001This is a special presentation from the Brighton Central School District Board of Education. >> Good evening. Welcome to the Brighton Central School District Board of Education meeting for Tuesday, January 13th, our first meeting of 2026. This meeting is called to order. Uh before we begin with public participation, I just want to quickly acknowledge our wonderful and outstanding board clerk, Kim Lanzopane, whose birthday was a couple of days ago, and say happy birthday to Kim. She told me not to do this, but yes, I did. >> Um, now we will begin with public participation. It is uh public's opportunity to provide feedback uh to the board of education and the superintendent. We allocate three minutes per person for this. You'll hear an alarm at 2:30 and then there'll also be a yellow piece of paper. And
002then at the three minute mark, you'll hear the alarm again. Um, people who want to speak can fill out a card. And I've got a stack of cards up here that I will go through. Uh, if I mispronounce your name, I do apologize. Uh, first up, I have Alexi. So, I came up to share my displeasure around the turf field. U my kid walks through the uh field on the way home and he says that it's a nice way to reset uh from u being surrounded by pavement and this whole I mean he didn't grow up in New York City. Um, and so this is not really a concrete jungle like I did at PS 104 in Faroy, Queens, but coming home through the fields is a nice um a nice change of pace from
003the from the school. Um, and I suspect the only way to for the public to really get any change to this uh turf field project um not not the health risks, not any really intrinsic problems with this turf field. I think the only way to get this overturned is to go go for the the license that uh Dr. Kevin McGawan holds. I think that once he's removed once his license is struck from him for the >> So, here's what I would tell you. We don't do public feedback on specific individuals for the board or the administration. If you have a concern with a policy, we'll certainly hear that. But we will not entertain attacks on people. >> Well, I'm not attacking a person. I'm disloying I'm um expressing my displeasure with the current administration. My
004kid was abused at Council Rock. I >> So, we're not going to do I'm sorry. I I appreciate that you have No, please. I appreciate that you have concerns, but we're also not going to discuss specific student issues in a public format. It's not appropriate. >> It's not appropriate for me to displeasure to vo voice my displeasure with the policies that allow for for criminal behavior in schools. >> No, I think there's a process for that and that is to talk to the principal. >> And I did. And what happened? Zero. And why do you keep interrupting my three minutes? You can't keep your your uh your lips sealed for to allow me to express my opinion for three lousy minutes. because you violated the rules which is we do not we do not attack
005individuals whether they be students, staff, board members or anything that that's not a forum. That's not this forum. >> I do not attack anybody. Attacking somebody would be hitting a a podium or something. Attacking voicing my displeasure with the behavior of the super the superintendent and the teachers at Council Rock that abused my child is not attacking someone. I did not name the teacher. I only named the current supervisor, the current superintendent, and you taking my three minutes to uh interrupt my train of thought is really inappropriate. Calm down. Relax for three minutes and let the public, the people that spend I've spent over $100,000 in taxes for this school district for them to abuse my children both at Council Rock and the the uh 12 Corners. My my other kid was was uh bullied
006and and the the teacher uh promoted at at Fres. Um and at the high school, another teacher uh all of a sudden tried to uh flunk uh cause my my junior to use a junior time to uh for him to flunk his uh French final. >> If you'd like to if you'd like to send me a note as the board president, an email with your thoughts and concerns, I am happy to hear that and address it. But I don't want to sit and discuss critiques of particular staff members in a public forum. It's not appropriate. >> Too bad. >> It's not your school. It's our school, our money. You don't like it? Uh run for election somewhere else. >> Okay. Thank you very much for your feedback. >> I do I feel compelled to make
007money. I think it's important to point out that people have not behaved criminally and have not abused a child and it's slanderous to say so. So you may disagree, but I'm also happy to meet with you to discuss the issue further if you'd like. >> How come my emails were not answered? Many many emails sent to you directly. No response whatsoever. I called the superintendent or the the principal met with them in person and crooked from you. >> That is also not accurate. >> Where's the email? Where's the response? >> You were absolut You were absolutely responded to, but this isn't most of the time. >> That is not true. >> Thank you very much. >> I have the proof that >> Thank you very much. >> You're just not telling the truth. And for
008that, you should be removed. >> Okay. Next up, we have Betsy Cox. Thank you. I think we all feel a tremendous amount of emotion and um it's uh it's it will be very unfortunate on many levels. I have just a few things to say um because again this whole situation which um I also believe didn't need to happen as it has um continues to be quite stressful for myself um our family our community our neighborhood um our friends um I want to come back to a word that I I heard very early in this in early December about being dis disingenuous if project did not continue forward. What I unfortunately have seen is um the definition of disingenuous as it's moved forward. Um a disingenuous remark might contain some superficial truth but is delivered with
009the intent to deceive or to serve some hidden purpose. Unfortunately, once again, we have um provided a lot of information to many of you. Again, I would once again say we have doctors, we have educators, we have people concerned about children, about children's health. Um, I know I'm not alone in this. I know you've reflected that back um in some of the responses. But again, going from a concept to something that has continued to destroy the environment, I would have to say between trees, we now have about a two-story pile of soil uh within eye view of our second story home about 40 feet from the back door. Um when asked about who is the environmental consultant, I was told that would have to be foiled. I never knew what foil was in the legal
010term until until this. Um, and unfortunately we're all learning quite a bit of the legal ease. Um, I feel unfortunately if the only way I can have my questions answered would be to send an email to the board. You have I imagine many of them um without being able to ask somebody about the environmental concerns. Um unfortunately I feel that the trust in the um Brighton Central School District board has been diminished significantly which I again am very sorry to have to say. Um I feel personally that we've and personally speaking for myself have been kind of insulted in terms of education in terms of questions um not only from the school board from the town I've as many have gone through if you look at the town of Brighton there's at least a 50
