001Mhm. >> In accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act of the State of New Jersey, adequate notification of this meeting has been provided by advertising on the legal notice page on the district website. Please rise for the flag salute and remain standing for a moment in silence. A moment of silence for the students that were injured recently, the Iranian conflict, and the recent plane crash at the airport. Thank you. Mr. Labou? Roll call, please. Mr. Diaz? Here. Mr. Taylor? Present. Mr. Auto? Present. Mrs. Hassan? Mr. Kilas? Present. Mr. Gabba? Present. Mrs. Petrie? Present. Mr. Forcarino? Present. Can I have a motion to approve the past board minutes? Mr. Auto? Yes. Mrs. Hassan? Roll call. Mr. Diaz? I on 3132 and abstain on 33. Mr. Taylor? I. Mr. Auto? I. Mrs. Hassan? Mr. Kilas? I. Mr.
002Gabba? I. Mrs. Petrie? I. Mr. Forcarino? I. Dr. Tomko? Yes, thank you, Mr. President. Good evening, everyone. Uh welcome to the uh meeting of the board for March. Um I hope you all are um you know, warming up a little bit. We know still back and forth a little, but uh I think uh we're doing uh as much as we can facilities-wise now to recover from this grueling winter um and uh kind of move forward. I want I wanted to just start by saying uh thank you to the board members here. Um this uh since I've been here actually um and now especially currently with this board um the amount of work that is put in on a daily basis to make sure um that what you see on this agenda tonight basically uh is
003not a rubber stamp. Um and uh you know, I I could speak for Mr. Labou in saying we appreciate that. Uh because we really want to make sure that we have the best program here for our students and make sure we get you know, the best supplies and the best professional development that we can for our teachers and administrators. And I think we we continue to continue to have those hard conversations as we get into um the budget cycle uh which for those of you who did watch or join us last week. Was that 2 weeks now? 2 weeks? No, last week. Um you know, we are still uh really really in a a a home stretch here of trying to do the best we can uh getting some more funding um from Governor uh
004Sherrill um which was which was great, which really helped us out, but we are still you know, combating the health care costs uh and other rising costs that all of us are going through at home with um energy, etc. So, some of those things are really taking a toll on us. Um it's going to make a tax impact regardless. Um and we want to maintain all these programs that we put in place if we can. So, in saying that, I think um there is there is anxiety, there's questions, there's concerns. Um you know, there's going to be you know, different types of questions and and whatnot um in this atmosphere as we get closer to uh you know, making some of these final decisions for next week. So, next Monday the board is planning um
005its budget hearing and final budget approval. Uh in saying that, this week there'll be a lot of scrubbing. I call it scrubbing cuz that's exactly what it is by the lines uh to make sure that we do maintain some of those programs and do the most fiscally conservative thing for the for the taxpayer. Um you know, sometimes it might not look that way, but trust me, it's it's definitely uh happening. It definitely happens in the city here or at least on the board's part. So, at the end of the day, I just wanted to make sure everybody's aware of that that what's happening this week is is a lot of those discussions, a lot of lot of hard decisions, which will be bringing forth to the board through this through the hearing process. So, so
006stay tuned for that. Um You know, before I turn it over to a couple things that we're talking about today with student of the month and some scholarship recipients above you here has been on display. Artwork from our students. This is our first time we had an opening night, I think, in they said 20 years or something like that. Was displayed at the the library. I was honored to see it last year and again be there this year. And just an incredible thing. The entire district that the amount of art you know, to bring these things out, you know, it's funny. Last week it was brought up. A gentleman in the audience, I don't know who he is, obviously a former employee here and coach, made a comment that this place when I got here
007was a gold mine. And I think he was maybe talking about like the money part of it. That's not what I meant. I didn't mean that. You know, we we are obviously an SDA district and that's not the gold part I was talking about. I was talking about these things right here. This is the gold mine, right? But you don't get to enjoy it unless we bring out these opening nights. We we we honor our students like students of the month and and all these other things that you're doing. So, that's the part that we need to bring out there, the positive things. You know, it's very easy to talk about negative things in any community. It's the positive things that our kids do. I I constantly bring up Thanksgiving Day, how the past 2
