001Okay. Okay. I reconvene the regular meeting at 8:20 p.m. At this time, we will open up the podium for public comments. Public comments will be heard on agenda items only. At this time, the board of education encourages public participation in school related matters at board meetings. Any group or organization wishing to address the board must first identify a single spokesperson. The presentation should be as brief as possible. Speakers will be permitted to speak for up to three minutes. The board will not allow in public sessions. I changed the words on my last night. The board will not allow public session discussions involving individual district personnel or students. All speakers are to conduct themselves civily. Obscene language, lialist statements, threats of violence, and statements advocating racial, religious, or other forms of prejudice will not be tolerated.
002Persons making presentation at the board meeting will address their remarks to the president. They may address questions or comments to the board members or other district officials only upon approval of the president. So, anyone that wants to come up and say anything, please come up and introduce yourselves. Good evening. Office me a little bit. Lost it there. Lost sight. Trustees, especially trustees Winfield and Robinson, congratulations on your retirement from the board. Thank you for your selfless service. Um, public service act has its rewards and it certainly has its frustrations, [Applause] Dr. Morell, administration, Miss Pearson, and the Southampton community. My name is Sean Brand and it is my honor to stand before you tonight as president of the Southampton Teachers Association. Moments ago, we recognized the careers and accomplishments of several remarkable members of our
003association. Their unwavering dedication to our students has left an indelible mark on our schools and our community. I feel privileged to have been able to serve as their president for the past 15 years. though not all here. Elizabeth Godfrey, Diane Guida, Jim Nolan, Amy Lester, Georgina Hernandez, and Ricky Taylor. May good health, lasting happiness, and a deep sense of pride accompany you in this next chapter of your lives. You will fulfill the highest calling of public service, shaping minds, inspiring hearts, and strengthening the community. Your legacy will continue to echo through the halls of our schools for years to come. While tonight is in many ways a celebration of the past, it also serves as a moment to look ahead. In that spirit, I stand here this evening cautiously optimistic. Yesterday, we accomplished more at
004the bargaining table in one session than we had throughout the five previous meetings. The association had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Morell and Mr. Mo. We walked away hopeful that progress had been made. The conversation was less laborious without natural posturings of the attorneys. What we experienced was educators engaging in dialogue without needing to translate our jargon to attorneys who are not entirely fluent in the language of schools. I would like to thank Dr. moral for her willingness to move the process in this direction. Equally, I would like to thank the board for providing its blessing. What it suggests to us is that the board recognizes something profoundly important. That at the heart of these negotiations are people, not just positions. When educators are given the space to speak directly with those who understand
005the day-to-day realities of our schools, we can find common ground rooted in mutual respect and shared purpose. It is difficult, if not impossible, for the human side of this process to come through when the conversation is filtered through a highly paid attorney whose job is whose job is by design to shield and deflect. And tonight, it is that human side of that process that is truly on display. While we have gathered to celebrate the well-deserved retirements of our colleagues, a moment that is worthy of recognition in and of itself, the current state of contract negotiations has also drawn many of our members here this evening. Although the nature of negotiations requires confidentiality and discretion outside the table, we remain committed to keeping our members informed with general updates that reflect the direction of the process.
006At our general SDA meeting on May 20th, the status of negotiations was a central focus on our agenda. While I was unable to provide favorable reassurances at the time, I did remind the membership that there was still time left on the clock. and that anything was possible before our current collective bargaining agreement expired on June 30th. Naturally, concerns mounted. Members are concerned about their own bottom line and what next year looks like, whether we have a contract or not. Their presence is a powerful reminder that beyond every salary cell, in every budget line item, there is a name, a face, and a life devoted to service. Tonight is an opportunity for me to stand before the board and convey the concerns of professionals who are chasing mortgages, paying for braces, and saving for college tuition.
