001good evening everyone I'd like to open the our Board of Education meeting of July 27 2023 if you'd all please rise to a salute to our flag followed by a brief moment of silence 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 roll call please Mr abadrabo your wad is absent Miss basford here Mr Brunswick here Mr Mejia here Mr Paris here Mr Santiago he is here virtually yes vice president Danny here president Smith here we have a quorum uh vice president Danny would you read the mission statement please the mission of the Clifton School District in an open and reciprocal Community Partnership is to provide all students with a quality education to develop the skills necessary to become
002literate lifelong Learners who are responsible and productive citizens contributing to a Democratic Society in an ever-changing world the uh open public meeting statement the New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right to the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interests is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the Clifton Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be publicized by having the date time and place thereof posted at the city clerk's office Clifton Public Library administration building senior citizen Nutrition Center on cable TV in the local press on the district's website and mail to presidents of parent-teacher organizations this meeting will be tape recorded in accordance with policy zero one
003six eight okay um of this time the board will be uh meeting an executive session for uh contract matters um if I have a motion please to go to executive Mr um Mejia second by Mr Paris roll call Mr abajabo Miss basford yes Mr Brunswick yes Mr Mejia yes Mr Paris yes Mr Santiago vice president Danny yes president Smith yes okay there's no one in there are we going to shut those doors or yes uh the board met in executive session for contract matters roll call please Mr abadravo here miss basford here Mr Brunswick here Mr Mejia here Mr Paris here Mr Santiago here vice president Danny here president Smith here we have a quorum I apologize to the public if you were inconvenience for a little while um while the board was conducting their
004business we uh we appreciate your patience okay um bear with me one second [Music] okay so we have a public hearing on the amended contract of our superintendent the public is um able to come up and speak at the podium I'll just read a statement first this portion of the meeting is open to Residence non-residents of Clifton for the purpose of addressing the superintendent's contract only um residence on residents are requested if they're in person here to sign the register provider for this purpose all speakers to ask to State their name municipality in which they live before speaking comments are limited to five minutes per person issues raised by member of the public may or may not be responded to by the board all comments will be considered and responsible beforethcoming if and when appropriate
005your questions may or may not be answered by board members the board asset members of the public be courteous and mindful to the rights of any individuals including the superintendent specifically comments regarding students and employees of the board are discouraged and will not be responded to by the board students and employees have legal rights afforded by the laws of the state of New Jersey the board Bears no responsibility 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're legally responsible and liable for their comments okay so public session is open if anyone wishes to address the award concerning the superintendent's contract would you check if
006there's anyone on Colin knowing their motion to close virtual please by Mr abajava second by Mr Mejia okay when I have public sessions or anyone excuse me and in person is there anyone here that wishes to address the board concerning the superintendent's contract by the time Keith gets going we'll be here I don't think this might sign it hello thank you thank you um as I was saying I probably wanted the longest persons here in in this audience right now coming to these meetings they say about 20 years so you got to realize in 20 years I went through one two three I think four certain tenants on Ben and you know I think Mr robotazi brought us to the next Cent where we should be and I'm not just saying it because you know
007you know how I am a straight shooter I tell you the way it is and I you know I have to go back some years here about Colvin and everything and I don't think if we had a different superintendent here they would have brought us to where we had to be with this covet and that stuff he he had a game plan not only him but the rest of his administration and the board here followed his lead and he did a terrific job look at our schools now our schools are being in our fields and everything they're being brought up where they should be and that you know people come to Clifton what we always say they don't just come here because of taxes or you know housing and all that stuff they come here
008too because of the school system not that they have kids right away but later on down the road where they have kids and they look at this this is very important to the parents the schools and that and again Mr robotazi works very hard on our schools and that there's no question about nobody in this District could say he don't he has brought us up to the next level I hear you know when you're out there in the public here teaches you hear other administrators you hear that and I never hear anybody say you know what I don't like our superintendent they may not always agree with him that's fine but you agree to disagree too as they say and I have no problem with this man whatever he should earn or get you got
009to realize and which I know you all you do we're not a small school system no way no how but listening and finding out what happens to other districts and what's going on we have one of the best superintendents in the state and I mean that truly we have one of the best superintendents in the state I'm any problem we have I know he's going to lead us forward he will think it out he will work with the board here and we will move ahead which is a great thing you P you pay people for what they're worth and this man is worth in my eyes a lot of money whatever he should get he should get and everything I don't want to hear about taxes this and that of course you know what if
010you had the wrong suit and tenant you're not moving ahead we're going to stay still here there will be no money that we're able to move ahead without the superintendent and act so to me it's a no-brainer in that I think that's about it thank you very much and Mr robitussi you deserve every dime you get thank you [Applause] that's okay well good evening to all my name is Lori lalam and I'm the president of the Clifton Education Association I am here as the president as a representative for this the teachers and the Paris and we are so happy to know that Dr Robert tozzi will be staying he has done such a fantastic job he has brought our district forward he has done collaboration he has settled a referendum to make our buildings look
011beautiful I am so proud that he's going to continue and I thank each and every one of you for voting for that so we have another few years to go and you'll be amazed on what's going to happen thank you and continued success [Applause] um Alliance Ragsdale you heard from the taxpayer you heard from the teachers in Paris and now you hear from the students if I had the opportunities to appreciation for Dr toazi then I absolutely will um he's gone above and beyond to ensure that students are part of you know large decisions and a part of things going on um here with the you know in the board building that we don't see often um whether it be with the superintendent ambassadors or the liaison committee he's made himself available to students I
012thank Dr vitosi and I'm very glad that he'll be staying here um and that's the student perspective you heard a taxpayer you heard teachers in the teachers in the Paras you know take us I appreciate you all for starting with him as well and I just show appreciation to Dr robertoza thank you so much [Applause] and his um his comments have nothing to do with his shirt wearing that he's part of the superintendent's committee has nothing to do with that people please do not do not hold all right is there anyone else that wishes to address the board on the superintendence contract motion close say motion to close by Mr abadrabo second by um Dr Danny um we'll now have a motion please on uh motion to move six number six by this password second
013bite uh vice president Danny any discussion um I'd like to say are we allowed to have comment now or do you want us to do it after we vote yeah we're going to do it we're doing it oh yeah okay in your comments can we take a five minute break yeah I think I said we would do it later okay roll call please Mr rabidrabo absolutely yes Miss basford absolutely yes yes Mr Mejia yes Mr Paris I have to abstain due to conflict Mr Santiago I have to abstain vice president Danny's we think about there's no discussion during the vote I wasn't going to discuss I'm just like letting him wait a second no eye rolling Mr Smith yes absolutely yes president Smith jeez follow that yes motion curse um congratulations [Applause] for the record
