board member Elizabeth Callahan here board member Nubia Deval Wilson here board member Regina eer here board member Bill gford board member will Meyer here board member shanea sacket Gable here board member Co board president Coe tford here board member Arun VOD lamman here board member Caitlyn whtl here uh student Representatives aren't here right no student Representatives okay not yet and that's I'm good please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance please take notice that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided in the following manner that written notice was sent from the office of the secretary of the board at 2:30 p.m. on January 5th 2024 that said notice was sent via email to Maplewood and southorn Township clerks the address is the news of the news record Star Ledger tap it to s in the Village Green um whereas while the senator Byron M be open public meetings Act njsa 10 col 4-6 requires all meetings at the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education to be held in public njsa Den 10 4-12 sets forth nine types of matters that may may may lawfully be discussed in executive session without the public being permitted to attend and whereas the board has determined that one issue is permitted by njsa 10 col 4-12 to be discussed without the public in attendance and shall be discussed during an executive session to be held on Thursday May 9th 2024 at 6:30 p.m. and where is the nine exceptions to the open public meeting act set forth in njsa 10 2- four are listed below and next to each exception is a box which will be marked when the issues to be privately discussed fall within that exception and after each exception is a space where additional information that will be disclosed as much as much information and discussion as possible without undermining the purpose of the exception shall be written um any matter by which express provisions of federal law state statute or rule of Court shall be rendered confidential or excluded from public discourse discussion the the nature of the matter described as specifically as possible without undermining the need for confidentiality is a attorney client privilege and Personnel matters um with that now therefore be resolved that the South Orange maplehood Board of Education will go into executive session for the above stated reasons only and be it further resolved that the board hereby declares that its discussion of the affir mention subjects will be made public at a time when the Public's interest in disclosure is greater than any privacy or government Interest being protected from disclosure that I like to make a motion to go to close session have a second thank you board member Callahan all in favor I all right we're going into Clos session e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e the school board meeting all right the school board meeting is a meeting is a business meeting in public and not a meeting with the public often times it may appear to members of our audience that the Board of Education takes action with very little comment and in many cases a unanimous vote before matter is placed on the agenda at a public meeting the Administration has thoroughly reviewed the matter with the superintendent of schools if the superintendent of schools is satisfied with the matter with that the matter is ready to be presented to the Board of Education it is then referred to the appropriate board committee the members of the board committee work with Administration and the superintendent to assure that the members fully understand the matter after the committee discusses the matter it is then shared with the other board members for consideration only then is it placed on the agenda for board discussion and action at a public meeting and we're going to now have a statement by the superintendent thank you Dr telis to Dr telis for members of the Board of Education to uh the many of you who've gathered here today when we had our meeting around the budget I made a comment to you that this has been the toughest time of my career as an educational leader and that toughness continues tonight it pains me to be sitting in this particular seat during this particular time for our district when we had to cut 28 positions but I want to let you know that we are I've acknowledge I'm acknowledging all of the many emails and all of you here tonight and I hear your concerns and that we are putting together the plan on what this looks like going forward my commitment to you is that I will come before you to reveal to you all what our problem process and plans going forward to create the kind of South the the school district of South Orange and Maplewood that you have demanded and that you deserve it pains me to understand that I had to lead this District in a time when we had to make such tough decisions to reduce our deficit and just please know that I will not leave you in the dark you will know what the plan is going forward and we will come before you the last thing I want to say is when I first took on the role as Acting Superintendent I wrote a letter to you I acknowledge the events that led to my becoming the Acting Superintendent and in that letter to you I said that as a community we can be the best that we can be we can disagree without being disagreeable we can honor and value one another and listen to one another I want to acknowledge that attentions and passions are high tonight but I ask that as we listen and as we go and we talk about the things tonight we will remember that we are still one Community thank you Mr President all right next we'll have our hearing of individual individuals and delegations thank you for coming in person and dialing in by phone this evening the South Orange maplehood Board of Education certainly respects that you've taken the time out of your busy day to address the Bard at tonight's meeting we value public involvement in our school district and we are eager to hear what you have to say the board does have time limits by policy and it will be enforcing those to enable as many people to speak as possible this evening each individual will be given two minutes to speak please do your best to stay within that time within the time afforded to you the first public comment period is usually limited to 1 hour and a second public comment period may be limited to 30 minutes all input shared with the board of education is taken very seriously and will inform future deliberations and work by the Board of Education and his committees so we'll start with Ren Crawford hello thank you okay give me one second sorry okay um when should I start should I just start speaking thank you esteemed Administration my name is Ren Crawford I'm a freshman at Columbia High School and I'm here in opposition of an action that threatens the future of stem the elimination of the course creative Computing and design the board of education has taken a pledge to quote support a diverse range of Learners as is established in the 2023 through 2024 school year District goals this begins as early as Elementary School third grade in fact and presumably extends throughout our students educational careers if this goal is to be achieved in all areas of Education deletion of our only Middle School stem elective and a beloved one at that directly violates our Collective intentions compulsory educ ation is often a child's first Andor most long-term exposure to passions and potential career paths which they do not encounter daily such as Technology and Engineering which are emphasized in Creative Computing and design I am a member of multiple demographics that have historically been excluded from these fields and I am also a student who wishes to pursue a career in one of them when I took creative comp it only encouraged my love of science but made me feel that my goals were feasible and taught me skills and information that I believe I would not have learned otherwise this class has been critical to my development and general education on topics that I'm sure I'll utilize and that no student should be deprived of the opportunity to learn not only does this threaten the futures of our students but it compromises our values because we claim to be in favor of supporting students across all economic backgrounds the resources for an organized stem education are not available to so many students so we cannot sacrifice the course creative Computing and design in the name of funding Endeavors that will not benefit our Collective growth nearly as directly we must stand against this hypocrisy thank you for your time next we have Alice Cohen Alice [Applause] Cohen is this on hi good evening my name is Alice con and I'm a rising Junior at CHS but before I was in high school I attended Maplewood Middle School from 201 19 to 2022 while my years at MMS were far from perfect I often found solace in the electives I took specifically creative Computing and design which I took in eighth grade this was this class was essential for my development as the young stem oriented person you see before you through C through creative Computing I developed a renewed love for stem and found an outlet for my endless questions school is where children go to find their interests their passions their plans for the future and their reasons for living when you move to cut classes such as creative comp from the curriculum you're depriving younger students of the experience that provided invaluable to me time and time again no child should be robbed of the opportunity to indulge in the most basic childhood pleasure being curious and so I beg you think of the next generation of children in our district do not take this chance away from them do not cut creative Computing thank you to the board for your time and to everybody in this room for coming out to support our cause next we have Sonia zenobi Sonia zenobi hi my name is Sonia zenobi and I'm a sophomore at Columbia High School and a student in the ESS program I'm here today to explain to you why you need to renew ess's contract immediately I will start by sharing my story I only started ESS halfway through this year but out of my seven years of on andof therapy I have never made so much progress as I have while being part of this remarkable program I struggle with severe anxiety and in the beginning of this year I was so paralyzed with fear that I could not attend any of my classes but now thanks to the unconditional support ESS has given me I am able to attend almost every class with ease I've spoken with a few other students in ESS and here's what they have to say first student as a trans neurode Divergent student ESS provides a safe haven at school the supportive environment including kind peers and clinicians offers invaluable opportunities to express my feelings during the day through ESS I've enhanced my empathy and support for others making the school environment feel safer and more manageable second student ESS has helped me greatly throughout the time that I've been in it it is all thanks to the clinicians Who provided you a safe space to talk when you're not feeling so great third student as an incoming freshman I was struggling so severely I didn't know if I would make it through the year but once I joined ESS my life changed for the better if it weren't for ESS I would not be in this District these students are going through unimaginable hardships are you really going to take away their support system the this District Prides itself in caring about the students and their well-being this is your chance to prove it we understand the budget cuts but getting rid of ESS would be a detrimental mistake that we cannot afford to make on behalf of the students in es we urge you we need you to renew the contract immediately thank you Z Luciano Z [Applause] Luciano um is this oh yeah it is cool um my name is ziano I'm a sophomore in ESS and this is my second and last year in the program when I first started at Columbia I didn't know what to do and I struggled immensely with advocating for myself and my needs despite how difficult I often was the clinicians at ESS never gave up on me and always helped me whenever they could with their aid I have been able to achieve so many things that I never thought possible for myself and I've gotten to the point where I'm confident enough in myself to feel that I no longer require the program's Aid I know firsthand how important ESS can be and I know that without it I would not be in the position that I am in right now I believe that every student deserves to receive adequate support and Es has been a vital part of that for me and many others I'm aware I'm aware that many of my peers do not know VSS is existence and that's fine however I do know that for me and the other members of ESS it is incredibly important to all of us and if it were to be cut out of CHS many different me several students would experience immense hardships as a result of their primary one of their primary systems of support being removed uh can I just stop now that's all I have thank you Gabriel [Applause] Tero uh my name is Gabriel Taro I'm a sophomore at CHS and a member of the choir and Orchestra programs the Arts have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember I've taken piano lessons since the age of four sung in various choirs since I was eight attended several music summer camps and played in a Youth Orchestra for 2 and A2 years but nowhere have I encountered a program quite like ours the aim excuse me the aim of education is to lift people up in the words of Horus man education beyond all other devices of human origin is a great equalizer of the conditions of men nothing in our district embodies this ideal quite like the Arts students of all different racial cultural and socio economic backgrounds have the ability to participate and at its core this is an issue of access and Equity these Cuts threaten our ability these Cuts threaten our ability to provide quality instruments to those who can't afford them which will disproportionately affect minority communities this is an affront to the ideals that this board has repeatedly espoused now the Arts are under attack we are faced with leadership that would rather trim the budget than keep essential programs running the admin already has the first component ready to go the end of fifth grade strings the middle schools will be next to go grade by grade until all that's left is Mr van beveren who couldn't be here today because in an effort to feed the program he's been teaching elementary and middle school students after school on his own private time because you guys have decided