001All right, we'll follow up. Please rise pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Uh welcome board members. Beautiful Case. Um welcome to everybody who is here tonight, everybody that may be watching at home. Um we appreciate you being here. Um I apologize for my voice ahead of time. My kids at school get a kick out of it because I've sounded like pretty much the last few days, so uh I might squeak in and out, so don't hold it against me. Um Michelle, [clears throat] do we have any agenda changes this evening? Yesterday I did add to the items for board action uh J, the approval to amend a
002personnel report, and that was the only one I had. Okay, thank you. And we are on to our welcoming student voice from Ms. Catherine Cook, Case Middle School Case. All right, well, we're happy to be here tonight. Uh this is Mrs. Melanie Berry, our Case Assistant Principal. So we're excited to share some updates with the board and uh kind of brag about some of the exciting going on at Case Middle School. Um one of the first things is highlighting our new staff this year. Don't mess with me, Mike. >> [laughter] >> We were thrilled to add a third [snorts] hall monitor. Kayla Carhart has been an amazing addition to our staff and um technically not a new staff member, Ashley Schalmedine, is also joined us as a hall monitor last year. She was one of
003our teacher aides. Um so having the the two of them in addition to Val Gearing, our um long-standing hall monitor at Case, having the three of them together, they've just been an amazing team. Um Kelly Griffin has joined our art department. We have Kaylee Hall at the Bell in special ed. Our new SSO, Lindsay Closer, has been amazing. Um Maria Netto, a a Watertown grad, has joined our math department. Um we're happy to have Melissa Newcomb in one of our 15-to-1 classrooms, as well as Sue Smell, also in 15-to-1. And Megan Zalweger, we're fortunate to have an experienced math teacher join our ranks also doing math AIS. So um we have a great crew of new hires at Case this year. We also have continued to expand our clubs and extracurricular offerings at Case. So
004last year we highlighted our drama club and bowling club that were new additions last school year. This year we have a drone club now and a Dungeons and Dragons club. So really hitting all different types of interests and passions with our students in addition to all of our long standing clubs and activities and more traditional clubs and activities that we've offered for many years. So just to highlight our our drone club um and bring in the votech has helped with that, has been great. They've they've utilized our uh gym space to do some of their drone activities and even here with the high ceilings in the library, they've used the space a little bit, too. Um Mike just um I think there might be uh a board member's relative in that same picture in that
005St. Patrick's Day photo there. Um but >> Never seen her before. We do have fun at Case Middle School. Um our students are still children and like to have fun, so we we try to give them opportunities to do those kinds of things um in that sweet spot between, you know, the elementary years and the high school years. Um they definitely So I just want to shout out to Ashley Schalmedine, who on the left there in that St. Patrick's Day photo, she's one of our hall monitors. She um created an activity that they with little like AI pictures of me as a leprechaun and they were hidden all throughout the school and the kids could find them and submit for a prize. So that was just a really fun and surprising activity. It created a
006lot of um positive um just positivity in in the air that day. So we're very happy to have staff members like her who add that little um extra flair to our day. Welcome. Uh so a couple of things that we want to highlight tonight and one of them is our Cyclone Academy program at Case. So um I know last year being the first year of our Cyclone Academy program at the high school, we expanded that this year to include our eighth graders. And so I've invited a couple of people to speak to that and sort of what it means to them. So I'm going to invite Mrs. Carla Van Wormer up and she will tell you a little bit about Cyclone Academy at Case. Good evening. Um my name is Carla Van Wormer and I'm
007a school counselor here at Case Middle School. I also have the privilege of serving as one of the school counselors on site for Cyclone Academy at Case alongside of Jake Ramsing, who also is a school counselor at Wylie. I began this journey last year when I had the opportunity part of the very first year of Cyclone Academy at Watertown High School working alongside Gail Bassett. During that time I saw firsthand the powerful impact this program can have on students who struggle within a traditional school setting for a variety of reasons. So when I learned that Matt Bird, Katie Cook, and Melanie Berry were developing a Cyclone Academy program here at Case, I immediately knew I wanted to be part of it. It has been incredibly rewarding to help build something that truly meets our students'
008needs in ways that we haven't been able to do in the past. Our Cyclone Academy students attend school 5 days a week uh from 2:30 to 5:30. They take classes in math, English, science, and social studies, and also physical education. Uh we had we have a student currently that's actually enrolled in a high school credit-bearing course, and with successful completion of that course, she will leave with a high school credit. She comes to Case Middle School earlier than the Cyclone Academy program in order to earn that credit. So we're very proud of her. We are always looking for ways to expand opportunities for our students. We have partnered with Cornell Cooperative Extension uh to provide a social emotional program called Legacy. Uh we have also welcomed the Workplace, which worked with our students for approximately
0096 weeks on job readiness skills and helped connect them with opportunities for summer employment. So again, we're very proud of that connection. These are just a few of the additional supports and experiences we are proud to offer these amazing students. We are also proud of our students, our staff, and everything this program represents. We have seen tremendous growth not only in attendance, but also in academics, also in their confidence, their resilience, and their personal development. We have many students that uh we have watched grow into very capable, motivated young people who are ready to transition to Watertown High School next year. At this time I'd like to introduce one of the uh but more importantly with the individual students in our program. So I'd like to introduce you to one of our math teachers, Mr.
