001And I ask that we all pause for a moment of silence directly after as we remember a secret alumni called the Palace who sadly passed away last week. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Over to Dr. for her administrative report. You're all very excited to hear from Mr. and his budget adoption presentation in a few moments. Um I just wanted to remind the board of a few celebrations. So the Viking cheerleading national champions are going to be recognized in a parade that is sponsored by our county executive Bruce Blakeman. That's going to be on Saturday, May 17th at noon, and the rain date will be Saturday, May 31st. I'd
002also like to just um express to the board my gratitude for the entire team that worked on the Penal Juice production. It was absolutely fantastic. There are a lot of laughs. It was extremely well done. and also to the Harbor School staff for absolutely fabulous team night. Um, both of those events were truly remarkable and very very well attended by the community and by our students. And with that, unless the board has any questions, I'd like to turn it over to Mr. Vel. All right. Thank you very much. Uh here tonight to talk about the budget. We'll ask the board to formally adopt the budget later on the agenda. And away we go. So not much has changed since our last meeting. We are uh once again for 2526 asking for a 2.49% 49% uh
003proposed tax levy, which would be a 1.93 budgetto budget increase from 2425 to 2526. Here just shows some of again some of the history over the past seven years. Uh again, we we always try to provide the taxpayer with the most relief possible and this year we are not maxing out our levy. We could go with as high as 268. And uh as you can see again over the last few years whenever possible here in Seafood we try to relieve the taxpayer as much as possible. And this is just how uh averages are trending right now on the island. I do expect these numbers to change slightly. Uh but right now they're honestly a little Oh, sorry. There you go. They're a little all over the place. Uh the TV went out. That's the battery.
004They're a little all over the place. However, we're still trending uh lower than again the average in Nassau and SuffK. That's both in the proposed levy and the maximum allowable. Uh and I can tell you just in conversations I've had with colleagues, uh a lot of our neighbors nearby are definitely going to be higher than 2.49 based on what I'm hearing and seeing. This is a revenue comparison just comparing 2425 to 2526. Again, we discussed the levy at 2.49. 49. Uh, state aid is really relatively flat right now at 73%. Uh, here we are today on April 9th and the state has not adopted the budget which is due on April 1st. So, there could be some minor fluctuations with these numbers after we adopt tonight because we still have to adopt on time even
005though the state is giving themselves a fourth extension tomorrow. I just read. Uh, so we will uh We are preparing for that and I'm confident in the budget that we're asking the board to adopt tonight. Uh just want to point again everyone's attention to this to this area here where we do have also a $625,000 revenue gap. This is the 2425 was the last year that we were able to use uh the reserve for tax reduction due to the sale of the Seaffort Avenue school. So uh we are going to be using some of our reserves highlight the the word some of our reserves because uh you know these reserves TRS and our epilar reserve are uh approaching capacity anyway we've been making nice money in interest so it would be prudent to use some
006of these reserves and help with this gap and to relieve the taxpayer once again. Here are some of our major expenditure categories. Uh again, similar to uh our budget, how it's broken down, similar to all school districts really across the island and the state, uh salaries and benefits make up like 75 to 80% of our budget and that really accounts for most of our increases. We also have an increase in transportation due to uh we did open proposals. We had run one company respond and I'll be discussing the transportation uh contract also in a few slides. We also have two other propositions on the ballot and it really really important to highlight that these two propositions come at zero additional cost to the resident and taxpayer. We are going to be using some of our
007reserves to fund uh these projects discussed here in proposition two and three. Again, this is money that we have saved. It's not money we have to go out and ask the community for or levy. So, proposition two is our safety and security upgrade proposition. It would authorize the spending of up to $1 million from our capital reserve 2018 fund to install a door jar system at the middle school and high school uh and do security camera upgrades and additions as well. Uh again, just to remind the board and the public the We currently are finishing our installation of our door jar system here at the manor and at the harbor. So, this would complete these important uh safety and security upgrades districtwide. We also have a new elevator uh refurbishment really to at the high