007We are here to support the process and reaffirm our hope that yesterday was a step in the right direction. We remain hopeful that this momentum will carry us toward a successful and timely resolution, one that reflects the dedication, professionalism, and value of the educators who stand before you this evening. The multitude of members of our association present tonight is a reflection of the deep concern, unity, and shared commitment to ensuring that the educators of this district are treated with fairness and respect they deserve. Their presence underscores a simple truth. We are not only advocates for our students, but also one another. We, the board, the administration, and our association face certain shared realities. Traffic on the east end is a relent is a relentless juggernaut, one that wears on people over time. The hours spent
008in a car take their toll both physically and emotionally. Even Dr. Fernandez and Dr. Botcher ultimately made the difficult decision to take positions closer to home. A reality many of us can understand all too well. We know that the cost of living in Suffach County, particularly on the east end, is making it nearly impossible for teachers to build a life and raise their families in and around our Southampton community. And so we've become the school equivalent. We have become the school equivalent of basic training. Teachers come here, cut their teeth, and move on in search of better compensation and quality of life factors. Under the life of our soon to expire contract, we fell behind neighboring schools. In the categories that made people want to stay despite the traffic under the same contract, we watched
009as the following teachers said their goodbyes. Nicole Toé, Marissa Aras, Kelly Ladic, Chelsea Maningo, Victoria Vidich, Christine Gil, Katie Shrek, Kristen Ray, Amanda Gapron, Gia Buckton, Christina Drimo, Jackie Boschamp, and Yena Morales. Educators who deemed worthy of we deem worthy of hiring and investing in, who will now celebrate their 30 years of service elsewhere. As the core beliefs of this district state, inspired teaching inspires learning. We must attract, develop, and retain the best staff to accomplish our mission. Quality education is worth the investment and requires sound fiscal management. Taxpayers deserve value for their financial support, and our people and their time are resources that lead to higher standards. Our decision-making must be based on collected data while also considering the impact on students and the district's overall functioning. Continuing to watch quality teachers move on
010to share their talents after working out their growing pains in Southampton is a tide we hope to turn with these negotiations. Their departures are not just losses. They are warnings. And for every colleague who leaves, there are others who remain steadfast in their commitment, yet quietly burdened by the question of whether they too should have left. Their choice to stay is courageous, but the fact that they wrestle with that choice is a call to action. These negotiations are not only about retention. They're about restoring hope, affirming value, and making it clear that Southampton is not just a place to start a career, but a place worth staying. And to one day stand proudly before this board, just as we witnessed this evening, to be honored not only for their years of service, but for the
011impact they made by choosing to stay. I thank you for the time and I apologize for you. [Applause] Thank you all for coming. Can I just respond on something? Um, okay. So, Dr. Morell came into this district last year. This is not about Dr. Morurell. It It's about this school district. Dr. Morell came into this school district last year to a a a mob mentality. Um April was an embarrassment to this district, to myself, as someone who grew up here in Southampton. There have been people since day one, since before day one, that do not want to see Dr. Morell succeed. They don't want to see her continue. Um, I can tell you that this this union under Dr. Morurell has never had a better opportunity to succeed and be cohesive with the superintendent and
012the members of the union than they have now. And I have not always seen eye to eye with Dr. Morell. And if you know me, I don't always see eye to eye with I don't care whether you're Shinkco, black, brown, white, whatever you are. If we have a difference of opinion, I will express that. And I've expressed we've had our differences with Dr. Morurell. But I can tell you that if anyone wants this contract to work, and I can't speak about the contract, as Mr. Brand stated, it's Dr. Morell. And if it doesn't work, it's because of some of those influences that don't want to see her succeed. And I think there's never been a better opportunity than today than to have this district move to higher places under Dr. Moral. And I just wanted
013to say that. And I want to thank uh Mr. Brand for having such a prepared and well said speech. Thank you. Are there any other public comments this evening on agenda items? I don't know if it's an agenda item. I'm not sure. I'm not sure that it's an agenda item. Okay. So, we'll have a second round of comments towards the end that is not agenda items. Okay. Thank you. Okay. So, we're going to move on then to the superintendent report. Thank you. At this time, um, under my report, I would like to have a discussion for approval of girls flag football. I would like the presentation for Mr. Phillips and Mr. Mingo. Thank you. Okay. So, some of you might know recently, probably within the past two years, um girls slide football became a section
01411 New York State public high school sport. Um and it's continuing to grow um here in Suff County. Um probably one of the fastest growing sports now for girls uh not just here in Suffach County or New York, probably nationwide. Um, I think it's actually going to be an Olympic sport in a couple years. Um, so we did have a teacher who had some students that uh, she came to me and said, "I think I have some students. They want to know how do we go about getting a flag football team." So, I spoke with the teacher and said, you know, see if they can go uh put like a signup sheet or an interest sheet and let's see how many girls are actually interested um in doing it and then once we have a
