001I go into superintendent's comments, and then he's going to give you the signal. Okay. >> [laughter] >> Great. All right, welcome everyone. Good evening. This is the regular meeting of the Suffern Central School District Board of Education for Tuesday, May 19th, 2026. May the record reflect that all board members are present, and we will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, we're getting down to the wire on our student board member reports. Joy and Robbie, it's been such a pleasure to have you with us all year long, and I know you both have incredibly busy schedules, but we really appreciate that you've made time
002to be a part of this and to walk into the unknown as the first ex-officio student board members for the Board of Education. So, thank you so much for for being a part of it, and I know that you both have plans in the future. I was wondering if Robbie, you'd like to talk about where you're headed after you leave Suffern High School and what you're going to be studying and and what was important to you about your time in Suffern. Everyone, good evening. So, next year I'm going to be going to the University of Delaware for music education and potential minor in history or political science. I think music in my life has always been so important to me ever since I was very little, and history on top of that, they've been like
003my two biggest passions and to be able to study not just one, but both in college and possibly my career is an absolute blessing. And I wouldn't have done it without my teachers, my parents, well, my parents are also my teachers. >> [laughter] >> So. It's really exciting to be able to do this and this was such a great experience for me this year being an ex-officio member of the student board. Joy, did you want to share anything? I don't I don't want to push you. If you don't want to. Um, next year I'm going to Yale University to study molecular biophysics and biochemistry with a potential minor in global health studies and I would like to thank like all my teachers, especially in the SER program and my AP chemistry teacher Mr. Johnson for
004inspiring me to go down this path. I did not. Thank you. We're really we're really really proud of both of you. So, what have you got for us tonight? Student board member report. So, at Suffern High School we have spring spirit week kicking off. Yesterday was jersey day and today is was wear green for mental health awareness. And on Thursday there's going to be extended lunch where there's ice cream trucks, other food trucks, bouncy castles, cupcakes. It's really fun. Spring concerts are upcoming or or underway. Uh, I have about two more left. So. And Memorial Day weekend's extra long this year because we didn't use too many snow days. Friday, Monday, and Thursday are all off so we have a nice five-day weekend. Um, the coming Thursday is the evening of excellence. So, this is
005[clears throat] next Thursday where seniors will receive local scholarships and awards. Next weekend the music department will also be hosting Nisma at Suffern High School. Senior prom tickets are also being sold currently. And that's all the news we have. So, yeah. Thank you very much. >> [applause] >> Okay. Uh we're going to move on to the next item, which is the minutes of the regular meeting of May 5th, 2026. Has everyone had an opportunity to review the minutes? Do I have a motion to accept the minutes for May 5th, 2026? Mr. Shapiro, second. Mr. Andert, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Anyone opposed? Any abstentions? Okay, superintendent's comments. Thank you so much everyone. I'd like to first start off um by welcoming Anaya Ali and Esmeralda Sabino Ramirez, two of our incredible students
006from Suffern High School who are representing the Interact Club this evening. They're here to spotlight their recent pink pink pouch project. It is inspired by Suffern Rotary's period product initiative after hearing member Elizabeth Stevens speak to the Rotary Club. Thank you for being here, ladies, and for sharing this with us, as well as thank you to your advisor, Ms. Wix, for helping you with this project. So, I'm going to ask the two of you to stand up, go to the podium, and I know that you have a couple of slides and some important messages that you want to share with all of us. Thanks so much for being here. >> [snorts] [snorts] >> Good evening, everyone. I'm Esmeralda Sabino Ramirez. And I am Anaya Ali, and we are the founders of the Pink Pouch Project.
