001e e e good evening everyone welcome to the to February 24th Board of Education me meeting in accordance with the open public meetings Act njsa 10 4-6 adequate notification of this meeting has been Prov has been provided by advertising in the record please stand for the flag salute flag the United States of America na indivisible please stand for a moment thank you week all right uh Miss D if you could please take a roll call Mr Taylor pres Mr MOS pres Mr ferino pres yet not station pres Mr Gaba presid Dr P roek presid Mr Moo pres M Sanchez Mr KES Mr Ramos President we have a quum all right at this time we'd like to move forward um work session I mean a work session uh vote on minutes uh motion to vote on
002the minutes 3.1 through [Music] 3.2 so moved motion by Miss Sanchez seconded by Mr poino uh Mr Mr Taylor hi mros hi Mr fukino hi Mr Gaba hi Dr P I had a 3.1 I was absent for 3.2 so I'll abstain Mr Malo i m Sanchez Mr killes [Music] I Mr Ramos all right motion Carri my okay no problem so Mr Mr Taylor's mrl change his vote to an exension okay continuing on U superintendent report please thank you Mr President good evening everyone welcome to the February meeting um we have a few presentations tonight and then we'll get to a report that I have um I hope everyone had a great break uh we also have on the agenda tonight uh the calendar which I made public uh which I'm hoping the board votes on
003tonight um for next year uh with regard to the school year uh you'll see on that calendar there are um several more half or single session professional development days uh there are a few other things that are on there with regard to uh you know stuff for curriculum uh this is a newer calendar than the district might be used to with with with uh in consideration for laying out um specific steps if there is an extra emergency they that's needed Etc what I try to do is I try to put uh be transparent with what days would be taken in order so you can prepare uh sorry you could plan your vacations and and whatnot um there uh there was uh there was a suggestion that was made to for the board to uh look
004at um uh taking away the uh the break that we had last week so that we can um we can move uh School the dismissal of school or the end of school year um six days earlier five or six days earlier to try to stay away from some of the heat in late June because I know that was an issue when I was here um last year uh when I when I was going to those meetings those May meetings and a lot of the parents and teachers and whatnot we're talking about that uh after speaking to the unions uh who I'm guessing got feedback from everyone uh the board uh the recommendation now is to keep that February break um which is you know which is fine just again um trying to do the best
005we can to mitigate that heat uh at the end of the at the end of the year so that's on there too I also want to uh mention um uh 9.15 on the agenda is a donation from Spencer Savings Bank uh an incredible donation that we've been working on with them um for a Jumbotron scoreboard um which with your uh acceptance tonight and then on Wednesday we're going to meet with the bank to accept the check um just an incredible partnership with this bank I know you all know that already um our board board offices are on top of the bank however uh a Jumbotron like this I've only seen maybe one maybe two districts um the thought is to order this immediately we've had the specs ready to go so we could hopefully get
006it working and programmed for by June so we can use it for the graduation which would be great um I I had the uh opportunity to have that for one of my children uh years ago and uh as they're getting their diploma on the Jumbotron their picture goes up there and and it's really a great opportunity for families and our students so uh so we're really excited about that so that's on there uh tonight as well so um so to start this off why don't we uh turn it over to the student government board Liaisons who are here uh and uh whatever you guys uh have planned for us let us know yes we have a presentation prepared you guys got the link to it do we have the link okay good evening everyone we're
007here to present our Student Government presentation to summarize everything we've done the past month so first of all from February 10th to the 14th we had our spirit week and we had a lot of student requests for these days we had meme day where they dressed up as their favorite memes we had Generations day where freshmen were uh babies toddlers uh sophomores were elementary school children Juniors were working adults and seniors were senior citizens and on Wednesdays from the popular movie Mean Girls we selected Wednesdays we were pink uh Thursday was perfect pair so an example of that would be like someone dresses as peanut butter and someone dresses a as jelly and then for Friday the National Honor Society um hosted their PJ dat um PJ pant day here are some pictures our teachers
008and our students collaborated together um we have a bunch of pictures from generation day um these are just all the pictures we also had our career night which was very exciting it was on February 12th at 6: p.m. we had so many alumni come and clear their schedule to make it for this night and it was just it was it was amazing we even got to go inside and talk to uh future career like future people that were in careers that we wanted to pursue um and then I'll hand it over to Frank um I would like to acknowledge everyone who came to that I think seeing garford graduates in our school uh telling the current students inspiring them giving them idea for a future career it was it was so it was so amazing
009and I would like to thank our adviser once again Mr Burns Miss damiko for coming and supporting us and that and again thank you everyone for coming uh here are some more pictures also our drama club was setting up a uh a cell and they will have a show so I would like to invite all of you to come to that show because our drama club they never disappoint I can I can guarantee you that uh so on March 7th um on March 7th on in the evening they will be hosting Frozen junr and it tickets will be like s to5 to7 and uh they set up the snack sale during career night to uh raise funds for that event so thank you that's all [Applause] okay so we had over 70 students registered unfortunately
010we uh some students were um had games that night and a lot of so we didn't get the the all the outcome that we wanted but it was like so many students showed up there were um in accounting of there were multiple therapists there were apaa therapist uh there was a psychologist um there were various nurses sorry microphone there were various nurses there was uh Public Work social work um tattoo artists we had and we had like veterinary sciences musically had everything thank you very much thank you thank you excellent job um Mr Miko student of the month did you have oh he's back good evening everyone so our ghs student of the month for February is an accomplished scholar athlete and Community leader in the classroom she's taken a challenging load of both AP
011and honors classes throughout her high school years and she's been a frequent member of the superintendent list she has an unweighted GPA that's over 39 she's a member of the math Honor Society she's also a member of our early college program on track to receive her associates degree this spring from Bergen Community College he's also a dedicated three sport athlete volleyball basketball and track on the volleyball court she's been named to the all League team the last three years and has twice been honored as the ghs MVP she finished her High School career with over 500 kills important to note right she's honed those volleyball skills through years of dedication and practice this includes playing on a club team which is a year round activity and she's done that at the highest skill level for
012her age group she also received the New Jersey Scholastic award the last three years next year she'll continue her volleyball career at Ramapo College where she plans to major in finance her community service activities have included The Strangers helping strangers program which started up during covid as well as the Boys and Girls Club she has volunteered as a volleyball coach for children and she's also served as the manager for the the boys team at the high school her other interests including participating in the hiking and interact clubs for her outstanding achievements in the classroom in athletics and as a community leader please join me in congratulating our Garfield High School student of the month for February 2025 Emily topali w hi I'm Emily Tali I'd like to thank everyone for this opportunity I like to
013thank Mr sappin back for nominating me for this position and this incredible accomplishment um I'd also like to thank all teachers at Garfield High School that made me achieve this in terms of academically and athletically they both have amazing coaches there and amazing teachers there that helped me push to the student that I am today um and I appreciate all the help that they have granted me throughout the years and I really wouldn't be the student that I am today without them so I'm going to cut this short and say thank you very much the board of education for all that you do um uh that's all I have to say thank you guys so much for [Applause] everything can we also give her parents a big round of applause thank you incredible work I
014got to tell you we've uh since I've been here the students of the month just incredible individuals uh just uh spotlights what all the teachers are doing here the programs that we have and uh hopefully continue to grow those um but uh more opportunities for our kids Mr Miku did you want to come up with the for the weight lifters or I didn't know if there was a I apologize when get a chance to talk oh okay Coach there he is sorry coach I didn't see you come on up um only had two all right here's my guys good evening my name is christe George and I serve as the strengthen conditioning coach at Garfield High School I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to the Board of Education Dr TOMCO Mrs Deo Mr Alfonso
015and Mr je for inviting me to speak this evening as we celebrate the achievements of our student athletes last year a group of dedicated students I and I established the powerlifting team at the high school powerlifting is a demanding sport that challenges both the mind and the body requiring competitors to achieve highest possible weight lifted in the squat bench press and deadlift each lift evaluated rigorously by three judges Jes we are proud to be recognized as the first public high school powerlifting team in the state at the New Jersey high school state championship last year held at Christian Brothers Academy four of our team members competed and despite facing teams whose scores were derived from their top five athletes we secured a uh an impressive third place finish during the competition Carlos Sebastian Hernandez janil