to cut the budget back over and over again and once he's gone who will protect the art it's down to you you the Board of Education must step up I ask all of you if you value your community keep the Arts alive thank you next we have youve kanana [Applause] good evening I'm yka and I'm an eighth grader and the student body vice president of Maplewood Middle School tonight I'm speaking about the necessity of keeping the stem program of MMS it's the only stem class offered at MMS I'm a current student in that class and can unequivocally say that the core values and the topics covered are not taught anywhere else throughout the curriculum among the many projects completed we are given the opportunity to design and construct buildings and bridges with our classmates this project had multiple benefits some of which included critical thinking problem solving communication and compromise we also spent several months talking about the sustainable development goals and constructing prototypes to invent designs that fix problems such as world hunger no other classes including our science class offer this kind of exposure or knowledge nor motivation to actually critically think to this extent and fix world problems the way the program is taught allows students to feel that we have a responsibility and Power in fixing our world and making it a better place this is a class where I always am encouraged and constantly supported in my ideas I have learned and had so much fun in Creative comp I would argue that given how quickly the world is changing the stem program is the most important and beneficial class to our future and wellbe and for our well-being by taking taking this away you would actually be putting our lives at Jeopardy thank you next we have Violet Kesler good evening my name is via Kessler and I am in eth grade and I'm the president of the MMS student council I've come to express my concerns about the removal of the stem programs at the middle schools personally I have had the pleasure of taking one of missaki stem courses although the title is about computers the course covers so much more than that the course is generally about teaching kids how to creatively attack challenges regarding sustainability and Global problems not only can students learn how to attempt to change the world but they can learn to do it collaboratively teamwork is such an important lesson in life and students frequently work together and share ideas in this course along with the many benefits many students don't learn about careers in stem until high school or college it allows students to explore new options and to be validated by strengths that they didn't know they had many students are Overjoyed to enroll in this class at MMS and it encourages them to continue in career similar to those from in class overall this course teaches students to be stronger more educated more adaptable and better prepared for the world I hope you take this into consideration when thinking of the removal thank you next we have Kira Edgar uh good evening I'm an eighth grader and I'm the secretary of the Maplewood Middle School student council I know personally for many Creative Computer design is more than just a class to pass it is a place where students have the opportunity and chance to express themselves in projects that could never be brought up in other classes not only does the course include computer design and sustainability but it also covers various topics such as architecture and many other skills that are relevant for a large percentage of modern-day occupations computer science classes serve as a crossroad for so many different subjects such as science math and even art but especially they allow students to participate in class activities that help them learn essential skills such as critical thinking stem also introduces teamwork to students everywhere it helps them develop the ability to rely on work uh sorry to rely on and work well with teammates as well as an independent skill High School is a place where students are supposed to decide where they want to go to college and furthermore who they want to be and how they want to spend their life if students experience no exposure to the topic of computer science and stem they probably will not consider it for a future career as the world progresses through the years it is generally given that stem jobs will be will become more imperative and vital for a society and that the basics of stem taught in Middle School classes will one day be an everyday necessity thank you next we have Ella Levy [Applause] hi my name is Ella leevy and I am a CHS sophomore I am in the CHS stage crew percussion Ensemble General Band program marching band jazz band and I am the tonist for the Ravina Youth Orchestra on Tuesday night I found out that Mr pascali a member of the band staff at the middle schools and involved in marketing band was not being re rehired for next school year this was incredibly upsetting because Mr pasali has been a huge help in recruitment from the middle schools I am just in one of just two female identifying percussionists in the entire CHS Band program this year and the only one in my marching band for the last two years I want that to change and I worry that without adequate music education starting in elementary school and actual lessons provided in school it won't now last night for whatever reason Mr paspali was put on the updated reappointment list so although I am of course happy he's back next year my question remains of why it happened in the first place why are we getting rid of good things interim principal Pedro continuously uses the phrase a school of excellence as a goal for us in emails well board members let me be honest you know what is already excellent in our school our award-winning Band program Orchestra program and choir program [Music] this district has become very good at creating Band-Aids rather than long-term Solutions and if you cut the budget you don't rehire music education staff then you're ultimately failing the students because the students are the ones in the building every day we are the ones who gain or lose from your choices you're the Board of Education please just let us be educated maybe the brand new turfield can teach me how to play the isone thank you next we have Felix reiking [Applause] Kell Felix reiking Kell hello my name is Felix freshman Kel and I a sophomore at CHS I along with my friend Matalin zerco organized the group of Orchestra and band students that played right before this meeting and and and I am now here to speak as a representative of the orchestra and band programs the decisions made to cut music teachers in this district is unacceptable a major factor of my family's moved to Maplewood many years five years ago was the caliber of the school's music programs Orchestra and band programs existed from fourth and fifth grade something that was not available in the elementary school I had gone to the musicals put on in Columbia were unparalleled the orchestra and band consistently send music Majors to prestigious conservatories every year and students have won awards such as the governor's award from music a few years ago and even Grammys my family assumed that a program of this magnitude with this much success would um would be supported by its schools and District but as I've joined these programs and become part of them I've realized our success is not due to the sport of the district but in spite of it we've been consistently underfunded and undervalued by a district for decades positions are consistent constantly cut music programs pushed later and later in elementary school and funding is constantly restricted the Orchestra program for example is less funded in proportion to its size now than 25 years ago when we had but the smallest fraction of the numbers we do now the largest cuts are occur have occurred over the last 3 years which have been over almost 75% of our funding why why is These funds cut it is is it because of you say it is because of debt but why should the music programs one of the most successful and popular programs of the school be the first to suffer everyone in this District benefits from our programs without a marching band there's no one to play at football games without a choir who will perform at community events such as the annual Martin Luther King Day event held in our Auditorium without an orchestra who will play pump in circumstance of the Middle School graduations and how will a student violist job Campbell play at your board meeting as he did a few months ago the music program is also imperative because compared to other districts ours our districts um most sorry most um students learn 90 like 80% of their um education at the school they cannot afford private lessons and without and um without a um large enough Orchestra program and and consistent Staffing in the middle schools um students cannot be taught without having private lessons and without private and so for a district that values Equity over everything else it is appalling that we are removing positions and require essentially requiring students that want to be involved in the orchestra programs and ban programs to take private lessons I strongly I strongly urge the board and administrators across the district to please reconsider the decisions in staff and budget cuts to the music and arts program as these programs are the lifeblood of our district thank you next we have Emma [Applause] Phillips hello my name is Emma Phillips and I am a sophomore at Columbia High School I'm a part of the CHS choir program the AC capella group The unaccompanied miners I performed at both of the school's annual beat fests and I'm involved in the musical singing and music are my entire life as I know many various forms of art are for a lot of people in this District I lived in Union for the first 10 years of my life and looked forward to moving to Maplewood because of the renowned arts department and the value placed on the Arts I am appalled that a district that has prided itself on its arts department for so many years a district that claims to Value the Arts is going so strongly against their own word students have been advocating for various parts of the art department for years we have still seen zero development on the regarding the CHS Auditorium stage and the musical special dance company and the Shakespeare Festival have all had to adjust to your lack of regard for the Arts and what they need I'm appalled I appalled that a district that is spending money on things that nobody asked for sorry that nobody asked for is willing to make cuts to the arts department it it has become evident that you do not care about the needs and the wants of the student body and if you want to prove me wrong in say in saying that you will listen to the people who are pleading with you to leave the Arts intact in this District I have struggled greatly in the Maplewood south or School District to feel loved and welcomed by my peers and the people who surround me the Arts is the only thing that has brought me comfort in the past couple years do not take away what is a safe space for so many students in this District I am here to say that those of us who love the Arts will not forgive you if you let it die we will remember if you are the smart group of adults you claim to be you will find a way thank you for your [Applause] time next we have EMT Simon EMT Simon hello my name is EMT Simon I'm a sophomore at Columbia High School and a member of the marching band Jaz Ensemble and percussion Ensemble one of my favorite aspects of being in the Columbia High School marching band is the ability uh to attend competitions and see the accompl uh accomplishments of young musicians in high schools across the uh state with many schools I can at a glance see that their school districts care about the Arts and display this through such actions as providing their Arts programs with adequate funding for school district that is known for nurturing incredible Young Artists musicians and performers one would think that this school district would do the same working hard to set a high standard for their Arts programs instead what I see at this school district is a constant increase uh constantly increasing Reliance on external fundraising a minuscule amount of staff trying their best to manage many responsibilities while their jobs are put on the line and numerous performing ensembles without a stage to perform on the seeming imminence of further budget cuts within the Arts programs is sad uh saddening uh both as a student and as a musician with the chaotic climate of our school district as of late I would once again uh like to remind the Board of Education you have responsibility to preserve our school district and there can be no preservation of our education without preservation of the Arts thank you Alexander wood Alexander [Applause] wood hello my name is Alexander wood I live in South Orange I'm an eighth grader at Psalms and I'm percussionist in the SS concert band jazz band and honors band I was lucky enough to become part of the CHS marching band Front Ensemble in a year early in eth grade I'm speaking tonight about the importance of the Arts particular in music in my case in our district yesterday I found out that Mr bcol one of the most vital members of the Middle School bands in the marching band wasn't getting rehired I've been informed though that this was no longer true which is wonderful but it made me start thinking about the impact that music has had on my life a lot of the lives of people around me Mr B was originally hired coming out of the pandemic but the need for music and skill for teachers has not gone away with the end of the pandemic we need the need for music and other types of Arts is this poor if not more more important than ever with music being such a big part of my life and a lot of my friends lives I've started to think of the impact of music as a whole from the little Piccolo to the giant Contra based clarinet the history and culture that I'm able to learn because of music but all of this is important but for something that I keep bring up as the people around me the community that is that music has created for me this includes even tighter nit community of marching band and these communities Provide support systems to everyone not just through academics but through help with homework practicing for auditions and play playing games and talking sometimes after school many of the ways music brings people together just as much as as people play music The defunding of the Arts programs is not