Secaucus Board of Education's JSA Candidate Forum 2022

001it's um so if anyone would like to introduce themselves have a brief conversation with them Now's the Time to do it as soon as they're back at the table back at our main table then we will begin okay I'm fine good evening once again and welcome to the junior state of America Board of Education candidates Forum I would like to thank our five candidates for being part of this informative evening another thank you to our JSA particularly Niger Agarwal manager [Music] Guri Papi and param Patel they will they will be your moderators this evening another special thank you to Mr Medina Mr Medina is a full-time history teacher in addition to that he's the JSA advisor he's also the Freshman Class advisor he's also the wrestling coach so needless to say he's been very very

002busy these past few weeks so thank you for organizing this Mr Medina so it's my pleasure at this time to introduce Niger Agarwal [Applause] you ready good evening and welcome to Secaucus jsa's annual candidates Forum I would like to start by thanking the Board of Education and board president Mr mcstow Mr vigiani Mrs wargaki Dr Reiser our chapter advisor Mr Medina and of course our very own Secaucus Junior state of America chapter for making this event possible and finally thank you candidates for registering and for spending your valuable time to be here this evening as a reminder I will now read the disclosure signed by all participants of tonight's forum it is the intention of the Secaucus High School chapter of the junior state of America to conduct a fair and informative candidates forum for

003those that have decided to run for a position on our local Board of Education even though some questions may appear to be controversial it is not nor has it ever been our intent to portray our school district in a negative light as young citizens of the town of Secaucus we believe that it is important to bring awareness to issues regardless of their sensitivity that affect our schools as candidates for the Board of Education we want to give each and every one of you the chance to present your opinions and comments that you feel will continue to advance the educational standards within our school district at no time has any other teachers besides our current advisor Mr Medina nor current or former Board of Education members been given the questions in advance it is our desire

004to maintain the Integrity of the democratic process and allow each candidate to respond truthfully and honestly to the questions that will be presented the rules will be followed as given we will inform candidates of the rotation of responses to questions prior to the first question being asked the rotation will move from left to right of the moderator this will ensure that each candidate will have the opportunity to answer the question first at least one time in the event that a question is posed to all candidates the moderator will continue with the current rotation each candidate will be given 90 seconds to respond to a question if any candidate goes over the time limit the moderator will hit the gavel twice indicating that your time has elapsed in the interest of keeping the Forum moving as

005smoothly as possible we ask that each candidate adhered to the time limit at the conclusion of the Forum each candidate will be permitted to make a closing statement we will not time your closing statement but we do request that the statements be kept as brief as possible a Google form was sent out to the community on September 30th to provide the community with an opportunity to ask questions to all candidates the questions selected tonight are combinations of questions asked from the community staff students and Junior state of America chapter we will now begin with the first question starting with Mr deombre and continuing from left to right on the next question Mrs diadeta you will begin first and then continue from left to right candidates will have 90 seconds to respond to the questions due

006to the time constraints if you hear the gavel your time has elapsed and we will need to move forward we will now begin with Mr deombre how do you believe your life and career experiences have helped prepare you to serve on the board of education your time begins now I believe that my career working in hospital industry uh has prepared me working with teams working with departments for patient safety patient care we prioritize prioritize what needs to be done we don't work in collaborative collaboratively with doctors and nurses so I think that in essence is very important with a school board where you have to be able to work with other members to make decisions not so much in the hospital where it's it's time required that we need to make decisions fast but here

007where we make decisions properly and as a team as a small business owner I think I bring an asset of being a manager management management managing a business I apologize uh budgeting contract negotiations and I think that's also essential for a school board member to have Kelly do I start okay I wasn't sure on me can you hear me okay technology can you hear me okay I feel that my experience lends itself to the board since for almost two decades I volunteered in some capacity for the children of Secaucus I worked as a board member as the PTA president vice president editor Hudson County PTA president I was a teacher at ics for two years for eighth grade confirmation I coach softball I currently still continue to coach basketball I feel that as a board

008member um I have having been a board member that I understand the role of a board member and I think that my titles with the PTA helped me um to understand what it's like to work as a team player and the PTA I think is misunderstood by a lot of people it's not just tricky trays and things of that nature there's titles of president vice president Treasurer members um bylaws there's local there's County there's State there's National there's a lot of different um entities there that we report to um we have yearly conferences skill building workshops we keep Financial books right bylaws and the president oversees all of that so I feel that that experience really lends itself to a board member as well my work experience I'm a small business owner I was a

009financial analyst any thank you is this on yeah so at the age of 24 years old I was interviewed and given the opportunity to become the cytology supervisor at Holy Name Hospital I knew nothing about managing I was literally given an empty space and a budget for equipment microscopes and whatever I needed to run that department in that interview I said I have no experience managing but I have all the desire and drive if you'll teach me and Dr Shanker gave me that opportunity and I'm still at Holy Name 23 years later I offer you policy writing team leader I really if you know me I'll do anything during the pandemic my cancer patients weren't coming in so I volunteered to learn molecular biology and ran the covid test so that's just who I am

010I research I dig deep I figure out what's needed and I provide so I've been involved in the community with the kids for a long time I've been here in this town for 25 plus years my kids are in freshman in high school now so whether it be through Cub Scouts and or even when I was substitute teaching in the schools here or through the football programs and sports programs I kind of have a good pulse and a gut check on what the kids are you know talking about what the parents are thinking my background though is in advertising and marketing and I think as a as a principle of an agency for many years senior level I kind of see the school the Secaucus or school systems almost like a brand right and so

011the faculty and the administrators they're the brand Champions and our students we want them to be the brand ambassadors so it's really taking a look on how to elevate our schools as a brand and just get us up even higher to where we are now I you know make greater strides make better strides and so my critical thinking around just breaking things down in that kind of scenario I think lends a lot of expertise good evening everyone so I think that there are a select few or there are people out there who might believe that you have to be a parent or an educator in order to serve successfully on the board of education I disagree I think that's not the the case I'm 27 years old I'm a proud product of the Secaucus Public

012School District I attended K-12 I graduated Secaucus High School in 2013. I went on to work in Corporate America I was a 9-1-1 operator in Secaucus for the Secaucus Police Department for eight years I am currently still serving as a volunteer firefighter for the past 10 plus years with the Secaucus Volunteer Fire Department so my connections uh the the my connections and the people that I've met along the way with my ears to the ground being you know a young adult I can understand what parents want the and I understand what the students might want being that I just had that experience of going through the district so there are some pain points that should be addressed and there's also some positives that we should be highlighting and focusing on and continuing to embrace them

013I also serve as a business professor at Seton Hall University and Brookdale College in Lincroft so I understand what colleges are looking for in students and what students should be looking for in colleges so I want to leverage that and Bridge the cat bridge the gap and bring that young fresh perspective to the board of ed with my experiences thank you okay question two starting with Mrs diadetta how should our schools tackle social and emotional learning SEL in the classroom do you think social and emotional learning has a place in our classrooms do I think social and emotional learning has a place in the classroom was that yes was that what it was yes I do I think social social and emotional learning is very very important and it's something that we need to implement