010Jason St. Croix. Some of you I know, some of you I don't. I'm a technology integration specialist for the district, but I survived teaching middle school math for 10 years. Um and so Ms. Van Wormer has done a great job of training Ms. Cook on my Achilles' heel on how to tug at my heartstrings, so she did a good job coercing me to do Cyclone Academy, which I'm grateful for. I get to spend 42 Thursdays with these two right here. These are two of our more stellar students in Cyclone Academy. And this is not about me, this is about them, so I'm going to let them tell you their story in their own words. So without further ado, Cameron Allert and Michael Burns. Hello everybody. Um I hope you're all having a great Tuesday. Um
011I will be sharing my experiences and my opinion on Cyclone Academy Junior. Um I used to struggle really hard with regular school. It wasn't working out for me. I couldn't get my grades up. I didn't want to go to school. I was skipping almost every day and I was struggling really hard and I hit like rock bottom for so long and they introduced me to this and it worked out. It was finally an opportunity that I had to prove myself that I was more and I could actually do this without needing to skip out on anything and do improper things. So I think Cyclone Academy Junior is a very great opportunity. Um I think the school hours are a lot more convenient for people like me cuz I struggle with maintaining a schedule. I really
012I'm really bad at staying on time. Um and that's >> [laughter] >> But yeah, I think it's a really great place and I'm really glad they decided to bring it into case cuz it really saved me. And I just want to end off and thank uh Miss Cook and Miss Berry and Miss Elaine Foley for everything they've helped me with. Uh they really helped me and showed me who I really am in my life. Thank you for your time. Thank you very well, a more successful story. She started the year on Cyclone Academy Junior. Um then he tried to transition back to the regular um settings and it wasn't so successful cuz his attendance really dipped during that time. But how many Thursdays have you missed from me? Not very many. Um very few. Since
013you came back, Michael hardly ever missed school. They come almost every Thursday. So I'm proud of both of you. >> [laughter] >> All Thank you so much. I think uh nobody could say it better than Cam said himself. Thank you so much, Cam. Um one of the other things that we wanted to highlight and what and we're really um happy with all of our community partnerships at CASE. So I want to highlight a you know a few of them. Um not only the Cornell Cooperative Extension, but Pivot, our North Country Clinic that we have here in our nurses office, and our Liberty program through JCC. Um we try to really collaborate with these community organizations and one of them in particular was with Cornell Cooperative Extension. Um they had reached out and had an idea
014on something they could do to support our Cyclone Academy program and we really kind of went back and forth on what exactly that should look like and what we what we landed on in collaboration with um who they ended up hiring, who's Mrs. Beth Levos, we decided to offer something a little bit different. That started uh more of like almost an afterschool detention kind of a model, but because we have the bussing set up for Cyclone Academy, we did it flexibly where it could end at 3:30 or 4:30 or 5:30, but it wasn't just meant to be a punishment or a detention or a discipline type situation. Um it was really meant to be tutoring and academically focused and also focused on um kind of the restorative practice side of discipline where we have a
015teacher that is really well-versed in having conversations with students and mentoring. Um so here to speak more about that is Mrs. Beth Levos and one of her students that's benefited from that program. Thank you. I'd like to speak here. Thank you for your consideration. This is Layla. She is one of our exemplars in the program. This really started as uh Katie said, as a visionary piece uh for afterschool support. It is rooted in tutoring, academic tutoring. It's It also has some components of pre-teaching in case a student has um some anxiety about that so that they are seeing it first before they go to the classroom. And it also focuses on credit recovery when a student hasn't um done what they needed to do. It supports the teacher in that way. It supports students in
016that way. So it starts about 2:30 in the afternoon. We start with a snack and three tenets: acknowledgement, academics, and achievement. The acknowledgement is, "I see you. You matter. You're here. Tell me about your day. Tell me what happened that was good in your day." That starts us for about 10 minutes. Then we go into academics. "Let's open your Chromebook. Let's see what you owe. Let's see what we can work on." And then the accountability piece. How committed are you to arresting your grades, committed to the resilience? These kids have been here at school all day. Them spending another hour, two hours, three hours in addition to their regular school day is quite a commitment. Layla has made the biggest commitment to program to date. We've had some some successes. We had a student early
017on who made up 30 assignments in three weeks. Layla started with us at June Janu- I'm sorry, January 20th. So she's a little over the three-month mark and these are some stats on Layla. She started January I'm sorry, January 10th. Out of her seven classes to date five of the seven increased since quarter one. Four of the seven increased 20 points or more ranging from 20 points increased to 29 points. Her ELA grade increased 24 points from the first quarter and her math grade 21 points from the first quarter. Her quarter average increased 13 points from the second quarter. So this was really rooted in Layla's resilience, showing up every day to 5:30 and really committing to her academic piece. I'm going to have her speak to that, what the program offered her. Um hi
018everyone. My name's Layla Flores. Um I I came because I wasn't getting help in school. I have disabilities um and nobody was really paying attention to me and I wouldn't focus in school. I was failing a lot of my classes. I wouldn't I like I didn't want to listen. I just wanted to be home. And after I went to her, I didn't want to be there, but I didn't say anything about it and then I got better and better. And what I love about tutoring is that um it gives me a lot of help. She reads everything and she's calm and cool and collected with me. Other teachers get really frustrated with me cuz I can't do anything and sometimes my parents do the same thing. So I I love how she just sits there
019and she talks like she talks it through with me. And she asks about my day and we and I like the program. Like I like the program because of that. This has morphed into the start of what Katie had for the vision but also we've seen student athletes coming in and spending some time getting some work done before they go to practice. It also has um some students coming in and just needing the time, the focus, someone saying, "Hey, how are you? What do you need to do?" And just the quiet time to sit and do their work before they go home to whatever chores or things that they have going on. So lastly, I want to say a couple things. This program completely supports what you outlined at your last meeting, which was the
020strategic plan for 2026-2027 for your goal 2024 and also the portion of the graduate, which absolutely fills in that the gap for that as well. Lastly, I want to thank the support of these two superstars, which have been tremendous in the collaboration with my bosses, Katherine Mowrey and Shauna Spencer at Cornell, who have been excellent in we've all worked together to collaborate and morph this program. Marnie Smith Beth Kyle um and the guidance team, Carla and Kevin, have been really instrumental in getting this off the ground. And we're having a blast. So thank you for your support. And I forgot to mention the reason I wanted there is because I have cerebral palsy and I have and I have dyslexia and I had a stroke. And that's why I got pushed out of group sometimes
021and I got pushed out of other things. So and when I went to her, she actually paid attention to me and she put me in the things. And Layla, you are extremely well-spoken. And I can see what this program means to you, but I can see what it means to your mom, too. You have no idea. Tell us about it, Mom. What do you think? I don't mean to put you on the spot, but But I had a stroke at 18 years old. And a year and a half old, they told us she would never walk or talk. So this right here is amazing to me. But also when we came to this school, I mean, we found out a bunch of different districts that we're just trying out seeing out like what could work