007So, the Pink Pouch Project is a student-led project where students raise money to We menstrual care kits for women and girls. These pouches will include a variety of items not only to assist them in bringing comfort to their menstrual periods, but also to promote hygiene. So, we found some like statistics based on the problem that we're trying to combat. One in four students struggle to afford period products here in the United States, and almost 50% of women here in the United States suffer from period poverty. Out of those women, 60% of them experience moderate to severe symptoms of depression. This is a staggering number, and our numbers should not be this high. New York State law mandates free access to menstrual products in the pub- in public and non-public schools for grades for students in
008grades 6 through 12. Schools must provide free pads and tampons in school restrooms. While the school does provide tampons, those tampons for the students are often really bad quality and prone to leakage. In the bathrooms at school, the pads are hardly ever restocked. More girls prefer pads over tampons because some don't know how to use tampons and find pads more comfortable. And so, there are pad dispensers at school, but it becomes an issue when they're never restocked. Some states still to this day in the United States impose a luxury tax on period products. They deem these products as non-essential and as something luxurious. Yet, millions of women in involuntarily need these products. These states make millions off of the exploitation of a woman's bodily function of which she cannot control. Menstrual care is essential to
009health, dignity, and daily life. However, many individuals still face barriers in accessing basic period products and comfort items, and this topic isn't touched upon often enough. The Period Pouch Project exists to help close the gap by providing care, support, and relief during a time of vulnerability. In our pouches, we include travel-size feminine wipes. We included two large heating pads, which can cover the whole abdomen area. We have tea bags, specifically chamomile, which is one scientifically one of the best teas for periods. We also have a small can small candies in the pouches just for some extra relief and comfort. And we also have a 1 fl oz like a mini hand sanitizer as well as an encouragement card with a positive message. So, who? We first started off our project by helping the community food
010pantry. We have already distributed them with We have provided them with 75 over 75 pouches, and we have over 75 more ready to distribute soon. On One Sovereign Day this past weekend, we talked to the director of the community food pantry, and she showed us so many pictures of women and girls loving their pouches that they received. We've that she even showed us this picture of a girl holding up her pouch, and it was so cute. And so many people in the community are loving the project and what we do. Everyone who we talked to who knew about the pink pouch project on One Sovereign Day, they all had something amazing to say about it, and they all supported our cause. So far, we have provided over 150 pouches to two people in need. Two
011and we have provided two local um communities and organizations. One being the food pantry, which as Mel just talked about, and one being Rotary, which you may know, they really helped us on our journey to make these pouches and to raise funds for them. Right now, we have over 10 volunteers, but we hope to gain more. And for our goal by next year, we want to have over 500 pouches to help over 500 women in need, and we have partnered with more than five organizations. Additionally, we have 50 more than 50 volunteers to work with to make these pouches delivered to different places. We plan on partnering with other local middle schools and high schools in the area as well as potentially like Good Samaritan Hospital who would probably benefit well from these pouches. We
012would like to get more student volunteers through other clubs such as the medicine club or the Red Cross Club who we already have connections with. As well as working with other Interact chapters in the area to achieve more volunteers and more distribution of the kits. As you all may know, May is menstrual health awareness month. There'll be a legislative meeting held to raise awareness for period poverty and menstrual equality. Rotary who you partner up with will also be speaking. We hope to see you all there. And don't forget to wear red. Here we have our QR code for our Instagram and our website and we have some business cards we'd like to hand out if that's okay where we have our QR code as well as like our LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. Thank you. >> [applause]
013>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we do. Yeah. We have them. Excuse me, they can't hear me out in wherever. Now they can. You indicated the Rotary had provided some assistance. So that was the Suffern Rotary? >> Yeah, Suffern Rotary. >> Okay. All right, I just wanted to clarify that. Uh I'm just thinking ahead for maybe somebody else to contribute. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you so much, ladies. I really appreciate you coming in here and and sharing this with us. Um if you if you'd like to distribute those cards now, you're more than welcome to do so. Um I I just want to make a few comments about your presentation and more importantly, the work that you're doing right now. Um >> Thank you very much. Many of you may have heard uh us talk
014a lot about our blueprint for excellence here in the Suffern Central School District and our our community really came together to formulate that blueprint and come up with four core values for our district. Uh the first one is commitment and I must say that the two of you and the students that you're working with have demonstrated tremendous commitment to this work and this project. Years ago, this is a topic that never even would have been mentioned and yet I'm so proud of the two of you for being up at the podium on a live stream sharing this important message. Uh it really should be a part of common language and the the important work that you do. So, I really want to commend you for that commitment. Compassion, you talked about the the the challenges,