just harmful to the students that we are now but it's harmful to the adults that we will become thank [Applause] you I'm looking at Carol AGA or car this on testing all right good evening I am Carol agila a sophomore at Columbia and advocate for the stem program at MMS here I am today and I ask you this question what's the most important thing to about our schools is it grades our GPA the things we learn or Is It soul searching and to me as a student school is all of the above but especially in middle school it's about self-discovery for students it's not intentional it just stems from a I enjoy this I don't like that that was fun however this essential self-exploration faces a dilemma in this District today today we meet to eliminate the only one in stem class offered at Maplewood Middle while yes elements of stem like science and math are already covered learning how these elements enter to fine in having a chance to taste and Engineering is important I took creative composition 2 years ago and it's an Irreplaceable class it helped boost my creativity and made me engage in real world problems and the way the M the class made me think is unique this class is also pretty popular missaki the teacher who teaches it has five classes on an A and B day and approximates that around 50% of seven and eighth grade students take it how could we get rid of such a popular class a class that allows students to start early a class that makes students truly critically think let these students discover let their passions and stem flourish and finally let school be school thank you and I rest my time Eve Johnson Eve Johnson good evening my name is Eve and I'm a sophomore and rising jior at CHS I will simply Begin by stating that what you the Board of Education want to do to our arts program is incredibly wrong I am a student who participates in the School Musical every year and enjoys the choir program each day as well as the Acappella Club noteworthy I was 8 years old when I moved here from a small town in Illinois and I grew up in a family full of music and art we decided to move to this town because of its incredible music and art culture I've been looking forward to being in the High School Musical ever since I learned how much it was loved being in the cast of something rotten last year was one of the most exciting experiences of my life so far and I know that I wanted to continue spending my time with the community of talent and kindness for the rest of my years in high school I plan to pursue a life within the community that so many people are proud to be in I was also grateful to be to be able to perform in mam Mia this year I enjoyed it so much but it was not the experience it should have been the stage broke mid rehearsals and did anyone try to help us find Solutions no our incredible directors and producers spent hours of their life putting together putting together ways to continue rehearsals and put on the show we have suggested many ideas and solution to the problem yet you the board refus to take a look or even any sort of action to resolve our issues the CHS stage has been a full-on hazard for years and has needed fixing and safety checks yet only once it becomes unusable in any sort of way do you glance at it unbelievable when it was announced that a student lounge would be built in place of the old pool I was surprised now why wouldn't couldn't we fix a constant leaking from the ceilings why don't we have Menor products actually filled in the bathrooms why why haven't we put the funds into groups that need funding to continue existing think here hearing the constant construction noises from my class is incredibly frustrating and distracting knowing that our school is not only focusing on the priorities but only on things to make us look better I have several friends that are part of the marching band Orchestra programs and courses here all these people are constantly discussing how much they love their program and how much of community it is so many of us at CHS need the Arts cutting budgets means cutting programs means cutting opportunities and cutting out incredibly important parts of people's lives how unbelievable how how much I'm embarrassed and Incredibly disappointed in my own board do better thank you we have Alexa easington Alexa easington Alexa easington [Applause] hello everyone my name is Alexa easington and I am an eighth grader at MMS I would like to voice my opinion on behalf of MMS students about keeping stem active Miss aaki is one of the most humble and caring teachers I've ever met she encourages students to work hard she invokes curiosity and is a positive role model for all of us ever since I was in elementary school practicing stem has been an interest of mine so when I enrolled into Maplewood Middle School I was so delighted to hear that there was a class dedicated to learning the various subjects in the stem field now I'm sure this is the case for many children in tusin or even deia Bolden Elementary in misaki's class we are able to dive into science with a deeper perspective we are exposed to topics like sustainability engineering and Technology by exploring these topics we are reminded we have the agency to begin our stem careers now it is my hope that future students at Maplewood Middle School would have the opportunity to discover stem with Miss saki thank you for your time next we have William L Clifford William L [Applause] Clifford good evening I am a friend FR at columia Orchestra has been a large part of my life for many years I never thought I would have to worry about it being mercilessly stripped away from me until now my Orchestra introduction started in late fourth grade to early fifth grade I was one of the lucky individuals that got to experience the Escape of playing an instrument it helped me in ways that nothing else could fifth grade was the year that the district shut down and I had to go into Middle School blind helpless and without guidance I began my sixth grade year online that's where I met Miss chil Andress the orchestra director for MMS I was able to keep playing my instrument even when I had no one to play with that class kept me going not only did mement work tirelessly to create and find music worksheets that fit all of our skill levels she would also sit outside at the front steps of the school in the winter cold to tune our instruments seventh grade began my first year in person after Co everything was new I hated it but yet again there was Miss Chess whose classroom was a safe space of sorts from the outside world I major I majorly increased my playing skills and even took interest into learning a new instrument to further my musical education and prowess I went on to perform the spring concert that year my first ever concert and possibly my favorite then came e8th grade my final year at MMS and quite possibly one of my hardest yet I felt like I never fit in and it took a toll on my mental health and as always the orchestra room was always there I would come during lunch almost every day because I had nowhere to sit in the cafeteria that was my safe space and later I was encouraged by CH M interest to join Varsity Orchestra the program for middle schoolers at columia that's where I was first introduced to Mr van beverin who is undoubtedly one of the funniest kindest and overall one of the best people I have ever met his stories were always entertaining and from that moment I knew that I would still have that same safe space at CHS then comes freshman year it's a whole new school I joined string orchestra and was extremely excited about starting the year started off fairly normal and then abhorent and unimaginable events ued at the level we were at originally we couldn't afford new lesson books to teach new students as we stand now we run the risk of not being able to even teach new students I want to conclude with a simple question if budget cluts and budget cuts and layoff layoffs continue to further put our Orchestra and arts programs in debt what will Colombia become how will hundreds of kids have the opportunity that I had a safe space Not only to learn how to play an instrument but to make friends the answer is clear they won't and it upset me greatly to see what this already wrecked climate of a district has become I cannot fathom the disparity that would affect the district and the arts program are F thank you William if the dist next we have Becka meta Becka meta hi um I'm becc at MAA and I'm an eighth grader at MMS I'm also part of the student council as the treasurer of the executive board I've been lucky enough to have creative Computing and design with missaki for two years in a row so I speak from personal experience when I say that it was a lovely class where I learned quite a bit and cutting our stem programs in m in the middle schools is absurd in many students first exposures to these experiences and things like stem careers not only do we learn about the the whole world like H this year we were learning about earthquakes um but we learn so much about the career present in today's world like 3D design engineering sound design Etc the amount of stem jobs in the world has increased and as time goes on and when the kids currently in Middle School become adults it's likely that the number of stem doobs will even will be even higher we need a program that can expose us to these careers so we develop the interest and early Knowledge and Skills that may lead us to these careers stem needs creative Innovative people and classes like the ones that we have right now to bring out our innovative cutting our creative Computing Computing class in the middle schools takes away this chance for kids to find out that they they may be the next people who make earthquake proof buildings lead development in AI make CAD designs out wild the world lower our carbon footprint make water across the world clean and accessible and who knows what else all this potential that could be unlocked on and yet you take the key we can't predict the future and if we don't cut the St program who knows what will happen but I know it'll be something good something great thank you next is aen [Applause] lsky hi I'm aen nosky I'm a senior and I've been participating in music classes and programs in this district for 13 years I'm in choir and music tech I'm a leader of AC capella and I'm in music studio and music industry clubs I'm also the student manager of our annual student concert befest nothing and no one else has had the impact on my life that our arts program has despite its lack of sufficient F resources and funding I'm committed to Smith college and I plan on majoring in music and business my dream is to work as a manager and Creator in the music industry this dream was cemented by one of the teachers at our high school and her ability to teach and provide opportunities and resources for students this is purely because of how much she cares for students and how much she's willing to put into our lives while our new Administration has actively pushed these opportunities back like many other Arts teachers she has spent money out of pocket and worked extra unpaid hours I have been able to pursue my passion of music because I'm privileged and I've been able to afford private voice guitar and piano lessons a large percentage of our students can't afford this they rely solely on their student on their school to provide opportunities for them to learn our arts department is struggling enough with the limited budget it already has and can barely provide these opportunities for students many other students haven't had access to the Arts programs at all and haven't been able to realize their artistic passions because of how small a space the program has taken up your job is to ensure the well-being of these students please focus on Equity thank you next is is he sandal is he sandal hello my name is Izzy I'm a rising Junior at Columbia High School and I'm here once again um your priorities have been very clear to us our principal's priorities have been very clear to us putting unnecessary aesthetic projects of the school which apparently include painting over student murals God forbid artistic expression at Colombia high school over over not only the opinions but the needs of our students which as you all have seen have been very clearly expressed your pity means absolutely nothing to me because if your words do not match your actions then there is nothing really happening to you this may be a tiny moral inconvenience but for us it decides some very important life decisions and our future quoted from the Board of Education meeting two weeks ago and a quote just because 20 people show up to complain about the budget doesn't mean we're going to do anything about it end quote you are supposed to represent our community as Acting Superintendent Gilbert said we are all a community and I was sitting in my kitchen at 12 at night my jaw was on the floor are you kidding me I am so proud of some of my friends like Felix and madlin who have Community organized this because they have showed that Joy is a form of resistance and we find our joy in performing and creating and by your belittling decisions you're taking that away from us and I see you're uncomfortable faes and you should be uncomfortable because this is embarrassing next we have Samantha Booker Samantha Booker Banker or Banker yeah good evening my name is Samantha and I have a daughter in kindergarten and a son in second grade at Marshall school I moved to South Orange 12 years ago the same amount of time I've been an elementary school art teacher the best job in the world just this week my third graders cheered literally cheered as we began our clay unit making Dragon Eyes since it was a much needed reprieve from testing this week I'm here today because I want to protect those incredible moments with art and would like to challenge the 35% budget cut to that art program either elementary schools have simply been left off the budget list by mistake or they are all receiving zero doar in funds for next year zero dollar even when I worked at an inner city school there was a budget from my extensive experience when budgets are cut the money never returns yeah we moved to this town as both my husband and I are in Creative fields and we knew this town was home to many Broadway Stars Architects copywriters visual artists and more last year I paid over $27,000 in taxes and my own children will not have access to the basic supplies in their art room next year as a teacher myself as a teacher myself in a neighboring town of Milbourne it breaks my heart that I go into