001I didn't ask I know I'm in trouble right Now I'm in trouble. They're like, "Susan needs to stop talking. Someone All right. Good evening everyone. Welcome to our April Board of Education meeting. Uh before we begin the meeting, I would like to ask everyone to stand for the pledge, please. I pledge allegiance to the flag of United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Please take a seat. >> And I will kindly ask Dr. Rufol to um the associate superintendent for business to provide us with the uh budget information for the 2026 and 2027 school year. So Dr. didn't know. It's okay. Good evening and welcome to the third um budget presentation for the 2627 um school year.
002um the February um and March meetings, we went over the um detail sections of the budget. We went over the admin section, the capital, and in March, we went over the um the detail of the program budget. So, tonight I plan to just go sort of high level um do an overall budget and the tax cap and let you know of any updates and changes. We spent a little time on revenue, plan to do a little more tonight. um regarding updates and changes. Um unfortunately from a state perspective today they passed another budget extender. So we won't have any um state numbers to present tonight other than the same numbers um that we presented um back in uh February the first time. So what hasn't changed um about the budget is the budget climate. Um
003we're still dealing with the factors that we've been talking about all through this um uh budget season as well as uh the prior one or two which is uh the um negative pressure of health insurance, other benefits, the inflationary pressures um that we we've been feeling um have continued this year. And another factor this year um again is our liability insurance as a result of um market rates um in the insurance world and particularly in in school districts. One of the areas that we did have a change. You may remember that back in March, March 1st, I was required to submit to the controller the the district's tax cap. And at that time, the number was um 2.3% which is what I um presented to you in March. Since that time, well, included in that
004number um as part of the tax cap is is something called a capital exclusion, and that's where the district's debt service goes. So included in that number is our regular debt service and then an estimate that we put in for bands, the first borrowing for our phase three um capital projects. And so I had an estimate in there I think after talking with our fiscal adviser of a 4% interest rate. Well, we went out um to for um for a bid and on April 8th we had results and we had more favorable interest rates. So that's that's good news. Um we had a net interest rate of 2.4 which was made up of um an interest rate of three and a quarter and then a premium payment of about 450. So that netted a lower
005debt service payment. Try not to get too I'm I'm in the details. Um but that translated into a lower capital exception. Uh so therefore our the expense came down on the budget and the tax cap came down a bit. So our actual tax cap I put in a revision is 2.2% of the calculated um tax cap and the tax cap can be changed up until the board adopts uh the budget. So with a a tax cap calculation of 2.2% 2% and an actual tax levy being proposed of 2.19. We continue our trend over the last 14-15 years of being under the the state tax cap and cumulatively that is about 11.2 million over the last um 14 years. So overall highle numbers we're proposing a tax levy increase of 2.19% which is about 26,000 below
006the calculated tax cap of 2.2% and that goes along with a budget-to-budget increase of 3.74%. So let's just talk about the budget for a moment. um back in March um I I mentioned to you um that we were just starting our staffing meetings and they're they're continuing there's still minor shifts that are going on and while we continue as in most years we've seen subtle shift shifts from some elementary some changes to secondary some shifts in special ed so bottom line there's not a big change we're about the same but there is shift shifts among co among the codes and that is typical of most years. We had some updated estimates from Boseies and that changed a slightly the numbers that I presented to you back in March. I already talked about the debt service
007estimate that came down about um $240,000. And so those numbers have all been incorporated into the the final numbers. And then we are going to um we finalized our list of equipment though the equipment that I presented to you in ath for athletics and operations back in uh February and March. Those numbers have held. And here we have our list of um capital projects. We talked about the high school aux gym renovations, classroom renov renovations which we typically do. These are smaller scale projects than our big capital work and in some cases they complement the capital work that's going on. And so each year we tend to do some classroom renovations. We'll do a staff bathroom renovation to bring us into uh compliance with ADA. We're going to be doing an HVA system upgrade. Um
008putting in a fan wall. Um a fan wall is kind of a modern um HVAC system where you and that's the picture on the right. And you have individual fans and they replace those old sort of belt single belt models that are and this is much more energy efficient, quieter and um and the system needs replacing. We'll continue to do our district-wide site work, paving, roofing, and flooring. Given um we have uh hiring uh some bus drivers, getting buses, we need to think about creating a more efficient operations with our transportation. So, we might have to move there. And our grounds crew is uh our operations team has been talking with athletics and trying to get them more efficient um space for the athletic equipment as well. So, those are our capital projects. Wanted to