015list and we see how many uh girls are interested, we can we can move forward with the process. I said I would have to talk to Dr. Morurell and and Jean and since it was not initially budgeted in for the next year, uh what we could do to try to make it work. So, um, can you just go to Yeah. So, um, right now in section 11, there's 34 teams, 34 schools playing varsity, flag football, and 10 10 JB teams. Um, and there's a lot of new teams coming in next year at both the JB and varsity level. Um, so like I said, we had about 15 girls sign up and and I think it's going to be more than that to be honest with you once if it's approved and opened up. um they
016had a signup sheet in the office for a little bit and then I think they went around and uh um you know reached out to friends or other other girls females that they knew that might be interested. So to have a team you only need about 10 between 10 and 15 to have a team to get started. Um I think it's a great opportunity for girls to play a new sport. Um, football's always been kind of a a sport, you know, for the boys and even though it's not tackle football, it still is football with a lot of the same concepts and the same um enthusiasm and thrill of playing playing the sport. Um, so you know, right now we have four sports right now. This would give us five sports for the girls in
017the spring. Um, and an opportunity to play, like I said, one of the fastest growing sports u for females. Um, you know, a couple of challenges are we do we do have to find some field space. Um, they don't play like the boys football like on a 100 yard field. So, it's a modified short field. So, um, whether we can use the turf for some of the games, I have to look into that. But, you know, I feel confident we can make it work. Um, you know, we can find a space for practice. We can figure out where they're going to play. You know, part of the challenge is we have three track teams. So, when they have meets, the turf isn't able to be used. We have lacrosse teams up there, but um I
018think they play 16 games, so that would be eight home games. We'd have to um you know, and some schools are using grassfield. So, but you know, we have the space out there. We just have to carve out a niche out there and where we can find that. Um um and then if you know the question is you know we we'd have to continue into the fall and and see and because a lot of those have played it'd be great to have even a club or something before we actually start practice to start teaching concepts and teaching routes and how to backpedal and cover and those kinds of things. Um and it'll be growing pains like in any new sport. Um I think um whether we do the JB schedule u I was speaking to
019the guy from Sichum who's the chair. So he said a lot of the JB teams are the larger schools that already have varsity teams. And so he said you can do JB if you want but we can also be a varsity team and play the C schools which are the schools that are our size um with six teams and maybe playing that. So that's something we would have to decide if we decide to move forward if we want to just play in the varsity smaller schools or you know jump in with the the JB schedule. So um so Dr. Merl and I and um and Jane we met just to go over the the uh cost that the kind of approximate cost to add the uh program for next year. Um you probably have the
020information already. It's up there on the board, but you know what we're talking about is there's two officials per home game. You see the u what the the rate is per official per game. Um transportation is just an approximate um with eight away games $300 or whatever. You know, I can talk to Sam and finalize that. Just rough estimates. Um we would have to have somebody like we do for all the other varsity sports, somebody running a clock or keeping track of the score, a timer scorer. um the coaches um that would have to probably be part of the negotiation where they would fall in the coaching line. Um uh you know I know we're we're trying to I think go into uh different levels now or a different format with with coaching. Yeah. Um
021I read some preliminary numbers. So the coaches um I believe you would need a head coach and assistant coach. So I would say between the two of them it's about $10,000. Okay. It it is a little um you know that that I think could be fluid and and it could change you know whether it's JV or varsity but just just rough numbers approximately to get started. Um we would I was looking to purchase at least 25 uniforms um home and away. Um, again, just it's always good to have extra uniforms just because you you never get the sizes right. So, it's just good to have extras just just u just in case. Maybe we get 25 girls and we're loading more if we get that kind of a turnout. So, it's not a huge um
022I guess it depends on when you talk about a huge investment, you know, um for, you know, $20,000 we can we can get the program up and running. Um it's a lot cheaper than football. We don't have to buy helmets. have to buy shoulder pads. You know, we're buying just the flags and and the balls and the uh the jerseys and the shorts. Um and again, I think, you know, we need to listen to the kids like we talked about and if there is an interest and there is enough interest, why not give them a chance to play? So, I don't know if you have any questions. Well, I just wanted to ask Dean because we talked about where this funding might come from considering Yeah. Initially, we spoke about the possibility of some sports
023not having enough kids to run. So, you might have it in your budget already, right? So, with some of the coaching positions, I budget for them every year. junior high JV varsity and this year we didn't have JV softball, we didn't have junior high um lacrosse, we didn't have JV, you know, so there's there's always seems like there's always a a sport with a level that we're not able to get enough kids to play that sport. So that could be a possibility again for next year. I I always fund all the position coaching positions just in case you never know what the turnout's going to be every year. But we typically do have two or three sports that don't have enough students to play and we end up holding the team. What are the other
024sports in the spring? Uh so we have um softball, girls track, girls golf, and girls lacrosse. Those are the four and then flag would be five. Thank you. Does anybody have something? I I just forgot. Yeah. I um I actually ran into a group of high school girls um coming back from East Hampton. They went to go see the flag football game because East Hampton has this and they seemed pretty like enthusiastic and excited about it. Um so I I see the cost. I know that some of these sports sometimes we don't have JV teams, we don't junior high, some some of these teams that we have set up to be varsity will maybe not be varsity. Um, I I think I'd be okay with exploring this with the excitement that those girls had for