008school. It is the original uh cab at the high school that will be replacing the entire cab. Proposition three is our infrastructure proposition and it would authorize the spending of up to $6.5 million from our capital reserve 2024. And and again I know it sounds like a big number but again this is money that we have saved. This is no additional cost and this these funds would will be used for the following projects. Harbor roof, a complete uh rip and replace at the harbor and at the manor. Uh we've been discussing roofs for several couple of years now here and uh this is just continuing our process of replacing our roofs which all are our original roofs. Uh in addition, we have uh some water drainage issues that is affecting the high school wrestling room
009where it gets flooded out. And we're going to complete uh some or all of the following remedies. We're working with our architects, but I just wanted to highlight some of the options on the table. Uh and they really all present um different solutions. So we can install a sub subs slab drainage system along the interior perimeter of the basement interior grout injection into the foundation wall and slab. Uh those two if you if you catch on to that uh really the water's already in the building with those two options but it is those are viable options. But the third option would be excavating and waterproofing to make sure the water does not get into the building and stop it before it gets in. Uh so that's an option uh that we're at this point leaning
010towards, but all of these options are on the table to remedy the problem. And the nice thing about the last option is that it could we could turn it into some sort of paved area for a potential outdoor seating or courtyard area. So, make it multi-purpose. These are some pictures of the current harbor roof. Um, this was taken last week about three to four hours after a light after after a rain. I I don't want to say light rain. It was a light rain, but it was like for 12 hours. I feel like it rained for like 10 out of the last 12 days, right? Um, but this was a couple of hours after it stopped raining. And you can see that, you know, obviously water should not be puddling up and remaining on our
011roof. It should be draining down our roof drains, which it is not. So these are just uh some pictures of of what the current condition is and why we need to do these projects. Here are some pictures of the mat roof. Same same scenario. You can see a massive lake there uh in the middle of the roof. Some slits and tears. All kinds of all kinds of things happening here. Also included in our budget uh in the in the general excuse general uh budget is our transfer to capital uh 800,000 for the following projects. Manor uh inclusive playground equipment addition and turf replacement of our existing playground just to show you a couple of pictures. I'll go back and forth. Uh we had approved in this current budget to do one of the playground on
012the left due to some delays in materials. That project's been delayed to summer 25. So we'd like to come back and also do the the other manner playground. And once you know once approved, we would probably do these projects concurrently this summer. I think that makes the most sense. Uh this way we're not taking it away from children during the school year. In addition, we like to add an inclusive playground here at the manor. Uh this will enhance accessibility for all of our students. And you can see uh this rendering of what this potentially could look like. Also included in the transfer to capital is a middle school CDP classroom renovation, middle school library renovation, high school cafeteria B renovation similar to what we did in cafeteria A and with and high school dust collection
013system in our workshop. Uh just to show you the Y sorry just I want to also update everybody. We did similar to the uh transfer to capital for this year. We did a similar transfer to capital in the current budget and I just wanted to update everybody on these projects because they are ongoing. Uh the harbor and manner security again I I discussed the door jar system that should be completed in the next few weeks. first floor bathrooms at Harbor, that will be a summer project this year. And the Harbor Ashvault was done also last summer. The high school football stadium sound press box upgrade was completed in the winter of 25. So, just wanted to update the board on the status of those projects. We're almost complete with this large transfer and these this
014uh load of projects from the 24 Also included in the budget, as I was discussing earlier, is uh a new five-year agreement with Educational Bus Company, and they would provide all the following services. Really, all of our bus services. You can you can see it listed here. Home to school, large passenger bus advance, athletic events, field trips, and summer transportation. So, again, this would be a five-year contract. Um, and again, they were the only responded to the proposal that we had put out. And that is basically our budget for 2526. The key highlights just to update you on all the wonderful presentations we've had so far and still more to come. You can see by the calendar here. Be back at the Manor PTA tomorrow evening. And I thank you for your support. budget vote