011to 70 page snapshot of the Brighton the climate action plan I'm not sure what the school's climate action plan is but putting in thousands and tons of plastic products in the back of um our homes in our schools. Um you might not see that any of this is relevant currently. Um I was talking with a student about COPD, which is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Why is that a problem? Why are people at the Jewish home, many of them sick with this? So I went back and I said, "Well, in about the 50s, there was information about smoking. We didn't know a lot about smoking, but if you look at this, they had doctors advertising that more doctors smoke camels because it is great for your throat. Um, and now we know, and we probably had
012parents, grandparents, my grandfather died because of smoking related disease. This is what we'll be seeing in the future with the environment, with the plastics, with the turf, with all of this that we're putting in front of our children of all ages. So, I would really ask you and beg you to rethink this. Brighton still has the ability to do the right thing. I would end by saying I've been wearing this pin that says, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." I would ask you to ask yourselves what how would you like in Brighton? Um, I'm not really sure what I'm seeing currently is what I would like to be seeing. Um, I think we're all trying to do the best for our world and for our children. We appreciate your time very
013much. >> Thank you, >> Mark Digory. Good evening, members of the board. As you already know from my speaking here previously on this topic, my family lives immediately adjacent to the athletic field project. It is clear that the district intends to move forward with its original designs without alteration from the recent construction. I acknowledge it is important to modernize the athletic fields and I support expanding student athletics, but as I've identified previously to this board, synthetic turf systems are not closed systems and are sources of significant plastic pollution. What is especially concerning is that the large storm water basin, the location and design of, which many have raised concerns about, appears to have no filtration system whatsoever. Nothing in the design points to capturing microplastics or infill before the runoff leaves the site. The storm
014water mitigation pond is a direct is a direct downstream connection to Allen's Creek around Decoy Bay and Lake Ontario. At the same time, there's no meaningful wind mitigation. Brook Lawn residences and the storm water pond are directly downwind of the planned fields. Chainlink fencing is not a solution to stop particulate matter or airborne material. The district needs a solution to mitigate the migration of microplastics including infill. These are known characteristics of synthetic turf systems. This is not speculative. Maintenance requires a continual annual uh replacement of infill for many uh synthetic fields. Recently, I provided the district with resources on alternative natural infill materials and commercial infiltration solutions that are specifically designed to address these kinds of issues. To date, the community has not received any response explaining whether or how the district intends to mitigate
015the known risks of plastic pollution at all in this project. It is time that the district formally acknowledge that the current design does not address health implications for nearby residents or downstream waters and begin to work on a plan to address this. Thank you. >> Thank you, >> Annie Liry. Uh Dr. Dr. McGon, I wanted to share a quote you shared on Facebook a few years ago. Moral behavior is not about having the right intellectual concepts in your head. It's about seeing other people with the eyes of your heart. They're full suffering, walking with them in their path. I'm asking all of you to do that today. We are humans. We make errors. We care about this community and our children. And I know all of you do, too. It's time to put aside ego,
016standard procedure, protocol, and process to do what's right. As I've said before, 2% of Brighton residents voted for this project. At this point, I know you understand that the process wasn't clear and that the community was underinformed. And I appreciate you sharing at the PTSA meeting last week that you're trying to determine how you should handle future projects, how you engage people, and how you help them understand what they're signing up for and voting for. But this isn't something as simple as a budget vote gone wrong. This is about children's health and safety. This isn't merely a problem with the process. It's a problem with a decision that was made without fully considering the implications to health, safety, and the environment. I don't believe that you intentionally ignored health risks. However, I do believe that
017you are now choosing to ignore the alarming new research about artificial turf. I don't believe you intended to misrepresent the project in the seeker, but I believe that your definition of community and environmental impact is wildly different than Brighton residents. In my your secret states, no environmental impact. In my world, the clear cutting of a 200-year-old tree is an impact to the environment. A 200-year-old tree provides oxygen for up to 10 people per year. Instead, Brighton athletes will breathe the fresh smell of synthetic turf baking in the sun because there's no longer a tree providing shade for them. Dozens of other trees have also been decimated over the past month, and it will take decades to replace them. sources of shade and homes to wildlife. Again, an environmental impact. As we know, temperatures are increasing
018each year because of climate change. And with art artificial turf averaging 40 to 70 degrees hotter than grass on sunny days, those parents and players on those fields are going to wish you'd figured out a way to work around that 200-year-old tree that was once part of the fabric of this community. It was confirmed by your contractors at the meeting last month that the runoff from the water mitigation area will run into the sewer system, which we know drains directly into Allen's Creek, a habitat for wildlife and one that young kids used to play in when I was young. In fact, the Harley School still does an annual creek walk in the Allen Creek um with some of their youngest students. It will be an awful shame to find out that these contaminants from turf
019and rubber infill have polluted this beautiful waterway. Every 10 years, 250 square feet of toxic plastic turf will be tossed into a landfill so it can be replaced, adding even more waste and contam contamination to the earth as we know it. Teaching our kids that disposable is best, but no environmental impact. You will be held to this in coming years as other people have said, "We will test the water. We will monitor children's health and collect the benzene laden rubber crumb that comes home in my kids cleat." Nobody's saying the fields don't need improvement. We're asking that you do it with full community buyin and the health and safety of all community members as your top priority. Break the mold. Stand up for what's right. This is not the time to do better next time.
020You need to do better now. >> Thank you, >> Tracy Pascantonio. This is my fourth meeting and third correspondence with you all about the field upgrade project since December. At the last meeting, Mr. Davis said that we would re be receiving a communication from the leadership soon and I was hopeful when I left that meeting and then I was terribly disappointed. The thought exchange is not a genuine means of communication. It's not a way to collect data as it's anonymous. It has no real research parameters. Felt like a deflection and a ploy when you have had rooms full of people with knowledge in front of you and genuine concerns that you are ignoring. I have lived on Brooklon Drive for 33 years. I have two grown children who graduated from Brighton and were student athletes.