025it. And um, I think you could probably find the money inside the the budget with some of the teams that don't have an empty budget for every year. That would just my I'm not jeans. I'm not crunching numbers and uh, but I I think it's we have a coach that don't take the salary. Yeah, that saves I was I was that save about nine grand. Normally when I start oh um normally when when I start getting emails from the students I know that there's a lot of interest um I try and explore this and so they they are contacting me and um there's uh 15 now signed up but I think once they find out that it's open you may see 25 it creep up to 25 And I know when there's an interest like
026that, that's a way to attach our kids to the school even more. And so I'm very interested in having the board approve this for us. Thank you. I went to a my niece plays at Eport South Matterana Flag Football and I went to my first game this year and I didn't know what to expect. I was very impressed. I mean 30 40 yard passes down the field. Very impressive. very a lot of skill, a lot went into it. You can tell that, you know, they have a big program up there. I'm all for it. I think it'll get new girls interested in sports that weren't interested in the past. Um I saw a flag football commercial on a female flag football commercial on the Super Bowl last year during halftime. It's it's definitely growing. Um
027it's another opportunity to have student athletes um more scholarships available for them as they you know move on to college. Um I love it and I think too right we currently have an SYA flag program and I know we do have some girls that participate in that and obviously too if we're going to move in that direction I I believe we're offering a sport that we should put that into our elementary and middle school phys program so that we're teaching those skills at that level. So when they get to high school or eligible to play, they're familiar with how flag football works and and running routes and what's a slant and what's a curl, what's a dig and what's a what's a fade and all that kind of stuff. So you know, we'll put that
028into our PE program as well. Yeah. Sorry. Just a quick question. What I was going to ask if you do do it in PA, do you do it in high school? Middle school and high school a little bit, but it's been mostly like boy, you know, it's not really co-ed. they do it separate but um you really have to start before high school you know you really since there's not really like a little league so we have to teach those skills in through PD um so this we have four sports in the spring and we didn't have JB softball this year um I'm just worried about the impact of creating another team on the other existing teams already. Do we is there any have you done any study looking at are these girls going to
029take away from other programs? There might be a couple girls that might be coming. Um we did have a big turnout for junior high softball with about 20 girls which was great. Um you know the reality of girls lacrosse is we talked about going back to JB after trying varsity. The hard part is there's, you know, we've been trying to work with Hampton Bay to even just put a youth lacrosse program together. The numbers just it's just hard, you know, when you, our skill level is so far behind when we're playing these schools that there's, you know, six, seven, eight, nine, 10 years old, they're already playing lacrosse for five years with their stick skills. So, you know, whether lacrosse can survive or not, I mean, the reality is too, we may have to also
030start looking to combine with Hampton Bays with some sports if we're going to sustain them. um just like we do with the boys lacrosse program. Um Hampton Bays didn't have a junior high softball team this year. We didn't have a JV. I mean, depending on the numbers, we have to start thinking if we want to continue those programs, we may have to to look at combining as an alternative to to preserve that program for our kids to play. Is there interest in combining girls black football with I haven't put it out there yet, but it's just like when we started girls golf, I put it out to Hampton Bays, Pearson. We got Pearson and Ross that decided East Hampton. Pearson and Ross were the only two that decided, you know, I could put that out
031as well if we want to Bridge Hampton or Pearson or Hampton Bays. Although they might already be going to East Hampton probably is my guess since they already have a team. I'm guessing since they combine with East Hampton for most of the sports. Uh but Hampton Bay could be a possibility if they wanted to uh to jump in. Yeah, I like the idea of those of having that opportunity for students. I just don't want to see existing programs for spread thin as it is. So yeah, I mean that's certainly, you know, we we've had those discussions about, you know, is it going to pull to the to the point where we're we're losing teams, you know. Um track always seems to have a lot. you know, they have 40 girls typically. Um, but maybe two
032or three may go, maybe five. I, you know, it's hard to say, but if that's what their desire is, shouldn't we try to give them that opportunity instead of saying, you know, if there's a change in the interest, right? We have to be flexible and start to move with what the kids are telling us. Like if they're like, hey, a lot of girls want flag and and maybe something What is the interest? the interest. Right now, there was about 15 or so girls that signed up that that signed and said, you know, they definitely want to play. Um, but I again I don't know that it was really promoted to the entire school. I don't think we put like a sign up in fized or uh parents, you know, we just kind of had the
033girls go around and and talk to their friends in the cafeteria or whatever and say, "Hey, we want to get a TV image." So, it could be bigger than that. Could be bigger than that. Yeah. And just just to add on that, that's correct. So, uh, we had I had a couple girls come and visit me, um, for for that initial pitch, and I asked that same question. What's the interest? And like, it's a lot. So, I said, just go out and see if you get some names on a form and see what it looks like. And within a couple days, not even um, they and again without mass kind of promotion, we had a full sheet of names. So, um, the the I I believe the interest was there. The girls seem really passionate.
