all right should be my plan should be my plan B good evening this meeting will be called to order this is a regular meeting of the Oakland Board of Education adequate notice of this meeting has been provided and a schedule of regular meetings is that was adopted at our reorg meeting on January 2nd is on our website uh for a roll call Bethy Mrs Ezekiel here Mrs Vel here Mr STS here Mrs rotando here Mr McMullan here Mrs marmian here Mr schaer here Mrs butchko here please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge Allegiance to the FL of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all all right there's no executive session at this time so we're going to move right into section three which is the budget presentation bethan Dr m that's okay um good evening everybody thank you for being here and so the theme moving into 2425 is shifting from recovery to rigor and so for the last three years we've really been dedicated we've been dedicated in uh recovering from the pandemic uh and so we now believe that it is appropriate to dramatically shift our approach based on what we've learned over the last three years and really to be able to double down on the things that work well um and then move away from some of the things that we don't believe are paying that same level of of dividend uh and focus on a rigorous instructural environment for all students and so we're grounded by our uh Mission Vision and values and so that's the guiding principle for how we make decisions uh how we develop programs and how we make strategic Investments and so um the number one question what is our budget Challenge and so unfortunately uh this year we were notified by the state that we were going to see a dramatic decrease uh in overall uh state aid uh we were one of 140 uh school districts across the state of New Jersey that saw significant decreases in state aid um we are thankful that our uh board leadership as well as uh school and District leadership and many of our community members went to bad and advocated at the State uh and we're going to talk a little bit uh later in the presentation about how we can continue to put pressure on the state for a fair and more Equitable funding formula that does not disproportionately uh impact uh the students both in our community as well as communities across the state of New Jersey and so we received a total reduction of roughly 632,000 in in reductions to state aid uh with a net increase of about 22 to 20 uh uh $33,000 of additional funding due to our school choice program which gives us a net difference of $610,000 which accounts for about a 177% decrease in overall state aid in a single year um and so that is our budget Challenge and so moving into uh this particular budget cycle we wanted to make sure um that two things took place that working closely with our school leadership team is that we prioritized um how do we maintain a continuity of service and then also uh how do we make sure that to the highest degree possible uh we maintain the integrity and the consistency of our staffing uh no short order um and you're going to hear more about how the numbers uh fell and what is uh in the budget and then what is uh unfortunately uh not uh in in in this current budget so it's a a a note in the actual presentation that actually gives the breakdown uh well I I sh I shared it and so our uh net uh reduction in state aid was six was more than the 610 and so the net 610 loss is based on the 22 21 $22,000 in additional Revenue that came from our school choice program but the actual reduction from the state was $632,000 okay okay and so when we think about what is our responsibility um as a a school district is to analyze our current systems and to remove barriers that are preventing our young people from being successful it's to shift sh into building capacity uh for the sole purpose of instructional Improvement we want to make sure that we're supporting and highlighting effective teaching and then we also want to make sure that we are supporting our leaders on campus and in classrooms and then we also want to make sure that we're supporting and retaining our faculty and staff and so bethan is going to share with you uh the actual financials can everybody hear me okay okay um so no big surprise no large enrollment growth in Oakland um I'm estimating about an increase of a net three children overall that includes um the children that you send to Collingswood Middle School and Collingswood High School as Dr McDow alluded to um when I started here in Oakland 2013 state aid was roughly 32 to 33% or more of your budget On Any Given Year we're now down below uh the 30% Mark for State support for your local school school district um so what that means it's a larger draw on your tax levies there's going to be more that your taxpayers are going to have to pay to support the schools um and that's roughly 61.21 per of your overall uh revenues in is is in support from local tax levy what's helping this this budget and I caveat that help is not the best term but it's going to be getting us through 2425 is at the end of last school year in July we received a letter from the Department of Ed with an and again this makes zero sense to anybody who's listening but we received an additional $400,000 on state aid at the end of the school year that they awarded us for maintenance of equity okay fine we took it luckily um we hadn't spent it all in this school year so when we got notice of the state aid reductions we were able to sit with Mrs Balden and my assistant Steve Burns we rewrote the expiring Esser and RP grants to include those items that Mrs Balden needs for um supplies and curriculum the Chromebooks the things that we need the day-to-day things you need in your classroom one-time purchases we were able to use the those Monies to lower our 2425 expenses so I'm estimating a 6.15% budgeted fund balance so what that means is it usually when we' finish the audit year any funds unspent above the state threshold becomes excess Surplus and it's to be used in future Year's budgets I'm declaring as much as I possibly can in 2425 to balance this budget so once I spend that $625,000 it's gone so I caveat all of this we were able to work out 2425 mathematically but as Mr STS knows we've been here before once I spend that 600,000 it's going to take us a long time to recoup that money but the good news is thank God we had it so a lot of the things that we need like the Chromebook replenishments and things like that um we're able to order so next year you know we won't be you know we're not going to skip a beat with what the kids need in the classroom I'm also exhausting our maintenance Reserve account you're allowed to have two Reserve accounts um per the state one for capital projects and one for maintenance um you have 304,000 uh dollars in maintenance Reserve I withdrawing that um to pay for the maintenance line items in your budget all that to balance um to balance out your budget to reduce the number of uh Cuts we had to make even though we made several more than several um so here's a pie chart just so you can see um again about 61% of your budget is local so we may have to get creative and future years on how we generate more local without it being taxes um expenditures just a quick breakdown almost 81% of this budget is purely instruction meaning it's it's staff its salaries and benefits and its services Direct Services to Children um 978,000 is student services so that would be like Health um child study team facilities about 64,000 again that's where the 304,000 of the maintenance Reserve is going against that 64,000 and about 370,000 in me in administrative costs so about 3.63% is Administrative costs um and that's kind of how it breaks down so as small as we are and as mighty as we are 81% of this budget is directly servicing children and that's how we want it year-over-year comparison um for your tax levy 20 through 24's tax levy was 5.9 million next year's tax levy uh is uh 6.2 million with a difference of $244,800 so it's one to talk about the numbers and now it's uh it's now important for us to make those numbers real and so our our first priority is to support rigorous learning and so making sure that we're providing high quality engaging and differentiated instruction uh adjusting our uh multi-tier system of support so these are the most intensive supports for our neediest of students uh support the expansion of our plc's and so over the last two years we have worked in Oakland to refine um how our Educators meet what they meet about um and that has helped maintain a continued level of growth uh year over-year based on their Collective efforts in their professional learning communities um increasing the effectiveness and the quality of professional development this will be in partnership with with Collingswood and so what we're trying to do is Place greater emphasis on how do you uh uh more effectively personalize professional development given we have very a much wider range of educator within our school system and so we have new to the profession we have mid-career and then we have Master Level Educators and so how do you make sure that you've got quality learning experiences for all of those categories of Staff uh addressing the mandated curriculum shifts specifically in literacy