008years I love being here delivering or helping deliver meals to kids in to parents and and families that need in town. It makes me feel so good, but I wouldn't be able to do that unless I was exposed to it from the students and the families in Garfield, which is just like you know, an incredible thing. That's the gold mine. That's what That's what's really important here. So, let's not lose that vision as we start making decisions and we talk about things. Um You know, and I'll say I haven't said it in a while, but I want to say it, you know, thank you to everyone who comes here every day and and either gets into a classroom or I don't know, pushes a broom or answers a phone or whatever it is because everyone
009here, everyone not one one employee you know has to stay here. They can go anywhere. They could be successful anywhere. They choose to be here every day for our kids. So, so thank you very much in progress. Okay, so let's student of the month. Mr. DeMicco, I don't know if you wanted to I know that I think Miss Casey's going to do it, but uh Miss Casey, come on up. Hello. I have the pleasure tonight of presenting Hillary Peralta Trinidad as our student of the month. I have had Hillary in my AP literature class. She also works with Miss Marino and I as a National Honor Society member. Despite being new to Garfield last year, Hillary threw herself into the Garfield community. She was accepted into our chapter of the National Honor Society having been
010inducted at her prior school and became an important part of our program. She's helped us organize events, fundraise for charities, and develop our leadership program. Without Hillary, I believe Mrs. Marino and I would not have been as successful as we are in revitalizing the program as new advisors. In addition to National Honor Society, Hillary's also the secretary for the Garfield High School Student Government. Within this group, she excels at organizing their meetings and acting as a calming positive presence. As a member of our Interact Club, Hillary volunteers for literally every event possible from drama club performances to Awards Night. It is rare not to see Hillary helping in one way or another. And if that is not enough, Hillary's also a member of our Spanish Club, our Polish Club, and she's on our yearbook committee.
011These extracurricular activities has not hindered her academic work and have only highlighted her desire to be part of to be of service to her school and community. Hillary has been a pivotal part of our school community and has inspired so many people, students and staff alike, with her compassion and enthusiasm. It is my honor to present Hillary as student of the month. >> [applause] [cheering] >> Okay. Uh good evening, everyone. My name is Hillary. Um I want to start by saying thank you to Miss Casey for recommending me and just for always believing in me even when I didn't believe in myself. Um I'm very also grateful for the teachers I've had these past 2 years since I've came here. They've been nothing but amazing and supportive and inspiring. The whole Garfield community, really. Uh
012next I want to thank my mom and my older sister for all the sacrifices they've made. All the opportunities I have today, I have to say that it's thanks to them. Next, my friends, especially the ones who showed up tonight for just being my greatest supporters and for always being there for me and cheering me up even when I feel like they don't really know that they did. Um without all of you, I wouldn't be here today standing here accepting this award. So, thank you guys so much. And thank you guys for taking the time to recognize me. Have a good night, everyone. >> [applause] >> Congratulations. Excellent job. Mr. DeMicco, National Honor Society? Oh, perfect. Okay. I'm sorry I didn't have your names on here, but Oh, and a guest appearance. That's it. Start
013them young. There you go. Um Mrs. Marino are and I are extraordinarily proud to present these scholarships tonight. Dea Musolari and Amelia Wallace, seniors at Garfield High School and current NHS members, have been selected as semifinalists for the National Honor Society Scholarship chosen from nearly 16,000 applicants nationwide. Dea and Amelia are two of just 575 semifinalists nationwide who will each be receiving $3,200 from the National Honor Society Fund in recognition of their leadership and service. As far as Mrs. Marino and I are aware, this is the first time members of the Garfield chapter have received this scholarship. Uh as NHS officers, they organized and led initiatives such as the NHS Homework Club Heroes Tutoring Center and the NHS Giving Tree donations benefiting the Valley Hospital Pediatric Unit. As our chapter's president and vice president, respectively,
014Dea and Amelia have worked hard to expand academic support, promote service-driven leadership, and strengthen connections between the school and the greater Garfield community. We are proud to present Dea and Amelia with these scholarships. >> [applause] [applause] >> Dr. Tomko, can we get the correct names for the students, please? The names. Good evening. We would like to thank you for taking the time to recognize us. This honor inspires us as National Honor Society officers to continue making meaningful contributions to our community. We would also like to extend our appreciation to our incredible advisors, Miss Marino and Miss Casey, for their kind words and for their ongoing guidance, support, and encouragement. Thank you again for this recognition. >> [applause] >> I was looking for a way to Yes, same first name and last name of the students.