014Mr uh Awad um wanted to call in and cast his vote our attorney shot it down so I just want to put on the record that he wanted to do it but it was shot down um so everybody knows this contract will secure Dr robitosi in the Clifton school district for the next five years and I know we're going to have our comments later on but I just wanted to on behalf of the entire board so much thank you for all that you've done look forward to all that you will do and we're so glad that you are our superintendent so thank you doc best of luck and thank you to everyone who spoke okay now we're going to have public recognition for anything else other than the superintendents that's done oh I didn't think
015there was one hmm yeah yeah okay uh no maybe not Sam hold on one second no maybe not okay it's up to you we think that many will be all right so okay so let homework did she say more all right uh we're gonna just uh alter this a little bit because we have some students here and uh we don't want the students to be out on an on school night really late all right so we're going to have our student union representative come up first and then um Miss ragosa I'll put you uh next okay thank you is our student representative here I didn't think so either but they could they're more than welcome okay so we'll go we'll go to the next to our pbsis coordinator Miss Paul De bragosa who doesn't take
016the summer off and has her presentation to do thank you thank you um give me just one second to sign in we were having trying to be like Dr robotozy hard working that's why Clifton schools foreign hi good evening thank you um president Smith Dr robertosi congratulations fearless leader congratulations thank you all so much for the opportunity to bring pbsis to the Forefront on a wonderful summer evening tonight's event we're going to Showcase two amazing students in our summer programs Mr Jameson Salazar and Mr Renzo amadi so a little bit about what's going on during the summer with in the pbsis world and um and our summer programs I now have to use glasses so bear with me um so here we go with active involvement from both our dedicated staff and enthusiastic students the
017adoption of pbsis in our summer programs has been a natural and seamless process the programs have been thoughtfully designed to impact Behavior positive routines Behavior expectations to the students continuing the positive routines established during the regular school year so as a result it is evident that our one Clifton Learning Community has ingrained a culture of respect responsibility and kindness at its core today we pray we proudly highlight two exceptional students from our renowned summer programs whose unwavering commitment to pro-social behaviors have truly set them apart Prepare To Be Inspired as we shine a spotlight on these outstanding students their exemplary actions have not only positively impacted their peers but have also contributed significantly to the overall success and spirit of our summer program let their stories ignite a spark within us as we recognize the
018power of kindness and camaraderie so what we're going to do first is we're going to do we're going to honor our first student we'll present a certificate take a picture with their family and then call up the next student if that's okay thank you um so meet Jameson a shining example of the values we instill in our students at Clifton schools having honed his skills at Woodrow Wilson Middle School Jamison summer program experience exemplifies empathy and kindness so we see a theme Here folks we see our students working effortlessly all year long along with staff and it's now happening naturally and organically in our summer programs a heartwarming incident that truly showcases Jameson's compassion occurred during a school bus ride observing a younger student struggling with the transition back home after the summer program Jameson
019stepped forward without hesitation taking the initiative he approached the administrator on the bus and offered assistance to support the younger student throughout the bus ride Jameson extended his gentle guidance and companionship helping the student feel at ease helping him put on his seat belt and engaging him throughout the bus ride with a thoughtful conversation acts of kindness like these have become second nature to Jameson a testament to his genuine care and concern for others Jameson's Journey inspires inspires us to Foster empathy and kindness creating a positive impact on others so let's celebrate his remarkable character and the difference he makes in our Clifton Community congratulations Jameson foreign [Applause] yes please so Jameson if you would kindly come up [Applause] this weekend thank you beautiful thank you so much [Music] [Applause] all right that was lovely
020thank you so much um all right we are delighted to announce Renzo Amanti as our next pbss showcase student of the month throughout this summer Renzo has consistently proven to be an invaluable asset to the rollout of the pbsis program his dedication enthusiasm and positive attitude have made a significant impact on both inside and outside the classroom Renzo's commitment to modeling the program's expectations on a daily basis sets an inspiring example for his peers and younger students attending the program his strong work ethic and a wavering motivation have motivated others to strive for excellence and embrace the program's values additionally Renzo's involvement in the ticket collection process for the Raffles has been key in preparing for the program's events his active participation and dedication to making these events successful have truly been commendable with this
021Con with Renzo's contagious joy and determination the hallways are filled with an uplifting and energizing atmosphere creating a conductive environment for Learning and personal growth we are proud to have Renzo as part of our school community and look forward to witnessing his continued growth and achievements in the future congratulate congratulations Renzo thank you so much Renzo Would You Do List the honor of coming up [Applause] if you want to leave that I'll take a picture of all of you okay um that's wonderful three two one okay here we go three two one beautiful [Applause] you know so I would I would probably recommend that some people stand here thank you we're a little well we're a little lopsided but you know so yeah um so yeah you go over there there are a couple of
022people in the back there that we can't let's see there you go Mr Smith it's hard to see you Bob three two one some hidden faces in the back but not much we can do about that there we go three two one nice thank you congratulations everyone tomorrow thank you congrats everybody [Music] thank you to all the staff members who came out this evening we appreciate that very much including the fly ers should be an award whoever can catch that fly okay let's move on all right so now we'll go to public recognition I don't have to read that statement all over again though all right same statement I read before applies here if that's a good one anyone so anyone on the virtual motion to close please motion Mr Robert second by Mr Santiago
023public session please uh if anyone wishes to address the board please come up to the microphone state your name municipality and sign the register provided part two all right I don't have to repeat my name again everybody knows me all right this is the beginning of the new school year the Clifton Education Association is looking forward to working together with the for the betterment of our students their families and our community what are some of the opportunities where we can work together parent-teacher collaboration encourage regular parent-teacher meetings to discuss students progress and challenges collaborate on strategies to support outside the classroom both I'm sorry both inside and outside of the classroom community outreach look at programs that are here in Clifton involve students teachers and parents in community service such as cleaning up local parks
024volunteering at shelters or assisting the elderly a few more years I'll be there um workshops and seminars host workshops and seminars for parents and teachers on topics like effective communication student motivation handling stress or promoting a positive learning environment family events and there's one that I'll talk to you later Dr robitosi organized family oriented events like picnics fairs cultural celebrations where everyone can come together in a relaxed setting educational workshops for parents offer workshops for them understanding new curriculum guidelines homework help study techniques the new AI so we can keep abreast of that collaborative projects create projects that involve both students and teamwork and shared goals Community forums A Range Community where Educators parents and local residents can discuss education related issues and share ideas for improvement remember collaboration is key to creating a supportive