and Mathematics and then reinforcing our student support model which is Academic School culture and mental health and then also how are we building capacity for more inclusive classrooms and so what are those actual Investments and so uh maintaining uh character strong which is helping students build positive relationships and meaningful connections on campus aligned with our goals around social emotional learning maintenance of our uh full-time social worker who provides wraparound um social emotional academic family based support to both students staff and uh uh family uh positive School culture continue our Equity foundation training um and extending that to instructional assistance and support staff in this upcoming uh school year uh maintenance of learning acceleration providing small group instruction to all students but then providing tier two and tier three intensive support to select students maintenance of our of our special education uh programs self-contained resource pushin supplemental and related Services um updating of our curriculum platforms and also the resources aligned to the new standards for our Educators shifting from cycles of evaluation comprehensively to uh cycles of observations and constructive feedback among our Educators uh and then also looking at how do we uh put a better foot forward with our instructional assistance in their overall overarching compensation and so District priority number two is supporting our infrastructure how do we make sure that we provide appropriate Works Space for all staff how do we recapture educational space within our school how do we continue to improve Safety Services and student support and then how do we continue to maintain our our facility and then plan for the future and then uh updating of our technology services and support and then improving commity communication and so those Investments include um planning for a future expansion of preschool and so uh for the first time um in a long time Oakland actually has a waiting list for preschool and so uh we'll be looking closely at the numbers between now and and and the summer moving into September to determine in subsequent years do we need to expand and add an additional preschool class uh because we fully believe that having access to high quality early Hood education should be a right of every Oakland uh family uh long range facilities plans making sure that uh ongoing projects in general maintenance uh does not lag in service and then also um and this is a conversation that has come up as as recently is making sure that every student has a safe route to school whether they are students that attend uh the Oakland School campus or Oakland students that are going across uh the highway or uh the um uh Pike Highway the pike um making sure that they get to the middle in the high school we're also seeking to partner with uh agencies that work exclusively in Camden County we uh just found out last week there are uh Grant dollars available for research studies additional equipment and we want to take advantage of that um we also want to take a look at uh updating um our biking policies and making sure that we are a more bike friendly School District with additional equipment and access for uh for bike storage um in addition to uh technology services and support looking at student and staff device replenishment we are a onetoone Computing environment and we want to make sure that the equipment is sufficient for students to be able to uh uh fully access the curriculum and so we're going to be looking at our Chromebook policies and deployment and also the way in which we store our devices as well as improving customer service and the technical assistance response time from the technology team while also looking at our cyber security protocols as well as data protection for faculty uh staff and students in addition to communication media Outlet engagement continually uh making improvements to our our website as well as digging a bit deeper into uh social media with overall Community engagement and so bethanne is going to share with you uh some of the cost-saving measures uh that have assisted in this process uh those of you who have been around Oakland for a while most of these you know but um we're currently looking for grant opportunities um our joint Insurance Ventures uh the buring County Joint Insurance Fund every year we get rebates back um from our insurances and that does help that brings some miscellaneous income back into the district because you're co- owners of The Joint Insurance funds um we're members of The Alliance for competitive energy uh sources utility Consortium with New Jersey school boards Association um they competitively bid out um our electric and gas um to get a cheaper rate um if there's a co-op for purchases uh we are on it both callings ncle and I've signed I've signed you about for every Co-op that ever there was so if we can buy something via a co-op where it's already bid um we do a lot of that in the area of facilities um shared services goes without saying Collingswood and Oakland we share just about everything um and that's really saved both districts on more than one occasion because both districts get the value of full administrative Services buildings and grounds but when gets to be a budget crisis like this you really start to see the cost savings measures because you just you just see the value of everything that we share we're two different districts but we literally share everything um transportation we utilize cam County Ed Services Commission um Oakland Public Works does our trash removal and then again by providing robust um highquality preschool and developing and strengthening your in District programs we do keep a lot of kids in District for their special ed services some do go out but we not very many so that's to be applauded um because we do we do keep a lot of um a lot of our Learners in District yeah yeah I believe well no that's um the 18 to 21 year old program in Collingswood and there might be one or two Oakland residents on there and there might be one or two Oakland children on the 18 18 to 21 year old program that utiliz that bus oh sorry I'm trigger happy oh I'm sorry there you go didn't want to do it uh the shared services Oakland collinswood Oakland collinswood borrow what does collinswood borrow do for us I think I should say Oakland B who does the maintenance it really should say both so okay well because Collingswood burrow we have Collingswood school district has shared services with Collingswood burrow for custodial they lower our overall custodial cost for both districts because we also clean um some of our full-time custodians also clean for the burrow yes the the school district cleans for the burrow yes but I'm not sure what the burrow does for the school district I just told you like it lowers the overall cost of the custodial that I then Farm out to O how I lower the salaries accordingly for the staff if you're lowering our salaries they must be doing something for us okay okay never mind yeah I mean it's part of the again when I do the shared service contracts and I've said this probably a thousand times but I'll say it a thousand one times um when I do the shared service contract I look at the actual staff performing the services and I only charge oak lind's prish share but we lower it if there's two or three parties getting the benefit of it I'm only charging you your share I'm not charging you I said all of it I'm only charging you like the piece that is like for example the bus in addition to the 18 to 21 year old program having um some Oakland residents on it it also runs to woodlin to pick up Oaky middle schoolers so they can participate in some clubs and activities in colins would so it's it's just the use of um picks up Oakland students in Woodland Woodland students of Woodland sorry but you know what I me when I'm my question is it's not an it's for um uh it's not an Oakland Bus and I just want to make sure that that's clear on there okay that it's a Collingswood bus okay um because I don't want there to be confusion that Oakland has a bus that we can use for class trips we don't have a bus and I just I want to make sure that that's clear to anyone watching so the van that Dr some of our students to the elementary I don't know what fan you're referring to yeah those are private buses yeah not not District yeah this is a Collingswood bus that we try to use as often as possible for everybody um and then like Dr McDow alluded to earlier um post budget we're going to be asking for for your support um this is this document is going to be a PDF I'm going to put it on the website those links are active but um we need to stay mindful of we got this balance we got this budget to balance but we're not out of the woods the governor has to have his budget balanced by June 30th the state aid formula has expired we need to have our voices heard so as many people who can click on and just inundate the Senators and assembly people with the concerns that we have for our school district the better they said I volunteered to sit on any committee that the Senators wanted I would just everybody just get it out there get your neighbors just inundate them with the concerns we have for Oakland because it's $600,000 cut in a one school