014into the curriculum I think that children are as as much as test scores are very important children are more than that you're more than a test score you're a human being that requires attention paid to them you should know that there's somebody there someone at the school that's your safe place where you can go and ask questions if you have questions talk to them share concerns and just know that you you're safe in school and I think during the pandemic we really lost a lot and I think that it really took its toll on you guys on the Young and I think it's very very important to incorporate that into the curriculum so yes I do I do agree with it thank you so I have looked into this topic and I know there are

015things being done in the school system on social and emotional learning and now more than ever post pandemic we need to know where our kids are we need to survey them we need to hear what they want more of and how we can support them because just like adults if we're not mentally in the right place we can't learn we can't improve you can't absorb so yeah I 100 agree it needs to be in the classroom I think any curriculum that's going to help our students social emotional learning being one of them that's talked about sometimes a little polarized is important for our kids doing the gut check and making sure as a parent knowing you know even with my kids and their friends who went through what they all had different challenges they all

016faced unique challenges it's really taking a look and figuring out what makes sense to have in our curriculum at what grade level and figuring out how we can pull them out of anything that they're struggling with whether it be socially or socially or emotionally or along those lines we just have to make sure that we're it's more individualized for the kids so when it comes to social emotional learning I do think that it should be implemented into our schools there are the last two and a half years has taught us we've all experienced different things we've experienced loss it was tumultuous times referring to the kova 19 pandemic and even before that there are students you know they're they're working hard for good grades they're in their friends group they're in extracurricular activities they have

017lives they have families and with all of that comes hardships and obstacles and tough times in our lives so school should be a safe space and students should be able to go to their safe space and with social emotional learning whatever that might look like as other candidates have said we should Garner data and talk to the students what are you looking for what do you need what kind of support do you need and we should be able to come back to the Deus discuss that and the Board of Ed should say let's try and bring that to them as best as possible so that we could fulfill their social and emotional learning and make sure that they are supported and have a solid foundation so I think social and emotional learning is essential especially

018and everybody touched upon it especially after the pandemic where all the kids were separate on their own for the most part um and finding a place where they can be asked hey are you okay is everything all right um having somebody to listen to them I think it's essential I think we had that there has to be that has to be in place and not only that um we live in a world where social media dominates everything everybody's on their phone everybody's texting uh Facebook's Instagram there's no face to face-to-face communication there isn't that interaction that we had at least when I remember when I was a kid where it was just you made a phone call or you would hang out with your friends now everything's off Facebook or a text message there's no

019is that that personal interaction which I think is essential to the Social and emotional a state of our kids thank you starting with Miss divari after the pandemic test scores Nationwide have been impaired to previous years what changes do you plan to make to help increase test scores after the pandemic test scores Nationwide have been low when compared to previous years what changes do you plan to make to help increase test scores I think the number one way to know where we stand is we need to look at our start strong testing from September and compare it to our njsla testing that's done in May and see how far did we fall back as a district where did we fall back and then we need to survey our teachers what do they need to bridge

020that Gap what resources what do they need do they need training on different curriculums are they happy with the curriculum the series they're teaching and it's the teachers who we need to support to help our students because they're the ones that help them flourish foreign [Music] to be seen as we've we're coming out of this right our district has enjoyed 95 and plus uh graduation rates I know data is still going to be collected this is all kind of new as we've pulled out of this covid battle um I think the school has been making some great strides in it but it is very important to me to make sure that this estimated two decade-long learning loss is addressed I think doing things like we've done in the basic skills intervention expansion program has been

021great I would like it to be a more you know Forward Thinking scenario where let's say I as a parent know what's available to me you know whether it be you know maybe it's during break maybe it's during uh the summer just more opportunities so that as an attuned parent where I see that my kid's struggling I could say hey that looks great you know this is available through extra funding that we have this is something that I want to take advantage of I think parents need to know the great programs that we have already but also take advantage of the programs that we can develop ongoing so for me during the pandemic kova 19 if test scores were low again it was a tumultuous time it was a hard year a hard couple of

022years so again we're kind of coming out of the tail end of it fingers are crossed that we don't get ourselves back into that however if the students grades were low or their performance was low what caused that yes we were in a pandemic there was virtual learning we weren't in schools maybe there wasn't enough support however however that have worked out or that may be so again I think it's important that if we're looking to increase scores I think we should be speaking to our teachers we have some of the best teachers in the state I think again I'm a product of the district I support that and I think that if we're talking to the teachers and seeing what they're hearing from students and then again talking to the students they're just as

023imperative and seeing what they would need coming out of Hard Times how can we improve your test scores what are you looking for what kind of programs maybe there are some I guess there could be some sort of committees formed where we could be able to again get that data and ensure that we are answering and supporting the teachers and the students to ensure that academically they are performing and they are rising to their potential posts what we've just gone through so following up on a couple of good points that were part of Christina brought up the scores for NJ slas and the strong scores uh I think it's vital that we go back and analyze that data see where our gaps are not solely through there but going to our teachers getting analysis from

024them getting feedback from them are the ones that are in the classroom they're the ones that are there fighting that war with those kids getting those kids ready so they are instrumental in getting getting us information to get those scores up I think that we also have to focus on the fact that we got to provide them with what they need in order to get those scores up it's it's basically getting through the red tape whatever policy needs to be changed in order for those kids to get those grades you go to the teachers what do you need what needs to be get done what funding do you need and getting it done and I think that's that's where the board is is essential in getting and moving forward that's the only way we'll get

025these grades up so I think that we need communication with the teachers I think we need to meet with the administrators and the principals and determine what resources are needed compare the start strong scores as Christina said from September to to the scores that will be coming in May the NJ SLA scores compare the data and see if there there's growth and see where we need to improve upon do surveys find out from the teachers what they feel could have helped them to better prepare the students and I think that it would be a good idea to have maybe a liaison between the board and the teachers and have just an open line of communication and as Monica said I read that New York Times article as well where they talked about the scores uh

026dropping and levels uh that have not been seen in two decades they did a snapshot of nine-year-old children in the third and fourth grade and they showed examples of work that needed to be done so if a student dropped 12 points let's say they compared that to what it would take to bring them back it would take 36 weeks if you drop by 12 points 36 weeks to catch up to where they were so I think there's a lot of work that needs to be done and we're ready for it thank you beginning with Miss burkus where do you see education going in the next five years how would you adopt these changes and Trends in the district as a whole so I see us doing a lot of obviously ketchup and once we're there