025and thriving educational Community by working together with the Clifton Education Association we can make a positive impact on the lives of students and their families and I would like to say on any of your committees if you would like any one of us to show up and to be a part of it or to give an idea please reach out we'd be more than happy to and I just want to let the board know that during February a group of us took part out in LA with the Nea to discuss practice and education accelerate student learning post covet so Clifton was very lucky the cea received ten thousand dollars from the Nea for this project so we're going to be reaching out for ideas for this project over the next three years so anything to
026get the community involved with our district any ideas are welcomed so thank you again and have a great evening thank you anyone else wish to address the board seeing someone coming up I don't count I guess I gotta Keith Bassett click to New Jersey I bet you nobody knows what Monday is going to be July 31st at four o'clock does anybody know what that's going to be Monday I call it silly season it's going to start Monday Silly Season you know what Silly Season means the people on the board here something's going to be running people on the outside is going to be running we're going to have who can make a deal and who's going to be president who's going to be vice president it's going to be a good season you know it
027took me nine months I'm back it's great it's like Facebook showing you down I was shut down for nine months but I'm back again and I'm glad because I made it my goal to make sure I'm going to be around for this election in November last year I was literally capacitated you know but you know it happens but one thing I'm gonna make sure and it's it's a promise I'm going to make sure the right people get on this board you know we gave Dr robatazzi him five years more and for him to succeeded five years he needs a proper board to behind him I don't need people up here that get up here just to have a title and everything I need people up here that's going to help him and help yourselves here
028move ahead with the school system there and like I said before it's very important you know I always I always say I'm going to bring up my speeches and that but it's not my style so I didn't bring my speech anything it's always off the cuff and that stuff a few things and I guess I'll be coming up here more as a silly season goes on in that but I am not going to hold back what I hear and I know for a fact if it's true I'm getting up here to say what's going on in that we already have some people out there and some people in here they want to make this a partisan election this is never been really a part of it's supposed to be non-partisan when you have that already
029you know what that means to me we have people that are trying to take over this board not on my watch it's not a threat it's just hey I'm a taxpayer I'm a citizen in Clifton and I have a right to be up here are you already spoke to my attorney about me speaking and he said to me Keith once you're up there telling the truth it's all that matters if anybody wants to come after you no problem I'll handle it for you and that and that's what I'm gonna do I'm gonna come up here and make sure it's the truth and that and if somebody tells me he is saying something they say oh you know Keith Keith don't go by that key checks the sources and make sure it's the truth and I
030will make sure it's the truth in the sources people the other day on Facebook they're asking who's running you know at this point I wouldn't say anything because unless it's signed on a dotted line and it's down the county and everything I'm not going to say because then becomes hearsay and I but we'll see Monday by four o'clock who's running and hopefully we have some good candidates running and everything too it's very important I take this the school system excuse me the school system seriously what goes on my kids had a great education and I want to make sure the kids now have a great education which they are I want to move ahead I want you know they vote they voted the they voted you know Clifton as the 15th best city in New
031Jersey and everything which I don't believe it I think you know we still could do better in that but I want this school system to shine I want us to be up here with the state and the county I want people to say oh Clifton has this going on people has Clifton has that going on and B that's it and he went anyone else wish to address the board emotional close second none motion to close by Mr Robert second by Miss basford um all right uh we're just gonna skip a little bit here again yes um we have a presentation from our sister and superintendent if I can find you okay we have a special presentation tonight from our assistant superintendent of curriculum uh Miss Gina kusilevich Janina I said what'd I say Gina Janina
032kusilevich it's okay I answered anything so when I was in the classroom I was just Ms K that's as far as anybody got was just Ms k okay let me just here is the little presentation one oh why can't I see it have I gone blind oh I've gone blind good evening Commissioners ladies and gentlemen normally I would give you a printout but we have been having some network problems so there was no way for me to print but I will share a printout by the next meeting so that you have it for your files so tonight is a pro forma mandatory presentation of State assessment scores every time a different state assessment score is released to us we have 60 days to present them to the board and to the public so you've seen
033me present on njsla and start strong this year on dlm now I'm presenting on the NJ GPA and access scores from the spring Administration in the fall we're going to do a fall Administration so you'll see me you know at a certain point after that every again every time there's a mandatory Statewide assessment we present within 60 days the njpsa is a new statutory graduation assessment for administer to all students in grade 11. it measures student performance in language arts and Mathematics and it gives you a rating of whether that student is graduation ready the es the ELA component aligns to grade 10 and it looks like this assessment will be replacing the njsla 10. the math component represents Algebra 1 and geometry cut scores were finally developed this year when I presented on NJ
034GPA last year that was a baseline assessment with this new one they've set cut scores as well as created a menu of alternative assessments so students who don't meet the cut score can then retake components of the NJ GPA they can participate in basic skills classes they could meet a cut score on another assessment and they could also complete a portfolio appeal at this time eighty percent 80 I'm sorry 72.2 percent of our students are graduation ready in language arts 38.7 in math uh 20 I'm sorry 27.8 are developing their graduation ready skills in language arts and 61.3 percent of our students are developing their graduation ready skills in math what we see here is a demographic breakdown of how our English language Learners economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities did in comparison to our
035general education students and here's the same subgroup setup but for language arts the access for L's assessment is an assessment that's given to all English language Learners K through 12. it's given annually to level those students and show their growth in learning the English language this is a federally required assessment whereas NJ GPA was a state assessment this follows what are called the Wida English language development standards those are standards that help us level and identify what a newcomer or a child who's been here for one two three or four years can do and the test addresses listening speaking reading and writing so 1099 students took the access for L's this spring this is a very intensive test the listening and speaking portion has to be done one-on-one so our teachers had to do one-to-one
036testing for 1990 1099 English language learners reading and writing is done in small groups we can see that 247 of our students are in level one they're newcomers new arrivals and you saw that with the increasing numbers in English language Learners this year 246 are level two 371 level 3 193 and level four 38 and level five and four in level six once you get to level four we can start exiting some of these students based on multiple measures but the typical requirement is they must exceed level four so what is the district doing in response to these scores some of which may seem um low some of which may seem very like very large numbers of students at low levels of English language proficiency we're utilizing these NJ GPA and access scores together with
037all of our local data so that we can change and adjust what we do in the classrooms four hours NJ GPA students we're going to be providing support as we have always done for the multiple graduation pathways that includes basic skills classes for some of our students and additional test taking session on NJ GPA this fall taking other approved assessments that count for graduation like the SAT and the PSAT and finally the portfolio process for graduation we continually reflect on this data and we make adjustments to pacing and programs as a result our pacing charts get adjusted in order to make sure that we're targeting those areas where we might have to focus based on the state the assessments that we see for our English language Learners we make sure that the Wida standards and
