the public comes up here and has already spoken about that and continues to do
121so so I don't see the reason to doesn't make sense to me to have a separate uh session for that um additionally we don't make the state laws the state laws are the state laws and um to get into some costly uh litigation against the state when it when by the way the public comes here and we spoke about it today power shortage teacher shortage right um with all due respect I rather not give that money to attorneys I rather hire and solve the power or the teacher shortage right um Additionally you know we can save you know I'm not for wasting any money right so we can save the taxpayer money as well um again we don't make the state laws um we have to uh abide by those um having said that please
122do go and support um the I hate Shakespeare play our kids do a great job with that again Friday 7 Saturday 7 Sunday 1:00 um happy Dali to all those celebrating it's also Filipino uh American Heritage Month um you thank I congrats to all our Filipino Community as well um yeah and and Happy Thanksgiving there's always something to be grateful for thank you so much Mr abrao um you know I wasn't going to say anything but as I was reading this National Native American heritage month I think we can do better in terms of how this is written in the future um you know it starts off with indigenous people and then we talk about how they serve in the military which I'm certain it's a low percentage of of Native Americans who serve in
123the military but doesn't talk about the stries and what they've gone through for a land to be built on native land and I don't think we celebrate that enough and it talks about it ends with events and appropriate events and activities but I'm curious what events and activities we actually do to celebrate Native American Heritage Month you know November is a time to be thankful to be appreciative to understand what family means and how we share each other's company how we respect each other and be good to each other um and we need to incorporate that into what this month really means it's not just eating turkey it's not just wearing you know making papier-mâché little hats and and whatnot um but I think we really need to understand what celebrated Native American Heritage Month
124really means like we do with other months um that's my piece on that I just had to get it out uh congrats to the board members who won um I hope you guys do this well and do it with purpose and for a reason um and not allow anybody or people to take granted of you at all um you know people talk about how elections things come out and and and it's it's a funny topic a funny subject um and the people who say it unfortunately are the sole purpose of it and reasoning behind it um you know the one thing I just want to mention I really been thinking about this past few weeks and I'll leave leave after this at this is that you know somebody decided to put an anonymous video about
125me being pro Palestinian I'm not going to talk about that topic and they posted anonymously but yet I know who did it um and um that'll come out soon because my lawyer is actually talking abouta now trying to figure it out actually figured it out so um and it's unfortunate people want to post videos and honestly because they don't have the the the konus to do it publicly um unfortunately and they can't put a name their name to something but I'll leave it at that thank you Miss mford yes thank you I just like to thank the administration and the children of this district for a nice time of year to be very generous to a local charity such as St peters's Haven that is just a such a blessing because they do give to
126a lot a lot of people and I'm just thankful for that so thank you to the children for getting that donation to all all of our all of those people at St peters's Haven um since we last talked uh the board most of the board went down to the uh New Jersey school board's Workshop where we uh networked we learned professionalism we uh learned topics uh it was a great great venue um took a lot of classes met a lot of people got got to see a lot of old colleagues uh Unfortunately they didn't get reelected um so there's a lot going on but um it was a nice venue so thank you very much on December 2nd I will be traveling to the DA because I am your representative on the the board of
127education for the um state so I will be going down there to cast my vote on some of the um the proposed amendments that have come on the table I sit on the subresolution committee so there was a there was uh 65 actual resolutions we only got it we got down to 6 and then we met on that um on a fine Wednesday afternoon and uh shaved out the information and if they do email it to me in time I will get it to everyone through the superintendent so Thanksgiving comes just once a year right so you count your blessings you count your blessings instead of your cross you count uh your gains instead of your losses you count your Joys instead of your woes you count your friends instead of your foes you count
128the smile instead of your tears you count your courage instead of your fears you count your years instead of your of you count your full years instead of your lean you count your kind Deeds instead of your mean you count your health instead of your wealth you count on God's instead of yourself so count your blessings everyone Happy Thanksgiving Mr brunak thank you Mr President I want to give a heartfelt congratulations to all the winners of the election this year congratulations Mr siano congrats to miss Suarez and congrats to Mr canover I look forward to working with you in the new year and I just want to wish everybody else a lot of events were previously stated here um Mr Mahia as being uh part of the botney village commission they have a tree lighting
129in the near future um December 1st I believe December 1st so should be a good celebration over there and I just want to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving thank you for your time and God bless America have a good night everybody vice president Danny oh did I miss I'm so I hate when I have to do it in the middle sorry Mr me you thank you president Smith I first like to congratulate our gymnastics coach on being recognized um congratulations to our boy soccer team on making it so far this year as well as coach lri for um being honored here today this Friday I'm going to be watching the play I like to thank Mrs POI for all the hard work she does and her staff um she's been doing this since I was