027I really think that we can focus our efforts on making sure and Nikki has touched on this a little bit but really looking at how the counselors are working with the students especially at the older grade level on pairing them up with what makes sense for that student I feel like there's a lot more involvement now that you know we're all kind of working on all cylinders I feel like we can really collaborate better with the kids between the teachers and the guidance counselors figure out the best fits whether I would also like to see alternative curriculum whether it be vocational school for the for the student that might not be on you know with college track Insight so it would be those kinds of things that I would be looking options Alternatives making sure

028that that it's collaborative and that the student is picking something that's within reach and that's going to make them grow up to be great you know citizens Beyond School okay there we go so to Monica's Point education looking forward in the next five years as a business professor and as an academic advisor at the Collegiate level when speaking to senior students and of course every single student that walks the hallways in any of our schools in this district is imperative but looking Beyond we want to make sure that we are going to be there for our students academically professionally personally whatever they're going through so when we take a look at being able to have our students who are going to be products of this district and go out to be successful contributors to society

029we want to make sure that we've supported them the very best that we can and so when I look at education I want there to be Avenues and different angles that students can take can take and know that it's okay to take those routes specifically vocational schooling you don't have to go and you know go on to be something when maybe you have a dream to want to go to a vocational school own your own business be an entrepreneur you also have that right and that Avenue to go to college college is super important it's some of the best years of your life and so I want there to be that opportunity for students to be able to have the support in the high school level and Beyond to be able to contribute to society

030successfully and go on a path that they so choose and again whether that's bringing up foundational support for vocational schools or going to college they should be able to be they should want to do whatever ever makes them happy so education in five years from now we should be able to say they were supported here and now that they're here and we're proud to see that I couldn't agree more with uh The Vocational aspect of Education uh you give your kids options especially at a younger age I felt that when I was in school it was just you got to go to college and that's it there was no direction to what you wanted to be so providing them with a base where hey these are options in life for you it's okay to become

031a plumber or an electrician these are Essentials in life so I I really I have to agree definitely with what they said but I also want to add that we need to be on top of Technology as well um technology is always changing there's always opportunities to improve our school system by upgrading technology to state of the art whatever is available and that and that in turn will provide our kids with a better education prepare them for the future thank you I have to agree um with what mostly what was said I think it's important to work with the students and really listen to them and hear what it is that they need I think it would be important to meet more with guidance um maybe throughout the course of the four years and create

032a portfolio maybe at an earlier time to kind of help guide them in the direction that they're meant to go I think that that's very important I also agree with what was said about vocational school I think that college isn't for everybody and I think that we have to get back to that when I was here in school we had a votech program I'm not sure if we still do so I don't want to speak to that but I think that we should really focus on that also um and like I believe Alex said um you know there are people that are going to go on to be electricians and plumbers and do other things other than college so I think that we have to focus on them as well I do agree with what

033Alex said with technology moving with the times and just maybe collaborating with other districts to see what they're doing so that we know that we're keeping up with where we should be thank you over the next five years I think our first portion of it will be analyzing where we are where we're going and what we need but then I think each grade level is going to offer something different the elementary school we're going to have to make sure they have their foundational skills and really I think that needs to be the focus that their Foundation is strong we hit the Middle School are they ready for high school are they ready for that coursework do they know what direction they want to go to do they want the stem program are they not up

034to stem but we still have to push them and challenge them and yeah the vocational school I remember we had Workshop we had Woodworks we had all these different areas and I don't know exactly what we offer but I do know those skills are amazing to have and those workers with Drive are doing are very successful and each kid should be heard and know that any drive that they give any profession is going to lead them to succeed okay starting with Mr mattiello what is your top priority for the school district and how will you measure if it is successful that's a great question and it's one that has been top of Mind where a lot of the folks that we've been meeting when we're going door-to-door and campaigning so for me I really want

035to make sure that we get it right this time anybody who gets elected we need to make sure that we get it right because we are zero for three when it comes to superintendents we have gone through quite a lot of um we have gone through quite a lot of leadership over the last few years we've wasted a lot of taxpayer dollars and our students are hurting because of that our teachers are hurting because of that there needs to be some consistency at the top of our district because it all starts at the top that's how I feel so if we have a leader in place a superintendent who is going to be this Beacon for our students and for our teachers and the rest of our administrators and faculty and staff I want them

036to be able to be a Trailblazer and pave the way and bring this District to Greater Heights so for me I would want to get it right this time and make sure that our students have the support that they need and a leader who has a vision in every angle of education and Beyond to be able to bring it to this district and I hope that that happens very very soon because the district deserves it so superintendent is my top priority I have to agree top priority for the school system right now is a superintendent we have that's the very important decision it's coming up next year we really need to focus on whether we have the right person in place or if another person is the right candidate for this for the system um

037I think we should give everybody the opportunity to present their cases whoever we bring in to apply for that position and in the end it's all about accountability we all have to be accountable for what we're doing up there at the board's accountable for making the right decision to getting that right person in there and uh I I believe we're going to have the right people in place for it thank you so I I definitely agree that superintendent is the top priority I also think that increasing the test scores is also another top priority of things that we need to work on I think it's important to bring in a superintendent that understands the town somebody that is willing to work and collaborate with the mayor and the Town Council and work together as a

038unit as a town as a district to do what is best for the children as we talked about earlier we lost a lot during the pandemic and we really all have to come together and unite to do what is best for the district so I think that right now we just really we need to fix things we really need to fix things and we need a board that is willing to do that that is willing to come together work together as a unit to do what is best for the children of the district it's very important thank you there's no surprise superintendent is extremely important but I think equally as important is that superintendent leading her team but that team our teachers being able to come to the board openly we had a board meeting

039where a teacher came forward and I saw a surprise in faces I was surprised at what I heard I wanted to be an open policy you come to us no one is going to mock you or say anything other than how can we help you what do your student needs what do you need do you need further training and just be there to give them support there are Educators they know best if we support them our scores are going up there's no way they don't go out go up if you don't provide them the resources to further educate thank you I would have said superintendent but we've covered that and it is very important I'm more of the mindset maybe where Christina was going it's quite simple I just want to be the liaison for

040the voters and the people of Secaucus I want their voices to be heard I want to respond to them and I want it to go be for everybody in the school community so that includes parents and Guardians students teachers to your point very important everybody in the school Community everybody should feel as though they have a voice everybody should feel as though they're welcomed and everybody should be responded to beginning with Mr de hombre what measures should schools take or do you wish to incorporate to keep our students safe as they are in the building well safety is a priority to our schools I think we're already making great strides at Clarion right now we're putting fencing around the open areas which I think is important um what I would like to see as well

041is kind of implementing that in the high school as well where it'll be closed off during its school hours where in order to gain access you have to be a student or an administrator or a teacher and uh to make it more secure I think that things are in place that are have improved our system but there's always room for improvement thank you so this is a tough one because we all worked together to research some things so I am going to have to mirror what Mr deombre said as well um we are there's always room for improvement in terms of um improving the safety of the children but I agree and what we what we talked about fencing at Claritin is a huge step towards safety Claritin is it was always the challenge to