038the Wida can do descriptors are used in instruction because ell students are not always with an ESL teacher they also spend part of their day with a general education teacher who needs support in knowing how they can be assessed and those standards and can-do descriptors help them do that we're providing online support and reading interventions for our level one through level 3 English language Learners as well as those English language Learners who have interrupted formal education the term for that type of student is safe or slife those are the new students who arrive here with limited education from their native country but they do represent a very small portion of our population we are expanding our before at and after school summer programs through 2024 with a focus on our English language learners for all
039of our high school students as well as Middle School come in this coming year we're providing 24 hour a day seven day a week access to an online tutoring program called tutor.com we're prioritizing small group instruction using our adaptive online programs and we're using the Esser funds for this last year to provide content area support at the high school as well as the different counseling social workers and intervention teachers that we've been using the Esser funds for to date Commissioners do you have any questions and once again I apologize due to the network disruption I was unable to print it's okay is there any Commissioners have any questions Mr Santiago first um thank you Miss kusilevic for that uh and that last slide uh there was a bullet point that mentioned um math activities specifically
040small groups um I forgot what else can you elaborate a little bit on that sure um in our math program we do a lot of station-based learning it's in our pacing from kindergarten through High School so we do a combination whole class teacher instruction the teacher then breaks the class up into groups and students work in different stations depending on the needs and level of that class a basic skills teacher might come in or a inclusion teacher may work with one of those small groups while the classroom teacher works with another and other students are either working on Independent stations or using some of our online programs we do also in some cases have small pull out groups and then when you're in ESL and special ed we do have smaller groups that are mandated
041with with class size numbers that are smaller so that we can do more targeted instruction to support those students the smaller groups for math are across all grade levels but we also have small group instruction like that with our reading specialists at the Elementary grades with our reading recovery teachers at certain Title 1 schools and with our BSI reading interventionists in Middle School so I just want to make sure I understand on the first slide was it that 38 of our 11th graders are ready for graduation when it comes to math it was at 38 of all 11th graders I know that's 38 of our 11th graders already in math math has historically on these standardized tests been low on our NJ sl8 as well algebra is a major challenging sticking point and um I
042know it looks very low but it hasn't gone lower than pre-pandemic um so I know that doesn't sound very encouraging but from another perspective it is it means we have been able to at least retain where we were and can build on that this also does not mean that this these students are at a standstill because they now have they have all of the rest of their senior year to make those to make the gains necessary to be able to graduate because our graduation rate is well over 84 percent right great and the last one is um when we do get the presentation kitten or if or if this is already somewhere I can share it I can actually as soon as I sit down I just realized I could have shared this with you
043it's a Google doc right because we couldn't use that slides can we get like a trend can we get a comparison or an average over say like well NG GPA there is no Trend because NJ GPA is a new test last year was a baseline this year is our first year that we actually have some kind of a cut score that we're looking at okay thank you um but you do get Trends from me um for those assessments that are multi-year and you do get trends for our local assessment data and our local assessment data measures what our students are doing in their classroom on a daily basis from that first marking period to the fourth usually in the fall you'll see the um the growth from the previous school year you'll see that growth
044from from September to the end of the year and the other piece is that when you when you lay these scores over our SAT performance it's vastly different and our students are doing far better on PSAT and sat these tests are always very skewed and they're only one single data point that we look at Mr Paris thank you Mr Smith um the ell students these are all different grade levels yes they're English language Learners from K through 12. right now we have as of the time of access testing there were 1099 um we're somewhere in that 1100 student range right now but they are from K through 12 that the assessment slots them into language proficiency levels um and each year we're measured on how what percentage of those students move from one level to
045the next increasing each year and we do make those targets every year um what that what the the results showed us was just where our students fall this year so so are they tracked individually their own individual progress yes um I thought I had another question uh oh compared to uh prior year the number of students has changed to what degree yes and um last October I'm sorry the previous October of October of 2022 we had 651 English language Learners in I'm sorry October 2021 October of 2022 we head over at that we had over a thousand thank you it's a lot of growth we have but by I I suspect that when we hit our number this October 15th we will have more than doubled from two years ago anyone else okay thank you
046so much Miss kosalevich we appreciate your presentation thank you and I'll share the doc with you now all right next we're gonna have our superintendent's report Judea thank you so much for that uh presentation for being our lead on all instructional matters uh good evening Commissioners members of the public uh first let me just give the most heartfelt thank you that I I possibly um could give for proving a new employment agreement for me tonight to be with you for the next five years it looks like you're stuck with me for another five years um and who knows maybe more but as a superintendent job security is not something that um superintendents are known to have but having a contract gives gives a superintendent uh some some security that that they have a job and
047allows uh the stability in the district allows a district to grow with stability at the top and allows initiatives that start um to finish as opposed to constant transition so for my family for my life personally thank you so much um for approving this contract thank you for the trust that you have in me what I promise you is that I will do my best every day and do whatever it takes to not let you down your belief in me is obvious by your vote tonight even though my uh my children texted me and wanted to know why Mr Paris and Mr Santiago voted no and I said no well they said they don't like you Dad and I said no no that's not it I had to explain to them and they uh they
048understood so the Robert toesie kids did not cut you off completely you're good um my children were actually watching the board meeting to see this tonight which is very interesting it must be a real boring night in the robertosie household um but things like that change people's change people's lives but uh listen we don't want our board we don't want our board meetings that we must watch TV but thank you um we have when I look back at the last four years beginning in my fifth year we have accomplished a lot of really great things but there is so much more to do and I believe that together working with one shared goal multiple shared goals we will achieve a really really bright future for this District so thank you thank you thank you Mr
049basford thank you for your uh comments that really meant a lot for me because like you said you you're a straight shooter you're going to come up and you're going to tell everybody exactly what you think so so thank you Mr llama or our collaboration over the last several years has been fantastic and I I truly believe and and you and I both know there's research that indicates when labor and management collaborate academic achievement increases so I look forward to more collaboration with you in the future and doing great things for our staff and our children and to have a student come up and say a few words about me really got you got me there a little alive so my heart is full because at the end of the day none of us exist