021My son went on to play division one lacrosse in college. Playing lacrosse was how he got through school. I voted yes to the initial proposal because I understand the importance of sports in schools. What's happening now behind my house is not what was initially conceptualized. I would not have voted yes for a storm water retention area. And let me ask all of you, would you vote yes for a storm water retention area to be installed behind your houses where your children walk to and from school and play sports? I've trusted the Brighton school leadership over all of the years that I've lived here, and this is a serious breach of trust. We are the school's neighbors. This is not how neighbors treat each other. How can I ever vote yes again to anything that's put
022forth? Finally, I've worked in education for over 30 years, and it is shocking to me that our board of education and our superintendent continue on with this plan as it's so objectionable by so many community members. This plan needs to be altered. Thank you. >> Thank you. Jean Proctor, I want to thank you for hearing us because we need to be heard and I want to thank my colleagues who've already spoken. We're all baffled about this plan, but I I'm new to this project and I just realized that there are several laws by uh December 31st, 2026, it will be against the law to install artificial turf in New York State. And in the laws talks about the dangers of artificial turf, but it talks a lot about the disposal of such turf projects into
023a landfill when they need to be upgraded and replaced. We all know about the plastics already in our food and our water and we're already afraid of all of this and the Brighton School District is squeezing this project in before the law passes which violates the spirit of the law. We're baffled that the school board didn't respond to the letter that the sustainability committee wrote to the board in May of where they outlined their concerns about the project. They commented about the importance and the value of the green space that that community provides for people, for children. And they talked about the beloved cottonwood tree at its center. And of even more critical import, they warned about artificial turf, about the danger to drainage, to water, the dangers to our children. Too many details to
024name here, but the letter urged the board at that time to consider other safe environmental alternatives. And I wonder what happened. Lastly, the community still has no assurance that the turf is safe. The superintendent in his recent letters stated that there were the synthetic turf are not manufactured with or intentionally include PFAS or PIFA. But what about unintentional inclusion of toxins? Would that be okay? Again, I quote from the superintendent. Our goal to continue to provide clear accurate information seems disingenuous as someone said given that we still haven't received information about the in independent third-party testing that was done. Who did the testing? How was the testing done? What was the scientific methodology behind the testing? How can we know what happened? How can we know that it's safe? Where is the promised transparency? Okay,
025so now the board can and needs to disclose this information as there is over 15,000 toxins in synthetic turf. Our town has done so much to reduce its carbon footprint, enhancing trails, the new um offices. Why have these warnings not been heeded when we are so aware of this danger? We're supposed to be able to trust the board, but that trust has been terribly eroded. We want to hear from you now. Let's rebuild so we can believe again in our board and in our district. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Uh we appreciate the feedback as always and input that we continue to receive. We've also received emails from a number of different people on a number of different sides of this issue. Um given the nature of pending actions that several of you are
026involved in um we are more limited now in our ability to appropriately and responsibly respond as those matters are being reviewed in a different format. Um the the feedback that we are receiving through the thought exchange which is open through the 16th which is this Friday will be shared at a future meeting. Um and I thank everyone for their time tonight. Is there anyone else who hasn't spoken? >> Can somebody raise a hand? >> Yes. >> I'm sorry. >> Let's Yeah, go right ahead to the podium. I'm sorry I don't have a card, but please go ahead. Do it. >> Lauren O'Neal, I'm sorry. I have it right here. I apologize. I apologize. Hello. Hello, Dr. McGawan and the board, >> members of the board. My name is Lauren O'Neal. I live at 160 Lynwood
027Drive. My home is 34 feet from the plan fence storm water management area. I've lived here for 29 years. I have two um grown children and I currently have an oncology massage therapy private practice at this address. I also work for a local cancer center providing manual lymph drainage and body work to patients in cancer treatment. My children walk to school regardless of the weather from sixth grade until graduation. I've also rocked across those fields for 13 years to my crossing yard post at 12 Corners. Yes, the fields could use some work, but I'm disgusted with your decision to install two massive synthetic turf fields in this open space behind Brighton High School without taking a hard look at the new at a new natural turf or invest a significant amount of money in upkeep
028and proper maintenance of the current fields. Those fields were never maintained for sustainability. This whole synthetic project makes no sense. The Brighton School District is in the town of Brighton. So why isn't Brighton Central School District being a good neighbor in keeping with the goals of the town for sustainability? I also wonder how the district went from following the New York State Child Safe Playing Field Act, banning most chemical applications to prevent developing children from harmful exposed from harmful exposures to installing synthetic turf fields made of plastic and other petroleum based products. Are you protecting our children from harm harmful exposures? Are you forcing parents to decide whether playing school po sports are forcing parents to decide between playing school sports or finding other activities in the community? What the And what about the the
029district's policy 5651? This policy states the superintendent shall support and maintain the district's environmental committee. The committee shall include parents, teachers, administrators, classified staff, and key community partners who will meet on a regular basis to view the district's environmental procedures. Why wasn't the district's environmental committee formed? I counted on you to follow the district's policies. You've broken my trust. Finally, I do not feel safe with a quarter of a million square feet of synthetic turf with storm water drainage pond 34 feet from my bed bedroom window. I oppose synthetic turf. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> I'm going to double check again. Is there anybody else I might have missed? >> I'm sorry I came in late. I'd like to >> Okay. >> Good evening everyone. Brendan Fleming, proud Brighton class of
0302000 alum, Brighton resident, and parent of two little Bruins. I'm here solely on behalf of myself and my family and in my personal capacity. And I won't reiterate what many of my friends and neighbors here in in Brighton have said, um, but just make an observation that the Brighton Central School District is the living beating heart of the town of Brighton. It is the most visible critical central institution that is not the town. And I and I fear that the district has forgotten that. We are a community of neighbors in a a town of neighborhoods. And many of my neighbors and fellow Brightonians have expressed their concern. And I won't reiterate the concerns about the storm water and the particulars of the science that they know much better than me. But I would be remiss
031if I didn't raise my concerns as a Brightonian and again a proud alum of of K through 12 of of the Brighton Central School District and having served as a senior as the student council president having deep respect for the board. its work. You as individuals, your predecessors, Dr. McGawan and his predecessors and and the administration, the work the work you do. I just ask that you really deeply reflect on the role of the board, the the administration, and the district as a neighbor and as a community member, and do what I'm not even sure is any longer the the motto, but a tradition of excellence commands, what used to be the motto. Um, and do more than is the minimum required by the law. And I don't want to talk about the law. Others