130in you know elementary school so it's a long time that she's been working on plays so hope to see many of you there this Friday Saturday or maybe even Sunday um congratulations to imagine math for sending over $1,000 to St Peters that's a tremendous accomplishment and tremendous service for them um just like Mr um Paris I did also attend the veterans assembly up at wood Wilson Middle School and it was a great assembly and I was surprised to see how many eighth graders we actually have up at wro Wilson Middle School so I hope they can all attend clion high school in the near future I know most of them probably won't um all end up at clion high school but I do hope they they do um a big congratulations to our Montreal team
131for competing up and at the Empire Chicago um competition especially um Jana for receiving the outstanding attorney award and M for for getting the outstanding witness award um this year on my birthday I'm going to be watching the band perform at um the Middle School the stadium is going to be at 7:00 p.m. on November 22nd so I could have all of you please attend and you guys would like to donate on their behalf that way they can make it to New Orleans that would be great uh with that said on December 1st we are having our annual Christmas lining down in botney Village so I hope to see many of you there um thank you to the public for donating some of their money to us I know it's always a great and fantastic
132um event that we do each and every year so I do hope to see many of you there especially you do have children regardless if you celebrate Christmas or not um I hope to see many of you there this coming Friday on December 1st first um and thank you to again to all of our District staff and faculty members for making clipton such a great um place for our students to be congratulations um to Joseph siano um Joseph Kenova and Miss tan Suarez for winning their election and I hope to work with you guys this coming January and Beyond thank you vice president Danny thank you Mr Smith I'm not going to repeat um like a lot of the things that were already said so I kind of keep it brief so just want to
133say congratulations to the three board member elects that won in the election I look forward to working with all of you and Joe working with you back again um and um congratulations to the students and employees on their recognition and just everyone have a a happy and safe uh Thanksgiving and that's all I have for this evening thank you um I too would like to uh congratulate at U our U newly elected uh uh board members um I always knew Mr Kenova had a I say this very jokingly knew you always had a screw loose there that you wanted to come back here and do this again but uh um as I told you I know you have the kids in mind and uh I know you'll do a good job um Mr siano I
134I expect you to uh to continue uh being active in the community and showing up to everything that you did during the campaign um I wish you all the best and I've offered my assistance to you um Miss Suarez isn't here um so I wish her the best as well um as Joe I'm sure could tell you um there's going to be late nights there's going to be long nights um so I hope that uh that uh she had to leave I hope she'll uh be able to uh make the commitments they had meetings when they're when they're scheduled so all the best to you um I'll have more to say on uh on my departure um but uh I I'll hold that for the December meeting um I did want to clarify did ask
135um Mark if you could clarify a little bit from what I was told there were some Rumblings on Facebook um and uh it was addressed here tonight um either I was missing something at a meeting or something but I don't remember anyone that was ever stopped here at our microphone from from speaking um if I recall last meeting there was someone that was directing comments to one individual and you asked them to address the board um and not to stop speaking um so I want everyone to to understand that because there was there was obviously false information spread um and uh unless I miss something I do not remember you telling a person that they could not speak or or their first that you were violating their first amendment rights um in the years that
136I've been president here everyone has had the opportunity to come up and speak um some of it as board members we feel is uh is uh just a bunch of speak people like to come up and talk we sit here and we listen to it that's what they feel they want to do for for their five minutes of glory and on channel 77 they think they have an audience we sit here and we listen to it that's their right no one no one has ever been denied the opportunity to speak even when they spoke untruths and there was a lot of that happening but Facebook is usually the place that people like to do that they like to hide behind that and and do their untruths um but this is uh this is a forum
137that is for the education of kids and um it's been alluded to uh numerous times um you know they don't come out and say it was me but it was me I made a comment that I said wouldn't it be nice if people came up to the microphone and talked about the good things are happening in Clifton never did I say you don't have do not come up here and speak about the bad things I don't have the right to say that all is I suggested was wouldn't it be nice if we spoke about the good things because there's a lot of good things happening in Clifton so the positive people got that message the negative people continue with the negativeness I again will state that as long as I have been in this chair
138nobody nobody has been stopped from speaking I don't care what happened before I was president or before Dr roozi was here that's not the case everyone is entitled to come up to the microphone and speak about whatever you wish so you know I hate to put my colleagues on the spot but if uh you know if any of you felt that that was not carried out please please let me know that because otherwise I was missing something in the meeting um there is so much happening in the district um and happening at a at a wonderful time where we're thankful of so many things um Mr Paris uh the uh sleigh rides and sleigh bells is that what it's called there we go I was close um it's a wonderful program it's uh you know