school district again we were able to sustain it for one year if it comes again I don't I don't know what the state's going to expect of the burrow at this point so we really need to get out there and scream and yell um as much as we possibly can I have questions but I'm going to go back to my mic thanks um I guess first question can you please add that presentation to our board docs it's not in there um so that's the first question the second question is um I didn't look at the links um because we don't have the presentation yet for the legislative letters it's the same one on the current okay so I just wanted to make sure and I haven't looked at them recently I know Teresa brought up that they didn't have numbers in them and I think it's important that for the Oakland Community it has Oakland numbers in it so I just want to make sure that that is complete adjust mine but I'm of course I'm in the no I'm not you know a parent in District and who has time if we can make that clear y because I want to make it as easy as possible for people to just put their name address whatever and send it which which numbers are you you referring to the our budget numbers so where are the letters on our our website right now the the they're the ones that were sent out to the community their house on the homepage correct so those when they were sent out it just had like a blank and so I just want to make sure that if we're referencing um cuts that we're using the O number for Oakland specifically that's she wants the form to have the money that got cut so that when they're advocating and they're saying hey we got cut this much that it's on there and parents and communities don't have to look for the number to fill it in so let me let me provide a bit of clarity in terms of pro process of where we are and so the current funding formula expires and so while they are determining um the new funding formula it's more important to advocate for the the fairness and the equity than it is to get loss in the minutia of the numbers that then may cause more questions and so I think that there is a a widespread level of advocacy of the flaws at its highest level that the current formula is fundamentally flawed for example the current funding formula takes household income as a factor even though there's no way to leverage utilize um uh uh the household income um for funding and so for example if a billionaire moves into Oakland and lives in a $300,000 home it doesn't matter whether they're a billionaire they're still living in a $300,000 home and therefore the revenue generated from that particular home is unchanged and so but the state is looking at people's overall income as a factor which is causing a disproportionate burden specifically in smaller communities like oen that has a smaller number of taxpayers and they're saying oh you have Community wealth you should be paying more in taxes and we know that that is putting a unnecessary tax burden on community members and so if we get folks to focus more on the fairness and the equity of the formula um they're going to be arguing for the next 6 to 12 months the numbers at the state level and so we believe that there is uh greater levels of Power with large swats of community members fighting for fairness and equity and reductions in tax burden opposed to the specific numbers um but we we can do that I just I I don't know if the the folks that we're reaching out to are looking at that level of specificity I'm so sorry I'm I've got everything in front of me sorry Denise you sent out to our community according to the state's recently released stated funding insert District name will receive insert District amount reflecting a insert percentage decrease I had to go back into board docs to find that information a parent of multiple kids doing a million things has no time put that information in the sample letter that's what Denise was we will update it we'll update it and that's the one that's on the website so I just need to make sure that that is updated for what we want the message to be and uh really quick too if if we could also have maybe work together or someone have a script on talking about that Equitable you know the equity of the uh gross income you know like something to say about that as well um instead of just like the blank slate but also you know as as what you're saying they're going to be arguing the numbers but maybe in that argument or in that copy paste that you guys can make for us would also state like hey this is why we believe this is happening um maybe you should go back and look at the formula because Elon Musk moved into Oakland and it's not fair can I go back to another question I know that there's a lot to discuss but I want to clarify something so on this document here where we have a romance Advertiser romance right oh sorry it it's not consistent with what we saw there and so the numbers we saw in the presentation which was 501 and 23 24 and 504 and 2425 this doesn't include preschool I don't think but why is it so changed from this to this so it went from 240 and 23 to 185 and 24 I have to go back and check I used the this is the middle column is your actual Assa so I'd have to look but the total why it's not five whatever is um you're that this doesn't include preschool okay and the advertised enrolls in the budget is not we I add the preschool and the preschool screen but it doesn't include preschool so when I so back in March I asked for the enrollment October enrollment report to be added to our monthly enrollment report so it wasn't added but the full document's there this includes prek for to get the 500 number I believe it's 240 and 26 69 so I just want to make sure that we are always looking at the right numbers um 24269 is 509 so it's right round about the 500 number and these were the numbers again 22 is the actual 23 is the actual this is an estimate so I did it based on the kids that I had at the time when I did the budget right so my question is this did not include prek in 22 and 23 I can't answer 22 right now I can go back and look for you I just I I look at when I do the estimate I look at the asssa and I all the grades up and I take the middle school I move to the high school and so forth and then I count special it so you're looking at this this report here and you're just moving everybody up a year yeah so I would have to go back a couple years to answer a question from a couple years ago because it looks like on this that there's a a big drop in enrollment right and it's possible 55 kids and that report is showing a droing enrollment and it's possible preschool that's and it's possible it's preschool but yeah what I showed you is every children every kid in this building but that makes no sense what doesn't make sense yeah no I'm just I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that the budget presentation as 500 roundabout as the number um which will include prek and is consistent with last year but if we take out pre that I'm I'm just trying to make some at all because it looks like it's a huge change in enrollment whereas we're telling our message is our enrollment hasn't changed that's that's my concern well the projected enrollment that I actually put in the budget document the preschool is entered on the preschool screen not on there that's why it didn't roll okay like there's a detailed budget projection report that I have to fill out so what is the preate number there then wa four classrooms 6 15 15 ping by four 16 got it okay and that would add up then okay so it's not on here okay all right thank you wa wa on that question now the the actual 23 was 240 and I understand that comes from the assc so that that's fine where' the estimate for 24 come from I looked at the again the asssa that Denise has and I rolled everybody up minus prek because prek has their own separate budget I see what you're saying yeah yeah it's always going to be wonky because prek has their own budget document that's included in this document so that makes sense but what I present to the community is all the kids in your building plus those you're responsible for that go to collinswood your resident children I yeah I have a question about part of the presentation which again I don't have it in front of me but it you had said 81% of our budget is for instruction is that instruction by staff in our building or does that include shared services with Collingswood that have something to do with instruction all right let me get very detailed depends on the account number um it may if we we share um know the nurse is a student service it includes tuition to Collingswood because that's direct instruction so it does include your tuition to Collingswood includes um faith hi istus because she's instructional um she's in the building right but she shared with Collingswood Shar right so she would be in your account number trying to think who else is instructional that would be in there but it's all the people in your building their salaries their benefits all of their supplies their curriculum stuff it's um Chromebooks anything instructional um child stud team is considered a student services nursing is considered a student service um but again tuition is direct instruction transportation is a student service anything else so I just want to address I