001e to e for e e e good evening everyone good evening we're going to begin our meeting it's the March 20th Board of Education meeting we'll begin with a salute to the flag and a moment of silence for Frederick faraoh father of Alisa Ferrara Sheri Goodman mother-in-law of Rachel in anusia Glenn Williams father of Stacy camarano Kathleen Carpenter mother of Anthony Greco and retirees Ronda sham and Suzanne Lawrence congratulations 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 thank you for communications to the Board of Education Communications will receive from those listed in the agenda C superintendent report can change it over to Mr mamar please good evening everyone welcome thank you uh Mrs Cassidy I'm
002John mmar superintendent schools Welcome to our meeting uh we always like to start off with some uh some good news for our superintendent's report uh in this uh this meeting we uh like to recognize our all count uh winter athletes uh which we had another outstanding winter season here uh in in WTO Athletics um we had uh our actually our our girls basketball team is still going strong they left uh about 11:00 this morning to head up to uh the New York State uh Championship final four they are first at Long Island Champion so we're we're thrilled for them uh so we're going to recognize them at our April meeting uh along with Coach B um but we want to start tonight by recognizing our all count all County winter athlet so I'm going to
003invite Jen kenup uh to introduce uh all of our All County athletes from our various teams so congratulations to all of you uh once uh your name is called if you wouldn't mind just coming up uh we have a certificate for you and then we just invite you to stay up on the stage and uh gather for a picture as well is it me on good evening everyone um I would just like to congratulate all of our winter athletes on a successful season tonight we are recognizing all of our all count athletes um Addison dispensa All County and gymnastics Maria manura All County and gymnastics Samantha neelon allc County and gymnastics we have Julia Aina All County in competitive cheerleading we have Kayla spisto All County in competitive cheerleading Kevin gutle all count and boys
004basketball we have Jordan Hill All County in wrestling we have Matthew Mora All County and estate qualifier in wrestling we have shareif McMillan All County and State qualifier in wrestling we have Andrew Perez all count County champion and a state qualifier Owen stacki all count and County champion in winter track Ian Frasier All County in winter track Ethan Chen nasso County Champion 4x8 okay we have Ian Frasier again member of the 4x8 County championship team Sean Hart Nassau County Champion 4 by 800 Owen stacki Nassau County Champion 4 by 800 and as Mr mcar said we'll will be honoring our girls basketball team at the April meeting okay e um we have a couple other recognitions tonight as well uh we have a couple of other award recipients uh two also related to a Athletics
005um each year the um Nassau chapter of the New York State administrators Association for athletics uh recognizes a member of uh support staff uh that support Athletics uh and this year's recipient in Nasa County uh was our very own Ronnie Stevens so we wanted to congratulate Ronnie yeah uh many of you know Ronnie Ronnie does an outstanding job in our athletic office each and every day uh the award she was receiving is for providing that outstanding support uh Ronnie is not only uh dedicated hardworking uh but just an absolute pleasure uh to be around I I joke with her because I I always truly enjoy calling the athletic office and being greeted by Ronnie uh because she she's just such a a kind warm person uh she does an amazing job uh supporting a very
006busy office each and every day uh it's like there's three of her uh the amount that she does uh so I just wanted to take a moment to recognize her congratulate her on her award she'll be receiving the award in June at their uh at their their meeting then but we want to take a moment to congratulate her from from all of us and from the board of education so congratulations Ronnie [Applause] I had the pleasure last week uh also attending the uh the New York State uh dinner for athletic administrators uh and our athletic director uh Jen Keem was recognized at that event uh she received the Judith an Knight positive change award recipient award uh which is for someone that uh has uh impacted the state in a positive way uh in uh
007in bringing about a significant change uh Jen has uh been the chair for for competitive cheer uh in Nassau County since its Inception and has done an exceptional amount of work uh with the state in that area and that was the area of focus for the award uh it was a nice dinner really nice recognition uh and we wanted to take a moment to recognize Jen for that tonight in addition uh this week there was another dinner that uh Jen was recognized at with one of our officials associations uh she was involved in a situation at uh a boys basketball playoff game uh uh just a couple of weeks ago um she is one of the co-chairs of that committee uh and was present at the playoffs and one of the officials went into cardiac
008arrest uh and Jen and and several members there immediately jumped into action uh to uh to save Joe gin's life uh really remarkable story I had the opportunity to meet with Joe yesterday uh with Jen uh just an impressive gentleman uh and he is just so grateful for uh the team jumping in uh so I just wanted to share the uh the clip that appeared in the the news yesterday on Long Island we're going to show you a referee's life saved on the basketball court he collapsed during a high school basketball game stopping the action and new sports paisy Chang talked with him and shows us how fans jumped into action to help him than hello my friend you I love you love you too a warm embrace between friends after a life and death
009situation on the basketball court the kick out to Jonathan Houston for the triple it was a high States playoff game between Floral Park and West Hemstead High Joe gasin was one of three referees officiating the game when he suddenly felt breathless I have a tough time catching my breath just give me a minute and I think the ball my partner said the ball was there I pick up the ball to him to throw it to INB and when I went down I just went out oh the ref went down oh man Joe went into cardiac arrest and collapsed the game stopped people flew into action including WTO High School athletic director Jennifer Kean who was helping to score the game I jumped up I ran over and I could immediately hear him gasping for breaths
010um and starting to turn Call Keen cleared Court shielding the players from the life or death emergency one of the that jump to help is Tiffany Vargas she didn't even have children playing in the game she was just there to support plural Park she also happens to be a cardiac failure nurse when I heard them say no pulse that's when I immediately started to do chest compressions and we called for the ad Joe we got you Joe stay with us Joe I just kept calling his name um talking to him um the AED was administer and Joe came too he stared at everyone confused grateful to see Jen who he has known for 20 years and then I looked up and there was my angel Jen I said Jen and she said to me I
011remember saying this I said do I have pants on which I did be all right the 64y old referee was rushed to the hospital he spent a week there recovering from cardiac arrest you elevated from a great friend to a special friend Jen and the other nurses who rushed to help Joe were honored at a recent dinner Joe was grateful to meet the people who saved him those six five individuals had no practice no pregame they yet they jumped onto the court not knowing each other's names they executed a perfect game plan and they saved my life and we are joined at the hip for the rest of our lives hazy Chen news for New York certainly a special moment I just wanted to invite Jen up for an award that we have for her
012[Applause] shift F all right Chris Cochran told me not to hit escape and I hit Escape so now it's stuck but we'll figure it out um all right so um our last uh recognition for tonight too I just wanted to uh uh compliment our team uh for um well actually two more recognitions one is our team for uh their work on getting together our science research lab we had a grand opening at our our high school just a few weeks ago and um we're super uh proud of that science research Academy we started it two years ago and we had a um a small cohort of students about 20 or so students that began uh the program continues to grow uh next year we're anticipating having uh close to 70 students participate in that program
013basketball there we go thank you um and we had our our our first uh we we we had a series of competitions that students entered uh lysf was the most recent one uh we had a third place uh winner there Evelyn Caputo that we're super proud of as well so uh we just wanted to take a second to thank the team and congratulate uh Evelyn uh also tonight uh we have um one of our retirees a little bit we're going to be accepting uh resignation for the purpose of retirement uh we have outstanding special education Aid and Judy Abel who's going to be uh leaving the district after over 25 years uh Judy's been here in various roles including uh substitute teacher went back got her degree in her time here uh and just has