016Vargas Joseph deor and Bradley Roa ARA with the support of teammate Malik Sali showcased exceptional Talent janal earned gold in his weight class while Bradley secured silver in his in a remarkable in a remarkable display of resilience Joseph competed despite an ankle sprain suffered during his wrestling season Carlos's outstanding performance not only qualified him for the National High School competition in Louisiana last spring but also led to multiple accolades including three gold medals and subsequent local Meats rathle F further distinguished himself by winning gold at his next meet this year we proudly sent two athletes Patrick Sanic sorry if I said it wrong and Carlos Sebastian Hernandez again at the state championship they both delivered Stellar performances and each secured a gold medal they have now qualified for the high school Nationals in Wisconsin next
017month with Sebastian also set to compete at the world high school competition in Massachusetts later this spring moreover our team has grown sign significantly over the past two years with many new members dedicating themselves to the sport while some are still in training their commitment is commendable and it is truly an honor to coach with Coach such talented young men and women once again thank you to the board Dr TOMCO Mrs Deo Mr Alonso and Mr je for the opportunity to celebrate these accomplishments of these student athletes have a good night PA would like to say a few words uh hello uh good night to everybody here um um thank you for uh Ling us Board of Education and everybody here present I just want to have a minute to say thank you to Mr
018de Jorge right here um he's not only my coach he's also a friend in a particular reason a kind of father to me he teach me uh uh how to feel proud about myself who to uh grow as a person and I'm so happy to say that he actually changed my life thank you all for deing and have a good night um if you guys go hold on for one minute I just want to to add that this is not a sport it is a club that means these students are doing it basically on their own time um their practice their passion their determination to improve is all on them it is completely voluntary and I just think it speaks to the character um that they're developing as they're participating in this and for that
019I'd like to acknowledge each of you and again Mr D George for what he's teaching these young men thank you um how many of those young men you going to get out on a football team next year I don't think played coup years they're all most of these guys are seniors actually okay all right forun [Applause] [Music] world you [Applause] excellent job guys excellent thanks [Applause] coach uh miss mobilio Mr M did you want to stay up there as well sorry I was trying to get you before you sat down uh we're now honoring the mock trial team um just another incredible team here oh yeah absolutely [Applause] good evening everyone I'm Leslie mobilo I'm head coach of the ghs moach child team and along with my assistant coach Mrs Marin zulich we're here to
020present the board and the community and um to an outstanding group of students who have demonstrated skill dedication and perseverance in the 2025 Vincent J ausis High School Mock Trial Competition that's sponsored by the New Jersey Bar Association mock trial is no easy task it requires hours of preparation teamwork and the ability to think quickly Under Pressure these students have risen to the challenge and shown what it means to be true competitors in an academic sport now I don't have my whole team here I I'm not really sure what happened but I do have um two of my attorneys and two of our club members because as Mrs Deo had said we are also a club but we um are also consider ourselves an academic sport um but I'm very proud of the young people
021that are here with us um alongside their attorney coach because we have also an attorney coach his name is Dave Robertson he is a retired uh partner from the law firm of Harwood Lloyd and he is a certified trial attorney for 42 years so we have really good support and the legal aspect of it um the students as a group have put in countless hours at practice both after school and also on weekends um they analyze fact they evaluate testimony they prepare arguments they craft questions they hone their courtroom knowledge and their performance skills and this year we're proud to announce that in the trial of capella versus petson pet products and I will have one of the students tell you about that case um we're proud to announce that the ghs team made the
022list of the top 16 teams in Bergen County we're very proud of that so I want to say to the team members tonight's not just a celebration of what you've achieved in competition but also a recognition of the skills confidence and Leadership you have developed along the way each of you has represented your school and the community with excellence and this recognition by the board of education is well deserved so thank you very much for taking the time to do that so um I would like to introduce you to the ghs mock trial team for this year this is okay good evening again uh I just wanted to uh thank Miss mobilia of course and say how amazing this opportunity was I'm so thankful that I joined last year this is my second year doing
023it uh I just wanted to tell you guys a little bit about our case last year we had a criminal case I was uh on the prosecution um and well I'll just tell you that the the way that this works this is very real I want to tell you guys how real this is like we go to the hackin sack um courts and we compete and um we the judges are like real they are real attorneys and they judge you based on this um point system we walk in there we um there is sorry the team is composed of two attorneys and we have three Witnesses for each team so for the defense the defense has three Witnesses and the prosecution has two three um three Witnesses and we the the the trial lasts about
024an hour and a half we compete like real like this is like a real court case it was it's truly amazing last year we had a case where um we were I was Prosecuting uh a de of I misss named uh Ellis Kerwin because he was charged with uh male fraud and admitting students who wouldn't have otherwise been admitted into University uh through payments and other stuff and then this year we had a civil case in which uh a petacon a flea Product Company was being sued for uh being neg negligent and resulting in the death of uh the defendants um sorry the plaintiffs sorry the plaintiff's uh dog Sally and I just wanted to say how amazing it was it was truly great it's very nerve-wracking and it's um it's very like it's it's
025very real but I think it definitely I think it definitely helped me uh it opened the door and it showed me what I really want to do in my future which is be an attorney thank you so I was a little [Applause] nervous oh good evening I was definitely not expecting this but I just want to express my gratitude to everyone here today especially to our board for making this happen to all of my teachers who inspired me who put trust in me um originally I was definitely not going as an attorney because I've been here for only 3 years so I'm still struggling with the language barrier although I did try for an attorney and my teachers actually put their trust in me and gave me the role and I'm very proud because we
026actually won our case so you know and yes definitely it is a great opportunity it definitely it is very rough it is very serious and it very stressful it's definitely a lot of time it's they racking up there yes but it's a great opportunity to explore a career of a lawyer and attorney and that's definitely something that I will look into thank you my name is Isel Isel and I want to thank miss miss mobilia miss m for giving me this opportunity to join this club last year I was a witness and this year I was timekeeper for both times I was in the club um this opportunity really gave me a time to find myself and find my and find my voice since I was a really shy girl and I want to thank
027them again for giving me this opportunity to be so to become something bigger than what I what I originally think wonderful good evening uh my name is Camila um first of all I'd like to thank Miss mobilio she's so she's there's no words to describe her she's amazing she's a friend she's a teacher she's just an amazing person yeah thank you so much for coming [Applause] so miss mobilio has been um the adviser for the debate team mock trial for several years now and when I tell you she takes it so personally and this is she's so committed to this um I'm understating what she how important this is to her and consequently you see the result and the team this year um we try to give them as much opportunity to meet and to
028practice during the day because like I said this is just a club and what I mean by that is I'm not undervaluing it I what I'm trying to point out is the amount of dedication that comes out of these students because they have their academics and when you're a member of a team an athletic team you can only be in one team per season one competitive team per season so they are members of teams they have other responsibilities we have one student here who's also a junior ROTC person so her schedule is modified to allow her to meet those commitments so I give them so much credit for putting this extra piece of pie into their onto their plate um and I think you see what you've reaped from it and we just have to
029spread it to other students because it does take a lot of time and a lot of commitment and if one person doesn't show up they have to scramble and make everything work and they've done it they've done it so yes congratulations and this is Miss Marin zulich first year as advisor so again thank you for coming out for this thank you one more please and thank you again for recognizing us and thank you to Mrs T for her Support over the years the [Music] [Applause] thank you and just to add that uh Mr rilio and I talked about possibly looking to build a courtroom um and uh I'll say that out loud so hopefully it'll come true um and uh expanding the program as much as we can um which you know there there are
