e e e e e e e e organizational meeting held January 3 2024 adequate notice of the regular meeting of this korth board of education has been provided to the home News Tribune The Star Ledger the local Source on January 11th 2024 a copy has been filed with the Kenworth bur clerk posted in the board office the burrow korth bur Hall brle and Harding schools as is provided by the open public meetings act thank you Mr Canela please rise and join us in the salute to the flag I to the flag of the United States of America to the for it stands one na God indivisible liy and justice for all Mr ganal can we please have roll call yes Miner here David here Drogan here Ferrara here hather here L here panichi here tear here Zimmerman here all present the the uh purpose of this evening meeting is to present the 20242 annual School District budget to the community adopt the budget and approve other regular agenda items okay guess that's me right are you going to do your I'm gonna yeah from here good evening everyone uh this evening marks the uh culmination of EX extensive as we finalized the 2024 25 annual School District budget for the count School District the prior sessions we Del into the intricate detail details of our expenditures scrutinizing the impact of State a fluctuating uh fluctuations and challenges posed by the its reductions we also reviewed the inclusion of construction projects associated with 2022 referendum as well as the use of capital reserve to B the referendum tax l we also navigated the technical intricacies of the budget submission to the executive County Superintendent we meticulously analyze revenues and reserves tonight uh in compliance with the statutory obligations we present the 20242 budget to our community shedding light on its uh tax implications and anticipa hurles we uh will face when shaping the 20226 budget our presentation will illuminate pivotal budget facets uh offering a comprehensive overview of its implications in addition to these public meetings presentations and discussions multiple committees and members of the administrative team work tiously putting the budget together to allow us to present it this evening I would like to thank all those involved in the process and especially Mr lat and the finance committee for their time and commitment to the process before turning it over to Mr uh Arlington I want to express my gratit gratitude to him for his leadership during these challenging past months as we navigated through this complex and difficult process yeah good evening everybody this year it seems impossible to quantify the time spent on the budget Mr ganel the district's leadership team and the finance and Facilities committee have all been extra hard at work thoughtfully thinking outside the box about how to withstand these Cuts without taking away experiences and opportunities for kids in the face of these challenges it was more important than ever that we double down on our commitment to align our budget with our district and school goals therefore these budget goals you'll see here tonight next slide please uh frame our district and school goals they have been ideals to which we've anchored work reflective of evaluating and prioritizing budgetary requests and needs continuing a path towards Innovation maintaining curriculum athletic Arts programs and co-curricular experiences minding students social and emotional needs and upholding fiduciary responsibilities to the community as Mr ganella constantly reminds us the budget is a blueprint if state aid or a portion of it is restored which I'll talk about in a little bit will revisit what can be layered back into the budget thereby changing the outline of the blueprint I know that community members have questions and concerns about whether State funding Cuts will impact student programming specifically in the area of music I'm going to share in detail tonight specifics about our music programming for next year but I'm going to frame that conversation into the larger work the district has engaged in over the past 5 years to build opportunities for kids to Galvanize our programs with Innovation next year's budget continues that commitment to start I want to provide accurate information about the music instruction that will continue to be available next year of course we can't uh publicly discuss specific teachers or Personnel matters and so if comments are shared about specific teachers or person M know that the board and I are limited with what we can say or respond to so if you hear Silence from behind the de it's not a sign of disrespect it's being bound by law our Focus now and always and uh is on meeting students academic social and emotional needs personnel and program growth over time in recent years across the district we've added several new positions in support of teachers and students always with an aim to enhance achievement and provide every opportunity for kids these positions include the following but I should note that this is um a sampling of highlights not an exhausted list of personnel and programs I've introduced into the district first an instructional coach to support teachers professional development a technology facilitator before Co to maximize online educational resources and tandem with what I felt was the district's long overdue roll out of a onetoone Chromebook initiative an intervention teacher coordinator to support struggling students and better coordinate our Intervention Program in recent years we've also added specialed teachers in response to student needs we hired a full-time student assistance counselor to help support students instead of filling that role via a stien position as we had in the past then we also added uh think last year an English language learner teacher to work with our growing population of multilanguage Learners we've added these positions in the face of significant financial constraints also note despite a reconstitution of the leadership team there's one fewer administrator today than there was a few years ago clarification about referendum funding versus our operational budget I've heard from some community members via social media whether we are choosing between the Arts and some of the underway referendum projects to clarify again the referendum funding stream is separate