014just done outstanding work for it us uh Mr Burke our principal over at Forest Lake speaks so highly of her uh we know that she's planning to spend some more time at home uh and really enjoy that time uh so we just wanted to take a moment tonight to first thank her for her ongoing dedication to the district and uh secondly just wish her all the best uh in the future in her uh in her retirement so congratulations Judy we have a plaque for if you don't mind coming up [Applause] all right and then just a uh budget update for me before I turn it back over to Mrs Cassidy uh we are right now in the middle of budget season uh We've started our our budget forums uh we had our first Forum uh
015last week uh and uh just kind of gave a general overview of the budget uh we put all those presentations online so they they're available for the community uh there's a a page where we post each of the presentations and record all the forums as well our next one will be this coming Monday evening it'll uh take place uh right here in the high school over in the cafeteria we will have uh focus on Personnel uh at that uh at that uh meeting as well and sorry yeah um and then uh our last one will be on April 1st uh which will focus on our capital projects uh so we will uh we'll focus on uh those as well and then we have one kind of last General overview that we do during the day
016uh it's Wednesday April 2nd at the public Library uh so we also sent out to the community our uh if you can't make any of our forums there's our our budget uh survey uh that's posted right on the main page of our district website we certainly encourage you to uh fill that out we've already started to receive responses and then uh Mr sedron and myself we do some budget focus groups uh we do a series of those uh and those are small group conversations about uh our budget uh and any input that you may have about that we do those virtually uh they're usually groups of about three to five uh so we we welcome uh participation in those there's a link right on the main page of our website to sign up for those
017uh meetings as well so that's a just kind of overview um this is just uh where we currently stand for our budget uh we're under the tax cap which is about 2.89% uh that gives you kind of a general overview of where we are uh currently and where we anticipate being next year and uh excited about some of the new offerings a number of new programs that we're going to be offering in terms of electives at at the high school uh expanding uh in third grade some of our reading Support Services uh expanding our special education program within additional life skills section next year as well a program that we've continued to grow uh over the past several years and then a number of new offerings everything from cyber security to broadcasting that we're going
018to be looking at uh at the high school and then as I mentioned earlier expansion of our science research Academy to year three um there'll be two propositions on the ballot for folks to vote for uh the other one other than the budget will be some capital projects uh we're going to uh be asking the community to approve an expenditure of out of our capital reserve fund to do some roof work over at WTO L uh some ceiling work here at the high school uh some security camera upgrades and uh doing some lighting Replacements here in this uh Auditorium and then a number of smaller projects in to transfer to Capital that we'll be doing as well to some individual spaces um big drivers in our budget uh these are the the big items special
019education costs uh and some Transportation salaries Insurance um fortunately this year one of the big drivers in years past has been health insurance uh that has um is leveled off uh for this year but that's been a been a significant driver and then we're just waiting for a final number in terms of state aid we anticipate that uh if the budget's adopted on time by New York State on April 1st we'll have that final number uh this is based on the projections that the governor's office initially gave us uh back in February uh and then those numbers will be finalized uh but right now we're anticipating about just shy of about $23 million from New York state in terms of Aid um and just encourage people to fill out the budget survey uh like I
020said it's located right on the main page of the district website and with that I'll turn it back over to Mrs Cassidy thank you continue on with the agenda D1 approval of minutes is there a motion Mo second second all in favor I I E1 Financial reports is there a motion second second all in favor i i f Personnel F1 approval Personnel items is there a motion Mo second second second all in favor I I G1 Health Services agreement G2 special education tuition agreement G3 special education services agreement G4 nasso County directors of school facilities purchasing Consortium G5 educational data services skilled trade bid is there a motion move second second all in favor G6 donations the Board of Education approves a donation of $1,100 from the Forest Lake Elementary School PTA for the kindergarten
021field trip to the Center for science technology and learning the Board of Education approves a donation of $1,100 from the Forest Lake Elementary School PTA for the fourth grade field trip to Old Beth Page Village restoration the Board of Education approves a donation of $1,040 from the Forest Lake Elementary School PTA for the third grade field trip to Taka Pusha Museum and preserve the Board of Education approves a donation of $685 from the Forest Lakes Elementary School PTA for an assembly spin pop Boom by mad science the Board of Education approves a donation of $2,000 from the WTO Elementary School PTA for an assembly so fun game show the wour Board of Education approves a grant donation of 2,5 8588 from tashiba American Foundation to the W High School for the purpose of using micro
022sensors and scientific Computing to investigate novel questions in a science project the Board of Education approves a donation from Miss Nicole Palace of an Eastman violin at an estimated value of $700 for the wter high school music department the Board of Education approves a donation from Bobcat of New York of a Protek snow Turf Pusher for the wour high school at a value of $553 the Board of Education approves a donation of $2,287 from the wour Middle School yearbook committee for the purchase of a Podium for the wour middle school thank you to all the generous donors for their donations seven disposal of obsolete books G8 disposal of obsolete equipment G9 budget increase G10 extra classroom activity Charters G11 authorization for legal notices is there a motion second second all in favor I I H
023unfinished business there is none I new business I want approval of committee on special education and preschool education recommendations is there a motion move second second all in favor i j adjournment is there a motion to adjourn Madam president i' like to make a motion to adjourn second second all in favor I I we're going to move on now to our organizational reports we'll start with student government Danny is with us tonight hello everyone my name is Danny donu and I'm one of the student body presidents for the 2024 to 2025 school year along with my co-president Bella kgal who unfortunately couldn't be here tonight because she is sick firstly we would like to commend the girls basketball team for winning the Long Island Championship today they left for states where they will be versing
024the other top girls basketball teams from each region of New York we wish them the best of luck we are very pleased to announce that this past week was the start of spring Athletics which began this past Monday um all of the sports teams and players are excited to have started their seasons and we have full confidence that they will all Excel this month has been excitingly busy with many events taking place in the high school last Friday Bella and I hosted the annual Battle of the classes with the seniors claiming the overall Victory we had events such as trivia tug of war basketball and other fun challenges and games that the students enjoyed through our penny wars event we fundraised about $350 which will be which we will be donating to the SS club
025which provides funds for walto students in need we are extremely proud to announce that we will be starting our annual Autism Awareness Month in April we plan to decorate the Showcase with information about autism in order to educate the community in addition we plan to hand out bracelets make loudspeaker announcements and more to bring light to this cause lastly for the duration of this month we have had many National Honor Society ceremonies such as n National Honor Society and business honor Honor Society with more to come such as National English and science Honor Society students have worked hard throughout their High entire High School careers to maintain a certain GPA show interest and dedication to the respective subject of the society they apply to and more to in order to be inducted we would like
026to congratulate all the students that have been accepted into these societies as being inducted is a very challenging task thank you for letting me give you a little insight on what is happening in the high school and Bella and I look forward to sharing more with you next month thank you good evening everyone we have a uh very busy month so there's a lot on the list here uh we'll start with fifth grade they had their skate ofon on the 26th of February that was a big hit uh they had their spirit wear sale wrapped up on uh March 10th uh the Applebee's pancake breakfast was on the 16th and they have their bowling night coming up on the 28th um as far as the rest of the school goes we had a upk meet