015the depression that some women feel who who don't have the supplies that they need. Um so, you know, that's really a a demonstration of great compassion for those who are in need and your partnership with the community food pantry is another great example of not only your compassion for the struggles of others, but also how you're partnering with other organizations in our community. And that's the third core value, our connections to our community. And then finally, character. The work that you're doing is demonstrating incredible character. You make us so proud uh for not only embarking on this work, working with trusted adults who feel equally passionate about this, but really getting up and showcasing that you believe in something and you're standing up for making an improvement. So, kudos to you. Congratulations and thanks so
016much for presenting this here to us today. >> [applause] >> Thank you. And of course, you were also at One Suffern Day. And I want to take a moment to thank all the organizations, the teachers, the high school middle school students who were there showcasing all the great activities that take place in our district to the elementary school students, our teachers, administrators, community members, organizations that were there demonstrating what they do for to to benefit our One Suffern community including the Suffern Rotary who was there and present. And then most importantly, the person who really brought all of this together for the fourth year in a row, I want to just publicly thank Jenny Mermelstein for her coordination and leadership with regards to One Suffern. Absolutely amazing. >> [applause] >> Really well well done and
017it was a beautiful day, a great color run, lots of excitement and enthusiasm. And I'd like to thank the board members that were able to be there as well to uh to to to show what it's like to be a part of this beautiful community. Um today of course is election day. And uh not to steal Mr. Shapiro's thunder here, but for those of you cuz your comments probably not won't come for another 10 minutes or so, I want to remind folks that there is still about an hour and 12 minutes to get out and vote. We have very low voter turnout today. It's 15% lower than it is so far uh than last year. And approximately 10% of those who are able to vote are voting. So, there's lots of room for improvement in
018this next hour and 12 minutes. If you haven't voted, please get out and vote. And I'm sure you're going to have a few other things to say about this as well. Uh but Mr. Shapiro, I saw you at one of the polling locations earlier today and you practice what you preach. Not only did you vote, but you brought a friend. Nice job. Very close friend indeed. Um, you may hear the murmur in the back room there. That is uh, our election clerk, Mr. Romanowski, who is busy on the phones working out any challenges or situations that they may have at the polling locations. He has done a wonderful job quarterbacking this entire election effort along with our district clerk, Heather Campbell. Um, I want to thank Mr. Romanowski and Ms. Campbell as well as all
019of the election workers who are working in rather warm conditions today. They were here around 5:00 a.m. this morning and won't be leaving out until after 9:00 p.m. this evening. So, if you get a moment to thank them, please thank them for their dedication and work um, in promoting democracy even on such a hyper-local level. And then, my final comments this evening revolve around two policies that the board is going to be um, considering this evening that I want to share a little bit of information with the public on. Um, there's been some some talk in our district about the need to re-register students periodically as they move through their pre-K through 12th grade uh, continuum in the district. I want to be clear that all individuals when they come into the Suffern Central School
020District must register. They must show the proper documentation proving that they do in fact reside in the district and we do engage in multiple checks when there's a suspicion that perhaps a family is not still residing in the district. And I can share at a future date with the Board of Education and with the public um, the findings that we've had in any particular year and I can of course also share that information with regards to this year's findings. Um, but the board's policy committee has had multiple discussions about the idea of having all students re-register at different times throughout that pre-K through 12 curriculum. And so if this policy is approved in the first reading today and then the second reading is approved at the next board meeting, we will be requiring all incoming
021ninth graders next year and their families to re-register their incoming ninth graders once again. So that means that all ninth graders will have to provide renewed documentation, whether that's proof of a lease or rental agreement or an affidavit that a family lives in a particular residence throughout the district along with other supplemental materials like utility bills and things of that nature to prove that they indeed reside in the district. So we'll be doing that in time for when all students arrive um for the beginning of school next year. We will take a look at the results, what that yields, and then if we decide as a policy committee and a Board of Education that we need to expand that effort, we can certainly consider doing that for other grade levels as well. This is a
022first big step for the Suffern Central School District and I think that that will do a lot to um address maybe some of the concerns that are out there with regards to question marks on whether or not individuals live in the district and continue to attend our schools. The second policy that I want to mention before we go over to regular business is the device-free schools policy, uh otherwise known as the cell phone policy that Governor Hochul instituted around this time last year, July 1 it went into effect, where students pre-K through 12 are not allowed to have a digital I'm sorry, an internet-enabled device in school from the beginning of school to the end of the school day. That policy has been in effect in our district for some time, pre-K through eighth grade,
023but there was some leniency at the high school level. This is the first year that we completely removed access to all cell phones from the beginning bell to the end of the day bell. However, as whenever you put in a new practice or policy, there are some there are some kinks that need to be worked out, and there were plenty of kinks this year. I want to commend Dr. Adler and the team of students and staff that served on his committee to talk about how they can retrofit or revise that policy to uh to make it tighter, to make it comply um in a greater in a in a in a more um how should I say this? In a more complete way with what the governor has mandated schools to do. So, stay tuned.