032others can opine on that, but the spirit of being a neighbor and more than just checking the box to get a project done. Um I I've observed this and I have concerns about this and other capital projects, including the parking lot project that was approved several years ago and is only being constructed now in tandem perhaps with this fields project. Um go above and beyond. That's what I was taught in Brighton schools. That's what I expect of my kids. That's what I expect of their teachers. And frankly, I hope that's what we can expect of of you all. Thank you very much. Thank you. Is there anyone else? Thank you. Uh with that I'll move to the next item which is approval of the agenda. You all have had a chance to review the agenda
033in advance. Are there any questions, edits or changes to set agenda? Motion to approve. >> So moved. >> Moved by Karen. >> Seconded by Carrie Lynn. All those in favor? >> Also want to create the opportunity for approval of the minutes for our last meeting on December 16th. It was a business meeting. You've all had a chance to review those minutes. Are there any changes, corrections, or edits to that meeting to that those minutes? Excuse me. >> Motion to approve. >> So move. >> Moved by Susan. >> Seconded by Esther. All those in favor? >> I. >> We are now going to get up and uh do principal reports and uh we'll start with uh Danielle Edmonds, please at TCMS. Good evening. Happy new year. A little delayed, but good to be here after a
034nice break. And um believe it or not, we are just like back into action and everything is is rolling and grooving at the middle school. Um really just a nice sense of positive energy getting us through this last week or so. Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't backtrack to December a little bit and just talk about wrapping up our successful concert season. I think I reported on one of our first concerts in December. Um, but we were able to uh enjoy all of our coral, orchestral, and um, band concerts and students. It's just amazing what they can do in such a short amount of time. And kudos to our instrumental teachers and vocal music teachers and the work that they've done with students. This year, it was kind of cool to see um,
035some of our instrumental students actually accompanied the a few songs in the coral concert, which is really nice to start seeing that crossover um, with the students. So, we're, you know, kind of testing the boundaries of what a a typical concert looks like in middle school traditionally. And it's really nice to see the kids taking risks to be with each other. We also had our it was our third annual spelling bee this year and I think we had about 11 student finalists. uh all students had an opportunity to participate in an initial round to be considered um for a semi-final round and then following that we held our finals in in December and we're excited to send off our um representative I think it's in uh the middle of February that they'll represent us in
036our regional spelling be of course our artists continue to be amazing and awe me with what they are able to do because I I literally can't draw straight lines. So, this is uh a few of our students who represented us in our Brighton Memorial Library postcard contest. So, we had Maddie Duel, um Sophie Vaseman, and uh Nora Peters who were able to represent us with their works there up above. Pretty awesome to see what seventh and eighth graders can put together. Thanks to Miss Bertner for encouraging the students to apply to the contest. We also had an opportunity similar to what Fres had earlier in the year where we had some folks from um Boseies come over and let our teachers know uh what's available in terms of emerging technology and kind of future thinking
037with our with our students and and how coding and how virtual reality um and how breakout think of a breakout room but in a box and how you can bring that to your classroom what that looks like and how it can tie to each different curricular area. So, um Dr. Glazer worked to provide some lunch for folks and they were able to come in enjoy some lunch with each other and also learn a little bit from the experts from um Boseies to figure out ways to leverage these tools but also the individuals at Boseies who are able to support us in the work. I also want to talk about modified sports. Of course, we know that we've got uh basketball, girls and boys basketball going on. We've got swimming. We've got wrestling going on. We've
038got cheer going on. of so many athletes participating. But instead of focusing actually on the athletics, I want to focus on the service work that we are seeing more and more of our athletic teams partaking in at TCMS. We have um students, our girls basketball team volunteered at the paper store. We've got um on Monday both of our boys mod basketball teams are making lunches and sandwiches um to to donate. So, it's just we're seeing more and more of a tradition of our coaches involving our students in in active volunteer opportunities and service opportunities. And I couldn't be more proud. Of course, I'm proud of the way they represent us on the court and in the pool every day, but this is really where it's at. They're spending that time together and giving back to
039their community. So, I'm super proud of the work that that they're all doing together. Also want to take a minute to highlight PE. I've kind of talked about this a bit um over the years, but we've we've made a very large transition in PE at the middle school. Few years ago, we moved away from gender specific um classes, which has been amazing and very important to do. But we've also given opportunities for students to choose their own path in PE. So, every six weeks, students have a choice to choose between a life fitness, a crossfit, or a team sport activity. And the students get to self- select. There are some students who may do CrossFit all year long. There are some students who kind of dabble and rotate, but they have that opportunity every six
040weeks. And it's really great because the reality is is there are some students that life fitness is their jam and they are all about it. And um they're out there, they're being active, but they're doing it in a way that's um you know, appropriately challenging for them. And then there are other students that want to engage in that kind of highintensity basketball game every single PE period. So, I love that the students have the option. They get to self- select. And you can see even down on the bottom. Do you remember those scooters from when we were little? Do you remember? I had to include that because it was a little bit of nostalgia rolling around. >> You always get your fingers. >> Yes. True. True. >> It seemed like a much better idea. >>
041It did. It did. But um so you know some some retro in there, some um some raetball, some pickle ball, but also you can see the girls uh in the bottom there just also doing engaging in some mindfulness and some community and team building uh and just a lot of laughter. So PE looks I I would say very different than it did when when I was a kid and I think it's great for our students. One of our milestone or keystones is the Inquiry Egypt project that our sixth graders do in social studies class. And I love this activity because Mrs. Lambert, our school librarian, is uh active in our social studies and EL ELA health science classes. She's really um a central part of the curricular work that students do, particularly around inquir inquiry
042and research. But um at sixth grade, there's just a lot of fun to it. The students engage in research about uh ancient Egypt and it culminates in um a festival where the students dress up, they bring in authentic foods. They get to take on uh the character of somebody that they researched and all of that is a lot of fun for them. But what they don't realize is all the research skills and writing skills that they're learning in the process. And as you can imagine, a lot of the work that we're doing is starting to change given the landscape of AI. And so in sixth grade, one of the things that Mrs. Lambert is able to do and Mrs. Falter and with these particular students is look at like how do we use AI appropriately?