022for her. She has a hard time writing. She has a hard time reading with dyslexia. And her brain just works a little different way. Cuz she has cerebral palsy with a stroke. Literally two days after Layla met Miss Levos, she wrote down a plan on how to get her grades back on track. She was so strong on like homework coming home, doing her chores you know, really quick, getting ready, packing her bag, you know, bringing a snack for her and Miss Levos. She She was so driven to get through school now. Like I don't know where we'd even be if it wasn't for this program. Thank you. So >> So? Lela, I do have a gift for you. I only have a gift deal. So proud of you. Lela, it sounds like you've been beating
023the odds your entire life. They I expect you're going to keep doing that. So, good luck with everything you do. If there's ever anything that you need, you see all these people sitting up here. These people up here, if you're not getting what you need, you let them know. You let me know. We'll make sure that we do. Thank you so much to all of our students who spoke tonight and even one who didn't. Thank you for being here. Your presence matters. Um so, we wanted to also um just say a little bit about some of the changes in scheduling and supports that we've offered this current school year. Um we moved away from some time that was spent in the beginning and the end of the day on home room and changed our bell
024schedule to create a 10th period. So, that 10th period of instruction is a little shorter than the other nine, but it is meant for um getting all students intervention services or enrichment services. So, it's really kind of a flexible schedule period where, you know, we call it WIN, which is what I need, and we truly stick to the meaning of that acronym where we're thinking about what all of our students' needs are. Um So, we have a little chart on the slide that just kind of highlights over the last couple of years where we've been with our intervention supports in terms of tier two and tier three intervention. So, um if you've heard Dr. Gerhardt speak about AIS and intervention services, um tier two is for the students that just need a little bit of
025extra support, and tier three is for students that need a little bit more intense intervention and support. Um so, we went from two school years ago, we really only had tier three services. We didn't really have a tier two. And with the additional staffing that we obtained last school year, we were able to insert a tier two service into our day, and we really supported a tremendous number of students. I think last year at this time I highlighted that we had tripled the number of students that got intervention services throughout the school day. This year, what we've done was we've tried to kind of right-size that a little bit in terms of making sure that we're supporting our students that have academic gaps in achievement and may need additional support and intervention, but also we
026don't want to lose sight of the students that are on grade level or above grade level that might need enrichment or more of a challenge. So, we're really trying to focus on all of our students and what they need. And one of the things that is offered during that 10th period, in addition to intervention, is our gifted and talented program. Um we also have our um ensemble and a cappella groups that meet during that time. And one of the things that we've added this year is some of our teachers run groups that are focused on an executive functioning. So, some of our students that may not really have academic achievement gaps, but their struggles are more in the areas of organization or prioritizing or writing down their assignments or really just getting organized, cleaning out
027their backpacks, things like that. So, we have some groups that are focused on those sorts of skills. Um and a lot of our middle schoolers do need help in those areas. Um so, we have we have kind of hit the balance where we feel like this year we've really focused on hitting the needs of all of our students in all different kinds of areas. So, on the student support and intervention side, our goal has always been access, engagement, and targeted support. We increased our algebra from one to three sections, giving access to more students. We offered DDP, two sections. The addition of studio art, two sections. These lead to high school credits for students going into ninth grade. Um she mentioned the a cappella group in our Cyclone Academy Junior also has additional academic supports.
028And then our tier one and tier two, we have a variety of things that they not just support academics, but behavior as well, and we blend the two together. So, we focus on things like the support and enrichment through Cyclone Academy. And then think sheets offer students time to reflect, and this is before they come to me. It's having them take accountability. They collect data, so we know which minor behaviors we have more infractions on and where we need to work on maybe some of our challenges focus on those specific minor behaviors, whether that's cafeteria or tardies or being on task. Our attendance challenges also get students motivated to be in class on time and also in school on time. And restorative practices, as we said, both in the classrooms and the school and with
029people like Ms. Livolsi and our Cyclone Academy. And tier two, we have um check in check out, and it just offers that extra one-on-one supports, the accountability. It offers the just daily check in on what students need, how they've done for the day. Our PPT process, we are able to see what needs students have. We can offer more services both in school and out school outside of school as well as refer them into our check in check out. Um for an after-school extension with Ms. Livolsi, we also have a regular after-school detention that is just an hour with Mrs. Schwalnus, and that is also very targeted for re-teaching behaviors. And our cafeteria connections with Kevin Durr is for all sorts of things, whether it's behavior expectations or social interactions, where we see a need and
030students need some re-teaching, some modeling, some connection. They can go there to work on those things. Some successes and strengths that we've had. Um a couple of years ago, there was quite a bit um more fighting than there is now. We've seen a 37% reduction in fighting and a 63% reduction in our superintendent hearings. I think this is directly correlated with our PBIS tier one and tier two supports, as well as our increased presence in the hallways, um the help of Officer Kloster supporting our students, and I think just clear expectations, reflection, and fair, progressive, consistent discipline. Students know what they're going to expect, and it is always consistent, and we're proactive as often as possible rather than reactive. This decrease is directly connected, and by intervening earlier and more consistently, we're creating a safe
031environment with a focus on learning. Our attendance has consistently went up over the past few years. We are now over the 90% mark. We tell students now that our goal is 95% when we have our town halls. And once again, this upward trend is correlated with our PBIS, our expectations, and an increase in student engagement. By addressing these concerns early and consistently, we're ensuring that students are present and ready to learn. So, our focus going into next school year, um I wanted to highlight uh something that Lynn Gaffney has been promoting over the last couple of school years, our Cyclone 6 practices. Um we're reminding our teachers in faculty meetings, these are not things that are going away. We're focusing on them over time. Um one of the things that we want to start placing
032more of a focus on, in addition to the instructional practices, is um our curriculum. So, having teachers engage in curriculum work, whether it's over the summer or throughout the school year, during their department meeting times, really refining that curriculum and pairing that up with strong instructional strategies um in all of our courses. The other thing that we're looking to do is increase options for our seventh and eighth graders, and especially focus on any other opportunities we can offer our eighth graders who are interested in earning high school credit in eighth grade. It really gives them a leg up and a head start on earning their way towards high school graduation. Um, one of the things that will be um, an undertaking going into next school year is transitioning our 1212 program into an 811 program.