015Yes. So, that's Miss Dea Musolari and and Miss Amelia Wallace. Musolari, yeah. Thank you, Dr. Tomko. Okay. Dr. Tomko. Superintendent's report. District program update. Yes. Again, just to kind of reiterate what we were talking about. A lot of great things happening here. We're getting, you know, ready for that spring to come, spring sports, and um you know, standardized testing coming. Everybody's working hard, but again, at the end of the day, incredible things happening. We had an incredible play that was put on. I'm going to steal the thunder of some of the board members. I'll be talking about it, but just again, enamored by some of the stuff. Again, that gold mine I've been talking about. Enamored by the things that are happening here that we need to get out. Those are the positive things. People
016need to know what the kids in this city are doing, the great things that we're doing, how the sports programs are improving, how we're working on the music program. There's a There's a program that we're uh I'm recommending tonight to talk about community engagement with sports um sorry with music. Um so again, just great things happening in school five. Uh the beam signing ceremony was an incredible thing with a lot of excitement there. Uh so again, progress and uh I appreciate all the hard work that everyone does here. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Tomko. Mr. Labou. Thank you, Mr. Focarino. So, we're at that point in the in the school year where the seasons are changing and our facilities team is working towards getting um our spring sports team ready to um to use our
017facilities and and and be ready to practice. Um so, that that work has been done over the last couple of weeks uh ever since the the the snow has let up and and all of the ice has melted. Um so, just a credit to to our team of continuing to stay focused on on things that need to be done to make sure that that our facilities look the way that they should. Um that the sports teams and our coaches can go out to safe, clean facilities. So, so, they've been working tirelessly on that. Um from a standpoint of where we are with the budget, uh we had our preliminary budget review which was approved by this board. Uh again, I want to thank the board for continuing to have uh productive conversations um in our
018closed sessions um throughout the week. Questions, concerns, being open and honest with with things that they want more clarification on. Um so, we've worked um hard on that in the business office to evaluate spending in years past, several years in in the past to just determine where we are. Um closely working with with our projections and and and discussions with our auditors. So, our team there is is working tirelessly as we wait for uh county recommendations, review of our budget. I spoke with the county uh business administrator today uh who assured me that that we are in the queue and and we'll be getting some some feedback to move forward. Um look forward to meeting with the finance committee in determining uh best ways to balance the challenges of of budgeting from a a fiscally
019responsible standpoint, from a uh an academically sound standpoint. Um so, so this group up here has been committed to Dr. Tomko um has been available throughout the the 24 hours a day, even on the weekends and uh what have you. His phone has been open. So, so this process um is nowhere near done. Uh but but I am I'm confident that the team here is working with with the right things in mind and looking at it from a a clear mind and a critical eye. So, we'll continue to do that over the next week and um prepare a final budget. Mr. President. Yes, Dr. Can I just cut back in? I I missed something on the e-mails. Yeah, my apologies. Mr. Derr, Mr. Derr is here, right? We last month we we were uh Mr.