043So their focus is how do we use AI to help us narrow down search terms to do our research. So instead of going, you know, crazy big, what's what's the one thing that an AI can really help us with in our work today? So, uh, we're looking forward to the feasts. They'll be coming up soon, but in the meantime, a lot of literacy and engagement. We have students coming back this year and, um, to the new year and really looking for ways to kind of ease them into that transition. So, here's just a game that Mrs. Hippert's class played where students had to give each other verbal directions about how to draw something and then wait to see what their peers came up with. And as you can imagine, it was a lot of laughs
044because the words did not match the pictures. And that would always be the case for me, for sure. Um, but just teachers looking at ways to bring in those mindful moments, those d-stressing moments with our students as they amp up um the the curriculum work that they're doing. And then also back to December before great break, we had some fun things going on. We had underground spirit week. You can see uh Mrs. Ellis there is uh dressed up in her green. That was our um what's thank you. Our wicked day. Um we had dress as a partner day where you had to find a duo so folks could dress like somebody else. We had our white out days but we also had again back to that service. Our um student council sold candy canes um
045and made a donation in a sizable amount to a local charity as well. So lots of good work going on. eighth grade activity at night is always great and it's even better when you get to wear your pajamas. So, lots of fun. And then just to end with um I was talking to Dr. McGowan the other day and talking about you know the gratefulness that I feel coming into the new year and centering my own self and I have to tell you I these are the people that are responsible for that. You can see this is our custodial staff. This is um our clerical staff, our IT folks in the building, our sec uh security team, our uh lunch team, all of these people. I I have never felt better and more thankful for the
046people that we have that are doing the work with our kids every single day and all of the things that they take off of the admin team's plate because they just come in and do and they serve kids every single day. So, these are the people that are responsible for making everything work. I couldn't be more grateful for them and I just think it's really important to to highlight them and say thank you for helping us attract them. Um they're awesome. And then lots going on this year or this this month. Biggest thing to focus on is we are already shifting 5 go. We're we have on the 20th our fifth grade families coming in to learn about this Gary middle school and all the things that we're going to do to make sure that
047it's an awesome experience for them. And um we are also excited at the end of this month to pull in uh local partners from BPD to talk to all of our students about digital safety and um and wellness as well. So those are two things we're really looking forward to this month. Two quick thing. You're also going to host us at the end of our next meeting on the 27th. I'll announce that again at the end that we'll have our final sort of school visit. Anxious to come and look around the school, what's being worked on and what you're hoping to get worked on next. So, >> suite is pretty amazing. You're going to be excited to see it. >> Yeah, very excited to do that. And also, just a shout out because all of
048you are great with your buildings and grounds team, but I had a chance to connect with a couple of them at the end of your lunch and and um they're happy to be working with the teachers. They love that relationship and it's true for all the schools but uh just people who take a ton of pride in the facility that they're responsible for and in a few cases connect with the kids too like in a really positive way just to talk to them. So it's very cool and I appreciate you calling that group out. Thank you. I'm sorry. Any other questions from the board? >> Thank you. Uh Dr. Oh, good evening everybody. Um, start out with an exciting event. uh just before our uh winter break came was the reunion of the class of
0492020. Um several students came back for a bagel and uh coffee hour and they got a tour of the building. Uh they were they left uh us in March like everybody else did to go home for several months and missed the opening of the auditorium uh missed the opening of the science wing and then of course uh you know the gym later on. So, they got we got a really good tour and met out with several of them um uh that evening at Sheffield and um they're just a wonderful group of students and so glad to be back. Uh we had a great time and want to thank Joe from Bagel Land for donating all the bagels and cream cheese that he donated for this class. Um just a great group of kids and we
050had a nice time. Uh we also similar to the middle school had a theme week uh just before the break. I'm finally back wearing ties again unfortunately but uh we had some really good spirit going on. And uh the executive council, I want to thank them, their adviserss for putting on all of the events that week. We had theme days every day. Um different events for all of our students to participate no matter who they are. Um and had it was a great time in the gym seeing all these wonderful activities go on. food drive theme days. They raised tons of food for the Brighton food cupboard. Our cheer squad and the brewing coming out doing a routine for us. Um we also had our friends of Rachel. They do this annual elf movie show
051after school food. Elf, what could more could you want in life in 262? And I want to thank them. Uh the class of 2028, our current sophomores won the food drive. 27 was very close behind. Um, and they thanks to the Exec Council, I think they got $300 added to their coffers. Uh, thanks to Exec when they won our annual DECA, our DECA team actually competed out at RIT. A record-breaking 128 students, future business leaders of America who want to be out there and learning and presenting and competing against other schools from across the county. Um, they did really well. We had a lot of uh uh first, second, third place winners. our music teachers. Uh now they're completely out without a classroom because they're getting renovations done to the music suite, but just prior
052to those renovations, we had concerts for band, orchestra, chorus. And this particular chorus concert, Dr. Lober, the orchestra teacher, she always comes up with a new idea. And during this concert, you can see in the far right corner, she actually created a runway. There were glow-in-the-dark stripes and parents were invited from the audience to come up, walk through the band, the orchestra that was playing. If you've ever been in a concert, usually sitting low, unless you're kid is a flute player or maybe a clarinet, you never see them in the back unless you're standing uh for percussion. So, you could walk through and actually see everybody as they're performing live during a song. I've never had that happen. Mark and I toured around and it was just a great evening. I she always does something