027the teachers night on March 11th um the new parents came in met the teachers met the school it was it was a nice night um we had a flow Society short fundraiser that ended on the 14th um also on the 14th was the uh variety show as always was a big event thanks to Chrissy for for her 10th year and final year unfortunately running that uh we have our sweetheart dance on this Friday 21st uh steam night is March 27th the theme will be under the sea this year uh we also having a blood drive on April 5th from 9: to 3 that was put together by Mr Burke uh in memory of Jordan landow was the daughter of Amy landow who was a teacher at won L and uh WTO middle school as well
028uh we have the Ducks game coming up on May 1st uh the orchestra and B will be playing there uh we also have new benches put in uh thanks to our beautification committee Laura is part of that um and uh also as well uh thanks to a lot of very hardworking people on our PTA we have a pretty substantial um Surplus and we're using some of that to purchase a new bike rack and a new flooring for the Gaga pit on the playground uh we also sent out a um survey asking people what they think we could use some more of the Surplus for and getting some really nice ideas from that as well and uh we also have um our executive board members uh member here executive Nomine nominees thank you coming yeah next
029month and the fifth grade heads as well that's it thank you Mandalay PTA WTO L PTA 6 to 12 Association uh 612 couldn't be here they sent me a couple of notes to read for them uh they have their uh craft lunch coming up on March 24th they are also um doing a double good popcorn fundraiser uh that kicks off on the 24th as well over the next five days uh they have a crumb cake fundraiser uh so check that out as well that runs through April 11th um SEPTA hello I'm Mary Beth and Sophia is my co-president um we wanted to thank everyone who supported our cookie fundraiser our St Patrick's did cookie fundraiser um it did very well our current fundraiser is with Tammy's memorable Suites uh she's a local WTO mom so
030we're um collaborating with her and all the proceeds that we get from that we're donating to the nasos sopic Autism Society of America um for Autism Awareness Month for April um so we would like if everyone would support that that'd be great um our next meeting is this coming Tuesday March 26th it's going to be breaking down educational barriers with technology by also another wo mom Leslie deera she's an assistive technology specialist in Belmore School District um our night at the races is on May 10th save the date um for for that and we would like to thank the elementary schools um we're collaborating with them for sensory friendly spaces at their spring dances so last week was WTO Elementary and tomorrow night is Mandalay and Forest Lake so we'd like to thank everybody for
031that and our um SEPTA scholarships for the seniors and our friend of SEPTA um scholarship is also online on our socials you can find the links there and also for all our fundraisers thank you thank you PTA Council hi good evening Laura Grassi and Chrissy RAB uh PTA Council presidents um well we want to just thank everybody for coming out to the volleyball fundraiser it was a really fun event we had it on February 27th we sold over 500 tickets we made $8,000 for senior scholarship so we're really grateful for everyone's support I think it was a really fun event um kids had a good time uh we sold out um we're looking for feedback so if anybody has any feedback for us for next year we're happy to take it and shout out to
032our VP of fundraising Lindsay boggler she really went above and beyond and did such a fantastic job with that event um and also to uh Community member Laura dupkin dkin um because she really she supported us financially by donating the t-shirts for the staff um our next meeting is next Thursday the 27th at w El elementary school or if you grow up in W it's called Beach Street and um also we are sell we're still selling our magnetic Notepads for $6 they're really convenient if you need to write notes to the school or just scribble something on your fridge so um those are still for sale and they're on our member Hub thank you thank you thank you Sports booster club Performing Arts booster club and the wanto foundation okay okay we're going to open
033up now for um public comment if anybody would like to come up and say their name and um has any comment or we would welcome that uh I do want to say before we get started please um we're here to listen and we are concerned with everything everybody has to say but please understand that we are not allowed to make any comments about Personnel or any students during a public meeting so but we are listening all right thank you my name is Rich mckel I'm a wour resident I'm not only a father of two wour Warrior girls myself my wife Moren went through the school system and are graduates we have one in Beach Street and one in the middle school I'm here today to speak for John chiffo John chiffo was my gym teacher
034in mandalite my varsity lacrosse coach and more importantly he's my friend earlier this season John was told that he's no longer going to be the coach for the boys middle school excuse me I'm here today I'm sorry I lost my thing I I did this in font 22 for Scott DNA bad idea the uh earlier the season John was told that he was no longer going to be the coach for the boys Middle School lacrosse team not be because there was someone else in the district who wanted the job or because our lacrosse program wanted to go in a different direction actually he was not given any reason he was simply just told it's just time first of all the fact that it was not discussed with James Polo the Far City head coach who
035was responsible for our great lacrosse program shows a complete lack of respect for not only James who was doing a great job here and who just won the county Championship last year it's a lack of respect for this lacrosse program which is Far and Away the best program we have here in wour more importantly this action taken by the athletic director which reflects this board of education and superintendent demonstrates a complete lack of respect and gratitude for John chiffo a man who not only by far played the biggest role in developing wo's greatest lacrosse program I'm sorry wo's great lacrosse program a man who gave 42 plus years here in wour to our children and the community as a coach a teacher and as an athletic director and after all this all he gets is
036it's just time I'm here today because of the respect and the gratitude that I have for John and everything that he has done for this school district this community and for my family I graduated wono high school in 1999 alongside my twin brother Keith in third grade we were part of the first wantto PL lacrosse team that team was coached by claudo ficini CLA is no longer with us but he played a crucial role in the development of this great WTO lacrosse program as well as in our lives John Cho makes it a point to keep Claudio's Legacy known within this program because of them we give back to this program and volunteer our time for the girls palal program we were captains in 1999 this was the last year that Scott DNA played on
037the team Scott Scott sister Nicole's here thanks for coming Nicole Scott Scott wore the number 22 Scott's Legacy lives on and is the Cornerstone of this wo lacrosse program every year that number is worn by the most deser deserving player on the team not necessarily the best player on the team but the player who demonstrates the best character is hardworking and is the leader of the team John chiffo was not only responsible for starting this tradition he keeps it going year after year and it's probably one of the best Traditions out of any high school program in the country After High School my brother and I went on to play at Syracuse University and were members of the 2000 Division 1 lacrosse National Championship team our younger sister Lauren also ended up with a scholarship
038toyola to play lacrosse a few years later that was right around the start of the great women's program I am now a captain in the New York City Fire Department I believe it is only important to mention this because I've been blessed so far with this successful career that I love which I owe to those years of being a student athlete that's what being a student athlete does it continues to teach us valuable life lessons that helps us succeed in whatever field or career we choose at the end of the day for my job my number one goal is to make sure my men and I get home safe and I only mention this because I believe as an athletic director a superintendent and a member of the Board of Education you guys only have
