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I think so, yeah.

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Good evening and welcome. My name is Lisa Pazaro and I'm a co-president of the League of Women Voters of Northeast Westchester. We'd like to thank the school district for asking us to moderate the school board candidate form again this year. Our moderator tonight is Catherine Daring. Catherine is a published author and poet. She is also a trained moderator and a longtime member and past president of our league.

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In interest of fairness, Catherine does not reside in the North Salem School District and has no stake in the North Salem election.

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Please give a warm welcome to Catherine Deering.

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Thank you Lisa.

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Good evening everyone.

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I welcome you all this evening to our candidate forum to get to know the candidates for school board for the North Salem schools.

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I am Catherine Deering, and Lisa, who introduced me, is the president of the League of Women

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Voters of Northeast Westchester, which serves Bedford, Lewisboro, North Salem, Makisco,

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and Poundridge.

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We're a volunteer organization dedicated to fostering and informed voting citizenry.

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We're especially enthusiastic about helping voters get to know their local candidates.

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We're always here on TV about all the national and state people, but this is your chance to get to know your local candidates.

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Our league is preparing to host forums in the fall for our five towns for supervisor and town council and that sort of thing.

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And we are welcoming more members to the league.

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We have some forums over on the other side of the room.

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You passed by them coming in and their membership forms and you could fill one in and hand it to Lisa or me and we'd be very happy to have you as a member of the league.

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On Tuesday, May 16th, you'll be voting for the proposed budget for the coming year or voting on the proposed budget for the coming year and for two of the four candidates you see sitting across from you.

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Voting will take place at your local elementary school, and polls are open from 7am to 9pm.

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So I can't pronounce your elementary school, Pikwinakonk.

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Pikwinakonk?

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That's right.

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I heard that before.

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So I head over to PQ on May 16th.

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Further information about the candidates and the budget is available at the www.norsalumschools.org.

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Click on the Board of Education to see all the information.

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They also have absentee ballots for anyone who needs one.

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And now to the forum. We ask that everyone silence their cell phones.

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There's no ringing going on. And now I'd like to introduce the candidates.

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their names are Carolyn Alversano,

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should've asked you how to pronounce these ahead of time.

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Christopher Jagger, Kurt Gilden, and Matthew DeRose.

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Our format tonight will be as follows.

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Each candidate will have 90 seconds for an opening statement

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and one minute for answers to questions

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and then 90 seconds for the closing statement.

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So 90 seconds, one minute, 90 seconds.

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The order of answering questions will be rotated among the candidates.

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And each candidate is also allotted up to two rebuttals.

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Each one can be 30 seconds long to be used at my discretion.

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So if we think that we're in the need for a rebuttal, we'll have rebuttals.

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During the question and answer period, you voters may ask questions of the candidates.

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I will remind you, no speeches, just a question, okay?

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Any question may be directed at a particular candidate, but then all candidates will have

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the opportunity to answer them.

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So now we will go into the opening statements.

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We've had a drawing of numbers to see what order people will go in, and they will

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will start out in the order that they're at at the table.

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So we will begin with Carolyn.

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Carolyn, would you give us your opening statement please?

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Hi, my name is Carolyn Eversono.

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My husband and I moved to North Salem in 2004.

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We are so happy to have raised our children here in North Salem

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and our schools are such a big part of that.

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We're not quite done.

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Our youngest daughter is in 10th grade,

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and our two sons are currently in college.

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I am a former North Salem Board of Ed member.

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I served one term from 2013 to 2015.

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During that term, I was the co-chair of the advocacy committee,

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along with Jim Bennett.

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And we participated in a coordinated state-weight effort

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to protest the Common Core Education Reform

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which no longer exists today.

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I also served on the Technology Committee,

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and I am also proud to have worked with a few

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of my fellow board members to advance the Spanish PQ program.

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I'm also a former trustee at the Putnam Northern West

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Esther Boce's Board of Ed.

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And since my time on the Board of Education,

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I have continued to be involved on serving

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on our admission committee, our DEI committee,

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and I'm also currently the Vice President

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for the North Cell and Foundation for Learning.

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I'm happy to be here to talk about

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the most important issues facing our district.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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And now Chris.

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Hello, my name is Chris Jager.

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My wife and I moved to North Salem in 2018.

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We came from Long Island.

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We should know about me.

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I grew up in Hicksville.

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I graduated high school.

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I joined the military shortly after.

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Station Korea, Iraq and for Carson.

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Upon coming home, I got my degree at John J.

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bachelor's of science and criminal justice, and after graduating from John Jay, I became

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police officer in 2001 with the NYPD.

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I was in 7-1 precinct currently for the last 10 years.

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I was at the 2-8 precinct which located in Harlem.

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I have a very big involvement with the community everywhere I work.

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At this time I currently have two children attending PQ.

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I have a first grade and a kindergarten with my wife and I just giving birth to our third

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a very child two weeks ago, I have a long-term vested interest in running for the school board.

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At this time, having two children in PQ, I want to get involved.

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This year, I saw that the Board of Education doesn't make a lot of decisions on what goes

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on with the school districts and important topics, like transparency with the parents, school

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the mental health, and I look forward to opening up those lines of communications between the parents and the Board of Education.

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Thank you.

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Thank you, Matt.

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Thank you to the League of Women Voters for giving us this opportunity to speak at this event.

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My name is Matthew DeRose.

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I was born and raised in the Bronx.

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I'm a father of two children at the Quanta Conquette Elementary School.

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My wife, a special education teacher, and I moved to North Salem, Rooster Area in 2012.

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I'm a lieutenant in the FDNY with the total of 18 years experience.

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My role as a supervisor foremost is to manage the overall safety and

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well-being of firefighters and to manage all types of emergencies.

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Currently, I teach an after-school class at PQ and a coach.

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And I coach a Bruce or Little League baseball team that also happens to be consisting of all PQ boys.

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I've been involved in the school district since my daughter and students all around our country were forced into

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the remote learning environment.

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Fortunately, I was able to support my daughter and teachers as we were all navigating this

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unprecedented obstacle together.

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It gave me a newfound appreciation for our teachers and the importance of our education.

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The one thing I can say with absolute conviction is that when the community organizes,

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communicates properly and acts with integrity.

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We can and will overcome those obstacles together.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Kurt?

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Welcome and thank you for coming tonight.

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My name's Kurt Golden.

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I live in the North Salem Central School District.

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I am also a graduate from North Salem and so is my son.

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I have been on the board for six years now.

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I've served on several committees, audit,

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facility, safety, communication.

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and I'm also proud of our mission here in North Salem.

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I'm also involved in the community.

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I belong to the Chrome Falls Fire Department.

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I'm President Captain of the Ambulance Corps.

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I'm also the town of North Salem,

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Office of Emergency Management Coordinator.

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I have a few board of head of accomplishments I'd like to talk about.

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I got a grant for maintenance trucks.

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For the school, new sound system for the auditorium.

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A grant for facilities that freed up funding for the additional resource officer.

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work with the Department of Health to get clean, water, drinkable water in a

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middle school high school and working for the same for the PQ project.

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Participated in the superintendent's search and my plans for the future is I would

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love to see pre-K started PQ with the next couple years and there is funding now

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secured for that in the New York State budget.

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Okay, thank you.

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We will now have the Q&A.

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We invite members of the audience to come up to the microphone and audience, the voters,

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to come up to the microphone and ask your question while you're thinking about what you

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want to ask.

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I will start out with a question from the league.

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We always like to kind of prime the pump with a question for you.

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And this is going to be, well, Lisa gave me five questions I can ask you, but I think

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I'll just stick with one.

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And it is, if you are elected, and we're going to start with Chris.

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If you are elected, what is one of your goals during your tenure on the board?

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In other words, why do you want to be on the board?

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What do you want to accomplish?

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Just one of your goals.

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One of my goals would be transparency between the parents of the district and the school board.

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I would like to have parents that would want to attend the school board meetings and

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not need to attend the school board meetings to know what's going on.

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If that the end of what I mean by that is the transparency between the board and the parents

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that the parents will have information and know everything that's going on in the district and with their children so they don't actually have to attend the meetings if they don't want to, they can attend the meetings if they want to not need to in order to know what's going on, and I would like to better enhance school safety with the schools and

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Address mental health issues going on with young kids today especially after coming out of the pandemic and those would be the three things that I would look to address if elected.

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Good.

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Okay.

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Thank you.

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Turn off.

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Matt, same question.

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It's one thing you'd like to accomplish.

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One thing I'd like to accomplish is to include parents in the Safety Committee.

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According to the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the 2022

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K-12 Security Guide, the first step in school security planning process is to identify and

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can involve relevant staff and stakeholders, such as community organizations like the After

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School Enrichment, YMCA, local law enforcement, and most importantly, their families.

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So my number one goal is to include parents on the official North Salem Central School District

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safety committee so that we are involved in the planning and

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decision-making process.

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Okay, thank you.

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Kurt?

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Like I brought up in my speech is I would love to see Pre-K started in North Salem.

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I think that will be a benefit to the students.

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As they grow older, we can have them in the school and I think we can do that here.