034Definitely I agree with you Ruth but we're we're seeing some interest shift as new um new opportunities arise and um same thing as I was speaking to Mr. Phillips. So when the girl the girls are coming with such a passion so I think it would be um what when kids are coming and kids are passionate and they want to say I want to be here for that it's so important for us to act on that. So the other thing you might have is that some of the students this is a new sport to them. Some of the girls some of them may already feel like with the other sports they didn't start when they were in elementary school and you know early on and they're already behind the eightball. This is a new sport. So
035everyone's on the same new for this school. Everyone's on the same plane. So it might bring the other question I have for you Darren is how many so we have what do we have about 250 girls in the high school? A little bit more. A little bit more. Right now a little bit more. I have to look. Okay. About Yeah. So how many you know girls are playing those sports in the in the in the springtime out of those 250. So you may have a whole new pool of girls is what I'm saying that would be interested in coming out. probably right now less than 100. You know, golf is 16. I think uh softball was only about 12 or 13 this year without the JV. Track was about 40. Girls across started with about
03625 and ended with about 17. So, it's Yeah. Yeah. Um I just want to say also this is the spring board, right? So, we still have the whole year to pitch it, to gain the skills, to maybe introduce it, like I was saying, maybe start a club or inter mural prior to that just to get them a little head start before the season officially starts. And I will say too, probably when Zach was in school, we actually used to have during homecoming week, I think, Zach, right? We used to have the girls play the powder club football game at halftime and the the boys would coach the team and it was a home run, right? That was that was after me. We were we were serious about football. We weren't um Yeah. I just want
037to say like we have to shift, you know, it's a shifting demographic of sports, you know, like a few years ago we added girls golf and we've gone four years with girls golf and four years undefeated with girls golf. Um, you know, so I think right now this flag football is kind of a new cool thing. Um, it does have a youth program with the SYA I know and SYS also has a flag football league. My son does it, loves it, and there's a good amount of girls out there running around. So, it's something that they can do. Um, you know, some of the sports we have that we don't have programs for in this community, and I think that's kind of held them back over the last 20 years and going and out. So
038I think this is just kind of a shift and I don't think this really affects the track. I mean we have the dual we also passed dual participation this year. So this would count as a team sport and an individual sport and um anybody that wanted to run track and had the grades could also do flag football as well. So, Mhm. Zach, we had a um a flag football as well. My son was on and same thing. Half the team were girls and they were just I mean as excited and phenomenal and some of the the best players on the team. So, yeah. And I do have to look into I think when it was first starting here, there was grants either from the Jet. There was definitely grant money that they were putting out
039for new teams. So I will look into that as well and see if there's anything still available for for new teams or we can possibly is there you need a motion from us to explore this like how do you okay I know shift the needless endorsement that I can move forward. Thank you so much. Okay thank you. Okay, the next thing um my enrollment report stays the same. Um I would just say that it um I'll have a more in detail uh enrollment report on July 1, but our numbers still stand at 1272 um with no losses, zero losses at this time. So 1272. Thank you. And then um I just want to take this moment to say thank you to our outgoing school board members. Madam I'm gonna miss you. Um Madame President, thank
040you. um know you had eight years of service here um in the uh award from my Jean and um thank you for uh managing the first year superintendent. It's been a pleasure and um I just wish you all the best and I know you're going to enjoy your family. I know that was important to you and so I just thank you for uh this year and um I'm glad now that you can enjoy time with your family and best wishes to you. Thank you to Madame Vice President. Thank you uh for your four years of service and for dealing with this first year superintendent and all my woes and and thanks for being a shoulder um listening to my part my my views and not you know without judgment um and I just I'm going
041to miss you as well and I just thank you and I know you can enjoy time with you know you and Juny I think he's getting every time I see him he gets happier and happier professionally happy. You better have us right back full time. So, thank you for everything and enjoy time with your family. Thank you, Dr. Everybody at this table for your collaboration and um everybody in this district for all your work. There's a huge important job you all do. Thank you. And I've learned a lot from everyone and this is on behalf of the executive team. Thank you, executive team. Thank you. And that's my report. Thank you. Okay. Well, we'll move on to administrator reports. Um Jean, for the last time, I ask you, would you like to present to us
042today? Yeah, it's going to be different. Um we haven't had the audit and finance committee scheduled for next Monday. Um I I believe there's only one financial item which is a transfer. So I don't have anything at the moment unless you have a question about that one transfer. Thank you. And Dr. Botcher. Uh I just wanted to let the board know that our district uh school um improvement team, the SCP and DIP team met for the last time on June 10th. Um at that meeting we were able to finalize our goals and strategies. Um currently the draft is with Dr. Morell, Mr. Benson, myself to really look at um and to finalize it and send to the state and then update the community. Um so I just want to thank the team of educators and
043parents that really made this possible because you know there were about 25 people who came together each time and really worked hard. There was a lot of brain sweat and a lot of conversation and a lot of great stuff. So um I just want to thank them publicly. Um, and also last week Dr. Zan and I had the opportunity to celebrate Dr. Tutill, which you saw in Dr. Morell's newsletter, but um, we went to Giorgio's invading hollow and Dr. Tutill was presented um, a surprise recognition as East Counselor's administrator of the year. Yeah, so she was actually nominated by her counselors which I think alone speaks tremendous volume um that she's just has expanded our guidance department into something we couldn't have even imagined and really built a cohesive department that supports students from K
044to 12. So, it's amazing and this district is so lucky to have her because she has become an integral part of this community so quickly and we're so blessed to have you. [Applause] Okay. Committee reports. Um, as Mr. Mingo said, the f audit and finance is meeting on the 23rd. Um the personnel committee met on June 10th and went through everybody that is up for um appointment approval tonight. There's no new merger committee report. Um the policy committee met on June 4th. We have a policy on for second reading this evening. May I have a motion to review policy 9240, recruiting and hiring and policy 9240RR, recruitment and selection regulations for a second reading as presented? Motion. Second. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? Any opposed? So carried. Um, may I have a motion to
045review policy 5695, students and personal electronic devices and policy 52 5if sorry 4526 district computer, cell phone network and internet use policy faculty, staff and students for the first reading as presented. Second. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? Any opposed? So carried. Uh I did actually want um to ask if are these policies I guess not not going to the new board members yet, right? For review. They would just be at the the third reading and the second reading, right? I'm not sure what your question is. Like, are they getting to see these policies since they'll Okay. All right. I couldn't remember. It's been so long. Um, policies currently under committee review, policy 9240, recruiting and hiring. Policy 9240R, recruitment and selection regulation. Policy 5695, student and personal electronic devices. Policy slated for committee review.