050none of this exists if not for you and for students so to hear you say those kind words um really means a lot to me thank you and I'm looking forward to one more year together with you so now um it's time to take the attention off me and put it where it really belongs it will it is my distinct pleasure to introduce to the public our newest employee in the Clifton Public Schools Chewie our district therapy dog Chewie short for Chewbacca is wearing a tie he knew that um this was a formal event where he was being introduced um [Laughter] for those who may not be aware therapy dogs are known to help children learn empathy learn interpersonal skills they help individuals students develop social skills they help reduce anxiety to help children learn
051to read they help reluctant readers instead of reading to a classmate can read to a therapy dog because they know that Chewie's not going to judge you Chewie is not going to be Julie's just happy to hear you reading he's not going to be checking your consonant skills so um thanks to this board of education that um for several months the policy committee did a lot of research a lot of discussions about bringing a therapy dog crafting a policy to do this and with the board support we now have Chewie who will be spending a lot of time with our kids in schools and I cannot tell you how much we all love him already should we come say hello to the Board of Education members with me he looks like Mark Judy said he
052looks like you mark that's a cute dog chewy chewy chewy Chewbacca noises that's reserved for me oh my God you're still working on the regulations so Mr gengaro thank you for bringing Chewie uh stop by is he going to be staying for the meeting or is he uh yes he wants to go to Executive session later okay good good we might we very well might need him um thank you Mr gengaro so uh commissioner just a real brief um update if you drive around Clifton and see any of our schools you can see there's a lot of construction projects going on doesn't look pretty but progress doesn't look pretty sometimes we are making tremendous progress with our referendum projects new bathroom facilities in all of our buildings new HVAC units in all of our buildings
053one problem we are having and I don't think this is a surprise to anyone anymore it's kind of beyond our control is uh when you install new HVAC systems and schools you sometimes need to upgrade the electricity and unfortunately a lot of people are doing this at the same time and there is still a problem with the supply chain with psang trying to get now the difficulties trying to get Transformers for the polls so unfortunately despite some of our best efforts PSEG is is still waiting on them to install a few Transformers so while we may have new HVAC installed we may have beautiful new Fields ready to go but we're waiting on electricity so we're working on that we're doing everything in our power to to um to rush that but it's just something
054that it's affecting this the entire state so that's my report for tonight uh Mr Smith I don't want to take any any more time thank you again Commissioners um I appreciate each and every one of you very very much thank you Mr Smith yeah so under my announcements just uh if there's anybody in Clifton or in our watching area that has any influence or any connection at PSENG so we could get these projects up and completed for our students we have a beautiful field over at Woodrow Wilson but their Clubhouse is inoperable because we don't have electricity the scoreboards are inoperable because we don't have electricity our weight room is going to be done beautiful new weight room and they won't be able to use it because there's no electricity I I I'm I'm I'm
055baffled why an entity of this size is stifling our projects and that's what they're doing if you remember it was back in May that we had our groundbreaking at the new field and PSEG at that time said we were going to have electricity within days they didn't say it was going to be 90 days 120 days and counting so I just hope the public understands that while you see a lot going on I know there's been a lot written about the Woodrow field and how the board didn't get it completed and that's totally untrue it lies in the hands of PSEG so hopefully somebody out there hears this knows of somebody knows a connection lives next door to the president of pcng whatever however we can get a connection in there to get these projects
056completed for our schools and for our kids we greatly appreciate it on that note we will move to board committee reports oh I'm sorry we have first reading and policy um 2419 school threat assessment teams um next we have committee report board committee reports we'll start with um Mr Paris would you mind doing facility facilities your own facilities right yes thank you Mr Smith uh the facilities committee met on July 12th uh in attendance was myself Mr Santiago president Smith uh meeting time was 3 30 to 5 PM we have for items of discussion we had a ref the referendum update Bill Castillo from epic management and Rodney Watkins are decaro uh Rubino architect gave an update on the referendum projects going on throughout the district vestibules bathrooms HVAC and abatements are happening in almost
057every building we then had a energy consultant update any presentation from transparent energy Steve DeStefano our energy consultant recommended the district utilize transparent energy to Aid in bidding Gas and Electric utilities also he will work closely with the referendum work to give proposals regarding the possible use of solar panels uh the committee concurred to put a resolution forward um item three one Clifton faculty and staff Recreational Sports League was discussed uh Dr robertosie presented an idea of having a Recreational Sports league for staff it was further discussed and I believe it is on this evening's agenda uh we concluded at 5 30 and those are the minutes from the meeting any questions on facilities okay seeing none will move on to finance Mr Brunswick thank you president Smith we had a finance committee meeting July
05812 2023 from 5 PM until 6 15 pm myself Alan Paris president Smith were in attendance items of discussion were the bond Council update NJ arm asset and rebate management the district's Bond Council Andrea Khan attended the meeting to explain her recommendation to utilize the New Jersey asset and rebate management otherwise known as New NJ armed to meet rebate compliance standards as well as maximize the interest savings there is no cost to the district they will submit a proposal for consideration number two which was discussed was the AV stipend Administration recommended increasing the AV stipend which has not been increased in years a fair price will be negotiated and proposed in an upcoming agenda and finally we discussed Aid in lieu of Transportation rate for the 23-24 school year Administration stated that a Aid in
059lieu of non-public Transportation numbers have been released from the doe it is increasing from one thousand twenty two dollars per student to 1165 per student does anyone have any questions okay thank you CNN move on to uh policy Miss password yes thank you president Smith uh the policy committee met on July 10th uh we started at 506 in present president at the meeting was commissioner fahima abedrabo commissioner Mejia Lou Ross was President for a mission Administration also president was the board attorney to Lee Gutierrez and myself the committee reviewed and advises the adoption of a new mandated policy 2419 School threat assessment team as recommended by Strauss Esme and required under the state law the committee discussed the possibility of creating a policy regarding School graduation and commencement activities to address procedures and requests that
060may arise around the graduation commencement ceremonies the administration will provide proposals to the committee at the next upcoming meeting in continuing its review of existing policies the committee reviewed the following policies all adopted prior to 2015 and recommends that the policies remain as they are with no changes the policies will be marked as reviewed with today's board meeting date in our policy book and on the district's website where policies are kept 4-1-1 creating positions 4112 abolishing positions 4124 Employment contract 4130 assignment of transfers 4140 terminations 4145 layoffs 4150 discipline 4151 assessment of pay 4211.3 Consulting outside the district 4214 conflicts of interest 4215 code of ethics the meeting adjourned at 5 30 pm and Mr Ross submitted the minutes any questions thank you okay uh thank you we'll move on to uh the unfinished business
061all right we'll move on to um 16. whereas on June 29th 2023 the committee noted with sorrow the passing of Mr Thomas Stoll and whereas Mr Stahl has served the Board of Education and the children of Clifton faithfully and condition consistently in a as a value member of the maintenance team during his 20 plus years of dedicated service Tommy insured our school facilities were safe functional and conductive to learning Tommy Tommy will be remembered for his warm and appreciate approachable nature his kind and helpful demeanor made him a beloved figure in our school community now for it be resolved that the resolution be forwarded to his breathed family to serve as an expression of great Regard in which Mr snow was held by the board and and to the Board of Education the Administration Employees