guess the piece that were I don't know if it was covered in the budget and I in the presentation I just missed it but that we're going to be down to learning acceleration teachers next year and so I just wanted to see if anyone I just want to make that clear that that's kind of the net effect of this state cut is that we're going to be down to positions and seems like that should be part of the presentation it certainly does um correct me if I'm wrong we're going from 5 to three um so that would be forgive me for not having the numbers three Educators to to help with the tier 2 tier three and the multi-tiered support system that was referenc in this the at risk students who are at the lower end of one of our distal priorities to remove barriers um it's beyond disappointing how many students total is are three learning acceleration teachers supposed to be servicing again can someone give me that number is it 12 classrooms got it 50% got it 40% technically right is my strong suit yeah I want to say I just want to make a comment about it it's this this obviously this budget um has been I mean I thought last year was hard um this this has been really tough um and um not easy to come at and it's I guess a credit to our building and our building leaders that we've had such good retention um I think if we had teachers leaving we could just not fill positions and that I mean it's the same that effect but um it's it's hard when there's people involved and I just wanted to say that as the board president you know I know that we're in a position we have to balance the budget we have to raise taxes we have to do all these things and we're still um not able to provide the same level of Staffing we did the previous year um I just also want to make a comment that we did talk previously that those positions weren't always here they were added after um covid to help address learning loss so the I guess the final effect is that we're returning to um preco Staffing numbers and again I just kind of hope that that would have been part of the presentation because I think it's important to look at the big picture of all of it um where we were where where we were able to add staff with additional federal funds where we're going to be next year with a huge decrease in state aid and the biggest concern right now well it's not the biggest but it is a big concern is what happens next year um so we don't have any more Bank cap we can't raise taxes anymore beyond the 2% so next year we're going to really be crunching numbers if we don't get um the state aid numbers up and so it's really important um if the PTA can help and get the message out um we really need to push advocacy it's like big time um we need everybody um so that's it I just wanted to say that thank you does anyone else have any questions about the budget I just want to make a comment to point out that we have nine students on the waiting list for preschool this burough Contin to grow we needed to start thinking about 25 26 yesterday and as a board we need to take a really hard look at our budget lines yeah rais is an interesting question because um we really could use that additional prek room well one of the rooms that Collingswood is using we could potentially use it for Oakland students um and then if we do that then we're not getting the the uh rent from Collingswood for using that space too so there's there'll be a lot to consider moving forward and I don't know hopefully we can get all the kids off the waiting list can I just make a comment that this this presentation that we have that wasn't part of the the official presentation but these papers that we We Got Tonight with our agenda uh yes along with the presentation with the information that was on the Pres presentation would have been really helpful in discussing this back when rather than getting it tonight when we have to vote on it if we'd had that information everything was attached to board docs last week so you have it you've had it had that lastek oh did we okay my bad so I had it for a whole week I made sure you guys had everything every month and you had last week when we did the full board committee the whole enclos session discussion of budget and positions you had the entire budget document which is 80 Pages you had the userfriendly budget and the advertised budget which is what went to the paper because there's so I don't know what else was all there yeah forg power points of presentation so forgive me for not reviewing that 80 page document but that document was also attached I'm saying it it was there so somewhere in the 80 pages and Etc no it was it's a separate attachment so I'm going to go back a few years but I kind of recall um sitting around this table this is going back five years and always thinking it was so strange that we got the pre budget presentation twice we got it once in March and then again in April when we actually voted on it and we saw the PowerPoint both months and at the time I was like why are we seeing the budget twice but it would be helpful to have that presentation um before tonight also so I do agree with that well I appreciate your feedback but please understand we were working until Sunday on these documents I mean um I'm going to get a little crusty here I mean I I to will take the feedback it's my job but we were literally as you very well know between the two districts literally crunching numbers and in some cases we still are so I don't want to present something that's not correct to have it be questioned and to be in cried rather we give you the most accurate information as I possibly could and so that is why the presentation was not given last month because we were still literally moving as of last week as of when we met I understand that as well and I'm not asking for it a month ago because that was we had like two weeks to put the budget together that that's not what I'm saying um but just having it here in the board docks would be helpful once it's done okay are there any more questions about the budget before we move on to Committee of the whole okay hearing none is there a motion to move into Committee of the whole so moved second moved and seconded all in favor all right we are now in Committee of the whole um do you want to start DR McDow do you want us to start I know that you were going to address some of the things at the high [Music] school sure um and so because there is uh due to the uh intimate nature of the relationship between Collingswood and Oakland it's important that albeit um incidents did not take place at the Oakland School campus uh they do have a uh an effect on Oakland students who attend our middle and high school campus and so what I am referencing is um on Wednesday April 17th uh we convened a meeting among uh the Collingwood buau the police department the Board of Education and the district to address Community concerns related to um allegations of racial bias at Collingwood High School and so we're not going to go into specifics um about the uh investigations who did what when where or how uh other than to say that uh active investigation um are uh uh held in the highest of confidence especially when there are young people involved uh and so as as Community leaders we acknowledge that the hurt pain and fear often associated with these allegations um is real uh and it impacts um uh residents both uh adults and children alike and so we share a clear and strong commitment to focus on the healing of our communities uh while simultaneously continuing to build on the work that we've done to create a more inclusive and understanding uh environment and so the process that we've been talking about in Collingswood really requires honesty openness empathy and courage um if we are going to be able to move forward and to begin to dismantle the harmful effects of racism and so we encourage parents and community members to talk to their children their friends and Neighbors about racism and bias in any form and its profound effect that it has uh on all of us and so in the coming weeks we're going to continue to provide resources that focus on deeper uh Community conversations and so right now we are partnering with the New Jersey Division of civil rights uh to provide workshops that do a deep dive into anti-bias topics uh proactively addressing discrimination and harassment in real world situations um and then um those uh sessions will be offered at the uh Collingswood senior community center and the Perkins Center for the Arts on uh May 21st and uh June 4th respectively uh additionally on May 16th uh at the um uh the sponsorship of the Collingswood school district and the Collingswood Community uh Dei committee we will host uh a panel discussion entitled amplifying black voices providing an opportunity to hear directly from uh colling food residents of color and so moreover we're also going to be collaborating with a community uh uh based website uh that is co- uh constructed between the school district and the burrow that includes resources upcoming events and then updates to the work um that will continue uh and that'll be uh beginning in May and so while we work um on all of these very challenging topics uh we're also making available the New Jersey bias crime hotline um as well as on our uh both of our district websites uh students have