from the annual budget that provide state aid toward large scale improvements for our district these included the addition to brly including new science labs HVAC work well underway and improving the function of athletic facilit of facilities sorry at auditoriums that benefit students and the community referendum funds can't be used towards Staffing but only for projects that voters approve on the flip side the annual budget must cover all regular operations such as Staffing and benefits the biggest part of any school budget like all school districts in New Jersey we depend on State funding to help pay for our annual expenses in the face of $1.4 million of budget deficit our commitment to our students and whole and their whole Child Development remains unwavering we've diligently worked to ensure that opportunities including those in the Arts are still available for students as we shared at a Boe meeting a few months ago we're in the second year of a highly successful Dance Program touching around 200 students many are taking advantage of this program which promotes well-being and confidence I'm sharing extensive background tonight because I want to dispel any misinformation about music programs that's circulated online for next year including information posted via social media that I reviewed I also wanted to underscore the importance of directly seeking the facts from the district or Administration who are at the Forefront of decision making now onto music Harding's music program this year Harding has two certified music teachers next year it will continue to have two certified music teachers students will continue to have access to General music and opportunities for instrumental music instruction as they do this year br's music program this year Bry has two certified music teachers next year we're slated to have one full-time and one part-time teacher for music we'll have the same number of art teachers and the same number of dance teachers uh this year some of the music classes we offered included seventh grade musical theater cycle a cycle of seven grade musical theater 8th grade chorus High School chamber choir theater appreciation 1 and two and concert choir uh next year we're offer able to offer those same things absent uh seventh grade musical theater cycle so still available next year to students will be an eighth grade course chamber choir theater appreciation concert choir how did uh the BR Administration do this through schedule and considerations uh also the seventh grade cycle next year uh will be assigned to another music teacher or a different music teacher a second music teacher and the general music requirement will be fulfilled through R new seventh grade guitar cycle in addition to the courses above so those I guess more singing based courses rly students who are interested in the Arts also have opportunities to take film making high school band with rotating Middle School pullout lessons into the high school band periods and digital Sound Engineering the last course I'm particularly proud of it's an elective we added a few years ago go the course reacquired and reimagined classroom space and new technology much like our other investments in Innovation we've also converted Library spaces into maker spaces over the past five years created steam stem environments and an Esports lab that also serves as the base for a popular and competitive extracurricular program small District big options rest assured that despite our small school district status we continue to provide what I feel are a robuster r of course offerings particularly in the Arts finally do you know that difficult decisions needed to be made in the face of significant state aid reductions I'm really proud of the district's team for figuring out how to fill these reductions without significantly impacting our students I hope that this pattern continues into the future particularly amid unstable funding formulas and the possibility of further reductions continuing next year and likely into the future in closing if state aid or a portion of it is restored and the board wants to explore increasing the part-time position to a full-time so that the one class I mentioned uh can return to the Slate of offerings I am more than willing to have that conversation and what I read today is that there's a bill right I don't forget what the bill is called but it passed the assembly and now it is in the Senate where supposedly 2third of State funding may be restored um and that I think is slated to be approved on 513 yeah if that's the case and the board wants to reopen these conversations um to see again what can be layered back in I think that's a great idea and certainly willing to do that uh but I appreciate the opportunity to separate fact from fiction and also share more information about some of the dimensions that influenced the decision- making about how we got here tonight uh happy to take questions when they arise um but I know you have a couple more slides a couple more slides yeah thanks uh thank Mr yeah um so now I'd like to get into the Rue revenue and expend side of the budget um obviously some of the challenges Mr Arlington referred to was the most significant one was a loss of state aid uh of $1.6 million of Equalization Aid we did receive an increase in Choice Aid so the net result was $1.4 million a loss of Aid um that's significant I don't know how to really overas how significant a $1.4 million loss indeed on a $37 million budget is um and to overcome that challenge to not reduce programs or uh have a reduction in force is significant um uh at our previous meetings uh we discussed several of these concerns uh in in in depth uh every year we Face challenges uh this year from a budgetary perspective um they were much more complex and difficult to overcome uh I still remain concerned with the impact that the restrictive tax ly cap uh will have on programs in the not dear District future The increased needs uh for Extraordinary Services inflation and decreased uh reserves all are a concern moving forward and finally did I mentioned that we lost 1.6 million dollar in Equalization um so getting right into the expenditures this overview illustrates our expenditures and the specific budget areas affected by the reduction and