020Derr was going to make a presentation with regard to e-sports and um our unified program. Is is that is that happening tonight? Yeah, that's fine. My it's my fault. Last we had some other things happening last month that we we've been wanting to do it and and uh he graciously uh was going to do it tonight and uh it's my fault I missed it, so. And absolutely not um you know, you know, obviously this is a very important part of the program, so I was wanting to recommend uh uh represent it. >> No, no, there's a lot there's you know, it's a busy month, so I know there's a lot going on, but um I'm going to keep it very short. Just in summary, we had our winter uh we had our winter season, we
021made playoffs again. Uh we fell short in the um the semi-finals, but you know, given it's the first year, it's not too bad. So, I'm I'm excited and we also started our unified league um which is with all of our MD inclusive students. Um and they did a phenomenal job and particularly Davian Montalvo, we want to just talk about him really quick. Um I got report that he scored um in the top 10 in the entire state, in the entire program um for the winter season, which is you know, to be top 10 in anything is not an easy thing to do. Um so, I wanted to just make sure that uh Davian did get special recognition for this. Um because he's been absolutely killing it and right now we're doing spring season, we're doing
022Mario Kart and I promise you Mario Kart is a lot harder to play than you think it is. Just please watch the kids and you'll understand. Um and this season, the top 16 racers um and their times are going to be playing live at the event as well. So, I'll have that information for you guys if we get there, but uh Davian, I would love to call you up so we can give you an award. So, uh this is Davian Montalvo, TOP 10. [applause] >> [applause] >> OKAY. THANK YOU, DR. THANK YOU, MR. DERR. AGAIN, MY APOLOGIES. Thank you. Thank you. Uh any committee reports? Mrs. Petrie. Well, our finance committee has uh finance committee has met. We'll be meeting a lot more times before the final budget is in and then Mr. Bruce said
023uh it's still at the county, we're in the queue, so we haven't received it back from the county yet. And we'll be meeting again till we get it where we want it to be. Thank you. Uh first of all, I I'm going to open up the uh comments to the public on agenda items. Uh but prior to that, I just want to thank uh Dr. Tomko, Mr. Labou, and our tech department for being able to put up so many pictures from the March 9th Youth Art Month uh celebration and reception that they had. Uh I think this is a majority of the pictures and I could be wrong on that. Uh but the entire district, every grade uh submitted artwork and uh they really did a fantastic job and uh they well deserve the credit
024that they have. So, I want I appreciate them getting it together for us tonight. So, with that, I will open up the uh microphone for comments from the public for agenda items only, please. Seeing none, we will move on. So, may have a motion for personnel resolutions 8.1 through 8.14. Can I make a motion to table 8.5? There is a motion. Is there a second motion to table 8.5? A second for Mr. Otto. Roll call, Mr. Labou. Mr. Diaz. This is for the uh table, correct? >> Yes, this is a vote to table um 8.5. To the next meeting? I. Mr. Taylor. Nay. Mr. Otto. I. Mrs. Hassan. I. Mr. Kieliszak. I. Mr. Gabba. I. Mrs. Petrie. I. Mr. Focarino. Nay. So, I'm going to ask for a motion for resolutions 8.1 through 8.4 and
0258.6 through 8.14. I'll make a motion. Mr. Gabba. And who seconded it? Mrs. Hassan? Thank you. Mr. Diaz. I. Mr. Taylor. I. Mr. Otto. I. Mrs. Hassan. I. Mr. Kieliszak. I. Mr. Gabba. I. Mrs. Petrie. I. Mr. Focarino. I. Motion for finance, 10.1 through 10.21. I'll make a motion. Mrs. Hassan. I'll second. Mr. Gabba. Second. Roll call, Mr. Labou. Mr. Diaz. I. Mr. Taylor. I. Mr. Otto. I. You have an an abstention. Abstaining from check 021315. And the rest, yes? Um and check 021297 and the rest, yes. >> 0212 97? Yes. Okay. Mrs. Hassan. Abstain from check 21203. Yes to the rest. Mr. Kieliszak. Yes to all. Abstain check uh 21194, check 21097. Okay. Mr. Gabba. Abstain check number and no the rest. Mrs. Petrie. Abstain from check number 021085 and yes to the rest.