the opportunity uh and the and are afforded the ability to file uh harassment intimidation and bullying uh claims um or complaints uh on the homepage of of of of our websites and so we currently we we acknowledge that there are there's no such thing as a short fix when it comes to these long-standing multigenerational issues um and we don't have all of the answers uh but we believe that through Collective effort and shared responsibility uh we can dismantle these uh hurtful barriers we can uh increase levels of understanding and then we can create a culture that focuses on all young people um having a sense of belonging uh and so we just wanted to make sure that we were not shying away uh from this challenging um issue uh but we were also reassuring um our communities both in Collingwood Oakland and Woodland that despite uh what we are uh dealing with with as of today um we have made um significant strides in progress along the way and so we don't ever want to um not acknowledge uh we're not where we want to be but we're not where uh we were uh and so we're going to continue to move this work forward does anyone have any questions about that on the outside chance and I haven't upset everybody yet tonight I'm going to take another swing at it uh and this this touches on it it deals directly with with the problems at at colinwood high school recently but it deals with the bond issue from Collingswood uh I would bet the Collingswood board there's probing not one member on that board that knows where the corner of Sloan and Harrison is in Collingswood but the kids that live there will have to walk 1.8 miles to get to the new edifice that's uh under the bond issue and they're told by the chairman of the Dei committee for Collingswood that they don't care there there's going to be no busing you just get to school I think 1.8 miles for a kid that's 9 or 10 years old is an awful lot twice a day in all kinds of weather and to go with that you're going to close sharp school which admittedly is the oldest school in in the bur but it ignores the fact that there's a big addition on the back of it that's newer than Zan North Zay North is two blocks from the proposed new school it would make a lot more sense to have those kids walk an extra two blocks than it would have the kids at Collingswood or in West collinswood uh walk 1.8 miles uh that's that's an awful long way H and sharp school has the largest minority enrollment of any of the Collingswood elementary schools uh those kids for the most part live in West Collingswood those kids are also losing their elementary school they're going to have to walk as much as 1.8 miles to get to school and it's college with talks a very good game they don't practice a very good game the opportunity to uh show that those those kids in West C with that the B really cares about them is lost because you're closing the school you're making them walk and you've said that you don't care how they get to school and the chairman of your your DJI committee Mr Smith has said that so let me um let me correct the record uh that was that is that is not an appropriate characterization of what was said what was said is that we are a walking District as uh dictated by State Statute and what we what we said was that we are going to work collectively to ensure that all young people have uh safe routes to school we did not say that we did not care nor that we did not acknowledge that Transportation was a challenge what we said was that we were going to take every possible op option put it on the table and see what we would be able to do given that the proposed changes in Collingswood would not take effect until September of 2027 and that we would be taking substantial periods of time including we've already begun engaging in network around safe routs to school and uh a possible uh uh Transportation levels of support we've already started that work now in preparation because we don't believe we should wait until September of 2027 to ensure that that kids have safe routes to school and so I just want to make sure that we're all on the same page in terms of um what it is versus what it's not and so at the end of the day uh we have been pretty clear and pretty consistent um for over well over a decade that Collingwood elementary schools have been significantly overc capacity for many many years what that translates into and uh is is that we have young people receiving Educational Services in stairwells basement and hallways that's what it means it also means is that we have uh students receiving what should be confidential Educational Services um in open spaces and so uh the state has been pretty clear that in order for all of these uh pieces to work um choices had to be made and so when we look and we're not going to relitigate it here because it's not appropriate but I would encourage folks who do have an interest uh we will be uh engaging in smaller um more intimate conversations over the next 6 months large meetings with 150 people not the most appropriate place to have those discussions and so we acknowledge uh that we're going to need to have lots more discussions and so the goal that was stated in September of 2022 was pretty clear that uh the school district was in was uh uh seeking to acquire the Good Shepherd facility it is a 43,000 ft² um uh Elementary structure that would be the youngest uh facility in in District inventory um in order to be able to acquire that building the state requires us to decommission to smaller schools and so we are not able to add uh the level of square footage or add on square footage of ADA Compliant more accessible newer building things without making some really hard choices we've already engaged both the leadership as well as the uh uh parent and Community groups over in West Collingswood and we're going to be working closely together over the next several years and beyond in order to make sure that we not only do right by all of our students but that we also find a constructive way to leverage the building that is currently Sharp Elementary School to provide Community Resources Community value and Community Services and so that was our last discussion that we had with the uh the Oakland uh excuse me the uh sharp PTA um as well is sharp leadership Sharp Staff uh and we're going to continue to engage um our community until we get it right and so this is a construction project it's not a uh valuation of um uh picking and choosing winners and losers it's that how do we create how do we utilize the resources that we have at our disposal um to highest degree possible and so uh it does require some tough choices the same argument uh around uh The Nostalgia and the emotional attachment to our buildings uh is also happening at the Garfield school and so the Garfield School is not in West Collingswood but the families that go to Garfield including mine my daughter goes to Garfield Elementary um are no less deserving and no less uh attached to their sense of community their school and so forth and so these are very challenging circumstances that we are all having to address but what we believe is that the proposal that is uh uh on the table moves us and doesn't solve for every problem but it puts us in a much better place and adds a higher degree of flexibility specifically allowing us to bring young people together sooner rather than later so that we don't wait until young people are 17 and 18 making very poor choices at high school we're bringing them together in fourth grade and so we believe that if we can establish a sense of community much earlier we can get out in front and we can be a better and a stronger school system so I want to chime in um sorry if I'm interrupting um so I just want to make it clear that uh Oakland voters um the Oakland board we don't get a vote on the collinswood referendum project um I actually think it makes a lot of sense um if I was colins with voter I think it's a smart forward linking move to look to acquire Good Shepherd I think it makes a ton of sense um but putting my Oakland hat on I just want to look at so we worked really hard six seven years ago to bring all the Collingswood students and Oakland students together for the one time in sixth grade and so if this passes then all the colle would students will be getting together earlier and then Oakland will go back to being the outsiders again and I just want to make sure that we do everything that we can um as the Oakland School Oakland board to make sure that oaklands are not Outsiders when they get to Middle School um I want to make sure we're as prepared um you know I want to make sure if they got additional music I want to make sure that we have the music I don't want our kids Behind the Music when they start middle school because they have all all these additional Resources by being able to share a building um so I just the message to my fellow board members is to make sure that we keep an eye on that um and what sort of you know gifted programs they have what sort of um programs for um learning acceleration they have um just to make sure that are they going to be using lockers over there are kids going to be behind because they don't know how to use a locker all of those things no lockers yeah but all those things are just need us to be mindful ofion can I just add one