030grants out there but I I think U I'm sure we have some handy handy individuals in town that'll help out so uh so we're going to be working on that uh also in a few minutes I'll be talking about some an update that I have uh one with regards to one of the cies that we just we're putting in for next year so um so we'll talk about that but congratulations again possibly use RC as a police department as well okay uh now these gentlemen have been here for a long time waiting so uh one of the charges of the board when I got here was to try to um you know expand the music program all the way uh from K to 12 we know it has to start when you're younger um so
031one of the things that we looked at immediately was a program to try to in uh you know invigorate music in our in our students and one of the ways we do that is through composing and moving around and just making music right so so we have um uh our Music Makers here today uh so if you come up and uh thank you you guys are far too kind so can you cue the music I need everybody to stand because we're going to learn a song today right on the spot okay so um I need a lead singer no I'm joking everybody have a seat so no no no listen I I I love the participation I love the attitude because this is what the kids get to do in class right it's about the
032willingness to step up to the plate and show what you got right we're building confidence in students so let's give a round of applause for that so my name is Malcolm Pope uh I'm work with the program of the company called Music Makers International where full surface music education company and you know really what our goal is our mission is really to Target the creative muscle in students we believe that kids tend to learn better and absorb information in a creative environment so we target the creative muscle in order to help them to develop their critical thinking the social emotional learning and so we do this through a method of bringing a mobile recording studio into the classroom with a producer with composers songwriters and the students go on the journey an exploration of creating
033their own original song but in the process of doing so they learn about literary devices such as metaphors similes they learn about lyrics they learn how to think critically to take their ideas and put it into a holistic form known as a song so if we can cue the video really quick this is a project that we did from uh September to December with two schools here we're working with grades three and you can really get to see what we do in a snapshot right here with our documentary just take a look at the end of the day when you leave you feel like you could really do something really big cuz it gives you a lot of hope that when you're older you could really make something good out of it you can learn
034your favorite career and maybe when you get bigger you realize that you didn't think you could sing so well then that your career can be singing when I would come pick the kids up I would see everyone with a smile on their face really excited to be near the microphone and the speakers being surrounded by the music and even when we walk back to the class to do schoolwork math they're still talking about it for like the rest of the period or I can't wait to see my teachers for Music Makers music can highlight or bring out another side to a student feel like music is super important especially for emotional expression I think the worst thing someone can go through is having an idea and it being shunned and not even having the room
035to expand on it or being told that you're incorrect in such we really help facilitate to give them that safe space in order to be able to to think out loud and in order to be able to create and feel like they have that right safe place to do it so what we really do as C and we customize a uh a strategy we customize a curricula for them uh that supplements what they already have going on in your school uh to further build out any particular Concepts in their music program as well as expose the kids to the world of composition so that that's that's our Channel and you can check us out on uh actually technology um no but we have a channel it's called the key uh composers of garford New Jersey
036and on that channel you can see that video like And subscribe by the way the kids are definitely doing that and um all their songs that they created so it's them on the microphone they created the lyrics they composed the music and so you can get it but before I leave uh I'm going to have Taj come up uh and just speak a little bit about the benefits of the program and just his experience as one of our lead instructors how is everyone doing good I was a power lifter once in my former life I had a 795b box squat in my high school um for the legal team if I ever get pushed down the steps I know who to call um uh to be serious in all seriousness my name is Taj Jackson
037I am a 16-time Grammy nominated and Grammy award-winning songwriter singer and producer um I got a thank you thank you um I've worked with the likes uh of Lon Richie Janet Jackson all the way up to Justin Bieber Chris Brown Rihanna Etc uh and my favorite Romeo Santos and um thank you and and what we wanted to bring um to our Music Makers program was to really get the kids to really have an expression of thought free thought free thinking that there's no dumb questions that we can write about anything whatever it is that we feel whatever it is that we do whatever our surroundings are is our inspiration and when we do that the transformation that happens and that's one of our big mantras on The Music Makers is transformation and the transformation that
038we see in the kids some of the kids that start in our classroom that they have nothing to say they have nothing to contribute and by the end of the class they're the loudest voices in the room um and in that love and seeing just the their minds growing right in front of you I always say the greatest teachers learn from their students and as much as we're teaching them and showing them the world of composition the world of songw writing and helping them Express their creative thinking and thought they teach us as well um and I think it's just a great way of expressing and helping them to learn to express their greatest and deepest thoughts and and and allow them them to grow and mature into their intelligence whatever it is that they're
039doing so we thank you for your time we thank you for your efforts um we thank your your parents for supporting uh your kids allowing us to be a part of your school um we hope that you'll continue to have us thank you gentlemen thank you very much uh I also want to recognize uh Miss Bellinger Dr kusano uh the principles and and absolutely the teachers um fitting this program in in the beginning wasn't that easy right we had the schedules made I came on a little late but we knew it was important uh and everybody just worked together so I appreciate everybody working together and you guys have just been incredible I think the kids really love it and hopefully we could just expand you know um so I don't know what else to
040say but you've really made an impact here so thank you very much excellent uh hopefully that'll be uh you know uh contagious when we get to you know the strings and the you know all the instruments and stuff like that so thank you very much uh but everybody working together made it happen so thank you um and uh Miss Taylor as well for finding the uh the money in the federal programs piece um so on the agenda uh as well in that in this section there's 5.4 which is my uh professional development plan uh I just discussed that with the board today it's a plan that's required by all superintendents usually a 3 to 5e plan uh it'll be posted uh right after this meeting or tomorrow morning if you want to see it um
041basically some of the things that I'll be going over in about 2 minutes I have a little quick presentation uh about um since I've been here a few things and uh some important things with regard to budget that we need to talk about um just for the board's edification the uh School ethics presentation will be next month we have to postpone that the uh the representative that was coming uh to do that uh had an emergency so we're going to do that um next month um and so just to finish uh or to actually start or finish my report um those of you probably have uh had seen uh my 100 day plan and it was attenuated a little bit for certain things going back and forth it was it's been difficult to get into
042the buildings in the classrooms because of a lot of the administrative needs uh moving forward but one of the things that we did uh when I first got here we did uh several audits of some important systems certifications fingerprinting uh I want to thank all the units and the unions for helping us out with that as well uh we just finished our last report I'm sorry I last audit the other day which was a special education audit so now I I I think it's a good time to talk about a few of the things um that uh that I've seen some of the things that are happening already some of the things that we put in place within 100 days that I was here um mostly if not all of them were um Suggestions by
043The Faculty Administration and staff and I want to uh thank this board for supporting everything 100% it's obviously very important um to get all this stuff done I'm also going to bring up a few things uh to kind of just set the set the stage a little bit with the uh the election cycle now happening in April um that moves our that moves our budget up a few weeks as well so so what I what what I may have waited a little while to talk about a few things I think it's important now because first week in March is when uh Miss and I have to present this board with just some preliminary things which is not uh really going to be appealing uh I think everybody is aware of some of that so I
044want to mention some things as well uh with regard to that uh moving forward um so a few things very positive in note uh in my 100 days or past a few months after that um student achievement what's happening in the classroom is just phenomenal stuff um we were just recognized as one of the districts to um really come out of covid numbers uh so I know you're all very proud of that I'm glad to be part of that team and I know that with this incredible uh faculty and administration we have and and the kids working really hard as we see every meeting here um it's just going to really you know surpass all the numbers that we we could even imagine so that's progressing along we're trying to add some professional development meaningful
045professional development not just professional development because somebody knows somebody or because it's something that everybody does I mean meaningful stuff uh there'll be surveys going out to our staff members and things of that nature but uh moving to a new CIS next year and some of those other things to kind of tie everything together because there are some departments that aren't connected to the stent information system and I don't think everybody's aware of that here uh so that would be a big proponent of that and I appreciate everyone's patience and support with that as well very excited about theem Mr Moo and team uh working very hard because it's unfortunate right now when I go into the middle school I see you know presentation ofies but they're not ourmes because we really don't have many