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That's all I have.

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Okay. You have up to a minute.

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You don't have to use the entire minute.

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Carolyn, what's one thing you hope to accomplish

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when you are elected?

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So the single most important issue

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and my first goal for next year

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is to effectively set the framework

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for a productive relationship

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between the Board of Education

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and our new superintendent.

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This is a time to clarify roles

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process and set performance-based goals between the board and its superintendent.

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It's the single most important issue because the success and the clarity of that process

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will set the foundation for all other priorities to come over the long term.

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Okay, thank you.

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So now I'd like to turn the Q&A over to a lot of very interested parents in the audience

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and I'm thinking some of you may ask some questions.

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And then while people are lining up here

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at the microphone, it's such a crowd.

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I'd like to use this time to just remind the candidates

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that when you answer a question, even if I ask you,

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you should probably...

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Probably direct look at either the camera or your voters here. And also, I think I neglected

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to introduce our timekeeper. We have a timekeeper here who is a North Salem resident. And her

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name is Zinga Melanes. Did I do it right? Oh, great. And for those of you who are sitting

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in the back rows, hold up the sign so they can see what the candidates have to see in Zinga.

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So she holds up these signs if they're sort of running on, you know, so that's her job.

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So she has to keep the time her going.

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So again, we have a microphone here, we're waiting for questions.

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Finally, shame someone into getting up.

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My name is Andrew Brown, you may have met, I know I'm the current board president.

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Chris, you said the reason that you're running is your two children, your vested interest,

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your two children.

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Given that the overall majority of residents don't have children, how do you represent

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their interests?

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And I think although the question is directed to one person in particular, the others will

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all then rotate through an answer to that.

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With the residents who don't have children, I think the thing that's going forward right

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now with the school tax break for veterans, volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance

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workers is a good start.

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I mean, those are the first responders, veterans, they deserve some sort of a break.

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So that would be something I would be in favor in for those residents in there and that's the answer I have at this time for that.

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Okay, let's rotate through in the same order.

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So the question, I want to just clarify the question is, what would we do for the parents?

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Yes, that you may have children in the schools and you're thinking of them but an awful lot of people don't have children in the schools.

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So I think from listening to board meetings and what parent or people in school districts that

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don't have children mostly complain about their taxes and why they should be paying high taxes in a school district.

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My goal would be to speed up the process or get involved in the process of procuring more grants

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for our school district.

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I actually developed a good relationship with the district authority of the in the state

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of New York, inquiring about the grant that was requested or administered for our SRO.

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So I'd like to increase that relationship and learn more about grant writing and be involved

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in that process, because I think that would be a great asset for our community and our budget.

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Great.

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Kurt?

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I think several things there.

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First thing is, we need to keep a tight budget, need to keep it below the cap like we did

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this year.

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Number one, number two, is we need to go after grants, which I have done in my record in the

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the last couple years of me being on the board, to take the burden off the taxpayers, the

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grants are a huge help.

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And we need to adopt a budget that the community is going to pass, not a budget that's not

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going to pass.

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Okay.

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Thank you.

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00:18:46,380 --> 00:18:46,720
Carolyn?

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I think that the best thing that we can do for our voters in the community at large is to

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protect the credibility of our budget process.

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So of every ten months school year, four months of each year is devoted to presenting

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our budget, January, February, March and April, eight sessions, where the public can come

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in, learn about the budget, ask questions, and express concern.

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That budget is presented section by section by section, and when we don't protect that credibility,

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We risk losing the trust of our voters, and I think this district has worked very, very hard over the past 15 years to build that trust.

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And one shaken, that takes a lot of work to regain that.

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And I think that the public has appreciated the transparency that we've presented in the budget process.

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And I think that is why we've had such support consistently over the years.

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Thank you.

263
00:19:55,650 --> 00:20:01,580
Oh, we have another question or coming up, mine to one side.

264
00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:05,360
Hi, my name is Catherine Daniels.

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I am a long-term resident of North Salem and Informer Board Member.

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Could each of you please describe your understanding of the role of a member of the Board of Education?

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00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:21,960
Okay, for this question, Kurt will go first.

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My belief of a role of a board member is multiple things.

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First, it has to work with the board, the rest of the team,

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to work with the administrative staff,

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the staff of the school, listen to the children,

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and especially the taxpayers.

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They all have a say, we all have to listen to their needs,

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and figure out what the best way is to solve them.

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Okay, thank you, Carol.

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It's not subjective.

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It is very much laid out in New York education law,

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And the Board of Ed is responsible for the oversight in three areas.

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Oversight of the budget, oversight of its one and only supervisory role of the superintendent,

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hiring the superintendent and holding him accountable to the goals that are set together,

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and overseeing policy.

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So as such, we are members of a district governance team, which is comprised of the Board of Education

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members and the superintendent.

284
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Okay, thank you.

285
00:21:31,670 --> 00:21:32,230
Chris?

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00:21:34,390 --> 00:21:39,510
I believe the role of a board member is one to oversee the budget.

287
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Two, have the best interest for students, faculty, and staff.

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To be the voice of the parents, be the voice of the community.

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To make sure the community's needs are being met, the children's needs are being met,

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that the parents need to be in bed and yeah.

291
00:22:02,140 --> 00:22:02,460
Okay.

292
00:22:10,610 --> 00:22:14,870
I believe being a trustee, I would act as a liaison

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between the community and the board and the district.

294
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I believe it is my duty to be physically responsible

295
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for our budget and finally work with our superintendent

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to develop an education plan that will achieve the goals

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and objectives of our community.

298
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Okay, thank you.

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Here comes another question.

300
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Good evening everyone.

301
00:22:54,690 --> 00:22:57,010
This question is directed to all four candidates.

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00:22:58,390 --> 00:23:02,190
A proposal to shift to a later start time

303
00:23:02,190 --> 00:23:04,910
is currently being considered in our district

304
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because the research has proven that it's better for student health and well-being.

305
00:23:12,750 --> 00:23:17,030
Two committees have already explored the options and the various areas of impact

306
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and determine that this will only be possible if both PQ and the middle school high school adjust their timing.

307
00:23:25,890 --> 00:23:30,210
Knowing that, if elected, will you help to support this initiative?

308
00:23:31,950 --> 00:23:33,230
Okay, thank you.

309
00:23:33,610 --> 00:23:36,470
So on this question, we will start with Carolyn.

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So yes, that is correct.

311
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The research does support in favor of a later start, school start time.

312
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This is a very complicated issue to address financially, logistically, from a union perspective,

313
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on this particular issue, I would very much be inclined, I would need to receive the feedback of the community.

314
00:24:06,290 --> 00:24:11,990
There's no, you know, there are parents that are going to be very unhappy with this.

315
00:24:12,130 --> 00:24:20,510
There are parents that are going to be very happy with this, and I think that it really comes down to if there is a majority of our parents who support this.

316
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Number one, and then number two, can we find the right solution that is within our means to implement it?

317
00:24:30,790 --> 00:24:30,990
Chris?

318
00:24:32,850 --> 00:24:37,870
Yeah, the research does support that it is better for the students.

319
00:24:40,310 --> 00:24:50,710
I would also be more inclined to get the feeling of the community, get the feeling of the parents on the situation, to see who's in favor, both pros and cons.

320
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I would also, I know, I think we're the last school district still doing this start time.

321
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I think all the other school districts have already gone to the start time.

322
00:24:58,090 --> 00:25:02,530
So I would like to maybe ask those other school districts how they did it,

323
00:25:02,890 --> 00:25:04,650
how their parents feel about it.

324
00:25:05,070 --> 00:25:07,310
Do they feel like it's working, that it's not working?

325
00:25:07,970 --> 00:25:11,270
I mean, there are some pros to being the last school district to not do it.

326
00:25:11,530 --> 00:25:17,190
We could weigh out the pros and cons from the school districts that surround us to get better feedback on the situation.

327
00:25:17,190 --> 00:25:18,170
Okay,

328
00:25:20,300 --> 00:25:21,460
thank you, Matt.

329
00:25:25,530 --> 00:25:29,910
Okay, school start time, I've heard a lot about this in my own house.

330
00:25:31,390 --> 00:25:37,990
I believe the committee work is still continuing, but without a lot of parent input.

331
00:25:38,810 --> 00:25:42,450
I understand the need for adolescent health and well-being.

332
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I also believe that there are other reasons for the decline in teen mental health.

333
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one being social media use right before bedtime, but I do believe that change is difficult and we need to overcome those challenges together.

334
00:25:59,050 --> 00:26:11,010
We must meet those logistical challenges and with support for our families who don't have the privileges and resources to deal with that change, like for example before school care.

335
00:26:12,890 --> 00:26:21,530
We should work together for an equitable outcome, and I look forward to seeing the results of the school start time committee.

336
00:26:22,330 --> 00:26:26,430
And I believe we should see that before the vote.

337
00:26:28,570 --> 00:26:29,770
Okay, good.

338
00:26:31,230 --> 00:26:36,950
Yes, so I am on the committee to look into school start time when I did go to school here.