033So, those special ed supports, um, that's already underway, but that will continue to be a focus into next school year. Um, [snorts] really taking a look at all of our special ed programs in the building and encouraging our our students to really strive for um, the best they can do and and pushing them at a level that is not pushing them too hard to a point of stress, but obviously we want to always focus on having the least restrictive environment for our special ed students. So, our 15 to one teachers have been really great about um, encouraging students to be more mainstreamed into gen ed classes, for example, in science and social studies. Um, so really getting students um, the highest level of curriculum that we are able to support them with. And then of
034course, supporting our students with their transition from 8th to 9th grade is um, a major focus of ours in middle school and will continue into next school year. Um, so as far as um, major sweeping changes, whether it's staffing or scheduling, um, I have told our staff that our our theme for the year is consistency and stability. Um, people really thrive when they feel that there's been consistency and stability and we've been fortunate to have that in in our leadership with Melanie and I partnering with with each other for the last couple of years. Um, so we want to be careful about not making too many changes, but making enough changes where we're always focused on forward movement and improvement. That's all we have for you this evening. We are happy to take questions if
035you have any. Any questions? Sounds like these are going well in case. Thank you so much for your time and we appreciate it. Thank you for having us. Thank you. Why don't you do that well? Gentlemen, if you just forward list. Thank you for coming and talking and Jaden didn't come? Thank you for coming and talking with us. Thank you for coming and talking with So, uh, if you're a student or a parent and you want to go, that was your chance to get off Scott free. If you want to stay for the entire meeting, you're more than welcome to. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You too. All right, we are at the first public comment session of the evening. Uh, in accordance with board policy 2306, the public comment portion of the board
036of education meeting is designed to give members of the public the opportunity to address the board related to school district operations. Board cannot permit public session discussions involving individual district personnel or students. Persons wishing to discuss matters involving personnel or students should present their comments to or and or concerns to the superintendent of schools during normal business hours. All speakers are to conduct themselves in a civil manner. Obscene language, libelous statements, and threats of violence are not tolerated. It is not the practice of the board to respond during the meeting to questions posed or comments made by speakers. Therefore, the board will certainly take any questions or comments made under advisement, but will not necessarily be responding to any questions. As always, the board welcomes written comments of all board members [clears throat] and the
037superintendent can be reached via regular mail or email. Speaker is allowed 3 minutes. If you happen to reach the end of your time and you hear the buzzer, please do not be alarmed and conclude your thought. Is there anybody here for agenda related items this evening? Okay, seeing nobody rise to the microphone. We are on to board and staff reports. Uh, policy committee meeting report, Tina Sweno, our chair. Um, well, we talked a lot, but we didn't get very far. Um, so we went over um, policy 8105 on homework. We went over 8104 on makeup. 8103 on grading and honor roll and regulations. And we're sending them all back to the grading for equity committee. So, you will get them all back. >> [laughter] >> I have a list of questions. >> Okay, so list
038of questions, lots of lots of questions. So, then after they review them and send them back, then we'll go over them again and see what we think the next time. Good. Straight conversation, great dialogue about important things. So, any questions, Tina? Okay, any other board staff reports? Superintendent of schools report, Rick Evangelista. Uh, good evening everyone and a huge shout out to Katie, Melanie, and your entire team for being here tonight and uh, we missed out on the pizza and the breadsticks, um, but we can reschedule and come back. Um, kudos to the students who spoke tonight. Um, you know, when you look at our district motto, our children are future and you hear the stories behind the students and you look the students in the eyes and you hear the passion, um, you know
039that we're on the right track and that we're engaging kids, we're connecting with kids, and we're changing outcomes for kids, um, which is the purpose I know the board has and the district. So, I just want to thank uh, both of you for your presentation. Thank you to our our students and to our parent who shared her personal journey and how important her child's learning is uh, to this point. So, looking forward to learning more from her. I want to give a huge shout out. Um, if anyone had the opportunity over the weekend uh, to go to South Jeff, um, they had an amazing spring by county. Um, I did try to get some of the kids to let me go up there and sing with them. They declined. Um, I'm still tone deaf, but
040um, our elementary band, junior high chorus, senior high band, and senior solos, just a huge shout out to that. These students came back from spring break. They hit the ground running, um, not only athletically, as we were talking in the policy committee, but extracurricular wise, um, and a new marking period this week. Um, so just a lot to balance and I don't know if this is doing it. Um, but I just I just really want to thank them. They they did a wonderful job and to our directors who uh, chaired each of those uh, bands and chorus, uh, they did a great job and thank you for them volunteering their time. Um, the next thing I want to mention is our student advisory council. Um, we had our student um, advisory council today, like Caleb.