042try to keep safe I agree with the high school still being accessible making it a closed campus is something that we talked about when we discussed safety um drop off happening outside the gates and only staff and students able to access the campus during school hours I think would really help in keeping everyone safe and continuing to run drills like I believe is being done now and just keeping up with with the times I think as well thank you ditto I remember the first time my kids came home and said a drill was done and I felt so bad for them they were in grammar school but as I thought about it more and more I was grateful grateful that they had the opportunity to react and were coached on how to react so fencing

043in the high school is something we've talked about and the other location that we did talk about was the Pre-K it really disturbs me that anyone can knock on one of those classroom doors I don't know what the answer is but if I'm on the board I'm going to look for it so I'm I can say I think Secaucus public schools are probably doing a great job and making sure that our schools are safe right because we all obviously that's priority number one assuming that we're doing assessments we're paying attention to what other schools are doing staying ahead of the curve when it comes to security all important right we'll have our chess checklist we'll collaborate I am also concerned about our students safety involving the internet and the things that they're exposed to whether

044in school or out of school and their practices on internet I would like to spend time and and resources educating our kids further about the dangers of internet and and the security threats and issues that come as a result of their involvement on their phones at all times that would be an area assuming again that we're passing with flying colors on regular building security that would be one of my focuses so the responsibility to provide a safe education education for students is Paramount and I think that goes for everyone in this room and across this town so we should be looking at school resources we should have checklists in place needs assessment and we should also collaborate with our Secaucus Police Department to assess security risks or have the have the potential to even as

045Monica alluded to we could look at school districts of our size of how many schools they have in their Town how many students they have attending all of those schools within the district and see what they've implemented in terms of security and safety for their students to see if we could kind of match that to see if they've implemented something that maybe we haven't thought of to see if maybe they have something that we also do but it might be working a little bit better for them and we can kind of hop on that and see if we could be able to implement that back to us I will say we have school resource officers in town that are provided to us by the Secaucus police department and the mayor and Town Council we also

046have security risks security officers who are around every single building of our of Claritin School the Secaucus High School the Middle School Huber Street school and our school at Mill Ridge so there is Security in place and I will say that when it comes to the Safety and Security of our students I I can tell that from their training and the efficacy of the department the Secaucus police department has that as their top priority as well so thank you beginning with Mrs deodera as the community is growing and changing year in and year out the district has seen an increase in classroom sizes do you think this is an issue if so how can we go about addressing it I definitely think it's an issue I think that we need to really focus on how

047we're going to handle that I think that we do have overcrowded classrooms and I think that if elected we would have to really figure out what's the best way to handle that where we can expand I believe that at Claritin I think there's parts of Claritin school that you would be able to go you know expand up and make some additional classrooms I'm not sure about Uber Street and I know that just from in the past at the high school I I think that possibly maybe figuring out something about expanding maybe by the baseball field or just you know we need we definitely need to expand we need more space we need more room for the students so that would definitely be something another major issue that we would need to discuss and and look

048at as soon as possible thank you there's no surprise that our town just keeps growing and growing and buildings are going up so we need to just keep surveying who's moving into those units how many bedrooms are there how much room is there for kids what are our numbers projected to be and where can we build we've you know the three of us have talked a lot to different people Ken Claritin go up in one of the section pods can the high school offer some space to grow and one of our district goals is talking about that very problem in the elementary level so I would definitely make sure that that's looked at and followed through with so I'm not sure I I know that there's been a lot of growth especially over the last

049five years I don't know how many new babies are being born each year how many new families are coming in I'd obviously want to take a look at what the current board has been looking at um I think that it's I don't know if we got numbers wrong in the last study that we did but I mean there's there's a tremendous amount of growth and it's a good thing right because Secaucus is a great School District so let's Embrace that but we absolutely are stressed to the Max and crowded and oversized classrooms are just not ideal for learning it's just it's it we can't sustain it so really my angle of it is going to be to figure out what we've tackled so far understand where where the where the issues are and try and

050figure out a way to maybe maybe it's through creative budgeting and there's developers in town trying to figure out how it's not going to be such a huge tax burden I mean building a new school is going to be very expensive and the taxpayers you know will have an impact with that how can we go and be creative about you know getting a new school or you know Finding someplace to house our kids that doesn't impact the taxpayers so much so that's basically the way that I would be looking at it so we are growing at a rate of 5.4 annually and the population increase in the last decade is at 50.19 and so it's no surprise that yes we need to figure out how we can expand or build to ensure that our students

051have the proper resources and the proper space to learn and yes there might be burdens on taxpayers how do we avoid that we need to think outside the box but this is a conversation and that we it's a conversation that we really should have had yesterday and there have been folks who spoke at Board of Ed meetings it happened at Board of Ed forums and talking about it year after year and actually putting something to action are two different things so we really need to start putting this into action because it is a pressing issue so crowded oversized classrooms are not ideal for Learning and we need more space and we're going to need more Staffing so there might be it might be time for us to research some Grant and funding opportunities whether that

052might be building a new school trying to lessen the burden on our taxpayers or maybe thinking outside the box like I said and seeing if there's any kind of partnership or collaboration with outside developers just anything that we could do to really think outside the box because it is a pressing matter and we are facing it and we really really need to do something about it not to sound repetitive but yes I have to agree whatever that everybody just said uh it's it's it's going to take detailed analysis of what's out there as far as what the solutions are we're going to need to work with the Town Council to see what budgets are available what can we do to improve the school spacing and like Nick said thinking outside the box you know there's

053got to be there are solutions they're out there it's just a matter you just gotta go find them grants is one of them maybe re-utilizing other spaces in town that might be available or can become available if we look into it which might decrease the cost uh to the community thank you okay starting with Miss dabari how do you plan on training District Personnel to handle more mental health related problems with a growing number of students falling victim to these problems I think mental Wellness is something that teachers can get workshops on to look for triggers or signs of what our students are struggling with or what they need but when it comes to Mental Health I think we really need a professional somebody who's trained in that went to school for that and is

054going to really know how to handle the situation properly because when you take a stab at it you can really be leading a child in the wrong direction and that is not what our students need so a trained professional is definitely my route mental health has been a big statement of mine for a number of years coming in front of this board and talking about some of the downsides of mental health in our students it's also a little bit personal for me so excuse me for uh if I you know get a little shaky um I think we have to look at our student body collectively they're all going to need different things my kid is going to need something different than your kid I'd want to talk to the skilled professionals that we have

055within our walls here already there are already some great great leaders that have really helped I'm talking from counselors to You Name It We have some of the best most qualified staff I'd like to figure out how we can expand on that though I think making sure that a kid feels okay about themselves and about their day is really important and so we can expand and do better there so like physical health positive mental health promotes success in life and there are three aspects of mental health that must be addressed in our schools social how we're relating to others emotional how we feel and behavioral how we're acting and so children who experience you know mental health issues it's it's common now and we should stomp out the stigma we see it all over you