339
00:26:37,450 --> 00:26:38,510
School did start a little later.

340
00:26:40,270 --> 00:26:47,290
around 748 to be exact. Not much of a difference, but is a difference. I think this is something

341
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that needs to be looked into. North Salem is unique. And we've gotten through a lot

342
00:26:54,230 --> 00:26:58,670
of the challenges, and this can be one of them. Later start time. It's few changes. I think

343
00:26:58,670 --> 00:27:03,850
we need to also team up with the town with your new Rec Center from the help us with the

344
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kids for different programs to make this work.

345
00:27:10,420 --> 00:27:10,540
All right.

346
00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:10,920
Thank you.

347
00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:12,380
Is someone else?

348
00:27:12,460 --> 00:27:12,540
Yes.

349
00:27:14,060 --> 00:27:14,960
What is your name?

350
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:16,400
Yes.

351
00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:23,840
I'm Alexia Ryan, a parent of a middle schooler, and I've been to a few of these sessions.

352
00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:29,500
And one thing that I was always wanting to hear about was increased transparency.

353
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And I was interested to hear one person specifically refer to it tonight.

354
00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:41,360
My question is this, every time we have people wanting to come on to the board and change

355
00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:46,840
things, very often from standing from the outside, it seems that they come into the board

356
00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:52,220
and then they find out that what they thought they could change can't be changed.

357
00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:57,040
So my question on transparency specifically, given that we have some people who have been

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on a board before and some people who are new, for each one of you, do you agree that there

359
00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:05,180
There is a transparency deficit that needs to be addressed.

360
00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:10,220
And if you've already been on a board, did you see that from within?

361
00:28:10,500 --> 00:28:14,920
And how would you do things differently now to increase transparency?

362
00:28:15,140 --> 00:28:18,540
And for those of you who are not yet on the board and haven't been on the board, do you have

363
00:28:18,540 --> 00:28:23,340
any specific ideas of how you would act to improve the transparency?

364
00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:28,520
Because a lot of what happens, it doesn't matter if you come to meetings, that you find

365
00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:34,660
out that a love what's said on the meeting is already an accomplished fact. And that's

366
00:28:34,660 --> 00:28:39,700
how, as far as we know, it has to be. So the question really is, can you come up with

367
00:28:39,700 --> 00:28:45,520
any specific and practical ways that you think you will be able to improve the transparency?

368
00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:50,440
Thank you. All right. Chris, this falls to you to start.

369
00:28:52,460 --> 00:28:58,440
Very good question. Yeah, I'm very big on transparency. I'm never been on a board, so I'm on

370
00:28:58,440 --> 00:28:59,960
on the outside looking in currently.

371
00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:03,460
Some things that I would like to do, if elected,

372
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:08,360
is before we vote on something, for instance,

373
00:29:09,100 --> 00:29:12,080
I would like to weigh out and get the ideas of parents

374
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and the community parents in the district first

375
00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:16,400
before it becomes a vote.

376
00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:19,100
Like I don't want people to find out after it's been

377
00:29:19,100 --> 00:29:20,020
or even voted on.

378
00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:22,760
I want them to know that, all right,

379
00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:24,500
this is gonna be something we're discussing,

380
00:29:24,740 --> 00:29:26,280
this is gonna be something that's gonna be

381
00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:31,580
We voted on a month from now, and for that month leading up to that vote,

382
00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:36,340
I would like the communities, the parents to reach out to me, I would reach out to them.

383
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:41,140
And this way we get a better feel for what we're voting on, whether it's something that improves,

384
00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:42,680
something we don't think it improves.

385
00:29:43,420 --> 00:29:47,460
And this way, like I said, I'm on the outside looking in.

386
00:29:48,020 --> 00:29:53,120
I'm going to do everything I can to make sure transparency to the full extent is given.

387
00:29:54,020 --> 00:29:55,040
I'm done, thank you.

388
00:29:56,850 --> 00:29:57,170
Matt.

389
00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:31,480
So we talk a lot about communication and we have a multitude of social media platforms to communicate on, yet there always seems to be a failure to communicate. I've been to many board meetings and listened on the other side and felt that a lot of decisions had already been made, especially during a pandemic where a lot of things were out of our control.

390
00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:45,880
But one thing I would mention, and one of the solutions that I would suggest in something that we do in the Fire Department is we have a singular email that can go out to all parents because in this school district, we have PQ News Day,

391
00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:49,680
sent a compass and a multitude of other things, plus Facebook and everything else.

392
00:30:49,980 --> 00:31:02,020
But what I would suggest is have a parent forum, like a central square type of parent forum where we could all be in on it at the same time and I have to stop.

393
00:31:03,340 --> 00:31:03,960
All right.

394
00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:06,280
Thank you, and single.

395
00:31:07,020 --> 00:31:08,380
All right, Kurt.

396
00:31:08,380 --> 00:31:12,160
Yes, I think there's more ways. I think we need to have more discussions with the board.

397
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:18,020
More meetings like that maybe incorporate somehow after a meeting. There's a discussion with the

398
00:31:18,020 --> 00:31:24,760
board. This way, we're all here. We have usually typically three of those year. Maybe it comes to

399
00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:32,080
little four year or five year, slowly bring those up and happen during a board meeting. Communication

400
00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:37,300
has always been an issue. We've improved quite a bit getting into communications director. Maybe

401
00:31:37,300 --> 00:31:39,460
Maybe it's time we get to communication, it's director full time.

402
00:31:42,580 --> 00:31:45,300
It was quite the improvement when she did come on part time.

403
00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:47,080
A lot more stuff was getting out.

404
00:31:47,740 --> 00:31:50,880
Maybe that's the next year's budget, we need to see.

405
00:31:52,420 --> 00:31:53,300
Okay, thank you.

406
00:31:53,500 --> 00:31:54,180
Okay, I have a rebuttal.

407
00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:57,800
Yes, if you think you need one.

408
00:31:59,060 --> 00:32:01,360
Well, I'm using my time to it.

409
00:32:02,660 --> 00:32:19,000
I would also, to Kurt's point, the communications director, the PTO had a, it was kind of like a split decision whether or not they wanted that position to be filled.

410
00:32:19,900 --> 00:32:29,720
So, I think to say we needed to spend money on a communications director, it was one of those things that it was already set in stone.

411
00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:34,500
and we had no no decision it was already set in stone and yet we still have

412
00:32:34,500 --> 00:32:39,220
communication problems. All right thank you.

413
00:32:42,010 --> 00:32:43,810
Carolyn you didn't answer this one

414
00:32:43,810 --> 00:32:51,700
yet. So I do think that there is always a great deal of confusion about

415
00:32:51,700 --> 00:32:57,540
board of ed meetings which take place in public so that the community can

416
00:32:57,540 --> 00:33:05,380
and observe, and that is by law, but they're not interactive dialogue meetings, which is

417
00:33:05,380 --> 00:33:09,560
very frustrating for everyone, because that doesn't make sense.

418
00:33:09,660 --> 00:33:12,960
You think you're coming to the meeting, you're making a comment, you are staring at people

419
00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:14,700
and you are hoping for an answer.

420
00:33:17,420 --> 00:33:23,500
But the truth is that it is the superintendent who is the CEO of the school district, and

421
00:33:23,500 --> 00:33:30,220
And I think that there are actually several key opportunities for parents to engage and

422
00:33:30,220 --> 00:33:36,500
ask their questions with the two most important people in their child's education.

423
00:33:37,100 --> 00:33:42,540
So our PTO meetings always have our principal and our superintendent present and they are always

424
00:33:42,540 --> 00:33:44,100
accessible to ask questions.

425
00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:52,140
At PQ, we have coffee with the principal where really people can come in and in a casual format

426
00:33:52,140 --> 00:33:56,200
ask their questions, have discussions, and I guess I have to stop.

427
00:33:57,220 --> 00:33:58,520
I too would like to say more.

428
00:34:01,670 --> 00:34:05,890
I'm going to have one, a question at the end for the, I needed to say more.

429
00:34:07,970 --> 00:34:10,290
Any other questions from the voters?

430
00:34:10,710 --> 00:34:10,830
Yes.

431
00:34:11,750 --> 00:34:12,370
Stay tuned.

432
00:34:12,510 --> 00:34:12,770
I'm in.

433
00:34:13,250 --> 00:34:14,570
Jamie Roach.

434
00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:18,360
Sorry, I'm reading off my phone.

435
00:34:19,100 --> 00:34:23,920
The past year, this past year, the issue of school safety became a hot topic amongst parents

436
00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:25,120
and school board members.

437
00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:35,040
Aside from tangible measures such as an additional SRO, bulletproof glass, etc., experts believe

438
00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:40,220
that mental health programming is an important piece of school violence prevention.

439
00:34:41,260 --> 00:34:49,220
Recent results of the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey showed an alarming increase

440
00:34:49,220 --> 00:34:56,280
of mental health challenges among youth, most notably among children who

441
00:34:56,280 --> 00:35:06,660
identify as LGBTQ+. This means that programming and initiatives to design to

442
00:35:06,660 --> 00:35:15,220
support this population like those created by diversity, equity, and inclusion

443
00:35:15,220 --> 00:35:25,240
in committees are essential in promoting positive mental health outcomes for students and a safe school environment.