work every day and can provide for my students but not my own children how did did we get here our business admin we cannot Grant tenure to Eric Burnside tonight clearly he has failed at his job if we cannot provide 5 to nyear olds paint and paper to express their creativity as we all probably remember not too long ago during Co it was the Arts that were a safe haven to combat the mental illness and the isolation brought on during those tough times I will leave you with this art education is proven to teach children to be more empathetic and encourage multi-perspective thinking in which clearly our world our district our two very divided towns in this current climate needs more of as a district we need to do better you all need to do better and our children will in turn do better thank next we have Paul [Music] par excuse me excuse me I I I I appreciate that energy but we need to allow everyone else to speak thank you next is Paul Parsons I my name's Paul Parsons um my wife and I live at ten Park Avenue in Maplewood for the last 46 years I think this is the first time I've spoke to the Board of Education uh we raised four daughters that all went through the school district graduated from Columbia I now have five grandchildren going through the school district three of my daughters live in the district um they all got great educations my oldest granddaughter is a freshman in college she played in the orchestra all four years um I also taught at Columbia in the 70s for a number of years and when I was there we had a great art and music department but we also had a great industrial art department and over the years budget cuts that kind of went by the way side at least most of the department did I believe and when something like that goes it's hard for it to come back and like somebody just said in in the Arts when you make please don't take it for granted um because when it gets cut too deep it's just so hard to bring back again um one of the things I've noticed by teaching and raising my daughters and my grandkids is there's more to Art and music than just the singing and the sculpturing and all those things are important the music so many kids struggle a bit in math or reading and I've learned at least I think that so much of learning is self-confidence and those kids that struggle in those courses many of them can find something else they have other talents and many the times it's in the Arts and Music and the confidence that comes from that can then translate into them believing that they can do math and that they can read better and that confidence just to just to make a personal note I have a son-in-law that also went through the district graduated from Columbia maybe 30 years ago he his passion is singing but his career isn't singing um he struggled he had a learning disability in school and he didn't learn well but he loves to sing and through the the music department of Columbia a guy named Wayne fener marker was his music he grew confidence that allowed him he he's now very successful in finance but that wouldn't have happened he would have had a much different outcome if he didn't have that confidence that the music program brought him so please when you consider Cuts remember it's more than just music and arts it's confidence to help in other things next we have Jamie ramsburg Jamie [Applause] ramsburg hello I'm Jamie ramsburg resident of South Orange mom of a freshman and sophomore at CHS and current teacher at Clinton School to be honest I had trouble deciding which of the many issues facing our district I should talk about tonight the Extreme Cuts to the arts department the lack of transparency with the budget process or the fact that people found out they were losing their jobs on Facebook instead of from HR but I'm going to focus on the abolishment of the director of guidance position at CHS while some employees in central office are receiving raises next year the current the current guidance director has kept parents informed about information sessions class registration and much more he was also quick to reply to questions or concerns I would like to know what your plan is to cover all the responsibilities that the current director handles it is my understanding that our amazing guidance counselors are already stretched very thin with large numbers of students assigned to them they certainly cannot be expected to take on the extra work does that mean the work just won't be done or the counselors will have to sacrifice time with the students the ones this district is supposed to be serving in order to cover the other responsibilities I also find it absurd that this position was listed under central office in the list of cuts it is my understanding that the director of guidance works out of the high school it is a student in parent facing position one might think that this category misplacement is a way to make it look like the central office is making equal cuts when they really aren't I also understand that multiple central office employees are getting pay raises in the next budget I can't imagine how you can justify raising any central office pay when cutting a single teacher or student facing staff member the hardworking teachers and staff in this District already do so much with so so little how can you ask them to do even more with even less while cutting positions and salaries and giving raises to central office staff I implore you to rethink this cut and keep the position of director of guidance thank you next we have Sam Finley Sam Finley [Music] [Applause] hello board my name is Sam Finley I'm a parent of a Columbia software and I am a member of the S community and I understand that your job is a hard one the district has lost Co era State funding and there are many many areas that require investment the I also I'll also remind you that you chose this assignment and I'm I'm sure you knew full well what you were getting into this is your moment to show us you are what you campaigned to [Music] be I'll also remind you that you inherited a district that is known for its focus on the Arts and I'll I'll also point out that if you hope to continue in a life of Public Service you don't want to be sitting on a board that let the celebrated programs of South Orange and Maplewood go unfunded we wrote I'm glad that you found the money to refurbish reitzer field I'm glad that you're able to give raises to central office positions you however need to lean in on your responsibilities to the Arts the fact that the High School auditorium is unusable is unacceptable you should be genuinely shocked that performing groups are homeless removed to other schools and maybe even other districts to find places for performances you should be actively working on making sure that next year is not like this year you should make you should work to make sure that we have an auditorium you should be working to ensure that we are able to improve and expand the Arts and not reduce its resources for another year you chose this job you told everyone you could do it now it's time to get to work thank you [Music] next we have Margaret pan Margaret Pian good evening my name is Margaret pickron I'm a resident of Maplewood and I have a seventh grader who is an orchestra member at Psalms um yeah and a proud for actually member of the early morning chamber orchestra which Bill Cook runs um on Tuesday Mornings at 7:25 if that gives you any you know insight to his dedication I'm here tonight to ask for a forensic audit of our District's budget I we want to know how we got here it's clear that the district is not on a sustainable path in the spring of last year numerous board members expressed dismiss May at the budget process and asked for improvements this year and yet here we are facing a staggering shortfall and very little Runway if any for the board and Community to at large to make any meaningful changes to the budget the excruciating reduction in force which hit the middle schools particularly hard as well as the high school and the unsustainable budget cuts to the Arts and stem prog programming sadly indicate that we have lost our way which by the way will there even be an orchestra next year at SS do we have a position to fill it's unclear how are we promoting an equitable education if all of our children don't have meaningful access to stem and the arts for 2425 we are forecasting over $19 million for out ofd District tuition let that sink in $19 million over 19 at the same time our students are going to school in buildings that are crumbling around them and in some cases refusing to use bathrooms that are simply in disrepair how is this okay we cannot continue to ask our teachers staff and most importantly our children to continue bearing the burden of a very problematic budget this dysfunction has to end so again I implore this board to do the brave thing and the courageous thing tonight conduct and audit look inward do that thank you m thank you next we have Cynthia longle Richards Cynthia longle Richards I'm not Cynthia but I have her remarks is that allowed yes it's allowed I guess right okay good evening my name is if I could just interrupt for a second so normally um a person can use their time to make a speech but that's it so this would be your time right now okay um I'm sorry I cannot be here in person this evening to express my dismay about the state of the district in general but specifically the Arts programs and anticipating cuts um I began the cello in the Jefferson School in third grade continued to Maple Middle where I picked up the saxophone and then participated in both Orchestra and band programs at CHS this person was the drum major of the marching band I think there are still pictures of me on the wall none of my musical training would have been possible without the strong arts program that we had then I now live in Milburn and I'm I it's not me remember a member of the Board of Education I'm still connected to S as I teach many students both on the cello and in choirs at Mor Church the Arts are integral to education it's shocking that in a community of such creative and artistic people that the schools are going to cut these programs for these students I'm absolutely dumbfounded that anyone can make such a mess of a once great District who is running the show why do you keep adding administrators why do you pay for lawsuits instead of doing the right thing in the first place why why have generations of boards and admin let the buildings fall into such disrepair who's responsible for the budget okay I actually know that one the business is administrator since I work with an amazing one again not me I see this as a weak link my hope is that for all of you my alma m is that you can get some real leadership and people are actually good with numbers and no Excel to write the sinking ship cutting the Arts is cowardly move that appears an easy fix but will Ripple what will have Ripple effects affecting the generations to come please reconsider I can't see how many seconds I have but here are my words take a moment and this are my words take a moment and acknowledge the words from these students the teachers and your community look around this is why we all moved here it's a passionate team of teachers Educators and creative people cutting the programs removing supplies firing Educators construction debacles esus none of this would happen if we had a team or a person managing the budget thank you if you vote for the business administrator as one student said we will not forgive you if you let this die I was in the high school this morning and I was with the CHS teachers they need your help the students do too thank you next we have Andrea Alexander we have Andrea [Applause] Alexander Andrea Alexander [Applause] sorry I was back there and kind of got stuck um hi my name is Andrea Alexander I am a 24e resident of South Orange and a parent of a current Junior um I've had kids in District for the last 14 years I'm here tonight because I am tired and I am frustrated and my kid is tired I have witnessed over the past decade plus the implementation of measures done for Optics that were not successful only to be scrapped and replaced a year later with equally unsuccessful measures through it all nobody has really given thought to our kids but I'm just going to focus on the last few weeks my kid emailed me two weeks before AP exam that there's still Construction in the building that could be disruptive to the testing then we get an email from the principal a few days before AP exams saying that they would love to stop construction but it would cost the district well over $300,000 to do so as if this was a surprise these AP dates are set in Stone a year plus in advance how was this not contemplated 6 months or a year ago it would have been super easy to carve out these two weeks as a dead period and require construction to be paused so penalties would not acre it's not about the construction per se but where was the thought about our kids our kids are always an afterthought then came a text this week that my son's guidance counselor who he really liked was leaving he was really upset cuz she's been wonderful with him but then we find out that head of guidance is also the position has been cut many kids are going into senior year with that anxiety and there's no direction as to who's going to cover next year the district is in constant flux and again who is thinking about our kids you heard from all of them tonight they are not okay then there are the budget cuts we talk about the achievement Gap but we never move the needle and we never will with bigger classes less teachers and removal of the Arts where is the one year the two-year in the five-year forecast how do the teachers not have paper and toner but central office administrators are getting raises how do we function this way year for year I've spoken about a dozen teachers over the last couple of weeks and every one of them is heartbroken disgusted and broken and this is rubbing off on our kids the district talks about mental health for our students but the actions don't match the words now positively my kids have gotten a really great education in District but that's because of the teachers and in spite of the district our district is broken our kids are broken than Andrea okay for our teachers we see you we hear you we support you and we appreciate you thank you Andrea thank you next I will just and for the board of and for the Board of Ed please we need full transparency and we need a budget next we have Tony mazaki Tony mazaki [Applause] good evening Tony mazaki proud proud CHS graduate