024We'll be having some additional information for the board on what that will exactly look like. Some of you may be hearing about school districts that have been utilizing pouches or other ways of securing cell phones so that students don't have access to those. That information will be forthcoming um as well as we will be eliminating the ability for students to bring in their own device, such as iPads or laptops on their own at the high school level. Uh we're finding that many students in our high school, not all, but many students are utilizing those devices to access all the tools that Governor Hochul's law is designed to prevent, namely texting, social media, things of that nature. So, I wanted to put that out there. That is something that we are continuing uh to refine and
025we'll have more information forthcoming to the Board of Education and the public, and especially high school students, in the weeks ahead before the end of the school year. That was a lot. That concludes my superintendent's report. All right, thank you very much. Uh and thank you also to the representatives um from the Interact Club for being here tonight and for telling us about the Pink Pouch project. Um you know, one of the the greatest features of Suffern students is their empathy and their willingness to talk about um obstacles to learning that might be invisible or that uh people might be unwilling to talk about and to look for ways to solve those problems. Whether it's the the Nourish Club or in this case uh working to provide the Pink Pouch project, um I think you
026do an amazing job uh looking out for your fellow students and for improving the you know, the conditions for them, which overall makes Suffern uh high school a better place. So, thank you so much for being here tonight and for talking about what you're doing. Um okay. Uh we're now going to move on to public participation. This is on our action items only. Action items are on our agenda tonight at 2.01 through 2.16. Is there anyone here from the public to speak about an action item on tonight's agenda? Okay, looks like not. Uh so, we're going to move on. Uh before I ask for a consent agenda, is there any item that any board member would like to pull? No? Okay, great. Uh do I have a motion for a consent agenda to approve action
027items 2.01 through 2.16? Mr. Fraser, second? Second. Mrs. Hodge? All in favor, signify by saying I. I. Anyone opposed? Any abstentions? Okay, great. Uh now we're going to move on to our second public participation section. This is on any district related business. If you are here to speak about any district related business, please approach the lectern. Please keep your remarks to 3 minutes. Please give us your name and please do not mention anyone in the school district uh by name, whether teacher, staff, or student. Is there anyone here from the public to speak on any district-related business? Okay, looks like not. Then we're going to close that portion of the meeting and move to board member comments. Are there any board members with any comments tonight? Yes, Ms. Bryan? Good night, everyone. Uh this is
028really just to commend the Pink Pouch project on uh the level of detail that you provided. Um may I suggest that um with your findings of what is happening within our district, um if you're finding that there's insufficient types of products, or or you uh within your research found other products that you may want to recommend, maybe reach out to the superintendent and his admin team and present your findings in terms of what is um missing from from the school, what may be deficient. You mentioned the types of tampons and the types of um period products that we are currently providing that may be the wrong size, the wrong type, like with your research, um I'm kindly suggesting you reach out to um Dr. G and maybe give alternatives, and maybe we can, you know,
029see what better options we can provide in that regard. Is this Mr. Shapiro? How'd you guess? Okay, so >> [laughter] [clears throat] >> disappointing. Uh I I just don't get it. Let's just say that there were 10,000 registered voters in the Suffern school district. And if our numbers from last year, which were not great, to say the least, and were 5% to 15% lower this year, lower. So far. Lower. Okay. And I don't know how many people watch the streaming of this, or go back a day later, because if they go back tomorrow and listen to me say anything, they can't vote. It's, you know, it's over tonight. It's over in about an hour. I mean, I don't know what we have to do to get people out to vote. And I'm just not talking
030about this election. I'm really talking about any and every election. People have to vote. They You have to vote. If you're not happy with something, you should be voting. If you're happy with something, you should be voting. In other words, you should be voting. It's just that simple. And I know I'm preaching to the choir, because you're here. Maybe what we have to do is um send out invitations to the public every 2 weeks, Sorry. and and invite them to a board meeting, and have them physically come and fill this up, or maybe we'll be we'll have so many people we'll have to go to the middle school auditorium, or to the high school auditorium. I I just can't believe I mean, here we had two young ladies talk about something that is not easy
031to talk about, and you did a great job. And kudos [clears throat] to you. Kudos to Interact. Kudos to your family, really. Terrific. And yet, the community doesn't come out and support and come out and do things such as voting and listening to what goes on at a board meeting. And it doesn't have to be a crisis like, oh, this was said, you know, we all have to go there. No, you should come and you should listen and be part and be involved in the community. I it it is so dis- disappointing. I I But anyway, today was a great day. >> [snorts] >> You know, the weather was great. I was driving back from Rutgers because of a grad- graduation for my granddaughter who was a Suffern graduate. Um and my car is reading
032101 and then all of a sudden it dropped down to 83 and all of a sudden my wife says, "Paul, it's raining in Suffern." I said, "How could it be raining in Suffern when 5 minutes ago my car was reading 101°?" Not my speed wasn't 101, no. It was reading It definitely wasn't because my wife was with me. Um So, today was a great day, but it it it just hurts that people don't come out to vote. But like I said, I'm preaching to the choir. Somehow I I don't I don't know. We have to have cars going around neighborhoods with long with big speakers like they did in the '40s and the '50s and saying, "Get out to vote. Get out. Everyone come out to vote. Don't forget to vote. Make sure you're registered."