444
00:35:25,940 --> 00:35:37,680
So my two-part question is, if you become a board member, do you fully support our district's DEI initiatives?

445
00:35:38,460 --> 00:35:39,800
And if so, how?

446
00:35:44,100 --> 00:35:46,600
Well, Matt, you get to go first on that one.

447
00:35:51,020 --> 00:36:00,080
First of all, I'd like to say, I approach DEI with, through kindness and wisdom.

448
00:36:02,020 --> 00:36:08,560
Over time, we can learn to appreciate our differences to promote a healthy relationship with people from all different backgrounds.

449
00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:16,040
With diversity in our curriculum, incorporating a wide range of topics in the library.

450
00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:23,600
I would also promote and encourage cultural differences and promote cultural heritage.

451
00:36:26,770 --> 00:36:27,050
Equity,

452
00:36:29,310 --> 00:36:42,410
we should provide families opportunities to participate in extracurricular programs like the ASC and YMCA and support students who struggle to achieve benchmarks, not push them forward and rob them from their true potential.

453
00:36:43,010 --> 00:36:43,750
So I do,

454
00:36:46,050 --> 00:36:53,130
in my own way, support our district's DEI, thank you.

455
00:36:53,850 --> 00:36:54,950
Okay, thank you.

456
00:36:55,490 --> 00:36:55,930
Kurt?

457
00:36:58,590 --> 00:37:00,850
Yes, we support what the school has done.

458
00:37:01,190 --> 00:37:08,110
I think we've done a pretty good job so far, we've had pull forbs two years ago come in.

459
00:37:08,590 --> 00:37:13,150
And I think the biggest thing that we need to do is we need to have an equal opportunity for

460
00:37:13,150 --> 00:37:17,590
all of our staff, faculty, children, and community.

461
00:37:18,050 --> 00:37:22,830
We need to make it a safe environment for our staff and children.

462
00:37:24,050 --> 00:37:26,610
And of course, our community, because they do come into the building.

463
00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:30,920
And we need to keep working on this.

464
00:37:31,460 --> 00:37:33,100
This isn't something that's our stops today.

465
00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:35,460
We have to keep on growing it forward.

466
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:39,180
Okay, thank you.

467
00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:40,000
Carolyn?

468
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:44,320
Yes, they do support the efforts of the DEI committee.

469
00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:45,940
I served on the committee.

470
00:37:45,940 --> 00:37:56,480
and I believe that it is not an unreasonable thing to require that all of the

471
00:37:56,480 --> 00:38:01,540
grown-ups in the community support the fact that every student deserves a

472
00:38:01,540 --> 00:38:08,200
school environment where they feel welcome, safe, and included. That is not a

473
00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:12,940
particularly high standard. These are children. They deserve an environment where

474
00:38:12,940 --> 00:38:15,720
they feel welcome, safe, and included.

475
00:38:16,340 --> 00:38:18,200
We are in early stages of this work.

476
00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:24,600
I am very impressed with the people who have come forward

477
00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:27,080
to really move this work forward.

478
00:38:27,380 --> 00:38:31,300
And I think the Paul Forbes work was very interesting,

479
00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:33,300
to a very eye-opening to a lot of people.

480
00:38:33,740 --> 00:38:35,580
I think it's also important to remember

481
00:38:35,580 --> 00:38:39,660
that nobody is being asked to change their family values,

482
00:38:39,660 --> 00:38:44,400
to change their faith, or to change their heritage.

483
00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:48,200
In fact, if anything, this work is about affirming those things and

484
00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:51,340
recognizing that our diversity makes us stronger as a community.

485
00:38:51,740 --> 00:38:56,900
And it also prepares our students to enter a world that is much more diverse.

486
00:38:57,640 --> 00:38:58,280
Thank you.

487
00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:01,800
Chris?

488
00:39:02,260 --> 00:39:07,540
D.I. is something that I always go into with a very open mind.

489
00:39:08,020 --> 00:39:09,200
I do support it.

490
00:39:09,300 --> 00:39:15,200
I do think mental health is definitely a very big issue with young kids, even adults,

491
00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:21,120
even high school kids, something definitely I would definitely look into with an open

492
00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:21,560
mind.

493
00:39:21,780 --> 00:39:23,320
I would definitely love to look at the curriculum.

494
00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:27,280
I think like everybody's unique, everybody's their own person.

495
00:39:27,780 --> 00:39:33,160
That is what makes this country, this country, it's what makes this world, but that is definitely

496
00:39:33,160 --> 00:39:38,340
something I would be willing to go into with an open mind, and then address that from

497
00:39:38,340 --> 00:39:39,160
that stage forward.

498
00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:40,880
Okay.

499
00:39:41,060 --> 00:39:41,360
Thank you.

500
00:39:41,740 --> 00:39:44,080
I think that's everyone on that question.

501
00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:46,120
Is there another question from the group?

502
00:39:47,900 --> 00:39:48,380
Yes.

503
00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:53,860
Hello.

504
00:39:54,060 --> 00:39:54,880
Good afternoon.

505
00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:55,900
Thank you for coming.

506
00:39:56,180 --> 00:39:57,040
My name is Brian Lang.

507
00:39:57,040 --> 00:40:04,100
I'm a current board member, and I want to ask all of you why should voters support candidates

508
00:40:04,100 --> 00:40:09,560
It is that have already been on the school board, given the precipitous drop in credibility and trust on the board,

509
00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:17,560
evidenced by a complaint as well as violations of open meeting law, denying public comments, ranker at the meetings.

510
00:40:18,300 --> 00:40:23,260
Why should we support someone who has already been on the board and not support someone new?

511
00:40:24,020 --> 00:40:24,520
Thank you.

512
00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:30,060
All right, on this, luckily enough, Kurt goes first.

513
00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:38,860
I've been on the board for six years now, and I think that I've brought a lot to the board.

514
00:40:39,300 --> 00:40:47,320
I've gotten quite a few things accomplished, and I'm running for another term because I want to do what's best for the school and best for the community.

515
00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:53,580
I feel like I've done a good job. I've gotten elected two times.

516
00:40:53,580 --> 00:41:01,280
So I have an interest here. My son went to school here. I went to school here. I live in

517
00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:05,880
the community and I have a caring heart for this town and the school district.

518
00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:11,480
Okay, thank you. Yeah, Carolyn.

519
00:41:14,510 --> 00:41:20,970
I served on the board eight to ten years ago.

520
00:41:21,910 --> 00:41:23,730
which feels more like four.

521
00:41:24,910 --> 00:41:30,710
And I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish at that time.

522
00:41:31,470 --> 00:41:34,710
I think education is part of a big, huge machine.

523
00:41:35,030 --> 00:41:43,390
And it is riddled with so much red tape, regulatory and legal and state and federal and on and on and on.

524
00:41:43,650 --> 00:41:48,310
And it's very hard to see positive change while you're in it.

525
00:41:48,310 --> 00:41:50,530
and while you're a parent and in it.

526
00:41:51,370 --> 00:41:54,110
For me, it's only recently as my kids have gotten older

527
00:41:54,110 --> 00:41:56,710
and we do a lot of reflecting back that when you look back,

528
00:41:56,730 --> 00:41:58,630
when I look back on our last 15 years,

529
00:41:59,590 --> 00:42:02,210
we've accomplished a great deal, a great deal.

530
00:42:02,350 --> 00:42:06,070
We've accomplished a ton of transparency in an organization

531
00:42:06,070 --> 00:42:08,590
and credibility in our budget process,

532
00:42:09,830 --> 00:42:12,150
introducing a strategic vision, the mission

533
00:42:12,150 --> 00:42:14,170
that has aligned all of our resources,

534
00:42:14,490 --> 00:42:17,550
our teachers, our focus, our student engagement,

535
00:42:17,550 --> 00:42:21,630
engagement, our teacher engagement. There's been a great deal of accomplishment that sometimes

536
00:42:21,630 --> 00:42:25,790
you can only see over time. And again, I wish I had more time. Thank you.

537
00:42:29,610 --> 00:42:35,110
Chris. I mean, I believe the board member truly had

538
00:42:35,110 --> 00:42:39,510
the school's best interest, the parents' best interest, the community's best interest. Then

539
00:42:40,110 --> 00:42:47,550
you would go with that board member, but in voting for someone new, you would be fresher

540
00:42:47,550 --> 00:43:11,630
your ideas, you got someone who's never been on, so you have that, that mentality from someone on the outside looking in who's actually been with the parents on the outside looking in who sees the perspective of the parents who heard the voices, I was not too long ago, I was sitting on that end where the voters are sitting right now at the board meetings, listening to the parents sitting next to me, and that's what I have to say.

541
00:43:12,450 --> 00:43:15,030
Okay, all right, Matt.

542
00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:22,340
Mr. Lang, I was at those board meetings that you referenced.

543
00:43:23,180 --> 00:43:38,640
And I'd like to say that I was pleasantly surprised to see you speak up on behalf of what is constitutionally right within the board decor.