046or any uh so next year our students will see a Health and Medical Academy a business Academy criminal justice and law uh and media and Communications I know we're starting to um really uh advertise for that so uh you know hopefully our middle school students uh really take advantage of that uh that's going to be uh revora for teachers as well right so so we're looking for new electives coming in the in the years to come so uh those Academy pieces are schools within schools right so uh I think it really is an incredible thing and a testament to everyone working hard here uh there'll be an online catalog I don't know if it's readily available yet but it's put together it looks great it's a flip book I don't know if you're familiar with
047that we're trying to digitize everything here moving forward uh not sure if you're aware but uh again high school did an incredible job adding Junior Roc or jrc this year um so we do have several students that that go uh and they partner um in Roc uh hopefully we'll get our own uh in a few years uh it's very difficult to to get one you have to go through a uh something with the army or the Marines um there's only a certain amount of programs for a certain amount of miles but uh right now we're partnered so uh I think I think it's going well and I can't wait to invite those individuals to do a flag ceremony here for us or or the uh you know the opening ceremony so Mr Moo if you
048could put that uh I think it'd be great to see them do that uh excited about girls lacrosse we had opport opportunity to add that this year and partner uh again not you know academics are important obviously but it's the well-rounded student we talk about all the time um that's an important thing just like music's important uh sports are important clubs are important trying to uh address all of those things uh we added something called cope community outreach program and education where over the last six or seven months or at least the first 100 days I try to meet with every nonprofit organization to create this network so that our students can be in something called an ambassador's program which will be starting next year uh we sort of have that a little bit here
049with a mentoring program but the ambassadors program is going to be really this pure leadership program uh it's going to be great for those students who want to get into some of those things uh into college and Beyond uh but you know everyone needs to PE here once in a while so uh so that's going to be a program that we're launching next year we already have that in place um and it goes along with all these um incredible nonprofit organizations that have just been here um you know uh some of them are already here so we haven't met with them because I know they're part of us already but I'm talking about the local churches uh Elks Etc all those things so uh just a great thing for our kids uh and our uh
050we did a major upgrade to Athletic program and athletic website um I think it's important to spotlight those things our students our teachers who are coaches and some of those other things that are important uh moving moving from that and and some of the things that we need to work on a little bit which which is going to be more of a um uh a formal uh probably a formal presentation either next month or in April um when I kind of have all those audit numbers in but just so everybody's aware because I think it ties in to some of those challenging things that the board's going to need to consider with regard to budget uh obviously there are scheduling issues uh we've been working on different things with scheduling we have some disjointed scheduling
051meaning that we have certain elementary schools that are departmentalized and certain they aren't right that's where the equity is when we talk about Equity kids on one side of town should be the same as the other side of town Etc so those are some things we're working on um you know brought to my attention when I first got here which is now formal attention is we have 600 or more sections uh in certain areas that are Beyond Code Compliance uh that's a problem uh no one's ever addressed it before well when it's brought to my attention has be addressed um Code Compliance meaning that it's not board policy it's actually in code and since Garfield is SDA District formerly Abbot uh they have to follow certain parameters uh bringing that to my attention uh we've
052been working with the high school on trying to get those numbers down and the middle school as well um really haven't addressed much of it yet in the in the uh in the elementary areas because we just don't have the the time or I'm sorry the money or the space right now but just to get some of those numbers down those sections in compliance we're talking about adding 10 faculty members right now um that's just for those compliance issues that again were brought to my attention formally so that's something that we have to discuss uh I I believe and I spoke to this board already about it that we have a wellness shortage we need more guidance counselors we need more we need more people to support the faculty members that are trying to counsel
053our students uh doing the best they can same thing with our principles I've gotten many number I'm sorry number of concerns from principles with regard to not being able to service all these students we did bring a few guidance of individuals back you see some pro-rated stiens on there for some people that are taking their preps away to help out uh that's probably the most important thing um in my mind uh without Wellness uh how are you going to be doing well academically or anything else so uh it's definitely something we have to work on we do have a company called Insight that's helping out with tella Health we do have an individual here on staff but but again we need to do more uh so that's something that we need to talk about our
054re-registration is going well so far uh excuse me that was a concern with regard to do we are we making sure that all the students in our you know in our seats are Garfield students that's important we have 622 students registered already doesn't sound like a lot but it's 20% we're kind of on track believe it or not um if you are a parent please get the registration forms in get as much as you can in so we can just kind of confirm that you in town uh I know that sounds tedious but as a taxpayer please appreciate that because that's what we're trying to do we're trying to make sure that every dollar goes to the students whose parents either live or rent or lease or whatever it is here and and uh again
055that was a charge of the board gave me when I first got here and it's going pretty well our Tech infrastructure we've heard it almost every meeting here from our students um again it's fault it's a fault of no one a few years ago from from what I'm finding with the audits we've done um this was a major audit a few years ago you guys increased What's called the pipe which is the speed in andout uh unfortunately a lot of the switches and some other things are Antiquated non-existent anymore and has to be changed we're looking at $1.7 million um to fix that that's not a madeup number that's a real number based on an audit end of life facilities upgrades uh Mr derch is probably going to talk about a few things tonight with
056that um we had eight boilers at the middle school was brought up at one of the meetings here six of them are gone already I mean that's incredible uh in 10 or 12 years um but they have to be fixed um we have some buildings where it's too hot some buildings where it's too cold um we have wood that's rotted that has to be replaced we have mold issues that are being reported but they're not actual mold issues we we're keeping on those for air quality samples which will be continuing to do here um there are a lot of facilities issues here again I'm not I'm not blaming anyone I'm just telling you what it is and those have to be fixed um you know when something is maybe it was never brought to anyone's
057attention before and we'll leave it at that but when it's brought to my attention it has to be remediated um those are costly um attendance the attendance office guidance and operations for the past several years um Le led to a um you know we have a chronic absenteeism corrective action plan in every building now okay um we need to kind of revamp that office again maybe bring back an attendance officer uh right now we have assistant superintendent doing that um again you know uh regardless of that you know uh we have a a company that is uh doing an excellent job actually going to sites and and uh um you know visiting those sites uh because they are um equipped to do that um but at the end of the day uh that whole program
058has to be revamped um so that we get our chronic apses numbers down uh and working with um working with the administration and the faculty members and Families uh so that's a big concern uh with regard to one of the audits that we did audits on positioning position controls uh there's there was uh past positions that were over uh that that were um uncovered uh that had inflated salaries nepotism hiring Etc uh some of those reports will go to the Attorney General's office it's that's my my fiduciary responsibility to report those things so I can't really talk too much about that but those were some things that created some issues in the past uh and we'll taken care of that with some ethical considerations as well policy considerations that need to be changed because they're
059based on individuals and positions it's another audit uh audit finding that created some budgetary concerns fingerprinting audit which again I appreciate the help there we did have some individuals who had needed to update fingerprints I guess we could leave it at that uh but I know it was tedious I appreciate all those teachers that had to do that but again um you know something that we needed to do um and I appreciate uh all the help from the gft on that and the other units um and now there are three major ones I haven't even brought up yet um first is preschool funding structure I think the second week I was here I was told that this funding for preschool um was coded in a different way from some outside providers so I'm looking at