026Mr. Focarino. Abstain from 21076. I to the rest. Motion for education resolutions 12.1 through 12.18. Uh I'm sorry, I have to uh interject. I'm going to ask for a motion for resolutions 12.1 uh with the amended resolution of 12.10 to include only the 25-26 calendar changes and then through uh resolutions 12.18. So, is there a motion for that? Mr. Taylor? Ms. Eason? So, just for clarification uh resolution 12.10 uh we are only amending the 25-26 calendar. Uh we are waiting for the 26-27 calendar to be uh revealed from the administration. Roll call, Mr. Labou. Mr. Diaz? Aye. Mr. Taylor? Aye. Mr. Rado? Aye. Mrs. Eason? Aye. Mr. Quiles? >> Aye. Mr. Gaber? Aye. Mrs. Petiri? >> Aye. Mr. Forcarino? Aye. May I have a motion for facilities resolution 14.1? I'll make a motion. Second. Mr.
027Quiles, Mr. Rado, second. Mr. Diaz? Aye. Mr. Rado? Mr. Taylor? Aye. Mr. Rado? Aye. Mrs. Eason? Aye. Mr. Quiles? Aye. Mr. Gaber? Aye. Mrs. Petiri? Aye. Mr. Forcarino? Aye. A motion for policy resolution 17.1? I'll make a motion. Mr. Gaber? I'll second. Ms. Eason? Aye. Roll call, Mr. Labou. Mr. Diaz? Aye. Mr. Taylor? Aye. Mr. Rado? Aye. Mrs. Eason? Aye. Mr. Quiles? Aye. Mr. Gaber? Aye. Mrs. Petiri? Aye. Mr. Forcarino? Aye. I'm now going to open up the comments to the public. Please state your name, address. Abdel Serradum, 33 Wood Street, Garfield. Good evening, everyone. My name's Abdel Serradum. I'm running for the Garfield Board of Education. One of the biggest concerns I hear from parents is communication. Too often, parents are finding out important information through social media, rumors, before hearing it from the
028schools, and that's a problem. And I'm not here to point out problems. I'm here to bring real solutions. Right now, we rely heavily on email but not everyone checks it in real time. We need faster and more reliable communication. So, my solution is simple. We use technology. We can if it's possible, right? We can partner up with the city to add a Board of Education section to their app for real-time alerts. Or we can create a low-cost app ourselves to send instant updates directly to parents. Because at the end of the day, parents deserve accurate information immediately, not after the fact. Let's bring Garfield forward and fix communication the right way. Thank you. Thank you. Any other public comments? I like the idea you had last time with the staff. Let me use it this
029time. Sean Ramdeo, 96 Farnam Avenue. I'm not sure if Mr. Earl Mr. Durr is in the back, but I just want to give a quick shout-out to him because I remember when I was a senior in his class and he was mentioning the e-sports program to me when it wasn't a thing. And to see where it's came from then till now has been absolutely amazing. And I it's just absolutely amazing the work you've seen from the club. But, as we know, April's only a week away. Warmer temperature is on the way as well, fortunately. But, that also means that the shift usually changes from heating to AC. We all know this. Usually, most candidates will change. Now, while AC is a worthwhile conversation this past winter demonstrated that the the needs our facilities has not
030that's anyone's fault. Over the winter, we saw two schools evacuated due to HVAC failures. We saw dozens of classes relocated and we got to record-breaking storms. So, to say this district was pushed this winter is, quite frankly, an understatement. Yet, even after this winter, no plan has been presented yet. And a plan to make a plan simply isn't a plan. So, Garfield families deserve a timeline and not a temperature check. So, Dr. Tomko, in January, did mention a priorities project list to be approved. Is there any update regarding that list? And then last meeting, you also mentioned a long-term facilities plan for May. I was just wondering if you can possibly just provide a quick little progress update just so you know where we stand with that project. Now, like I said it's not anyone's