046Policy 4531, field trips and excursions. Policy 4531R, field trips regulation. Policy 4531E.1, field trips exhibit district field trip approval form. Policy 4531E.2 field trips exhibit parent approval form. Policy 4531E.3 field trips exhibit checklist and response. Policy 5300 code of conduct. Policy 5420 student health services. Policy 5420R student health services regulations. Policy 6640 inventories. Policy 8414.6 idling prohibition for buses and other school vehicles. Um, are there any consent agenda agenda items from 1201 through 12.21 that any member wishes to discuss or has questions about? I will hold out consent agenda 12.21 for separate action with a roll call vote. Are there any other consent agenda items from 1201 through 12.21 that any member wishes to vote out for separate action? May I have a motion to approve consent agenda items 1201 through 12.21 as presented in
047the agenda? 12.20.20 as presented in the agenda. Motion. Second. Second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? So carried. May I have a motion to approve consent agenda items 12.21 to approve amendment number one to con to contract with superintendent of schools as presented in the agenda with a roll call vote. Motion. Second. Second. Will the clerk please call the role? Cara Conlinfield. Yes. Robert Zachary. Yes. Monique Proctor. Yes. Jaclyn Robinson. Yes. SH with Dudley. Yes. Germaine El Smith. Yes. And Ruthie White Gun. Yes. Thank you. May I have a motion to approve financial item 1301, a budget transfer from various accounts to account A.211000.40 40 in the total amount of $23,822 for sensory room as presented. Motion second. Any discussion? Where is this? Which or which building is this? This. Thank you. All in favor?
048I. Any opposed? So carried. Are there any personnel items from 14011 through six that any member wishes to discuss or has questions about? Are there any personnel items 1401 1- 6 that any member wishes to hold out for separate action? May I have a motion to approve personnel items 1401 1-6 as presented in the agenda? Motion second. All in favor? Any opposed? So car. Are there any personnel items from 14027 through99 that any member wishes to discuss or has questions about? Are there any personnel items from 14027-9 that any member wishes to hold out for separate action? 86. May I have a motion to approve personnel items 14027 through 85 and 87 through 99 as presented in the agenda? Okay, you got that? Second. Second. All in favor? I. So carried. May I have a
049motion to approve personnel item 86 as presented in the agenda? Second. Second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstain? So carried. Thank you. May I have a motion to approve the minutes of the June 3rd, 2025 regular meeting as presented? Motion. Second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Carried. Okay, we're at our second round of public comments. Public comments will be heard at this time. The board of education encourages public participation in school related matters at board meetings. Any group or organization wishing to address the board must first identify a single spokesperson. The presentation should be as brief as possible. Speakers will be permitted to speak for up to three minutes. The board will not allow in public session discussions involving individual district personnel or students. All speakers are to conduct themselves civily civily.