060possibly a $500,000 short School uh shortfall in preschool funding in order to maintain the preschool uh the way it is um again not the fault of anyone uh some some just I don't know audit findings from outside here um failure rates special education failure rates are very high something we have to work on but that's you know again something we can only work on if we have more Staffing uh in some of those areas and the biggest issue that we are going to face here in a few years that have that have to do with facilities and whatnot is a school five parking issue right now this beautiful building that's being built um that's supposed to house 800 50 students back to the envelope calculation in my head I'm saying 150 staff members uh I
061think there's nine parking spots um that's an issue so I do have an idea for that I I I mentioned to this board um trying to speak to other entities about that it's not really working right now uh in my favor uh but I do have an idea but right now the municipality is also concerned um that the traffic on Outwater Lan um with and also teacher parking on streets or there's no way there's going to be a shuttle service so that although that sounds maybe like minutia right now like why is he even bringing this up that building is going to open in September of 2027 that's that's a building that the state has funded for us it's an incredible thing it's going to look great right on out waterlane it's going to be
062brand new um our kids deserve it our families deserve it that's a major problem right now uh I know it doesn't sound like it but it will and it's going to take more than a couple weeks weeks to fix uh I know some of the ideas floated around not not by this board but prior from some of the notes I've been seeing uh administratively concerns um or considerations for um shuttles like um like when you go to a wedding and you get shuttled for a wedding I don't know how we're shuttling 150 teachers back and forth in the morning um it's a lot of shuttles uh it's a lot of money for shuttling so um this is a major concern um um again not blaming anyone but it's it's the reality so we can all
063sit here and and and talk about what's what's maybe not going to happen what's never happened before but these were things in front of us um contract negotiation costs that were done which obviously it deserved not saying that but we're already talking 4 and a half% um Health Care increases um for the state benefits plan um is is go is they're telling us going to be astronomical along with energy costs at at least 20% increase so those are all the things that we're trying to put into a budget within two weeks um just so just so we're aware of all that um but with saying that we we cannot stop introducing new things for our kids new programs um continuing to do music continue to add Sports continue to add clubs um other uh programs
064like uh things that are connected to wood shop or cabinet making some of those other skills um and keeping our kids here not losing them to theem and all those other things so working together I think we'll be able to do that um it's going to be a very tight very tight budget budget cycle um there's going to be a lot of um decisions that need to be made um but again transparent process is the way to go whether anybody believes or not these this is exactly what is here um and I'm sure there's going to be more once we put some of those numbers in that has nothing to do with what the aid is going to be uh if it stays flat don't forget we we got a very nice $9 million extra
065right at the last minute last year um we were told that Federal funding is going to be cut possibly 25% that's a major problem for a lot of our programs uh we were also told that we won't be cut more than 3% in funding which gets me nervous because like why you just say I'm staying flat if you're going to say I'm not going to cut more than three you're telling me that I'm probably going to be cut 3% 3% cut here to State funding would be catastrophic to this to this District I think you all know that um so let's hope that at least it's flat um but I don't know where it's going with that because I don't know what the state funds are going to be so um there are a lot
066of decisions are going to be made it's a little quicker uh than we were ready for but uh but we'll get there but um you know and saying that the positive thing is that every day uh coming to work these teachers put in a lot of time these administrators these staff St members um for our kids and you heard it here and you hear it everywhere um they're not doing it for the money um money helps don't get me wrong but they're not doing it for the money because they could work anywhere uh they're putting their their own hands in their own Pockets so we have to make sure that that is something that we take care of because they shouldn't be doing that uh they should be compensated for their time uh they should
067be celebrated for their time uh everyone from secretarial staff to custodians to to to our you know our administrative team so with that I say progress uh moving forward trying to do everything we possibly can to save some money um and uh you know that's it Mr President good evening just a quick update on our buildings and grounds we do have a lot of work orders coming in due to the inclement weather I mean you cannot tell today that it's 49 degre this afternoon um what we did address so far we're very excited about the public address system that has been installed in garville high school it's been a long time in incoming uh fiber optic cables were also installed and connected to the new Press Box that we have in the athletic complex that's
068a real big accomplishment in the middle school that we're in right now the cafetorium and the courtyard were fitted with new cameras we replaced original ones that were more than 17 years old so we're trying to to uh update the infrastructure not only with the it all the security systems we're trying to put everything in place so that when we do uh go into um an agreement to finance the um it the funds that we need the 1.7 plus million um that it's all going to be tied together and everything fits um the excitement uh for me was getting emergency approval from the county superintendent for the boilers to finally get done it was something that we had been in uh had in the works since we received the money from the SDA uh Capital
069funding projects and we spent $400,000 roughly 399 um and they were installed from the time we left for break a little bit before through now three brand new installed inspected um all the paperwork is on this board meeting um the county like I said approved it for us due to the nature of the size of the school the weather conditions so we are um diligently working as best we can within our fiscal confines to do as many projects as we can for the buildings but what I would like to also make um everyone aware when we did go out for uh the SDA for our number five school there was a booklet that had been made by prior Administration from 2019 and it shows every building in the district pi pictures and so on and
070every building it did say from 2019 on did need help or work to its heating system infrastructure classrooms and so on so with that being said um it is obviously 2025 so all of these years that went by I inherited along with the board these projects and we are doing them to the best of our ability to make sure that the classes are warm the kids are safe and again the work order come in um we have a new acting director facilities she worked the entire break going from school to school we're doing the best we can and we appreciate um any input and that's all I can say is that you know we are trying to make everything here so that the children could have uh you know a healthy environment and the teachers
071as well so thank you very much thank you Mr IR um any committee reports any of the Committees meet no all right and moving forward a motion to go into Personnel 7.1 through 7.9 so moved motion by Mr poino seconded by Mr Malo uh any questions comments all right go call Mr Taylor Mr Munos I Mr ferino I Mr Gaba I Dr P roek hi Mr Malo hi M Sanchez hi Mr KES Mr Ros I motion carries all right motion to go into 9.1 through 9.15 Mo by Miss Sanchez a second second by Mr folino any questions any concerns roll call Mr Taylor I Mr BOS I Mr ferino abstain 9.1 9.2 I and the rest I'm sorry can you repeat yourself 9.1 and 92 abion correct thank you Mr Gaba I Dr p roek
072i Mr Moo hi M Sanchez hi Mr KES hi Mr Ramos hi motion carries motion to go into education 11.1 through 11.26 motion by Mr Taylor second mes any questions or comments no loc call Mr Taylor 11.6 11.7 number 20 Mr MOS hi Mr ferino one moment hi Mr Gaba hi Dr p roek i Mr Moo i m Sanchez I Mr KES Mr Ramos I motion carries okay facilities 13.1 motion I make a motion motion by m m second by Miss Sanchez any questions or comments roll call please Mr hi Mr Doos I Mr ferino abstain on number 13.1 number eight and number nine I and the Mr Gaba I Dr piver roek hi Mr Meo i m Sanchez I Mr kees I Mr Ramos I motion Carri all right at this time I would
073like to open up the floor for public comment um I'm not sure if everybody got it but there is um a statement before public comment little guideline to adhere to so yes I'm going to read a statement and again I will read this at every meeting till we till we get some the Quorum at every meeting and we follow the rule so there were some rule bendings there was some you can't hear me there was some rule bending that going on last meeting and the board recognizes the value of open public meetings and fair speech and we understand the enormity of those meetings and each board member here recognizes everybody's ability and right to speak at these meetings however it's essential that everybody maintains the decorum necessary for the meeting to have a legitimate basis
074and a legitimate discussion so based upon that the um president asked me to read again the guidelines for the uh public speaking portion of the meeting in accordance with the Garfield Board of Education policy 167 the Board of Education recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on school matters of community interest to permit the fair and orderly expression of such comment and pursuant to the New Jersey open public meetings act the board has set aside a portion of every board meeting for public comment on any school or School District issue that a member of the public feels may be of concern to the residents of the school district members of the public wishing to make a public comment must be recognized
