001motion to come out of executive session all in favor opposed motion carries any motion to adjourn the special meeting all in favor motion passes okay I'd like to welcome everybody here to the regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Utica City School District apologize for starting about 10 minutes late but we have a full house and we needed to have everybody in the room so I'd like everyone to stand and the color guard will come in and present the colors and then we will recite the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge allegiance to the flag the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Another outstanding another outstanding presentation by our NJR otc could the clerk call the roll please I
002believe we have a quorum. Yes. Next up is the resolutions. The first resolution. There's a resolution for John Giuliano former employee of the Utica City School District The Board of Education the Utica City School District records with sorrow the passing of former employee John Giuliano Mr. Giuliano was employed by the Utica City School District for approximately 35 years as an athletic caretaker Mr. Giuliano served in the Utica City School District with dedication. His attention to detail and care for the stadiums supported countless athletes and teams for decades. Resolved that the Board of Education expressed sincere sympathy to the family of Mr. Giuliano and that this resolution be saved upon the records of the district. I need a motion to that effect. All in favor? Aye. Motion carries. This is a motion. For a resolution for
003Marie T Meza former employee of the Utica City School District The Board of Education of the Utica City School District records with sorrow the passing of former employee Marie T Meza Mrs. Meza was employed by the Utica City School District for approximately 28 years in the district And as a server and later at Central Kitchen Mrs. Meza gained employment with the Utica City School District at Mary Street and Roosevelt Schools, where she enjoyed working alongside her beloved co-workers and helping the students. Later, she worked at Central Kitchen. Mrs. Meza so enjoyed her position there that she returned after retirement because she simply missed the gang. resolved that the Board of Education express its sincere sympathy to the family of Mrs. Meza and that this resolution be saved upon the records of the district. Can I
004have a motion? All in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Up next, we're going to do some student recognitions. Are you ready? Okay. So for that, the student recognitions, the athlete recognitions. I'm going to turn it over to the Vice President. What are you turning over? Are we going in order? Yes. Oh, you want me to go from there? Okay. Certificate of Recognition. In recognition presented to Camilla Spann, in recognition of your dedication and your commitment as a student leader in Donovan Middle School Karma Club, your dedication to helping others and your generous nature are appreciated in so many ways. Did I say your name right? Okay, do you want to come up? Yes, you do. Come on. Come on. I do have a couple. Here, come here. And you can stay up here, okay? We're going
005to call up a few more of your friends, okay? Okay. Angelina Perez, or as I like to say, Princess Perez, for your recognition and dedication in the Karma Club as well. These are all for the Karma Club. Selena. Lawless am I saying that right Selena lawless is she here? Okay, we'll make sure she gets this Lydia doe Louis Santiago Louis here Angel Perez come on Maya Boyer Amari Watson Thomas Rivera Anita Wallace. Anita, thank you. Jelena Thompson. Brooklyn. I'll let you help me with this. Brooklyn. Quinones Streeter. Is it Streeter? Congratulations. Marlesia Vines. Matthew Berger. Berger? Berger? Matthew? And Melissa Maldonado Jardu. And Jessica Kosinski. Is Jessica here? I don't think I saw her. And it recognizes the teachers for creating the tradition and giving and helping, fostering the program that develops character, supports a
006positive culture, and builds confidence. Is Jessica there? Yes. Does somebody want to say a few words about the Karma Club or in the closet? Okay, perfect. Hi, everybody. I'm excited to share something truly special that I started at Donovan Middle School about three or four years ago that is now going to be making its way to Proctor High School. This is the Karma Closet. The Karma Closet is a lifeline for students who need access to hygiene supplies, school supplies, shoes, and clothing. The closet started at Donovan Middle School and has been serving students daily, sometimes multiple times a day. What makes this program even more special is that Karma Club students took ownership of... the closet and they run daily operations manage inventory keeps shelves stocked they reach out to the community and get resources
007and donations the student-led approach teaches responsibility while helping peers which is the true spirit of karma in action as i transitioned to proctor high school this year i'm proud to pass donovan's closet into the hands of melissa maldonado and matt berger they'll continue this program while i establish a new karma closet at proctor along with alexis mackerell and avery irwin mcguire the pantry represents our belief that every student deserves to feel confident and prepared for their school day together we're building a community where students support students and no one goes without basic necessities i want to give a huge thanks to miss palladino and miss pichon along with all the dedicated staff and community members who help students access this closet during the day thank you to the school board for allowing me to share
008this about this program and your commitment made it possible for students to get what they needed throughout every single school day thank you for supporting this important initiative as we bring karma closet to proctor and hopefully continue to expand it to other schools in the district I don't have any more answers, so you must have the athletes. And we'll, can we get these, Ms. Pichon? Can I get these? You have them right here. Thank you. The JFK Morning Radio Show. Okay. Okay, this is for the recognition of dedication, creativity, and guidance in leading the JFK Morning Radio Show. and the TV studio, empowering students to develop their voices and technical skills in the studio. Your commitment has brought our school together each morning through professionalism, teamwork, and school pride. And I know this is definitely