033We have to do something cuz this is not this is not sus- sustainable for this school district. And people are looking at us, I'm sure, and saying, "Ooh, look how few people voted. Hmm." So, that's not a good thing. So, anyway, thank you, ladies, for tonight. Um I have two two daughters. I have a granddaughter. I have a sister. I have a wife. I get it, okay? Um and reading some of the statistics, it's it's really uh it's a shame. Really is, but you're you're doing your part, so thank you very much. I'm done. I was probably done 10 minutes ago, but you know, it's all right. Any other board member comments? >> [snorts] >> Okay, well, then I will like to make a few comments. Um first of all, uh at our last meeting,
034uh we uh commended uh Joey Yin for her uh Suffern's first-ever world champion in her deca event. And I would like to acknowledge Robbie Schwartz, who was Suffern's nominee for the Roger Rees Award, which is uh a huge honor in high school musical theater. It's a very prestigious uh organization that recognizes excellence in student performance. And so, I just want to say congratulations for being Suffern's nominee. Uh for anybody who doesn't know, Roger Rees uh the late Roger Rees was a a Tony nominated actor, as well as a director, and a teacher, and uh and really um highly regarded by all of his peers. So, um so glad you got to participate in something like that. Um >> [applause] >> uh and I also would like to thank our election workers uh who have been
035working here all day on a a day where they could have been doing maybe something else and enjoying the sunshine, but they've been very dedicated. And Mr. Romanowski, who this is a a full year project for him to make sure elections go off well, and also our district clerk, Ms. Heather Campbell, plays a huge role in making sure that things run the way they're supposed to. Uh not much help from the board, but thank you, uh Heather, for doing that. Um and uh we do have an hour left before the polls close. So, if you're watching this meeting and you haven't voted yet, although if you watch school board meetings online, you're probably the kind of person who has already voted. But tell a friend and and anybody can still get out and vote before
036the polls close. Um, and I also just wanted to say that I feel like, you know, despite our the number of people who either have or haven't come out to vote, I really feel like the district made a huge effort this year in getting the word out more than in any other year that I've been a part of the district, whether it was texts from Dr. Gundersen, emails, the Excelsior newsletter that came out, social media, we saw announcements on Instagram and on Facebook and every other social media platform that the district participates in. We had information on our website. Mr. Shapiro was the one-man show here making sure that the word got out at board meeting after board meeting after board meeting. Dr. Gundersen himself was at the Suffern High School band concert last night
037making an announcement about it. So, you know, I don't know what it takes, but I do feel that the district is really putting a lot of effort into getting the word out that this election is happening and that it's important. Um, and so with that in mind, I want to say that for the rest of the evening, here's what the plan is. Um, first of all, our next meeting will be June 2nd. That will be at Suffern High School in the cafeteria. And we will be acknowledging the retirees from Suffern. So, if you would like to come out and celebrate and say hello or goodbye, as the case may be, to our retirees, it's a wonderful event. It starts at 7:00 and then we start our regular meeting around 7:30 or whenever we wrap up
038with the retirees. Um and we are going to be adjourning shortly. We're going to go into executive session. Um and we will resume public session when we have the preliminary numbers available for the election results of our board members as well as our budget. Um but that will not be before 9:00 because that's when the polls close. It will be sometime after that. We're not intending to take care of any other business when we come back to public session, but of course it is we continue with the public meeting and anybody who wants to stay is welcome to stay. Um so at this time, uh I the chair will entertain a motion to go into executive session for the purposes of reviewing with the annual evaluation reviewing, excuse me, the annual evaluation of the superintendent
039of schools. Do I have a motion? Move. Mrs. Hodge, second. Second. Mr. Shapiro, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Okay. Thank you everyone [snorts] for being here tonight. Uh we're going to go into executive session. Everyone have a good night and we'll have a little more information later on. Thank you. Same to you. Good job.