075by the presiding officer and must PR comments by announcement of his or her name Municipality of residents and group affiliation if applicable each statement including more than one topic made by a participant will be limited to five minutes duration and no participant may speak for more more than once please be further advised that the following guidelines shall apply as this is a public forum public comments may not in any way be be disrespectful vulgar or threatening toward any member of the Board District faculty Administration or staff if any public comments violate these guidelines the speaker will be asked to refrain from the from offering any further public comment regardless of whether they have time remaining in addition the speaker may be interrupted in his or her privilege to comment terminated if the speaker's comments are
076disruptive or otherwise VI viate these guidelines on behalf of the members of the Garfield Board of Education and Garfield Central Administration thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter so we open the floor for public tner Raymond 93 Spring Street Mr attorney I think that was all very good advice but I would like you to also advise the board they should answer our questions because all the questions we asked when we come up here they're never answered so please keep that in mind maybe you should make up a little paper that you could read to them at the beginning of each meeting um all my questions I asked at the last meeting were not answered but I have some new ones for tonight I just went over this this is for Oprah
077requests from the attorneys the bills from the attorneys just for Oprah requests this is ridiculous $3,941 2016 for for Oprah requests that were requested within the LA I know I see my name on here so that had to be from July obviously I don't know why that has to go before the attorney in the city we don't put it before the attorney our our um city Clark knows what's public information and what's not and I would think RBA would know what's public information and not somebody's contract somebody's salary that is public information you don't need an attorney to okay that so all these fees this is $4,000 that could have been put toward the kids toward one of the boilers band fixed that you say we need fixed um okay I I I would just
078like to say at Dr Tom go I guess our lawyer didn't know what he was talking about cuz we this went all the way to the Supreme Court in the election will be in April and he's not even um an attorney that specializes in school law but thankfully we got that and now our citizens will get the chance if you go over I know you have cap budget so you if you go over the Caps then they they will have a chance to vote on it and you had sent the council an email that you would like some input I would be I can't speak for the rest of the council they're they're not here they're at a dinner tonight well Joey's here but the other ones um I would like to sit with you
079I have some suggestions for you um I can't speak for them I don't know if they would now I I know you got to put the budget on the fast trck but you know Dr TOMCO I have to tell you when I was the mayor we ran into some difficulties and we had to ask our people to wait for their raises but at the time I said to our Council you know what we need to lead by example so I would say to you tonight lead by example the board office including your salary is very high take a cut show the people of this community that you really care you and and and RBA get $500 a month for traveling no superintendent ever got that before Mrs seaka lived in in Allendale that's not around
080the corner Kathy only lives in Wayne how many live in Wayne they don't get traveling expenses that's another thing you could look at maybe cutting um there's a lot of places that where you could really trim some fat not the little guy not the teacher we just hired a teacher I understand a math teacher for 106,000 a year I know teachers are hard to get but is that fair to the teachers that have been here for 20 years and 22 years that are making the same thing it's very easy to say you walked into this but for a man that commanded the salary that you get and I'm not saying you look you have experience I'm not saying this is not to put you down but you know what Garfield didn't need a $300,000 superintendent
081I don't know who negotiated your contract but you have quite a contract it's really it's a gold contract in my opinion um so I would really suggest to you lead by example take a cut Miss D to take a cut and all these other jobs that you hired that you for that were family and friends that really we never had before talk to them maybe those people should be be put back from where they came from they were all employees in the in the district uh you took secretaries you put them in the um the regist the registrar's office with such an exorbitant raise making more than the one that's that was there doing it for a couple of years you also said that you are assistant superintendent is now the attendance officer could you
082explain to me how he does that from home I don't get that we want a quality education for our children another thing I'd like to ask which I I asked at the last meeting never got an answer do you put these things out for bid because I happen to talk to my plumber who has done work for this district and does work for the city he had told me that he could have fixed boilers for a lot cheaper than the people that you did hire now I don't know if you go out for bids and if you take the lowest bid I do hope you do because if you don't you're violating the bidding law but maybe that's something you could look into shop around see if you can get somebody to do it cheaper
083does it always have to be the same person um he's an excellent plumber so I'm sure he can do it and when you do want to put together the budget and if you would really you know like some input from somebody from the council I'm more than willing to sit with you I have some other suggestions some other places where I think you could cut and um I don't know if it'll be enough but I would really like to be part of that you know just reach out call me and I'll come and meet you you did Reach Out I yeah we got an email but you there's no specific date there's no specific time I need a date and time I I don't just sit around doing nothing I have other things I have
084to do so I would really just let me know when and I'll be there I would appreciate it and please take that into consideration lead by example thank you Nancy Cuts up 484 V bessam Avenue as someone who has spent time in the teaching profession I feel compelled to emphasize the importance of giving proper attention to the matters placed before you too often decisions are made re actively rather than proactively it is essential to understand that before a decision is made it becomes your responsibility to fully research its impact on everyone involved one of the key lessons I've learned especially after attending a preliminary workshop for prospective board members is that a rush to judgment is never necessary or ideal if you find yourself in a situation where a decision is being Rush rushed proceed
085with caution it should be a red flag I would often tell my committee teach committee teachers if you aspire to become an administrator or part of any decision-making body you must remember you're dealing with people's lives every decision carries consequences and it's your duty to ensure these those consequences are fully understood and carefully considered yes individuals must be held accountable but there is a right a right way to ensure that action are executed appropriately and that responsibility lies with you you were entrusted with your role by the community while this trust is an honor it is not indefinite you will will be held account accountable for your decisions and your actions will reflect your integrity you have sparked a flame within the boiler maker community and citizens are watching ensuring that their interests are properly
086represented in the meantime always adhere to the code of e ethics to which you have been sworn your actions and decisions should reflect the values and principles you were chosen to uphold thank [Applause] you next Daniel Marcelo 66 crack out street so I just want to touch on something um that you had said tana and this is really for the board when we are looking at contracts and again this is not a personal topic of any sort but the IRS publishes what's considered reasonable and customary for mileage reimbursement annually so before we make a blanket agreement on a reimbursement rate for mileage and travel perhaps we should be looking at what that recommended is annually because I can tell you that we are far over the mark of what would be considered appropriate also we
087need to be looking at what's reasonable and customary on reimbursement for things yes there's wearing tear for certain cars and things that are considered business use but we really should be looking at that because I think that we've overshot and agreed on something that is completely out of line next I want to touch on the absentee comment so yes absentee is on the rise parents I I can tell you so as most of you know I do work in healthcare there was something called a triple demic 3 years ago in which the largest number of children in the state were hospitalized in the industry that we are in right now children are sick one in 13 people in the country has asthma in Bergen County we are almost two times higher than the average for
088asthma asthmatics so if our facilities are in need repair and you're wondering why we have absentee issues perhaps we should be looking at primary causes asthma is something that many of our students and I'm not again I'm not a nurse in our district but I can tell you based off of the published that the published data that's currently out there it's for 2022 we are extremely high for the county so facilities need to be at optimal working function for our children to be able to get to school the other thing is parents we live in a working class Town parents have a very difficult time getting appointments for their children to be seen and I can tell you me working in the healthcare industry I have to battle to get an appointment after hours for
089my own child so we need to perhaps shift the focus and look at how do we get children to get Optimal Care because it is our responsibility yes they most certainly should not be missing school but we need to start looking at the causes why they're missing school I know that they want us to make doctor's appointments for our children when we're on break do you know how impossible it is to get children all over the state all to get the same doctor's appointment for the very same week they have to see a doctor or else their health care issues and conditions that are taking them out of school in the first place are going to continue to perseverate so yes absenteeism is a problem but we need to start looking at the root cause