039one simple goal and that is to do whatever is best for our children the decision to follow John Cho as a middle school coach fall short of that goal it makes no sense and is only hurting our children this is not only unacceptable is not the way a district should be treating one of their own John had a 42-year career here in WTO he's the most infal person to this great lacrosse program and spent most of his life building this program to what it is today more importantly through his love and kindness he is a positive he has had a positive effect and influence on countless student stud and athletes he's an example of what all teachers and coaches should strive to be I believe that is important to shed light on because I don't
040think this Administration understands I also don't think that they appreciate what this lacrosse program means to wour if learning valuable lessons through Sports is what we want for our children then the ideal of increasing these opportunities by extending their athletic careers into college would be a great measure of success the men's and women's lacrosse program here in WTO is simply far above the rest we send more student athletes to colle we send more student athletes to college for lacrosse here in W than all the rest of the sports combined go ask the top three football or baseball colleges in the country about wour unless they've been to a concert at Jones Beach they probably never heard of this town there is not one men's or women's college lacrosse in the country that is not aware
041of this program make no mistake I am not here to bad mouth the other programs in WTO most PR most programs are achieving great things and I love seeing every one of them succeed but for example in the year 2001 the boys won the states that year that year in order to that year they had to make their way through the number one and two ranked teams in the country this year the boys are getting ready to have a good year let's get the number one team in the country put them that put them in wour and let's see what they do against our boys I guarantee they will give them one hell of a game probably even pull off the win now let's do that same thing in football Not only would the score
042be painful there's a good chance some 's going to get hurt I'm not here to put down the other programs I just don't think you guys understand that's just the way things are here on Long Island it's the way things are here in WTO just last week my wife and daughters were supporting our Long Island basketball champs congratulations to them and good luck tomorrow as they start their journey to win the states girls had a great time I believe they also have a bunch of girls that will be continuing their careers as student athletes in college those girls have scholarships to top lacrosse programs I also believe that there's a member of the board here with a son who will be continuing to experience his invaluable life lessons courtesy of the wantto lacrosse program our
043athletic director never had the courtesy but more than that the common sense or professionalism to talk to James Polo to see what kind of impact this would have on the middle school team this Middle School team is the boy's introduction into this great lacrosse program I did however I asked James he explained that chiff never did anything the wrong way he always went above and beyond and treated our kids with respect and care he would be there at 2:30 every day and stay until 5:30 make sure all was good in the locker room and everyone was safely heading home he explained that Jon was not only overqualified for his own head coaching spot but obviously for the Middle School job he explained that John's going to be an enormous loss for this program he stated
044nothing I didn't already know but he went on on on about how John was not only a great coach but way more importantly about the influence he has on our children John chiffo has spent his life building this program we still don't know what he did I think he deserves at least that he also deserves to go out on his own terms we should be praising him right now I'm sure if he did make a mistake and he's unaware of it as we all are that's why we're here today he would stand up and apologize to get that jaw back not for the money or to make a point but that's just because what he loves to do he loves being a coach for the kids it's what's best for our children and it's best
045for the community how many letters have you guys already received on this one how many have you met with people to back up John right now there's a petition going on I believe it's up to 700 or something that we put on to you know everyone saying they supporting him and they want him job back and that was done literally I guess I think my wife posted something 48 hours ago um I'm sure you guys will be getting a lot more I guess the best question to ask is after all this who do you have to replace them I know the answer is nobody I know you got someone for the eighth graders no one for the seventh graders I know with 100% certainty the solution will be a huge downgrade from what you already
046had it's not right and it's a mistake on your end it was handled unprofessionally and is a clear example of poor leadership in this great wour District ironically this has given me another valuable life lesson as I move forward in my career lead the brave men and women of the FDNY I will file this one away as a leadership lesson of what not to do thank [Music] you Mr mamera Miss Keane Mrs Cassidy Mr Greco Mrs Peretti Mr fiser and Mrs reach anybody else I may be missing thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak tonight my name is John Savage and I'm a 199 graduate of WTO high school and current WTO resident I have two sons that attend WTO Elementary School and a third son who will be there in two years
047I've been a teacher and coach for 17 years currently working at the NorthShore School District teaching physical education and coaching Varsity men's lacrosse I had the privilege of meeting John Cho in first grade when I started attending Mandalay Elementary School living on mermaid Avenue same block that Danny Fen who sitting in the audience also grew up on down the block from my best friends who are twin brothers and were both the best men at my wedding Keith and rich mckel rich was the person that just spoke see as we finally called John chiffo instantly became my hero like many physical education teachers become if you are into sports which I very much was as I mentioned I also followed in his path like many of his former students and players have done many of which
048with which are here with me tonight who are my brothers not just my friends that's how much coach Cho and this sport meant to us that we are doing the same thing he did as a profession all while supporting our families in the town we grew up in many of us followed in Our Hero's footsteps what an impact this man has left on all of our lives and for that we are forever indebted and truly grateful Mr C along with Rich and ke's Dad who's also in the audience Ken mckel and wantto youth lacrosse Legend claudo fi played pivotal roles in introducing myself and many others in the room to the great sport of Lacrosse at an early age now I would like to talk about our town yes we are inbred here in WTO
049and please take that lightly what I mean is many of us that grew up here still reside here and choose to raise our families in this great place growing up in W when people asked us what town we were from many of us would often reply God's country New York as we simply love this town WTO is a special place and I have a wide range of experience with various populations throughout New York City and Long Island throughout my career the close tightnit Community is second to none and you won't find many if any on Long Island quite like it we used to go out in college and after college with a group of 16 guys or so people always used to compliment us and admire us because we had so many people in our
050friend group they couldn't believe this many people that grew up together are still as close and tight-knit as we were out of the 16 we used to travel with I still speak to and speak to and see 10 to 12 of those guys 14 of those guys on a regular basis how many 43y olds can say that they speak to 10 12 14 of their best friends from growing up I'm certain most of the guys in the room from woen my brothers how lucky and blessed am I to have sorry how lucky and blessed am I to have that gift of friendship and love that still holds strong to this day if you look at social media you often see 16 18 20 kids at a gathering and that's not a party that's 20 best
051friends hanging out together that's the culture that's been created in this town largely in part due to the how the kids are raised but also due to the school activities created by you guys our board our administrators our teachers such as wour we Wednesdays which is absolutely fantastic for our kids I also know a large piece of that is the sports culture that's been created here in our town and that has to do with the great culture Our Town presents we owe a lot of that precedent that has been set to our coaches and teachers who have paved the way for camaraderie that's created at an early age all the way throughout Middle School and High School John chfo created that within the lacrosse Community here Mr C was a Middle School lacrosse coach who
052I'm pretty sure created the WTO lacrosse program and was let go or not reinstated by the WTO school district and from my understanding no explanation has been given whatsoever other than its time I am sorry but now as a taxpaying member of this community with all due respect that is unacceptable John chiffo deserves better he's earned better as a long-standing varsity coach John accumulated 262 wins which puts him as a top 50 coach in New York state of all time he has a state championship a Long Island championship and a the county Championship all from 2001 you know how much do records mean to him they matter a little bit but they pale in comparison to what he really cares about and it's his kids me being one of them and about 80 in here