Equalization Aid uh we employed zerob based budgeting to meticulously allocate resources according to our priorities uh under normal um circumstances we experience minor fluctuations between account lines some areas seeing increases uh some decreases and some maintain flat funding from year to year however this year the of a has resulted in notable fluctuations compelling us to address and adapt to the reduction as you can see uh here by all the negatives which are substantial on that list another way uh uh to look at the expend is to compare them without the prior year adjustment sometimes prior year adjustments uh do give a misleading a picture of the of what's actually going on so here you can see the impact of the loss of state aid had on phases one and two which were the primary areas where the loss of state aid was impacting us um you can see here the leadership team meetings leadership budgets leaders team budgets are down about 10% whereas salaries and Staffing schedules though it's an increase it's a very small increase um uh in comparison to what all the um um uh salaries that we have and the increases uh according to our collective bargaining agreement phase three challenges included property casualty uh insurance at District placements uh Debt Service and energy costs um these however these increases can be deceiving in that the majority of this 1 million 1.75 million dollar increase in phase three is directly attributed to the increase to Debt Service and the inclusion of the construction projects associated with the referendum without that it would be almost a 0% increase in that category as well uh uh the final way I'd like to look at expenditure side of the budget is to look at it programmatically to summarize the expenditure side of the budget graphically I like to use uh this uh to demonstrate where the money is going here you can see that Harding uh accounts for 2% on distributed programs 13.68% and employee benefits and insurances 13.22% of the Budget moving on to revenues uh ensuring a uh balanced budget is imperative with revenues matching expenditures as mandated by law here's an uh overview of our budget revenues highlighting significant aspects we've previously addressed such as the decrease in Equalization Aid additionally not Worthy is the 2% increase in the tax levy which we'll delve into uh uh further shortly uh another notable aspect is the utilization of reserves and fund balances the transfer of capital reserve to Debt Service alliance with the board's commitment during the referendum process to alleviate And Delay the referendum's tax impact on the community overall Revenue uh has seen a decrease equal to what you saw on the expenditure side Prim primarily due to the uh accounting requirement that we discussed earlier involving the transfer of funds from capital reserve to Debt Service and the loss of state aid getting right into that loss of state aid you can see that here where we've lost um 1.6 almost $ 1.7 million in Equalization but we gained $282,000 in Choice Aid so a total decrease of $1.4 million in Aid or a reduction of 18% of our overall state aid um during the um two budget presentations we held in March uh we extensively examined um the uh state aid formula and by the way the state gives us a very narrow window to develop the budget after the release of state aid figur so we start the we start the budget process in in September and October um where we're accumulating and gathering information from our staff who then funnel it to Mr Arlington and I and then we get into into it with uh uh the administrators during the months of January and February uh and then the governor releases his state aid at the end of February and they basically give us three weeks once we got the information to um that we lost the aid to totally revamp that budget so it was a very short uh period of time when we had that opportunity um so um we got extensively into the formulas at those two uh March meetings and how the prevailing demogra uh demographic uh conditions in cworth uh have adversely affected the community's ability to receive uh a fair share of the state aid um addressing funding disparities will require legislative intervention as Mr Arlington uh indicated uh we have uh initiated discussions with some of our local legislators uh to not only seek the restoration of Aid um um for this year but also explore uh more uh effective methods of funding public education in the future because this year was bad by perceived the 25 26 school year being even worse um tax levy cap um we are not eligible for any uh adjustment to our tax uh cap this year we are not using any Bank cap um so our tax levy is simply the pre-budget uh year tax levy in inflated by 2% use of Bank cap um what is Bank cap uh Bank cap is a method to allow school districts that has not uh been granted approval to exceed the tax levy cap by a separate proposal to bank the unused tax levy for use in any of the next three succeeding budget years in accordance with code a district can request the use of Bank cap only after is fully exhausted all eligible uh statutory spending of Authority in the budget year uh please note that um we have generated very little uh Bank cap in the past three years uh short of a Monumental shift in how state aid is distributed I do not anticipate uh we will be able to generate uh much uh Bank cap for the foreseeable future uh an important takeaway um here however is that bank capap is not real money but rather the district's authority to raise taxes above the initial tax levy C calculation uh it should not be confused with the next items that we're going to be discussing and reviewing which is free balance Surplus and the recapitulation of balances uh recapitulation of balances um there are several categories of balances that make up the recapitulation of balances each category having a specific requirement for how uh they can be used how they are accumulated and what the maximum levels are the first to review is unassigned in restriced Balance our current proposals call for appropriating 1,761 266 to reduce the tax levy capital reserve uh we will appropriate 1, 210,000 for the various projects associated with the referendum we are transferring $474,000 from capital reserve to Debt Service to pay for