056know there's there's a lot of things that are that our students are facing that children are facing today and there needs to be some sort of support provided to them so that might mean assessing staff capacity to provide increased access for students to school counselors and mental health professionals possibly sending our teachers as Christina said to workshops to be able to pinpoint something that they might see in the classroom and being able to go and have that collaborative partnership with the school counselors and say you know this this might have occurred can we kind of help him and see if there's any support that we could provide him or her the student we could also partner with fellow school-based administrators to reassess the workload of school counselors and our mental health professionals so that maybe

057I don't know if it's happening now in our district so I don't want to speak to it but if they are doing you know bus duties or covering the cafeteria we should be making sure that their sole focus is on our students that when they need the support that they need from a mental health perspective so again I would leave it to the professionals and I would see if we could even hire staff such as more social workers and more mental health professionals to better meet the needs of the students because it is imperative I have to agree I think it's essential that we have the proper staff whether it be more mental health experts psychologists counselors on staff uh for the kids but I want to add to what was already said I I

058don't think solely for the kids I think we have to worry about our teachers as well you know they're getting overworked they're getting overburdened uh and it's I've seen it and it's it's it's taken a toll so I don't think it's just so it should only be solely for the kids I I definitely for the kids but I think we got to take care of our teachers as well thank you I agree I mean I I agree with everything that all the candidates have said um mental health is a serious issue in our country for children for adults I think the pandemic definitely played a huge role in in that as well and I think if there are challenges that children face on a daily basis and I think that they need to know like

059I think I said earlier that there's somebody that they can go to whether it be guidance social workers I think Nick mentioned um and as Christina said too I think that we have to leave it to the professionals I think we need to get people in here psychologists on on staff that are here to speak to you guys to speak to the students um and there has to be a level of comfort that they know that they're somebody that they can go to I think that that is very very important important and I think also it's hard because the stigma attached to it makes it uncomfortable I think for people to speak freely and and to speak out about this and to admit that they do have a mental health issue so I think maybe

060try and come up with ways to to promote that that it's okay to have a mental health issue it's okay it's like having any other sickness I think that that's important and we can try to promote that and and make it comfortable for the children to to you know feel comfortable speaking to somebody thank you beginning with Miss are you open school appropriate uniform options for students to accommodate for more families Financial situations can you repeat that I didn't catch the end are you open to expanding school appropriate uniform options for students to accommodate for families Financial situations so I think uniforms in itself lends itself to being an affordable solution in terms of students being able to wear you know uniforms to school it's every day there's no that takes the brain work and

061guesswork out of out of everything more than 40 percent of public schools are actually um actually use uniforms um so I think you know it makes it easier right you don't have to worry about all these brand names and expensive clothing and everybody looks the same again goes back to the brand ambassadors like let's be let's not look at a uniform as ugly like let's be brand ambassadors about the uniforms right I think um though within our schools there has to be some sort of uniform uniform policy I know the Middle School the middle schoolers and high schools are enjoying a lot of Pride wear every day I was here not so long ago when the presentation was made and they were talking about uniform options with these you know adorable jackets which never kind

062of came to fruition but but it all looked nice um so I think it just has to be stated in the manual what's allowed what's not allowed and go from there all right so when it comes to school uniforms as Monica mentioned more than 40 percent of public schools and preschools in in the United States across the country do use uniforms so it allows Simplicity and prepping for schools low-income students might be less likely to be picked on for clothing creates a sense of community and more importantly there's an increased security as a non-student is able to be easily identified however if we were looking to I'm a big proponent for creativity and individuality and letting students Express themselves I think that's very important so maybe students constrained in Deb in they should consider more

063dress down days I know when I was in school they were every Friday there was a jeans day and there were multiple dress down days as well so we're not constrained to a specific color shirt and you might be able to also have new Styles or selections at the school store but what I think is important on the uniform topic we need to solicit from the students from the teachers from the administrators and from the parents as well so we need to speak with the community and perhaps there is an opportunity as I said to increase dress down days adding theme days but doing research and garnering the data from the community from parents from the people that the uniforms will impact would be essential and then we could look at that from there and

064make decisions on if there would be more lacks uniform policies or if there would be more implementation for the uniform policy but again data data data research research research with our constituents in the community being a parent of two I am a proponent of uniforms it makes it a lot easier in the day knowing exactly what I have to get them in every day and again it is cost effective in the sense that you don't have to worry about those brand names getting them different clothing or I want to wear this no it's it's standardized and I again I am fine with having those days where they can come in individuals be their own person come in with jeans or shirts but again there should be standards it should be uh rags and you know

065pretty much I should follow what it is thank you can you just repeat the question I want to understand the end of what you said there I just want to make sure are you open to expanding school appropriate uniform options for students to accommodate for more families Financial situations okay so I think also as as a parent um and to mirror what Alex said I think that the uniform makes it easy because there's there's you know no guesswork in it um back in the day I was on the uniform committee I was actually part of the decision to move over to uniforms but I think the question that you're asking is more how can how can we come up with ideas to make it more cost effective for families I guess we can um survey

066like Nick said um and see what parents want and see if what we are providing and offering is affecting them and if there are some parents that cannot afford to do that we can come up with options to make it more cost effective for them I know that we you know you guys know you have the uniform and there's dress down days and their spirit wear days um but I think you're asking more in terms of the cost of it so I think that we can be more sensitive to that and like Nick said again I'm going to repeat myself with the data you know send surveys to parents and see are there a good amount of parents that are having difficulties keeping up with the cost of it and come up with ways to

067figure out how to help them out there thank you if you ask this question years ago my answer would have been completely different but I have to say I think the pop-up shop has done a fantastic job at providing affordable uniforms you no longer need to go to Lands End and get high quality polos that your son grows out of in three months but and the town does an amazing uniform swap program but I think for financial situations I think we need to support our pop-up shop it's it's small the space is small and make it bigger that it can provide uniforms for the whole District the grammar schools so they're going there and getting affordable uniforms and not having to go out and then find an embroider and maybe you know the board can

068work with them to find a A fitting day where they come in see what size they are place your order and obviously we're going to need to give them a little more space than they have right now our next question will begin with Mr mattiello there are very few options for vegetarians during school lunch what can be done to provide more options alongside existing options food my favorite subject thank you so when I was a senior at Secaucus High School I actually went to the Board of Education meetings quite a few of them because I had a lot of my seniors my fellow colleagues in my senior class come up to me about that particular subject and other subjects that we were facing with the food service currently and so when it comes to those

069particular options I think that we should be sitting down with who we have now as macio's food services so we should be sitting down with machios and their managers and their directors or whoever's in charge of our particular district and providing that particular food option to our students and say again we're going back to research and data students are coming to the board of ed students are coming to folks within the community students are going to their parents and they're saying we want more food options what can we do so as Board of Ed members we need to now go and sit down with machios a food service that's providing a service to our students day in and day out throughout the Monday through Friday week and we need to say there are vegetarian options