who along with many classmates over the years has made an incredible living through the Arts thanks to this district and thank you for your words tonight Dr Gilbert uh but you know at the top of every piece of our kids homework quizzes tests there are the instructions that say show your work show your work and despite your words tonight about moving forward with transparency the adults here have not shown their work for 3 years and specifically not for the last 3 months when you have it's been sloppy woefully incomplete you've had board members with far too many questions and most disturbing often times you have not been honest with this community with the information that's why many of us are here this evening for you and the ba to deal with this self-made Disaster by cutting staff funding for direct supports and supplies for students including brutal Arts cuts and systemic programming that goes away forever when it's cut while protecting your own in district office despite the nonsense you posted under central office in the list of cuts it's thoughtless it's an insult to the collective intelligence to this community so let's talk about some things that are actionable this evening number one while you sit here and improve cuts to 28 staff programs supports for students supplies you are voting to reward the ba with tenure which has not been earned please sever that portion of the resolution and vote and please know it gives me no great pleasure saying that it none at all and two please pledge out loud tonight that once a new superintendent is hired perhaps yourself you'll commit to objectively and diligently doing the work work in collecting data to review these cuts and restore budget lines that have been cut through budget transfers even if it does mean cutting your own admin thank you thank you next we have anina Rosen anina Rosen anina Rosen [Applause] sorry didn't know I was up now okay I'm anina rosson resident of South Orange um for 20 or so years uh the children of this community are relying on the adults around the Horseshoe to make decisions that will strengthen the education offered to them here not deny responsibility fail to make budget forecasts and lead the district off the fiscal cliff uh where we where we are cutting supplies teachers programs and direct student support Mr burnside's fiscal mismanagement and lack of budget planning are unacceptable and he should not be rewarded 10 year I shared his job description with the Boe this week and his failure to carry out his responsibilities is clear among the highlights compile data and collaborate with administrators members of the senior leadership team Board of Ed finance committee Etc uh to construct a detailed transparent and fiscally responsible budget also assist the superintendent in developing and implementing a long range strategic plan for the district those always include budgets my second issue is the continued cuts to music in the Arts music and arts had already lost 23% of its budget and now an additional 35% asked about our schools people often uh first Tout The Incredible Arts programming but this doesn't happen without instruments funds to repair Instruments music and performance spaces music and arts was already woefully underfunded and will continue to be so it seems it appears that the Psalms Orchestra position has also not being uh listed and Mr Radcliffe's position was not renewed finally Mr Von's position do you know what he does do you know that he creates the master schedule of all of the classes at Colombia do you know that when the guidance counselors go to register students they can't do it without a master schedule I would be willing to bet that every parent of a Columbia student in this room has emailed Mr own at least once he is essential to figuring out all problems with scheduling registration and guidance his role is not Superfluous in any way I suggest you go back to central office and find a different position to eliminate where the responsibilities overlap with others the solution solution suggested by central office has been to do more with less central office should do that before any resources resources are taken away from teachers and students next we have Paul gski let we have Paul Kowski yeah he's had to go pick up our daughter who's doing dance outside of the school the programs well but he just wants to know where the budget is okay next all right next we have Jen Spiegler all right head I forgot to mention that of all right next we have Amy Merlino cray or C hi my head is spinning a little bit um I have an 11th it's Amy KO my I have an 11th grader and a seventh grader um I started getting involved I'm I'm also on the board of the music parents Association at the high school I started getting involved in January when uh a teacher came to me and told me that many of the teachers had been promised large sums of money due to the uh movies that came and filmed at school and disrupted their classes and principal Sanchez said that that money was going to go directly to them and then uh they were told actually no that was a mistake and so I gave up on that when everything happened with principal Frank and I figured well that was going nowhere and then I got involved in uh advocating for the music and the Arts programs when uh we were told the budget was going to be cut I came here to speak about that um I would like to say that the wonderful thing about this District we're all talking about the bad things these children are beautiful they have spoken so wonderfully I I can't even begin to I I'm just truly amazed at how um eloquent they all have been um so I'm not going to talk about the music and arts because they did that better than I did I will say the budget was 222 it went uh 2 $22,000 it went to $172,000 I I have what I think is the budget here it's the you know um I I look at budgets every day for a living I can't figure this out but um I think it went from 122 now to $100,000 about next year for the Arts it's not enough um but like that was the one thing I was going to talk about but then my my both of my children are uh horribly upset about the creative Computing my daughter is upset that her uh miss bodger her teacher in in the math math and middle school has been cut who's been a huge Rock while there's been a chaos going on in that department um I hear that the athletic secretary who who does all the transportation is being cut like and now I didn't even know about Mr beckon I'm like what is happening so so many things are being lost uh but the bottom line is we need to fix this we need to hire someone who can fix this next year please thank you next we have Becky lotnik Becky [Applause] lotnik hi first time um hi I'm Rebecca zanik I'm a longtime Maplewood resident here's my uh ped I have degrees in engineering communication educational technology and I've been teaching high school math in another district for over 27 years so as expected I'm here to talk about saving the Arts uh you might be thinking why is that stem nerd so concerned about the Arts because the Arts are integral to success in academics uh one of my engineering predecessors is Leonardo D Vinci he used scientific principles to advance his art and art to communicate his findings in science neither exists in a vacuum I have two very musical children one graduate one still at CHS both involved in many music classes and activities in District both very academically successful but neither would have been as engaged at school if not for their music while I'm well aware that correlation does not equate to causation there's so much correlation my son is considering a stem major in college but can't exist without music in his life so on our tour circuit we've spoken to Representatives at several schools like like Ruckers and pit who estimate that 40 to 50% of their marching band members are engineering students and other stem majors and if that isn't quantitative enough for you how about this in 2020 a study entitled an analysis of association between school music participation and academic achievement was published in the Journal of educational psychology using a sample size of over 110,000 students the study found that students highly engaged in music were on average over one Academic Year ahead of their peers not engaged in school music and this finding was independent of sex cultural background or socioeconomic status I sent you all the link I understand there is a budget deficit due to a lack of foresight and improper planning but I caution you as an experienced math educator the easy answer is not to cut Arts funding losing programming in teachers would be detrimental to not just overall student achievement but also to standardize test scores we are a district known for our Arts it has been proven that engagement in the Arts in school improves academic performance let's not lose our steam thank you next we have Julie Decker Julie Decker or this Julie dein or Julie Decker Des all right Anna hstat [Applause] good evening I'm Anna hstat I am an eighth grade teacher at Maplewood Middle School 27 years dear board members I'm speaking on behalf of the faculty and staff at mwood Middle School our dedicated friend and dearest colleague was terminated last Friday due the unfor due to the unfortunate round of budget cuts one cannot possibly comprehend the value and commitment Mrs Christine Bogner has demonstrated in her 33 plus years at Maplewood Middle School we have witnessed her service going Way Beyond her scope as Title One Aid and has treated each and every student and faculty member's family Mrs Bogner has patiently worked with all children at risk or not she has lovingly and patiently sat side by side day in and day out with those who struggle the most in ela and particularly ma math she always made sure in some way to celebrate those little academic victories for children who would not have had the opportunity at home she bought treats for Stu for for students who were neglected wiped the tears of children who cried over homework classwork or personal life and just sat and listened to children who had no one else to whom they could confide Mrs Bogner spent hours in hours testing incoming students to the district and annually prepared the State Testing minutia along with her administrator while detailing the demands of the paperwork she has been a mentor to students breakfast Duty Maven front office fill in time and time again her attention to detail is unmatched and she's highly respected amongst her math colleagues even new ones as she has been a beneficial source of math methods and historical P pedagogy in the math department last Friday with 234 sick days banked and 33 years of service Mrs Bogner was handed a box of tissues and told she could not be returning in the 2425 school year we ask kindly that the board reconsider her appointment as title 1A to continue to serve the atrisk population as her position is not friend but a necessary and needed support or afford her another similar position at MMS this removal harms the most vulnerable population in our community and we must be committed to be Equitable to all Mrs Bogner is an asset to staff and students we simply cannot afford to lose to budget cuts and unwanted forceful leave League my colleagues co-sign this sentiment and Mrs Bogner is not just a colleague but continues to be a part of the MMS family an important member at that thank you next we have um [Applause] umra hi everyone Amber teue Maplewood parent of a junior and an eighth grader I have served um as Clinton PTA president SS grade coordinator president uh council member at large and second vice president I'm currently the ca h s HSA and Midnight Madness treasure I've also spent over 30 years working in operational Finance with my most recent role as a vice president of League operations Finance for the NFL I tell you this so you know that I not only have a deep understanding of what is required and expected of an operational Finance role but I also have a deep institutional knowledge of our district I was going to ask you to vote a certain way tonight but I'm not going to do that I want to explore an idea shared by our interim principal earlier this week he said we should investigate any and all disturbances that are preventing CHS from being a school of excellence the bar has been set now we know kids learn from example so let's investigate what they have seen recently they saw an exceptional principal be dragged into court and face losing his job due to Shenanigans perpetrated by this very board over an incident that was investigated and dismissed that is not Excellence they see that the position of director of guidance counseling and social work is slated to be abolished tonight a critical position that oversees the team that holds our kids' Futures in their hands all gone because other administrators did not do their homework that is not Excellence they see a business administrator slated to be rewarded with tenure by an interim superintendent who doesn't have budget oversight experience even though he didn't perform the critical forecasting functions because according to a member of this board he wasn't asked to do so that is not Excellence nearly everything you are voting on tonight is not Excellence cutting Arts everything so we knew that covid money was going away this should have been planned and actively mitigated depending on how you vote tonight our kids might see meteor accurity rewarded and Excellence pun punished rules for thee but not for me we need to do better expect more ask for detailed budget projections and Analysis because this is the tip of the iceberg and you're voting on our new super please take care to do a good job with that thank you umra next we have Jeff Bennett Jeff Bennett I've been a board I've been a board Watcher for 12 years and this is the second budget crisis I've seen however the difference between this crisis and the one of 2009 to 2014 is that this crisis has no trigger whereas a one from 13 years ago was caused by losing $4 million in state aid and thereafter getting minimal Aid increases this is different we're gaining $1 million in state aid next year although Federal covid money has run out we knew exactly this was going to happen although we are gaining students for next year which gives us an adjustment to the tax Gap our K12 enrollment is still 400 students below its pre-co peak except for Nutley I haven't found another Aid gaining district with budget stress or a crisis like this as fiduciaries of this District I asked you to do what the nutly Boe did as soon as they heard about their crisis and