139you and and all those uh talented musicians um some of them are current Clifton High School students that I'll be participating but um you and your wife have volunteered for so many years to do this and um I was so impressed last year um um I I will be there again this year and I hope everyone would come out and support it U it's held in the auditor orium um it would be nice to pack that place uh it's just a nice celebration of um all different things that happen um throughout whatever holidays we celebrate um so I encourage you all to to come out to that um and for the band on the the 22nd it's it's again a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together um at our wonderful Stadium to show
140our support support for our Mustang band um again our kids are what we're most thankful for and as board members we try each and every day to do the very best to represent our kids to make policies and procedures that help our kids continue to learn and at times there are things that we don't agree with we don't agree with the state we don't agree with uh some of our colleagues opinions or whatever but in the long run as long as we remember that we're here for one reason the most important reason is for our kids this board will continue to accomplish good things I'm very confident of that so I hope Mr Santiago I agree with you I I hope that people will see that we're extending this another time because it is an
141important issue but at any time at a public meeting you're free to come up here and and make your comments and make your suggestions this board puts a lot of time in and I'm not I I I I appreciate them agreeing to have this special meeting but the opport opportunity to speak is at every meeting every one of the board members has an email you can address the email to it you can call the superintendent the assistant superintendent there are so many Avenues to communicate with so I hope since the board is making this commitment that if people want to discuss this or make a comment on it that they will come out and we sit here at the direction of the people and if the people want us to continue to fight this we'll
142fight it so I just hope everyone understands that this is an important topic that we're willing to make this a special meeting to do it and at this time of the year with everything going on and all the things we have to be at it it is a major commitment to this board to do that so I hope that if you have an interest in that that topic that you will come on the date that we'll let you know of um and to address it so on that note I wish everyone all the very best for a happy and healthy Thanksgiving take the time out to remember what you're thankful for and that's all I have thank you is there any new business hearing none okay we're going to move on to Executive session we
143have um three executive session items 11 12 and 13 uh and a Personnel matter and a contract matter um action will be taken um clock's not working so 9:30 so an hour can we know should be all right we'll say an hour that's 10:30 if it's longer than that I will come out and address you uh and let you know that's a little loud okay motion to Executive session second by Mr arjo second by miss bassford any objection no okay uh five minutes guys we'll uh take a five minute break and we'll uh all be in executive session and start please e [Music] e [Music] s spe [Applause] [Music] h [Music] a [Music] la [Music] all [Music] for [Music] all [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] a [Music] [Applause] [Music] good evening ladies and gentlemen and
144welcome to cson High School's JFK Auditorium my name is Gabrielle NAA and it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Mustang band Winter concert tonight's concert will feature an ambitious program of Music performed by some of Cl High School's most excellent St musicians whether this is your first time hearing us perform or you've been following the band for decades we are confident you are all going to enjoy yourself tonight we are proud to continue our tradition of partnering with St Peters haen all donations and proceeds from this concert will benefit the homeless in our community Through project Hess connect please enjoy our Winter [Music] [Applause] concert [Music] the [Music] yes [Music] la [Music] h [Music] n [Music] la [Music] [Applause] w some for [Music] all [Music] we [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Music] la [Applause]
145[Music] a [Music] la [Music] a [Music] [Applause] chasing sunlight was inspired by the experience of driving West into the Setting Sun as if trying to keep up with the Earth's rotation to catch the last few rays of light towards us the composer writes just as the sun will always set humans must accept the impermanence of all things in life and make the most of every opportunity for its path chasing sunlight represents the ongoing pursuit of these OPP [Music] oh [Music] la [Music] la [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] la [Music] la [Music] [Applause] for [Music] n [Music] wa now all right um roll call please from executive Mr here M miss bassford here Mr brunak here Mr Mahia here Mr Paris here Mr Santiago here vice president Danny here president Smith here we have
146a quum uh the M uh the board met an executive session to discuss uh Personnel matters uh need a motion please for uh p 11 12 and 13 motion by Mr Robo second by Mr Santiago discussion roll call please Mr abrao yep Miss bassford yes Mr brunak yes Mr Mahia yes Mr Paris yes Mr Santiago yes vice president Danny yes president Smith yes motions carry um as soon as Administration uh gives me a date for the special meeting I will let you all know and if there's any conflict um we're going to try and do the best to make sure everyone can make the meeting so uh once I get the date I'll I'll let you know yes meet yeah it's up it's up to you guys whatever you want to do there's anything else
147to discuss on their policy now right right okay uh motion to adjourn motion secondo second by Mr Mahia any objection adjourned