053special and that was great for the kids to see us um you know in parents to be able to see that right in the inner workings. And finally, our Aspire, our alternative high school program does a lot of community service. It's a big part of the program. Um they made um ornaments for local organizations um for the neonatal intensive care unit, the NICU over at the UVR. Um they request these ornaments every year and then people there will take them home with them. They've done this for the past three years. Um they made 140 ornaments and donated those. Uh they had a lot of fun doing it. You can see in the next picture all the different ornaments they made together. Community service giving back to the community um to Strong and Galasano. and they
054sent a lot of thank yous to the students and they were read the thank you notes were read to the kids so they can actually see who they you know had an impact on. It was really nice. Thanks to Trisha Zeller, the counselor and Betsy Paddock, our AP for overseeing it. Lots of events coming up in January. Um college and career night. It's probably one of the biggest ones we've ever had. It's not just learning about colleges though when it comes to the careers for the trades um military careers anything uh gap years anything that's beyond just a two or four year school everything will be there people will have tables you can come go to a session or two or three and that's next Thursday night from 6:00 to 8:30 and then we welcome
055similar to the middle school welcoming in the new fifth graders the class of 2030 will be joining us um for an orientation on the 22nd. And we don't have classes on the 23rd and we start our second semester on the 26th. And something new, instead of just doing a dance to change the semester, we're actually doing a winter activity night. Uh students wanted something a little different. So we'll be doing kind of a quasi dance and activity night same time. >> Any questions? >> Just uh excuse me really quickly. We had a chance to be in your house as it were in December to see that prep for the change over and all and and some of that stuff that you talked about. One of those pictures sounds like it went well. We were seeing
056like the one space was about to open and the other space was going to be shut off. >> Yes, tech is just about to open. They'll be bringing in um the teachers will be setting up the rooms next week to start the new semester in the 26. Um and uh this will be the second week that music folks have been out without their rooms. Uh but they're making it work. Did I see they were rehearsing together orchestra? >> So they're they so purposefully planned an orchestra band >> combined rehearsal. Never done this before. >> Full orchestra, full band. And they'll be doing that at the concert in March. >> I love it. >> So pretty cool. >> Yeah. >> So what do you attribute the increased DECA participation this year? I would say we have
057a change of advisors which has been a huge I think there's just been more communication. There's always been a lot of energy around it. Um but I think with the change of adviserss we actually have co-advisors now doing DECA. So a lot more >> communication kids come get their questions answered and they're they're on fire. So they're really really doing well. >> That's awesome. >> Also note that you're featured on our art wall back here just back here. They raised I think over $200 from those pictures. Don't ask me, but that's they wanted it. That's great. >> Portrait of Dr. Hall. >> Any qu any other questions for Dr. Hall? >> Colleen Coggins, please. Happy new year. >> You'll see a little repeat in pictures. Um, wrapping up his tour of French Road is Jean
058Gilbert. And the reason why I put this up is you can see how proud Mrs. Higgins is to have her former student um, meteorologist in her classroom. So, she sent the pictures and I said, I already presented on it, but I wanted to show it again. She was just so excited to hop in there as he taught all about forecasting and the weather and it's something that the fourth graders and the fourth grade teachers look forward to every single year. Um, something different this year, and you may have seen it on the social media of the Brighton page. Our special area teachers put together a little competition, a way to track our Brighton believes, qualities, and what they do in specials day in and day out. If you walk into any of the special areas,
059you'll see these giant posters where they're tracking kids for showing kindness, respect, responsibility, self-control, and integrity. And each trimester, they're looking up all the stars that the kids earn, and they're recognizing one class per grade level. And you can see the excitement on the kids' face when they found out that their class was like the number one class of the grade level and they received these uh repurposed trophies. So the special area teachers made their way around the building. They celebrated the teachers, the classroom, um the kids, the administrators, and the kids were just so excited. They were screaming and squealing and it was just something fun. So kids are in a tough competition for a second trimester to see which classes will be recognized. Um, December felt really cold, but our kids love the
060snow. So, if you go by the playground at the end of the day or during the day, you'll see the kids building snowmen, building forts. So, right now, it's a little muddy, so we're looking for the snow to come back, actually. Um, but it really is great getting the kids outside every single day. So, I just wanted to share the joy of these third graders as they were building this past December. Also, in December, this is a picture for some some of our third grade ENL classrooms. And for these kids, they're really working on some of the vocabulary within the arts and letters curriculum. So, this class took on the opportunity to teach new vocabulary through acting out that vocabulary to help put to life a little bit of the content that they were working
061on with their peers. So, you can see just the joys of new learning new language and also learning the arts of um reading and writing. Uh right here you'll see some kids in health. Earlier this month, uh, Janice Mix led her students through a digital safety lesson, and they took out an old board game, which often new for a lot of our kids, and they use shoots and ladders. Every time kids made positive online choices, they go up a ladder. Anytime they made a poor online choice as part of the cards that they were drawing, they would go down a shoot. And she just wanted to give them a visible representation of the success they have when they are making better decisions. And it's just nice watching the kids play board games and interacting with
062one another and also building their content. Much like TCMS in the high school, we kicked off our concerts in December. Uh the nice thing we were able to do is do uh schoolwide assemblies for each concert, so the kids could perform in front of their peers as well as their families later in the evening. We have one more set of concerts in next week, I believe, with our fourth graders. So for a lot of these kids, it's their first time on the stage. So they are full of excitement, a lot of fun things going on. getting kids up, doing some public speaking as well in front of their peers and parents, talking about the music that they're performing. So, if you were there, it was a pretty packed house each night. And we're looking forward