070that are being requested and students are vegetarians so we should support that that food choice and make sure that it is available to them because they might not be able to eat meat just like if you're a vegan you need to be sure that there is something for everyone because food is very important you guys are in school and you need fuel to fill out your day and I do think that sitting down with machios should be a very uh a big priority for the school district for the Board of Education I should say Nick made a lot of great points um and yeah it's it's basically sitting down with Marshalls and letting them know this is what we need I think it's as simple as that they they work for us they provide food

071for our kids so if that's what we request that's what should be provided um if not maybe we need to start looking for other options thank you yes I have to agree with what was said um I think that is important to nourish our kids so that you guys can perform and have energy levels that you need for learning and everybody is unique in their diets and what they need and I think that maybe if we had a committee of students that maybe met with the Food Service Company so that you can come up with some options you can poll your fellow students and see what it is that you're looking for and maybe have a committee like I said of students a board member the Food Service Company and just come up with different

072things that this way everybody can get what they need um but also just I really feel that we really need to visit that topic on the school lunch because I think that we have to see what else is out there I'm not too thrilled with the service provider that we're using just personally I have a daughter in middle school I'm not crazy about the Food Service Company so I think that that would be something that would need to be visited and if elected that would be something that I would definitely look at ASAP thank you I couldn't agree more with going to masseuse we give you business you give us a service so A1A everyone needs to be nourished you don't you're not nourished you can't learn you you can't focus vegetarian options absolutely need

073to be I don't eat red meat or pork I go to someone's house they throw zucchini on the plate over a little rice thank you very much but it's not filling so we need to have someone a nutritionist look at this plan are they getting the protein they need are they getting the healthy fats it's not just here's your vegetarian option here's your gluten-free option here's your dairy-free option are we meeting all of our food groups and nourishing you so that you can sustain yourself until the end of the day and then maybe you're going off to sports or your clubs and activities so I think the three of us that get in are absolutely going right to maggios but outside of that because yeah we can look at whatever our food service provider is

074if they're not doing a good job we can get rid of them and get somebody else let's be creative let's figure it out on Fridays we buy in we support local business whatever the pizza places are obviously we have a set of students that you know they're all eating pizza let's find out what the subset is not only for vegetarian but maybe there's a large subset of vegan I know we can't make every single student you know happy with the lunch selection but if there's a big enough subset do we have a local restaurant here that specializes in vegetarian if we're bringing pizza in on Fridays we can we can certainly use another small business to support another lunch need and absolutely making sure that machios understands that they have to be at a standard

075um to our liking starting with Mr diamre what kinds of professional development opportunities will be made to promote culturally responsive practices if so what would you like to see as far as professional development what kinds of professional development opportunities will be made to promote cultural culturally responsive practices if so what would you like to see as far as professional development so you're speaking on equality um equity for our kids is that what you're focusing so I think that our school system has over time move towards uh focusing on diversity Equity honors kids um do I feel that we're missing it in our education system right now in certain areas yeah um I think we should be able to spend time focusing on different cultures on uh promoting their their history uh not being tied to

076our history as well but respecting what's already there and learning from it thank you so I think um the only ones who can tell us the answer to that question would be you guys right so I think that it would mean listening to you to the students and finding out from you what you feel that you need what would you like to see um be implemented into the curriculum we have become a very diverse district and I think that it is important to pay attention to that I mean I think that everybody needs to feel comfortable in learning about different cultures and they want to see more in the curriculum about their own cultures but I think that I don't I have to be honest I don't know that I have the answer to that

077but I think that that's something that's very important and it's something that we should definitely look into but I think that we would have to honestly as a board listen to the students and see what it is that you feel you would need from us and and give that to you and support you thank you it's really hard for me not being in a classroom to answer this question but I'm trying to look at it um from the student's perspective and from the teacher's perspective and what do the teachers feel like they need more professional development on what are things they've had in the past that they really liked what do they want to see offered who's willing to step up and give it and what are the maybe our students feel like teachers aren't

078prepared when these types of situations or questions come up you know related to culture and maybe they can also guide what we need for our teachers to get professional development but I definitely think the teacher should have a vote on what they need so we can provide it and spend our money as adequately as we can I ask you to repeat the question I'm not sure right I'm understanding it yeah sure sorry what kinds of professional development opportunities will be made to promote culturally responsive practices if so what would you like to see as far as professional development so going off of talking about diversity and in the classroom I you know for me I want to look at the data right and so I want to see is there a difference in student achievement

079with teacher diversity um do the students achieve less or more or the same you know I don't know the answer to that right now but I would want to look at that and if there is no change then maybe there's other ways that we can use that money through through clubs that you know promote the spirit of diversity something that the students want to see themselves implemented into into their school so I would kind of look at it from that angle foreign I think if I heard it right and going off what the other candidate said if we're looking to uh you know develop culturally or embrace it I don't see anything wrong with that at all I think that we should be embracing different cultures different people and it it makes for a Better

080Learning environment when you're when you're learning about other things and new things it's exciting and so again as a lot of the candidates had mentioned down at the other end of the table it's important to hear from students what do you guys want to see from that perspective in your schools and how can we provide that then speaking to the teachers who could Step Up JSA advisor is Mr Medina maybe there's another teacher within the district or the school maybe if we're talking about the high school that could kind of level up a club or an organization like JSA and be able to have some sort of cultural group or organization that a lot of students can bring to the table and maybe it's made up of different cultures and they could celebrate different cultures

081and experiences or maybe there's different pocket of culture groups that they can go to so again I think it's up to the students to see what they would want implemented and what they would want to be brought to the table in terms of that question I hope I answered that correctly for you beginning with Miss Dia data due to recent inflation the school's lunch pricing has risen overall what would you do to solve this issue in our district if possible would you consider working with other companies to ensure lunches are more affordable for students yes yes absolutely as I said earlier the Food Service Company is one of my number one priorities if elected I definitely think that we need to go out and see what else is out there and you know talk to

082these different companies and really find out really find something that's a good fit for us in terms of as we talked about earlier in terms of options for gluten-free vegetarian different dietary needs and even for cost as well I definitely think that that is something that needs to be addressed and if elected I think the three of us have discussed that that is definitely something that we will address right away thank you we definitely know what we're doing if you get on there so cost is an issue but I don't want to sacrifice quality let's be honest you can eat all the carbs you want for two dollars a meal but you're gonna have sugar burnout you're not going to be able to focus you're not going to be able to learn so do we

083need to work on cost I'm still trying to figure it out at home I'm not gonna lie I mean cost of food is going up it's unbelievable what it takes to be healthy I think we got to get a balance but quality nourishment is A1A and we can see what we could do about the cost but I don't want to sacrifice you know we're going to give it to you cheaper but here's your carbs and good luck so my kids are in love with the lunch program and it's costing me tremendous amounts of money um we've gotten it down to to you know the basics now we're not really overspending on a daily basis but it is a burden we have to take a look at I think I think probably what the problem mostly