041Yes. So, um, we were a little bit disappointed the last um, student advisory council was a snow day, so they did not get the full presentation. Uh, but today um, Brian and myself presented our budget. Your son asked some great questions. Um, I don't know if he's going to be a business major. >> [laughter] >> He our our kids, when you give them a an opportunity to speak, have just amazing, thoughtful, caring questions, um, and they often really push us in different directions. It's amazing when you bring student voice to the table, but our students sat through today. They went through the budget presentation. Um, we related it to where they're at. We have students in the student advisory of what about 36 kids, um, from 7th through 12th grade. And so, we made the
042presentation a little bit more accessible for them, relating. We we grilled them on retirements and pensions and health insurance and different things and uh, great participation. Um, I do believe if our student advisory students are an example of what we have to look forward to in our life, we're in good hands. Um, the next thing that I want to share was an activity that we put our administrators through. We put our staff advisory through. Um, we had our students today define attributes of a highly effective teacher. And so, they gave some amazing um, attributes and so, Tina's office is taking those attributes and what we're trying to do is take our staff advisory, our student advisory, our administrative cabinet, and we're trying to incorporate that in the interview process so that we can make sure
043that we're advertising correctly for the right candidates. We're sharing our attributes with our college sponsors to make sure that we're drawing in the right candidates. Um, but we also had them do that for administrators. Um, to highlight those attributes of administrators that they would like to see [clears throat] as we continue to grow that pipeline in our district. Uh, as we've mentioned before and Tina will share more at the next board meeting, our partnership with Oswego um, state on that. The next thing I would like to mention is our FEMA update. Unfortunately, the government is still partially shut down. Um, we did uh, keep today's meeting with the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. Um, there was some questioning that I offered to them regarding our insurance and what order we do our project.
044Do we focus on our interior project first, getting the buildings up on the inside and then exterior. My slight concern with that is if we have a flooding again, there could be some work that needs to be redone. There are some insurance requirements that are required once you receive FEMA dollars and so we we spoke about that today and we'll be getting more information on what insurance requirements once FEMA has a payout. There's some certain level of insurance requirements that they want so they're not a second time, a third time, etc. So we will have to get more clarification on that and then um really look at what impact. We already know that our projected increase for this budget for next year is 20% and we know from last year to this year was 40%.
045So we're hoping that that doesn't adversely affect that but we want to make sure that no different than in our personal homes that we're being thoughtful in the order to which we conduct business. The next thing I will say because what we are waiting on mitigation has approved our 14.1 million dollar project. So that's 7.1 million exterior, 7.1 million interior. We did learn today Bri and I attended that meeting along with our director school facilities. We did receive approval on that. The next department is AHP and with the partial government shutdown we're in a holding pattern. We are going to continue meeting and it was suggested in that meeting today that we reach back out to the city to see where they're moving forward if they are given their finances and any FEMA or state
046budget. So looking forward to that. Hopefully have more information on that. I did notify the board today just as an update. On Monday of this week yesterday there was another budget extender. So the governor's budget has not been enacted yet. I did hear conversation today that that may possibly be May. So it may be probably a week prior to our vote. What I would like the board to know is the minute that information is available we will share it with you. As Bri did say in the last budget presentation, last year was the first year where the the governor's enacted budget came in actually less than what was proposed and so more information to come on that and whether or not we need a special board meeting if if that impacts the overall budget before
047we put it out to the voters. The construction kickoff meeting happened today. Just as a reminder that a capital project we are starting a year early. We broke it out to phase 1A and 1B. What I will say is the costs for 1B are coming in higher than what was initially, you know, once you start knocking down walls and and looking at things, the project tends to get bigger than what you initially thought looking at maybe old maps and things of the of the buildings. And so, you know, in particular we're looking at Wiley. Our goal was to do the planetarium. Our goal is to still do the planetarium but when you look at removing some of that and and what the state's rules are is once you open a space and you start renovating
048a space you have to bring it up to code. And so bringing spaces up to code, current code that just changed this year, does come at a cost. The high school piece we're looking at that because we had an initial conversation with our FAF committee at the last board meeting about the idea of central air particularly at this building and at the high school but we would like to move throughout the district. That, you know, came into conversation today when we had our meeting today, our construction meeting for 1B, is the fact that when you look at the unit ventilators that have to go in the high school and you look at where the current vent structures are, the new proposed ones would add a slightly different look and so you would have vents in
049random places. When you look [clears throat] at the front of our high school and you look at the columns, they're about 14 feet in between the columns and the classrooms don't necessarily align with the columns. And so where the windows structures are, they call them storefronts. If you're replacing that whole structure and so today's conversation is the windows in that building are not overly new. They could benefit from being replaced but to replace those windows are about 3 million dollars. To put AC in that building is just over 5 million dollars. And so what we have to balance is do we put the new unit ventilators in, keep the old window structures there with the understanding that at a future project when we go in and replace the windows, there may be some modifications that
050are needed for the unit ventilators to adjust the new window which they refer to as storage fronts. So so the conversation is continuously developing. The 1F case not case, sorry, Wiley is in a similar situation. Once you dig into that library media space, you have other things that you have to address to bring that space up to speed. So what direction I gave them today is I would like them to continue planning for moving forward with the planetarium with the understanding that we need frequent meetings to talk about costs so that I can advise the board. What our hope is, Bri and I I think we can share this hope, is that, you know, where other costs come in higher initially, we're hoping that in later phases that maybe the when things kind of settle