009spend a little bit of time on revenue and so how we get there in terms of um thinking about the budget and the tax levy is all about the revenue. So the budget is your basically our spending plan that and those are the funds that support the instructional program. Then we take out all of the other different types of revenues, state aid, our local revenue, our appropriated fund balance, and our use of reserves and those are the numbers that are up there. And you take out all of those other items and then you're left with the tax levy. And that's the amount of funds that's raised through property taxes after all of those others are first um completed. uh reduced. So estate aid is is not final. Um but we're going to go with the
010numbers um that we have here. And you can see that there is um a considerable increase um in state aid approximately 3.5 million increase. most of it is in um foundation aid which is the top number there and that represents the largest um about almost 65 66% of our state aid. Um the next uh large category is Bosey's aid. So you know we do a lot of projects through Boseies and we get aid in the subsequent um year for those projects. So you can see it's a um from six to 7 from 5 to six is a slight decline and that just reflects that we did a bunch of projects um in 2004 five. Our transportation aid is increasing um reflecting increased costs for transportation as well as um an aid factored in for the
011buses and the reimbursement that we'll get for those. Um the remaining the remaining remaining aid are smaller. They represent about two to three%. Oh, I forgot building aid. So building aid, I'm sorry, is about the fourth one up from the bottom. And you see that that's going from about 17 to 23. The state aid run put us at about 2.3 million. And that just reflects the phase 2 projects wrapping those up and generating more aid for those. And then we look at projects that the state might not have included or isn't aware are wrapping up and we add to that number. We added about 75,000 to come to that 2387. The other um aid categories are fairly stable and they account for about 2 to 3%. That's our excess cost aid for special education, high
012tax aid, and then other expense-based aid like hardware and textbook. Okay, we did have some changes in local revenue. So, these were generally um favorable changes, increases in local revenue driven primarily by additional pilots. That's the number at the bottom. We had some pilots come on. We also you can see an increase in unclassified revenue going from about a million to a million nine and that represents um two factors. One is the premium that I talked about on the ban. The other is um you might remember in February I talked about a project a switches project for upgrading the network uh end of life switches and that project was going to be funded in part through -ate and that number represents the funding for the - project um interest on investments you see a little
013bit of a decline and that just reflects um potential reductions in in interest rates. rate. And also I just uh somewhat noteworthy, the second line is tuition. Prior to 20056, we didn't really have numbers in there, but um we have children from other districts that are attracted to our um newer special ed uh programs that um Miss Goldworth has um instituted. And um when there's room in those classes, we can accept um tuition paying students just like we send some of our students um to outside districts. So, we also receive tuition um for those uh for those costs, revenue for those tuition costs. We'll continue in 2627 to use our reserves um to support the budget and the reserves are tied to the expense lines in the budget primarily benefits line. So we we have
014reserves for those specific purpose purposes and we have historically funded our entire ERS um expense with the reserve. And so that increase um from this year to next year reflects the increase in the ERS expense that we anticipate. The other reserves the TRS we were able to bring down a bit and keep the other ones stable. So our reserve balance in June 2025 was about 36 million and this represents about using about um 94 of that. We'll also um this is our historical use of our appropriation of fund balance. So these is this is the unrestricted portion of the reserves that isn't designed for a specific purpose. You can see over the last couple of years um we've stabilized at about the 2.9 million level. I think if you took the average of from the
015last 10 years it was about 37. So we're stabilizing at at below that that average. So the um the numbers that I talked about the 374 budget the 2.9 um tax levy will be um upon acceptance would be submitted on the property tax report card to the state. And then we also have to this is the second page of the property tax report card where we put our plan together for the reserves that we will use and the anticipated um reserve balance. And next um at our next meeting on May 11th that is the budget hearing which will again be a highle summary in preparation for the budget vote which is May 19th. >> Okay. Thank you Dr. Rufo for the presentation. And at this point, uh, do we have any questions for Dr. Rufo?