009one of mine and Tennille's favorite projects is watching all the school's different morning shows. Ms. Rachel Ortega. Thank you. Amy Hansen. Ensar Sutovic. Nico Habaika. Dominic Martel. Petit Moe. Patrick Berg. Aubrey Cloutier. Ahmed Jones. Oh, Aubrey, yep. Here you go. Ahmed Jones was here. Adis Topic. Okay. Christopher Lanero. Great job. Congratulations. Do you guys want to say a little bit about the program? A video? Yeah. I think it was sent in. All right, we'll take the picture, and then they'll play the video. Can we pause? Oh, yeah, okay. Oh, Mr. DeJesus, the principal of JFK. Okay. Do you want to say a few words and play the video? Okay, perfect. Mr. DeJesus. Tonight we are proud to introduce some of the staff advisors and the students behind the JFK morning TV studio. Each morning our
010students use this space to produce and record the school's daily announcements, helping to build communication skills, foster collaboration, and strengthen our school community. We're deeply grateful to the Board of Education and District Administration for providing the funding and the support that made our studio and equipment possible last year. Your investment has created meaningful opportunities for our students to learn, lead, and shine. Thank you as well to our incredible club advisors, Ms. Rachel Ortega and Ms. Amy Hansen for their guidance and to our students and the families here tonight, as well as all the others for their commitment, enthusiasm that have made the JFK TV studio a success. I think we've got our sample. This is one of the many samples that we've been able to produce over the course of the school year. They do
011a great job. We look forward to it every morning. Here are today's announcements. Here comes the spooky. The Halloween dance is this Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets cost $5 and today is the final day to buy them. You must have your permission set to buy a ticket. Any teachers or staff want to co-anchor the morning show? See Ms. Ortega or Ms. Hanson if interested. Open gym starts for anyone interested in playing girls' modified volleyball beginning tomorrow. October 28th and Thursday, October 30th until 4.15 for the 7th graders only. Open gym for 8th graders will be on Wednesday, October 29th and Monday, November 3rd until 4.15. You must have a physical ID and register on family ID if you do not have a physical. You will not be able to try out. See Ms.
012Schreppel in room 207 with any questions. All activities happening at the school today is Fashion Club with Ms. Houck until 425. And Science Tutoring and Community Service Club with Ms. Roberts until 425. Be sure to sign today's spot at Crochet Club tomorrow. Stop by room 125 and ask Ms. Imad for the clipboard. Now over to weather and sports. Good morning. We are welcome. The sunshine is back today with a high of 48. Now, let's send it over to sports. Hey Raiders. The Lady Raiders soccer team finished their season against Camden with a 5-0 win. Way to go. Raiders on a great season. Also, registration for winter sports is open. You can start registering for boys and girls basketball, modified basketball, girls volleyball, boys swim, and boys and girls wrestling. You must have a physical or
013you cannot try out. See Mr. Pentecoste with any questions. That's all in sports. Back to you. That's all for today's announcements. Have a great day, Raiders. We'll see you tomorrow. I just wanted to point out they've started adding bloopers in, too. Oh, that's good. Which have been great. Great job. Great job, guys. A lot of information imparted in those presentations every day, so it's very good. Okay, up next is the Proctor High School Speech and Debate Club. Yes, you may. Okay. Oh, I love that. That's fabulous. Give it back to me. Hello? Hello? Okay. Breaking news! Proctor High School's Speech and Debate Team has won a league tournament, yet again, defeating top schools in Albany. On November 1st at Mount Markham High School, Proctor earned their first victory amongst eight school districts, including the prestigious
014Shaker and Shenandoah High Schools. Proctor's Speech and Debate Program continues to demonstrate excellence, resilience, and consistency, with many members qualifying for the national championships every year. We have in studio right now the coach of the team, David Stravinsky. David Chauvey. Mr. Chauvey, what do you have to say about the team's victory? Well, the team's been working really hard every day after school, late into the evening sometimes, and they proved that hard work and determination win in the end. Thank you, Mr. Shagga, for the kind and encouraging words. Truly, without you, we couldn't have done this. In varsity oral interpretation, individual honors go to, first place, Raha Nair, second place, Raylan Remigio, and third place, Adafka Fertilis. Now in JVOI, first place go to Julian Nguyen, and second place, Mintet. And in declamation, winning first place,
015Juma B. And in second place, Isabella Salemi. And third place goes to Cherry Paul. For dual interpretation, first place goes to Irene Buño and Angel Na. More than half of Proctor's team this year are brand new, making this major win even more exciting. And might I also add... that Juma B, Raha Nahr, Julia Nguyen, Angel Nga, and Aydin Bunio. One earned points towards qualify for the national championship in. Washington DC. Proctor has a proud tradition of sending students to the national championships every year. Our principal now has awards for all the winners. Can all members of the team please step forward to the boardroom. Thank you to the Board of Education and the superintendent. Thank you principal Palladino. Thank you. I wasn't sure if the coach, some of these are accolades for most inspirational player.