031fault. However, we can work on proactive proactive maintenance to ensure that we can mitigate some of these issues. I'm hoping that once we move into the warmer months, we can take a look at the current at the past facility issues we had over the winter, take a look, and hopefully work on some of the some of the fixes over the summer so there's no major disruptions disruptions to the classroom. Thank you very much. Thank you. Any other comments from the public? Ed Scafani, 136 Mars Ave. And I'm like Abdel, I came here to start problems. Because again, I'm not getting answers correct from people here and I'm not getting any information from the board and from our superintendent. First of all, my first thing I wrote it down this time. You don't have to do
032uh Who who's tough shed? $10,000 for tough shed? What's that? It's on today's proposal. What's tough shed? Can anybody tell me? Cuz I'm still waiting for a response on that one. Number two. Dr. Tomko, in your budget um do you have anything that's for a slush fund for you guys? Cuz I keep hearing from you in the past meetings about a slush fund. Well, I don't know about you, but when I have a budget crisis uh I'm not going to go spend money that I don't have. I have to cut. I have to tighten the belt. I'm not spending money that I don't have. The taxpayer is not the burden to you guys. We're not here to supply you with money. We voted for you. You're supposed to be protecting the taxpayers. And holding people
033accountable for not doing their job. Uh number three, uh Ms. Petiri, uh last time we talked to you did you you mentioned something about the you mentioned the teachers' contract and they were paying teachers extra for extra students. I went through the contract again. Did not see a word of that in the contract. Was that negotiated after the fact? And if so, who negotiated it? I think it's Dr. Tomko. No, that's why I said Dr. Tomko will have to answer that question. That's executive session material? The public shouldn't know when he made an addendum to the contract? Well, I was under that contract for 3 years. It wasn't in the contract that I had and it's still not under the contract that's in for the public to see. Okay. Uh I asked Mr. Labou, I
034asked you about the per pupil. What does Garfield spend per pupil? And then I asked what was per pupil for the money that we're shelling out for the charter schools? Cuz it seems like there's a big discrepancy in what we pay people that come to school here in Garfield and what we pay to people going to a charter school. Do we have those numbers yet? Okay. What's next? The extra expense Does any Has there been any kind of cost analysis in what it's going to cost to open that new school? It's down the road, guys. It's going to be here before you know it. Have we done anything? Has there been any any Have you talked to PSE&G or anybody? Or you're just saying, "Oh, look, they if they're going to build the school for
035us, let's build the school for us and we won't worry about it down the road." Again, you're supposed to be protecting us. That's why you were voted. What else is there, uh um Have you guys Are we going to get to see anything to the public about the budget? Or are we going to come here next week you guys are going to vote on a budget I'm going to perform another yelling and screaming thing and then and the budget passes. Cuz you guys work for us. People don't don't I don't I don't understand how we haven't gotten that. And the last thing I'll bring up is uh Jack, is there any uh progress in those uh the contracts and the people and how much we're paying for? Cuz I really need that information. Thank you.