016Mr. Greco. >> Thank you, Dr. Rufo. That was great. Um, I want to make sure I heard you correctly. The My Speaker sounds terrible. Does it sound terrible for you? >> Testing. >> How about now? I can hear you >> sort of. Um the 1 million increase in unclassified revenue, you said that was the ban premium as well as the switch project funding. Is there anything else in that number? It's a pretty big >> um Yes. Give me a second. Those are the largest components of of the unclassified the premium. Um we also have a a refund that we get um prior year uh Boseies does an estimate of cost and then they do a um an let's say a trueing up at the end of the year and so we get um typically it's
017it's a refund of services and that also goes in there. Those are the three big components. >> The the line above that, the rental of buildings, the 75K, that is when we rent out >> one of our schools for a third party unrelated to our own education. >> That's correct. And we've only had that for the last I I don't know maybe four years we've done that. So, >> and then the tuition line, the 198. So, other than Miss Gothway's stellar work, um what is the end summer? What is uh that line item? Is that the summer school program? >> Yes. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> Okay. Any more questions? >> Okay. Oh, I'm sorry. U Mr. Ginsburg. >> Hi. Hi. Thank you, Dr. Rufo. Um with the the pilots, how are we
018able to forecast that going forward also? Is that like a an increase? Is that something that's going to increase going forward also? Is it something we could really forecast years out years on out? >> When we get a pilot schedule, it t it has the schedule for years out, however many years the the um project is for. Um what is challenging sometimes is when they come on and when they go off. And that sometimes can be a little bit tricky because even though the pilot may end and the um the pilot holder may then be paying their full like full amount of taxes. They still may not go on the rolls. We've had that where I've forecasted that they're they're going to be ending and and so it really just becomes a matter of timing
019whether it's this year or next year. But once you once they're on we have the schedule. Okay, thank you. Any more questions? All right, thank you Dr. Ruf for the presentation. >> Okay, and next is going to be the approval of minutes. Uh 5A and 5B can be taken together. They're the approval of minutes of the March 9 2026 monthly meeting and the March 26, 2026 special meeting. Can I have a motion, please? M Miss Kosha, seconded by Mr. Ginsburg. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? And um next we'll have uh Mr. Greco to report on the uh finance committee that took I think you were saying the meeting on March 11th. Um so the citizens finance committee met March 11th. Couple of things we did was went over some of
020the budget uh and the update that you heard tonight, but also we we met with a energy conservation and management services company. Um there was an RFP for that kind of work. It's it's a little bit different than I think a typical EPC. It's more of a energy management consultant or vendor trying to monetize sustainability. Uh it was an interesting update, but we haven't had a chance to debrief because the meeting ended after we were asking the consulting questions. So, we're going to do that this Wednesday and then I'll have a little bit more to share with the board at that time. >> Thank you, Mr. Greco. Okay. And next, we are going to have Dr. Rufo back again uh to give us the treasures report and appropriation adjustments. Dr. Rufo, >> thank you. Um
021as shown on the treasures report, the cash on hand um for the month end February 2026 was 94,540,7919. It shows bank balances for all cash accounts were reconciled to the book balances and were collateralized in accordance with the district's banking agreements and investment policy. Thank you. Thank you Dr. Rufol. So 6A and 6B can be taken together and they're the approval of treasures report and appropriation adjustments. Can I have a motion please? Mr. Rotolo, second by Dr. Park. Are there any questions for Dr. Rufo? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? Thank you. and we will have uh Dr. uh Rogers to give us uh his superintendence report. >> Thanks. I'm going to invite the board uh if you'd like to sit in the front row of the auditorium. Uh we're going to do something a
022little bit different tonight. Uh as often we'll start the board meeting with a student performance and then move into uh some PowerPoint presentations from staff. But tonight uh we're going to extend the conversation we started two months ago on how the arts are adapting to the world of AI and uh that brings us to a focus on process. Uh so even though AI can produce some products uh it can't produce the process that really trains students. So, uh, what we're going to do tonight, and I'm excited for this presentation, is see some student performances and then have comment on what was going on in the performances and in the instruction that led up to the performances and how uh, those instructional opportunities are tailored to really work on students skills and how that process allows
023them to in art do the things that are uniquely human like provide voice and perspective. So, uh, if you'll join me in the front row, uh, we're going to have some student performances, some comments from adults, and, uh, a little bit of a narrative to kind of string all of it together from Dr. Hail. So, can I tilt this so I can always see the screen a little bit? Okay. Good evening, Dr. Rogers, Miss Chang, and the board of education. It's a pleasure to present to you again this evening and talk about our wonderful arts programs. It's a terrific week for the arts in Seaset. Tomorrow night, we open our 64th annual K through2 district art show with about 1,300 pieces on display. The following night, this coming Wednesday, we'll be hosting the district jazz
024festival at Seasid High School with several elementary schools, both middle schools and the high school represented. Tonight, I'll be presenting a sequel of sorts. In February, you may recall that we presented on the visual arts and how in the current environment with a national conversation captured by artificial intelligence and automation, the arts provide core skills and competencies for our students to live meaningful, fulfilling and joyful lives. Some of these competencies include habits of mind, sustained investigations, and the development of student voice. Process and authenticity are the two pill pill pillars of the framework by which music and art can be understood in this era. The first of these process reveals core tenets of creativity that we teach in the classroom each day. Iteration or continual improvement and refinement is an inherent part of any creative