016Peterson, do you want to do these? Come on. I'll help. We heard her yesterday. That was awesome. Yeah, it was great. I'm going to get a vocal transplant so people don't know I'm coming. I'm the girls varsity swimming and diving coach, Brian Kaczynski. He's the assistant girls swimming and diving coach. For the fall, we had a pretty interesting start of our year with the pool renovations. Now everything's smoothed out, so thank you for all of you and all the arrangements that you made between MV, Proctor, and New Hartford. It ended up being quite successful for the situation that we were in. The girls swimming and diving team finished on a positive note this fall. A total of six girls competed in the postseason at Class A sectionals in both swimming and diving. Three girls qualified
017in individual events, and all three RLAs were represented at sectionals. Now, because we are in Class A, we go out to Syracuse. It's us and Rome in this area, and then it's all Syracuse schools. And our qualifying standards are very hard compared to New Hartford. Holland Patton, Whitesboro, and all the neighboring schools. So we have a pretty big challenge, and three individuals getting into individual events is huge for us. So we keep increasing each year, and we keep working the kids as hard as we can. Four out of the six girls are here. Elena Santana is not here tonight. She was in a relay team. Um, Amila Sohovic was our sophomore diver. She won first place in TVLs, is a first team all-star. She competed and podiumed at diving and she went and made it
018to the state quals for class A and section three in diving as a sophomore. She could not be here tonight and we are quite proud of her. because she only dove two nights a week at New Hartford based on practicing. So for her to do what she did and Coach K going out of his way to make that happen is amazing for her. The girls that are here tonight, Aaliyah Williams, she is a sophomore and she qualified in the 100 butterfly tonight and she represented our relay teams. Giada Guzman, she represented our relay teams and also swam in the 100 freestyle. She is a junior. Adriana Peterson, she qualified in the 50 free and the 100 breaststroke and represented Relays. She is a junior. And last but certainly not least is Mia Tiffany. We will
019miss her next year. She is a senior and graduating in June. And we wish her well in her future plans of cosmetology. We are hoping to increase the participation in the program in postseason and the years to come. Mia competed in the 200 freestyle and the Relay teams for a girl's swimming and diving. Again, thank you guys for everything. We're gonna take a few things out of order right now I'm gonna call on our student representative to give her a report Heather good evening good evening Currently I'm working on getting responses with every student council like elementary schools and middle schools but not every school has a student council established so it's a little bit tricky but so far we've got response from Jefferson Elementary School and we'll like to highlight some positive events going
020around. So clubs and extended learning time, they celebrated Jefferson Day, celebrating President Jefferson's Inauguration Day and their annual Welcome Back Carnival, along with Field Day and various field trips throughout the school year. So Proctor High School is excited to announce several upcoming initiatives. The school is establishing a Karma Closet, a pantry providing non-perishable food and hygiene products. This project is made possible by a generous $1,000 donation from Minor Realty and Property, as well as Backyard Hope, Inc., who donated non-perishables and delivered to Proctor by none other than Board of Education Vice President Mrs. Padula. Students will confidentially work with their counselors to access the resources they need. Currently, we are working on hosting a multicultural night, inviting active club members up to 10 or so from each club to showcase traditional dances, foods, and cultural
021displays. Also, we are also planning a movie night for students who are in good academic standing, attendance, and conduct. A formal specialized media club will be formed to support Good Morning Proctor segment. Hall duty assignments will be implemented to manage traffic and monitor bathrooms. And today I just got word that we installed air refreshers in the bathroom, so that's nice. We will be finalizing our mascot survey with the Raider remaining as a mascot, but with a new animal theme design. Over 774 staff and students responded to the survey with their ideas. The most indicated entries will be put to a vote of all staff and students. Some very popular suggestions were Raven, Parrot, and Dinosaur. Stay tuned. We are organizing a spring workshop for elementary and middle school student councils focusing on advocacy and leadership