the FY 25 debt payment for the ref referendum in FY 24 we appropriated 1, 15251 197 to reduce The Debt Service these two payments conform with the board's original commitment to use $2 million of capital reserve uh to offset the uh impact of the referendum um you also note that we are not anticipating using any maintenance Reserve or uh emergency Reserve in next year's budget uh and we will be using $1,064 uh in um Debt Service Reserve bringing that down to zero which is required by law so to recap the use of reserves uh over the years I've um emphasized the necessity of reducing our Reliance on using free balance to offset tax levies though I'd love to see this total number down to zero the realities of our um um the past several years the fluctuations in state AIDS and some of those other challenges as we talked about earlier have made it very difficult to do that uh the truth is our ability to engage in True Long Range budgetary um um budgeting or projections is hindered by the constant fluctuations of state aid and other budgetary factors beyond our control over utilizing reserves to lower the tax levy can distort the district's uh actual needs and have repercussions on tax cap educational programs and future taxpayers maintaining a a delicate balance between the cap tax levy Reserve usage and educational programs is crucial so how do we calculate that tax levy uh you basically take the entire uh expenditure needs which is 37 million $2,518 and you start deducting all the possible offsets um that we have so we talked about the appropriation of free balance we talked about the uh withdrawal from reserves uh there's tuition with from our send receive relationship with Winfield miscellaneous Revenue such as um uh rental of facilities and uh interest on investments uh state aid federal aid and finally Debt Service so you take all those off offsets totaling 14,474 1821 and you deduct it from the total budget and that's how you come up with your tax levy of 22 m741 697 so what is the tax impact on the community on average home assessed at $183,400 the current expense increase is reflective of that 2% cap that we just talked about um on the total tax levy or $14.83 increase uh Debt Service increas is in accordance with the schedule approved as part of the referendum back in 2022 uh the large dollar increas is due to the difference in the district's capital reserve contribution going from $1,525 th000 in FY 24 this current year um to $475,000 in fy2 next year um there will again be an increase in FY 26 when the district's Reserve contribution goes from $475,000 down to zero uh the levy then stabilizes in uh FY 27 and we'll see a decrease in fy3 uh as the 2016 bond issue um and refunding expires so what are our next steps we'll adopt the budget this evening submit the final version to the department education and certify the taxes formalize construction contracts and award uh I'm sorry construction projects and award contracts continue to work with our legislators to pass a companion bill to a 4161 and that's the one that you were looking for Kyle a 4161 uh in the Senate which would restore some of the Lost state aid um our understanding would be up to 2third of our lost state aid so that could be um $1.2 million um develop a plan if a bill is approved and signed into law by the governor uh in summary uh this budget year has presented significant challenges we've had uh to make some tough decisions to preserve our programs the impact of S2 um the state aid formula on our district and the state uh and and state aid has been uh thoroughly discussed it's crucial that we impress Upon Our legislators the gravity of the fiscal um challenges we are confronting without recognition of these concerns and without the uh permissible cap adjustments many essential programs we cherish will inevitably be at the risk of elimination it's only a matter of time so Mr Arlington uh talked about some of those programs that we brought a further reduction in Aid uh next year probably would not be sustained and we'll probably lose some of those programs um the state should refrain from penalizing students and communities by implementing these uh substantial Aid reductions until the formula undergoes reassessment and adjustments therefore uh ongoing proactive engagement is Paramount without it we can anticipate further reductions in 2526 and with no reserves to cover the difference in a year like this we would can expect substantial programmatic changes are there any questions from the board members regarding presentation this evening this a416 would it help for the general public to contact their legisl yes especially yeah I mean it's it's important that uh my understanding is that assembly M cryan or I'm sorry Senator cryan is in support of the bill but any encouragement um from the community to um uh encourage him to pass that um uh would be encouraged thank you board members any questions about this about resolutions Mr ganal and Mr Arington no okay uh at this point we'd like to open up the meeting to the public can I please have a motion to open up the meeting to the public to the public I motion second motion made by Mrs Drogan SE seconded by Mr hather all those in favor of opening a meeting to the public please say I I oppos I have it motion carries Mr ganela the public uh public comment will now be accepted the Board of Education sets a limit for the public to speak at the board meeting to five minutes per person unless prior permission has been granted by the Board of Education to extend time pursuing to Board of Education bylaw 0167 for the record when you approach the podium please state your name uh and address prior to making your comments welcome someone to Forum if there's any public comment this time good evening Mr Arlington and the members of the Board of Education my name is Kelly Donovan and I'm a resident of kennworth um the address is 51 South 23rd Street apartment 2B or South 21st Street sorry I have two daughters one was a member of the class of 2021 and my other daughter is a current senior at brle I'm also a member of the graduating class of 1993 I'm here tonight to speak about the proposed budget cuts to the music program specifically Coral choir I had heard rumors a while back that there were plans to cut funding