025act. The second tenant is that as any musician can share, you cannot expect a great performance without many hours of consistent and focused practice. And finally, without process, terrific results are simply not repeatable. I'll share some research from the Stanford University School of Design stating how human processes built around a core mindset of curiosity, experimentation, awareness, and reflection are necessary to create meaning and sustain innovation. Our other pillar, authenticity, is harder to pin down, but this study from the ILE E, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, presents it well, stating that contextual reasoning, stylistic awareness, and aesthetic judgment have high pedagogical value in the current environment. Tonight, we'll study an often unsung but extremely crucial aspect of a child's music education in Sioset, namely our small group lessons and chamber music ensembles. This experience
026begins in the third grade for our students and focuses on the development of musical skills that are essential for the success of our program. In these lessons and groups, students learn side by side from the master teachers and musicians we are proud to call ourset music faculty. While we are familiar with our wonderful concerts featuring the band, orchestra, and chorus, the fact is that the majority of the musical instruction that takes place in Sioset happens in these small groups. Here are a few examples of where this work can be seen in action. Community performances at nursing homes, tree lightings, lunar new year arts festival, and many others. Our chamber music club at Seasa High School, as well as chamber ensembles that meet in our elementary and middle schools perform, not to mention the adoles, rock
027band, etc. There are countless competitions that take place each year for regional groups such as the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra as well as powerhouse programs such as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, which we'll learn more about later. Solo recital also often take place in SAS. This photo is from last week when Lisa Yasinov, who's attending the New England Conservatory this coming fall, performed her very own senior recital in the Sioset High School library for a gracious audience. And finally, the Sioset Honors Piano Recital, which is entering its fourth year, featuring our students who achieved a perfect score on a NISSMA level six this year. We'll be returning to the SAS Public Library, where our students will serenade the community on their beautiful Steinway piano on June 6th. Perhaps the most familiar vehicle for our
028students to perform in solo or chamber settings is that of NISMA. The New York State School Music Association hosts festivals each spring where students perform for a rating. What many are not familiar with is the tremendous amount of participation that we have from SIASET. This spring there will be 1,768 solos performed by SIASET students. A staggering number for any other community, which shows the tremendous dedication and value our families place on the musical experience at all levels. I have to say we are incredibly proud and fortunate to have students here tonight who know quite a bit about NISMA and want to share their experience with you. We are going to present our groups in NISMA level order so you can see firsthand these incredible students and how through their musical experiences they grow exponentially each
029year. Our first group is from our developmental program which begins in third grade. They are from South Grove Elementary School. And helping me introduce them tonight is their wonderful teacher, Miss Amy Cowsner. Hi, thank you so much. Um, this is Angelina and Emily. We are going to be playing some bass level one Nisma solos for you today. Um, they were, I believe, the only duet to go to Nisma this year and they went level one and they started in third grade and I'm so proud and honored to be their teacher. I hope you enjoy. You go ahead. Thank you so much, Emily and Angelina. So, in our in our developmental program, we develop listening skills, fundamental technique, as well as confidence, as you see, through sideby-side coaching. Emily and Angelina wanted to share a bit
030about their experience with you. So, first, Angelina, um, how is learning a solo or duet different from learning music for an orchestra? Learning a solo or duet is um different from learning from playing an orchestra because when you play an orchestra you have this you don't have the support of the entire ensemble but verse when you're doing a duet you have to listen very closely to listen to be in sync with your partner. >> Excellent. Thank you. So and Emily, how would you say that you have grown as a student and as a musician from the experience of playing at NISMA? Um, I have grown because I've learned to be more independent and I was more confident in playing. >> Excellent. So, I'm very, very proud to share that Emily and Angelina received a rating
031of outstanding at NISMA performing on their level one, and we look forward to hearing them continue to play next year. They're attending different middle schools, but hopefully we'll be seeing them back together on the same stage when they get to SASA High School. So, thank you, Emily and Angelina, for playing. Thank you. So, next we have a Woodwin duo from our middle schools. Uh, and here to help us introduce Timothy and John is their band director, Miss Mandy Boon. >> Hello everyone. I would like to introduce my two wonderful students, John Min and Timothy Maneruga. They are two outstanding sixth graders here at Southwoods Middle School. I chose these two particular students to perform a duet at NISMA this year because performing in a chamber group gives the students a unique musical experience that cannot
032be replicated. It is important for their development and at their skill level. I always want to challenge them and help them grow their ensemble skills. Aside from being stand partners in band, they are very close friends, so I knew they would be able to practice together outside of school. I gave them this piece back in January. I chose this particular NISMA level three duet for them because it represents represents three contrasting styles of music, offering them many learning opportunities. Throughout this process, they've learned a lot about playing with one other person and without a conductor. Playing a duet requires communication and teamwork. We started the piece together and I gave them some direction, but they then got together outside of school numerous times to rehearse the piece on their own. Each time I saw them
033for a lesson, I'd give them little pointers, but they really did so much of the work on their own. They not only had to learn their own part, but how their two parts fit together. And as you will hear, it is quite intricate. They are both such strong musicians. Both of these students will be performing level five Nisma solos in a few weeks at Sioset High School in sixth grade. Their performance at the NISMA solo and ensemble festival last month earned them a perfect score and I am so thrilled that Dr. Hail asked them to perform tonight to share all of their hard work with you. They'll be playing a three movement piece. The first movement is entitled Sonatina. The second is the blues and the third is Carnival. Please enjoy. THANK YOU, John and