090I would perhaps work with the school nurses and I would also work with the Department of Health for our town to look at exactly what the demographics look like for our students and then create an action plan thereafter sending out a global message about why your student doesn't go to school isn't really helpful because I think a lot of parents if you talk to it the heart of the matter is they do have good intentions to get their children there but there are other things that are preventing them from being there that is all I have for today if you have any questions please let me know thank you next good evening everyone my name is alexandraa 152 shman Place GFI New Jersey I just want to put comment of what Mr tonko say about
091bu Hall 2023 2024 G receive $67 million in state I for this year is $77 million if I am correct for this year we received $77 million inste it is that correct yeah I know so now clarify why I'm here at the beginning of each meeting it's announcing that all public question will be answered however this question have never been addressed addressed excuse me if you want to be heard can you please get speak closer to the mic I don't even you could hear them I'm sorry at beginning of each meeting it is announced that all public question will be answered he however these questions have never been addressed which forced me to repeat my concern first why again last time I asked you guys why is Mr B B being hired as the assistant
092District transportation superv supervisor despite having the Y record and I'm not asking for how much or question that I'm asking why okay uh additionally additionally why are election Pro procedures procedures being moved or changed without proper re reasonable explanation as a regular person I would like to understand what happening I'm not asking again the money I'm asking why maybe we just don't answer why you guys doing that why are you are moving the elections why why those people being higher which are actually not supposed to be higher so I can I have the answer I I got talk to that wall like I guess no the questions are very easy this is not funny because we're talking about my child my my my child friends everyone else in this and you keep hiring people who
093you are come on or who doesn't have a driving license for public transportation please be serious you're ethic person yes I can tell you they didn't make the election canel it so that everybody gets a chance I again if you canel it okay like I say I am I I admit it I can make a mistakes I am just regular person I cannot sit 24 hours you know watching the computer watching the news I don't have time for that that's true I admit it but I still don't understand why certain people are being higher you know for certain positions or like was mention math teacher for 100 for 100 I'm sorry $140,000 meantime the teachers who working here for 10 15 years it's like $90,000 salary that's kind of that's okay thank you next my
094name is Lorissa son 27 Garden Court North I just want to know how much did it cost the district to appeal the change of election date multiple times and how do you justify this expense when you're constantly over the budget thank [Applause] you next good evening orene ptii 184 Midland Avenue Kurt this question is for you possibly the superintendent you gave us a bunch of rules at the beginning was your board members giving any rules as one of your board members gave the whole audience the Lo loser sign on his head I think they should be giving instructions thank you next good evening Nancy class in 458 lands AB um as you know I come to you as the music person um because yes my children go attend our schools I am a 25 year
095educator and I'm on the board of direct of Directors for the New Jersey music educators where last week we had a conference that serviced over a th music teachers in the state um and over 1,200 students got to perform and I sat there and was like wow you know Garfield could do this um I know it is baby steps as I've been told in other meetings and I know that the budget is coming up I also know the title to funding is questionable um with decreases in that but I am going to ask of you um since the vision of Champions is to encourage Inspire and support to please keep that in mind as the size of this district and the under Staffing of music teachers I have also as you know um offered my
096services to help in any way shape or form my friends Music Makers came through um and they're doing amazing work I would also like to say that in speaking with the various music teachers and principles of the schools that would speak to me um there are many free options afford available to us and again I will sit down with anybody um to do that and I know that Dr TOMCO and I and actually Mr regoso have spoken about possibly a Summer music program which there is a grant that we could apply for or have it as a zero budget um and again it's now is kind of the time to make that shift to make it happen so again I'm offering any services that I am available thank you [Applause] all right thank you Mr
097Vice President to the chair I think I think just to reiterate the protocol and and and I when we had the meeting a few months ago there were so many people talking when our students talk I like to address them immediately so they don't leave so I apologize for that but I think to address the protocol is ask the questions and we'll try to answer as many as we can after uh I try to follow up with whatever we can but obvious viously some things can't be spoken about and I know Mr G is going to yell me for answering a couple things but some of the things just have to be said so one clarification matters of personnel Personnel issues were brought up by public comment I would implore the board not to comment
098regarding matters of person thank you for the caution um so just a few things and again I I you know I I I understand uh I've been doing this a long time um I'm I'm not naive to think that the superintendent anywhere regardless of amount of money or how they are where they are they're a lightning rod and that's fine um I try to I'm trying to tell you all what is happening here you don't have to agree with me um I'm telling what is here in front of us I've had some incredible conversations with people here uh including some of the unpopular conversations that we've had in the past two months uh with regard to some these changes and those you know some of those um I guess those relationships have to be repaired
099um and hopefully that'll happen but moving forward forward um there are a few things that continue to be brought up that I would like to maybe answer if I can uh and talk to you so first I'll I'll say publicly I did send um a letter to the mayor first with regard to meeting about the budget he made a comment here that he knew where to cut so specifically sent it to him through the town man uh the town manager and clerk um to meet with him didn't get a response then I sent it to the entire Council uh to me with all them I got one response I won't tell you who that was from it's no one's business really uh it was an excellent response I appreciated it I answered back um still
100open you they don't have to meet with me it's fine Miss Raymond said that she used the liaison um I I implore you to stay after this meeting and we we could work out of time right now was I was you know I was opening up to you I know what your schedule is like you just said you're very busy I'm here so I mean I'd love to meet with you uh regardless of what you know what people think the you know why that would occur the reality is this I am new everyone seems to have an idea tell me what it is and then I I will tell you in that meeting what what I found too if you want to you know if we want to do that that as a liaison so
101you can report it back to the council um definitely um everything is budgeted I'm sorry everything is uh bit out in appropriate matter with the state especially if it's under SDA monies which most of this was um unfortunately you can't just go to Lowe's and buy equipment or you can't just go to plumber and and that's not how it works and I think that's probably been very um regulated here um I I don't see any uh outside bidding Etc U no audit findings in that in the past Etc um so basically you know I'm going to jump around a little bit because some of these things came together but um reimbursements and and whatnot not to talk about anything other than than that but um all all travel is not just back and forth it's
102it's to any events or um regardless of it is so instead of maybe past administration or whatnot putting in for a conference that was 700 miles away or whatever it is that's not how it works anymore um usually it's just a one-time deal uh but again all those things are transparent enough maybe it hadn't happened here in the past but that's not really how it works anymore uh same chronic absenteeism you're you're absolutely right that's why um looking within attendance Department I think people here think an intendance officer or somebody going to a house and knock on a door we need some we need someone that's going going and put plan together um you know things like that with regards to some of those things you were talking about uh and I I would love
103to work with you on that because you're right uh I am I've actually spoke up against um chronic absenteeism when the federal um the federal um I think it was 200 15 2016 maybe um with regard to how they uh coded that um so even if you're just so you know if your child has flu like one of my daughters just had flu a few weeks ago she was out for 7 Days that's doesn't matter if have a note anymore uh she'll be considered chronically absent probably um so that's what we're battling here uh and that's only one thing there are students that have phobia School phobias now some some aren coming to school uh we need to address all that and that's what the Caps are for um but but again uh I not
104saying it was neglected in the past but it just I think it was you know knock on doors and come and get people which I think is important uh that's not that's not an unimportant thing uh I just think that there has to be a different plan like you you just mentioned I don't see it anywhere I'm sure it was talked about but it's has to be something that's put in place so so I totally agree with you there um as part of an attendance program um the music the music piece is very important um I grew up my father's a professional musician I think we talked about that um it's very important to all students because they have a different you know that's how they release energy and all that other stuff so so