022skills. Compared to last year, physical altercations have decreased by 61% in September and 44% in October. Thank you. Thank you very much that was an excellent report does anyone have any questions for her Great job, and as always you're welcome to stay or go home and do your homework if you need to Okay Okay, we're gonna do public comment now We actually have two people signed up one will be on the phone and the other one is Michael Nassar Yeah, oh yeah Mike before you start I have to read something Not it's just our general rules of engagement now Thank you to those who have signed up to make a public comment. Please remember, any public comment should be limited to three minutes and may not identify specific school district employees. Additionally, public comments should
023not include any obscene language, harassing language, or defamatory statements. Although the board will not respond directly to individual comments at this time, items brought to the attention of the board may be taken under consideration for future response or action. Thanks. Hi, everyone. Thank you for the opportunity to let me speak. My name is Michael Nassar. Congratulations to everyone on all the awards. But I'm here tonight because I live in North Utica on a street that's 15 miles an hour. and the school buses, they go a lot faster than that. And I've complained at this, at last year and then at the start of this year, and things really just haven't improved too much. I'm not, I don't think that you own the buses or, you know, I don't know exactly how that works, but I
024know there's two different companies, the first student and... Dunham or Durham? Durham. So I know that maybe you don't have the authority to tell them to slow down, but I just hope that somebody here could help because before I had a problem with the city buses, and they don't come along anymore. But I know the school buses, yeah, they're up out of here. I know the school buses, they have to come through, of course. You can't suggest a different route. I know how that goes. But this problem, it didn't even matter to me before I had kids. I have a four-year-old stepdaughter. I have a son on the way. And we like to walk around our neighborhood. And safety, I used to speed all the time. So I know we're all guilty of it, and
025so I'm no angel when it comes to that. But school bus drivers, I mean, they're carrying children. And I don't want any accidents for the people on the bus, people walking around, my future child, my stepdaughter, anything. I don't want to see any accidents. I'm just hoping that somebody can talk to the people in charge of the bus, both companies, and tell them that it's 15 miles an hour and to please observe the speed limit because I'd hate to see something on the news where a tragedy occurs. So I'm begging anyone to please assist me, and I really hope something can be done. And I thank everyone for their time, and I just want to say that when I go to the Common Council meetings, you guys are dressed much better. So I really do
026mean that. No slight against them, but, I mean, look at everybody here. I love this guy. You guys all look great. That means something because it looks like you're taking this seriously. So no offense to them. I hope they don't find out about this. But I appreciate everyone's time. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for sharing. Up next is Matthew Kilbourne. I'm going to try to dial the phone. Oh, Joe, you're going to do it? It's right here. You can do it. I'm sorry, the person you are trying to reach has a voicemail box that has not been set up yet. No, we can't leave a message because he doesn't have a voicemail box that's set up. I didn't hear the whole message. Okay. Okay, I believe that ends our public comment
027section of our meeting. Up now would be the special... Are you doing this? I'm going to need a motion to go into executive session to discuss. Did you do the recognition of donations? Oh, did I not? Sorry. Apologize. So, number one, we'd like to acknowledge the Redeemer Church. Is there any representative here? The Redeemer Church. gave 200 Thanksgiving boxes to needy families within the Utica City School District that's a very important that's very important for our community my understanding is that the United Way of Mohawk Valley and the food bank gave a donation of non-perishable food bags for up to 500 students in our district For use during the recess Is there anyone here from? The United Way or the food bank and again our families are needy and this This type of donation is
028invaluable I think that's the recognition this this month. So I'm gonna need a Motion to go into executive step session to discuss legal matters Point point of information. Yes. Is it the plan a Brief executive session. Yes. Okay. Yes. Thank you. It's a brief one. So could I have a motion? Have a second All in favor. Okay