to the music department and then I came across a posting for a part-time Middle High School vocal teacher this upset me greatly because both of my children have benefited from the Corral quoir classes at David Burley for my girls this was where they found their love of singing and a real outlet for them socially and emotionally they have formed lifelong friendships through mutual interest in music Mrs Piva has played an integral part heart in fostering this passion for singing and finding their voices neither one of my children are athletically talented and have struggled for every grade that they have earned in school during and after the lockdowns for covid my children both suffered with their mental health they struggled more than ever and when school opened back up most days I had to force them to come into school their social skills suffered greatly and not being able to be around from not being able to be around their peers they developed severe social anxiety the one thing thing that got both of them to school each day was knowing that they had Coral class and after school choir to look forward to both Mrs Piva and Miss Boomer have worked so hard on building the bridge between the Middle High School choir programs and the grammar school program they've been actively growing the program and by having actively growing the program by having the children sing at the 911 ceremonies Mrs Piva accompanied the Harden choir during concerts and during the winter concert we had almost 60 students from both program singing together on one stage I'm a teacher myself so I understand the cuts need to be made when promise funding is not received however these Cuts should not affect the students for example for such a small District we are very heavy on administrative positions what is the purpose of having positions such as a director of academic operations and engagement we are making all of these upgrades to our buildings and auditoriums and I understand that that is separate funding however what's the purpose if there's not a program that promotes the love of Arts and Music to perform on these stages I implore you to take another look at the proposed budget and see if there's any way to help keep both positions in both the grammar and middle high school as full-time positions and rethink any other cuts to our desperately needed arts and music programs thank you thank you anyone else comments hi um my name is Amanda Tyra um I live in yion uh 799 Hemlock Road okay I'm here to speak on behalf of the choir as well so I'm a senior here at David Burley Middle and High School over the past six years I've had the pleasure to be in Miss P's choir I came here in seventh grade from Union after taking the Academy student test choir was the first group I joined at this school and instantly I was brought in and treated as part of the choir family even though I knew no one high schoolers were teaching me what they knew and Miss Piva helped me gain better control of my voice since then I have felt at home with these choir rehearsals excited walking into school at 7:45 in the morning to go sing with the choir first period And I am not a morning person this is all thanks to miss fiva a teacher who makes me want to get up in the morning she has this impact on countless other students as well in the academy class 44% of the kids are involved in the Arts whether that be band choir or the musical in the AP classes for example AP Literature and composition 45% of the students are are involved in band choir or the musical or art overall and 20% of that class alone is in choir and not just in choir but our choir leaders these kids in the Arts are our best students our top 10 our salutatorian and valedictorian our AP level students who are very involved in the Arts our valid dictorian last year was not only in choir as our choir manager but was the lead in our Musical and saying the national anthem at graduation choir has taught me so many great qualities because of Miss Piva I got to perform for seniors at the senior center multiple times in my choir career bringing joy for the day to a community by singing carols we all know and love choir tomm me had a lead as Miss Pila gave me the honor of assistant choir manager last year and choir manager this year along with Emily Donovan and giman I have had to help underclassmen with problem solving understanding music respect and most importantly understanding each other choir has also helped me with my confidence singing in front of so many people getting the opportunity to watch audition for solos Miss Piva has helped my confidence boom but also choir has helped me academically um choir gave me the motivation I needed to work harder in classes music was the key for me to understand work I remember making little Jingles about my lessons trying to understand my classes I'll never forget how many Jingles I had to make for AP biology right before that exam Miss Piva is also a great ear when you need someone to just listen sometimes that's all you need need and Miss Piva has been there for me to get through many anxious filled times she gave me the push I needed to keep pushing myself and it got me where I am today which I believe is a very successful student academically and student of the Arts if we cut our program down to part-time students won't have that connection um to really help them for the long run and feel connected to our choir students may also not have the chance to make that connection with teachers like Miss Piva where she has helped me through so many emotional struggles more times that I can count which is a shame for younger kids that won't have that connection to fall back on when they need someone to talk to a part-time teacher won't have the school won't be connected to the school long enough nor have the time to make the connection with these kids as Miss Piva has done these past like seven years at the end of the day all these famous people we know Elvis Whitney Houston and hathway even our former president Barack Obama were all involved in choir choir was very very important to them in their career and we have we could have the future Elvis or Whitney Houston right in our small little town of korth and it would be such a shame to cut such a largely important part of someone's