053right now he's a student centered educator and he is all about the kids first and his accomplishments last education is about relationship period and end of story I've adopted some of those best practices set forth by Mr Cho because it's what we should Center our focus on as Educators and what I believe in kids kids nowadays need to know you care about them and their success before you can get them to do anything the 2001 state championship was nothing short of spiritual in nature as a 99 grad we lost in the county semis to limo but many of my brothers number 22 Scott toera Chris fuchi Joe gabric Dan fenelli and Patrick Walsh were all on the varsity team my senior year we like to joke and say we paved the way for them but
054we all know Scott did that for them which brings me to my next Point Scott DNA was a member of the wo varsity lacrosse team who tragically passed away his honor and memory is woven throughout the lacrosse culture in WTO and honestly the entire Community John chfo has made it his life mission to ensure Scott is with us every single day every day and I can speak for every lacrosse player here to tell you mission accomplished coach shiffa because he certainly is with us every single day I wore the number 22 in college in Scotts honor and almost 90 players since then have done the same some of them still active currently Tyler Martini AB bmon bam sackos at Liu post who's also in the audience Michael orero at Dominican all whom I've had the
055privilege to coach in some capacity and are fantastic young men please forgive me if I'm missing any current players that are wearing the number 22 there is a dinner every year that is the pulse of the program and many people here are familiar with it each year at the dinner the senior with the highest character and integrity which is exactly who Scott toera was is voted to where the number 22 as a senior as voted on by lacrosse knows it's a wantto lacrosse thing because of the Legacy coach shifo has created in Scott's honor my own two sons we're the number 22 in Scott's honor and they are very well well aware of who Scott was from our conversations at home Mr Cho still plays an important role in all our lives he may not
056like this but he's now grandpa to our own children all while having a family of his own at home with his wife and two children that sounds like a ton of sacrifice if you ask me anyone who's married to a coach and their children in the family know the sacrifice set forth by a coach at is as it is a demanding schedule and requires a lot of work and being away from home Mr C still influences our relationship in a very positive way and is always trying to get us together he doesn't have to do that but he loves us and we certainly love him we all wear w on our chest some on our sleeves and sometimes are even socks and feet some guys like Matt stutter who was also on the 1999 and
0572000 varsity teams even get tattoos regarding this town we love this place also about the state run how many coaches can say they beat the number one and number two ranked teams in the entire country in the same week in route to a state championship I know the answer great job to my brothers who are in this room and took home the only state championship in wanto Lacrosse history that is until this year boys no pressure anything just make sure you get to work he is certainly overqualified to coach Middle School lacrosse he does everything that a varsity coach should be doing for a middle school team he supervises the locker room before school ends until after school ends he makes sure all the kids are prepared for every practice wearing the proper clothing and
058are equipped properly student Safety First and always he gathers the group and makes sure they have the medkit ice chest AED he then gathers seventh and eighth graders and walks them over to practice at practice Mr Cho executes age appropriate skills and game strategies Mr C practices for over an hour and a half while we know most Middle School coaches are walking out after an hour Mr C walks them back to the middle school after practice he makes sure every kid gets on the bus and has a ride home before he leaves he cleans up garbage after the kids in a locker room on cancellation days due to inclement weather during the week he reschedules the practice for the weekend and forfeits his Saturdays which is not required of a middle school coach to do
059but he loves the kids and the sport and as a result he chooses to do that talk about going above and beyond the description for a Middle School lacrosse coach how lucky are we to have this man working with our kids we are very lucky everyone that lives here and has boys as children wants our sons playing for John in middle school and I know I could speak for numerous members of the community that feel the same way the four-letter word I use the most in my speech tonight is love I love working with children I love impacting lives inside of the gymnasium and on the field of play I love molding boys and turning them into men and while this certainly isn't about me people need to hear that we all inherited our love
060for education and coaching from John chiffo thank God for John chiffo and thank God for wano lacrosse it has been a Saving Grace in my life and I don't know where I would be without them I strongly urge you to consider reinstating John Cho as we all know he is who is best for our kids development in Middle School boys lacrosse thank [Applause] you good evening first I'd like to uh acknowledge uh athletic director Keane um it's quite a story I first met Jen during her first year here and uh I hold her in the highest highest regard and I have the utmost respect for her and thank God she was there on that basketball court that day and God bless you Jen was wonderful um my name is Michael jardina and I've been a
061resident of this district for 33 years I first met John chiffo when my 31-year-old son started kindergarten at manderlay school I knew right away that John shifo was one of the good guys you could see right away it was his warm friendly demeanor and his love for his job and his students three more daughters followed my son through Mandalay then the middle school and all graduated want to high school interesting enough they all have become teachers two of them teach physical education and both coach multiple Sports truth be told John Cho inspired my kids and helped lead them into their careers he was the only educator from the entire District who they felt they could reach out to for guidance while on their paths to become teachers now I'm I'm not here to talk about
062me or my family I want to talk about the real elephant that in the room every organization every job every Department every corporation is made up of people and I think we could all agree that every once in a while we stumble across a colleague who for some reason for some unknown reason just rubs us the wrong way it's hard to sometimes pinpoint the reason perhaps it's jealousy or whatever the case it's real it exists and it's also quite childish and immature and this is what we have here right now John chiffo wasn't released from his coaching position for lack of performance he was not released because he didn't show up for work and was excessively late for work never disrespected or mistreated anyone he was released because the athletic director just wanted him out
063that childish display sets a poor example and is an embarrassment for the one to a school district and it shows no loyalty to a man who showed nothing but loyalty to WTO for over 40 years whoever the potential successor is for John chiffo will never display the love and pride for wour like John chiffo does and I feel bad for the upand cominging student athletes who will miss out on being coached by coach shifo you'll be doing these students a gross disservice now when it comes to situations like these where children are involved the question should never be who is right the question should be what is right and I'll say this it's not right to release a man like John chiffo who dedicated most of his life to making WTO Athletics better he instills
064want to a warrior Pride into the students and they carry that with them long after they graduate his track record for Success doesn't have to be mentioned he's helped most student athletes reach the Collegiate level which uh which has led them into successful post colle careers than any other coach in any other sport in the history of wantto Athletics he doesn't just teach young men LaCrosse or coach lacrosse he teaches them to be better better people better men better friends better husbands better fathers a man like John chiffo deserves to leave this District on his own terms and again the question should be asked not who's right but what's right I urge this board to reconsider the decision and bring John chiffo back as Middle School lacrosse coach thank you good evening my name is