036Any other public comments? Seeing none, I will open up to the board. >> Uh through the chair, I'd like to Yes, Dr. Tapia. Mr. Geisler, how are you? All right. Few things. Uh excellent questions tonight from everyone. Thank you. And I I appreciate the opportunity to answer these for through the chair for the board. Um we've been Social media is a big thing. Uh you know, when I first started as an administrator, uh Twitter was the way to go. I don't know if it is anymore. So, we've actually been working uh diligently, Mr. Blue and I, trying to get a uh uh a part-time person to help us with some of the media stuff because of our website and you everybody's kind of pitching in right now. So, uh we're working on that. Uh we're
037actually working on our own app. Uh we do have an app here, but it's not really where I want the potential uh of for it to be. PowerSchool has something called PowerBuddy. Uh so, we are in the process of doing all those things. We try to post as much as we can when we can, but again, we're we need a we need a little help on that. So, we're doing that. We're going to try to pull from some of the kids. I know it's a little touchy sometimes, but uh but again, social media presence unfortunately, when things unfold in a school or any school, uh it's going to get out there before we can get it out. It's just because you know, we're trying to deal with the issue at hand when it's happening. But
038uh you know, students get stuff out sometimes to their parents. So, uh it gets out there. I would try to inform the the board immediately of what's happening uh so that they're aware as well because they represent the community, but uh you know, again, our our social platforms here are are thriving with regard to in-house too. We have um Smore, uh which is a uh a sort of like a newsletter for parents every school we we kind of implemented that. So, uh so, there's a lot of stuff going on here. Uh long-range facility plan was mentioned. We are working on that. It's due in May. Uh it's a little bit more um you know, integrated than people think. Uh we have to get our um architect involved, you know, to make sure that we're all
039on the same page and then the board needs to see it. So, we are working on that. Right now, of course, budget's the priority, uh but that brings us to the list of priorities, right? Now that we see our budget numbers and where we're at, uh some of those priorities may change a little bit. Uh we did just get some numbers um today. Was that today or yesterday? Today on the uh School 8 fix, which the board hasn't really seen yet cuz we're trying to um unpack some of it. Uh it's a little bit higher than we expected. Uh so, that's going to impact some of our numbers. Um so, again, our priorities list is is uh is still in motion and kind of on the way. Um just for um I know every board
040member here has received uh a lengthy discussion email uh email and then discussion on um the shed purchase, but I can answer for them. Um that shed was through bid. Uh it's going to be used as a concession stand uh outside on the field for the youth sports, for our sports, for baseball um cuz we're putting it in an area where both fields can utilize it. And we're hoping that we can get it there um established quick enough for graduation so we can that's where we can hand out water to everybody when they're coming on the field. So, uh it's going to be an incredible thing there. We made sure it was presentable cuz the field is beautiful. Board did an excellent job on the field. So, we want to make sure we have a
041presentable concession stand. It's going to be retrofitted to be a concession stand. It's not going to be um you know, uh I just want to say flame. It's not going to be a kitchen or anything like that. It's just a it's just a stand to kind of sell things out of or prepared foods and stuff like that. So, that's So, that's where what that is. Uh that was the best bid we that we uh we came to uh with regard to the um it wasn't competitive bidding um with regard to what our specs were for out there, what we needed. Uh so, that's what the tough the the tough shed is for. Um I don't know what a slush fund means, so we'll skip that one. Um the contract even though we won't talk about
042negotiations, part of it. Uh just so you know where it came from, it was it was a It should have been a recommendation with regard to scheduling last year, but it never came up. Uh however, the union the GFT here brought up the fact that um you know, the district had been out of compliance with regard to enrollment numbers in classes uh and class sizes due to statute code. Um so, that that came in um you know, as a as agreeable um motion, I guess, for lack of a better term uh with regard to that. So, we worked with the union um to decrease class sizes um by adding staff. So, we added a lot of staff members last year when I first got here to um for this year to decrease those enrollment size
043sizes, but unfortunately, some of the class sizes were still over. Uh so, that's where the negotiations come in where there's there is a a monetary compensation with regard to the extra duties of those students. Um I don't know exactly what the per pupil expenditures are versus charter school, but I can tell you that the charter school spend more money than we do here per per student. Um that is not fair, you're right. That's a legislative thing. It has nothing to do with us. We don't set up those numbers. We're just told what numbers to pay um at the end of the year or at mid-year. Uh and I can tell you any monies that we get that are grant monies, 10% goes right to the charter school. Um so, if we have $5 million in