544
00:43:38,640 --> 00:43:48,660
Or I believe that the current board member had the opportunity to stand up for what is right.

545
00:43:49,520 --> 00:43:59,220
And I think when the going got tough, that whether it be ulterior motives or

546
00:43:59,220 --> 00:44:01,160
For other influences,

547
00:44:03,590 --> 00:44:14,970
he failed to listen to the community and give us what we obviously

548
00:44:14,970 --> 00:44:15,370
wanted.

549
00:44:18,810 --> 00:44:21,470
Well, I think that's all four answers to that question.

550
00:44:22,610 --> 00:44:23,670
Do we have another question?

551
00:44:27,420 --> 00:44:27,580
Okay.

552
00:44:29,610 --> 00:44:29,830
All right.

553
00:44:30,030 --> 00:44:30,790
You and then you.

554
00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:37,740
Can you speak on the microphone so the people-

555
00:44:37,740 --> 00:44:38,000
If

556
00:44:40,620 --> 00:44:49,260
you ever question the budget, you guys might use some line items, so it actually brought something that you guys can look at in case you meet around.

557
00:44:56,350 --> 00:44:59,530
I will say the budget is available to look at at the...

558
00:45:03,880 --> 00:45:29,980
So, if you're watching this late and re-run, you can look at that. Let's see what they're talking about in this next question. So, I've had a number of conversations with Eric Stark, the district school business administration director. And 85% of the budget comes from our taxes and the rest come from state aid. And the last two years we got to

559
00:45:29,980 --> 00:45:35,240
a really large additional state aid package that we don't normally get.

560
00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:40,880
This year was $400,000 beyond what we anticipated.

561
00:45:41,820 --> 00:45:47,800
We needed a new teacher at PQ for next year, so a quarter of it went to that, about half

562
00:45:47,800 --> 00:45:56,840
went to the new SRO, and the rest went to electricity increases and various contractual increases.

563
00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:01,840
But the board's been trimming the fat on the budget.

564
00:46:02,480 --> 00:46:08,020
So if we have a year, which is coming up, that we don't get that 400,000,

565
00:46:08,540 --> 00:46:11,700
what would you cut because we're going to have to make cuts?

566
00:46:15,190 --> 00:46:24,710
And I gave you a list of some line items that might help because we probably can't cut a number of things, so I left those out.

567
00:46:24,710 --> 00:46:25,550
I

568
00:46:28,050 --> 00:46:33,870
think the question really is, if suddenly the state A disappears or a large portion of it,

569
00:46:35,670 --> 00:46:40,830
how would you approach that, how would you deal with the shortfall, would you cut something

570
00:46:40,830 --> 00:46:41,470
if so what?

571
00:46:42,170 --> 00:46:44,510
And Carolyn, you get to go first on this.

572
00:46:46,370 --> 00:46:52,330
So every year there is sort of a unique set of circumstances that the board is presented

573
00:46:52,330 --> 00:46:52,550
with.

574
00:46:52,550 --> 00:46:58,610
there's more CD, there's less CD, there's CD that the state decides to withhold, there's

575
00:46:58,610 --> 00:47:05,310
the ERS and TRS that doesn't get, that comes in throughout the year.

576
00:47:05,990 --> 00:47:09,830
So there's always new circumstances to deal with.

577
00:47:12,090 --> 00:47:17,870
I would say, and I'm not in any way trying to avoid this, that I would not sit here today

578
00:47:17,870 --> 00:47:19,790
to tell you about a line item to cut.

579
00:47:19,790 --> 00:47:36,270
But I think that the importance of a very clear strategic vision for the district, if implemented correctly, and with a board that supports that, the board should always be aligning its resources to the priorities of the district.

580
00:47:36,690 --> 00:47:46,910
Those priorities are the ones that should be protected at all costs, and the other ones are the ones that I usually would look to examine far, far more closely.

581
00:47:46,910 --> 00:47:52,530
So in other words, core education versus non-core education, and sometimes they're just incredibly

582
00:47:52,530 --> 00:47:53,530
painful choices.

583
00:47:54,190 --> 00:47:58,270
And I agree with you, the COVID money is going to dry up soon.

584
00:47:58,770 --> 00:48:02,630
So I would imagine next year's budget will be a much more challenging climate.

585
00:48:06,500 --> 00:48:06,980
Chris?

586
00:48:08,460 --> 00:48:11,420
I'm not going to lie, I can't give you an answer on the fly on this.

587
00:48:12,040 --> 00:48:15,560
This is five pages that was just given like two minutes ago.

588
00:48:16,240 --> 00:48:18,740
I'm not going to sit here and lie and make up some sort of an answer.

589
00:48:18,740 --> 00:48:23,280
I've never been on the board before, so I'm not familiar with the breakdown fully of the budget.

590
00:48:23,960 --> 00:48:40,560
That is definitely something I'd be willing, definitely would dive into if elected, but in the short span that we have in the 60 seconds, 90 seconds, I can't give you affirmative answer on all of this information on what exactly I would cut and not cut, sorry.

591
00:48:45,950 --> 00:48:59,630
So the real budget PDF is about 62 pages, I'll be quite honest reading that, I try to find things that peak my interest and I have a hard time reading it.

592
00:49:00,130 --> 00:49:11,250
What I would do would be to work with our district and learn how to read the budget.

593
00:49:11,250 --> 00:49:19,370
And if you are giving me a multiple choice, I would say don't pay the coaches because I do it for free, that's it.

594
00:49:21,670 --> 00:49:30,970
I think every year is different, and every year has different priorities, so it's very hard to say what you would cut right away.

595
00:49:32,710 --> 00:49:38,830
So by saying that is in three years from now, when that might happen, we'd have to analyze what we have.

596
00:49:39,370 --> 00:49:43,690
is it worth asking for the coaches, hey, is $100 less?

597
00:49:44,550 --> 00:49:48,550
Or if we're not having JV sports because there's not enough enrollment,

598
00:49:49,390 --> 00:49:50,590
there's money savings there.

599
00:49:51,170 --> 00:49:55,790
But I think every year you have to look and see where you can cut

600
00:49:55,790 --> 00:49:58,230
because there is some fat we've trimmed over the years.

601
00:49:59,150 --> 00:50:02,070
And I'm sure there is a little bit more here and there that we can find

602
00:50:02,070 --> 00:50:03,270
if we needed to trim it.

603
00:50:03,370 --> 00:50:08,270
And every year is different from academics to sports to electric.

604
00:50:08,270 --> 00:50:14,810
who knows the electric might come down we will hope bus routes could be shorter

605
00:50:16,130 --> 00:50:21,070
we don't know so I think every year you have to look at that to see where you can

606
00:50:21,070 --> 00:50:25,510
cut I don't think it's just say hey you can cut this today all

607
00:50:29,280 --> 00:50:30,400
right I

608
00:50:33,350 --> 00:50:33,490
think

609
00:50:33,490 --> 00:50:35,510
there's a woman yeah is

610
00:50:41,520 --> 00:50:47,720
your microphone on no now it is hi I wanted to know from

611
00:50:47,720 --> 00:50:54,380
All of the candidates if safety and security for our schools is going to be a top priority.

612
00:50:55,160 --> 00:51:00,380
If so, are we going to be open-minded to allocating funding for upgrading and implementing

613
00:51:00,380 --> 00:51:06,440
some new safety and security measures considering a lot of local districts are kind of obsolete

614
00:51:06,440 --> 00:51:07,100
in that department.

615
00:51:07,920 --> 00:51:12,180
And if there's going to be similar resistance that we've been met with the current board

616
00:51:12,180 --> 00:51:18,120
going forward based on how important it has been made aware to the current board.

617
00:51:18,120 --> 00:51:24,940
It is for us to have a safe and secure school district, so kind of two-fold question.

618
00:51:25,780 --> 00:51:26,600
Thank you.

619
00:51:27,060 --> 00:51:28,320
We'll begin with Chris.

620
00:51:31,520 --> 00:51:35,800
100% school safety is going to be definitely a concern.

621
00:51:36,800 --> 00:51:42,180
I believe in my law enforcement military background, I could have some good input there.

622
00:51:42,180 --> 00:51:49,740
I do believe on this ballot that is coming up, there is a security bond that is going to

623
00:51:49,740 --> 00:51:50,940
be voted on by the community.

624
00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:58,580
That's going to be money allocated to the schools, to beef up security for the schools.

625
00:52:00,080 --> 00:52:04,100
But definitely the SRO is going forward, definitely well needed, want to need school.

626
00:52:06,120 --> 00:52:10,520
And like I said, at the end of the day, the number one thing for parents when they go off

627
00:52:10,520 --> 00:52:13,420
What the work is, they don't want to have to worry about their children's safety at school.

628
00:52:14,120 --> 00:52:17,300
And definitely as going forward, that's going to be a priority.

629
00:52:18,440 --> 00:52:19,360
Okay, thank you.

630
00:52:19,900 --> 00:52:20,140
Matt.