051down in our economy that maybe those we did build in a 30 to 40% escalation so those actually come in lower and we can realize those costs. What we're having to do right now with Ohio and Starbuck, there was some concrete work we want done at Ohio to address the front of the building and address some cracking. Right now we have to take that out of the project in order to do things that need to be done while we have ceilings out and walls out. So I just I I put that out here today because particularly the high school, it may be doing work and having to redo some of it with the unit ventilators on those window storefronts in a later phase which could be eight years down the road but it is something
052that our kids have been great in student advisory because they are asking questions like, you know, we put new lighting in the high school parking lot. Can we reuse that lighting? So we're not paying for lighting and and throwing it out and buying new. So they, as I said earlier, their their voice is powerful and it packs some weight. So exciting things about the construction project. We're on time to start. The board approved it at the last board meeting so those contractors have been notified. We had that meeting yesterday. They're excited to get going. They're working on insurances and those things and we're hoping to start Starbuck and Ohio in June. So exciting. Our hope is Starbuck is going to be a race to get that building open and a thank you to our teachers
053and staff in that building that are going to be working around the clock to get that building open for September. The next thing I want to mention is a project that Lynn and her secretary Christina Nichols is working on and I'm sharing it tonight because I want to make sure that it's on people's calendars. On May 4th, there's been a lot of work and communication. Northern Community Foundation has been a great help. There is a need. We've seen a significant increase in the number of students taking backpacks, food backpacks home on weekends when there was some snap interruption. This year we saw significant increase and so we are partnering with Balanced Nutrition across the street which I frequent daily and they are doing something. I think this was Christina's idea, May the 4th be with
054you. And in this case, May the 4th be with you. So on May 4th, we are partnering. 10% of any of the drink orders that are being purchased on that day will be directly given to the food for families so a thank you to them and a dollar off for any power tea beverage that's ordered that day. So on May 4th we'll have some communications go out but between now and the next board meeting it would be after the fact so I wanted to make sure that I added that and that is the last thing left. Any questions? All right, Mr. Ryder, items for consent agenda. Resolved that consent agenda items A, B, and C are hereby approved. Take a motion, please. >> Brandy. Brandy and a second. Jason. Jason. Discussion. All those in favor?
055Aye. Any opposed? Motion >> [clears throat] >> Items for board action. Letter A, approval of proposed 2026-2027 BOCES administrative budget. Resolved that the Watertown City School District hereby approves the 2026-2027 proposed administrative budget for the Jefferson, Lewis, Herkimer, Hamilton, Oneida Board of Cooperative Educational Services as presented to the uh component districts and is hereby approved. Motion, please. Melanie. Melanie and a second. Tina. Tina. Discussion. I will add that Melanie and Tina Fluno and I did drive out to Glenfield and they did present this budget at a tour that they will provide. Any other discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. I need to get the election of four members to the Board of Cooperative Educational Services of the Jefferson, Lewis, Hamilton, Herkimer, Oneida counties. Whereas four vacancies exist on the BOCES board
056to be filled at the annual election on April 21, 2026 and the following candidates have been nominated: Grace Rice, Peter Monaco, Alice Draper, and Stephen Dreisler. And whereas component boards of education must vote as a unit, casting one vote for each vacancy and no more than one vote per candidate. And whereas three positions carry three-year terms and one position carries a two-year term. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Board of Education hereby cast one vote for each of the following candidates: Grace Rice, Peter Monaco, Alice Draper, and Stephen Dreisler. And be it further resolved that the district clerk is authorized to complete and certify the ballot accordingly. Motion, please. Go ahead. I'll second. Tina. Tina, discussion. >> [clears throat] >> Nice to see one of our own on this, former board member. Further discussion?
057All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Item C, approval of the dual agreement. Resolved that upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Larry C. Schmiegel, the agreement dated April 15, 2026 to extend the probationary period of an instructional employee, the probationary period is hereby extended to and including August 31, 2027 in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the agreement signed by the superintendent, the instructional employee, and the Watertown Educational Association president is hereby approved. Motion, please. Melanie. Melanie, I'll second. Jason. Jason, discussion. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? >> [clears throat] >> Motion carries. Item D, approval of personnel report. Be it resolved that upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Larry Schmiegel, the Board of Education hereby approves the following: appointment, probationary instructional, term
058probationary instructional, permanent, Cyclone Academy, substitutes instructional, retirement, resignations. Motion, please. Tina. Tina, I'll second. Randy. Randy, thank you. Discussion. Like we like to uh wait for Tina. >> [laughter] >> All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Item E, approval of election inspectors. Resolved that the following persons be and are hereby appointed inspectors of election to serve in their respective school election districts for the proposed school budget vote and Board of Elect- Board of Education elections to be held on the 19th day of May, 2026, and the clerk of the board shall give written notice of the appointment to each person as required by law. North Elementary, Tim Glover, uh chief inspector, and Teresa Schaefer, election inspector. Uh further resolved that in the event of inability of any of the foregoing to serve, the
059clerk of the board is hereby authorized to obtain and appoint a replacement. Motion, please. Melanie. Melanie, I'll second. Tina. Tina, discussion. Michelle. What do those [clears throat] people actually do? They uh I'm just curious. Yeah, they take the uh the poll book that I give them and uh they cross-reference addresses to be sure that they are actually voting on the right side of the city that they should. And um then they, you know, guide them on, you know, how to actually vote on that voting machine. And the chief inspector actually is in charge to be sure that at the end of the evening the the the strips of tally votes are smooth or machine properly. They're trained by the county agents. And do you work with them pretty closely, too, or is that >> back
060and forth all day. >> Yeah. Great, yeah. I'm kind of overseeing, making sure if they need anything and if there are any questions. Thank you. Food orders are in. Sweet, yeah. We appreciate them. Any other questions or discussion? Okay, all those in favor? I. Any opposed? [clears throat] Motion carries. Item F, approval of revised policies. Uh resolved that the following um revised Board of Education policies are hereby approved and adopted: 8200, home instruction, and 8200.1, home instruction regulation. Motion. Jason. Jason, I'll second. Randy. Randy, discussion. Just as a reminder for the board, this the change in here was to add the appeals process. Appreciate it. Okay, all those in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Item G, approval of a donation and/or grant. Um resolved that a technology and engineering donation grant has been received