063to our last concert for the winter next week. This would be the day before break. So, much like uh Council Rock, we were in pajamas. We were kind of running around the building. Shirley and I were delivering breakfast pizzas to staff in their classrooms. Kids were delivering hot chocolate to us in the office. And it was a lot of fun watching the kids deliver little thank you gifts and cards to all their teachers. And this was right at arrival. You can see Mr. Goodwill. And this one little kid was running around the building looking for him to give him a special ornament that he had made. It's just a time of joy. It was a lot of excitement for the kids and staff as well. And it was great seeing everyone smiling and dressed up
064and ready to go back to bed. Um, if you have not been to the PTSA summer activities fair, I'd highly encourage you to come. This is the second time that I've been there. It was held at French Road this year. Last year it was at Council Rock. Um I was standing up on the stage and if you look at what you're seeing, the PTSA organized all these local vendors, local camps, organizations, people who have opportunities for the kids for summer recreation, summer camps, and all the different opportunities in the community. It was packed. There were kids kindergarten through grade 5. Watching parents leave and just say thank you, thank you, thank you to the PTSA was great. A lot of them had some different ideas for child care in the summer and just keeping their
065kids busy. Um, a lot of the vendors were families within the community as well. Um, camps in the area, camps a little further out on some lakes. They had things through the science museum. So, it was a really busy night. Um, unlike last year, they decided to push it up a little bit earlier in the year. So, it was tricky our first week back. But, the reason they did it is they found a lot of the camps and organizations had actually closed out already by later in the month. So, it was packed and we had a lot of gratitude and a lot of excited families. So, it was great to see everyone there and also meet some of our incoming third graders for next year. Um, last week Mrs. Hutching's fourth grade class had a
066special event where they were able to culminate a museum with everything they did with the hot and sunny culture. Um, so if you look at this, kids created diaramas, they had powerpoints, they had videos, they had posters, and they invited all of their third grade teachers from the year before to bring their class to their museum. And then the next day, they invited all their parents and grandparents and um, families to come in and see the same museum. And the kids were so excited. Our halls were lined with all of their furniture so they could put all their displays in the class that day. But you can just see by the faces how excited they were to show off everything they did in fourth grade. Keeping to the joy for the staff, we played a
067little game on the day before break. As you can see, everyone's still in their pajamas. So, we were looking for a elf. Um, we hid seven different elves in teachers pockets throughout the day, and teachers were kind of screwing around the building trying to find all the elves. And when buses were called at the end of the day, if you had an elf, you could run to the office and pick a little take-home prize. So, something silly, but it keeps teachers talking and interacting and engaging with each other and just looking forward to the break to come. As we move on through the rest of the month, it's not super busy, but we are kicking off our second round of bingo in January and February. We have an additional parents' partners webinar. So, that's parenting
068a child with ADHD and oppositional behaviors. And then we also have our fourth grade concert. And then we're moving on to February and February break. I quickly say because of where I live, I'm up and down Edgewood a lot and that playground is really well used. I see kids out a lot with their teachers and moving around and so happy that project obviously came out really well. But I have to tell you, which is not associated with school, even on Saturdays and Sundays, there's a ton of kids on that playground moving around. It truly is a a great community asset besides being a great school asset as well. We're also getting um a pad laid down for a gaga pet sometime this spring once the ground settles a little bit. So it'll be nice having
069another play space for the kids to go to and interact with that with PE classes as well. >> Questions for Colleen? Thank you very much. Principal tapping everyone. Happy new year. Happy 2026. Um, so last time I presented we were pajama. We were going to be pajamming, but also so you wanted a video. I'm not going to play the whole video cuz it's long. I didn't capture this video obviously cuz I was there. But I had to keep reminding the kids it's not it is called stay in your PJs and read day and not pie in the face day. They said, "No, it's not PJ's day. It's pie in the face day." I said, "No." So, we did it three times. These are actually our secretaries who got to do it. uh our administrative assistants
070who got to do it uh to the two of us. We wore ponchos, but we did survive all three. The kids just loved it. It was really awesome to to have that. So, that's Mrs. Schaefer. She had more hair to be able to to have to protect. So, uh she wore that. So, we had a really good time. You have it so you can watch it. Uh I know that Dr. Dr. McGawan mentioned this last time, but we did lose a a very valued member of our staff, u Miss Adah, who was a kindergarten uh teaching assistant. She loved Mickey Mouse and Disney. So, we all wore red and black one day in honor of her. Uh and she was always walked around and gave us hearts. So, um we're still, you know, working through
071that. But it was, you know, in those times of, you know, really tough tragedy, it's amazing to see our community come together, our families, um, our kids, uh, and our staff come together. So, so thanks for the support that the district offered for sure. Um, and to our community. So, thanks to Michelle Peters. We had another amazing TCMS reader visit. Um, it's great to just see some former students. So you can see there are teachers who got to see their former students. You know, we love being a primary school. We love being able to focus on the primary learner and what they need. The only thing we're missing with that is getting to see a little bit more of their progression. They leave us at second grade and some kids, you know, some kids have
072developed into amazing, you know, done some things and then some of the works in progress we get to don't get to see as much. So to see some of those kids come back um and see how they've matured and grown and then to watch our kids in first kindergarten, first and second grade, just look at them. They are rock stars. Um and you can feel that with the kids. So um we love doing that. We've been doing it about every other month. Um and Michella is a counselor at the middle school who does a great job organizing and bringing uh our kid her kids over to our kids. Uh so the picture on the left is me joining via FaceTime uh with the French Road Multicultural Club um led by Pavet uh Kohley I never