015as a reminder is on May 20th between 7 a.m. and 9:00 pm. So, Mr. Pelle, can you just uh can you just remind everybody because we spent a lot of time talking about a little earlier in this budget cycle and definitely spent time talking about it last year by self-funding these roof projects instead of going to bond how much money we're saving as a district and saving the taxpayer. Yes, absolutely. Yes. So again the what happened sorry by by doing it this way we we saved approximately $7.9 million in interest that we would have had to borrow the money complete the roof projects and pay $7.9 million in interest on top of the principal borrowed and I and I thank you for the slide that talks about the harbor projects and the playgrounds and the
016blocktop and so forth because um the manner is being taken care of in this budget. But in the last budget, we made sure that the facilities for the children at the harbor are are extra special when they go out for recess. Correct. Any other questions from the board? Thank you. I just want to thank and acknowledge uh Steve Arnon for coming out and he's just been a complete rock star in our district and in the business office and he's done a lot of work behind the scenes. I even dragged him on the roof with me last week to show him around. Uh so I just want to point out Steve and thank you for all his hard work. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So, um, so thank you very much for, uh, the presentation
017and and your work on putting forth what I think is is a very robust budget and provides our students with tremendous facilities as well as academic programs while staying under the tax levy max. So, I would also be remiss if I didn't point out two things. one. Um, we had the junior prom this past weekend. I wish I could have been there because I was at a conference in Rochester and I much rather I would have been at at the prom with Miss Naval and the entire team. It was absolutely fantastic. I saw pictures of Miss Judson on ladders fixing balloons and putting up decorations and um just Miss Schnable had to send me I think video also to get the full sense of of how much fun not only the children had but all
018the chaperons had. It was really quite spectacular. I don't know how you guys going to keep it up at the high school being able to keep doing this every year. It's pretty impressive. Right. And um and and connected to that, the next board meeting, I'm very excited to report, is going to be in the cafeteria at the high school and we're going to be doing the ribbon cutting for the Nordic Nook, which is going to be our new cafe there. I I do hear that Mr. Cassell has arranged for Armark and um Arthur to be present with some samples. So, it's going to be great. There will be some student presentations, some student recognitions, and then a regular board meeting, but we're really excited about that. So, if you want to come to a fun
019board meeting, come on April 23rd at the high school. Great. Well, thank you again, Mr. Cassell and Mr. for your work on the budget presentation and I'll talk of course. Is that better? Can you hear me? Just so many enhancements in there all under tax cap, which is pretty impressive. So, thank you for that. Okay. Uh, moving on to our agenda items. Is it that we want if we do these together? Yes. I need a motion for agenda item 5 A through 5D. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Okay. Uh, residents comments. Are there any residents who would like to be heard in keeping with it philosophy of open comm unication and informed decision making. The board of education welcomes input from the community. However, it's important to note that while the board meets
020in public, it is not a meeting of the public. Respectful input and behavior by each member of the community is appropriate and expected at all times and should observe the following rules at meetings. The board of ed will listen to comments and input from the public. Debate between members of the audience andor board members is inappropriate and will not be permitted. The board is not permitted to address personel or individual student matters in public. No person shall present orally or discuss any board meeting charges or complaints against individual employees directly or indirectly. The speaker shall identify themselves and confirm their residency as seaffort within the seafford school district. Lastly, the normal time limit allotted for individual speakers shall be three minutes or that may in its discretion decrease or increase the time allotted for individual
021speakers to allow public participation. A period not to exceed 30 minutes shall be set aside as specific agenda item during each regular and special order by the meeting. The period may be extended by a majority vote of the board. So with all that, thank you. Please introduce yourself. Good evening, Dr. Pakora and members of the You can hear me. Okay, sure. Members of the Seafood School Board, my name is Megan Carlo and I'm a Seafford resident and parent. This is my son Nolan and his friends Mason and Carlo who are all sixth graders at the middle school. I also have a fifth grader at the Harvard School. I have been Thank you. Thank you. I have been teaching at Lawrence Middle School in Nassau County for many years. We are proposing that at Seafford Middle