small thing and this is from the mouths of babes I've heard it from multiple students in Collingswood Middle School is they watch the collinswood elementary schools go to see the theatrical performances of the middle school and high school and they know that Oakland is an invited and I know that this might seem small to some but it might sparkk a real interest in the to others in addition that means the Collingswood kids are in those buildings sooner and familiarized with it sooner than the Oakland kids so even as it stands there's a bit of a well you're already part of this and you guys come later yeah I took a note of that I didn't realize that Oakland was invited okay I made I made a not I'll email somebody yeah you're you're right about the the vote Oakland doesn't get to vote on it but the upside of that is Oakland also doesn't pay a dime to the the bond issue so that that's the good news that goes with it but and on paper it makes a great deal of sense you're absolutely correct it's it's the smartest thing going you've got the right building uh it it's designed for it you order it to fit uh uh what your needs are terrific my point is is just coming back to the the Dei proposal that that that is I think should be solved before you decide that you're going to spend $45 million to to do this there ought to be some indication of how you're going to do that collinswood talks repeatedly in fact the collinswood crier that I got today in the mail uh espouses all the Dei things colins with talks a great game but they don't walk the walk as evidence by we're going to close the school on the west side that admittedly is the largest uh minority population so let me let me also be for just an additional layer of clarity and then I mean I believe it'll probably be more appropriate for us to to move on the bond um proposal is not a Dei proposal it's a construction proposal and so the only reason why Dei has been brought up is that in the uh reimagining of what uh uh schools look like it's one simple premise our schools should mirror our community and so um that then brings you know topics or discussions but we did not uh uh put forward a proposal for the purpose of Dei we put forward a proposal because we have a construction Challenge and we need flexibility due to our enrollment and so I I think that we we wanted to just make sure that the reason why we're even talking about a proposal is because the good sheeper closed during the pandemic and uh once it became available um we knew that it could could address many of the challenges that we had with our capacity issues um Dei is just one of multiple lenses that we're using um to inform planning but it is not a it's not a Dei initiative yeah no I understand that my my point and I guess I didn't finish it the the the students in in middle school and high school see what's going on in town the parents of those students see what's going on in town and while it's not a Dei proposal in fact has an effect on the Dei is that why we're having problems at the high school level at this point in time because the kids don't believe that anything's going to change is that possible well I mean I don't want to speak for you know 14,000 residents on why does institutional racism still exist and so I think that um it's indicative of when we talk about uh differences among people uh lack of proximity sometimes contributes to lack of of understanding and so the closer you bring individuals together the more opportunities they have to get to know each other they have the opportunity to um establish real meaningful relationships dispel myths and that can sometimes have an overall positive effect that dramatically decreases the likelihood of these systemic issues we've got we're talking about a multi-generational challenge um that will not be solved this year won't be solved next year uh but it will be better next year and in subsequent years I just want to add on a positive note y although Oakland doesn't get a vote and you're not paying for it your kids will get the benefit of the athletic complex which I think we can all agree we can do better when it comes to the atic complex so when when it's brand new the Oakland kids will get the benefit of something that's quite wonderful um I just want to Circle back before I forget but because you mention it here in this conversation and it was part of the budget presentation also um talking about the safe routes to school um I know we've talked in this room before about the crossing at White Horse Pike and Newton and I would just love for the district to be on top of seeing if we can get a light at crosswalk um something to make it more noticeable um I also recent and I don't know if this is true but um is the crossing guard at the White Horse Pike and colins AV there in time for Middle School dismissal um so that was a question CU I had heard that they didn't get there until Elementary dismissal which is a little bit later um and then my last thing which would just affect our kids that go over to Collingswood is that the crosswalk on Collings across from kns Park is very dark at night um the area is dark um there's lights but it's dark um and so I would love if that could also have lights at the crosswalk um it doesn't have to be a red light but something that you could push to indicate that there's somebody Crossing there I mean these are all long-term things but as you're having the discussions it would be great to keep those on can you send that to me I sure can yep okay anyone else for the of the hole is there a motion to come out of Committee of the hole second moved and seconded all in favor all right moving on to section five future dates and miscellaneous information um on Wednesday May 8th um some uh students and staff will be hosting a lemonade stand to raise awareness for Alex's Lemonade Stand foundation for Childhood Cancer and that will take place in front of the building um from 3: to 4:00 p.m. and then 5.02 is the list of um important dates and upcoming meetings um there is um um njl State um sorry njla um testing um coming up the week of May 13th our next board meeting is May 21st there's other dates listed there as well moving on to section six this is the approval of board minutes from um the March 19th meeting the March 19th Retreat and then do we also want to include the there minutes from last week also yes I think I saw the special meeting oh did she put them up already I wasn't sure because she was working on them oh I think yeah they are there yeah those as well okay so approve um those three is there a motion to approve those three items so moved second moveed and seconded um all in favor I all right um 6.02 there's no unfinished business um moving on to section seven annual appointments I'm going to pass it over to yeah that would be me and I'll be as quickly as as quickly as possible I keep talking about it be quick as possible okay no problem um so this is our annual reorg agenda where we do all of our annual appointments and the reason why everything is listed and it's long is because there's some state law that says I have to appoint this person and do a board resolution and send it to somebody um so that being said um item 7.01 um is the appointments of me as your secretary to take your minutes um our auditor anderso and stort our doctor and our solicitor um Kart scotcher broker of record um for health insurance uh Brown and Brown 7.02 7.03 hardenberg is your broker of record for your non-health lines um insurance that be like your workers comp um uh and building and liability 7.04 your architect of record is Garrison oh and just FYI all the RFP evaluations have been attached to the agenda I'm sorry 7.05 is a listing of our official bank and it's First colonal Colonial Community Bank 7.06 is the listing of the official newspapers um 7.0 seven is the signature authorization for all the bank accounts basically who gets to sign what check 7.08 is approving me as your qualified purchasing agent in studying the bid amount um for Oakland School District at $44,000 7.09 is just authorizing me to purchase uh CDs and Bank notes for investment purposes um if there's sufficient cash to do so 7.10 is authorizing me to transfer uh funds via wire as needed and I pretty much we do that for um your bond payment um 7.11 is um just approving me um to promptly handle any business Affairs between board meetings basically pay bills so usually pscg comes at an odd time as well as Comcast um so I pay the bill and then I'll bring it to you to ratify um at the next board meeting 7.12 is appointing me as your custodian of records and my assistant Steve Burns as the um alternate custerian of Records um and what that means is we get to handle all your Oprah requests yay 7.13 is approving um John Longo if you guys didn't get to meet John yet wave John um I'm sorry um Pine John who's our supervisor of buildings and grounds as a school district's aestus management officer your safety and health designate your integrated Pest Management coordinator your chemical hygiene officer and asbest hazardous emergency response act coordinator you're a hero coordinator 7.14 is approving myself John Longo and Steve Burns um as the district's right to no coordinators for Piha 7.15 is approving me as your Paco basically your public a public agency compliance