105obviously it's something that we definitely want to stay dedicated too uh with regard to that um you know uh I think it's important that that uh we continue to do that um you know I don't know I I I I don't I don't see any of that stuff going away because in order for in order to put all these things together like chronic absentees you have to make school fun for kids too right so so we want to keep all these program and expand these programs that's what I'm saying it's like it's going to be like putting a uh a square peg in a round you know a round hole so we're trying to do everything we can to to do all that whether people you know um you want to realize it or not
106uh with regard to over budget for expenses for attorneys I mean that's a separate budget line I'm pretty sure we're not over that uh with regard to that it's not you can't really transfer money uh the way people think that it's not how it works uh but I can get some of that information and with regard to the high salaries um those salaries were structured um through the uh bargaining agreement most of those uh individual unless it's a a re uh an area that's needed uh tremendously uh that's not you know not really anyone out there I hate to say that um you know and someone comes right out of college that's a different situation but any individual with with uh experience Etc I make it I make it uh I try to make it
107a um a practice not to hire someone on top on the top of the guide because I do know that once you get to the top of the guide you're kind of there and it's not fair um we talked about a little bit hopefully I have the ability to help um this Union restructured the guide I'm not saying it wasn't done I we've talked about the contract before I think it's an incredible contract I think if if I was here advising the board at the time uh I think I would have given some additional Monies to help the bottom move up uh I've done that in different districts that didn't happen here uh so we're kind of stuck with this lagging you know uh you can't hire people at First Step anymore it just doesn't
108happen unfortunately um so anyone who who gets hired does deserve that kind of uh kind of salary due to their experience Etc but that doesn't mean that people that were here and were stuck on the top of the guide for years that were frozen I totally get that that has to all be corrected I know they did the best they could doing that you see that with uh some of the the High um increases uh this year uh trying to right the wrong I think we probably could have done it a little differently and hopefully again I get to help restructure that but but again this is where it is this is where the guide is and this is what we're with uh the parameters were set by the contracts so uh I mean I
109know what people are thinking but but it's all it was all set prior to me getting here with the agreement of all the faculty members or a majority of uh and the other units as well so I'm just just putting it out there not saying I agree with it but just putting it out there um and I'm going to say this being careful I know Mr Geer is getting nervous right now but I'm going to end on this um certain individuals names been brought up a few times so uh I will say that anyone here um any position who's required to have any type of license uh or get a license within a certain amount of time does have that uh regardless of what you think uh that's absolutely true certain individuals as well that
110I've hired in positions are the only individuals only individuals that have licenses in certain positions so I want you to think about that okay there is no way I am coming here and jeopardizing my certification or my license for any other reason you guys could smirk and think differently but do a little bit more digging up on that um and I I stress the second part that certain individuals are the only people with licenses in this district for those spots so in saying that progress all right at this time I wasn't here I'm sorry I had to step out um I'd like to close the public portion that's already closed all right so currently if any other board members would like to make a comment I hoping that we get to hear from our student
111Representatives at least something in part of your experience so far but I hoping that we can hear from our student Representatives on their experience so far I know it's been a little Rocky and crazy so we'd like to hear from everybody and if any other board members have comments uh we this is the time sorry regarding our positions as the Y on basically whatever you want to say that's a board comments or anything you want to touch on speak I just wanted to say that I'm so grateful for this opportunity because it's not something that is seen like that we have seen um I think we the like most recent where like um we kind of brought this back the last few um student governments had hadn't like sat at the board so I'm really
112grateful for this opportunity and although like I my first meeting last meeting was very like it's not what I expected I'm truly grateful for being having the opportunity that like I had to be S sitting here so so first of all I have to say to the third time C to the entire board I am incredibly impressed the way the representation was handled at this board uh because I have seen other school districts and how they handle that and there not I'm sorry there on the board they're just they give a and you know they don't have other opportunities to comment on things so I'm very thankful and it's nice being on here and working with all of you and additionally I look forward to complete my obligations right per the New Jersey statute there
113are certain obligations uh so I'll be presenting you hopefully by next meeting with some student proposals and yeah I think it's very exciting and although I'm graduating so I'll be gone in four months I can guarantee everyone that I'll be working just as hard as I'll be here for next four years um and yeah and I would like to thank the community to I see you know we or disagreements right of course we agreeable people Everyone is a person everyone has their own opinion but it's so nice seeing everyone come together and you know there's there all good things coming right and I hear good ideas um good investments in the school district and Facilities uh and thank you also for acknowledging the the the heating uh problems uh cuz you know and you know
114I feel a little chilly here and then in school uh in the middle of the day it gets pretty hot and you know it's there are issues right we're dealing with old facilities you know it's a lot of the issues that we have you know those dat back from 50 years and you know we know let's not I don't want I don't want let's not blame each other let's not argue about it you know we have to move forward and this is something that like I definitely agree with you and but I'm just excited and and thank you again for having me on the board thank you any other board members Mr President just uh want to congratulate the student of the month uh I want to thank the upcoming retirees for their service to
115the district we appreciate that uh the mock trial team congratulations for their a successful run as well as the weightlifting club and uh regarding School number five I'm hoping that we're going to um maybe Institute a time capsule when that starts coming along as well as some sort of Memorial plaque pertaining to the existing well no longer existing but the previously existing building uh to memorialize its uh existence thank you thank you um anyone else right um I'd like to thank the St student Representatives uh for their their time here I know it's got to be an interesting uh view on you from the legal side and on top of that you know the presentations and everything that you guys have been doing it's phenomenal last year we did H when we did have them
116before we would just have them come and do reports and honestly I like this format better I just wish there was a way that you guys could have a little bit more input so I mean I think would make it at least a little bit more interesting so you guys get a little bit more of the dynamic versus just sitting here quietly um but thank you guys for your dedication and thank you guys for everything that you're doing um I want to thank the community and the teachers and everybody who came out to this meeting again um I know that your time is valuable so I thank you uh for you know taking the time out to address the issues in the community the issues going on on and I'm hoping that moving forward that
117we can positively move in One Direction because simply um being negative and bitter is not going to move us in any direction so I'm hoping that we can present the issues at hand and possibly you know work together and get some results finally um thank you guys for you know uh taking your time out of your night and taking the time out of your evening to come here and address the things and I hope that it continues on and I hope that um we can continue to see these numbers and we can continue to see these concerns you know so that these things are are addressed in a more timely man than they had been in the past uh we appreciate your voices and you know regardless of that sometimes we look flustered and stuff
118up here some of us aren't used to you know so much coming at us at one time you know uh some of us haven't been put in positions to where we're actually uh public speakers of that sense or we know how to address certain things you might see some nervous ticks or stuff of that stuff of that nature um so we do apologize um but once again we're doing our best in the positions that we're in to be able to address you guys and actually uh Express the emotional things that are going on in us at the moments where we feel like you know A lot's coming at us and we really don't you know on the spot time trying to deal um but once again thank you um there was uh I don't really
119want to mention their names but um in a moment of silence there was some people that I that I should have mentioned um I've actually had uh three close deaths within the last two weeks um almost a day or two apart um I wanted to address them but I I want to thank everybody for standing in that moment of silence uh with us um I know that there's other people in this room that may have been affected by death in in recent times and you know um I pray that the Lord gives you that peace that you need and understanding for those moments to where you may struggle in these situations just remember even if a person is gone there memories can never be taken from you so uh with that said um I'd like
120to uh bring this meeting to a close to get everybody home hopefully they can find parking in the lovely Garfield um so at this time I'd like to take a motion to close the meeting moot to motion by Mr folino second second second by Mr Goa saw his hand first all right all in favor all right thank you [Music]