061on behalf of the Gene Haas Foundation for $5,000, designated as support for the Watertown High School Advanced Manufacturing Program. Uh this generous donation is gratefully accepted and approved and will be acknowledged in writing. Motion, please. Go ahead. I'll second. Melanie. Melanie, discussion. Do we have any idea how we found out about this? This is like Haas Racing. This is like The teacher applied for this one. >> Yes, Lindsay Kriegel. She applied. Michelle. Interesting. She applied for sure. Mhm. This one's still open. No. No. No. I'd like to take credit for it, but >> [laughter] >> Any other discussion? All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Item H, approval of donation. Resolved that a donation of $200 from the Italian-American Ladies Auxiliary is hereby accepted. This generous contribution supports the Watertown City School District
062Culture Families Program. The board gratefully approves and accepts this donation and will make sure it is acknowledged in writing. Motion, please. Randy. Randy, I'll second. Jason. Jason, discussion. Very nice. Very nice. And obviously we you know, it's needed. Yes. Yes. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Abstention. Oh, abstention. Oh, sorry. Abstention. [clears throat] I'm abstaining. >> [laughter] >> Uh item I, approval of a combined sports contract. [clears throat] Uh resolved that the Watertown City School District combine with Immaculate Heart Central School for the '26-'27 school year to form a varsity boys ice hockey team. And be it further resolved that the students from the Watertown City School District will combine with the IHC varsity boys hockey team. The team will compete under IHC colors. Motion, please. Melanie. Melanie, I'll second. Tina. Tina,
063discussion. Weren't we here last year with this agreement? I think we did well. Okay, all those in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Item J, approval to amend personnel report. Whereas a resolution was passed by the Board of Education on April 14, 2026 approving the resignation date of Brian Gaynor of May 21, 2026. And be it further resolved that this amended resolution reflects a change in the resignation date to be effective April 20, 2026 and is hereby approved. Motion, please. Tina. Tina, I'll second. Melanie. Melanie, any discussion? All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. I abstain to the resolution. Thank you, Michelle. You're welcome. Uh we are at the second opportunity for public comment on any non-agenda related items. Something good. >> [laughter] >> Um items for discussion and/or information. We didn't have
064anything that we specifically listed. Is there anything that you remember we Do you mind if I mention something? Um the one thing I do want to mention, I did mention it at FAM, but I don't have enough information yet. And the guy with Tall Sports who has presented to the board before, um the marquee has uh regrettably not been working for several months in front of our high school, which um attracts a lot of traffic. We are looking at trying to change the positioning of the sign so you can actually see it while keeping your car on the road um if you're driving. Um the positioning now looks nice as stationed in front of the high school, but it's it's not positioned in a way that you can see it while driving down Washington in
065either direction. Um the gentleman that is working with us with Tall Sports is on active reserve right now. Um so when he returns, we're trying to see if we can get him to come to the May 5th board meeting to do a presentation so the board can actually see. Um they are on a state contract. The price is over that marquee, so it is a significant uh purchase. Um and our recommendation was to consider to have the board consider moving forward with it this school year. Um our hope was to try to get it done before the um graduation, but there's no way with everything in supply chain orders, supply and demand, that we're going to be able to get it in time. So uh what I would like I had it on the agenda
066tonight taking it off just or took it off just because of the fact that he's doing his drill time right now. But, once we get caught up you should see it at an upcoming board meeting. Any other discussion or information? All right. Upcoming dates. Uh community budget presentation is Monday, April 27th at 5:30 p.m. in the Watertown High School auditorium. School board petitions are due on Wednesday, April 29th at 2026. Is there a time for that? By 5:00 p.m. By 5:00 p.m. Thank you. Uh followed on April 30th by the random draw for ballot placement at 9:00 a.m. Public hearing for the school budget at 5:30 p.m. on May 5th in the district conference room at HTW Intermediate. And the regular Board of Education meeting at 6:00 p.m. on May 5th in the district office
067conference conference room awful so at Wiley Intermediate. Just one thing I'll add to that is we did take off the FAF committee meeting for the 5th unless we get adverse news from the governor's enacted budget and then we may need to add that back. So, right now we took it off at this point but if someone else would like it back on we can add that. Sounds good. A look around the district, Melanie. We'll start with you tonight. Sure. Um where do I want to start? I this past week I went to the regional honor society banquet. It was actually held right here at the high school. Um that was just really cool to see. There were so many students, so many teachers. Um and I sat with Mrs. Shear and our students and I
068appreciated that they came twice in 2 weeks to do a ceremony like this and they and their families should be proud of that. I do want to acknowledge Layla when she spoke my heart broke when she stated before Cyclone Academy Junior that she couldn't do anything and I just don't think any student should feel that way period. So, I would like to thank Mrs. Is it Livanos? That she has changed that whole perspective for her because quote regular school year 7:00 to 2:00 or whatever is not for everyone and so I love that there is something for students that are not um succeeding in your regular uh 7:00 to 2:00 kind of a deal. So, um and then finally state testing season has begun. So, good luck students, teachers, all of the fun stuff. I
069know it's stressful and chaotic but we have full faith in them. All of the students are more than one test. Tina. Um I don't have much. I've seen pictures on Facebook of our um athletes, our track and field athletes. Um and they I give them credit cuz there's there's no way I'd make it down my driveway let alone around the track. Um so how are you doing, Caleb? I'm doing well. What's an invitation on Friday? Placed seventh on a 43 throwers. Good job. Yes, [clears throat] I like to watch those. Um I'd like to thank Case for having us here. You guys did a beautiful job and your your other staff members and your students. That Layla was um she's an inspiration and that program is an inspiration. So, I'm glad that the school district
070has been able to provide these different programs that these kids really seem to need and the little boy that spoke about is uh Cyclone Academy. So, just grateful that there's options for these kids that they can succeed and be themselves and that's important. So, thank you. You did Caleb. Student attendance week was a kickoff last week. It was fun seeing a lot of my friends do it. I wore pajamas in my size. >> [laughter] >> Um yeah, so hearing Layla speak tonight was a great honor especially her mom giving us she is a motivation to a lot of us. She's overcome overcome a lot. I'm thankful that we have CTE tutoring after school. I'm thankful to be here in Case. It's been a while since I've been here. A lot of a lot has changed.