034Timothy. Timothy, as you can see, in middle school, students have increased independence, develop their voice similar to what we saw in the visual arts in February, and perform music that is progressively more demanding. So, just a couple of uh points of reflection, Timothy, um the two of you shared with me last week uh when I came to your lesson that you're also playing a different solo. You're each playing a solo at NISSMA in a few weeks. Um, how is playing in this situation different than what you experience when you're playing your solo at Nisma? >> Give them a Yeah, thank you. >> It's different because in a solo everything depends on you, but in a duet you have to learn how to work together and listen and slow down together and stop together. So like
035it depends on you and your partner, not just you like in a solo. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you. And John, what's your experience been like? This music's uh more challenging than some of the music you've played in the past. So, what did you learn this year in particular? >> Um, this year I learned like cuz in normal band you you kind of you you don't not everything's like pinned on you because you have like band members and different people who also play the same instrument as you. So you don't feel like the pressure to like kind of like you don't feel the same pressure as when you're playing a solo duet where it's only like a couple of people because in a solo duet there's more pressure on for you to not make mistakes. >>
036Great. All right. Thank you gentlemen. You sound terrific. Thank you so much. Thank you. And next we have two of our high school seniors. They're here to perform for you this evening. And here to introduce them, we have Miss Stephanie Merin from Sioset High School. >> Good evening. Um, before I introduce my uh two seniors here, I wanted to talk to you just briefly about chamber music club and chamber music in general. At the high school, we have a chamber music club that meets uh every week after school where students get together in groups of two to eight players about to work on any music that they want. And listening to the younger groups play, I'm noticing at the high school because they're older now, they have real opinions like I want to play this
037style of music. I want to play in this combination of instruments. So the chamber music club is students taking over and I'm I guide them as a coach and then we also have um officers student officers who also coach the groups to help uh with each group's uh participation. So there's about 40 students in chamber music club this year and uh a key element also I'm noticing as I'm watching the elementary school and middle school is that they're friends. There are kids that get together outside of school and just like at the high school, we meet weekly. But the students that go on to compete and some of the students who just really love the music they're playing, they meet on the weekends. We meet on vacations. They meet when there's extra time and they
038really commit to it because it's their personal project that they're taking ownership over. It's not a teacher telling them, I want you to learn this. So, it's a really neat thing to come and see all these groups performing and practicing every week at Chamber Music Club. But so they choose their own rep from pop songs to Beethoven to bronze to uh one time we had a student playing a gang the Chinese zither and she wanted to play with uh string instruments and we learned how to make music notation to make the group work together. So you can kind of pick anything you want. And we don't just do NISMA. Some of our groups are beyond NISMA almost. The level is so much higher. They go on to compete um at competitions around the area and
039New York City. As this group, both these members have been in other chamber music groups as well. But why is chamber music important in general? I know Dr. Hill is talking about it, but from my uh perspective, it's one of the most effective ways to teach students to collaborate, to think critically, and take responsibility. And these skills carry far beyond the music room into career readiness, college readiness. I think the reason I'm comfortable in front of people is because of my training as a violinist and uh actor. Unlike large ensembles, as as the student over here mentioned, um chamber music only has one person on a part. So students really have to take ownership of their own role to play within the team. So they are the leader and the collaborator at the same time.
040They have to listen closely to one another, communicate and problem solve in real time. You see them playing exactly the same articulations together, breathing together, starting together. It seems so simple when you're watching it, but when they first come together, there's so many intricate parts at play. They have to make critical thinking decisions of balance, timing, interpretation. You'll see them doing that with um oral cues, visual cues, verbal cues. There's a lot of nonverbal communication consistently as they're playing. So as they take indiv ownership over their individual role, they have to make these critical decisions and they have to work towards their shared goal which is their performance of the piece. So the biggest thing is that chamber music is not a passive performance. It's an active learning experience where they have to analyze and
041create together. Um if there's a passive player in it, it all falls apart. So it's a very delicate balance. So now I'm going to introduce Aiden Chanmpson and Daniel Ming performing um the Brahms Leader Opus 105 from uh song number one. And as you watch them because they are high school students, they'll they're really going to perform. Watch how they interact. Watch how musically they're communicating with one another with everything but verbal cues. Hallelujah. So, Aiden and Daniel, thank you so much. They they were willing to share some reflection as well. Uh my first question to the two of you and either one of you could answer if you'd like. Um what would you say looking back now is the most valuable thing that you've uh taken from playing in these chamber groups? >> Honestly,
042one of the most valuable things that Miss Merin mentioned is really the collaboration between each one. I think chamber music is the perfect metaphor for democracy where everyone really has an equal voice. If you play something that's not to the highest artistic standard, it's very very evident, especially amongst your other musicians and colleagues. So, taking that ownership amongst everyone, having respectful views of everyone's opinions so that we can honor our the composer's intent in our in the best way possible is really one of the best things I've learned playing with my friends and doing chamber music on a different level. >> Thank you. Again, Daniel, is there anything you'd like to share about your experiences playing in these chamber groups? >> Yeah, I would definitely agree with Aiden. I would say that um being in