062and pupils of the city of Clifton and be it further resolved that the contents of this resolution be noted in their entirety in the official minutes of the Clifton Board of Education to Future generations to pursue can I have a motion on a second on that please motion by Mr rajabo second by Mr Mejia roll call please Mr abidrabo yes Miss Miss bassford yes Mr Brunswick yes Mr Mejia yes Mr Paris yes Mr Santiago yes vice president Danny yes president Smith yes motion carries uh Tommy truly was a a hard-working and dedicated employee um Tommy did most of the painting for the district he was our head painter and our schools looked tremendous after uh Tommy painted those the classrooms or the exterior or any other areas so uh we send our condolences to his
063family and thank thank his family for Tommy's hard work over the years okay we'll move on to uh administration of Education Administration we have uh ea1 through ea10 move to move it hi Mr Rob javo second by Miss basford is there any discussion seeing it on roll call please Mr abadrabo yes Miss bass yes Mr Brunswick yes Mr Mejia yes Mr Paris yes Mr Santiago yes vice president Danny yes president Smith yes motion carries all right next we have uh C Personnel we have p we have P1 through P36 move it I miss Mr Robert Javas I can buy Miss basford any discussion seeing none roll call please Mr abadrabo yes Miss basper yes Mr Brunswick yes Mr Mejia yes Mr Paris yes philipstein on myself and I am 33. Mr Santiago yes but abstain
064on C30 vice president Danny yes but abstain on my name only on um 33p gotcha president Smith yes motion scary and I uh specifically would just like to [Music] um point out uh p12 um a near and dear good friend of mine um and a dedicated and hard-working paraprofessional in our district for a few years um I'm so happy uh and congratulate you uh Linda White is in the Room Linda congratulations on your uh your change in status it is so well deserved and we say congratulations to you [Applause] now don't think I'm rude for not asking Linda to come up to the microphone but she would take my head off if I asked her to come to the microphone so um we'll just leave it at that but congratulations all right we'll next move
065on to uh finance and Facilities we have a F1 through F16 moved move it Mr Robert Java second by Miss basford is there any discussion um yeah I just would like to um thank the donors that have made a donation to our music Angels uh program um Mr Paris could probably talk more about it than I can but um um members of the public uh donate um an item of an instrument that can be used by our students and it helps tremendously because these these instruments are so expensive and to put that burden on families is is rough so uh anyone that makes a a donation to this um that's what it's used for correct Mr Paris so we thank the donors that have made Their donation to uh to the music Angels program um
066I think we have a two violins coming in I think of this donation so we thank them roll call please Mr abajabo yes Miss basketball yes Mr Brunswick yes Mr Mejia yes Mr Paris yes Mr Santiago yes vice president Danny yes and president Smith yes motions carry okay we're gonna move into board member comments okay what month are we in July so it is um Mr abajava thank you president Smith uh even the summer students are still doing phenomenal things congratulations to Jamison and Renzo um it's great to see that we're still honoring students doing even during the summer time for their great things um led by Mr goza we're always doing an amazing job every month day in and day out with shining stars every single month it's a great thing to see great
067thing to do some facility upgrades I know there was some chatter uh I saw on I'm actually meant to call you earlier um by over by School 17 some people are illegal dumping um if we could talk about just the garbage dumpsters that out there and what are we doing to prohibit that yeah um it was brought to my attention I guess there was a social media post yeah and that was brought to my attention by Mrs basford and Mr Paris um Sunday night approximately 10 13 p.m a pickup truck it was actually School 16. said school 17. okay but at school 16. pulled up um took three four minutes dumped a whole bunch of stuff out into our garbage cans and left we have it on video we've made a police report and hopefully
068that person will be dealt with appropriately so I would discourage anybody from trying to do that it's not not very wise they're going to get caught they're going to get fined and and if we have the opportunity we'll be pressing charges and that's why we have a great leader at the helm um which leads us to my next thing so you know Dr Robert Ozzy um is a phenomenal phenomenal leader he's a caring individual who I think not only brings that into his from his personal life into his professional life but you know gives each board members in digital attention when needed is great with parents phenomenal with our students great with our staff and I think nobody can ever argue with that he has led us through some um rough times I'm just going
069to say with coven with other opportunities in the past couple years and I think he's done a great job and you know this district is great to have him lucky to have them um I think only three of us on this board were here when actually you were hired at the time and I'm glad that the rest of the board all nine of us um support you in any way we can you are a great CEO of the district um and you know like I said for the next five years hopefully more we get to have you um I don't know you're still young I don't think you're going anywhere no of course and everybody's gonna have their time to talk about you so so Danny Robert Toady show we're just little characters in it
070uh other than that yeah this district with Dr arbitozi it's Administration uh it's staff it's a great District to be in you know somebody who's growing up in this District who has been in this District um seen from what it was to what it is and I think as Dr barbatosi said there's still a lot more growth and as Miss Salama said there's so much more to do and the person looking forward to it hopefully um the next couple years and and beyond that so congratulations Danny and uh just lucky to have you brother thank you Miss password yes uh good evening everyone happy summer uh thank you to all the speakers that came up here tonight um I'd like to just highlight the two pbsis showcase students that were awarded uh Jay Mission and
071Renzo and um so full disclosure Renzo is a part of the praise group and uh he's come a long way so kudos to praise and what they do and um just the just the Accolade that those two students Got Tonight coming from that you know the world of helping other people you may have changed lives for the far into the future that you've touched these children because their Outreach is going to be continual okay so as commissioner abadrabo said that there was three Commissioners on the board when we did the interviews for our superintendent search it wasn't easy it was long nights we had many meetings there was a lot of personalities in that room but we came together for the betterment of the group um we to say that there was dysfunction prior to
072Danny getting here is an understatement and I can tell you because um my oldest is 33 I started getting involved with Board of Education meetings I think when she was five or six we started coming because that was what HSA did they would assign somebody and tag I was it so it would come in the back of the room and watch the meetings and there were some really questionable things that used to go on and um I have to tell you that leadership has changed the communication is unbelievable you know some days when I get those pings on my phone it's from you or one of your staff members I kind of cringed to open it up because I don't want want to know what it is but then I go to it but it's
073the constant knowing and being reassured that it's going to work out and things are being handled which is makes me as a 12-year board member relax because I know prior to that we didn't get anything and we would either hear it at Stop and Shop or ShopRite or we would be at the bank trying to you know do our Banking and somebody would stop us and it was really awful because you would hear these stories and you wouldn't even know what was going on and you're an elected official on this board so thank you for that when when we interviewed Danny there was a whole cast of characters that we interviewed it was it was just and the characters in the room were equally as as we we did our job though and Danny stood
074out above above everybody he came with a presentation he blew us away he was organized but the thing that got to me he kept on talking and he looked straight at me about communication and when you made eye contact because the other ones the one lady couldn't get after off the first question I don't even know what happened to her but it was awful hours we spent hours and we came up to a good decision and that is probably in the 12 years that I've been here and the things that we've accomplished and the faux pas that we've gone through I think it was one of the best decisions that we made it was hands down it was unanimous but we came together and that board did not get along at that point and we