022School add boys volleyball as a team sport to their winter 2 boys sports. I've been teaching seventh grade for many years and my male students love playing on the volleyball team. They get excited when triyouts come around. I think it's important that our middle school boys have an additional sport to play in the second winter session. Besides wrestling, it is important to me as a parent and teacher that kids have an opportunity to be a part of a team. Working together with other kids as well as with your coaches in an athletic setting is important. Feeling like you're involved in your school community and a part of a school team gives students a sense of school pride as well as something to do after school. Volleyball could get them in shape for baseball, lacrosse, or
023track while the weather is still cold. I know that Plane Edge Middle School and both Belmore middle schools offer boys volleyball as well as other schools in Nassau such as Lawrence, Carl Place, and Garden City. This could be an opportunity for teachers to coach another sport and bond with their students. I ask that you please consider this and listen to what these boys have to say. Thank you. Hello, my name is Noah Carlo. I am in sixth grade in Seafford Middle School. And I think that Seafford Middle School should have a volleyball team for boys because volleyball club is so fun and I love hanging out with my friends. Some of the middle schools have volleyball for boys. So, why don't we? Also, it would be nice for the students that don't like wrestling to
024have something something else to do instead of going home and playing video games. Hello, my name is Mason Garo. I am in sixth grade from the Seafood Middle School. I would love to have volleyball for our sport. Our school volleyball club is very fun and it teaches you cheating. [Music] Hello, my name is Mason Dau. I'm in sixth grade. I would love to have volleyball for our school. Volleyball club is a great activity to do. So, we should have for our school. Volleyball teaches our children sportsmanship and teamwork. That's why I hope you consider having volleyball for our school. Good evening. Good evening. I'm Carlo Valerio. I I am in sixth grade and I go to Seaver Middle School. Do you like volleyball? Personally, my friends and I all like volleyball. Volleyball. But in our
025middle school, there is no volleyball team for boys. I believe there should be a team for for boys in volleyball. This is because many boys share similar interest in volleyballs in volleyball as girls do. For example, during activity night for volleyball, majority of the tournament was was with boys. I think that it would be fair if the boys could have a team like the girls do. Thank you. Thank you all for sharing your thoughts. [Music] Thank you. Thank you. correspondence. All correspondence has been responded to new business. I need a motion for agenda items 81 through 82. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? I need a motion for agenda item C1. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All I'm sorry, 8C1. Yes. All in favor? I need a motion for agenda item 8 C2.
026Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? I need a motion for agenda item 8 C3. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? any miscellaneous discussion items. Okay. Um so firstly I guess I would like to mention that we have two um at large board seats and anybody interested in running should contact the district clerk for a candidate packet. I'd like to mention Beetlejuice as Dr. Pora did. Well done to all the students who were part of that production. It was humorous and it was um it's emotional and touching and everyone did a great job. Miss Sherwin, Mr. Krueger, and all the faculty who helped make that successful musical. Hats off to you guys as well. I'd like to say congratulations to all the men, fourth and fifth graders who participated in the talent
027show last week. I wasn't able to attend, but I heard that it was a fantastic show, as it always is. I hope that uh everybody has a relaxing spring break next week and I look forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting on April 23rd which will be at the Nordic Nook um which I'm really excited to see been hearing about it over the last year or so. So really looking forward to that. Um and lastly I'll just say good luck to all our student musicians who've been hard at work practicing for the upcoming NISMA festival that's happening in about two weeks. anything new different today? No, just um thank you to Nolan and Mason and Carlo for coming here tonight. We really appreciate you sharing your thoughts with us and we will have a
028discussion today. So, thank you very much for taking the time tonight. Thank you. Yes. Well done. You guys were very brave. It's not easy to get up in front of the microphone. I need a motion to adjourn the meeting. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? Thank you everybody. Have a great night. [Music]