071So, that's all I have to say. Caleb. Jason. Um it's been nice It was nice to see that fighting and Superintendent Cathers says are down. Uh been here for a few years now and it's been nice to witness the transformation. Uh so, keep up the good work. Um I think that's all of it. It is. And Caleb, you think you've been away from Case for a long time? >> [laughter] >> In fact, today I had lunch at the Hilton Garden Inn and I walked in who was sitting there but my eighth grade science teacher, Mrs. Derwin. She was sitting there all by herself and I told her 7th and 8th grade was set the tone for my whole high school career and it was it was the best 2 years of all of my K-12
072education. I told her that and I said we're going to be at Case tonight and I'll be mentioning you and giving you some props [laughter] and I really do believe it. I mean, all our schools are important. They all lead up to graduation but this is where it is it gets real before you go to high school and and kudos to everybody that does what they do here because I think it has everything to do with the happiness probably right. Um and I just wanted to also and I tend to not want to single out people that are retiring but I saw Mrs. Atkinson's retirement on there today and all the work she's done for this district over nearly three decades just uh congratulations to her and thank you for all she's done to integrate
073the school into the community. She's the best at that. Thanks. Are you ready? Okay. Um I will add on to want to thank Case. Getting lonely. Um It's good to see the drone the drone club, D&D club added additions you know, much like the high school means you know, adding clubs to gain interest in the Cyclone Academy Junior. Um you know, we we see the statistics and the you know, the numbers is it working or is it not working but it's it's great to see you know, Caleb and Layla's story first hand. And then it it truly is touching people and the people behind the scenes that are making this happen. We're good. Um Dr. Gearhart couldn't be here with us tonight but she did pass along information. May 4th is going to be a
074hopping day um because that is when the You Matter May the 4th Be With You event is coming to the high school. Of course on May 4th, all students and their caregivers of Watertown High School are welcome to attend. Counselors will offer information on various college and career options, Regents review opportunities and finishing here strong. An opportunity for one-on-one discussion with students and counselors will be provided and information [clears throat] will be available on students' progress and credit recovery credit accrual. Those events will be 5:30 to 6:30 for the 11th and 12th grade focus and 6:30 to 7:30 for the 9th and 10th grade focus. Agencies and support staff will be present to offer assistance. Van transportation will be available. A light dinner will be served. Those who show up will be eligible to win
075a raffle. May the 4th be with you as we finish here strong. So, hop over to Balance Nutrition, grab your tea, grab your drink, support our backpack program and then come on over to that May the 4th Be With You event here at the high school. Um thank you so much. It's so good to hear about everything that's going on at Case. It it takes a special breed of teacher to want to be in middle school. I know that. I know I'm not cut out for that. I've climbed the ladder just about as high as I can go without heading off into college. So, I've always been really appreciative of uh those teachers that take on that special group of students as they're transitioning from their childhood to becoming, you know, young adults. And Case
076just does a phenomenal job. Obviously, I've got an inside mole with a little bit of you know, information at home but um my daughter just loves absolutely loves her time here at Case and she's going to be really sad when she moves to the high school next year. Looking forward to the new challenges but she has really enjoyed her time within these walls. So, thank you so much for making that amazing for all of our students. The students that, you know, do wonderful things and join all the clubs and the students that have struggled traditionally with the regular classrooms. It's a testament to leadership. It's a testament to our teachers. It's a testament to the hard work of everybody that steps through these doors every day. Um so, amazing amazing. I still want to see
077the drones in action though. We're going to make that happen at some point. Um and I think that's all [clears throat] I've got for tonight. Layla's story was amazing. I'm not going to lie. I shed a tear. When you see it it doesn't go that far mom that it matters that much. And to her to tell us her side of the story. We don't usually hear from parents often about, you know, what they feel about these programs. So, I didn't want to put her on the spot but I was really glad that she did speak on her end of what all the programs mean to her. So, Yeah. It's a win. Absolutely. I have one more thing. I forgot to mention it earlier so I apologize. I thought about adding it to my minutes and
078I forgot and looking at Caleb reminds me. Um this week um students are required to submit their applications and references for the student board member seat. Um as you know, the student board member seat is 1 year. We've currently received Caleb's and one other student. Um so we we do have two applications that are in. Um I will be working with the high school administration to go through those interview processes and then I'll recommend a name to the board for next year. There is nothing in our policy or state law that would prohibit a student uh if they were selected to run a second year. Um what I will say just to plug that as we did ask for state training at the Nisba level. Um we pushed that a lot last year and uh
079that training was provided to those that live in the capital region uh BOCES, but not ours and so we are continuing to put pressure on them. Caleb did not receive that full training. Um so I just want to put a that would be a training that would be available hopefully next year. I I say you you put it up to an arm wrestling contest. What I would do I'd just say. >> [laughter] >> All right, I will entertain a motion to I want to make a comment. I noticed that the classmate of Caleb did not receive a certificate. Can we get him Yes. I'm already on it. >> [laughter] >> I had a different name. There we go. Now I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. Melanie. Melanie and a second. Tina. Tina, all those in
080favor? Aye. Any opposed? Vote in favor. This meeting is adjourned.