084is is the a la carte like maybe there's a way that they could streamline some of the the sandwiches and the and the lunch options that are available in addition to that I'd like to look into why we're being charged so much money when technology has been around for decades to process a transaction for me I'm not a big checkbook person and so when I have to write a check to the sboe to pay for their lunch it's a little bit like draw envelope fill it out but going online it really costs a lot of money to pay for fifty dollars of a replenishment so I'd like to look into that and figure out a way to eliminate that if I could thanks so when it comes to inflation and the rising costs of food

085particularly with machios again as all the candidates said and the prior question it's something that we need to sit down and talk with them with because it seems like there's different areas that they can be improving on or different areas where discussions are to be had between the board and between that service and yes if elected I would be open to seeking out a new a new vendor a new meal company to be able to provide for our students during the school days and the school year and common business practice would be to send out an RFP a request for proposal we would look at different vendors that come in and would respond to that request for proposal machios might be one of them maybe it's another company in another company we would look at

086them whatever they propose to us their costs what they would provide make sure that they're competent in what we're looking for and at the same time throughout that process maybe there's a committee that is on the board and they could look at those vendors that responded and be transparent and communicate with the parents and the students about what came back and what those particular services and vendors would be providing so it's not just the Board of Ed making that sole decision definitively it's also the input from the parents and the students as well thank you to add on to what everybody else said uh unfortunately uh it's a reality of life right now or inflation's through the roof we used to pay six dollars for a pound of uh ham now you're paying 13 14

087so it is not saying it's the cost of living right now but it is the cost of living we could find other vendors that might be cheaper but also look into possible grants or funding from the state that might offset some of the uh costs of the food for the kids thank you Mrs dabari what are your views on the changes to the health and sex education standards set by the state of New Jersey as many families are unaware of the changes to the standards what steps can the board take to make sure every parent and caregiver knows about these changes and knows how to process to opt out of new topics I think the most important thing that we need to handle about these standards is definitely communicating to every parent having them sign

088off on what the curriculum entails with this and having them sign off that they know they can opt out I think that's honestly the most important thing that we're communicating with our parents and letting them know what their choices are and I think a signature is required because so many emails get lost and this is such an important topic I think a signature is required to make sure they're reading I think if it's here and it's brought down to the curriculum obviously we have to we have to work with it I have been of the mindset of being an opt-in District the difference between an opt-in district and an opt out district is pretty simple but pretty important an opt-in District understands that if the if it if it's something that the parents really want

089and if it's something that the parents are really looking for this the district can take the position of being an opt-in so it gives the parents the power it gives the parents the the the the parents the rights I'm more for parent empowerment opt out you're still getting to the same endpo to the same gold post goal post but it's in the schools and it's the district that's making the decision by opting out you're gonna get there and you can get there and I think it's important that the papers need to be there in order to make a parent make sure that they understand that this is what they have to do to opt them out but like I said I am definitely more of the minds of mindset of Parental empowerment and parental rights

090when it comes to that so this is a super polarizing topic and it's been at the top of mind um for all of us I'm sure when we're out campaigning and I know it's a question that's been brought up to myself and Monica a lot so when it comes to uh sex education within the curriculum this is something that the Department of Education has passed down it's legislation and so if this is something that that's going to happen and be built into our curriculum they do say that each district across the state of New Jersey can depict how it is inputted into our curriculum and how it is taught so if you're looking if there are parents out there who are vehemently against this I understand you and I and I hear you but this

091is something where the Department of Education is passing it down so if you're looking for it to to not to not be in a district at all then you need to get in the ballot and and change the governor and go to the governor's race and change your legislation at the top in Trenton however when it comes to your school board the best thing that we could do is be transparent and communicate with you and let you know that yes this is coming down from the Department of Education but you as a parent because I also believe in parent empowerment and some of the things that might be taught at such a young age especially second grade should not be in that classroom it should be the Parents Choice it should be a conversation within

092the privacy of your own home and therefore you have that power to opt your student out but if we do not if we defy the Department of Education there are fines that can come down we might not be able to receive Aid or District so it's very important that we tread carefully because we don't want to jeopardize the success of our students or our district by completely ignoring the Department of Education so as a district we could tell our parents and we can communicate with them opt out it's important that we educate our parents and uh provide the information for them to know what these changes are but I have to agree with Monica I I believe that it should be an opt-in I think the parents this is a tough subject for a lot

093of families uh culturally uh religiously um and I think it should be something where we're opting into not opting out of but again it is the option you have an option to opt out your children from the program um but again like I said I think it's educating your the parents and the opportunity to decide where you want your child in the program or not thank you so I think that communication is key here the school is just following the guidelines right now the national standards require this is at a second grade level that students can list medically accurate names for body parts and learn personal boundaries at the middle school high school level the National Standard is the classes are talking about healthy relationships they cover that type of topic STDs birth control abstinence

094things of that nature now specifically what you're I believe referring to the gender ideology topic I believe is something that should be taught at home I don't believe that it's something that belongs in the curriculum in the school system that's just my personal opinion I think that seven years old is way too young to explain something like that to a child and I like the fact that parents can opt out listening to the candidates here um I'm I'm going to agree that the opt-in would probably be best because some people might not read the literature that comes their way so I think that we have to do a good job at communicating that point um and what is going to be taught to their child because I think that the parents are the ones that

095need to make that decision um and you know I do believe in respect for all it has nothing to do with that but I just think that personally I think that at that young of an age it's just it's too young to be brought into the curriculum so I think that communicating with the parents letting them know what exactly will be taught is what's needed thank you okay starting with Miss Burgess in the growing diverse world that we live in how can our schools improve if you can add one book to the curriculum that all students should read which would you suggest and why can you repeat that if I won what if you can add one book to the curriculum that all students should read which would you suggest and why I would have

096to I I can't say that a particular book is coming to mind I mean you know I'm one for making sure that you know there the the they're it's well-rounded um you know one of the things that I talked to even my kids about is that I would love if there was some sort of you know pocket Constitution that the that the students were given so that they understand the the principles of our country and freedoms and Bill of Rights I'm sure they do that to a degree on a history level but I can't come up with a particular book title for you that is the hardest question you've had today um I would have to say I don't know if it's still implemented I I'm I haven't I would either say The Great Gatsby

097I don't know if you still cover it I think it was a fantastic book and um what is the other book The Great Gatsby we read in AP Lit and there was another book Fahrenheit 451. I hope I'm citing that right I think there were very two important books when I was in high school I'm going to go a little more historical I would say 1776. uh and the reason why it gives you an appreciation of how close we were to not becoming a country and the details of life during that time period thank you wow yeah this is a tough one um I'm gonna have to go just based on um my experience right now with what my daughter is Reading in middle school so she's reading The Outsiders and that's something when I