growth into their future thank you thank you what choir uh Amanda right hi good job and what choir did you say you in this year um I am in the after school choir and chamber choir gotta good evening Mr Arlington and members of the board my name is Emily Donovan and I am a senior here at David barley over my six years at brle I haven't been the star of the sports teams nor am I going to be top of the class but what I have seen is truly something so much greater than any of that I have seen the love and dedication that Miss Piva has for music and through this I have grown a love for choir and music that words could never sum up I usually am a pretty shy and anxious person and have trouble talking in front of people choir and theater are truly two of the main things that have helped me with my anxiety it helps me express my emotions and have a community of people that no matter what will not judge me Miss Piva has been one of the best mentors for me during my time at burle it is so important to have a full-time music teacher at brle here no matter what time of the day it is she what time of day day it is she's here to help us she accommodates to our schedules with work and practices and she lets us come before school and after school and during lunch anytime we need to go over songs this is a valuable time that is lost if we don't have a full-time teacher here over my years of knowing and being taught by Miss Piva she has made an impact on every single student she has helped she is always willing to go over and over and over again on things to make sure that you are 100% conf confident in yourself because she wants you to Su succeed and feel confident in what you are doing she is always there to talk and listen no matter what even if she has a million other things going on she makes her class in no judgment free zone a judgment free zone no matter how many times you make a mistake you are never going to be made fun of she always listens to her students opinions and does what's best for them if we don't like a song we are doing she will change it and always takes feedback for what we want to do if we don't feel comfortable she will always go above and beyond to make sure her students feel better and confident these are things that might be lost if we get rid of the full-time music position there won't be as much time to go over and over things till we feel comfortable students will miss out on these amazing opportunities and time to bond with their music teacher students who feel like they don't belong might not be able to find this outlet and feel like they have an escape anytime they want so please think about the decision if you can of restoring the full-time music position thank you thank you well said any other members of the public you like to make a statement at this [Music] time hello my name is Connor wrick I live at 44 nor 13 Street here in kennworth tonight I will be speaking on behalf of Abby Donovan good evening everyone my name is Abby Donovan I started attending brle in freshman Europe high school after going to a school where everyone had known each other since prek it was terrifying to start a new environment no matter what was happening in or out of school choir and theater was always a safe haven for me sometimes choir was the only reason I showed up to school Miss Piva my parents and my friends can confidently say that freshman me and Senior year me were two completely different people and choir was a big part of that transformation it helped me break out of my shell taught me communication and teamwork skills and helped me showcase my leadership skills Junior and Senior year after becoming choir assistant manager and manager these skills have helped me in college and my career if you cut funding towards the music department you will rob students like me who were not athletically involved of the growth of their skills and creativity that will help them in their college experiences future careers and the real world I hope you keep this in mind when making your decision and I thank you for your time thank you how you doing Andy Rivera at Epping Drive uh I'll be short um moving forward when you make these considerations about budget cuts and things it doesn't take much to go find studies that show the benefits of having Arts and Music you know in education I myself work in the music industry I'm a DJ I'm a music producer uh I do stage and lighting I work in an industry of people who literally live and breathe music in the music industry there's careers there's you know there's jobs there there's side jobs there's apprenticeships there's all these things within this industry that if you don't expose the younger crowd to it they may never find that and they may never you know like the one person said if you you might have the next Whitney Houston but you don't know that if you don't give them the opportunity so just something to think about thank you hi I'm Carol I live at 86 Penbrook drive in kennworth and tonight I will be reading on the behalf of Faith Lobo class of 2022 choir David brely was what broke me out of my shell as a new transfer student freshman year I had always loved everything relating to theater and singing but lost my passion for a bit and realizing there was a community as small as it was in this new environment helped me open up in so many ways I met some of the best people who I've been friends with for five plus years and all thanks to this amazing and welcoming program theater and choir Bry the students and professors involved helped me reinstate This Love that I had and made me realize art and singing was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life by cutting funding towards this many people will lose out at the safe experience I had an environment where you feel like you can be yourself where you can meet people that will be with you for a lifetime a stepping stone into something greater a discovery of a passion you never knew you could have I urge you to make a smart decision in realizing that in our current Society art and music is something that is slowly losing power in many schools and and even in small ways such as helping maintain it in this one so so much can be done to help students creativity to be kept alive thank you thanks hello I'm Nick rer I live at 