043a chamber group with Aiden for so many years, we've grown to not only be musicians, but also very good friends and I think lifelong friends. And I think that is something super valuable that chamber music brings to us in that I think the amount of collaboration that we can achieve with all our peers I think is something really beautiful and is something I think all people can benefit from. >> Thank you so much. Thank you boys. Thank you. So finally, as I mentioned before, there are competitions that reach national level status that our students engage in. And one of these is the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Young Artist Program. Each year, students at the highest levels compete to perform at one of the most prestigious spaces in the world, Alice Tully Hall in
044Lincoln Center. I like to describe the CMS program to people as the Regeneron Scholar program for musicians. The demands for music musical sensitivity and sophistication are incredibly high. And this year we have two winners, brothers from Southwoods Middle School. Here to help me introduce them is their orchestra teacher, Mrs. Genie Chung. >> Hello. It is my pleasure to introduce two of my students who have reched. After many hours spent preparing, perfecting, and recording their piece, they advanced through the regional level to be officially selected by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center representing SIASED. They will be playing at Lincoln Center next month. Both Milo and Matthew are in seventh grade orchestra where they play the cello as their secondary instrument. They are learning how to apply their solo piano skills into a large ensemble
045which requires a different skill set. Tonight you'll get to hear them showcase their main instrument piano as a duet. I hope you enjoy Mother Goose sweet suite for piano four hands by Maurice Rell. And this is Matthew Matthew Goo and Milo Goo. There we go. Thank you, Matthew and Milo. And this is the stage I'll be performing on in just a few weeks. So Milo agreed to share some reflections with us. First of all, I just have to say as a parent, it's wonderful to see two brothers play playing so nicely together. Um, you must be have a very supportive family. So I guess my question for you is how is making music in school as Miss Chunk said uh helped you achieve what you have uh in CMS competition? >> Well, Saiasa provides a
046really awesome teacher. So, so I guess that's the big reason like how me and him like played that I guess that well. Uh, and I'm really grateful for um my uh orchestra teacher, Miss Chong. Uh and uh my principal Miss Briette and my also my elementary school u principal Miss An because she helped me throughout my musical journey in elementary school and also my um previous um elementary school orchestra teacher Miss Cosner u who also helped me throughout elementary school and of course uh Dr. Hail. >> Oh, thank you, Milo. >> Well, Milo, we're very fond of you and your brother as well. So, thank you very much for your performance this evening. We're incredibly proud of you guys and you're playing on one of the most beautiful stages in the world. So, congratulations to
047to you both. So in closing, as we look ahead in SIASA towards the work being done on portrait of a graduate as one example, what we've seen tonight with our incredible performers is that these six skills being promoted by New York State is intrinsic to what it means to be a musician. Something that Sioid students literally by the thousands get to experience each and every day. In fact, the portrait of a graduate in Siosa can also be seen as a portrait of a musician. And our students know this too, as not you not only have heard tonight, but also can see by these reflections that were shared with us by students in preparation for tonight's presentation. So, in closing, I'd like to thank our four teachers who joined us tonight and their incredible student performers.
048Let's give them all another round of a hand, please. I'd also like to thank their families who are here tonight uh for always supporting their children and keeping music at the center of their lives. And finally, thank you to the board of education for continuing the long-standing tradition of musical excellence in SEAST schools. That concludes our presentation. And with that, if you have any questions or comments, I'd be more than happy to take them. You want to say yours? Okay. Sure. Thank you. Thank you again Dr. Hill for the presentation and of of course our uh very own SAS musicians. And I just want to uh make a comment that um during the presentation the word collaboration was mentioned a few times you know if both by the teacher and then also by the students
049and I do agree that um on that collaboration is very important and in fact the board just adopted the goal in 2025 and we emphasize on the collaboration and it's great to see that in action. So thank you and at this point uh do we have any questions for Dr. H. Okay, great. >> Okay, thank you. Amazing. Thank you. Thank you. >> That concludes our presentation. >> Okay. Okay. Thank you. And um we have no legislative items and no discussion items and no unfinished business. And we're moving on to our new business and 11A is the approval of staff changes. Can I have a motion, please? Miss Koshia, seconded by Mr. Ginsfer. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 11B is the approval of stipens and hourly rates 2025 2026. Can I
050have a motion, please? Mr. Roa, seconded by Dr. Park. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 11 C is the approval of coaching recommendations. Can I have a motion, please? Miss Kosha, seconded by Miss Falov. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 11D is the appointment of summer school principal 2026. Can I have a motion, please? Mr. Rotolo, second by Dr. Park. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? >> She happens to be in the audience. If you'd like to congratulate her, she >> Oh, okay. Congratulations. We look forward for to another great summer. Thank you. Oh, thank you. Okay. And 12A is the is the second reading and adoption of new and or revised policies. Policy 2200 annual budget vote. Policy 2400 Bo board of
051education meetings. 2420 formulation adoption and amendments of policies. 811 reporting hazards. Policy 8520 free school meal meal services. Can I have a motion please? Miss Kosha seconded by Mr. Ginsburg. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 12B and 12C can be taken together there. The approval of committee on preschool special education and the committee on special education recommendations. Can I have a motion please? Mr. Roar seconded by Miss Ason. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? and 12D is the authorization for contracts for federal part B funds. Can I have a motion please? Miss Kosha seconded by Miss Falov. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 12E is the approval of settlement and release. Can I have a motion please? Mr. Roa seconded by Miss Abramson.
052Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13A is the authorization for service contracts. Can I have a motion please? Miss Kosia, second by Miss Felov. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13B is the authorization for special education and or nursing contracts. Can I have a motion, please? Dr. Park, second by Miss Abramson. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13C is the authorization for health services. Can I have a motion, please? Miss Kosha, seconded by Miss Leveren. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13D is the adoption of the 2026 2027 school year budget to be presented at public hearing to be held on Monday, May 11th, 2026. Can I have a motion, please? Mr. Rotolo, seconded by Mr. Greco. Are there
053any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13E is the approval of school property tax report card for the 2026 and 2027 school year. Can I have a motion, please? Miss Levington, second by Mr. Ginsburg. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13F is the authorization to participate in Naz County Consortion for Transportation Services. Can I have a motion, please? Mr. Rotolo, second by Mr. Greco. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13G is the approval of intermunicipal cooperative agreement pupil transportation services. Can I have a motion please? Miss Kosha, seconded by Miss Levitan. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13H is the authorization for type 2 action for projects included in 2026 and 2027 budget. Can I have a motion please? Mr. Rotolo, seconded
054by Mr. Abramson. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13 I is the authorization for piggybacking Bmore Merrick building and grounds equipment. Can I have a motion please? Miss Levitton seconded by Mr. Ginsburg. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13J is the authorization to participate in Rockling Rock County bid for purchase of electrical supplies RFBRC 2024-00009. Can I have a motion please? Mr. Rotolo seconded by Dr. Park. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13K is the award bids. Can I have a motion, please? Miss Kosha, second by Mr. Ginsburg. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13 L is the award bids for electrical services upgrade at Bayis Elementary School contract bay-1 electrical construction work to Roland Electric, Inc. Can I
055have a motion, please? Mr. Rotolo, second by Mr. Greco. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13M is the award bids for electrical service upgrade at Bell Barry Hill Elementary School contract BRH-E2-ele electrical construction work to Roland's Electric Inc. Can I have a motion, please? Miss Leventine, seconded by uh Miss Felco. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13N is the award bids for electrical service upgrade at Robins Lane Elementary School contract RL-E1- electrical construction work to Roland's electric inc can I have a motion please Mr. Ro seconded by Mr. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 130 is the award bids for electrical service upgrade at Women Elementary School contract WW-E2-elect electrical electrical construction work to Rally Electric Corp. Can I have a motion please?
056Miss Koshia seconded by Miss Falov. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13P is the award bids for science research lab at SAS high school contract HS-G3- general construction work to Norcoal construction inc can I have a motion please Mr. Roto second by Mr. Greco. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13 Q is the award bids for science research lab at SAS High School contract HS-P3-plumbing construction work to Seaur Avenue Corp. Can I have a motion, please? Miss Koshia, seconded by Mr. Ginsburg. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstension? 13R is the award bids for science research lab at Saiasid High School contract HS-E3-ele electrical construction work with Kevin Anderson electric inc can I have a motion please Mr. Rotolo second by Miss Einson. Are
057there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13s is the award bids for science research lab at SAS High School contract HS-M3- HVAC construction work to RMS Industries of New York DBA Reliance Mechanical. Can I have a motion, please? Miss Kosha, seconded by Miss Falov. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstension? 13T is the authorization to enter into agreements for field trips during school day. Can I have a motion, please? Mr. Rotolo, seconded by Dr. Park. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13U is the adoption of grant 2025 2026. Can I have a motion, please? Miss Kosha, seconded by Mr. Ginsburg. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13V is the approval of student group charters 2025 2026. Can I have a motion please?