044aid, 10% of that goes right to the charter school. Um you know, the extra expenses and cost analysis with regard to the new school opening up is an excellent question. Um that is all I've been thinking about uh since I got here. One. Number two is the parking. And I think I've said it almost every meeting, and it's a major problem. Uh I know it sounds like it's not going to be, but I but I've been through this before. Um we're trying to work diligently on some of those um you know, some of those solutions. Uh the cost analysis is on going to be almost impossible to project because um right now, the inflation on energy prices and whatnot, I I I I can't even imagine what that would be. However, there are a few
045things to consider with regard to that school opening up. Obviously, we would be looking at that point. We are we are already promised another new building uh in the last cycle of funding with the SDA. So, that's still on board. So, once school five opens up, the idea would be to most likely close a school down. So, that would offset most of those costs or some of those costs at least. We're obviously projecting some of the uh the offset of that, but also things that people need to understand and and this is and the board's heard this from me before, but I think it's easy out there to not hear it maybe, but when you're up here, you live it. For every cut that is made, whether especially administration, right? For every cut that's made
046to an administrator here, we still have to impact and fill that building with teachers and administrators, two nurses instead of one nurse, more more guidance counselors because it's going to be a the the you know, a bigger building, a larger building. Uh it's not as easy as just plopping people from here to there. If you're part of the transition the first time when the school closed down, it was proved that it's not that easy. Um so, yeah, there are going to be costs. Now, the other problem that people don't understand, and I'll put it on record now because it's only it's that far away. The state allows you gives you allowances to increase your tax base in order to cover some of these costs, but we don't want to do that here, obviously, right? We
047don't want to do that. So, we're going to have to get creative again, but whatever happens now is going to impact filling that building. So, the board and the administration have been thinking that as we're making cuts or as we're moving people around and doing things we need to do, moving programs, etc., we're also thinking about opening up this building in 2027, right? So, um again, uh again, great question, but you know, there's no way to just sit down and say, this will cost $3 and $4. It's not way it is. The best part about this is that the SDA is funding the the project, the furnitures, etc., etc., all the infrastructure needs that would be very difficult to fund here. If we were doing it, we'd have to do it through a referendum, which
048would be a debt service to the taxpayer. Meaning, if you're not familiar with that means, that means that you're paying your regular tax and then a debt service tax. Okay, that's called the second question right on the ballot. Um so, we don't have that, thank God. Um and that's, you know, um that's again, something that weighs on me and will for the next several years until we open this up and then beyond that. So, the challenges that this board is facing um as these boards reorganize over the next few years, those challenges are are going to get even more difficult um because the aid will either remain flat, hopefully, or more, um opening up a new a new uh building like that um working with the SDA is uh is going to be very interesting,
049but uh but we'll we'll we'll definitely get there. Thank you. Any comments from the board members? Ms. Butera. Okay. Very busy month. Uh I'd like to thank Mr. Riggs and the Garfield Middle School staff. Talk of the Penguin was a real success. Ms. Alfonso from number 10 school and her staff for tricky tray. Ms. Tamiko and her staff for Mamma Mia was out of this world. It was a great performance. The beam signing was beyond. Um there were city officials, all of us were there. We signed the beam and that beam is facing Union Street. We had working very, very hard on this budget, believe it or not. And as far as the new school, that was a long time ago when they agreed to it. We can't stop it in the middle of a
050project. Um and our co-op is going great. I see we have four new schools that joined our co-op, which is very good because that means percentage of the money to us. Congratulations to Haley, the student of the month. Also, congratulations to the two semi-finalists for the Honor Society, Daya and Emily, and for Damian, I don't know who he left, but congratulations to him also. And I think that's it for my notes. Thank you. Any other comments? Hearing none. Uh I want to come thank the retiree uh for their service to the district. Again, as Ms. Petrie touched upon the student of the month, as well as the National Honor Society recipients, and e-sports awardee. In addition, I want to thank and let me just get my notes here. Thank you. Uh Ms. Bolcar's class, uh
051Ms. Marianiello's class, Ms. Emiliano's class, uh Ms. Koleska Koleska, and Ms. Worlock, they uh we had a Read Across America. I'm really proud of uh some of the small pictures they sent to me and some of the other board members that got involved. And thank you cards, Ms. Worlock's cards. Uh one of the highlights with the Read Across America engaging with the children and uh trying to read my best. Uh with that, is there a motion to adjourn the meeting? I make the motion. Ms. Petrie, Ms. Quillis Mr. Quillis. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Thank you.