631
00:52:22,450 --> 00:52:29,010
I think everybody here knows how vocal I was about getting the SRO on board.

632
00:52:29,630 --> 00:52:35,710
But one of the things I would like to say about that is something that we glaze over all the time.

633
00:52:36,670 --> 00:52:41,030
That our school resource officer is not just a police officer.

634
00:52:41,030 --> 00:52:48,410
or this person will become an integral part of our school district.

635
00:52:49,190 --> 00:53:01,870
And we'll play a role in discipline, in averting mental health crisis and

636
00:53:02,330 --> 00:53:03,390
violence in the school.

637
00:53:03,670 --> 00:53:09,650
So I think just hiring SRO, we've encompassed

638
00:53:09,650 --> 00:53:20,210
a multitude of objectives in one role, but I would reiterate my continual objective

639
00:53:20,210 --> 00:53:24,730
of including the parents and the safety committee, so we have a lot of work to do.

640
00:53:25,830 --> 00:53:26,830
Okay, thank you.

641
00:53:28,070 --> 00:53:29,910
Yes, I'm always looking to improve safety.

642
00:53:30,330 --> 00:53:35,970
We have a bond out now, hopefully we'll pass to improve the safety of the schools.

643
00:53:36,850 --> 00:53:41,610
We also the safety committee, and we had a survey done to see what we needed to do to improve.

644
00:53:43,070 --> 00:53:46,050
And also, the mental health is a big part of it.

645
00:53:47,350 --> 00:53:53,310
We have now mental health in the high school and every grade, which is a huge part of keeping the schools safe also.

646
00:53:54,290 --> 00:53:58,810
So yes, I would like to improve the school safety.

647
00:53:59,870 --> 00:54:01,250
Okay, thank you, Carolyn.

648
00:54:02,470 --> 00:54:04,410
So we've hired our second SRO.

649
00:54:04,410 --> 00:54:08,610
So we have the security bond going out, we have a safety committee that I believe to be

650
00:54:08,610 --> 00:54:11,150
very effective and engaged and active.

651
00:54:12,770 --> 00:54:17,470
But I also, I believe that safety and well-being has to be a holistic approach.

652
00:54:17,830 --> 00:54:25,830
Every single school shooting is about an adolescent or young adult who begins to feel angry, isolated,

653
00:54:26,450 --> 00:54:27,690
unloved or unwell.

654
00:54:28,050 --> 00:54:33,710
We do need SROs, we need security, we need technology, but until that specific problem gets

655
00:54:33,710 --> 00:54:36,990
that's addressed, these tragic events will continue.

656
00:54:37,470 --> 00:54:39,390
So it has to be a holistic approach.

657
00:54:39,590 --> 00:54:41,550
It's not safety and mental health,

658
00:54:41,890 --> 00:54:44,450
it is a very much integrated solution.

659
00:54:46,740 --> 00:54:47,640
Okay, thank you.

660
00:54:49,300 --> 00:54:51,660
Did everyone, yeah, everyone answered that question.

661
00:54:52,980 --> 00:54:56,080
All right, we have time for one more question from the group.

662
00:54:57,480 --> 00:54:58,920
Are you, do you have a question?

663
00:54:59,840 --> 00:55:00,160
Okay.

664
00:55:05,140 --> 00:55:06,540
The question from the background.

665
00:55:07,260 --> 00:55:12,600
a lot of mine is that we're in business of educating children and nobody tonight has

666
00:55:12,600 --> 00:55:14,640
really talked about how we do education.

667
00:55:15,300 --> 00:55:22,480
Are you aware of the initiatives we use such as differentiated learning and computational

668
00:55:22,480 --> 00:55:25,860
thinking and what would you do to support those initiatives?

669
00:55:27,100 --> 00:55:27,860
Okay, thank you.

670
00:55:28,900 --> 00:55:36,280
So the question is on education itself and something called differentiated learning, I believe,

671
00:55:36,280 --> 00:55:44,180
was one in computational thinking among other things and Matt, you go first.

672
00:55:48,680 --> 00:55:55,980
So again, I'm going to be quite honest there in this school district, my children are

673
00:55:56,320 --> 00:55:59,000
in PQ, they first and third grade.

674
00:56:00,640 --> 00:56:11,000
So three years in the school district, I learned something new every single day about different

675
00:56:11,000 --> 00:56:17,340
different assets we have in this community pertaining to education.

676
00:56:17,880 --> 00:56:33,900
When you go to the district website, you can dive deep into the web and get lost in how many different aspects of education we encompass in this school district.

677
00:56:34,940 --> 00:56:51,930
There's a lot to read and there's a lot that I read and it's hard to because I can't tell you with honesty that I know those specific educational formats.

678
00:56:55,780 --> 00:56:56,420
Kurt?

679
00:56:56,940 --> 00:57:02,520
Yeah, so the school's mission has been great for education.

680
00:57:03,760 --> 00:57:09,060
We are probably one of the school districts that had the same mission for so long with

681
00:57:09,060 --> 00:57:14,180
educating our kids and that's something North Salem should be proud of.

682
00:57:14,820 --> 00:57:16,700
A lot of our kids have moved on to college.

683
00:57:16,920 --> 00:57:20,180
They've also gone to tech schools and learned different things.

684
00:57:20,180 --> 00:57:26,580
I think North Salem should be very proud of what we've, we've taught our kids over the

685
00:57:26,580 --> 00:57:26,860
years.

686
00:57:29,750 --> 00:57:29,990
Okay.

687
00:57:30,190 --> 00:57:30,570
Thank you.

688
00:57:31,130 --> 00:57:31,690
Carolyn.

689
00:57:34,050 --> 00:57:40,110
So I think that one of the benefits of how our mission has evolved and how well entrenched

690
00:57:40,110 --> 00:57:45,370
it has become is that we're now at this opportunity where we can really start to get

691
00:57:45,370 --> 00:57:48,730
granular about how to serve all students.

692
00:57:48,730 --> 00:57:55,070
You know, our academic superstars, they are shining, our athletes are shining.

693
00:57:56,770 --> 00:58:01,150
But I think it's really now an opportunity to look at all of these different pockets

694
00:58:01,150 --> 00:58:03,730
of students, and how do we help them to shine?

695
00:58:03,990 --> 00:58:07,790
I think Unified Sports is an amazing example of that.

696
00:58:08,610 --> 00:58:17,270
I think that differentiated learning is a really important, very early days idea, because

697
00:58:17,270 --> 00:58:19,430
there are all different types of learners.

698
00:58:19,850 --> 00:58:22,550
There are, you know, the traditional classroom learners

699
00:58:22,550 --> 00:58:26,370
who have excelled, but there are many students who are

700
00:58:26,370 --> 00:58:28,790
more visual learners or more auditory learners

701
00:58:28,790 --> 00:58:30,490
or more experiential learners.

702
00:58:30,950 --> 00:58:34,490
We have, you know, students who are not good at academics

703
00:58:34,490 --> 00:58:36,530
and have never been good at academics,

704
00:58:36,570 --> 00:58:39,090
but we haven't really got so granular about

705
00:58:39,090 --> 00:58:41,890
how can we help them to learn better?

706
00:58:42,250 --> 00:58:44,650
What styles learning can help them to do better?

707
00:58:45,890 --> 00:58:46,950
And I'm out of time.

708
00:58:47,450 --> 00:58:51,490
I would love to talk more about this, all right, Chris.

709
00:58:52,850 --> 00:58:58,610
Currently, I mean, I don't know much about that topic, currently not being a member, but

710
00:58:58,610 --> 00:59:02,650
if elected, I do look forward to understanding the risk and the benefits of the educational

711
00:59:02,650 --> 00:59:07,870
topics and seeing if we can improve on anything if elected.

712
00:59:08,990 --> 00:59:09,930
All right, thank you.

713
00:59:11,810 --> 00:59:13,250
All right, one more.

714
00:59:13,250 --> 00:59:13,730
So

715
00:59:19,460 --> 00:59:24,200
my question is to Kurt, you say you're pro-safety.

716
00:59:24,500 --> 00:59:26,160
Oh, is this not on?

717
00:59:27,760 --> 00:59:30,180
Okay, you said that you're pro-safety.

718
00:59:30,560 --> 00:59:33,760
Why did you vote no to an SRO two times?

719
00:59:34,700 --> 00:59:39,460
And if the answer is because of financial constraints, why did you never disclose that seeking

720
00:59:39,460 --> 00:59:41,420
a grant could fund this expense?

721
00:59:41,900 --> 00:59:46,200
And why did the public only hear about the grant on the day the board was served a complaint

722
00:59:46,200 --> 00:59:46,940
on this issue?

723
00:59:49,220 --> 00:59:51,800
I guess I'll encourage you to answer that first.

724
00:59:56,880 --> 00:59:59,540
There was a process, the board.

725
01:00:00,000 --> 01:00:28,300
Usually goes through with everything. And the process wasn't done. We found out during the process that there was new legislation that had to be in the contract. We never had a contract in hand from the county. And by taking the time necessary to do all this, we found that information out. Also, the funding, I worked on the funding,

726
01:00:29,740 --> 01:00:33,500
some time after we voted in the know to see if we could get it.