065Chris fuchi I am a current wour resident as well as a proud alumni my wife who is also with us here tonight is also a WTO graduate and I currently have two children who are enrolled in the WTO School District today I am here to talk about Coach John Cho and how it is a mistake not to have him Coach any longer I find it concerning that after 40 years of service he is no longer the right person for the job coach Cho is one of the reasons why I became a physical education teacher as well as a coach of multiple Sports at different grade levels I always knew that coach Cho was a great teacher and Coach but it wasn't until I started teaching and coaching myself that I really understood the sacrifices and
066commitment needed to sustain gained such a long tenure in this field a journey that not many can achieve for as long as coach Cho did when I was a senior back in 2001 coach chiffo LED our wantto men's lacrosse team to its first state championship the years leading up to that State title were filled with adversity specifically the tragic passing of a friend and former teammate to many of us here number 22 Scott D Verna not many people would have been able to do the things that coach Cho has coach gave us the strength he gave us the courage he gave us the determination needed to succeed by showing us how important it was to stick together how to overcome obstacles how to play for something bigger than ourselves it was during that time that
067we became a family and still are to this day Scott's memory will live on and the number 22 will always be a part of wanto men's lacrosse we have Coach chfo to thank for that when you see that number 22 on the shirts of your wour athletes in the hallways or out in the community I want you to remember Scott and I also want you to remember coach John Cho for always keeping Scott in our hearts and in our minds this PL uh this past summer I played in a charity lacrosse game called shootout for soldiers I suffered a severe injury while playing and had to have an emergency surgery fortunately for me my wife who was a doctor along with the training staff were able to keep me stable someone else who happened to
068be there right by my side was John Cho he had apparently heard the news that a player had been hurt on one of the fields and being the person that John Trio is he came to offer his help not knowing not knowing who it was I could tell you this as a 41-year-old man lying on the turf hoping for the best to hear coach Cho's voice and then to finally see him looking down on me it was at that moment that I felt everything was going to be okay Coach chiffo will always be there for us that's why we are all here for him Coach chiffo was the first nonfamily member to call my wife and check on me after my surgery while I was still in the hospital when I came home from the
069hospital I had me many limitations and still do to this day the first two weeks after my surgery were among the most difficult for me and my family coach Cho organized the get together with a group of friends teammates in which they were going to stop by and have lunch with me and my family to take our minds off the struggles that we've been going through and unfortunately at the time I was in a place where I didn't really want to see anyone but coach chfo understood he didn't take any offense he was still reaching out to me on a regular basis always asking me how I'm doing how's the family I truly believe that no other coach would be that persistent in making sure my family and I were going to be okay and
070I just want to tell him if he's listening thank you for everything and it didn't go unnoticed I believe I speak for all my friends family and former teammates here today when I say that coach Cho is not just a great coach but he's just a great human being his love and passion for both his students and players as well as the love he has for athletics and teaching is unmatched his DED dation and commitment to keeping Traditions alive along with fond memories and stories we have shared are what brings us together as a community in closing I understand despite everything you have heard tonight regarding coach Cho you may still decide not to keep him as a coaching staff on the coaching staff I believe this would be a mistake that in time you
071will come to regret thank you [Applause] good evening W Community U my name is Jeremy zygus I'm a alumni from class of 2016 and a WTO resident um today I'm here with one theme in mind which is gratitude the gratitude that we all have for Coach Cho um the gratitude that I have for my former teachers as well um those of you who do not know me uh I teach social studies in Brooklyn in East New York um one of the things that I'm most grateful for is the connections that I have with my students the students who come to see me every morning they come to check in the simple things I think back to my time as an elementary school student at M delay and when I had Mr Cho as a teacher
072he was always there to greet me say good morning talk about the Yankees whether they won or lost of course and I'm also thinking about my other teachers that I had that I'm grateful for Mr AIS M dragovich and the band department for believing in me to keep going um and become a better drum leader um my coaches on the track I never played lacrosse um but I do have that mentality of being a student athlete what it means to represent W on County stages um and it takes a lot of Pride to do that so with that being said I just want to remind us to be grateful for what Mr Cho has done for our community I want want to inspire us to be caring Warriors that we Inspire our students to be
073every day um and with that I just want to say thank you to the board of ed for their time and just keep that in mind as you move forward just be grateful for us as our community and our staff members that represent us as a school and a community every day thank [Applause] you good evening members of the board and the community behind me I'd like to say my name is Maria manessis I've been part of the wanto community my whole life I'm proud to call myself a wanto warrior I'd like to congratulate all the athletes over here tonight for receiving their Awards once again athletes I come here tonight before you all just not as a community member but someone who is personally impacted by this incredible man I was lucky to have
074him as a teacher as well as a coach for my son my son was lucky to have him as a teacher as well 42 years he wasn't just a coach he was a mentor to this day I still have a relationship with him I'm sorry and now after a lifetime of dedication and service that he's brought to me and to my children it really hurts that he's being let go with no explanation whatsoever I don't understand that I there has to be a complaint that was made on from him from a student from a parent anything give us something give us an answer to why we talk about values in our district respect Integrity leadership this isn't it this isn't who we are in middle school we talk about caring Warriors that's who we are
075we all care for each other Mr chfo cares about us all individually and as a team and off the field so much more has he done for me and my family when my son was hurt he was there every day he checked on him every day every hour there's nothing more that I could say about him that hasn't already been said by plenty of people behind me that still want to talk tonight you may think this decision affected just one man it most certainly didn't it affected all of us in this community all we were asking for is an answer to why he's not being brought back I think he deserves that and I think we all deserve that I appreciate your time tonight thank you [Applause] good evening uh thank you for the uh
076time on this floor Mr M man of the board the community um my name is James Folton wanto resident I've lived here my whole life I'm a for former graduate from 1997 I've known coach chiffo for over 30 years my brother was also a part of the 2001 team team um I had a whole speech in my head coming up here sitting down and I did come in late so I missed some of it but one thing I picked up on from the my fellow uh brothers that have spoken which I didn't even know most of them turned their life from hanging out being wato kids to Educators and coaches I myself graduated 1997 I wasn't the greatest kid growing up and one thing that Maria who also graduated 7 brought up that I haven't
077heard yet was Mentor coach Cho took me and mentored me when I was in high school he turned my life around I myself turn my life around I coach multiple Sports I have children in the community my son my daughter they both came here my older son my older daughter graduated from wour The Pride that we all have in this town is because of this town and this building listening to fellow students talk about they graduated they became Educators they became coaches and mentors this is a man who mentored me over the years and I still have a relationship with 30 plus years later from when I was here in 97 graduating to today I'm not a teacher I'm in law enforcement I turn my life around I've been in law enforcement for the last
07820 years I'm a member of the Chamber of Commerce here I was a member of the wour fire department the people that are standing in this room that knew me from back in high school if they were sitting here saying yeah 20 something years from now Jimmy fton has be standing up at the podium talking to the Board of Education as a successful highly decorated law enforcement official a member of the community and board on the uh Chamber of Commerce they would not believe you and this is because of one man and Sean Cheo I'm not going to stand here and ask why this had happened that's between you and him what I am asking is that that you take into whatever happened into consideration look at the people that are in this room coming