058Mr. Rotolo, second by Mr. Greco. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13W is the acceptance of donation indooroutdoor ping pong table with paddles. Can I have a motion please? Miss Koshia, second by Miss Falov. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? 13X is the authorization for disposal of broken surplus and or absolutely equipment supplies or and books. Can I have a motion please? Mr. Rotolo, second by Dr. Park. Are there any questions? All in favor? Opposed? Any abstensions? And we're moving on to audience to the public. Please bear with me as I read the uh procedures for the p uh the uh audience to the public. The board values community input and provides opportunities to offer that input via email or in person. Persons who w who wish
059to speak during audience to the public must register online to speak in advance of the meeting by 5:00 pm the day of the board meeting. A link to pre-registration form will be made available on the homepage on the district website one week before the meeting. Persons wishing to address the board in person doing audience to the public must conform to procedures adopted by the board. Speakers remarks must conform to following rules. One, all speakers and observers are required to conduct themselves in a respectful and civil manner in accordance with rules set by the board. Two, speakers must address the board only, not members of the audience or the audience as a whole. Three, speakers must limit their comments or to issues concerning school district operations, school district affairs, or board policy. Four, because of rights
060protected by state and federal law, no speaker may speak about an individual student or staff member, nor with the board or administration entertain questions in public regarding collective bargaining, negotiations, personnel matters, student matters, or legal matters. Five, no speaker may speak about decisions involving specific personnel or specific students. If a stu if a speaker wishes to address the board concerning specific personnel or specific students, the speaker may write to the board. Six speakers may not use as slurs, personal abuse, lwd and obscene speech, profanity, lialist speech, threats, and frightening words or gesture defined as war or gesture which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite a breach of peace. Any person who violates the rules above would immediately forfeit the balance of their time. Addressing the board to be recognized to speak
061speak person must must register with their full name and address and attest that they will comply with the rules stated above. In addition, only residents of the SAS central school district are permitted to address the board. Each resident will have four minutes to address the board which may be extended or reduced at the discretion of the chair. The board will not permit polling of board members by speakers after very after every resident wishing to speak has had an opportunity to do so. The board and or administration may respond to residents questions or comments. No resident will be permitted to address the board more than once permitting and no one may record another member of the public in a manner that's disruptive or confrontational. And with that um we have the speaker Zabana McAdir. Good evening
062board. My name is Ibana Muktader. I'm a sophomore at the high school and I'm a member of Leaders for Literacy. As some of you may know, Westside School experienced a fire about a month ago which took out their entire library and they were able to open up entirely last week. But their library is absolutely demolished and they're operating similar to how Southwoods Middle School was operating about last year when their library was under construction. And I feel that as their neighboring school district, we have an obligation to donate books to them because they don't have access to a library. So, I was wondering if we as a district with our 10 schools could come together to host a book drive and put that towards Westside Elementary School. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. Um,
063you still have three more minutes or do you want to speak more or this is it? That's um I have brought this up with Nick Hill at the student government meetings at the high school and I figure that this was the next step to come to get this actually going. >> Okay, thank you. All right, so if you finish speaking, you may take a seat and then we can address your questions. Thank you. And this closes the audience to the public. Um and thank you for coming forward uh to uh bring that to our attention and then I'm going to defer that to Dr. Rogers to respond. >> Zivana, thank you for your suggestion. Um, right after the fire, uh, as you might imagine, the superintendents are a pretty, uh, small and close-knit group, and
064a number of us were sending text messages to the superintendent of Cold Spring Harbor, offering any way that we could uh, support them uh, as possible. Uh, it took a couple days for them to just assess uh, what they had lost and what they would need and how quickly they might be able to reopen. Uh, one need that did appear and I wrote about this in the Friday update was a lot of their instruments were damaged by smoke and uh, some of the water from the fire. So, uh, we were able and Dr. Hail uh, on a Sunday afternoon uh, went through our basements and identified instruments that we had an inventory that we could loan to them and they took advantage of those. Uh, we've been regularly corresponding uh, with Cold Spring Harbor to
065see if there are any other needs that they have. Um I they have not identified other things for us to do to help them but I haven't made the specific offer of um a book drive or something of that nature to them. So I think the right next step would be uh to share that we had students who were interested in trying to make a contribution to their recovery from the fire and see if that is something that they think would be useful for them. Uh or they may have another idea of something that's even a greater need for them. uh they'll obviously knows know best what they need right now, but I think they will be very encouraged to know that uh their neighbors uh are reaching out and that students in particular were
066trying to find a way to lead and help with their recovery. So, uh first thing tomorrow morning, I'm going to let him sleep tonight. Uh but first thing tomorrow morning, I'm going to give him a a call and I'm going to share your offer with him and uh see if that's something they could take advantage of or if they have an even more pressing need for us to work on. So, thank you for the suggestion. Thank you, Dr. Rogers. >> Thank you, Zubana. Um, I just wanted to say I certainly support um this proposal. I think it's a great idea. And while Dr. Rogers um works on his end. We spoke about this in the past, but I just wanted to um to say again that at the building level with student government, we can
067certainly work um to get a book drive going or pull our resources at the high school level and work with student government, continue to work with student government um to get this type of idea off the ground if you'd like to. But thank you for addressing us. >> Okay. Thank you so much, Nikl and Dr. Rogers, for your support. And uh so well uh someone from the central administration will get back to you after they reach out to CO Spring Harbor. Thank you. And this closes our audience to public and um can I have a motion to adjourn the meeting? Mr. Roa seconded by Dr. Park. Okay. All in favor? Thank you. Meeting adjourned and the next meeting is going to be Tuesday, April 28th. Thank you so much and have a nice evening.