72 South Michigan Kenworth I'll be reading on the behalf of am Manor Gro class of 2023 joining choir at David Bry was one of the best decision decisions I've ever made during my high school years I wanted to pursue an education in music After High School and I knew choir would be important to me to participate in so that I could continue my passion of the Arts I'd always been in choir in my past schools prior to transferring to David Burley but it wasn't until I arrived here that I began to learn so many new ele Ms that go into music and the different connections you can make with it having after choir kept me busy and allowed me to make friends in a new place where I was still trying to find my place through choir at David Bley I met some of my best friends that I still have today and I would have connected with them so well if it wasn't for our shared interest and commitment to the music program this is so much that is needed in order for the program to fully run itself and many times our teachers have has to give up their own time and money in order to fully support the program and students a part of it the Arts will always be the first to get cut it is the first thing that you may think isn't important as other programs in school however acquir David barly I would have been able to get my recommendation letter for college I would have never learned the proper techniques needed to fulfill addition requirements I wouldn't have learned basic theory for college courses and I wouldn't have been able to continue with music the way I have it was a huge stepping stone for my life and music is one of the best things we have in this world to keep us connected I ask that you consider working around this decision and coming to an agreement that would allow for the choir to continue working hard and providing to you why our budget is so important thank you thank you any other public do you like to make a comment good evening my name is alisandra banaki I live at 8 North nth Street in Kenworth and I'm a parent of a br nth grader and a Harding fifth grader I'm here tonight because I'm very concerned about the budget cuts being proposed is there anything as t as taxpayers and parents that we can do which I appreciate that you answered this question obviously after I wrote this um because we'd be happy to put that word out there to put pressure on the state officials to get the funding back I understand Cuts may need to be made but they should not be made to the people who directly interact with our children our teachers are the heart of our schools and it is the teachers to directly impact our children's learning again this was written before some of the information tonight the potential loss of a music program is extremely upsetting I am really happy to hear that you're open to those two positions being full-time again I know you're hearing a lot about Mrs Piva and deservedly so please understand that you may not be hearing Mrs Boomer's name as much because her students are little but she means just as much uh to us at Hardy the idea that we could see an increase in class size is also a major concern cutting teachers and increasing class size is a short-term budget solution which ultimately proves very costly reduced class sizes especially at the Early Elementary level help where we should help to identify uh early student learning needs before they require more costly interventions Services later again I understand Cuts may need to be made but they should not be at such a detriment to our children so I do have a question as far as like I know the one full-time position at the high school being potentially a part-time position and differentiating fact from fiction so I'd like to hear the fact is are there other teachers being cut is there a reduction in the number of Staff members and actual teachers in the classroom because that idea of class size is increasing at the elementary school is a huge concern so there's no reduction in force from teacher to no teacher okay um there are non there are positions that won't be replaced as a result of attrition right retirements Rec or non-renewals based on performance class sizes and K5 next year are slated to be between 19 and 21 perfect thank you very much I really appreciate that I feels reasonable yes good evening Randy Lov Chuck 79 Park Drive uh I didn't prepare anything to say today because I wanted to hear from great to hear from the students but also everybody up here um with what's going on with this budget and um we're being thrown a bunch of numbers that quite honestly don't mean much to us it's really hard for us to understand it um but I think you just answered a very important question in a different way than what the previous speaker was asking we are going to be losing teachers they're retiring and are not being replaced correct class sizes yes and class sizes so so we are losing teachers they're not getting fired they're not getting laid off we're losing yeah next year there will be fewer FTE in their so I think at some point we really need to look at what's going on our test scores suck the kids aren't getting the education they need the the people that are speaking that seem to be the top of their class are losing losing something that's important to them and like somebody else said the administrative Administration that are not being involved with the kids maybe we could lose some of them and keep teachers but it's always things that make the news that people want to cut because that's what gets the attention that's not what it should be it should be about the kids and the stuff that they need to keep them going and it seems like that's been lost somewhere thank you any the public like to make any comment at this time good evening John Hartman 72 South Michigan Avenue um I also didn't prepare anything tonight um but here in Andy talk um I kind of partner off of that I graduated here 2017 um and I'm also in the Arts I'm a professional lighting designer I've worked on on every Broadway show in New York for the most part for 3 years um I'm kind of choked up from it because I can understand um students here getting uh gaining a relationship with a teacher um to really become who they are and be open to learning and and figuring out who they are and what they want