079up there spending their time to discuss this and tell you their stories of Coach Cho like I said this town was built on Integrity it's built on um um just leadership in itself everyone in this room has gone on to have successful lives families like I said most people stayed here and we stayed here for a reason it's not just this town the Brotherhood but because of this education facility I wanted my kids to go to the same school I went to because of the success here wo schools has always been and as far as I know will always will be to have the highest academics and also um Athletics just growing up in this town living here has brought such great pride to me to have my kids go through the same thing again
080I implore you to to reconsider whatever the choice was and why it was made um being in the law enforcement community and a Community member here the petition was started 24 hours ago not 48 and it was close to 700 last time I checked just that petition alone going out in the last 24 hours I have received calls from um members of the community that are in politics they could not be here because they up in Albany high ranking members of the enforcement community that live here and their children went to school here and they asked me what had happened I said I don't know what happened that's not my business but I will tell you this I am coming down to the meeting I came straight from work here I actually left early to
081come here not to ask not to inquire but just to look around and have you think about this a man who spent 40 years 40 plus years as an educator as a coach as a leader like everyone said up here he is a mentor listening looking at the people that were speaking today they're saying the same thing having me stand up here and they're looking go I can't believe that that's him from 1997 I can look around the room and say the same thing and we're standing here today successful members of the community mentors ourselves coaches ourselves all because of John chiffo and what he did for us on us boys again I implore you whatever the consideration was whatever the circumstances were to reconsider and think about the children because as Board of Education
082parents community members and coaches ourselves that's all that matters is the children and like I said if it was something that happened with a child with a parent it's understandable if it's another reason think of the children look at the people that lives he's changed over the last 40 plus years people came up here with stats written down championships games he's won years education the one stat that I don't have that nobody in this room has is how many lives coach John chiffi changed over the last 40 plus years I again I thank you for this time and I ask you to reconsider thank you hi everyone I'm uh my name is Ryan Walsh I'm a resident of WTO uh 2011 grad I actually brings back memories I don't know probably a lot of people
083here 18 years ago I stood up here when uh coach Keith sax was fired um for a number of reasons and Mr Brown pulled me in his office we shut down the road so no one could pick up their kids at Middle School probably a bad idea looking back on it and uh you know as being a young kid you just you're filled with emotion of how someone treated you and how someone made you feel and uh you know that didn't age too well for this uh for this school because the person who they hired had a list um or or you know a report longer than John Gotti he didn't last too long so they brought saxs back and the Vegas gold helmets with it not the black helmets whoever chose that is out
084of their minds um and then I said it didn't age too well cuz congratulations to these guys on a Long Island championship this past year and kicking ass with coach saaks at the head um and before he got there they you couldn't even spell football in this town same thing with lacrosse these guys put their heart and soul into this neighborhood same with Coach B who's at at the state championship right now leading our girls to the first time potential state championship right these men share the same identity right and I'll just walk you through some of my experiences with with with chiff that have nothing do with lacrosse some I guess to some degree but he was my elementary school teacher at manderlay fourth grade obviously many of you guys lived through 911 right
085we didn't hear from my dad or my uncle um I walk into school the next day first person to get me off the bus it wasn't the wellness people if they even existed back then it wasn't anyone mental health Squad it was John chiel greeting kids getting off the bus right kids cops firemen because this is what this town was built on Cops firemen middle class workers he brought all of us into the to the gym and we spent the whole entire day with him the entire day because he didn't give his about lacrosse he didn't give a about sports his record the state championship he cared about kids right when I wanted to leave school my freshman year at Colgate stick it out stick it out keep going right a couple months six months
086later he's standing at the Elite 8 against Duke with his 22 shirt he's the first person in the stadium like this you did it right you got through it you wanted to quit you kept going when I was working in Manhattan I wanted to quit my job he said quit you're a teacher you're a teacher you should be working with kids I quit I'm now a coach and teacher at Kennedy High School the best decision I ever made this town deserves John Cho the kids deserve John Cho just like me and all the alumni right had the ability um and opportunity to work with you're doing them a disservice you're doing them a dis service in this town and community and the wonderful kids that continuously fill these hallways right cuz not much has changed
087in this building the only thing that changes the kids right you come back in this building it's like you going back in time not much has changed For Better or For Worse I don't know where the money's going but um again John Cho I I'm so lucky to have him as a coach coach as a mentor and now as a friend and and I'll have that for life and I hope these kids coming up could have the same experience [Applause] hi guys good evening um my name is Nicole Diaz and um I grew up in wzaw and um now Having learned about what decision was made about not bringing coach shifo back I wanted to share a little bit and thank you for my former classmates um who highlighted so much of what he did
088for the lacrosse program and just in particular following the tragedy of my brother's passing I just want you guys to really hear it from me that I'm my family he didn't need to do these things like so I get choked up of course and the boys know that every year at the lacrosse dinner I get choked up because even Sunday is the 26th lacrosse dinner and coach shifo has since long retired he had has been still part of this community as a coach but he chooses to still come back and instill the same values to the young athletes as he did for the boys especially in the wake of Scott's passing all of us who live through that tragedy but he's decades later still doing that for your kids for our kids in our community
089and um I wanted to also highlight that he carried the grief of all of those boys on his shoulders and he did that and he still does it and he still treats our children the same way he did his students at the time he was my elementary school teacher at manderlay and he you know greets all of the kids on the field with the same wonderful attitude my children wear 22 because of the Traditions that John Cho started and um you know just not just as an educator or a coach but as a father and a Community member you know doesn't live in District yet he gives his entire soul to this Athletic program he does a lot for his own town that he grows up in that he raised his kids in and that
090they grew up in but he does so much for our town so um it really brought a big smile to my face this fall when I saw him coaching the soccer team and he treated me the same way he did back in the 90s and um so I really wanted to you know highlight that today so thank you for your time that I want you to know that all of his efforts have woven that very fabric that we have such a great sense of pride in from being here in WWA so thank you phenomenal job by so many people speaking tonight my name is is Eric Dunn I'm also part of the class of o2 I was on that 01 team uh I am in education myself I teach and coach in Farmingdale and you
091know uh nowadays especially I think every school has that Mantra of once a d always a der once a chief always a chief once a warrior always a warrior uh I got to tell you I just don't think that's necessarily true it's not true everywhere uh the the people who make sure that that saying remains true are the Educators who go above and beyond for their kids after they leave school cuz I think everybody's talked about what JN has done for them while they were here and I don't think that's in doubt I can tell you that he had such an impact on the way that I treat my children and the relationships that we uh try to form with our players after school because he John you when you left here you were still