727
01:00:34,280 --> 01:00:36,880
As everyone knows grants aren't awarded right away.

728
01:00:37,360 --> 01:00:38,520
They're not given out right away.

729
01:00:38,760 --> 01:00:42,160
You have to apply, which I did and didn't know we got it.

730
01:00:42,240 --> 01:00:47,100
We got the letter the same day of the meeting that we were awarded that grant.

731
01:00:51,020 --> 01:00:52,540
I think that answers the question.

732
01:00:56,340 --> 01:01:07,200
If any of the rest of you would like to comment about either the SRO or transparency, I'll

733
01:01:07,200 --> 01:01:11,480
go through the order and you can comment on it.

734
01:01:11,980 --> 01:01:14,100
That would be, the next person would be Carolyn.

735
01:01:17,720 --> 01:01:20,140
The SRO or the transparency?

736
01:01:20,140 --> 01:01:26,760
the transparency about getting the funding and logic or reasoning for what you

737
01:01:26,760 --> 01:01:29,920
tell people are not. I don't know.

738
01:01:33,710 --> 01:01:35,730
I don't feel that's a relevant question for me.

739
01:01:36,170 --> 01:01:39,370
I'm sorry. Do either of you want to comment on that? If not, we can go on to the

740
01:01:39,370 --> 01:01:43,230
other question. Yeah, I mean that was. I think it was pretty much directed at. Yeah,

741
01:01:43,310 --> 01:01:48,350
yeah, I'm gonna say I don't really. I have something to say. Okay. There's a big

742
01:01:48,350 --> 01:01:54,310
There's a big difference between a grant being awarded and a grant being administered.

743
01:01:54,890 --> 01:01:58,470
So grant is awarded, that's a fancy letter from Senator Harcombe saying.

744
01:01:59,130 --> 01:02:01,890
North Salem Center School District gets $150,000.

745
01:02:03,030 --> 01:02:04,410
That's an award.

746
01:02:05,630 --> 01:02:17,130
Administered is when the grant is reviewed, and it's gone through the 90 to 120 days of review process, sent to the Senate and then sent back from the DSNY to the school district.

747
01:02:17,130 --> 01:02:21,930
in cold hard cash, so that's a big difference.

748
01:02:23,870 --> 01:02:27,950
Voting no twice is, you could have voted yes,

749
01:02:28,430 --> 01:02:36,990
and then worked on it positively and working with the district because the parents and the community wanted it.

750
01:02:37,110 --> 01:02:44,230
So you could have listened to that and worked on it while everything was being done.

751
01:02:46,350 --> 01:02:46,830
Thank you.

752
01:02:52,950 --> 01:02:59,250
We'll go on to the next question which is the question we like to ask is the last question

753
01:02:59,250 --> 01:03:03,450
because we're at 8 o'clock, it's the right time to start wrapping things up.

754
01:03:04,070 --> 01:03:09,970
So I'd like to know if there's an area that we haven't covered enough tonight that you

755
01:03:09,970 --> 01:03:11,630
would like to briefly discuss.

756
01:03:12,330 --> 01:03:17,710
So I've heard several times from the person on the left and inside about, oh, I wanted

757
01:03:17,710 --> 01:03:20,690
to say more, and I think some of the others may have too.

758
01:03:21,090 --> 01:03:25,130
So anything that you've either talked about and wish you could say a few more words about

759
01:03:25,130 --> 01:03:29,130
or something that you are kind of surprised no one asked a question about and you'd like

760
01:03:29,130 --> 01:03:29,830
to speak about.

761
01:03:30,730 --> 01:03:33,990
So on this, the person who should go first is Kurt.

762
01:03:35,450 --> 01:03:40,830
One of the things that was not brought up tonight and I would like to talk about is all

763
01:03:40,830 --> 01:03:50,170
issues that occurred after COVID. I think we need to get our kids brought back up to date.

764
01:03:50,710 --> 01:03:56,330
There's a lot of things that we lost while the kids were home. And I think that is a big issue

765
01:03:56,330 --> 01:04:04,610
that we haven't talked about tonight is helping the kids recover and get up to speed from COVID,

766
01:04:04,610 --> 01:04:13,170
from all different levels from learning to mental health, all of those issues, and communicating.

767
01:04:14,930 --> 01:04:17,950
So that's the biggest thing that I think that hasn't brought up tonight was COVID.

768
01:04:19,270 --> 01:04:20,030
Okay, thank you.

769
01:04:20,870 --> 01:04:21,310
Carolyn?

770
01:04:25,360 --> 01:04:29,940
So I guess I would like to bring up the issue of mental health from a different perspective.

771
01:04:29,940 --> 01:04:37,100
I think that many parents that are learning about the national mental health youth crisis,

772
01:04:38,280 --> 01:04:46,780
as I have been over the past year or two, are wondering, you know, as they're reading

773
01:04:46,780 --> 01:04:53,560
these very clear and horrible statistics, the question is, but is that really here?

774
01:04:53,860 --> 01:04:57,920
Is that really here in our beautiful bubble in North Salem?

775
01:04:57,920 --> 01:05:02,080
And unfortunately, the heartbreaking answer is yes.

776
01:05:02,960 --> 01:05:08,060
The district has recently decided to disclose some important information.

777
01:05:08,800 --> 01:05:16,560
And from March 2022 to 23, there were 26 suicide assessments conducted in our district.

778
01:05:16,560 --> 01:05:28,680
26, a suicide assessment is a situation that activated the need for intervention to assess

779
01:05:28,680 --> 01:05:31,080
the seriousness of a potential threat.

780
01:05:32,020 --> 01:05:37,500
So even if that number of seriousness was a fraction, that's an important number and

781
01:05:37,500 --> 01:05:39,620
that should not sensitize us.

782
01:05:39,680 --> 01:05:42,820
They are our children, they are our friends and neighbors.

783
01:05:44,300 --> 01:05:45,320
So it is, yes.

784
01:05:45,320 --> 01:05:50,120
it is here in North Salem and we need to be very actively attacking this

785
01:05:50,120 --> 01:05:56,500
problem from all fronts. Thank you. Chris same question, what would you like

786
01:05:57,280 --> 01:05:58,320
added to the evening?

787
01:06:00,360 --> 01:06:04,340
I believe to piggyback mental health is a growing

788
01:06:04,340 --> 01:06:08,340
concern definitely after coming off of COVID. I believe mental health and the

789
01:06:08,340 --> 01:06:13,120
SRO kind of go hand in hand. A lot of people don't realize that the SRO I know a lot

790
01:06:13,120 --> 01:06:19,120
people there is there for Gaffa Bid active shooter but the SRO's training is

791
01:06:19,120 --> 01:06:23,000
very specific to the schools. They walk around the schools, they'll be able to

792
01:06:23,000 --> 01:06:28,380
tell if they do see that loner sitting by themselves. They have the training

793
01:06:28,380 --> 01:06:32,780
to be able to see that person and maybe they address the issue before it becomes

794
01:06:32,780 --> 01:06:38,520
a long-term issue, before it becomes a bigger issue and I do believe the SRO and

795
01:06:38,520 --> 01:06:42,020
the mental health do go hand in hand with each other and need to be discussed

796
01:06:42,020 --> 01:06:45,920
more. Thank you Matt.

797
01:06:49,260 --> 01:06:54,700
All right so real quick. What I wanted to say before was I wanted to

798
01:06:54,700 --> 01:07:00,580
create like a parent forum, parent square so that we can disseminate information regularly. I

799
01:07:00,580 --> 01:07:06,960
also would like more community forums where we can talk like this because I think we can formulate

800
01:07:06,960 --> 01:07:18,020
And we can really get down to the social, emotional aspect behind how decisions are made.

801
01:07:18,540 --> 01:07:26,420
But one thing I wanted to point out was that we always forget about the children and

802
01:07:26,420 --> 01:07:29,640
including them in things.

803
01:07:30,200 --> 01:07:36,020
And what I would also include with the community forums is to encourage the middle school,

804
01:07:36,020 --> 01:07:44,300
high school students to attend and participate in district changes and issues, and incorporate

805
01:07:44,300 --> 01:07:52,660
them into a lot of the after school extracurricular activities that include PQ, yeah, so that's

806
01:07:52,660 --> 01:07:52,860
it.

807
01:07:53,440 --> 01:07:53,660
Okay.

808
01:07:54,320 --> 01:07:55,600
All right.

809
01:07:55,700 --> 01:07:55,780
Yeah.

810
01:07:56,640 --> 01:07:57,100
Yeah.

811
01:07:57,560 --> 01:07:57,900
I'm sorry.

812
01:07:58,160 --> 01:08:00,180
And it's not a rebuttal against you at all.

813
01:08:00,620 --> 01:08:04,160
Actually, I believe that our PTO meetings are that town square.

814
01:08:04,780 --> 01:08:09,740
Again, the two most important people in our children's education are present at those

815
01:08:09,740 --> 01:08:10,100
meetings.