hire a forensic audit thank you in the meantime I ask you to scrutinize the budget and look at areas where the social or academic payoff is minimal unfortunately one such area while I'll just criticism pointing out is the cost of pre busing our pre- sites are very small schools with as few as 15 kids hence they have very few Riders per bus moreover prek kids are little and hence they need door-to-door pickup and drop off it's opaque how kids are assigned to prek but it seems like the kids are in a diffuse Cloud around each school so Roots must be Meandering when you approved prek busing last year the only prek listed in the presentations was mantros when you actually bust kids to five other schools I don't think that Omission is entirely the business administrator's fault but he does have some responsibility for it in short we have 13 routs for prek with only 139 kids assigned to them that's 11 kids per bus 11 moreover six of the 13 prek buses are untiered so they are twice as expensive as regular busing three of the prek buses are specialed but even looking at the eight gened buses that's 120 thou per untiered bus and 60 thou per tiered bus so it's $78,000 even before bus aids with that money you could undo a quarter of the cuts you're making tonight thank you Jeff next we have Mary Al Zaki Mary Alice Zaki good evening everyone stem occupations are projected to grow by nearly 11% by 2030 over two times faster than the combined total for all non- stem careers I'm a teacher at MMS a proud CHS CHS Alum and I'm here to advocate for the students who love creative Computing and design creative comp is stem creative comp is a class where students learn that failure is not fatal but rather a means to achievement they build life skills like perseverance resiliency and never quit Attitudes by working through challenges creative creative comp is a class where all students have the opportunity to succeed even those who often struggle in school Hands-On activities provide opportunities to create and innovate and experience success creative comp is a classroom Community where students share ideas support peer accomplishments collaborate and treat one another with consideration and respect creative comp is a class where students are challenged to step outside their comfort zones and try new things they're encouraged to take risks creative comp is a class where students have opportunities to immerse themselves in learning experiences like trust Bridge testing and earthquake safe building design using the engineering design process to learn what Architects and Engineers do creative comp inspires students to consider careers and stem career uh and open doors for students of color and girls who are grossly under represented in stem Fields creative comp fulfills the eighth grade technology graduation requirement creative comp impacts the school Community whether students take the class or not they frequent the classroom maker space to work on projects for other classes 3D print CAD designs or just wait for the bus or a club to begin in a safe welcoming space creative comp excites the community about stem in middle school at events like maker Madness back to school night and school in action creative comp is rich in student voice and choice with lessons reflecting cultures backgrounds and interest so students can show their pride creative comp operates using recycled materials repurposed items and grant funding this has two benefits it teaches students the importance of contributing to a sustainable planet and it costs the district very little like zero dollars creative comp should remain a Cornerstone of the Middle School experience creative comp is stem thank you next we have Glenn Wright Glenn [Applause] Wright so what are the chances I wrote something on this um my name is Glenn Wright I teach 8th grade science so what I'm can I have your attention though look at me please just listen it's a long night um I asked my eighth graders for their attention so most of you have I've watched you all night most of you have given your attention what am I going to talk about I'm talking about stem I can't talk about a teacher because a dear friend of mine my opinion would be subjective and you know that this is my 14th season at Maple middle teaching science I spent 20 years on Wall Street whatever that is the reason I tell you that is I teach differently because of those 20 years I know the world is begging for problem solvers and innovators and my Rage Against the Machine not of this District but of public education as a whole we so rarely cultivate problem solving and innovating we don't champion it that much either for lack of a better word we have a lot of children that suck at school and if I ask you to close your eyes what would a room of 28 of those kids look like and what I have seen is out of those 28 20 of them are either problem solvers or innovators and it's all been impossible for the decision makers down the road to see what we see problem solving and in ating there's only one room in Maplewood Middle School where that is championed and it is through the stem and creative comp room it is so Christ I have nine seconds um decisions are so hard to overturn this is one I'd ask you at least to think about I'll meet you for coffee and I'll pay for it at 20 bucks or what happens at Starbucks and if it's late in the evening it won't be coffee I but I'm still buying um I think this one through this is something that can be grown for nothing it can be grown and those kids that suck at schools is that a bad board thanks Glenn they they they Thrive they do I have pictures where we have eight hands on building what are we going to do this weekend Zak we're going to cut the 4x8 foot foam things into the earthquake Shake table thing thanks Glen thank you you're welcome next we have Beth Constantino [Applause] good evening Len I'm Beth costantino I live in Maplewood I'm the president of CAC Soma and I'm here on behalf of the CPAC Soma executive board CPAC Soma is the special education parent advisory committee in the south oon Maplewood School District the bottom line for all of us is the students and what do they need to succeed opportunity and accessibility students require support whether it is special education services or a gened student who needs a tiered system of interventions will will they have opportunities and access to their free and appropriate public education that is rightfully theirs so that they may succeed not if you take away the Educators who provide that support such as a special education teacher a math interventionist or a school counselor you are working against those students success what else do students need to succeed family engagement and accessibility research has shown that students have parents or Guardians and engaged with their educational Journeys will be more successful in school yet the parent or the community parent liaison is being cut will the English language Learners families have access to be engaged if there is no longer an elll aid apparently aant eliminating these family engagement positions is working against students success what else do students need to succeed so certified professionals such as a school psychologist who has a very specific skill set that cannot be absorbed by anyone else except another school psychologist we are stretched thin with our child study team members as it is eliminating someone who is a dedicated certified professional works against Student Success the choices have been made and some of them will work against Student Success however I urge you the CPAC Som executive board urges you to listen to the teachers and the students and the families and work with us to keep those students bring them to the forefronts of your minds and efforts make a commitment to those students whose success is now at risk thank you thank you next we have our online public speaks uh first we'll have Max fern design class as a former mm student and a current CHS student and a former believe that these classes should be the priority of the district and should not be cut stem artificial intelligence and other technologies that are taught are the future and this should be a priority as for the teacher Miss vaki she's one of the most kind and compassionate teachers that I've ever had and losing her as a teacher would be a huge loss for the district in an ERA with technological advancements and creativity these classes are pillars of innovation offering skills and perspectives that are important for success in the modern world efficiency and technology is no longer optional it is essential these classes equip students with the technical skills needed to navigate the digital world with confidence from graphic design and web development to animation and game design these classes offer a hands-on experience by mastering these skills students are better prepared for the increasingly digital nature of our society thank you next we have Ben Vitali thank you good evening the first one to budget crisis was largely the work of previous boards um other circumstances beyond your control Mr valital you'll need to speak up a little bit we cannot hear you uh is that better a little bit better you need to speak a little bit louder or move closer to the microphone uh okay you want me to dial in and I could speak later in the oh we've raised up the volume a little bit more can you please try again sure if it if it doesn't work out let me know I'll dial in uh the phone oh that's good thank you okay so good evening I first want to acknowledge that this budget crisis was largely the work of boards or other circumstances beyond your control second I hope everyone here tonight who is complaining consid considers demanding uh that our federal and state leaders Advance further healthc care reform spiring costs of health benefits are on track to consume the entire SCH buget I want to mention that our music program has literally changed my daughter's life it really does have great value and I appreciate all the students speak now for the main comment I want to make when the budget uh is over the line as it is this year everyone wants to point to their least favorite things that pushed us over that line because you can say that each and every dollar was the one that actually broke the back bution I'll tell you about the things I don't like um I'm not alone when I complain about the ongoing increase of security in our district I have written to you with peer- reviewed research from John's Hopkins KN that increased School surveillance increases the achievement Gap I have written to note that only 11% of schools Nationwide requ require students to wear IDs we have a large school but even there only 28% of really large schools Nationwide require wearing ID it disappoints me that our district is in the bottom 28% on this issue I acknowledge that there have been some recent incidents um that rais concern this year I continue to believe that traffic safety is the actual number one danger to our students and if we make rational decisions about security we should look at the data and traffic really is the most dangerous thing and recent events did in fact involve traffic when our district created the halftime and later full-time position of director of security IED because I saw that this would cost us in Liberty but of course there's also a cost in dollars this is not personal I'm sure everyone here is working with the best intentions but I prefer spending money on teachers every other cost must be scrutinized should we spend this Dollar on teachers instead I'm very skeptical of spending on technology it depreciates very fast most of all I OB is spending on security technology this rapidly growing industry is leading the way to shift our country and our schools away from freedom and trust and toward fear and suspicion a way of life centered on accountability rather than responsibility your budget cuts 28 positions and spends 2.8 million on technology this is in addition to 8 million of security spending in the facilities plan and security salaries in the operating budget every year understand State ear Mar thank you Ben just one more sentence please um I I understandably your business office seems to be doing a good job in difficult circumstances is very busy so I haven't been able to find out exactly how much that security spending is on surveillance on technology spending is on security technology thank you Ben yeah anyway you get the pictures please depend on teachers not security and Arts and Music instead of security right thank you [Applause] next we have Lucia Goldstein that committee memb is not [Music] online next we have Michelle Groner m Can Am I unmuted great good evening I am the mother of a ninth and 11th grader at CHS and someone who has spent the last 28 years of my professional life working in the art this is the first time I am ever speaking at a Boe meeting we moved to South Orange because it was a community full of those who work play and support the and to play in and support the Arts surely the district would be a place where our kids would flourish in these areas we pay nearly $30,000 a year in taxes and yet we are cutting basic needs for the Arts stem positions and a senior counselor position at CHS that has been a vital bridge between the school parents and students which is no easy feat and we are giving tenure or considering tenure to a business ad to business administrator who has steered us into these Waters without a plan this is outrageous how would we get how did we get here I would like to focus on the Arts mostly um it is a well- researched fact that the younger children are exposed to the Arts and programs like that the more likely they are to carry that Heritage well into their lives well beyond high school and into their adult lives children exposed to Art and music education create more empathetic intellectually curious and literate adults since well beyond the onset of the chaos set in by Co this district has struggled with consistency equality and harmony for all the talk of equity equity and access from this board and staff these Cuts tells me tell me that you are speaking about this from both sides of your mouth I want to read you something from education next which is a very well-regarded publication called the Fine Art of school engagement quote we find that Arts learning has a positive effect on empathy School engagement student discipline and writing achievement students emotional and cognitive empathy increase by 7.2% and a 3.9% of standard deviation respectively at schools with expanded Arts education students