092part of the program I can remember John calling us nights before big games right checking to see if we were ready for the game calling us after big wins calling us even more importantly after big losses right I I've had the opportunity to coach with them against them um you know I I just think that when we look at sports today I I've had the opportunity to see it bring out the best in people and honestly bring out the worst in people and that's a man right there that consistently finds ways to bring out the best messages in sports I've coached against him in Middle School soccer in vars lacrosse he treats the kids with respect they're getting all of the right lessons that you're supposed to get out of sports which a lot of
093times today are not always construed the correct way right I know there's you know coach coaches are D are kind of a rare commodity now like John chiffo okay you have a lot of guys that can coach but aren't necessarily great humans you got a lot of great humans that maybe can't coach John is a rare combo that can do both and and I think that it's a travesty for this community to Lo lose a coach like that especially at a middle school level where you have such impressionable kids who are really at that level the most important thing is making sure that you install a Love of the Game and the right attitude and the right morals that sports are supposed to provide and that is maybe John's best gift as a coach right
094um you know I I know that one of the things we see across the board here is is there's a drop in numbers in participation in almost every school district that that's not a result to guys like John Cho right he's a guy who went out and and got elementary school kids from Mandalay at Young ages and saw the Love of the Game all right and help grow this program from the ground up and it's still involved today I mean I I can't imagine how many retired former head coaches are a willing to to work a middle school job but also run the Alumni Association the fundraising campaigns actively recruiting some of the guys that are in this room okay I know that he's called me to call college coaches on their behalf I know
095he's called college coaches on their behalf people still reach out to them so he is still in a retirement as an eighth grade lacrosse coach actively getting kids kid recruited uh to college and helping them in their path to find a successful career um so I I I just implore you guys to to reconsider this decision I don't think that you can replace a guy like John chiffo I don't think there are many guys like John chiffo anymore in the coaching Community uh as sad as that is to say all right but I just think that uh you know obviously we've talked about what an incredible young uh what an incredible man he is to all of us uh I I'd hate for it to see our our future students lose out on that same
096opportunity thank you [Applause] good evening to the board um congratulations to the athletes and to the seniors that are going to be graduating in June um I actually didn't prepare anything I've been writing notes on the back of the drama flyer as everyone's been talking um so just bear with me I'm here tonight with my fiance Peter Felix who graduated in 1984 and was a big part of the lacrosse um program here at WTO um I'm a current resident in WTO two of my children went through WTO schools my daughter Lauren graduated in 2016 my son William D Ro would have graduated this June 2023 William played soccer for the most part and John chiffo also coached we've been talking about Lacross all night he did Coach William in soccer um he also coached William
097in Lacrosse I can't even put into words what shifo did for William William did not have a lot of confidence entering Middle School John took him under his wing he instilled confidence in my son like I've never seen in my my entire life anyone do for a child he taught him responsibility he taught him morals he teaches the boys etiquette he is a family member more than a coach he watches over them like they're his own when William passed suddenly August 2023 he was the day William passed away way he was on the phone with Peter I don't even know how he found out my own mother didn't know yet he called Peter and wanted to know if I was okay he has called Peter and texted me but for the most part he he
098speaks with Peter directly I don't know how at least once a month if not a few times every month to check in on me and my family um I didn't grow up in Monto I grew up in Freeport my father was a fizzed teacher a coach a ref I know what sports does for kids I was um three-time Varsity athlete in Freeport tennis gymnastics lacrosse I started the girls lacrosse team in Freeport with my friends I never thought I'd find a community like Freeport but house hunting we wound up in in Monto and I know um a friend of mine's in the audience he went through fre Port schools mad um and he lives in Monto now there's nothing like WTO there really isn't and and teachers I mean you know um John mcnamar you
099helped me with William you probably don't remember but he had an issue at Beach Street and you were there for me the teach teachers the coaches this is a family this community and to let someone like John Cho go for for what we don't even know we can't imagine what he's done why why would he be let go why him he bleeds black and gold we just don't understand it I mean he's a legend if anything he should be leaving on his own terms and we should be honoring him for the service he's given to this [Applause] [Music] community I mean there's really nothing else to say I just we we all hope you'll reconsider we don't understand it again someone did say something I'm a teacher in Freeport I'm currently on leave and someone
100did mention if God forbid it had something to do with a child or an issue we understand but to our knowledge that's not the issue so we don't understand and I think we deserve an explanation at least he does thank you I'll speak quickly um you first off I want to say thank you to the board thank you for our Administration and uh you know a few things first to our Administration I've had the privilege to work with administrators here um and I know that they're amazing people amazing administrators and our schools in a good place um and you know to speak to the Board of Education before I do guys I just congratulations to you guys as athletes and everything you guys have done you know you know I'm real I'm really happy that
101you guys are here and I wish there were a lot more of you here to listen to the type of people of one who paved the way for you guys but the fact is we're here for you every single one of us all right so those of you who don't know the of Education these are just parents community members whose children went through the school maybe some of them they might not even had a children here but they're here devoting their own time an endless amount of time that you guys can't even imagine for you guys all right and they represent us as a community and and we really appreciate that we sincerely do and we appreciate this Administration and we are all here for the same exact reasons every single one of us are
102here because we want the best for you we want the most for every single one of you guys and without question John Cho is a person who did that like without question you know hopefully tonight I think a lot of you probably know a lot more about the wono lacrosse program and and I think I know I know that you guys do I think you know a lot more about the man who built it and this is in some Facebook post that might have said something that they shouldn't you know I know I know some of the older generation we're not even good with social media let alone our parents you know what I'll tell you one thing I mean John is who embodies what w is what we represent as a community and I
103will say another thing as an administrator myself as a school and you know and a profession that I love all right I love I love helping students I I love being here for for all of you guys at at the end of the day we're human beings and we make mistakes and I don't think I have to speak towards John's character anymore I mean I love him he's been there in every single way not just for me but everyone in this community I I think we should learn that we are human beings we make mistakes but we can fix them thankfully in this job when we make mistakes as administrators board members all right it's we're not we're not members of the far department where people can die or we're not surgeons where you know
104someone's going to die on the table if we make a mistake we can fix the mistakes we made but I hope for anything that we do realize what this community is built on I thank everyone for being here tonight on behalf of Coach Cho you know we thank you guys for everything you do and we really truly love you and support you and I want you to know that if we we're always going to do what's best for our students and when it's the other way around around all right and someone and anyone else here in this community needs help or someone on the board administrators are here we'll support you if that's what means what that's what's best for our children and I really hope you do know that we we support wono in
105every single way we can but please understand why this is so important to everyone else and thank you so much for your consideration thank you going