to do and something that they've never experienced before um and unfortunately that person for me um was here at this school um she pushed me and pushed me and pushed me um and it wasn't until I was ready to graduate when I figured out what I wanted to do um I never wanted to go to college and I ended up going to college um I graduated uh had an absolute great time and have a huge huge great professional career um but I want to stress how important it is for students like this to stand up here and say you know that a teacher like Miss Piva to be as important to them um it's very very imperative because you don't realize how important somebody is until they're not here anymore um and that person for me who was a teacher at this school is not here anymore um it's it's very very very big to cut the Arts and like as somebody else was saying that it's the first thing to go it really is the first thing to always go um it's not a sport it's not you know uh maybe an educative class in terms terms of you know something that we see as a profession um but like Andy said it is it's a profession these are things that you don't realize you want to do these are things that you don't realize what it's about um but some of these kids who have a hard time coming to school every day um Miss pip is that one teacher who might be able to make it easier for them to come here and open up and be who they are um so really really I think if we can rethink what those budget cuts are doing in terms of in the Arts into specific students um you know I'm not saying to change it to a different area where then those students are suffering but I mean the students can't suffer um I suffered for a long time with the same thing that these students did and it wasn't until I was graduating when I found who I was and I thank that teacher from the bottom of my heart um and I just wish that she was able to be here today to see what I've done um and I know that I'm sure miss Piva feels the same way about her students to be a part of her their everyday life to see what they're doing in school and out of school and that if they do create a professional career out of it as some of the students talked for students who were not able to be here tonight um I think it means a lot that people are willing to speak on behalf of their time here and what it was able to do for them in their future um so please like it's it is such a big part like I said I stick with Andy behind it I was not planning on speaking tonight but it's I come from here from this school and I I I learned my theater life and music life right here in this building so to hear that it you know can potentially be going away um completely in the future or even just a little bit now um I would really really appreciate as much as I'm sure the residents and students would to rethink that and figure out what the best plan could be thank you good evening my name is Aranda Cunningham 132 South 23rd Street kennworth um just a few words cutting the music department Styles the creativity of students which has been proven to to impact other areas of academics to site to site a study that was uh mentioned uh done by University of British Columbia and 100,000 students found that students who were required to take music from kindergarten through 12th grade had higher state standardized scores than their non-music counterparts the experiment was controlled for gender race ethnicity and socio economic status and across all of the aforementioned categories students who took music scored higher music has influenced our lives and the world um to cut music from our schools is to carve out a piece of our history and act like it never existed if the Board of Education truly cared about the best interest of our students why not give them the resources to succeed via music thank you any other public like to speak at this time before we close no okay thank you at this time we'll have a motion to close the meeting to the public second second okay motion made by Mr David seconded by Mrs jogan all those in favor of closing the meeting to the public please say I opposed eyes have it motion Carri Mr canalo we prepared to uh vote on resolutions yes uh we have three resolutions that need to be voted on prior to going to close the executive session um this is where resolutions one through three on the agenda do need any of those need to be voted on separately no that the have close s okay uh resolution this is for Resolutions one through three on the agenda biner yes David yes Drogan yes Ferrar yes hather yes M yes tears yes Zimmerman um you didn't give me a chance to say whether they want to be separated when I was checking on the numbers I'm no on number one yes on two and three all right I'm going to redo that people so resolutions numbers one is resolution number one on the agenda biner yes David yes Drogan yes Ferrara yes hather yes M yes yes tears yes Zimmerman no panichi yes motion carries 8 to one this is resolutions two and three on the agenda biner yes David yes Drogan yes Ferrara yes ather yes Le yes te yes Zimmerman yes Kenichi yes motion to carry unanimously okay Mr Canal is there a need to go into uh yes there is session okay can I please have a motion to go into close session motion to close second okay motion made by Mrs Joan seconded by Mr hather all those in favor of going to close session please say I I oppos eyes have it motions carry Mr ganella okay uh be resolve the board education Board of Education meet in private session from which the public shall be excluded to discuss the topics of negotiations Kaa PSA and uh SBA uh annual contract and personnel employe number 0375 which private discussion is being held pursuing to section 7 B and 8 of the open public meetings act the matter is under discussion will be disclosed to the public as soon as final decisions are made and voted upon thank you um okay um biner yes David yes Drogan yes Ferrara yes hather yes MTI yes tis yes zerman yes Pichi yes okay uh this will this will conclude the live stream for this evening we will be returning later on to possibly vote on an additional resolution that is on this evening's agenda but that will not be um uh live streamed because we will be in a close session for a little while thank you for coming thank you for your comments