officer um 7.16 is approving wsor Yamoto as your compliance action officer for affirmative action in the district 7.17 is approving Dr Elizabeth White House as the as the compliance action officer uh for the 504s in the district 7.18 eight8 is approving Omni group as your third party administrator for the district's 4 3B investment plan um that we have for the employees 7.19 is approving Mary Hopkins as your homeless liaison 7.20 um is authorizing Jen Balton as the issuing officer for working papers for the 2425 school year T um 7.21 is approving Windsor yamama Moto as your title n coordinator for the 2425 school year 7.22 as approving your School Safety and Security plan that also includes your Emergency Operations plan your Crisis Prevention and response procedures and your Emergency Management plan 7.23 is approving Jen Bolin as your school district safety specialist for the 2425 school year 7.24 is approving Dr Elizabeth White House as the Americans with Disability Act officer of the 2425 school year 7.25 um is a listing of the 2425 School District curriculum 7.26 is just um the statement we have to make for State U for uh Administrative Code that we collect and maintain Student Records in accordance with law 7.27 is um a listing of your special ed programs for 2425 school year 7.28 is approving the educator practice rubric as listed and it's the Charlotte Danielson framework 7.29 is your annual adoption of all your board policies and bylaws and they are on the website 7.30 is approving your substitute rates in all the different areas uh teacher secretary uh nurse Etc um and that is it so looking for approval for 7.01 through 7.30 so move second moved in second are there any questions on any of these items yeah just couple quick quick ones so on 713 714 asbest posia Etc is there certification that's required for that for John himself yes I don't think so there's just it's plans and we do have the state does come in to make sure that you have the plan documents and they have to be updated sometimes annual sometimes every three years okay but yeah Don's in charge of making sure that we're up to date on all any other questions all right on a roll call all right Mrs Ezekiel yes Mrs Fel yes Mr STS yes Mrs Rondo yes Mr McMillan yes Mrs Maran yes Mr Schaefer yes Mrs pushka yes moving on to section eight um this is the first public comment uh section uh it seems a while to get here um but this one is for um agenda items only so if you'd like to um if you have something to say um please stand state your name and address and keep your comments to five minutes or less Lyla andar at 21 West Holly Avenue so I went back and forth uh wondering if I even wanted to speak here tonight about the budget but I will admit that I'm not prepared to talk numbers so I spoke to my husband and I said I don't know if I want to speak as a parent of an Ops student or if I want to speak as PTA president so he said to me just talk about what you love so that's what we're going to do here today right so as most of you I felt sick to my stomach when I saw that number 68,000 60,800 19 I won't pretend to understand the bureaucratic crap that goes into coming um to that decision so I'm not even going to touch that what I am going to speak to is being a mother of a child that's been at Ops since 2019 uh which also happens to be when Co happened um excuse me I have everything written down because I'll never remember it I think we all know that covid left a trail um of damage in its path and we started to see that once the students were back in school we started to see it in their test scores we saw it in their academic progress or their lack thereof we saw it in their socialization skills fast forward to our district receiving a little bit of money and and it made a world of difference in these same children these children who were terribly failing and suffering and lagging behind their peers test scores began to change I think we all saw it learning methods changed teacher availability changed one-on-one Interac actions changed because there were there was more staff uh for these children the students change the environment changed um the environment was a positive the children were beginning to thrive teachers were able to breathe a little more admin was starting to feel a little more supported um for the most part you know and parents like me breathed the sigh of relief because we saw our children flourishing for the first time in a couple years until now now because some politicians who sit in these comfy seats who knows where you know have pulled numbers out of whatever imaginary database that they have they've decided that we deserve these cuts that we can handle these cuts that our children can handle these Cuts our Educators can handle these Cuts so I could go on about this forever but I'm not what I will say is thank you first and foremost to our Ops teachers thank you for showing up every single day even on days when you don't feel seen or acknowledged thank you for carrying the burden you do so that our students don't feel the heartache stress and uncertainly uncertainty you are all living with my 10-year-old doesn't have the slightest clue of what's going going on behind the scenes and that's a testament to the teachers that we have at Ops um thank you for keeping the faith even when you're witnessing your co-workers and your friends paying the price for these budget cuts thank you to the board of ed for fighting tirelessly to make sense of all this thank you Mr McMillan thank you Denise um for advocating for our tiny District thank you theres I sit here and I see the emotion and the fire in your eyes and your voice cracks and you too Denise um I don't know how you guys are holding it together because I it's hard for me also as a parent thank you to all of you on this board uh who are carrying the weight of this these budget cuts on your shoulders I personally know some of you and I know how heavy this weighs on your hearts I know you take this home with you I know it goes to bed with you I know it's with you carry it with everything that you guys do um it's hard to ignore the emotions in your faces and and in your voices especially tonight so I'm not sure that anyone here knows what the next year or two is going to look like but I have complete faith that with this board under Denise's Direction um and Mrs Balon who makes miracles happen every single day and Mrs Solway that we're going to be okay so thank you thank you for speaking and if I could just say um as head of the PTA if you could maybe help push the lobbying of the state representatives and and Senators that would be awesome yeah anything we could do possible thank you very much for speaking thank you very much I will say Lyla can rally people like no one else um and we will be looking to to you between you and uh Mr Sher um and we'll definitely be reaching out so thank you for that um moving on to section nine um the superintendent report um Dr McDow uh section 9.01 is uh the enrollment report March of 2023 normal was 275 March of 2024 was 267 uh that is attached uh 02 03 and 04 also includes the uh safety drill sus suspension uh where there are none reported and then the anti-bullying report uh which are also uh attached thank you thank you um moving on to section 10 uh bethan for the business administrative report all right item 10.01 uh is a listing of your March 2024 budget transfers 10.02 are your financial statements so your board secretary's report treasurers report um cash reports 10.03 um is the listing of all the purchase orders issued um on behalf of Oakland for the month of April and in 10.04 is a listing of the warrants that will be paid tomorrow morning um pending your approval tonight that's it thank you moving on to section 11 uh finance and buildings and grounds report Jimmy am I going to do this I thought you you said you were sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I that would be happy that you were like sorry I'm like looking I feel this stare I'm really sorry I did say that I did say that thank you bethan for taking this one I'm lacking a little bit of sleep a little bit of sleep would do me well right now okay do well okay so items 11.01 through 11.6 are those items that I just mentioned are monthly reports as required 11.7 is the uh final budget approval um that was just presented we're not happy about it but we have to approve it and um item 11.08 is um hardenberg the Risk Management Consultant we just approved them in the list of reappointments but um this resolution goes to the Department of banking so it's all the blah blah Blas and the whereas that they are Risk Management Consultant um we do this every three years and it goes it gets filed with the Department of banking 11.09 um as I discussed a little bit during the budget presentation we did move some funds around in our expiring ARP Esser um support grants to to buy a bunch of stuff that we need for next school year so that's what 11.09 is doing 11.10 is approving a contract with virtual Health to provide uh Physical Therapy Services um for the 2425 school year at a rate of $82 an hour and the um RFP evaluation is attached 11.11 is approving moral therapy to provide occupational therapy services for next school year at a of $82 an hour um and that RFP evaluation