050Oh, I can't speak anymore. Obscene language, lialist statements, threats of violence, and statements advocating racial, religious, or other forms of prejudice will not be tolerated. Persons making presentations at book the board meeting will address remarks to the president. They may direct questions or comments to board members or other district officials only upon approval of the president. Hello. Please tell us your name. Good evening. My name is Wendy Sapa and who knows me knows that I don't like to speak in public. maybe because of my accent, but anyway, I'm going to do it anyway because it's important. Um, today we say goodbye, so I hope it's only a see you later, to two great administrators, Dr. Jamie Bacher and Dr. Nicole Fernandez. I want to thank you both for the years you dedicate to our school
051district, to our community, and above all to each of our children. Thank you for being the first to arrive at school and the last to leave regardless the traffic and distance. Dedicating endless hours of work serving all our children's equally. Nicole, it has been a real honor to have been your secretary these past years. Thank you because together with Jamie, you brought the elementary school to a much higher level of learning than many other school district. Your dedication and leadership are reflected in the love of each child has for reading when they call out to to you in the hallways. Dr. Fernandez, I reached my goal in or I can read the whole book now. That my dear friend is called love and passion for your profession. Love for your school and your communities. And
052for that and for a million other things, we will be forever grateful to you. We are going to miss you immensely. Dr. B, my dear friend, it has been an honor to have been your secretary for almost six years. I was lucky to get to know you and to learn what work ethic means, what unconditional love for others looks like, and how incredible wellprepared you are to take on any position you are offered. The new school district you are going to has no idea what a remarkable person they are. Wherever you go, you will continue to make a difference and leave your mark filled with love your students. Thank you, dear friend, for being present, for never missing an event, being in elementary school, middle school, or high school. Because every student you see growing
053up didn't just look for their parents in the auditorium. They look for you because they knew you will always be there because you always gave them confidence and strength to follow the truth. Thank you for being an excellent role model for every member of this community, especially my daughter and the class of 2028. Thank you for your kindness and respect toward others. You are taking with you a very large piece of Southampton in your heart and Southampton gives a deep gratitude for everything you give us. On behalf of all of us who love you and deeply respect you, we wish you the greatest success and as a member of this community, I dare say that the doors of Southampton will always be open to you. Just let our hearts. Thank you. I thought you I
054might never go home. My husband's an extra snake. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Corey Teen. I am a teacher in another district and have been a member of Southampton for 25 years. Um, I appreciate, let me start by saying I appreciate all the work that each of you have given to this school district and I do not envy the job that you have. I am respectfully expressing my concerns regarding some decisions being made in the intermediate school with it regards to the special education department. I was informed that the sixth grade special education teacher is one of them is resigning this year and will not be replaced for next year. Instead, half of the student body special education department children will be with one ICT special education teacher during the school day while
055the other half of the special education children in the sixth grade will be met with a hodgepodge of different special education teachers that will be pushing into the classroom. Um, as a parent of a special education child, I want to raise my concern. This population is slow to trust. They already have so many problems stacked against them, just getting through their day. I would like for you to reconsider hiring another special education teacher to cover these children, giving them one person, a one point of contact. I'm not sure what the budgetary constraints would be. I know our budget passed with overwhelming numbers this year and every year that we've been in district, there's never been a case where there wasn't funding. Um, I'd like to point out that while one section of the sixth grade
056will be well tended, the other section will not. People fall through the cracks. These children, like I said, they are slow to trust. They perform better when they have a relationship and a rapport with someone. I've watched this in my own child for years. Um, this school district has shown me that you value many different walks of life and I would like to see that happen for this next year. there's lots of people in our area that are willing to step into this role. So I I know it's not a matter of finding the personnel. Um there is a rise in the special education population. I know the rest of our numbers are dropping. I work in a neighbor district. We have the same problem. But the special education children numbers are not dropping at
057all. And I just want you to have that thought before you make your decisions coming with your organizational meeting. Thank you for your time. Thank you. I hate talking people. Hey, I just want to say uh congratulations to everyone that's retiring for Jaden's. Okay. Um now I just want to say that um here we go again. Children are leaving, finding other places to go, finding better places, doing their own things. I'm just pretending I'm a mother and I'm and I'm just saying children grow up and they go different places and everything, but I'm I am been here many years and I've seen children come and children go. It's okay. But it's always um um good. Uh you build relationships and you uh learn to love and trust and hope for the best. And so I
058just want to congratulate everyone that's retiring, everyone that's leaving, and do uh what you do best. love and can't tell you anything greater. Love family, love friends, love children. Let love be your guiding voice. Thank you, Jackie. You're welcome. Is there anyone else that would like to make a public comment? Okay, we are going to move on to new business items not on the agenda. You have something new, Mr. Bear with me for a second. I just wanted to um we're I just wanted to recognize the kids that are all graduating next week um moving on. So I wanted to recognize my my baseball seniors the uh the eight of them that I had and and stuff and just kind of you know give a representation of the whole team. So the whole team ended