098was 12 years old that's something of a movie that I saw and a book that I read and I think that instills a lot of old school values it talks about friendship trust loyalty sticking together just shows you know how how some people just have it a lot harder than others so I I really thought that that was good lessons for somebody at the middle school level um and I know that that book is already there so that wasn't really the question um but I think like things like that of that nature like things that really talk and teach lessons and values and you know we live in a crazy Society right now in a crazy world you guys are growing up in a world that's so different than the world that we once lived

099in so I think that books that talk about those type of old school values and things like that are are really important because I I think it really keeps you grounded so yeah that was a hard question that's my answer we definitely did not think of that one no it's not in the binder so it's really I'm gonna go with um adding to the curriculum you know it's just a book that I've read and it has been Monumental in my life and it's called Deep work and it's about not necessarily multitasking but giving it your all giving 10 minutes of hard driven effort and learning about what you're looking to accomplish and just deep work just giving that time and it just helps with prioritizing and and succeeding and getting everything you can out of

100that one task and I think life long that's an amazing skill to add to you guys plate and for our final question of the night and following our jsa's chapter tradition who is your favorite U.S president and why we will begin with Mr mattiello I knew this was coming up my favorite question from last year's that I watched um so my favorite President that I would say that I admire would probably be Abraham Lincoln um he led this country through our greatest crisis since the founding our very Republic and he did so with such Grace humility and understanding from both sides different points of views and in that Spirit I've I've I think that it's important and imperative that any trustee on the board should govern uh should govern our district that way the way

101that he did and it's so imperative to be open-minded to listen to discuss even with those who have opposing views civil discourse is healthy conversation is healthy opposing views is healthy it is what makes this country fantastic so Abe Lincoln for me I had chosen a different president last year so I wanted to do something a little different I I uh I picked Ronald Reagan and the reason being is it shows you that anybody can make a huge difference even an actor so it doesn't matter what your background is you it's it's it's who you are that can make the difference and thank you all right so I have to go with the same one that I said last year which is Abraham Lincoln as Nick said our 16th president he was regarded as one

102of the most influential presidents he carried America through the Civil War he preserved the union he modernized the economy and he issued the Emancipation Proclamation which was the beginning to freeing the slaves he was a strong leader he had integrity and he was and still is a role model for kids adults and other presidents to emulate thank you I can sit here and repeat Kelly and Nick but I'm just gonna it's Lincoln for me and it's just about his unifying the people bringing them together for a better way and that's really all you can ask for I mean I always tell my kids do good surround yourself by good and it's Lincoln so I chose Ronald Reagan Alex similar um for me he was just a huge advocate for personal freedoms um and he was

103a great unifier and I feel like when he spoke in a lot of his quotes they were really for all Americans and I think some of that's lost in today's day and age is we're all Americans um and I also he also gets an extra point because I loved loved loved first lady Nancy Reagan and all the work that she did with kids particularly um the um drug in in our youth uh the problem of drugs with our youth um so all in all they're my favorite team we will now begin with closing speeches starting with Mr deombre so first I'm gonna I'm gonna speak um we're gonna speak collectively um so I'm just going to thank everybody for coming thank you to the JSA for having us thank you Mr vigiani for having us

104thank you to my fellow candidate education there's only one reason to do it and that is because you want to make a difference in the lives of children and I think that we all share that same common um interest here and we wouldn't be here otherwise so I just want to thank everybody say something quick Alex is actually going to speak on behalf of all three of us so the only thing I want to say is you know about us you've read our bios you've met with us we've been all around town and when the three of us sat down to come up with something we were kind of repeating ourselves and we just decided that we were going to represent ourselves collectively with that one mission that we have and who we really represent

105so just to repeat I want to thank the GSA and Mr vigiani for giving us the opportunity uh to meet the public and for them to get to know us a little better all of us that are here um I believe given the opportunity Kelly Christina and I would make a significant difference uh if elected to the board uh at hack attack hack attack Meridian hospital where I work uh we have a code of conduct uh it's it's known as the uh the five C's um having been able to work with both Christina and Kelly for the past couple of months uh I know they live by these five C's you know they're compassionate for those that may be underserved like our children our teachers our administrators and even our board members we might not

106always agree but there will always be compassion and understanding Among Us we're courageous they show courage to fight for what we collectively and individually believe yet open-minded to the possibilities that there's always a better way we're creative we each have the ability to think outside the box which provides finding solutions to open doors for other possibilities and more importantly we're collaborative we listen to other board members administrators teachers parents children because all of us working together is the only way we'll find an equitable solution and finally we're connected which Kelly Christine and I have been for several years selfishly selfishly volunteering for many programs in town for the betterment of the community so you have compassion courage creativity collaboration and connected five essential C's pillars for having a strong successful School Board I know that

107working together we can provide that thank you so I just want to first and foremost thank the junior seat of America and Mr Medina I was a part of the junior state of America when I was in high school under the leadership of Mr gem going to Spring State Fall State all the debates it's a fantastic organization so I love what you put on each year for the candidates it's very important for the community and the students and and the rest of us to to be able to have this opportunity to the five the four other people who are sitting up here with me we've been out campaigning we've seen each other along the way at a lot of events it's been an absolute pleasure and I do know that we all have one common

108goal and it is for the betterment of this District in every capacity on every angle personally to my running mate Monica it's been quite an adventure navigating um this this newfound campaign with you so I appreciate everything and I just want to thank you know for me my family my mom my dad my sister two of my closest friends who have been with me every step of the way and my inner circle who has been just so supportive throughout this throughout this campaign Trail because it's a it's it's a lot of work but it's so important and it's so refreshing which brings me to my last point of thanking the students that I know students that I've never met before that have come up to me or that I've met inadvertently through other students that

109I was running I want to thank the teachers um that I know within the district I want to thank the administrators that I know a lot of the staff that I know in town and I want to thank the community at large going door to door meeting you with community events it's so refreshing to see such engagement and involvement in our Board of Education it's so so important some folks dismiss it on the ballot but it really makes a difference at a local level so I want to thank the community and everybody else who had a hand in supporting us and just having conversations and being open-minded to hear what we have to say so thank you thank you very very much [Applause] and the only thing I'll add to that since Nikki was going

110to kind of talk about our our slate is it's been great actually you know three wonderful candidates to the right you know we've bumped into them throughout um all of us are here for the right reasons um Nick and I are definitely going to be making sure that we're focused on communication transparency and accessibility know that when I've come to the podium here before which some of you may or may not know it was because I was trying to stand up for what I felt was either a student right or a parent right and regardless of anything anybody felt about it you deserve to be heard and know that I am not I'm not afraid of standing up for any of you in the community and that goes to students parents Guardians teachers and and

111this everybody in the school community I have your back [Applause] I'd like to thank thank everyone for coming here tonight and especially thank all of the candidates that came out and chose to speak with us this evening have a good evening and thank you all [Applause]