Student Brandon Cisneros gave a presentation on SCHOOLY
By: Katherine Massopust
PERTH AMBOY – Continuing with the new format, the Board commenced business at 5:30 p.m. and immediately went into closed session to begin the open meeting at 7:48 p.m.
There were 3 presentations at the Meeting.
The first presentation was by Student Brandon Cisneros. Cisneros gave a presentation on the scholarship tool and finder APP SCHOLLY. This APP helps students find a scholarship based on their profile and matches it to find scholarships that they may be eligible for. It was first introduced on Shark Tank by creator Christopher Gray. Gray won $1.3 million in scholarships through a painstaking process. He wanted to make it easier to find scholarships so he created the APP SCHOLLY.
Cisneros stated, “It took me two weeks on Google and I still didn’t find what I needed. Within 5 minutes after filling out a profile on SCHOLLY, I was able to find scholarships. Many people don’t have internet access. There is the Give SCHOLLY Program where sponsors can pay for the SCHOLLY Membership.”
The second presentation was on the on the 9th Grade Program and given by Dr. Ashanti Holley. “The 9th Grade Program is the beacon of change, support and success.”
The presentation included a short promotional video featuring students and teachers in the 9th Grade Program. The students and teachers in the film emphasized the closeness of the relationship between teachers and students and the support the students receive from teachers. It also featured success stories from both the teachers and students. It emphasized the level of rigor in the program and what was expected out of the students. Students stated in the video that there “…were a lot of trips to colleges and that you need a chance to be what you want to be.”
Dr. Holley was assisted by Student Delilah Morales who stated, “Kindness of teachers helped me come out of my shell. I was able to go to St. Peter’s University with the debate team and received the Best Delegate Award. “We work hard to combat stereotyping.”
Board Secretary Derek Jess and Supervisor Dr. David Roman gave the last presentation which was on the Board of Education 2017-2018 Budget.
The total budget for 2017-2018 school year is $315,648,042 with $27,713,696 or 8.4% coming from taxes. State Aid is $186,647,166 or 59.13%.
Dr. Roman stated that each student costs 26.5 cents a day or $8.00 a month and gave the financial position of the Board, “Over the next 3 years, all of our debt (regarding previous bonds) will be paid.”
“The Dual Language Program will be increased to the 5th Grade.” Roman also stated, “We’re meeting biweekly with the SDA (School Development Authority) to bring a robust program to the new High School. The plan is for the new high school to open in 2021 at no cost to the Perth Amboy Taxpayers.”
Dr. David Roman and Board Secretary Derek Jess give a presentation on the 2017/2018 School Budget *Photos by K. Massopust