075all agreed so we made the best decision so I thank all the previous board members for making the decision I thank my fellow colleagues for making the right decision Danny you are attentive to us you listen to us even though we have wacky things that we come up with sometimes but sometimes you say to you'll say to me when I come up with an idea you'll look at me and say wait a minute I'll get back to you and you you tweak it and you get back and and it grows and I'm I'm proud to say it's good you have 17 months to work with me I have a lot of ideas I I have to hit a couple things over the summer with you um because they've come to my attention especially in the
076special ed World um but I know that if I if I give you that seed when I turn around and you put the cellophane over the little seed bucket and you let those seeds just mature and they start to they start to germinate and then they sprout and then sell the things off and when I turn around there is this great big thing that's the proud that I am because I know that we all talk to you and we all give you little things here and there and then you take that little thing and you make it what it is everything that you've touched has turned in to something Grand but to watch you talk to those two young boys tonight I've never seen that come from a superintendent while I sat in this seat
077you make that connection where you change their lives and that's what I'm proud of for making the decision for putting you in that seat it was a no-brainer so thank you for being here thank you we have a lot more work to do it's only the beginning remember the seed has been planted I got the cellophane over it because that's what makes them grow faster but we're going to do good things and I thank all my fellow commissions good luck to you and tell your kids to relax it's all good all right good night thank you everyone have a good rest of your summer thank you to everybody that came good night thank you uh Mr brunsiak thank you president Smith I want to give a shout out to all the kids enrolled in our
078summer programs and all the parents that helped me and to the administration for help making that happen I believe tomorrow is the last day uh it's it's tough for some of the kids they don't want to do it it's it's about three and a half hours a day a lot of these kids need it whether it's PSI or just extra summer programs at one of the Silas um it's it's so fantastic to keep your mind moving there are a lot of distractions out there and a lot of poison out there and and they have an opportunity to stay away from it as well for these programs so congrats all the kids are going to wrap it up tomorrow and I hope all of you enjoy the rest of the time you have for this summer
079also uh congrats Dr Robert tozzi well deserved um not many people with your caliber Talent Stacks so I had no problem with that whatsoever and I just want to thank everybody else I I stopped by School 17 a couple of weeks ago because I used to play baseball there back in the day probably about 35 years ago and now School 17 is there so time is uh things have changed in Clifton I'll say that but it's got air conditioning over there and as far as I'm aware of some of the rocks that are in the actual weasel Brook they're still there from 35 years ago so I showed my kids well the other kids went up there go take a look at the same rocks that were over there and uh these miniature boulders they're
080still there I mean decades later so it's a testament to the growth of this city and uh I mean we needed it there's 11 000 we got presentations tonight ten percent of our district uh is ell so we need these extra programs and thank goodness uh the business administrator's office much of it is covered by title one which the feds pay for which thank goodness that's the least they could do based on the 42 cents that they give back to the entire state of New Jersey for all the receipts that they get from the income taxes that that the citizens pay uh so so we're thankful for that as well so thank you to everybody in the Ba's office keep up the good job over there and anybody else if you don't come to the
081next meeting I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer thank you for your time and God bless America have a good night everybody thank you Mr Mejia um I first like to give my control my condolences to the family of Tommy you know I didn't um get to meet him but from what I hear it was a great person to work with and even a better employee um congratulations to the two students from PBIS and I also like to say you know I'm lucky enough to inherit Danny you know like you guys were saying before you guys all voted him I wasn't fortunate enough to be here when he was there but working with him this past half year has been tremendous you know I kind of look out up to him as like
082a mentor and all that and sometimes you know I text him about little things here and there and he's always you know willing to give an answer right away whether it's you know in five minutes five hours so it'll always get me an answer um I'm looking forward to you know 10 years 30 years and 40 years you know when we're the number one ranked Public School in New Jersey you know telling stories about oh back in the day you know so I'm just waiting for that day you know I'm not waiting to get old but you know when the time does come I'm willing to tell those stories saying all back in the day you know Danny it was a great superintendent and all that but thank you and have a great night to
083everyone I hope you guys have um a tremendous summer and hope to see you guys back in school in about two months thank you thank you um Mr Paris thank you Mr Smith uh thank you to the public uh we heard from a taxpayer heard from a teacher we heard from a great student uh we heard from a lot of the board and uh this is to uh your kids Dr Robertos um this commissioner is very happy that we have you here in Clifton not only are you a great communicator even more important you're a great listener and you're approachable you're accessible and care first and foremost about the students in this district and and our staff as well and we really appreciate that and we hope we have you for a lot longer than
084five more years everybody else have a great summer thank you Mr Santiago thank you president Smith um congratulations Dr robertozzi hopefully the junior robertosies you can explain the difference between abstain and know but I look forward to continued success um I just hope everybody's having a great summer uh I want to say um to miss Ray golsa thanks so much for your pbsis your efforts with that program we see it time and time and again with the students that come up and the teachers and everybody that uh we present um and it's awesome to see Jameson and Renzo being that example we know that has like a ripple effect on the other students so um I just look forward to continued success with the pbsis program and thanks to those students um yeah I want
085to keep it short just hopefully everybody's having a great safe summer oh my first graduation it was awesome um and I hope all the students are off and running um but yeah thanks so much have a great evening thank you Dr Danny so yes I'd like to say condolences to the stole family to the to pbsis students congratulations and again it's always just nice to see students who are really excelling just you know at um being involved in trying you know trying to help out to do something good I think that's always you know nice it's nice that we are recognizing that um Dr Robert Ozzy so in my time in my district I have seen five superintendents and um I have to say that the ones that were really really liked they it was
086just something about their personality that I see that you have it's just um you know when to be firm and then you know when to be a little soft and I do know that board members I mean we could be a sea of egos and you do know and you have that Talent on you know and it does I think take a certain amount of talent from what I hear you know again other superintendents say to make your way on that boat in this sea of egos without getting overturned sometimes um so you know because you do work very closely with the board members and you know that that is difficult so I I do have to you know commend you on that um and I do remember when we were in our search and
087um well I liked you right from the minute that you brought in that little piece of chocolate you know that was that was great um that was that was key I was waiting for it on your second interview but it did not but it was okay I mean I Let It Go um and you know I I think that um there were so many issues before you came along and the one thing that you did was that you just like grabbed a hold of all the complaints um and one by one you just tackled them especially when we were you know working on our mission statement and you really were looking at you know what is the community saying you know what are we saying like what what is what is really that Clifton is