are 20.7% less likely to have a disciplinary infraction School engagement increases by 8% of a standard Dev ation Arts learning improves writing test scores by 13% of a standard deviation but does not have significant effects on reading math or science test scores per se the positive effects are especially pronounced among English language Learners whose writing in scores improved by a 27% standard of deviation these results demonstrate that the Arts positively affect meaningful education outcome and conf and can strategies restore and retain Arts education in schols please please consider keeping the Arts funded in our district it is such a vital part of learning for our children well beyond those specific classes thank you next we have Ronnie Schwarz hi can you hear me hi Dr telesford can you hear me I yes we canar yes thank you usually I like to focus on one topic but this month I have so many concerns my head is spinning so bullet points it's teacher appreciation week and I want to emphasize how much I continue to appreciate Frank Sanchez his character his communication style his commitment to CHS and his love for all our kids I appreciate Renee Johnston a wonderful guidance counselor I understand she's told she's being cut due to her performance issue I don't find that pretense believable because I've also heard she was reprimanded for wearing a cafa as a Jewish parent I reject that divisive notion s's Embrace of its diversity can't Flinch in times like these I urge you to sever her non-renewal from tonight's vote investigate how she wound up on the list and probably save us some legal expenses we'd otherwise deserve I appreciate Mr veon and his critical job as head of guidance I know all cuts are painful still I urge you to reconsider this one it's a terrible choice I do not appreciate interim CHS principal Pedro his tone is awful his emails are so so unprofessional they look like spam and he has no idea how to communicate with teens or families I've also heard too many stories about the appalling and misogynistic ways he speaks to teachers finally the budget disaster let's be clear the former board President and Vice President oversaw this mess some people are calling for the Ba's job I find that to be ridiculous put him on a performance Improvement plan sure but it's simply not all on him we should hold the former leadership accountable and speaking of accountability a question for the three of you who ran on a platform of expanding courtesy busing beyond what is required using tax money what's that costing us in reality at this point it's beyond irresponsible and my anger about it is only compounded by the audacity with which you now Fain ignorance thank you [Applause] next we have Sarah Rothman hello can you hear me can you hear me yes we can hear you great thank you so much good evening I am a Clinton and s's parent and lifelong amateur chist and I want to speak tonight about the cuts to music it's not clear to me how the middle school music program will be supported given these Cuts Mr cook is retiring from Psalms and there is no open position posted for his replacement although the band teacher Mr pasqual's layoff seems to have been rescinded Mr radliff his string counterpart in the middle schools has been let go this leaves ssms with no Orchestra instruction at all which cannot be the plan for the upcoming school year given that 250 kids participate in the string program there what is the plan and will fifth grade instrument instruction remain next year music education benefits students in giving them a creative Outlet a sense of Pride and performance a feeling of teamwork and it literally improves brain structure and function if you haven't already done so I encourage everyone around the Horseshoe tonight to attend a district band or orchestra concert at any level the energy is infectious and uplifting the talent of the teachers is fully impressive but our music program also improves our whole Community by providing free concert and enabling our students to represent our district at music festivals and competitions across the state finally while public school music kids sometimes do become professional musicians many many more go on to be music lovers and supporters and amateur performers in fact we are the musicians of the South Orange Community Orchestra and the Maplewood chamber music workshop and numerous other organizations we are graduates of public school music programs from all over and we all have day jobs outside of music and we bring free concerts to this community cutting music has generational effects as it was pointed out tonight when cuts are made it is tough to come back so commit now to having a plan to build the music program starting with the fifth grade on up the number of student musicians in the district is growing and you owe it to students and to the whole Community to figure it out thank you next we have Luc Goldstein um hello hi we can hear you can you guys hear me yes uh okay my name is Lucia Goldstein and I was in the eighth grade at MMS last year although I'm not currently attending an SSD school I look back on my time in the district fondly 8th grade was my first year taking creative Computing and design and it quickly managed to become my favorite class I deeply valued the skills it taught me and the small community the class had created throughout the class my interest in stem grew missaki was an amazing support for both class and personal matters I remember being encouraged to dive further into stem and to incorporate it into other classes creative comp was such a great part of my middle school experience and that's why removing it from the maplehood Middle School curriculum will negatively affect the future generations of students creative comp is the only class throughout the three years of MMS that is stem based it sets students up for for their future classes and careers through coding engineering 3D printing studying architecture and so much more with the rise of Technology stem jobs will soon Dominate and become extremely high in demand creative comp inspires interest in students to P to pursue a stem career simply to look into it or to take STEM related classes and programs in their high schools however in the beginning of many students High School lives it's difficult to take stem oriented courses because there are so few slots outside of required classes it's very difficult to balance something such as an instrument with other interest in school this is why it's important to have a stem introduction as early as possible drawing in more students of more demographics that may have not been able to attend otherwise this is especially true for aab and female presenting individuals according to the American is she still connected oh yeah still connected we can come back to her okay next we have Jen sterm hi yes okaying hi my name is Jen Sturm and I'm the parent to a CHS sophomore in the past week I have learned that my kids history teacher left at the end of Q3 for a better paying job and my child has received zero history instruction since she left their school counselor Miss Johnston is not having her contract renewed due to a parent bias ESS the school Support Program many of our kids rely on to attend school and make it through the day including mine has not had their contract renewed the director of guidance counseling and social work is on The Chopping Block tonight and our interim principal is spamming parents with his obsessions about students Instagram accounts over which he has zero jurisdiction rather than actually supporting our children at this critical moment in their academic careers this is out of control how is this what our Board of Education and interim superintendent are allowing to happen back to miss Johnston who has been an important resource and presence to many students at CHS you know how the rumor mill is here in s word is that Miss Johnson wore a caia to school and the principal told her she's not being renewed because it is a symbol of hate as a Jewish parent to a Jewish student I want to remind you that calling cultural garments a symbol of hate is discriminatory and an act of bias I urge you to reconsider renewing Miss Johnston's contract on this basis alone tonight please remember this our children's Futures are not a runway for your personal obsessions or ill-conceived budget cuts our students deserve better stop the dysfunction and start prioritizing their education and well-being thank you next we have seil Yosef that Community member is no longer online right um can we go back to Lucia Goldstein Lucia is no longer connected all right can we go to Julie Campbell Julie Campbell is not online all right next we have Anonymous student unfortunately there's no one named anonymous online all right that concludes our public speak Speaks now we'll move on to the action portion of our meeting [Music] okay okay um board members this evening I have resolutions 4608 through 4610 um can I have a motion to move I have a motion to sever do I do that can we move it first before we sever sure please thank you sorry okay yeah motion to move forward thank you board member eer now in discussion sorry I'd like to make a motion to sever um resolution it's resolution 4609 line 26 Eric Burnside business administrator board secretary do I have a [Applause] second I also want to make a motion to table resolution 461 the reorganizational resolution all right second all right thank you Bo wh letter all right so the motion to table takes precedence so it requires a second and then you need to move that first the sever happens automatically so just so everyone understands you operate by a consent agenda so consent agenda is when you move all items at once any board member at any time can ask for any item to be severed from your consent agenda it does not require a second all it means is we want an actual vote on that and you're automatically entitled to that okay that's that's Robert's Rules so you don't need a motion to sever and you don't need a second to sever once the board member announces I want an item severed it is automatically severed okay so I got so now we're voting on everything except for the severed yeah so you need to vote on the table though I I second the motion to table okay right and just so everyone understands a motion to put something on the table means to put it off for tonight okay so we can vote now on okay discussion comments and then vote do they discuss right discussion comments on the motion to table yeah um I just want to explain so the yeah the reorganizational resolution also names staff members to other positions and just given what potential outcomes um at this moment we are going to move forward with an appointment list yet we don't know staff members may not accept them so we have I'm tabling it to push it to the next meeting where we will have a better understanding of our staff list okay now I get to pH okay okay so this is to table 4610 board member Callahan yes board member dval Wilson yes board member eert yes board member gford yes board member Meyer yes board member sack Gable yes board member board president tford yes board member V lamani yes board member Whit letter yes motion passes CU now I need a new motion for the two okay so now the next motion would be a motion to approve 4608 and 4609 less the severed item is there a motion is there a motion yes motion to move that forward and then I need a second second thank you uh discussion right discussion M valani so I just have one comment to make before we vote uh yes on the renewals list I'm extremely sorry not to see principal Frank Sanchez on this list I know that there's not much we can see in face of legal issues but I do wish he was on this list [Music] all right anyone else right board member acur so first I I I just want to thank all the amazing students who have come out this evening to share their stories to advocate for themselves and all of their peers thank you to the teachers and community members for being here as well um I I said this two weeks ago we find ourselves in a really devastating situation the almost double digit Gap that we were only made aware of a few weeks before our preliminary budget meeting has led to the elimination of 28 positions and to say that I'm disappointed in the way the rift process has played out is an understatement [Music] um all we see is teaching and support staff so no I don't believe that the pain has been shared evenly across the district or at all levels [Applause] and yes I have had those hard internal conversations and no I do not agree with the final outcome it has been disheartening to only just learn about the potential elimination of courses due to the Riff we still don't understand the full impact on students and existing staff and we need to know more um the student said it today I think you're still sitting there you're right we're failing students you all deserve better I I I will commit to to doing better we have to do better I mean it's unfortunate that we find ourselves in the situation that and there are certain areas in which we we can't go back but the future of the district is on the line and we can't sit here and do nothing so you know I'm going to ask my fellow board members sitting next to me that you know once this meeting is over we we really need to come together and work with our Administration to to figure out how we can potentially get back some of the programs that are are being cut sorry it's not eloquently said it's it's really this is a really hard evening but I just wanted to share [Music] that anyone else I guess we can go to vote so the motion is for 4608 and 4609 uh board member Whit letter yes board member VOD lamani yes board president tford yes board member saki Gable yes board member Meyer yes board member gford yes board member eert yes board member dval Wilson yes yes board member Callahan yes motion passes can do the next one so the next motion is motion 4609 uh line 26 Mr burnsides reappointment and the motion is framed as a motion to re reappoint is there a second I mean sorry is there a motion a motion to move forward second okay discussion right okay discussion on the motion valani so I know the emotions are very high and laying off staff and teachers is terrible and there is no second way around that but the Board needs to act practically and not go into Vengeance mode we are not a medieval Kingdom where we Kill the Messenger who comes bearing bad news our costs are high because our kids need more support the board must act carefully and dispassionately in tough times it is easy to be a board