816
01:08:10,660 --> 01:08:14,860
I think part of the problem, though, is that we're not getting the attendance of these

817
01:08:14,860 --> 01:08:16,520
meetings, and we need to figure out why.

818
01:08:17,100 --> 01:08:22,420
And if it's schedules, if it's lack of interest, whatever it is, how do we address that?

819
01:08:22,560 --> 01:08:26,640
What's the better format that's going to get parents to participate at a number that's

820
01:08:26,640 --> 01:08:29,360
large enough where the feedback is really relevant?

821
01:08:29,360 --> 01:08:42,300
Because I mean, as board members, feedback from any person is very important, but what we're always questioning is is that feedback representing the will of the community or is it just representing the will of one person.

822
01:08:42,800 --> 01:08:49,780
And so the more people that can participate and express similar views, the more we know this is something that needs to be acted upon.

823
01:08:50,140 --> 01:08:52,460
But I believe the PTO meetings are the right form for that.

824
01:08:53,380 --> 01:08:54,360
Okay, thank you.

825
01:08:55,580 --> 01:08:58,060
We've now come to the closing statements.

826
01:08:59,360 --> 01:09:09,720
So the closing statements run can be a minute and a half, 90 seconds, and we're going to go in reverse order, so confuse you all.

827
01:09:10,620 --> 01:09:14,740
And so the order on this will be Kurt, then Matt, then Chris, then Carolyn.

828
01:09:16,320 --> 01:09:20,140
Thank you all for coming tonight, asking the wonderful questions.

829
01:09:21,360 --> 01:09:24,840
please get out and vote for the budget, please get out and vote for the bond.

830
01:09:26,080 --> 01:09:28,380
Also, please re-elect if you can.

831
01:09:29,840 --> 01:09:31,440
Thank you all again for coming tonight.

832
01:09:32,400 --> 01:09:34,820
If you have any questions, please reach out to me.

833
01:09:37,230 --> 01:09:38,350
Okay, thank you, Matt.

834
01:09:41,560 --> 01:09:45,400
Okay, thank you, everybody, for showing up tonight, really appreciate it.

835
01:09:45,440 --> 01:09:48,560
And it shows your support for us.

836
01:09:49,220 --> 01:09:53,520
We as parents know what is best for our children and our voices deserve to be part.

837
01:09:53,520 --> 01:09:55,020
of the larger conversation.

838
01:09:55,480 --> 01:10:04,180
I will be the parents liaison, someone who parents feel comfortable coming to, to voice their

839
01:10:04,180 --> 01:10:05,720
concerns when they feel unheard.

840
01:10:06,840 --> 01:10:11,340
There needs to be better communication with parents, with a need as well to create

841
01:10:11,340 --> 01:10:15,660
an open exchange of ideas and information between the districts and us parents, which should

842
01:10:15,660 --> 01:10:20,960
be involved in such things like the District Safety Committee, as it is our children who

843
01:10:20,960 --> 01:10:27,360
We're directly impacted by decisions of some board members who seem in some way removed from the school community.

844
01:10:27,920 --> 01:10:36,900
Let's utilize our diverse set of skills as a community, highlight what we can achieve by working and reaching those goals together.

845
01:10:37,400 --> 01:10:38,800
Thank you very much.

846
01:10:40,000 --> 01:10:40,320
Chris?

847
01:10:42,200 --> 01:10:45,000
I just want to start off by saying thank you for everybody for coming out.

848
01:10:45,000 --> 01:10:52,100
I moved to North Salem, like I said, in 2018, because it had that small town vibe.

849
01:10:52,580 --> 01:10:55,060
There's a small town, small community, small school district.

850
01:10:55,880 --> 01:11:00,740
There should be no reason why there's a disconnect between the school board and the parents.

851
01:11:01,420 --> 01:11:09,600
If elected, I would open up all forums of communication that I could possibly do to the parents, to the community.

852
01:11:10,700 --> 01:11:15,100
If I go now and talk into the community recently, there's a lot of talent in this community.

853
01:11:15,720 --> 01:11:18,980
There's a lot of people who will have a lot to bring to the table in this community.

854
01:11:19,580 --> 01:11:22,360
From the parents, there are just some community members to the children.

855
01:11:22,940 --> 01:11:28,460
And I would love to just get as many people, if elected, involved and hear the voices of the community,

856
01:11:28,600 --> 01:11:32,100
hear the voices of the parents, and give a voice to the parents again, thank you.

857
01:11:34,880 --> 01:11:35,520
And Carolyn,

858
01:11:38,800 --> 01:11:41,620
thank you for coming, thank you for participating in this.

859
01:11:41,620 --> 01:11:49,000
It is just a great opportunity to talk about the most important issues that are facing

860
01:11:49,000 --> 01:11:49,500
our district.

861
01:11:49,820 --> 01:11:54,800
In my opinion, those important issues are maintaining the stability of our district.

862
01:11:55,260 --> 01:11:57,480
Stability sounds like something that is kind of boring.

863
01:11:57,820 --> 01:12:01,060
It's only boring until we get a taste of instability.

864
01:12:01,940 --> 01:12:02,500
And that matters.

865
01:12:02,800 --> 01:12:07,360
So, caking off the relationship between the board and our superintendent is crucial.

866
01:12:08,320 --> 01:12:12,260
mental health, I believe is a top priority within the district.

867
01:12:12,800 --> 01:12:21,000
I didn't give you a chance to talk about the Sandy Hook Promise, say something program that will be launching next school year, it is a tremendous

868
01:12:21,000 --> 01:12:25,200
suite of mental health and safety resources for our district.

869
01:12:25,560 --> 01:12:34,120
What I love about it is that it will activate our community to look out for and care for and protect one another.

870
01:12:34,120 --> 01:12:37,000
It is time to take the power back.

871
01:12:37,320 --> 01:12:38,380
We can't live in fear.

872
01:12:38,960 --> 01:12:45,340
We can't stand by while the light in so many of our children is dimming.

873
01:12:46,080 --> 01:12:50,500
And we can't let the potential of our country be so diminished by this issue.

874
01:12:51,440 --> 01:12:55,820
So I appreciate the opportunity to reinforce this.

875
01:12:56,300 --> 01:12:57,280
And thank you again.

876
01:12:58,740 --> 01:13:00,900
Thank you to all the candidates.

877
01:13:00,900 --> 01:13:05,620
And thank you for the turnout tonight.

878
01:13:05,800 --> 01:13:10,500
This is probably the fourth or fifth time I've moderated a candidate for them.

879
01:13:10,960 --> 01:13:15,200
And this is by far the largest crowd I've seen, so it's great.

880
01:13:16,040 --> 01:13:22,480
Yeah, give yourself a round of applause, but also a round of applause for your candidates.

881
01:13:22,940 --> 01:13:24,320
They've done a great job tonight.

882
01:13:28,320 --> 01:13:37,840
And there are applications for membership in the League of Women Voters over there if any of you would like to join us and help out next time, okay?

883
01:13:38,260 --> 01:13:38,940
Thank you and good night.

884
01:13:39,800 --> 01:13:40,900
Oh, and don't forget to vote.

885
01:13:41,700 --> 01:13:43,340
May 16th at PQ.

886
01:17:22,210 --> 01:17:27,610
. . . . . . . . .

887
01:17:31,410 --> 01:17:55,610
I know they tried to get more and more things going on, so I'm going to take over the company, and that's what I'm going to do.

888
01:19:39,910 --> 01:19:45,570
I don't recall getting noticed that, but I think it's more

889
01:20:00,090 --> 01:20:07,330
So, you might get those things in the Webchester, but not the media, but it's going to be

890
01:21:53,730 --> 01:21:55,130
.

891
01:21:55,130 --> 01:21:55,150
.

892
01:22:01,250 --> 01:22:02,650
.

893
01:22:02,650 --> 01:22:02,670
.

894
01:22:02,670 --> 01:22:02,730
.

895
01:22:04,690 --> 01:22:06,090
.

896
01:22:06,090 --> 01:22:06,790
.

897
01:22:06,790 --> 01:22:07,690
I don't know what you're supposed to say.

898
01:22:09,790 --> 01:22:14,310
You know, it's like I honestly have never heard about it.

899
01:22:15,990 --> 01:22:18,170
But you know, it's kind of cool.

900
01:22:19,970 --> 01:22:23,050
Are you, are you, are you, are you in New York?

901
01:22:23,770 --> 01:22:24,650
No, we're in New York.

902
01:22:25,070 --> 01:22:25,270
Right.

903
01:22:26,810 --> 01:22:27,550
But do they have it?

904
01:22:27,930 --> 01:22:29,130
There's my friends on it.

905
01:22:29,590 --> 01:22:32,230
And I am, I'm saying.

906
01:22:32,490 --> 01:22:32,630
I'm saying.

907
01:22:32,650 --> 01:22:33,190
I'll get the receipt.

908
01:23:45,850 --> 01:23:52,190
I think because I was looking at the other meetings, and you guys do like the private areas

909
01:24:06,970 --> 01:24:13,510
I think I was the only one that followed the rules, so I have the job.

910
01:24:14,770 --> 01:24:16,050
And they don't listen.