088looking for in a school district um and I think you know you really got everyone up to par on I mean even before covid with technology and trying to move that forward and so you know I I always say that you just kind of remind me of like your uh say counties your Passaic County but you're like a Bergen County Superintendent you know from all the ones that I've seen and the ones that have been really really great um you just you do you do a really fabulous job and I think it's a testament even to see that you know you have um the president of the teachers union you know and you have you know coming up and saying that that she has you know this relationship with you and I think that that
089is very key and is very important and that you had you know again a student and I'm sure that there's many students I mean just hearing that you know you like to be involved and work with the students and I think that oftentimes a superintendent that's the part that they lose touch with as you get higher and higher up and the fact that you know you are keeping in touch with the students um and you know the I think that that's really key it's important it gives you a pulse on what's going on in your District so I hope that you stay um longer than that um you know I am glad that I was part of that search you know and and seeing you you know being here and getting you know your additional
090years five years and I hope like I said that you um you know in in good health and everything that you continue you know to serve this District past that time because you truly are an asset to the district and you're welcome and everyone else just um enjoy the rest of your summer students staff faculty Administration everybody just you know as much as you can rest and you know in September just hit it hard because that's what it always feels like that's it good night so yes Dr Danny you mentioned um the president of the Teachers Association uh any superintendent that can uh that got her elevator uh at Columbus is gonna be a winner in her book so uh so again I don't want to um continue to say the the same things over
091and over again um but there's just two things that I I have to uh to comment on so when I was thinking about coming on back on the board I served on the board of education from 92 to 2006. uh so when I was thinking about coming back onto the board um of course people said that I should have my head examined and all those things but one of the reasons that I wanted to be back on this board was because of this man and I had only met him a few times but I heard his vision I heard his enthusiasm and this is a true story Dr robitosi can confirm it I I said to him you know I'm going to run for the board and the reason I'm running is because of you
092um I think that I can work with you and I could give my my uh my experience and my knowledge and uh to the district and um I'm so happy that um that I did run um and that were seated here together and um I know I know Miss basford didn't go into it in in detail but she could tell you that districts around the state are superintendent now they call it hopping jumping um so they hop around until they can find the the best district with the most money and um and why we think that Dr robitosi is worth a lot more we wanted to at least be fair to him and keep them here in Clifton not hopping somewhere else not wanting to go somewhere else and again I'm sure initially he didn't
093come to Clifton because of the money because he could have gone to many other districts and made more including his old District but he saw something in Clifton he saw what our town is like that people come out and support education they're behind education they want our town to have excellent education and many people have different reasons why they want that a taxpayer will come to me and say I want good education in this town because when I'm another 20 years when I'm selling my home I want to have a big price tag on that and people won't come to a town that doesn't have good education I don't think anyone would argue that but when Dr robitosi took over we weren't there some people will say we're actually in a deplorable condition and the
094people that were here at the time that searched for superintendents and let me tell you it's not an easy not easy task I remember when I was on the board and we were we did a superintendent search and we had this if you had a second I'll just tell you this little story we had this nice little lady that applied to be superintendent of Clifton and she was superintendent in I think East Stroudsburg or somewhere like that and um she said to the board well in my current District I make a pie for each staff member for their birthdays so I want to continue to do that here in Clifton we said to Our Lady you be making pies from the minute you walk up to the meal you went to sleep okay my point
095being Dr robitussi Clifton not only chose Dr robitosi Dr robitosi chose Clifton and we are so thankful and grateful to him and he came on roughly just before the pandemic he had talked about increasing communication but in no way did he Envision that he'd be hit with a pandemic that required him to come up with a plan to make sure the communication was met during the pandemic and what was his plan to make sure every kid in our district had a Chromebook every kid in the district to have a Chromebook so that and every kid who can't get internet we enabled them to get internet so that every kid in our district could communicate with their teachers throughout the pandemic that happened because of Dr robitosi Dr robitosi not only took us into a pandemic
096he came up with plans with his administration on ways to get us back out and get back into school then he came to the board and said I have a great idea there are so many things in this District that need to be upgraded and one of the things is the the bathrooms the bathrooms in our schools are deplorable some of them over 100 years old he came up with a plan to have those bathrooms upgraded and by the time this project is done every bathroom in every school will be upgraded and brand new because of his vision he also came to the board and said well for me to do all this stuff I'm gonna need 168 million dollars so we went to Mr russi's office and he shut the door hmm he came
097to the board and said guys you know can you I just need to check tomorrow for 168 million are you good and we said no we don't have that we don't have those funds the only way we can make this work is if we get the community involved and show the need for the items we had in the referendum and the town came out and supported his vision the town came out and saved Mr Russi by writing the 168 million check by approving the referendum and Dr robitosi is now going to stay here and be here as our superintendent to see these projects finished at the time of our 168 million dollar reference approval we were the highest one in the state I think now Toms River has a 380 million or something like that
098Cherry Hill anyhow his slogan of one Clifton truly resonates in this town today we have a board that works together for the betterment of the kids we have the public active in the education we have home in school Association presidents and members so involved in the process so involved in the process that we put a committee together for it that Dr robitosi envisioned and came up with this idea and I could spend here all night talking about the accolades and the accomplishments that Dr robitosi brought to Clifton but he will tell you as anyone else he couldn't do this alone and he needed all of us to stand behind that logo to stand behind what that means and I got to tell you to this day when I go to the high school specifically at
099night and I see that sign over the gym I can't different just throw a blank of what it says home of the Mustangs that makes me so proud makes me so proud that we are part of the District of Mustangs we should all be proud of that be proud of our education or process here in Clifton be proud of our staff our teachers are Paras everybody working as one to make it work and I'm so glad that this board saw that and agrees that we need to keep him around so Dr robitosi I thank you not only as superintendent but as a friend thank you for all you have done for Clifton's kids absolutely thank you so much okay we'll move on uh and everyone enjoy the rest of the summer I say the rest
100of the summer it's uh it's just uh college kids are getting ready to go back to college already um the Midwest schools are already well they're back to school uh commercials already happening um I don't know if ours have started yet um but it'll be here before you know it so enjoy whatever you have left and prepare okay let's uh sorry gotta go back to my all right do we have any uh new business any new business before the board okay uh the board will be uh going into executive session we have a contract matter we have Personnel matters and uh is that it uh no yeah so uh no action will be taken so the board will adjourn the meeting from executive session um so we thank you all for coming tonight and a
101motion to go into executive session I'm Mr Paris second by Mr Mejia Mr Smith can we stay in here if we shut the door I think it's more comfortable they've all set up in there don't they yeah okay damage in there we're gonna go in there right because all of the food isn't there yet roll call please Mr abadrabo yes Miss basford yes Mr Brunswick yes yes Mr Paris yes Mr Santiago yes vice president Danny yes president Smith yes motion carries um [Music] um exactly