059up with an 88 total GPA for the season. Um 12 of our 17 12 16 kids were in the National Honor Society. Um I have eight kids that are graduating this year. Um seven of them are Magna Kumlady or more. um between them they're all going to unbelievable colleges. Um so I got Tommy Pope Kiran who's going to St. John's. Daniel McDonald is going to Roger Williams. Daniel Palumbo is going to Tennessee. Jackson Roma is going to Nor Eastern. Burke Dunn is going to Rollins. He was wearing Rollins. Travis Cranber's going to Stson. Um Elijah Bella is going to Cornell. And then um the last one Cameron there's actually he enlisted in the Marines. So he's going to serve our country. So I very proud of those eight kids and um you know you you
060play sports and you think it's everything but it's really about what happens um going forward. So I appreciate what they do in high school, appreciate the the grades and stuff and that's important thing to me. Make sure these kids are realizing moving on there's something else there. Um I also have two people that I so I know this can be a thankless job. Um, very thankless. Just the pay sucks, right, being on the board. Um, it's a lot of work. I've had a lot of pleasure with with working with you, Jackie, and Cara the last um year. So, you guys have taught me a lot. And I know being the president, vice president, a lot more. And you guys deal with phone calls, you deal with the issues, and um stuff. So, um, my daughter
061Haley wanted to make you guys little mariner bracelets, um, to say that you guys are appreciated and thank you, um, that they see the work you do. Um, and I know sometimes everybody's not always happy with every decision that gets made and stuff, but, um, I think both you guys have the most interest, the best interest of the community at heart. So, they're the little, um, anchors on them. So, she was out making them last night um, for you guys. So, um, that's for you guys. And I we have I have another G for you in the car, but I can't bring him to meetings. Um, so I would like to thank um the first act club from the elementary school that made us these beautiful little thank you cards. It's very sweet. And as
062always, having the students here tonight, everybody knows that's my favorite thing. And I'm not going to get upset. Um, but eight years on the board, six years of PTA. Anyway, for the four of my eight years on the board, I've had the pleasure of sitting next to Amy on my left side. And many people have a right-hand man. Well, I have a left-hand woman. And Amy, this is for you with all of my gra for everything that you've done for keeping my tabs in place in the book and just making me know where I'm supposed to be during our meeting. So, thank you very much. Thank you. He's only got three fingers by design. Is there any else? an idea. Okay. So, it's customary um at the conclusion of the board member service that a
063a proclamation is rendered and read. So, I'm gonna read it now. Proclamation. Whereas, Mrs. Jacquellyn Robinson began her service to the Southampton Union Preschool District Board of Education on July 1st, 2017 and has served as a trustee with dedication and distinction for the past eight years. And whereas she has served the board of education and community with administrators, teachers, and staff while continuing the educational traditions of the Southampton Union Preschool District and always setting the standards to a higher level, and whereas she has attended well over 176 board of education meetings, served one term as vice president of the board of education, served four terms as the president of the board of education, and has served as a member of various committees including audit and finance, facilities, personnel, communications, special education, code of conduct, biiteracy
064and policy committees, spending many hours away from her family on the district's behalf, and has received and read thousands of texts, emails, and pages of reports and documents for countless hours during the past eight years. And whereas she has supported all endeavors that benefited all students and our district and provided invaluable knowledge as a mother, a lifelong community volunteer, and an alumni of Southampton High School. Now therefore, on this 17th day of June, in the 249th year of the independence of the United States of America, by the action of the Board of Education, on behalf of the district and the community, we honor Mrs. Jacqueline Robinson by offering her praise and a heartfelt thank you for eight years of dedicated service. By action of the board of education, I set my hand to this proclamation
065on the 17th day of June, 2025. Erica Conquan Winkfield, Vice President, Board of Education. Whereas Mrs. Cara Complin Wingfield began her service to the Southampton Union 3 School District's Board of Education on July 1st, 2021 and has served as a trustee with dedication and distinction for the past four years. And whereas she has served the board of education and community min community with administrators, teachers and staff while continuing the educational traditions of the Southampton Union Free School District and always setting the standards to a higher level. And whereas she has attended well over 88 board of education meetings, served one term as vice president of the board, has served as a member of various committees, including audit and finance, personnel, wellness, communications, special education, facilities, and merger committees. spending many hours away from her family
066on the district's behalf and has received and read thousands of texts, emails, and pages of reports, and documents for countless hours during the past four years. and is the 2025 NS NSSBA school board ser service awardee and whereas she has supported all endeavors that benefited all students in our district and provided invaluable knowledge as a mother a champion of arts education and a community advocate for all children. Now therefore on the 7th day 17th day of June in the 249th year of the independence of the United States of America by the action of the board of education on behalf of the district and the community we honor Mrs. Carac from Wakefield by offering her praise and a heartfelt thank you for four years of dedicated service. By action of the board I set my hand
067to this proclamation on the 17th day of June 2025. You too. Thank you everybody. It it truly has been a pleasure serving on the board. Um I met a lot of really great people and I'm not going to cry tonight. So, I'll just say thank you to everybody that has supported me, uh, my family, and they're probably going to be sorry I didn't run again because now I'm going to be home a lot more. Anyway, um, I can do more baking. Yes, I can do lots more baking. Um, so we need to go back to um, executive session for 15 minutes. So, may I have a motion to move into an executive session at 9:25 p.m. to discuss the employment history of particular people that haven't made confident so all in favor? I any Uh-huh.