member an fft chair or even a superintendent when the revenue are higher than costs it's simple there are no problems we must act sensibly and responsibly when our costs exceed revenue I will vote Yes to renew Mr Burnside and I'm asking all my board members to do the same for Deval Wilson okay um thank you for your for your comments so I've been on the board for two years and each year we've had a major budget deficit it continues to grow exponentially since the beginning of 2023 I along with many of my board colleagues have been asking the district for more data monthly budget tracking discussions in fft multi-year forecasting and more transparency with the budget I repeat these were asked since the beginning of 2023 so what does that tell everyone the board can Advocate and ask for Change Is this not talking about evaluations the board can Advocate and ask for change but we cannot force the hands of our leaders through through the superintendent search and research from fellow board members like Whit letter and eert we've learned a lot about how other districts operate we've seen the large extent that other districts size like ours overcommunication and even receive buyin from stakeholders I believe that we cannot look at things with a short-term lens we members must look at the long-term needs of our district when we fail to look at the long-term needs students suffer our children's education suffers and teachers suffer so I want the community to know that we have a policy 1330 that policy states that the board should annually establish procedures for the evaluation of the ba and partnership with the superintendent our current evaluation is not up to par for the B a more than 10 indicators are not applicable to his role with that said I recommend that the board follows this policy and works on this for next year following this policy will ensure that the role of the ba is evaluated based on their job description and the current challenges and needs of the district my vote tonight will reflect these opinions thank you anyone else Forman Meer there's a lot that we can't talk about in these discussions because this is a Personnel matter we're not allowed to discuss our view of the uh performance of the employee at issue uh but what I'm going to say is this uh this district has a lot of struggles and a lot of them were discussed tonight and comments made by students uh parents and staff are completely valid um those are some of the struggles that we have they're not all of them uh we have systemic issues in our district uh as well as on our board and they do reflect uh they come out in these decisions they come out in how the budget looks they come out in what services are being provided what services are being cut um we have a board that is extraordinarily green all of us uh you look at a lot of other boards in the state they've got people that have served five six terms uh the most senior people on our board have been here a little bit over two years um we have a SLT that is all full of people who have been in their roles a short time and have have held uh roles like that for a short time uh in fact our our ba is I believe uh the person who has the most senior uh amount of time 10 years uh we're in a situation where the current budget was developed in the shadow of absolute chaos in this District after the superintendent was sarily shoved aside on November 3rd uh not as part of the sort of stable process of transitioning to a new Superintendent at the end of their term but uh just all of a sudden in in uh fit of peak and um it led to I believe my understanding is uh this uh central office and this District uh functioning from a place of chaos uh and for the budget to be developed in that uh Shadow uh exacerbated some of the issues that we see tonight we're a district that seems addicted to churn and uh the vote no tonight will perpetuate that churn uh and that is one important thing that we need to be considering the budget is created by a lot of different people the ba is one person who is directly responsible for packaging it up and handing it out but there are a lot of people in this District uh who are responsible for saying yes we can afford to get rid of this piece yes you can go ahead and borrow from my line item because we can do with less we can merge those positions together we can handle this a different way and we have our assistant superintendent who was pushed into the role despite not having a major budgeting background who had to negotiate and orchestrate all of this uh we're functioning from a position of weakness this year because of our own choices uh and I recognize that having one scapegoat feels like a great win right and we can deliver that up uh it it sounds like is happening tonight but just don't think don't think that is the total answer don't think that is we just fixed it because that's not the that's not what's going on there letter thank you Dr telesford and I had several remarks that I wanted to make this evening I'm going to take Council 's advice so the statement that I just want to make um is not evaluative um but it is just how I feel right now um our district is at an inflection point and I'm not exaggerating and I know you all know this when I say that the F future success of this district is at stake plain and simple we were all elected to ensure that the district is well-run the resounding message from our community this evening serves as a powerful message that we are falling short of these expectations and that we need to do better we have seen what the last three years have been what we have seen is what we will continue to get as we look to start a new chapter in this District I and I know my board colleagues too it's the only way you survive this role as a board member and probably as a community member is that we continue to hold on to hope and it's a Relentless hope um but if we persist on this current trajectory um that hope is fading and that promise of a brighter future that we all know that we can have for students in this District um is fading as well too much is at stake here it's time for a new chapter one where accountability and responsible Steward stewardship guide every decision that we [Applause] make board member [Applause] Callahan thank you so as both an educator and a board member I I don't just understand but have had firsthand direct experience around the profound impacts that a reduction in force and a budget C can have on a school Community um please know these decisions are not easy and they truly demand our careful consideration uh the implications for staff for students I appreciate very deeply the advocacy that our community has engaged in to support the programs and the teachers they love thank you for your emails and for being here tonight we recognize that maintaining a supportive and stable learning environment is Paramount even amidst these Financial challenges and as board member eert stated I commit to continuing to seek innovative solutions engaging in transparent communication with stakeholders and advocating for resources that will prioritize the well-being of our students and our Educators and so while budget cuts and reduction in for en Force may present formidable obstacles they also underscore the need for Creative problem solving and collaboration within our school Community by working together my hope is that we can mitigate the impact of these challenges and ensure that our students continue to receive the high quality education that they deserve but this moment we would be remissed to not remember similar situations in May and November where we were warned about the consequences of rash actions and the ripple effect that ensues When leaders are ousted leading to devastating and destabilizing outcomes as my board member colleague Mr Meyer pointed out so now a year later we do find ourselves living in that aftermath Reckless Decisions spearheaded by our former board president and colleagues and we are in fact at this inflection point that you invoked in this aftermath so take taking steps to rectify this situation tonight is important and a positive beginning but it's also essential not to celebrate just cleaning up the mess but to recognize where it was created in the first place thank you I just say that as board members we're always often told to look at things from a bird's eye point of view because you have to look at it from a 30,000 ft level uh one person is is usually not affected by our choices our choices always have a cascading effect and one of the things that we have to think about as board members is how does this affect the people that are in other departments that you're not thinking about or other or other areas of the district so I think one of the things I will caution us on is with our decisions you're not focusing on one thing it will always have a cascading effect that ripples out so just think about that with all your decisions all right I think we can close discussion and then go to the vote board member Callahan no board member dval Wilson no board member eert no board member gford no board member Meyer yes board member sacka Gable no board me board president tford yes board member V Lani yes board member Whit letter no motion does not pass or I'm not sure what that what is it not pass is it a motion not pass motion did not pass the motion did not pass all right now we move on to new business anyone have any new business um thank you uh board president I I would like to move that a hand carry resolution be adopted to authorize a forensic audit of the South Orange Maplewood School District covering all Financial transactions and policies from the past three fiscal years assessing the internal controls compliance and financial reporting accuracy can I get a second [Music] I think I would yeah yeah make a second I think point of order I think this is in violation of our policy related to new business correct so you have limitations on what can be brought up during the new business proportion I'm just trying to find it but it's matters of such urgency that they cannot be delayed and moved in the regular course and so we're about to cut 27 people that would still not change if you did a forensic on it the question would arise though if this goes through the regular course through the committee process and appears on next month's agenda would that be a problem that's that's what emergent matters are for in your other business portion all right we can just have this we can just have this discussion fft so it wouldn't require can I read it into the record or it's just one page there's there's nothing to read you can just forward that to me and then we can or afford it to the chair of fft and then we can have that discussion in our next fft meeting there is no way that a forensic audit would result in Saving cuts by the next meeting why not not by because for in public pleas is a undertaking of several months soard M eer no we're just going to have this go to fft yeah I was actually going to ask that the fft committee discuss the possibility of this what the implications are what the timelines what the costs are in your next meeting I just think that we should also take into account that we also did go through one of a blistering Federal audit and we did it's a it's a very it's a very different audit right yeah it is all right so I will for that to you in fft thanks all right okay the Board of Education will meet in public session on Thursday oh yes we have second public speaks not on here where is it to have two 30 minutes a second speak he wants to speak again appar um Stanley said he wanted to speak again CU we were both like he already spoke and he said he wanted to speak again so okay Jeff Bennett [Music] okay I wasn't originally planning to speak at second public speaks but I wanted to respond to something that another parents said in her public speaks about the cost of courtesy busing expansion for this year for this year we have 36 buses running our routes last year we had 24 buses running our routes according to the Boe BOS presentations made in October 2022 so we have 12 more buses at an average of $120,000 a bus that's 1.5 million guess what that's the extra tax levy that we approved so the courtesy busing expansion which benefits 500 Elementary schoolers who are going to non- Neighborhood schools and it could have been very stressful or impossible for their parents costs less than the tax levy it's not the cause of this budget crisis if people from the public want to blame the budget crisis on something else it's not courtesy buzzing I know I did talk about prek busing because the costs of it are very very high per student but the elementary busing is not that expensive last year our elementary school buses had 45% capacity met so they were mostly empty this year our Elementary buses have 65% of the seats taken so actually we accommodated a whole lot more of the K5 buses on existing routes it's fine um as we're blaming this budget crisis for things to happen last May or last November come on you guys know that this budget crisis is multiple years in the making it didn't just appear in Winter 2024 all right get real thank you I hope you do approve the forensic audit as soon as you [Applause] can all right we'll move on to the Board of Education will meet in public session on Thursday May 30th 2024 at 6:30 p.m. in the district meeting room at 525 Academy Street in Maplewood New Jersey immediately following the opening of public session the board will move to go into a closed session in the superintendent office at 525 Academy Street in M New Jersey as well as using an online video conference platform to discuss personal matters with the attorney client privilege legal negotiations and other matters that may arise and require discussion to be announced at a later date immediately following the closed session the Board of Education will meet in public session estimated to be 7:30 p.m. in the district meeting room at 525 Academy Street Maple New Jersey in person utilizing an online video conference platform which will include hearing of individuals the community can view the meeting by following the steps which will be listed on the agenda if there are members of the community who would like to attend the meeting in person please note that masks and social distancing are optional in accordance with the guidance received from the local do and CDC action will be taken with that I'd like to make a motion to close this meeting do I have a second thank you more board member record all in favor all right and we are closed here at 10:23 p.m.