is attached 11.12 is approving um first Children's Services to to provide bcba services um next school year at a rate of $105 an hour um and the um excuse me the RFP evaluation is attached 11.13 is um OC Panthers basketball um and if they're going to be using the Oakland gym for games and practices Monday Wednesdays and Fridays from 6 to 10 May 1st through June 21st and there is uh one date that the gym is not available and they are okay with it and it is noted uh in the board agenda that being said um seeking approval for 11.01 through 11.13 is there a motion to approve those items so moved second uh moved and seconded are there any questions hearing none we'll go to a roll call Jimmy I hope I did a good job for you I could have did better I thought so uh Mrs isikel yes Mrs Buel yes Mr STS yes Mrs Rando yes Mr McMillan with Rel reluct reluctancy of uh 1107 uh yes I yes understood yeah Mrs Mar ditto yes gotcha Mr schaer yes Mr bushka yes uh moving on to section 10 curriculum and Personnel committee uh this is Mr schaer all right good evening everyone uh so item 12.01 we're looking for approval uh for kindergarten field trip to Johnson Farms item 12.02 we are seeking uh approval for a paid medical leave uh that will be effective May 13th through June 18th item 12.03 uh we're looking to approve uh uh replacement um for J uh or replacement teacher contract to Janet cavalero who will be filling in for that medical leave uh effect of May 13 through June 18th item 12.04 where you're seeking approval um for contracts effec of July 1st 2024 through June 30th 2025 for the following administrative staff item 12.05 we are seeking uh to approve contracts uh again from September uh 1st 2024 through June 30th 2025 for the following tenur faculty item 12 12.06 we are seeking to approve contracts uh for September 1 2024 through June 30th 2025 for the following non-tenured faculty uh item 12.07 seeking contracts uh effec of July 1st 2024 through June 30th 2025 for the following tenure office uh office service personnel and item 12.08 we are seeking approval uh for the 23 24 year um for the following substitutes and tutors uh there are no travel expenses to report at this time so we're seeking approval on items 12.01 through 12.08 say motion to approve those items so moveed second moved and second are there any questions hearing none on aable call Mrs Ezekiel yes Mrs Fel yes Mr STS yes Mrs randoo yes Mr McMullan yes Mrs Maran yes Mr Schaefer yes Mrs bushko yes all right moving on to section 13 this is the um community relations and policy committee this is tce so some of the reporting things are incorrect in here but 1301 the PT is on report that would be Mrs Rondo not me so the PTA had their meeting on April 9th I think it was held via teams this time I showed up in person and learned that um there has been a date change to this Spring Fling it'll now be June 8th basically how we're used to looking at it for the past uh several years it's going to change quite a bit but everybody has all the confidence in the world that it's still going to be just as good and there will be a flyer and more info coming shortly um the townwide yard sale is going to take place June 1st rain date will be the next day on the 2nd um there will be registration via Google Docs and that'll be going out by the end of this weekend there will also be signs posted around town Muffins with mom will be held May 10th 7:45 to 8:30 right outside on the lawn there's going to be the usual muffins DRS photos um everybody really has a good time with it they'll move it indoors if the weather doesn't cooperate um tremendous uh success with the readathon there was just about $4,000 that are going back to the library for new books and steam kits and they will also be using some of the funds during the Scholastic Book Fair um the PTA took almost 200 students and families to the Phillies game for the fanatic's birthday they made it on the big screen quite a few times and this is the second time in a row that they did it and led the Phillies to a victory um teacher appreciation week is um it's kind of exclusive they don't want me to talk much about it but there's apparently a lot planned um fifth grade promotion committee working hard toward blue and gold night for our um fifth graders who will be going on the middle school that will take place on May 31st um they're also uh the fifth grade promotion committee is currently fundraising by um the Crispy Cream fundraiser method $15 gets you a certificate for a dozen donuts seems is that expensive okay it's good it's a good price and 100% of the money will that is raised will go toward fifth grade end of your activities and if anyone is interested in supporting there is an Oakland PTA gmail.com way to communicate there are two current vacancies for the new school year coming up on the PTA board with your Treasurer and secretary uh they do have one person that stepped in for treasur but if anyone would like to learn more about either of those uh positions Lila is your girl before May 6th the next meeting is May 7th here in the library not on teams so bodily and they will need to vote on the new board members and if anyone could attend they would appreciate it they need to have a quarum in order to vote so that's the importance of uh showing up for that one and the final general meeting date of the year has changed due to the fifth grade promotions it will be June 5th not the 4th and location is also exclusive I guess we'll find that out shortly and the new officers will be sworn in at that meeting thank you item 13.02 is the omac report Denise and Maya CA because I was so focused on the budget I totally forgot to have asked out for an update um despite spending 3 hours in the sex with them on Sunday so I apologize but I will promise to have an update for our next meeting we are all terribly disappointed but I do want to mention that I know that assemblies were cut from the budget and if you could please pass along that I think it would be good for omac to look at assembly support for 2425 item 13.03 the callings would report but Mr T is not here so we'll skip that um item 13.04 is Oakland Education Foundation that's me but I do not have an update at this time uh but again I think given our budgetary issues we that's something that that group which again to remind everyone is a 501c3 thanks to the diligent work of many people including Denise to reinstate that um that can fundraise and pay for anything related to the school so um I think we should reignite some um conversations there item 13.05 are AP policies for a first reading um 2411 is guidance counseling was revised 2423 bilingual education revised 3211 is Code of Ethics 5570 sportsmanship revised and 5750 I'm asking us to table that one um because there was a question about it we weren't able to answer before this meeting the Equitable Educational Opportunity of question about a change item 13.06 our policies up for a second reading um educational Equity policies affirmative action we we looked at these at the last meeting comprehensive Equity plan equal employment opportunities Equal Employment anti-discrimination Practices equity in school and classroom practices um item 13.07 is the abolishment of um 5755 equity and educational programs and services because that's being replaced by one in a previous item and so we are seeking approval for items 13.01 through 13.07 with the exception of in 13.05 5750 perfect um is there um just so you know the question that you had in 2260 which is in the second reading the part that was omitted in the other policy and we could talk off line before if we're going to review it again is included in 2260 good call but I yeah I'd still like to look it at one time but thank you I was scouring it to figure it out that a lot of these policies around is it the exact same language sorry CU basically it's actually more descriptive in 2260 let's just talk about it at the committee next month i' I'd say if everybody's in agreement yeah thank you though all right is there a motion to approve those items so move second moved in seconded uh any other questions from board members uh just a comment to offer some clarity uh I know uh last time I had voted no on 2260 um so there are aspects of the policy just in terms of gender and how gender is defined that I had concerns with and and it's with those concerns that I would be objecting to the policy though there are other aspects of the policy that um I'm I'm fine with so I just wanted to give some some clarity uh behind the vote thank thank you for that um all right on a roll call Mrs Ezekiel yes and no to policy 2260 Mrs Fel yes Mr stz yes Mrs randoo I think Todd said it exactly how I feel uh yes and no to 2260 Mr McMillan yes Mrs marmian yes Mr schaer yes no on policy 2260 Mrs bushka yes all right moving on to section 14 there's nothing to report here so nothing to approve um section 15 is our last public um comment section uh if you have anyone else has anything to say uh this could be about any items not just items on the agenda but any items you want to bring to the board please stand state your name and address and keep your comments to five minutes or rest all right hearing none is there a motion to adjourn second moved and seconded um all in favor all right we are adjourn thank you all