073say her last name right uh Kohley Beck no Kohley Winklback um so she is the the adviser of that and in having conversations with a lot of you know obviously former Council Rock kids they came up with some uh situations that actually happened to them um that they wanted to share back with our kids about how they can be upstanders instead of bystanders and how they can help each other. So, they have written several skits that they presented to both Mrs. Koggins and myself uh just this week that they are hoping we can find a venue for them uh to come and actually perform for our kids um and present some of these situations and it's super meaningful because all of them were true and came from the kids in the club. So incredibly genuine,
074not made up. Um she helped them kind of work through it and it was really great to to see the uh empowering of those kids. Um, and it was great for me to be able to see some of our former kids, uh, you know, really speaking up and sharing their truths. So, uh, our second grade starts, uh, their civil rights unit, which is a really in-depth unit in arts and letters. It goes pretty in-depth, uh, with a lot of things in this picture. So, this is one of our, uh, grade level assemblies that we were able to have this week, and we took the advan advantage of it. uh Zack Ko, who's a great musician, uh sang a s song about civil rights that is also studied in arts and letters where they break it
075apart for the the poetry that's within it and what it means. And we taught the song to the kids and they they learned it in a call and response. Um it was really great. the kids loved it and it's a kickoff to then about three two to three months worth of in-depth study and work um about civil rights and again what kids can do but also what the past has shown us and what we can learn from that. So uh much like my colleagues uh we have incoming kindergarten orientation coming up uh this Thursday. It is for the class of 2039 which always is like what? Um but uh thanks to Katie Schaefer, Diananna Spagnola, we've added a portion of this. One of the things that we've gotten as feedback over the last couple of
076years is those students who are currently receiving services at preschool level coming to Council Rock or coming to uh kindergarten can be a really huge step with a lot of differences. There are a lot of similarities, but there are a lot of differences between the two different kinds of support programs. So, we will be hosting those particular parents who have students who are currently receiving services for a before session specifically for them to be able to answer some of their questions. Um, to be able to give them an outline of what it might look like, what's it going to look like in that transition? What does it mean to be, you know, if you are a preschool student with services, does that automatically guarantee that you're going to be a student with services at the
077at the um elementary level? Um, we found that, you know, in our years, uh, especially Katie since she's been here, those are the parents who kind of corner us in the after time and we're answering a lot of the same questions many times. And I remember the first year Katie was here, she came to me and said, "I hope I answered them right." Um, so we thought giving the same message, giving them that opportunity to share their questions would be really good. then they'll join obviously the session uh at 7 o'clock for everyone and be able to participate in that as well. So, we're hoping that that goes well. Thanks to Diana and uh Katie Schaefer again for helping to organize that. Upcoming events, uh like I said, we've got the incoming uh CPSC, which
078is preschool uh students who receive services, and then the kindergarten night right after this Thursday. Martin Luther King Jr. Day uh is next week, and then we're into February break. Not a ton of events coming up, but a lot going on in school. So, questions. >> Questions for Principal Tapp. >> Thank you very much. Next up, we have approval of first read policies. I'll read each of the three policies. Again, this is a first read, so you'll have a chance to review them again before they come up as a second read. First, policy 1640, bylaws, absentee ballots. Uh next, uh policy 5683, non-instructional business operations, fire and emergency drills. And then policy 7554, students equal education opportunities. Uh questions with regards to those first read policies. Car Lyn and I had a funny exchange on
079the phone when we were asking each other a couple of questions. That's what the purpose of the first read policy is. So >> Kim helped us. >> Yes. Great. Um, I just note that all three of these policies are being revised because uh in in reaction to a regulation. >> That's correct. >> I think it's important for us to know that we're not just willingly changing policies that this is >> prescribed by corrected from the policy. >> Good clarification. Thank you. Any other questions or comments with regards to these first read policies? Motion to approve. >> So moved. >> Moved by Karen. >> Seconded by Clayton. did it at the same time. >> All those in favor also have a consent agenda. A couple of fundraising activities. One at see great eating opportunities always. One
080at Panera and one at Tom Walls. Panera for Key Club and Brighton Boy swimming and diving at Tom Walls on Monro Avenue. Couple of field trip approvals for the model UN conference in Syracuse and the 7th grade Washington trip to DC March 24th to the 26th. We have two gifts. Gift A. a gift from Stuart and Carol Hantman in the amount of $1,000 to the Brighton Central School District to benefit the Brighton Summer Arts Scholarship and in honor of Dr. Tracy Glazer and her work with the visual performing arts department. Thank you. And also a gift from Lisa Moberly to the visual and performing arts department of a handcrafted light installation crafted with custom wood and MDF framing and reactive highquality LED lights. >> Wow. Oh, great gifts as always. Questions with regards to the
081consent agenda? >> Motion to approve? >> So move. >> Moved by Susan. >> Second. Seconded by Christine. All those in favor. >> Before we adjourn, uh, Bill of Rights and Mike behind the window, thank you very much for you're working without student supervision tonight. So, good job to both of you. Thank you. As I noted, the 27th meeting will be at TCMS. Um, and we look forward to getting to walk through that school with Dr. Edmonds. Is there anything else, uh, Dr. McGowan, for the good of your order? >> Nope. Not at all. Other than congratulations to our very own Eric Clement named to the World Baseball Classic team of the United States, which is a really great honor. >> Uh, anything else from the board? >> With that, I will ask for a motion
082to adjurnn. >> So moved. >> Moved by Karen. >> Seconded by Esther. All those in favor? >> We are adjourned. >> This has been a special presentation from the Brighton Central School District Board of Education.